Police confirm they have missing woman's cell phone
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GRESHAM, Ore. – Police have confirmed that a cell phone discovered by children playing in an apartment complex belongs to a 21-year-old woman who has been missing since Tuesday.
The apartment complex is about four miles from Whitney Heichel's home in Gresham, Ore.
According to police spokesman Lt. Claudio Grandjean, the phone is a smartphone and detectives will analyze location and other data stored in the phone. They will also try to get fingerprint or DNA evidence from the phone.
The phone was discovered by two girls in the blackberry bushes at the Troutdale Terrace Apartments. One of their families told KATU News the phone had a screensaver of Whitney on it as well as texts asking if she was OK.
Police said it could offer clues about what happened to Heichel, who left for work at a Starbucks outlet on Tuesday morning and hasn't been seen since.
Elizabeth Spencer said she saw Heichel struggling to park her SUV the night before she disappeared.
"She just said she hadn't been feeling good and was tired," Spencer said. "She actually had asked me, she goes, 'Can you come over here for a minute?' She asked if she had bumped the car in front of her. I said, 'No. You're about two inches away from it, actually. I was like, 'Do you want me to just re-park it for you?' She said, 'Yeah,' kind of embarrassed to ask."
But Spencer said nothing seemed unusual about Heichel or her SUV.
"I got in and put my purse in the passenger seat. So I looked over that way and then re-parked her car. I obviously had to look out the window to be able to get in the spot – no, nothing weird," she said.
Hours later Heichel disappeared, and that same SUV Spencer helped park was discovered at the Wood Village Walmart with the passenger window smashed.
Police did not reveal a lot of details during Thursday's two news conferences on Heichel's disappearance.
But investigators were back at Larch Mountain on Thursday. They also combed Dodge Park near Sandy on Wednesday.
During Thursday's news conferences, investigators declined to talk more about the condition of Heichel's SUV when it was found in the Walmart parking lot. But Heichel's husband, Clint, explained what he saw to Good Morning America.
"I noticed that the front passenger side window had been broken out," he said. "She had a little dangling bead thing from the rear view mirror that had been ripped off; the back seats were down, which was odd; there was a rubber mat and the carpet that was in the back and those were on top of the seats. So stuff had been moved."
He said he also noticed mud and grass on the tires.
Police: Missing Oregon woman's remains found, neighbor arrested
AP
The body of Whitney Heichel, 21, has been found on Larch Mountain, a remote, forested area east of Gresham, Oregon, police say.
By NBC News staff and wire reports
GRESHAM, Ore. â Searchers found the body of a young Oregon woman who vanished this week on her way to work and a neighbor has been arrested, Gresham police said late Friday night.Â
The body of Whitney Heichel, 21, was found on Larch Mountain, a remote, forested area east of Gresham, Police Chief Craig Junginger told a news conference.Â
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http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/20/14571413-police-missing-oregon-womans-remains-found-neighbor-arrested?lite
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I just saw on the news that they have found Whitney Heichel's body and arrested a man who lives in their apartment complex. The man was unrelated to Whitney. I hope all the people who were just convinced her husband was involved, enjoy their humble pie.
 @justmyopinion They're entitled to their opinion, but fortunately our law enforcement system doesn't pay attention to idiots with keyboards holding a kangaroo court.
I agree with you, for those that pointed the finger at the husband to quickly, enjoy that pie!!! Now its time for justice to be served!! Rip Whitney!!
I do hope they find this young woman alive. As she is a barista, there could be countless individuals who may have developed infatuation with her, followed her home, learned her schedule and just waited for a time to make this move to grab her.
sounds like she was raped. seats in the back down, mats on the top of them...
I do hope she is all right somehow and somewhere but it's not looking too good. The one thing I didn't get from the video was after they said she left her apartment at 06:45am to start work at Starbucks at 07:00 - her husband called 911 around 10am - I mean how did he know she was missing? I'm assuming work called to see where she was... but... just wondering. I don't think my work would call home that fast....
 @Elaine2 If you're someone who is never, ever late for work, your co-workers probably would call a lot quicker than if you weren't on-the-dot punctual.
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Also if they knew you lived that close there would be more cause to worry sooner; she left at 6:45 am for a 7 am shift â there aren't a lot of opportunities for full-on traffic stoppages (as opposed to slowdowns and bottlenecks) in that short a distance.Â
 @Elaine2 In yesterday's story stated that her boss called husband at 8:00 asking why she was not at work.
why would Elizabeth bring her purse if she was just stepping a few feet from the front door to re-park the car? Also, how come she couldn't park the car herself? Maybe she was drunk? Doesn't add up. Hopefully Whitney just ran away and will be found safe.
 @dorimonsonfan It's interesting how people add things to a story they just heard. Ditto what MargeGrunderson said. The story doesn't say anything at all about what the neighbor was doing prior to helping Whitney park.
 @dorimonsonfan The story doesn't specify (as of this post; we all know KOMO is notorious for unannounced, unexplained edits) whether Elizabeth was coming from her front door or from her own car, or which way she was headed.
Meaning, she could have been just getting home or just leaving for work herself. "Come over here" could just refer to a parking spot a few cars down from Elizabeth's path between her own front door and vehicle.Â
Definitely agreed she could have been drunk and/or on something else. And hopefully she'll be found safe, but it doesn't look good at this point.Â
Something just doesn't feel "right" about this. I hope this young lady if found alive, but judging by the things they've found so far I doubt she will be. Especially these days. Our society is broken.
I find it interesting or odd that the Spencer woman would park the victim's vehicle, which adds her DNA or prints to the mix. I've never been asked to park another person's car.
 @ObsidianOne I have asked other people to park my car when I was having trouble. I even handed over my truck once (MANY years ago) to a complete stranger when my girlfriend & I got it stuck out 4-wheeling (she & I were both quite pregnant at the time). It's not a common practice of mine, however.
This is definitely not good. Finding a cell phone in the bushes of a missing woman is never a good sign. Nonetheless, I'm hoping and praying that this is just a kidnapping and that she is still alive somewhere, with hopes of her being released or escaping sometime soon.
Hopefully they can find some DNA evidence on the phone among other things (DNA from the abandoned car? surveillance footage from Walmart?). Plus, I thought in Oregon, gas stations had attendants pump in gas for you. Wouldn't the attendant that pumped gas into the SUV have some recollection of how the driver looked like?
The longer this goes on, the worse my stomach feels.
unfortunately when they find a cell phone ..and not the woman its a BAD SIGN..NO WOMAN WOULD EVER LET HER CELL PHONE GO I F SHE WERE ALIVE ..at least none i have ever met...just look around they all have it in their hand 24-7... hoping for the best..
Not every woman has a cell phone glued to her ear - I don't and I've left home without it many a time. It's a smartphone and if it's not in my purse, oh well. I don't take it with me without a purse - too many people will kill you for the damn thing these days.Â
@Six Pack Fury Dan Great observation. That's just what this discussion needs is the cheerful lightness of some insipid Tim Allen-type wisecrack.
@Six Pack Fury Dan I sometimes forget I even HAVE a cell phone for days at a time. Not EVERY woman is like the self-centered, gotta-be-in-touch-with-everyone-whether-they-want-to-be-in-touch-with-me-or-not type that you apparently know.
Oh, and there are PLENTY of egotistical men with the same attitude & the smartphone forever glued to their hand.
@katiemcc Yup, me too. I actually forgot to put mine in my purse the other day when I went to the grocery store, and I didn't notice until I got home and my fiance handed it to me.
 @Six Pack Fury Dan Please don't speculate like that..... I have learned sometimes family members check the news... poor taste sir. please erase that.
Wow I see so many posts where so many are accusing the husband. I know that after the whole Powell fiasco we might be a little jaded.. but from everything I have read the husband is co-operating and I just don't get the vibe he had anything to do with it. I hope this young lady gets to come home safe and sound and who ever is responsible for this is caught.
I hope police go door to door at Troutdale Terrace Apartments.... I would even say conduct a search of each unit, surrounding area, and compile a list of known residents in the building as well as their friends who visit them. I cannot help but think somebody who lives or visits those units discarded the phone from a balcony or open window. I know I am an amateur detective... :D)
@Funky-Munky Good call, Aparment complexes are a feeding ground where people see you often, your work schedule, daily routines.   Â
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The suspect they arrested lived in the same apartment complex.
I'm not ready to hang this on the husband, however, his lack of emotion in this video struck me as odd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td7MyqmMWXE
Everyone processes situations like this differently, but if this were my husband, and I was missing, I know he'd be worried beyond belief, and it would show all over his face and in his voice.
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I saw how the husband broke down when news came out that the cell phone came out. I got the same feeling, and his reaction seemed rehearsed.
I hope I'm wrong and I hope they get to the bottom of this, and she's okay.
But it doesn't look good.....
 @countyclerk The thing is, you can't really tell unless you know the guy. You know how your husband would react, but different people might have very different reactions to the same situation.
 @relatively Um, yeah, hence the "Everyone processes situations like this differently" comment I made.
I get that .
I'm just putting out there the way he came across to me.
Bottom line, I hope she's still alive.
 @countyclerk You're contradicting yourself by saying that everyone acts different in situations and then you go on to say since he isn't reacting how your husband would react, that he is odd. So which is it? Do you believe innocent people react the same or not??? Even twins don't necessarily behave the same way so why your husband who is not related to this guy has any bearing on how this guy should react doesn't make any sense.
 @lilhikergrl  @countyclerk  @relatively Get over yourself, lilhikergrl. Making judgements and comments is what these forums are all about. Did you just buy your first computer?
If you'll notice in my comment, I said it was the feeling I got when I saw him on the video. He seemed very nonchalant.
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And it might be time to move on from the "glad so and so is working on the case"......it's been way overdone on the internet comment boards.
 @lilhikergrl I didn't see where she made any judgements, she has just as much right to her opinion as you do, your comment is worth just about that.............. 2-cents, maybe less..
@countyclerk @relatively Well thank goodness we have countyclerk working the case. Now that you've given your 2 cents, the investigation can go on.
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I watched the video you linked to, and I didn't get that impression. It seems to me that he was trying to maintain his composure. A lot of husbands act as a rock and feel a need to contain their emotions.
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Let the police sort this out. Making your own judgements about this man when so little is known is disrespectful. Â
This whole story seems really fishy. Can't the security tapes from the Walmart parking lot be pulled to see what happened and if she was even the one who brought the vehicle to Walmart or if it was dropped off by someone else? If she isn't seen in the Walmart footage then it's a safe bet that whoever parked her vehicle there knows something about her being missing.Â
This is not looking good...with what they are telling us, and NOT telling us, I am getting very nervous for this young woman. I hope and pray she is found soon and that she is okay.
The husband looks guilty, and I 'm sure the kids who "found" the phone in the blackberry bushes were involved too...
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 @Enatai Troll much?
This is sounding worse by the minute. I know that usually they look to the closest family members when someone goes missing, but I don' think the husband was involved. Â From the condition of the car, with the seats moved down, and the fact that it's pitch dark when she would be leaving for work, her phone possibly found at another apartment building nearby, makes me think it was something involving a stranger. Â I hope that they can find her soon, and that she's okay, but the timing of everything and her car being back at Walmart by 11am, sounds as if the husband could not have been involved, as he was with the family at that time. Â Weirder to me is that the person involved stopped at a gas station and atm, knowing that Oregon's stations require you to get served in person, so that someone would see you. Â Just makes no sense... Â Hoping for the best for her and her family.Â
OK, why are people automatically assuming the husband did it? So far, everything I've read says he's been nothing but cooperative with the investigation and hasn't been named a person of interest. How about we let the facts come out before we label him a monster?Â
Because statistically, if there is a murder or unexplained disappearance, it is usually at the hand of the person who is closest (i.e. spouse, boy/girlfriend, etc.). If he didn't do it, hopefully they can rule him out and start looking outwards.
@The WA Mama I get that a missing person/murder usually involves a close friend or family member, but thus far nothing about this story suggests that. If people want to take the lazy way and just assume, that's thier right but I prefer to look at what's been made available and not make a rash judgement on this.
Sounds like a very strange case with the husband the number one suspect as normal, but have little faith in Oregon police being able to solve this who done it...
@Windowseat Well it's a good thing we've got you around, then! Seriously, how about we just hang the husband right now without a trial since we can't trust the pigs to get it done right?
Please let her be okay... She is absolutely adorable and appears to be a good kid. I have been following this story and will continue to hold out hope for her safe return.
Who called the tv station to inform them about cell phone? Don't people realize this can make the people involved aware and hinder the police with the investigation.
 @DeeDee Really, and why on earth would they touch it or move it? They should have called police first.
@fyrefawx Because it was kids who found it, and finding a cell phone in the bushes isn't exactly like finding a gun. If you find a gun outside in the bushes, it's safe to assume that it's there for a bad reason. If you find a cell phone, more than likely some jack*** just lost thier phone. There's a good chance the kids didn't even know there was an investigation going on.
 @DeeDee not to mention possible contamination and chain of custody issues
Unfortuunately Oregon is hard on women and too many have gone missing there. One student I talked to in central Oregon told me all her friends carry pepper spray. Hope this lady is found alright.
@Citizen#3457899654 Oregon is hard on women?????
 @Surveyor1 apparently they belong in binders...