NamUs #MP8602 - Notes on Ashley Fuller Reed
By: Shane Lambert
The Original Time of Writing: October 1st, 2018
On October 1st, 2018 I took a look at the missing person's case of Ashley Fuller Reed (NamUs #MP8602). I read over her case at NamUs and then used an online-newspaper database to look at the reporting from 1990 that covered her case. I feel that anyone websleuthing this case should know about details that I came across during this research. It's my opinion that NamUs doesn't provide enough information.
Furthermore, I took a look at the greater region and a large time frame associated with this case. I've noted numerous cases of white females going missing from Texas after experiencing car troubles between 1988 and 1994. These cases may or may not be related.
NamUs says that Reed was last heard from on January 15th, 1990, which was a holiday Monday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day). One newspaper article (El Paso Times/March 24th, 1990/page 13) contradicted that and said that she vanished on January 14th, which would have been a Sunday. My guess from that is that she disappeared late on the 14th or early on the 15th. Since we're dealing with a Sunday night followed by a holiday Monday then certainly going out late wouldn't be unexpected from someone Reed's age.
Her vitals as per NamUs:
She was last known to be in Garland, Texas. The night she was last heard from, according to NamUs, she was going to The International House of Pancakes with two unidentified men. Her car was then found on a freeway ramp leading to her neighbourhood. That is a factor that suggests that she was abducted from her vehicle or that someone abducted her elsewhere and chose to place her vehicle there.
Personally, what I can't ignore is that the vehicle was found en route to her home. To me, that suggests that she drove it there and was abducted from it. If someone abducted her beforehand then I don't think that person would drive toward her home in her vehicle because that would be a risky move.
It may be difficult to picture how someone could be abducted from a vehicle, especially one that is moving. However, on the matter of women being abducted from vehicles, please consider my article called "Women With Car Troubles Go Missing" from February 14th, 2018. The article shows, with reference to historical cases, how an abductor is able to sabotage a woman's vehicle, follow her, and then gain her trust as a Johnny-on-the-spot mechanic that can help her. What should be noted is that it's possible to convince someone to pull over even when no car trouble exists for that person.
In regard to the men that Reed was meeting at the pancake house, websleuths should be aware of the name "Robert." The following clip is taken from the El Paso Times (March 24th, 1990; page 13).
Furthermore, Reed's case was mentioned in a September 6th, 1992 article in The Post-Crescent (page 2), a newspaper in Appleton, Wisconsin. This article mentions that the other male's name that Ashley Fuller Reed was going to meet was "Dave." This article says that Reed, "Dave," and "Robert" were going to meet in Dallas International House of Pancakes at 6pm on Jan. 14th, 1990.
One detail that websleuths should be aware of from this article is that her car was found with a dead battery. Furthermore, the article says that when the battery was recharged, the hazard lights came on. Her purse and keys were missing from the car.
Perhaps Reed turned the ignition off in her car with the hazard-light button still depressed, perhaps believing that she would get help and return to the car soon. The person that offered to help her may have instead abducted her. Meanwhile, the hazard lights would have flickered all night until they killed the battery. With the hazard-light button still depressed, when the battery was recharged the lights lit up.
Susan Renee Smalley (NamUs #MP989) went missing in 1988 along with Stacie Madison (#MP1487) in Carrollton, Texas. They were white females aged 18 and 17 respectively. Madison's car was found abandoned. The excerpt below is from the May 8th, 1988 Odessa American newspaper (page 13).
The case of Kristen Smith (NamUs #MP8669) involves the disappearance of a white female in 1991 who was a similar age to Ashley Reed. Smith went missing from Beaumont, Texas. A significant point of similarity is that Smith's car was also found abandoned.
Kelly Dae Wilson (NamUs #MP6816) went missing from Gilmer, Texas in January of 1992. Wilson is a white female who was 17 at the time of her disappearance. Her car was found abandoned (with a flat tire which police believe was slashed) as well and her keys were missing.
Tara Suzette Breckenridge (NamUs #MP914) went missing in August of 1992 from Houston, Texas. She was a white female, aged 23 years old. Her abandoned car was also found. I did find an individual named "Robert" associated with this case as a suspect but he would have been 15 at the time of Reed's disappearance (Del Rio News Herald/April 1st 1993/Page 1).
The Original Time of Writing: October 1st, 2018
On October 1st, 2018 I took a look at the missing person's case of Ashley Fuller Reed (NamUs #MP8602). I read over her case at NamUs and then used an online-newspaper database to look at the reporting from 1990 that covered her case. I feel that anyone websleuthing this case should know about details that I came across during this research. It's my opinion that NamUs doesn't provide enough information.
Furthermore, I took a look at the greater region and a large time frame associated with this case. I've noted numerous cases of white females going missing from Texas after experiencing car troubles between 1988 and 1994. These cases may or may not be related.
NamUs says that Reed was last heard from on January 15th, 1990, which was a holiday Monday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day). One newspaper article (El Paso Times/March 24th, 1990/page 13) contradicted that and said that she vanished on January 14th, which would have been a Sunday. My guess from that is that she disappeared late on the 14th or early on the 15th. Since we're dealing with a Sunday night followed by a holiday Monday then certainly going out late wouldn't be unexpected from someone Reed's age.
Her vitals as per NamUs:
- 19 years old when she disappeared
- White female
- 5'2" to 5'3"
- 115 to 125 pounds
- Brown and curly hair
- Brown eyes
- Pierced ears
- Small brown mole on lower-left cheek
She was last known to be in Garland, Texas. The night she was last heard from, according to NamUs, she was going to The International House of Pancakes with two unidentified men. Her car was then found on a freeway ramp leading to her neighbourhood. That is a factor that suggests that she was abducted from her vehicle or that someone abducted her elsewhere and chose to place her vehicle there.
Personally, what I can't ignore is that the vehicle was found en route to her home. To me, that suggests that she drove it there and was abducted from it. If someone abducted her beforehand then I don't think that person would drive toward her home in her vehicle because that would be a risky move.
It may be difficult to picture how someone could be abducted from a vehicle, especially one that is moving. However, on the matter of women being abducted from vehicles, please consider my article called "Women With Car Troubles Go Missing" from February 14th, 2018. The article shows, with reference to historical cases, how an abductor is able to sabotage a woman's vehicle, follow her, and then gain her trust as a Johnny-on-the-spot mechanic that can help her. What should be noted is that it's possible to convince someone to pull over even when no car trouble exists for that person.
In regard to the men that Reed was meeting at the pancake house, websleuths should be aware of the name "Robert." The following clip is taken from the El Paso Times (March 24th, 1990; page 13).
Furthermore, Reed's case was mentioned in a September 6th, 1992 article in The Post-Crescent (page 2), a newspaper in Appleton, Wisconsin. This article mentions that the other male's name that Ashley Fuller Reed was going to meet was "Dave." This article says that Reed, "Dave," and "Robert" were going to meet in Dallas International House of Pancakes at 6pm on Jan. 14th, 1990.
One detail that websleuths should be aware of from this article is that her car was found with a dead battery. Furthermore, the article says that when the battery was recharged, the hazard lights came on. Her purse and keys were missing from the car.
Subjective opinion - My Guess
My guess is that Reed left the International House of Pancakes on her own and started to drive home. While doing this, she either perceived car troubles or someone falsely alerted her to contrived troubles with the vehicle. Reacting to this, maybe she put her hazards on and pulled over. Then, she could have met with a 'Good Samaritan' that was a wolf in sheep's clothes.Perhaps Reed turned the ignition off in her car with the hazard-light button still depressed, perhaps believing that she would get help and return to the car soon. The person that offered to help her may have instead abducted her. Meanwhile, the hazard lights would have flickered all night until they killed the battery. With the hazard-light button still depressed, when the battery was recharged the lights lit up.
Similar case(s) involving Texas White Females with Abandoned cars around 1990
These cases are not necessarily connected. However, I feel that they are good "food for thought."
1988 Susan Renee Smalley and Stacie Madison
Susan Renee Smalley (NamUs #MP989) went missing in 1988 along with Stacie Madison (#MP1487) in Carrollton, Texas. They were white females aged 18 and 17 respectively. Madison's car was found abandoned. The excerpt below is from the May 8th, 1988 Odessa American newspaper (page 13).
1991 Kristen Smith
The case of Kristen Smith (NamUs #MP8669) involves the disappearance of a white female in 1991 who was a similar age to Ashley Reed. Smith went missing from Beaumont, Texas. A significant point of similarity is that Smith's car was also found abandoned.
1992 Kelly Dae Wilson
Kelly Dae Wilson (NamUs #MP6816) went missing from Gilmer, Texas in January of 1992. Wilson is a white female who was 17 at the time of her disappearance. Her car was found abandoned (with a flat tire which police believe was slashed) as well and her keys were missing.
1992 Tara Suzette Breckenridge
 |
| Tara Breckenridge |
Tara Suzette Breckenridge (NamUs #MP914) went missing in August of 1992 from Houston, Texas. She was a white female, aged 23 years old. Her abandoned car was also found. I did find an individual named "Robert" associated with this case as a suspect but he would have been 15 at the time of Reed's disappearance (Del Rio News Herald/April 1st 1993/Page 1).
Please read the excerpt below, which was taken from the Del Rio News Herald (page 1) on August 15th, 1992.
The vehicle's alternator belt was missing according to NamUs. If it was broken down, then that would be one matter but the alternator belt to be missing means vehicle sabotage to me. That could mean that Tara excepted help from the Johnny-on-the-spot 'Good Samaritan' voluntarily, believing that he would help her.
1994 Jeanie Naomi Lofton
Jeanie Naomi Lofton (NamUs #MP8600) went missing in April of 1994 from Carthage, Texas (note: a newspaper article written in April 2002 called her "Jeanie Voiselle Lofton"). She was a 21-year old white female. The following excerpt is taken from the May 25th, 1994 article on Lofton in the Longview News-Journal. It states that her car was found abandoned.
In this case, Lofton left her home to run errands on April 2nd, 1994. One of her errands was to go to the Eckerd Drug Store in Carthage to get a prescription for her son's illness. She did complete this errand as his prescription was found in her car. The vehicle she drove was found parked and abandoned at a church (the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church). An eyewitness said he saw a "white Isuzu pickup pull into the church parking lot behind Lofton" (Page 3, April 2nd 1995 Longview News-Journal).
In this case, Lofton left her home to run errands on April 2nd, 1994. One of her errands was to go to the Eckerd Drug Store in Carthage to get a prescription for her son's illness. She did complete this errand as his prescription was found in her car. The vehicle she drove was found parked and abandoned at a church (the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church). An eyewitness said he saw a "white Isuzu pickup pull into the church parking lot behind Lofton" (Page 3, April 2nd 1995 Longview News-Journal).
That IHOP is in Mesquite, TX not Dallas as it is listed everywhere in regards to this case. Where her car was found is also Mesquite and not Dallas. Small details, yes, but they could make a huge difference in solving this case.
ReplyDeleteI read a book called murderers among us . Ashley's case was featured in the book.A man named Dave was waiting for her at a IHOP to go to a concert.She arrived a little late but dave told the waitress thats my date and left.They have a sketch of him.One detective theorized that they never went to the concert and dave murdered her and dumped her body in a gravel pit and headed back to the IHOP pulled car off the side of the road put the hazzards on and went back to his car and left.
ReplyDeleteWhere can he sketch be found?
Delete