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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Forecast says air quality could worsen in Rogue Valley 10 things to know for Wednesday Police Reports December Student of the Month: Theo Whitcomb Plans call for removing some trails, adding others Education In the new year, be sure you have your 'ICE' file ready Walker students show creative chops at Invention Convention Teacher's Tips: Second — and third — chances are there for students For a friend: AHS seniors team up to help former fellow student Ashland builds a bridge across the STEM gap Environment New TAP pumps bolster Ashland's options Most residents speak against gas pipeline proposed for Southern Oregon Home Help: Make your new house feel like home Business Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Ride & Drive: 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Silvio Calabi: Infiniti Q50 offers business-class driving Looking for crown's halo Silvio Calabi: GLA250 is a Merc for the masses Politics and elections State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Local rep to testify before U.S. Senate panel Tuesday State News Police officer shoots armed driver near Reedsport Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Obituaries Death Notices Death Notices Death Notices Charlene Mae Death Notices Shareable Looking back: Do you remember 2014’s biggest stories? 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ASHLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT Evidence supports runaway theory, officer tells crowd Deputy chief answers questions from dozens concerned about missing teens' welfare; they're urging more aggressive investigation Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 6:29 pm Updated Dec 29, 2014 at 11:57 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 6:29 pm Updated Dec 29, 2014 at 11:57 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Missing girl's family, friends, want more info from police • Friends and family renew push to find missing Ashland teen • Friends hope for teen's safe return • Vigil planned for Ashland girl who's been missing since N... • One of two missing Ashland girls found in Northern Califo... • Two missing Ashland teens planned to run away, police say • Help sought finding missing juvenile » Social News In a seemingly unprecedented mass grilling of an Ashland Police Department officer by 40 members of the community, Deputy Chief Tighe O’Meara on Monday said investigators have phone records, comments of credible witnesses and other evidence they can’t reveal, all of which strongly indicate that the missing teen Hannah Thomas-Garner planned to run away from a Nov. 30 party and head down into California — and did just that. The group of citizens behind the loosely organized Bring Hannah Home group called for a meeting on the police department steps, posing five written questions about the case — which O’Meara answered — then opened the questioning to an impatient public, who demanded police investigate the disappearance as a crime and work more aggressively on it. The citizen group had to cancel a Sunday search of hilly country on Dead Indian Memorial Road because of snow, but when they demanded Ashland Police search the area with dogs, O’Meara said he’d just talked to Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies and they planned to do exactly that within hours. The search would include “cadaver dogs,” he said. No results were reported by 5 p.m. Monday. Asked by Bring Hannah Home organizer Amy Couture if police had any evidence indicating Thomas-Garner is still alive, O’Meara responded, “I understand your concern. It’s very touching ... but we still feel very strongly, based on evidence ... that she did make it to Northern California” and hitchhiked from Mt. Shasta to Dunsmuir. Thomas-Garner planned to run away with classmate Sylvia Davis, but changed her mind, said O’Meara. Davis was found as a runaway in Humboldt County, with two adult males. These men know Thomas-Garner, he said, adding that Thomas-Garner had asked to run away with Davis and one of the men, Andrew Thibert, 19, in his vehicle, but he said no. O’Meara said Ashland Police did classify Thomas-Garner as an “endangered missing person” based on “alarm” raised by her bashed-in car and the possible “jeopardy” she could be in because of the “type of crowd she’s likely to mingle with.” Couture privately gave O’Meara a Facebook page indicating one of the men Davis was found with worked at a pizza joint at the Mt. Shasta freeway interchange where the girl’s car was found. O’Meara said that was “curious, but I don’t know if that suggests anything. I’ll look into it.” Police did a “cursory search” of the party area, interviewed many of the high schoolers at the party, scanned their cell phone evidence, processed Thomas-Garner’s bashed-up car for DNA and hair samples, but will not send the samples to Oregon State Police labs for processing unless the event is considered a crime. He stressed it’s a myth from TV that such samples can be analyzed in 45 minutes. The reality, based on past experience, is that it can take more than a year, he said. If the evidence is from California, it goes to their labs and takes even longer.  Another citizen group organizer, Susanne Severeid, whose son is a classmate of the girl, asked, “You’ve collected evidence but you don’t know what it says?” O’Meara replied that was the case. She asked if the FBI had helped on the case. He replied that they’d called but won’t be involved unless evidence points to a crime.  Police don’t credit “emotionally charged” third-party information from uninvolved witnesses, O’Meara said, adding they base their judgements mainly on information “that could only have come from Hannah’s mouth.” He said Thomas-Garner’s credit cards were left at home, so they’ve left no tracks. About the SIM card missing from her cell phone (the phone was found in her car), O’Meara said he believes Thomas-Garner took it. If so, this would support the runaway situation. O’Meara said a SIM card can be popped in a different cell phone, bringing up the original phone number for the new phone to run, but that police don’t believe she did that, as it would be easy to track. O’Meara repeatedly said police must “protect investigative integrity” and don’t reveal information that, if made public, would hamper their ability to “see if a witness knows anything.” After Severeid began a question with, “Can you sit back comfortably in your chair ...,” O’Meara answered her question, then added, “We’re all concerned and all we can do is being done ... way above and beyond,” in large part because of the big community response — and, he noted, “that was an unnecessarily antagonistic way of phrasing that question.”  After 45 minutes in a light, near-freezing drizzle, in shirtsleeves, O’Meara, who had worked all night, said concerned citizens can find all new information posted on the APD website ( http://bit.ly/apdmedia ).  — Reach Ashland freelance writer John Darling at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 6:29 pm Updated Dec 29, 2014 at 11:57 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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