It was a balmy afternoon when teenager Chelsea King went for a run in Rancho Bernardo Community Park in San Diego – Thursday of last week. After four days of extensive searching the region where King’s family located her car and her parents are still no closer to bringing their High School honor student home.
The story is sad. Friends and family giving heartfelt pleas for the safe return of Chelsea, reporters clamoring for more details about evidence collected and frustrated search and rescue workers still coming up empty handed and officials are still no closer to finding the 17-year-old- girl.
The reality of this story starts with another sexual predator, John Albert Gardner III, 30, a registered sex offender who was supposed to be living in Lake Elsinore, however, he was arrested Sunday at Hernandez Hide-a-Way restaurant and is being held on suspicion of rape and murder.
Late-breaking news ties Gardner to another attack in the same park that took place on December 27, 2009. The victim was a female jogger who successfully fought off Gardner and ran for help at nearby homes.
Sheriff spokesperson Jan Caldwell, was reluctant to give any details on the connection of the two separate crimes at an afternoon press conference. “Our job now is to find Chelsea and bring her home.”
After authorities garnered a positive identification of Gardner for the December sexual assault case, the hopes of finding the teenager alive dwindled with each passing hour.
Concerned residents lined the park closely watching the helicopters, divers and search and rescue team pick through the weeds and brush looking for any clues that could lead to Chelsea’s whereabouts.
From the south end of the park neighbors watched FBI agents photograph a rocky embankment near the Community Park’s waterfall for more than four hours. The secluded cove below the waterfall was scoured by police watercraft. The Sheriff’s Department still believes the victim may have been dumped in Lake Hodges.
Most disturbing to residents is the fact Gardner, a registered sex offender was living with his mother who lives less than a mile from the crime scene. Gardner was also a frequent customer at the corner Circle K, the store clerk said. “He seemed normal.”
There was no reassurance from area residents that a registered sex offender was arrested for the alleged rape and murder. “We can never be safe in the park again, the police can’t protect us,” Martha Gerber said.
In 2000 Gardner was convicted of sexually molesting a 13-year-old neighbor. He went to prison for five years and successfully completed his parole in 2008. There have been numerous reports that once Gardner returned to the community he may have resumed his unlawful sexual advances on many different women.
Connecting the dots with Chelsea’s disappearance may answer some lingering questions regarding another 14-year-old Escondido girl who disappeared from home.
It’s been just over a year since the other teenager; Amber Dubois vanished on her way to school. According to Escondido Police Lt. Bob Benton, they have seen similarities between the victims, Chelsea and Amber.
"After spending the day near the lake and speaking to local residents, it is clear that there are many dangers on the trails near the lake. It appears that Chelsea and her family were never made aware of those dangers. Considering the attack on a young female jogger near the lake in late December, Chelsea should have never been out there jogging alone. It was not safe," said Jeff Schwilk, founder of the San Diego Minutemen, whose volunteer group has been assisting in the search for Chelsea King.
Authorities have their work cut out for them if Chelsea or Amber are never found. For now the hundreds of investigators and family members remain hopeful that the girls will return home safe some day.
For more stories; http://www.examiner.com/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner
Comments
Let's hope for the best results in the search for Chelsea King. But this situation raises many questions that will need to be answered at the right time.
We will continue to read tragic stories like this until we realize that it is nore important to protect the public rather than the criminals. Too many people want the criminals to be given another chance, they can rehabilitated, they had a rough upbringing. Enough already. Lock them up for life or in the case of murder bring swift capitol punishment. If a pedophile that harmed one of my kids was ever let back out on the street, I would take care of business myself.
It is sad that our laws don’t feel there is a difference between the heinous act of a child or stranger predator and that of a date rape where most likely the man just lost control and failed to listen. These predators hunt and eventually kill. Is it that the lake is unsafe? No. It can happen anywhere or anytime. Or is it that our laws fail to address these heinous acts as being as heinous as murder? Yes. If you were to ask the prisoners in the general population (who these predators are protected from in prison), even these hardened criminals would say it’s more heinous than murder. This young lady would not have run across this predator if our laws distinguished these differences and I am deeply saddened the police's quick response haven't found her yet. I still have deep ties to Poway and I feel the searing pain of this community. As a mom I pray for a miracle.
The SD police failed once again to finish the job. They didn't notify the local residents, or even bother to find this guy once they had their sketch of the attacker. Couldn't they at least post a notice at this park? I used to live in SD, and recall the many murderers, attackers that they could just never catch. Pathetic. I hope they and the judge who released this scum early, can sleep well at night. More importantly, these offenders NEVER get better, they get more deranged and their crimes escalate beyond the attack. They start killing. Life sentences must be mandatory for all of these offenders, given the staggering amount of proof that they become more dangerous post release, and that the parole officers (remember Garrido anyone?) don't do their job in monitoring these scumbags once they're released. Unbelievably tragic and sad that Chelsea could have been saved. My prayers go out to the family.
It is clear to me that SDPD and the SD sheriffs failed to protect the citizens of San Diego from all the criminals that use this park for their deviant crimes. Bill Gore should be fired for this failure to warn Chelsea and her family and all visitors to the park of the dangers there. If a mountain lion had been seen in the past 10 years, a sign would be posted, but when Gardner attacked another young jogger on Dec. 27, LE just kept that quiet (wouldn't want to scare the tourists).
My mind is made up, I'm supporting Jay LaSuer for sheriff. Gore has got to go! No more senseless, preventable tragedies! We need strong enforcement of our laws.
Parks in SD City Limits (at least in Rancho Penasquitos) have warnings for 'Rattlesnakes' why wasn't there a warning to let trail users know that an assault had taken place there in Dec 2009? Blame for that lapse in warning can only be put on the City of San Diego and Law Enforcement. But you can never be too safe, people need to take steps to protect themselves.
As I continue to pray for Chelsea and her family, my mind heads to our justice system especially our Judicial system in Liberal California. It's time for CHELSEA's LAW. Anyone caught re- offending is sent back for life sentence and those who let them out ie, the lawyers,judges, should also pay a large penalty.
Time to let out the illegal aliens in our prison system, send them back to their home country, and put back those who are like this Gardner guy, ( They Circle K clerk said " he looked normal" We need to tell our Congressmen and congresswomen to put these people back in and never to be let out to harm society. What is normal to us out here, is not normal to them. These guys' idea of 'normal' is what we call perverted. They have not feelings. Similar to a ferral cat! Crazy!
thank God for the DNA tests and technology including all the people who got on this story right away last week. We all make a difference and it only takes one person , and then another and soon we have many
Instead of letting these degenerates out, give them life on a chain-gang. Same with illegals.
To Carmen ,,,, Are you out of your mind ?? Let the Illegals here out of jail and send them back !! They did that with the monster that killed my daughter Amy after he came back to this country for the 5th time and chose to drink and drive again.Let's not let them go because they will come back and harm again. Lock them up forever or better yet, let the victims loved ones carry out their justice. We'll get it right the first time !!! No need for some judge to sit back and let them kill again. And as for your feral cat reference,lets give the cat some credit. One can live with a feral cat but one cannot live with murderers...
Unfortunately, the police cannot protect us from predators like John Gardner. Predators and stalkers are stopped in one of two ways: they are sent to prison or they are killed in self defense. By all means, send them to prison for longer terms, old enough to be "the stalker with the walker". Unfortunately, that can only happen after at least one victim. Like it or not, and I don't like it, we need to get comfortable with the second alternative, killing in lawful self defense. Look at the guy's picture. How many women have a neck that thick? Never happen. He could throttle a woman's little neck in seconds. But not if she has a gun and the skill to use it. BTW, nothing against guys with thick necks...I can't button an 18 1/2.
The Escondido PD needs to be completely gutted. Everyone needs to go. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. They labeled Amber a run away. They did not take citizen concerns about Gardner leering at female HS runners at Jesmond Dene Park seriously. I heard something about an incident at Kit Carson Park as well. HOW MANY *&$% UPS DOES IT TAKE FOR EPD TO LEARN??? I thought the whole Stephanie Crowe debacle was a wake up call...apparently I was wrong. Gardner committed the crime...but Escondido PD (and arguably the SD Sheriffs Office) allowed this guy to run around, stalking young girls and waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce. I am devastated for the King family and hope the Dubois family finds Amber soon.
Please join Facebook Group "Chelsea's Law". We will fight to keep predators off the street.
Richard G-good post. Just about every government in the world has been co-opted, subverted, corrupted or bought. It's rotten to the core all over. The situation calls for self-defense and defense of others.
Ms. Dvorak, you're a degenerate. What kind of expertise does an anti-immigrant hate group leader have about this type of crime? Wait. Is it because of his record of abuse against women? That makes him an expert according to you?
Using this terrible event as an excuse to let in your hate filled friends have their say is an indecency. I can't wait for the Examiner to let you go.
Not anti-immigrant. No other country "owns" part of the US. Treaty that ended the war, 1848. Become an American, say no to gangs.
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