The parents do not show deception nor guilty knowledge of what happened. What of the brother? His statements are concerning. The interview raises more questions than it answers.
The analysis may reveal why police are not sharing information with the family, as they may be suspicious of Clint Bobo's account.
JANE VELEZ MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Where is Holly Bobo? That is the question everybody`s been asking for months now.
Good evening, everyone, I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you again live from New York City.
And my very special guests tonight are Holly`s own frantic, devastated family. We are interviewing them exclusively tonight.
The beautiful 20-year-old went missing this past April. She was last seen being led away into the woods near her home by a man wearing camouflage. It all happened about 100 miles from Nashville in the small town of Parsons, Tennessee. Search crews and teams of volunteers scoured the area, while her desperate family begged for help and prayers.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight a possible break in the case. Police are now searching for this man, Victor George Wall, a registered sex offender that lived in nearby Clary County. They went looking for him when Holly went missing and he had disappeared.
With me tonight, an exclusive primetime interview with Holly`s mother Karen, her husband Dana and her brother Clint. Thank you all for being here. I know this has to be incredibly difficult for you.
We here at ISSUES want to help, maybe jog somebody`s memory, maybe encourage somebody to have the courage to come forward and tell what they know.
I have to start with Holly`s mom, Karen. Karen, what has life been like for you and your family since your precious daughter vanished?
K. BOBO: It`s just like a nightmare that you live over and over every day.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: How did you stay strong?
K. BOBO: With prayer and scripture, faith and hope.
Prayer first, Scripture (intellectual guidance), faith and hope. Note that hope comes last, which may be due to the time that has passed. The theme of "hope" stays a long time in family members who are innocent. A mother has a very difficult time giving up hope; with some mothers, even of deceased children, continuing to speak of the deceased in the present tense. Compare this statement with that of Wendell Noyes, a few days after Celina Cass, 11, went missing when he said, "the family is grieving" which indicated knowledge or belief of the child's death.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We want to help. That`s why we`re talking tonight. So let`s go over the timeline and then we`ll talk to Clint about what he saw because Clint, the brother is the last person to have seen Holly alive.
Holly Bobo was abducted from her home on April 13. A man in camouflage was seen leading her right into the woods. This was about 7:30 in the morning; she was headed to her nursing classes -- studying to be a nurse.
Three days later, April 16th, Holly`s lunch box is found near a creek, eight miles away from home. Investigators confirm there was also blood found near the home.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Clint, it was about 7:30 in the morning. Where were you? What vantage point and what did you see?
C. BOBO: I was asleep in my bedroom and I was awoken by the sounds of our house dog barking.
Note first person singular, past tense. Note the chronological order. This is important to observe and in truthful statements we will see it consistently through statements. Next note "our house dog" rather than "the dog" which shares ownership.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And what did you see?
C. BOBO: I saw the silhouette of two people in our garage. At the time I had no idea who either one of the people were. And then come to realize later that that was my sister and her abductor.
Note first person singular, past tense.
Note that "come to realize" is passive.
Note introduction of the word "silhouette".
Note that the initial reference is to "people" which does not acknowledge identification nor sex. Note the chronological order. Note the 2nd reference to "people" which is consistent, along with explanation: they were "people" because at the time, the identities were not known.
Note "my sister" is without Holly's name. Since her name has already been used, it is an acceptable social introduction. The "people" is sensitive (repetition) with obvious reason: they are the focus.
It is hard to believe that Clint would have had "no idea" who he saw in the garage. We have ideas about most everything, and it is hard to believe that Clint wouldn't have some idea about the identity of the two people at his home. Wouldn't he have panicked at the sight of two strangers in his home, if he truly had "no idea" who they were?
If he saw two people he had "no idea" of, would he first call his mother?
Clint doesn't say what made him later realize that one of the "people" was his sister. It is highly unlikely that he wouldn't recognize his sister, one of the most familiar people in his world, right away, when she was near him in the garage, and yet he was able to recognize her later, when she was farther away?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wait, in the garage?
You were -- how do you -- when you`re asleep -- I`m just trying to get a picture. You`re asleep and then how do you see what`s going on in the garage? Ok, the dog barks, you wake up. Are you on the same level -- it`s all one floor.
Note compound questions should be avoided as they allow the interviewee to pick and choose which question to answer.
C. BOBO: Right. Yes, we have a one story house?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you walk into the garage?
Note that leading questions, particularly this early in the interview, are not helpful in gathering information.
C. BOBO: No, I saw them from inside the house and they were outside the house in the garage.
First person, past tense account of what he saw, with no qualifiers. The repetition of "house" is noted. Here, he seems to need to emphasize where he was, and where they were.
Why?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They were in the garage or outside the garage?
C. BOBO: They were inside the garage.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok so as you watched, it was a man inside the garage with your sister and then what happens?
Note that Clint hasn't told us that his sister was with a man, he has only said "people" and "her abductor", it is the interviewer's assumption that the abductor was a man. This would come from prior reports, yet should be avoided to allow the interviewee to make identity.
C. BOBO: And then I got in touch with my mom and found out that Holly was supposed to be in school that morning and realized that that must have been her at the house and then I looked back out and saw Holly and a male walking towards the woods and that`s the last time I saw her.
This is an awkward statement.
When a sentence begins with "And" it indicates missing information. It could be because the interviewer interrupted and the interviewee seeks to continue.
Note that "I got in touch" is passive ("my mom" shows possessive pronoun, with "mom" which is familiar rather than mother). Why the passivity? How did he get in touch with his mother? Text? Call?
Why did he get in touch with his mother? If he saw two people that he had no idea of the identity, why call his mother?
Note that the "people" are now Holly and a "male", not a "man."
This statement should have raised questions by the interviewer. This phone call should be considered sensitive to Clint.
What caused him to contact his mother? How much time passed? If he suspected that it was his sister in the garage, why not ask her what she was doing, rather than call his mother for clarification on Holly's schedule? The call to the mother suggests that Clint was fearful of approaching the people in the garage, yet he has not said that there was anything wrong that morning nor does he mention calling 911 on the strangers.
If Clint learned from his mother that Holly was supposed to be in school that morning, why does he then assume that it was her that he saw walking toward the woods, when before when he saw her in the garage, he had "no idea" who it was?
This awkward answer raises more questions than it does answers. The answers may be simple and put the questions to rest, but without follow up, we do not know.
"And that's the last time I saw her" is like saying "no more questions". This could be due to strain, or it could be due to deception.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok, now, ok, is the garage attached to the house or is it a separate, detached garage?
C. BOBO: It`s attached to the house.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It is attached to the house.
C. BOBO: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying you were able to call your mom before they left the garage and after you called your mom you see them walking towards the woods?
An interviewer should seek to avoid introduction of new language. Although challenging, when new wording is introduced, it allows the subject to use the interviewer's language. It is especially important because we flag "call" or "phone call" as it is significant, as language, more than just as an event.
C. BOBO: Right. And I told my mom that once I realized it was Holly, I said well, Holly and Drew which is her boyfriend were out in the garage talking.
Note that "is" is in the present tense.
"told" is strong.
Drew, which is her boyfriend" is good social introduction, which would indicate that at that time, the brother and boyfriend probably got along, or, at least, did not have issues at that time.
Clint still hasn't said what made him realize it was Holly he saw, and this would have been a good follow up question for the interviewer to ask.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So where did you find the blood?
C. BOBO: It was in the garage, under where I saw the silhouette of them kneeled down in the garage.
This is the first time Clint has told us that they were kneeling. Clint said that he assumed Holly was talking to Drew in the garage, which doesn't explain why they were kneeling. One possible answer to this is that they were praying, but Clint has not told us this, nor has he said that he could hear them talking.
Note that Clint doesn't say he saw Holly and the male kneeled down, but that he saw the silhouette of them kneeled down. Under appears to be an extra word here and Clint doesn't say that the blood was on the floor of the garage, only that it was under where he saw the silhouette.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: When you saw them kneeling down did you think to ask them or approach them? How far away were you?
C. BOBO: No, I assumed -- I was inside the house and I assumed that that was Holly and her boyfriend Drew and he was dressed in full camouflage so I thought that Drew had been to the woods and killed a turkey and brought it back to the house and the two were sitting there over the turkey talking. After I saw the blood, I thought that was blood of a turkey that Drew had killed.
Note sensitivity associated with blood by the repetition used, including turkey and "killed."
Since he had already introduced Drew as her boyfriend, it should be noted that he does so again. This is indicative of sensitivity within Clint regarding Drew.
Again, it is strange that Clint is able to describe specific actions and an activity that thee two were doing, yet he had "no idea" who they were until he talked with his mother and they were no longer in the garage.
Note that he now says "sitting" and not "kneeling" without questioning to learn what caused the change.
Change of language should be justified by the context; if not, it may indicate deception.
This could be deceptive and would need follow up questions to verify. If he thought this was Holly and Drew, why would he not go out and talk to them and see about the turkey kill?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did you see the turkey? Or there was no turkey.
C. BOBO: No, it was gone.
Note "it was gone" as if "it" existed; not that he learned that there was no turkey. This is very concerning.
This appears to either affirm or agree that there was a turkey. How could "it be gone" if this was a kidnapping and not turkey hunting? This should have led to questions about hunting, turkey hunting, time of day and even questions into accidental shooting of Holly during hunting.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you thought they had done that when you initially saw them, but you hadn`t seen the blood yet?
C. BOBO: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So --
C. BOBO: Didn`t see it until later.
Note missing pronoun. A missing pronoun shows distance from the topic.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now I want to go to Holly Bobo`s father, Mr. Bobo, your daughter`s lunch pack or lunch bag was found eight miles away in the woods. What about the blood? Have authorities told you that the blood is that of your daughter? And what do you make of the lunch pack being found eight miles away?
Note that here she asks 3 questions. Compound questions put the focus upon the interviewer, and are not useful for gathering information.
D. BOBO: Yes, they did tell us -- after a few weeks they did tell us that that blood did belong to our daughter. And as far as the lunch bag found that far away and some more stuff, I believe that was just more likely thrown out for a decoy. Might be to lead them away from where that really went, maybe.
"they did tell us"; that is, information from the officials, is sensitive to the subject.
Note that "our" daughter is acceptable if he is speaking for himself and his wife.
Holly's father speculates about the lunch box, and offers what he thinks and why, which is typical for a parent of a missing child who was gone over and over the incident in their mind.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, I want to talk about this person who`s a sex offender who`s missing. I understand, Clint, you said that the man you saw leading Holly into the woods was about 6 feet tall and about 200 pounds. Here`s the problem, Victor George Wall, this sex offender who`s disappeared is only 5`5 and 130 pounds. So what are your thoughts on that, Clint?
C. BOBO: Well, I stated originally and never wavered from the description of the man being approximately 5`10 and 200 pounds.
Note that the self reference puts the subject on the defensive. He is likely aware of questions that some may have about him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, Karen, do you think that this sex offender might be involved or does he not fit the description?
K. BOBO: No, I don`t think he fits the description.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What are the police or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation -- what are authorities telling you?
K. BOBO: The way I understand it, it`s a Tennessee law that actually the TBI doesn`t have to share any information with you as long as the case is ongoing, so we don`t receive much information at all.
This may indicate the family's sensitivity towards being told and being given information.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I know that there were enormous searches. I mean the good people of your area and you are just a very, very loved family in this area, people went door-to-door, you see them here on these vehicles. There were searches with dogs. There were searches with people on horseback. There were searches with helicopters, there were grid searches.
Did anything else turn up, Dana? Because I had heard that there were some other tiny pieces of evidence that may have turned up. What do you know about that, Dana?
D. BOBO: There were several small pieces that had been found by searchers, local people here in Parsons.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did they find, Karen?
K. BOBO: We`re not really sure. They don`t share that information with us. And actually mainly when we hear things like that, none of those -- none of those things have been confirmed. That`s just searchers that have found things and have told us that they have found things. But whether or not those are actually Holly`s things, none of that`s actually been confirmed.
Note consistent use of pronoun
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What a beautiful young lady with her life ahead of her. And a home body, a shy, a good student, studying to be a nurse. On the other side of the break, we`re going to continue to talk to Holly`s devastated family and hear from her mom who`s going to issue a plea for anybody who knows any information, stay right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HELM: We are trying to develop a suspect, of course. We have reason to believe that that suspect is probably from this community. It`s a small community, tight knit, where people know each other.
(clip)
K. BOBO: I love you so much. Please try to get home to us and if anybody knows anything about her, please, please help us find her. She`s just so precious, you just don`t even know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That poor woman, what she has been through since April when her daughter disappeared. And we are very honored to have her on tonight as we try to get some solutions, find out what happened.
Karen, tell us about Holly.
K. BOBO: Holly is -- she`s just, I guess, basically your typical 20- year-old. She was in nursing school and quiet, shy, and unless she was in her comfort zone around her friends; loves being outside, riding four wheelers and pretty much a home body. Loved doing things with her family; Sunday was always our day, go to church and have Sunday lunch together and then sometimes a movie or ride four wheelers or something like that. We were together all day long usually on Sunday.
Holly's mother switches from past to present tense, suggestive of her inner struggle of what the evidence says, the amount of time that has passed, and a mother's hope that Holly is still alive. Some of her uses of past tense are appropriate and not suggestive of knowledge of death- Holly was in nursing school, but she is no longer enrolled in classes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It must be disturbing to you to go about your life knowing that authorities believe that somebody in your community is responsible for taking her. They say that this area is heavily wooded. That a stranger could not navigate it; that it has to be someone who knows their way around it. How does that impact you, your daily life going about your daily life?
K. BOBO: Every day we get out and do things; pass out flyers, talk to people in the community. You know, someone saw something and someone knows something. And we`re asking them to please come forward with that information because somebody knows something.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Speak from the heart. What would you tell somebody who is holding back?
K. BOBO: Please come forward, because there are four of us in our family and one of us is missing. And, you know, if it was someone in your family, you would want -- if someone knows something, they need to tell us so that we can get Holly home where she belongs.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You have suffered so much.
In terms of this lack of resolution, you say that law enforcement hasn`t told you much, but have they eliminated people as persons of interest? Have they said, well, we can put this person aside, we can put that person aside? We know that -- I believe, that they have said that -- it`s not her boyfriend. She had no enemies per se. Tell us what do you know about any of that?
K. BOBO: I`m sure there are people that they have been able to rule out, but of course we don`t know those people. They don`t tell us their names. Of course, none of us are suspects or ever have been and neither has her boyfriend and that`s pretty much all we know. I`m sure they have ruled people out, but we don`t know who those people are.
The family is frustrated by the lack of information given to them. It may be that if the investigators have suspicions about Clint, they are withholding information from the family.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you frustrated, Karen?
K. BOBO: Of course, you know, it`s almost four months and so we still don`t have Holly. So, yes, it`s very frustrating.
Her focus is on Holly, not on information, donations, searches or the media.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now I`m still trying to understand exactly --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tell me that. Tell me what you were going to say?
K. BOBO: I said it`s just a daily nightmare that you live over and over every day.
It is a nightmare that you live every day, as Karen distances the nightmare from herself and her family. It is a natural distancing which causes us to flag any time she uses the first person singular as very strong, and important.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Does it get any easier?
K. BOBO: No.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It gets more difficult I`m sure.
K. BOBO: It gets more difficult each day it goes on.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, my gosh. How can you withstand that? Prayer I guess, not knowing. The worst part is not knowing.
Clint, I want to get back to you, you were the last person to see your sister alive. You say you saw this guy, a big, tall, 6-foot guy, 200 pounds approximately, in your garage with your sister. They`re leaning down and you think they`re looking at a turkey that they`ve killed. But there is no turkey there.
And then, you say you go to call your mom, and then you see him leaving through the woods -- him leading her into the woods?
C. BOBO: Well, the information that has come, as far as leading, I saw the two walking towards the woods, there was no leading, there was no dragging. They just looked like they were casually walking towards the woods. And it wasn`t until later they realized that my sister went to the woods in fear for her life. That she must have been threatened with a weapon.
"has come" is passive; information doesn't passively come to someone, it is searched for, and exchanged between sources. This may be because police have not shared information with the family.
"the two" refers to a specific pair of people, but withholds identity.
Clint answers the interviewer's question about leading, then introduces another term, "dragging" into the conversation, and he does so in the negative. It could be that dragging was once discussed, or that Clint has been questioned about it.
"they realized" tells us what other people thought. It also suggests that it was something that Clint knew, but others didn't realize until later. Compare this to Clint's description of the two people "casually" walking toward the woods, and it makes us wonder what Clint saw and what was realized later.
Clint does believe that his sister went into the woods in fear of her life. How does he know this? Does he know it strictly from newspaper articles? his parents?
Or, does he know from a different source. This is concerning.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you called your mom in between when you saw them in the garage and when they walked out into the woods? Why did you do that?
C. BOBO: I spoke with mom -- I spoke with mom initially to find out who the people -- I heard two voices outside our house and I called mom to try to find out who these people were outside our house. But I had no idea who they were.
This is the most confusing part of Clint's interview. Why would he call his mother, who wasn't there, to find out the identity of the two people who were there? And why, when he learned that his sister was scheduled to be at school, would he then think that it was his sister in the garage?
Now Clint tells us that he heard two voices, not that he saw two people. This is a change in his account about that morning.
Clint repeats that he had "no idea" who the people were.
When someone says they have "no idea" often a bit of prompting gets them to speak. Sometimes it is a habit used when someone does not want to talk. Rarely is it truthful or accurate. It can be a lazy mind, it can be a reluctant mind, it can be withheld information, but whatever it is, it should not be accepted as an answer.
He had some idea who they were, he could hear their voices and earlier stated that he saw them, or their silhouettes. These things must have given him some idea as to who was there, including gender.
Clint states that the voices were "outside our house" and not in the garage. Everyone has an internal dictionary and it would have been helpful for the police to determine what Clint's definition of the "house" was; did it include the garage?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, you`re saying they. We`re going to get to more on the other side.
Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. BOBO: It might have been somebody close, someone that kind of knew our routine. When I left, when she left, when my daughter left to go to school; what I have in my mind -- but I don`t know that to be true.
Holly's father's language is suggestive of a parent who has gone over and over the scenario in his mind, looking for answers or a way to explain what happened.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Karen, there is a reward. Tell us about the reward.
K. BOBO: We have a reward of $85,000 and $50,000 was given by the governor of Tennessee, and -- that`s for any information leading to --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Have you heard anything? Do you have any theories? What do you, Karen, think happened?
K. BOBO: I have absolutely no idea who or why anyone would want to do this.
The sensitivity suggests that she has, painfully, considered possibilities, coming down to the why someone would "want" to do this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Nothing? I mean, four months has passed. You have looked everywhere; there`s been searches. I`m sure that they probably interviewed everybody -- there`s only 2,500 people in the whole community. They have not come up with any leads, is that what you`re telling me?
K. BOBO: I`m not sure about that. Like I said, you know, that will have to be answered by the authorities.
It must be frustrating for the family of a missing child to have no answers from the authorities. It likely causes strain between Clint and his parents.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But they`re not talking to you?
K. BOBO: Yes, they -- they talk to us, it`s just they can`t share any information pretty much about the case, as long as the case is ongoing. I know they`re working hard, but, of course, to a mom, it`s not hard enough because nearly four months into it, we still don`t have Holly.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did the blood trail lead anywhere?
K. BOBO: No.
C. BOBO: The trail in the woods leads to a logging road.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s a logging road, is that what you said?
C. BOBO: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So she goes into this logging road, and then eight miles away her lunch pail shows up. What do you make of that, Karen? What do you make of the lunch pail showing up eight miles away from the home? That`s a long distance to walk, that would have to involve some kind of vehicle, I would think. Do they have any vehicle they`re looking for, Karen?
K. BOBO: As far as I know, if they do, I`m not sure what kind of vehicle that is. But, yes, I do believe a vehicle was involved.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you would think that where they found the lunch pail, they would have some kind of tire tracks or something. What about -- her cell phone was left at home?
K. BOBO: No, she had her cell phone with her.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did they ever find it?
K. BOBO: I`m not sure about that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Have they been able to track it, the pings?
K. BOBO: I`m not sure about any of that?
This may be Tennessee LE's policy regarding active investigations, but it seems strange that the parents wouldn't be told if Holly's cell phone had been recovered, or used.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re going to stay on top of this. We`re going to call law enforcement. Our hearts go out to you. Thank you, Bobo Family.
Based upon this interview, the police need to re-interview Clint Bobo with specific questions about his account.
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