33 Year Old Leanne Hecht Bearden Missing Since 1/17/14 in Garden Ridge, TX … Reportedly Went for a Walk from In-Laws Home (MAP) (Update: Authorities Call off Searches)(Update: Did Leanne Bearden Leave on Her Own?) (Update: Leanne Hecht Bearden Found Deceased, Apparent Suicide)
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33 year old Leanne Hecht Bearden has been missing since January 17, 2014 in Garden Ridge, Texas. Leanne’s family says that was last seen when she went to go for a walk on Friday afternoon around 1:00 pm in the Garden Ridge area (map). She said that she would be right back and has never been seen nor heard from again. The Denver, Colorado woman who had traveled the world with her husband was supposed to return home Tuesday; however, instead, she has disappeared in Texas. So how does a woman go missing after going for a walk from her in-laws home, who had just gone on a 56 country excursion with her husband, Josh Bearden, for the past two years?
She is 5-foot-2, weighs about 100 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. She has two piercings on her left ear: one on the bottom and a small loop at the top. She was last seen wearing jeans and hiking shoes.
Friends and family of Leanne Hecht Bearden say that she did not just walk away. According to accounts, Leanne and Josh Bearden were scheduled on Monday to go back to Denver, where they had job interviews lined up. Also according to reports, Leanne Bearden and her husband were the only people in the house around 1 p.m. Friday. Leanne did not take her cellphone or any electronic devices and had $60 in cash at most (VIDEO). She had her wallet with credit cards; however, they have not been used.
Leanne and Josh Bearden were scheduled on Monday to go back to Denver, where they had job interviews lined up, Sculley said. They were renting their house there through an agency and were planning to take it over in May, Sculley said.
Leanne Bearden was having some difficulties adjusting after the worldwide excursion, according to her sister-in-law.
“It was kind of a hard transition for her, so she’s having some anxiety about it, but nothing that seemed like she was just going to run off,” Sculley said.
The Beardens blogged during their trip around the world at www.goexplore365.com. They met at a bar, got engaged after eight months of dating and were married at the Denver Zoo, according to the blog. Leanne Bearden has run nine marathons, was in a band before the trip and can do an Elmo impression, the blog says.
Leanne Bearden and her husband were the only people in the house around 1 p.m. Friday when she said she was going for a walk, Sculley said. Josh Bearden called police four hours later to report his wife had not returned, Sculley said.
Family members said she did not take her cellphone or any electronic devices and had $60 in cash at most. She had her wallet with credit cards but has not used them, according to her husband, who has been checking. Leanne Bearden also had her wedding and engagement rings when she left, family members said.
FACEBOOK: Our Friend Leanne Hecht Bearden.
FACEBOOK – Husband Josh Bearden
FACEBOOK – Leanne Hecht Bearden
UPDATE I: Search for missing Leanne Hecht Bearden turns up no new evidence.
Searchers scoured a 23-square-mile area — far larger than tiny, 6-square-mile Garden Ridge. More than 100 volunteers from Texas Search and Rescue and the Texas State Guard Maritime Regiment joined the massive search, as did roughly four dozen law enforcement officials from Comal County, the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers and the FBI, among other agencies.
At the conclusion to an “exhaustive search” Saturday for Leanne Hecht Bearden, officials announced they found no evidence a crime had been committed in the area where she was last seen Jan. 17 and would end search efforts.
“We have exhausted the area surrounding our city and we will continue to follow all leads and watch for anything that might lead us to a positive result in finding Mrs. Bearden,” said Garden Ridge Police Chief Donna O’Conner. “The investigation leads us to believe, at this point, we have cleared any leads that might lead us to believe it is a crime committed in the immediate area when she walked off.”
The massive search and rescue effort was launched Saturday morning, as local law enforcement officials enlisted help from agencies across the state to find Bearden, who went for a walk eight days ago and never returned.
UPDATE II: Statement from Leanne’s Family.
As you can imagine, we are disappointed that today’s extensive search of the Garden Ridge area failed to lead to give us any more information as to Leanne’s whereabouts. On the other hand, the fact that she was not found encourages us to believe that she still survives and will eventually be reunited with us. We still do not know what happened to her once she began her walk from the Bearden home in Garden Ridge. We also encourage anyone who might have any information about her location to contact the Garden Ridge police at 210-651-6441 or their local police department. (more)
UPDATE III: Map of the area where Leanne Hecht Bearden went missing from.
UPDATE IV: Police Say Witness Saw Bearden leave the home January 17, they interviewed that man and verified the time she left the home by herself.
There is a quarry nearby as can be seen in the map search above. Maybe divers are needed, if they have not already done so, or side scan sonar.
A man trimming trees across the street reportedly saw Bearden leave the home January 17. Garden Ridge police say they interviewed that man and verified the time she left the home by herself, and that everything appeared fine.
“We just don’t know,” said Leanne’s father-in-law. “We will stick with what we know until we know something differently. And what we know is she walked out of the driveway and walked up the street and that’s all we know.”
Many of the Bearden’s friends have put their own lives on hold to help search. There is a quarry nearby, and several wooded areas.
UPDATE V: Texas authorities call off search for missing woman, husband vows to keep looking.
A person matching the description of 33-year-old Leanne Bearden was seen in the Houston area, according to a Facebook page set up by her friends.
On Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported that the Houston Police Department had ruled out the woman thought to be Bearden.
UPDATE VII: Family: ‘Strong possibility’ missing woman left on her own.
After two weeks of fruitless searching for Leanne Hecht Bearden, her family says evidence suggests “a strong possibility” that she disappeared on her own Jan. 17 from the Garden Ridge home of her in-laws.
That conclusion is based on accounts that Bearden, 33, was troubled before leaving the residence and on two reported sightings of her walking along FM 3009 toward Interstate 35 soon afterward.
UPDATE VIII: 33 year old Leanne Hecht Bearden found deceased, apparent suicide.
For more updates, read others opinions and analysis and to provide your own, go to Scared Monkeys Missing Persons Forum: Leanne Hecht Bearden.
If you have seen Leanne Hecht Bearden or have any information about her disappearance, please immediately contact the Comal County Sheriff’s Office at 830-620-3400. Garden Ridge Police Department at 210 651 6441 or e-mail police@ci.garden-ridge.tx.us. You may also contact Comal County Crime Stoppers at 830-620-TIPS(8477) or 800-640-8422. For web or text tips follow instructions at http://comalcrimestoppers.org/
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