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| 2005 Hill , Starr, 05/18/05 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 9 2006, 09:02 AM (360 Views) | |
| PorchlightUSA | Jul 9 2006, 09:02 AM Post #1 |
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http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hill_starr.html![]() FAMILY OF MISSING LAKE COUNTY WOMAN LOSING HOPE: FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED IN DISAPPEARANCE AFTER MARITAL FIGHT 5 MONTHS AGO Published on October 15, 2005 © 2005- The Press Democrat BYLINE: GLENDA ANDERSON THE PRESS DEMOCRAT PAGE: B1 Five months ago, Starr Hill vanished from her Lake County home after a fight with her husband, leaving behind a distraught family and suspicions of foul play. ``She's not alive,'' said her mother, Leona Schneider, sobbing. The 83-year-old Auburn woman said all she and other family members can think about is Hill, a 47-year-old former bartender with wavy brown hair and a ready smile. ``I have no life. Every time the phone rings, I think it's going to be about her,'' Schneider said. Spurred by a daughter who left her job to pursue the case and a rare press conference by Lake County Sheriff Rod Mitchell, the mystery has grabbed the attention of news media from across Northern California. Interest in the case spiked with the refusal of the missing woman's husband to cooperate with police. If Hill stormed off after arguing with her husband May 18, it wouldn't have been the first time. She'd left him for as long as two weeks at a time on eight occasions during the seven years of their stormy marriage, Schneider said. But she always phoned her mother and grown children to let them know where she was and that she was all right, said April Robinson, one of her two daughters. ``I would say we talked three to five times a day,'' she said. This time, there were no calls and her credit cards have not been used, said Sheriff Mitchell. The cell phone Hill always carried with her was found discarded near a Lake County vineyard this week. Robinson said it was she who insisted on reporting her mother missing three days after Curtis Hill said she walked away from their secluded home on 38 wooded acres near Middletown. ``He was trying to discourage me,'' Robinson said of Curtis Hill. ``He was saying she does this to me all the time.'' Starr Hill, who has lived in Lake County for 30 years, was well known and would have been noticed had she walked the four miles between her house and Middletown, Robinson said. Robinson said Curtis Hill told her his wife was on foot because he'd disabled her car to keep her from driving drunk, something he'd done before. After months of anxious waiting, Schneider and Robinson said their only hope now is that Starr Hill's body will be recovered and her killer prosecuted. There are no suspects in the case because there is no body and insufficient evidence a crime has been committed, Mitchell said. Hill continues to be listed as a missing person, he said. Curtis Hill, a recently retired Contra Costa County firefighter, initially talked to deputies and allowed them to search his property with dogs. But he quit talking to officers after they asked him for another interview with a voice stress analyzer, Mitchell said. Mitchell said Curtis Hill is not a suspect, but the sheriff said he is disappointed that he won't cooperate more. ``There is no legitimate reason for him not to agree to come forward and be interviewed,'' Mitchell said. ``It's hard not to question his involvement.'' Hill did not return repeated phone calls and relayed through a friend, Eden Morrill, that he would not grant an interview. Morrill also refused to be interviewed. Mitchell said Curtis Hill admitted his marriage was volatile. But there's no record of their strife turning physical, he said. Robinson said Curtis and Starr Hill were both heavy drinkers and fought frequently. The morning of Starr Hill's disappearance, the pair was seen in town after dropping off Curtis Hill's 12-year-old daughter at school, she said. ``They were in this knock-down argument. They were drunk,'' Robinson said. Starr Hill disappeared at a time her family thought she was improving her life. Starr and Curtis Hill had recently purchased a cavern on the island of Hawaii and started a spelunking business, Robinson said. They also bought an acre of land on another Hawaiian island and property on the Mendocino Coast, she said. Starr Hill had given up smoking and drinking so she could get her scuba diving certificate, Robinson said. ``She was enjoying herself. She was 47 and just discovering what life was all about,'' she said. You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or ganderson@pressdemocrat.com. PHOTO: mug: Starr Hill |
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| PorchlightUSA | Jul 9 2006, 09:13 AM Post #2 |
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HUMAN BONES SENT FOR TESTING Published on February 9, 2006 © 2006- The Press Democrat BYLINE: Glenda Anderson PAGE: B3 COLUMN: AROUND THE EMPIRE Lake County authorities have retrieved human bones that were discovered by hikers over the weekend in a remote part of the Mayacma mountain range near Middletown. The bones are now headed to Chico State University's forensic anthropology lab to determine the sex, race and age of the victim and to collect DNA. The results will be compared to data on listed missing persons such as Middletown resident Starr Hill, said Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Morshed. Hill, 47, reportedly walked away from her home in May after a fight with her husband, never to be seen again. The DNA also will be entered in a national database, he said. Morshed said it's not yet known how the unidentified person died. But it appears a mountain lion scattered the bones and carried some of the remains to the rock plateau where the hikers discovered them Saturday. The man and his son who found the remains were scared from the site by a mountain lion, Morshed said. |
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| PorchlightUSA | Jul 9 2006, 09:16 AM Post #3 |
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http://www.record-bee.com/local/ci_3835956 Article Last Updated: 05/18/2006 08:12:32 AM PDT The search continues for Starr Hill Police reported that there was no evidence of Starr using her cell phone or credit cards after May 18, 2005. Starr Hill s daughter Terra, from left, grandson Louis and Hill s other daughter, April Robinson, who has worked to keep community attention on her mother s case (Cynthia Parkhill/Observer-American). (The Record-Bee) Elizabeth Larson - Record-Bee staff MIDDLETOWN -- On a rainy afternoon one year ago today, a 46-year-old Middletown woman reportedly walked away from her home after an argument with her husband. Since then, Starr Hill's family, friends and local authorities have searched for her, with the only trace of her a cell phone found alongside a busy highway yielding no clues to her fate. Starr's daughter, April Robinson, has struggled to keep her mother's case very much in people's minds, holding candlelight vigils and informing the community. So, where is Starr Hill? Whoever knows for sure hasn't yet given up the secret. A stormy marriage Starr and Curtis Hill lived on 37 acres on Western Mine Road near Middletown. Curtis worked as a firefighter in Contra Costa County. They were married for five years when she went missing. Repeated calls to Curtis Hill for comment for this story were not returned. But in conversations with the Record-Bee last year shortly after his wife's disappearance, Curtis Hill said that he and his wife often argued. April Robinson confirmed that her mother and stepfather had a sometimes explosive relationship, punctuated by drinking, fights and periods of forgiveness. Both Curtis Hill and Robinson said that Starr was known to leave for days at a time following arguments with him. Curtis Hill said he last saw his wife walking away from their home following an argument on the rainy afternoon of May 18, 2005. He reported his wife was wearing jeans, a green sweater and a black leather jacket. Robinson said a friend of Starr and Curtis reported seeing Starr walking down the highway near Twin Pine Casino in the rain, looking upset. The friend said she didn't stop but decided to leave Starr alone. "I don't hold much stock in that," Starr Hill plays with her grandson, Louis. (Photo courtesy of April Robinson) (The Record-Bee) said Robinson. If her mother had been near the casino in the rain, Robinson said, she would likely have stopped in and called for someone to pick her up. Curtis Hill said on May 19 he returned home to find Starr's purse, makeup bag and some duffel bags gone. He also said he found an angry note indicating she had left. Robinson said she has never believed that her mother would have left without calling her. And, said Robinson, Starr would certainly not have missed her grandchildren's birthdays. Robinson reported her mother missing on May 21. Three days later, Lake County Search and Rescue and K-Corps searched the Hills' property, but found no sign of her. Curtis Hill's close friends and family continue to rally around him, saying he has been unfairly focused upon in the effort to find out what happened to his wife. Within a few months of Starr's disappearance, Curtis Hill retired from his firefighting job in Contra Costa County and left to spend time in Hawaii, although he has since traveled back and forth between Hawaii and the home he and Starr shared during their marriage. A missing cell phone A lead that looked promising took place last October, five months after Starr disappeared. A vineyard worker found a cell phone in brush alongside Highway 29 in Lower Lake that reportedly belonged to Starr Hill. When the man charged the phone and called the last number in its call log, he reached Starr Hill's mother, 84-year-old Leona Schneider, who lives in Auburn. Even at that time, however, Sheriff Rod Mitchell cautioned that the phone's discovery didn't mean Starr had necessarily been in the area, and authorities didn't know, ultimately, who discarded it there, especially after forensics testing on the phone brought back no significant findings. The only thing Mitchell did know for sure was that Starr used the phone for the last time before her disappearance on May 18. Starr may have made that last call to her mother on May 17, said Robinson, who spoke with Starr for the last time on May 16. During those last few weeks, said Robinson, she and her mother spoke when Curtis wasn't around, due to a falling out between he and Robinson over an unpaid cell phone bill. The couple, said Robinson, "were arguing, but that was nothing new." A month earlier, the couple returned from Hawaii, Robinson said; there they had bought a cave where they planned to lead spelunking tours. Robinson said Starr and Curtis were planning to return soon to the property, located in Kurtistown near Hilo, Hawaii. During the May 16 call, Robinson said, Starr "seemed very normal." "She made plans to talk to me that Thursday, because Curtis was leaving for work," she said. "I never heard from her." In the days shortly after Starr's disappearance, the sheriff's department received reports from people who believed they had seen Starr. The sheriff's department discounted those apparent leads, however, after thorough scrutiny. Latest developments This past February, thanks to Robinson's lobbying, the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation joined the effort, offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to finding Starr. Robinson said the sheriff's detective now on the case, Corey Paulich, has actively kept in contact with her, keeping her "in the loop" on what's going on. So far, no tips have come in as a result of the reward money, said Robinson, and the investigation appears to be at a standstill. "It blows my mind," said Robinson. Starr was featured on the Nancy Grace Show April 25, said Robinson, but that also didn't generate any leads. Robinson said she has a great support network of friends and her family, including sister Terra. "We've been spending a lot of time together." She credits the Sund/Carrington Foundation for its moral support as she has struggled to cope with her mother's disappearance. She's had no recent contact with Curtis Hill, however, and she said he won't let her have her mother's things. Robinson even accused Curtis' property caretaker of shooting a weapon on the property while she held a candlelight vigil for her mother in late December. Robinson has repeatedly faulted her stepfather for his lack of cooperation with the sheriff's investigation, which Mitchell has corroborated. Hill has refused to go in for interviews with investigators, take a voice stress analyzer test or allow further searches of his property, according to both Mitchell and Robinson. "He's convinced his friends that she's moved to Oregon to live with some man," she said. Last year, during a telephone interview, Curtis Hill suggested a similar scenario to the Record-Bee, that Starr had left with another local man. "My mom would not stay away from me this long, or my sister, or her grandchildren, or her brothers or her mom," said Robinson. The investigation into Starr Hill's disappearance, said Mitchell, is essentially at a standstill due to lack of any new evidence. "Unfortunately, it is not one of the cases we're able to actively investigate," said Mitchell. Mitchell, who last year held a press conference to help generate more information on the case, called it an "important" case. "I'm confident that it's getting what it needs," he said. While cautious about theorizing about what caused her mother's disappearance, Robinson said she, her family and friends have "all pretty much have the same conclusion, that she's not coming back alive." Robinson said she wants closure, and hopes that her mother will eventually be found and brought home so she can be properly honored. Contact Elizabeth Larson at elarson@record-bee.com. One year vigil planned A vigil to mark the one year anniversary of Starr Hill's disappearance will take place today at 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 14500 Pearl Ave., Clearlake. How you can help If you or anyone you know has information on Starr Hill's disappearance, call LCSO Detective Corey Paulich, 262-4200. Group helps families left behind "When someone in a family disappears, families know to call 911 and file a missing person's report," said Kim Petersen, executive director of the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation. "What do you do after that? Most people don't have any idea. So we take them by the hand and show them the steps to take." The foundation Petersen leads is named for Carole Sund, murdered by Cary Stayner in Yosemite National Park in 1999, along with her daughter, Juli, and family friend Silvina Pelosso. The group reaches out to assist the families of missing persons by offering reward money and support. In the case of Starr Hill, the group is offering a monetary reward for information leading to her being found, either alive or dead. They help with fliers, teach families to work with law enforcement and, most important, they spend a lot of time listening and offering the families moral support, said Petersen. "They just need someone who they know cares." Each case is different, Petersen said. There are many reasons for a person to go missing, from stranger abduction to runaways, and volunteer disappearances (which, she pointed out, aren't illegal). "You have to take it on a case-by-case basis," said Petersen. In its seven-year existence, the Sund/Carrington Foundation has helped bring in 34 murder suspects, three kidnappers of children and found nine missing persons (some alive, some deceased), she said. The more time passes, the greater the chance of a missing person being found dead, said Petersen. But that doesn't mean a person can't be found alive. And that doesn't mean loved ones give up the search, Petersen explained. "These families, such as Starr Hill's family, they'll never give up. It's with them every minute of every day." Some families the group assists have been looking for missing loved ones for more than 20 years, Petersen reported. One woman, in particular, has been searching for her daughter for 23 years, since the girl disappeared at age 17 from her high school. To this day, the woman stops to look into the eyes of women who are about the age her daughter would be, hoping to recognize her missing child, Petersen said. "They can't move forward until they know what's happened to their loved one," she said. For more information about the group, visit www.carolesundfoundation.com. |
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| oldies4mari2004 | Dec 5 2006, 02:28 PM Post #4 |
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http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/in...?showtopic=3940 |
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