Morgan striking a pose
Today was the Balloon Festival in Snowmass Village. We thought about going, but Morgan didn’t feel like it, so we decided not to go. It was a quiet day, Morgan went to her friend’s house and Steve and I caught up on work. He also boxed up the umpteenth, “catch the stalker device” for return. As usual it sounded great in the description, but had some sort of fatal flaw upon actual hands-on inspection. Unfortunately, we didn’t just need a stalker catcher, we needed a super stalker catcher.
I texted Morgan at 10:41pm, “Coming home? Almost 11?” Morgan answered, “Oo. I’m at a birthday party. Can I be a little later?” I said, “How much longer getting really tired? Morgan answered, “How late can I be?” I gave in a little, “11:30, but any later will be really hard for me.” Morgan was a sweetheart and as usual, she just said, “K. ;)” I reminded her, “Text me at 11:20 when you are leaving & please have someone walk you out to the car OK?” “Will Do.” she said. It was really hard trying to stay awake so I could be out on the front porch when Morgan drove up after dark – I missed those nights before a stalker had entered our lives – the nights that Morgan could come home anytime she wanted, safely unlocking the front door and coming in her own home without us knowing…those days were now gone for us.
At 11:18 she texted “On my way.” And I answered her, “Ok”
She was home shortly after that and we were lying in bed when our neighbor Rhonda called at 11:48 pm. She had seen Morgan’s motion light go on outside, and Rhonda’s little dog was barking at that side of our house.
Trying not to think about the stalker didn’t last very long, now Steve was out the bedroom door quickly. With him was the thermal imaging scope, which he took up to the top of the berm – there he planted himself, and watched. I could not see where he was, and none of the usual alarms were following him around the house so I waited.
Later he would tell me he spent a lot of time watching the ranch behind us, because from where he sat nobody could cross from the berm around our subdivision to the buildings on the ranch without being spotted. He could clearly pick out movement all the way down to the Blue Creek subdivision. He did see movement, only it was just animals, large and small, nothing human, or even close.
That he could see so well in the dark was encouraging, I wondered if he could hide in a car at the end of our street or even across the street, and just watch select houses. He was thinking that just as suspects had been eliminated that now with the ability to “see” people in the darkness he could eliminate areas. As in this evening he was fairly certain nobody had crossed to the ranch the entire time he was out there.
Rather than try to chase the stalker, which we had proven to be rather futile, he would pick an area and watch it from a distance. No attempt to physically capture anyone at all, simply see them enter a house from the yard after a stalking incident.
Morgan was fast asleep when we finally gave up for the night, so we couldn’t ask her, and all I had recorded was a question mark as to if she heard noise on her windows or not, I must have forgotten to follow up on that the next morning. But there were the motion lights Rhonda saw, and then lights that I saw go on. Rhonda’s dog had been barking, and Steve decided that in the future that will be enough. He will go outside, and spend as much time as he can, and eventually he will spot someone moving out there. Instead of even trying to catch him, he was now just going to try to spot him from far away, and narrow down just where he came from, and where he went to.
We had gone from trying to catch the stalker red-handed to allowing a comfort zone that would let us to zero in on him over time. To me it was bizarre, to allow him to move about, make him feel like we were backing off, so that eventually we could really catch him, but so far nothing else had worked.
(Police reports later show the “suspect” was not working this evening. On 9.17.2011 he worked from 1:00 am – 6:01 am & then from 6:29 am – 9:32 am… so he was free this evening to continue his stalking & torment)
Click here to read about the 48th day of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=1220
Is there any way to email you privately?
Yes if you go on the website and use the tip line it is emailed to me
Mrs. Ingram, would you be willing to give model and make of some of the equipment you used (like that cam from which you got the stalker photo)? It may help someone research some things, or be able to understand more in a technical aspect that may yield some clues, like levels of sensitivity (what it would take to set a motion light on) or help analyze the stalker photo itself insofar as getting colors and perhaps patterns on shirts and caps.
Thanks so much,…I pray for you and Steve daily, and know Morgan is watching over you, and is right there with you, every step of this journey.
God bless and keep you
Steve has been so impressed with the ability to zero in on very key pieces that has been on display. This weekend he has plans to share as much other information as he can. I will certainly pass this along to him.
Thank you very much! I am looking forward to any additional details and info that you are able to share.
I can’t help but wonder if the stalker is a cop or somehow tied to law enforcement. It seems like he always knew when to pull away and in doing so he prevented this from becoming a felony case for a long time.
I wrote you last week about text message interception, the most reliable way of doing that is exclusive to law enforcement. The utility belt he was wearing in the wildlife cam photo could have been a standard issue police officer’s belt; he may have been using a baton to tap on windows and in his attempt to knock down the cam.
Someone in law enforcement would have had access to night-vision goggles and a variety of surveillance equipment. Perhaps that’s another way he always knew where Morgan was.
I also believe that if the stalker is tied to law enforcement, he has a role in the investigation. That would explain all of the pot holes and what looks like a cover-up.
What you say is very interesting, not sure how to find out if this could be true.
Law inforcement was actually my first thought…
I, have the same feeling’s
Not every lawenforcement agency has these items. I’m not saying it couldn’t be an officer but I hate how people are so fast to point fingers straight to lawenforcement. This is a crime from everything that I am reading. I am so sorry for your pain and what you are having to go through to prove what you know in your heart is true.
I am so sorry for Morgan and your family. I can only offer my perspective as I read about your efforts to catch this guy. 1) If he had night observation gear, the type he was using if indeed the point of light across the street was him and your wildlife camera were seems to indicate they are low light level amplification gear, that is why it has a red light. It illuminates the area for better imaging. If your husband was in the birm and the green light from the scope was illuminating his face, the stalker would likely see him and not come around. A way to avoid this is to use a tarp of some sort to cover up his face and head and contain the light. A FLIR system only senses heat and any mammal will light up like a christams tree. Again; if stalker had a FLIR, he would see you before you see him…..good thing about a FLIR is that you can see where he has been even after he left………some FLIR’s you operate remotely and avoid being detected.
2) You have a picture of the stalker; seems you might be able to get dimensional information i.e. shoulder width, arm length, body ratio’s etc….. this could eliminate suspects or put them at the top of the list.
3) If there was a suspect and he was active almost every night…..one could stalk the suspect….follow him and stake him out….that way if you had a visit and the person tailing the suspect knows that the suspect was at work….it would narrow the search…..
hind sight being what it is I just wanted to put this out there in case someone else is facing the same thing…….
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge – I hope someone else reading this blog will be able to learn from your experience. That is part of what I am trying to do with this blog so thank you so much from everyone out there that wants to learn how to protect themselves and catch a stalker. Take care!
Toni, you and Steve, amaze me. You’re always in my thought’s and prayers. I, do believe you’ll all get justice,and closure. Stay Strong.
Thanks Tammy!
Drew makes a good point. You could use constants (i.e. vehicle height) to get close to exact measurements of suspect height, shoulder broadness, etc.
A few questions if you don’t mind. Did law enforcement ever spend time just watching your home, like a night watch? It seems this would have been a logical step in the process. Also, did anyone recommend a home security system? No idea if it would have been helpful or not, just something I’ve been thinking. Continuing to send love and prayers to your family.
One night they did a stake out for a few hours and I know the patrol officers would always drive by to watch the house and no nobody suggested a home security system but I really wish we had had that more than the camera system…we thought with the pictures we would catch the stalker and put an end to it but it ultimately did not do that and it didn’t cover the front or the back doors so the security system would have been better. Although I know some people know how to get around those as well. Thank you for your support.
Did Steve ever go out before Morgan came home to watch? The stalker always showed after she came home, right? I really hope you find justice and peace!
He did – in fact sometimes he would drive into Carbondale and wait until she was on her way home to follow way behind her to see if someone was following her and he also hid under a tree a few blocks away at night to watch her come home in case someone followed her from the neighborhood on foot but that didn’t work either. It’s always hard to guess where and when the stalker will be there if you are only one person…I think it would take an effort of at least 4 different people in different strategic places waiting for a long time and possibly on many consecutive days, but I have a feeling that might have worked.
May I offer you my condolences To you and your family. I have been reading your story for the past 3 days now. I can’t get over how sick and terrifying this stalker is and how beautiful and loving your daughter was. She reminds me of my daughter so much. Shes 22 and would do anything for anybody and just brings so much joy. She’s had a few incidents where she’s almost been taken by older men. I couldn’t imagine loosing her. Those were horrible experiences. And again, I am so sorry about Morgan and the pain it has brought you. I hope you get justice! Thank you for sharing your story. God bless you!!!
Alessandra thank you so much for your support and sharing how you feel about your daughter…every moment with them is a joy, and we have to hold on to all those moments, and really live them. Take care.
i have work tomorrow and i cant stop reading! i am just in awe..i haven’t finished yet so this may be a little “out there” but maybe this “guy” had an obsession with Morgan and upon realizing how obsessed he was.. this could have made the girlfriend very angry? just a theory
He had an obsession with Morgan – that’s exactly the way to describe a stalker. Wikipedia writes that Stalking is unwanted or obsessive attention by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The word stalking is used, with some differing meanings, in psychology and psychiatry and also in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal offense.
And yes his “girlfriend” I believe was angry (she has an anger problem already) so your theory is very fact based.