BajaNomad - MISSING PERSONS

MISSING PERSONS

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mtgoat666 - 9-21-2010 at 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jmendez

http://www.helpusfindmatandmelissa.com

website has been taken down. family never came back to provide credible story of events. not very satisfying end to the story. seems lame of family to not provide details...

on the other hand, mat and melissa may not want details memorialized in cyber space for all to read over the next 30 years

Debra - 9-21-2010 at 03:32 PM

It's okay, Tim will explain perhaps if not having his honesty attaced again, perhaps he will U2 some of us? Dennis was the first one to "step-up" and offer to go beyond the call of duty, and he was also the first one to attack their story...............suggestion: Let's just back off and let them share on their own time.

DENNIS - 9-21-2010 at 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666
the next 30 years

I thought fame only lasted 15 minutes.

DT5 - 9-25-2010 at 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

Originally posted by jmendez

http://www.helpusfindmatandmelissa.com

Yes, they took it down several days earlier than expected. Many people were commenting on how incredible the excuse / story was, so they pulled the site early. I guess they got tired of people demanding to know the truth.

The family is saying that the couple was stranded in the desert for 8 days? Give me a break, a couple of 30 something's who like to party would barely make it 2-3 days in the desert especially if they were unprepared.
The family is entitled to disclose what they wish, but it sure leaves a lot of room for sticky beaks like myself to speculate about what really happened. If they were stranded for 8 days in the desert, what happened to the money they withdrew from the ATM? Why abandon the car? Based on the discussions here and the family site, it's easy to deduce that something happened other than what the families are telling.

BajaDove - 9-25-2010 at 10:38 AM

THAT THE NOMADS COULD ASSIST in finding a young couple is a wonderful thing in itself. If you want an end to the story make up your own. Possibly everyone realizes no matter, if the truth bores you, you'll make up your own story anyway.

lizard lips - 9-25-2010 at 10:41 AM

Right now I don't care what happened to them during their "Baja Adventure". I'm just glad they made it home safe and sound.It could have turned really ugly.

I have had some adventures myself that I will NEVER tell a soul and I'm sure most of us on this board have also. If you say you don't your lying.....

Ya, ok, I will if I'm paid enough.

toneart - 9-25-2010 at 11:02 AM

I am quoting myself...from the 13th of Sept:

Quote:

Originally posted by toneart
... the important thing to us is that they are home safely and that Tim, the father, reported it back to us.

If there is more to the story, that is their family business. We ... were willing to help them. It all ended well. That is all we can expect, and it is good news.

DENNIS - 9-25-2010 at 11:41 AM

If I were to plead and mobilize an extensive network of Good Samaritans, I would feel obligated to offer a credible explaination as to the predicament these folks got themselves into.
Why haven't we heard that they had no FMM as far south as Constitición, because they didn't and that's probably a large part of the story.

People keep bringing up this thread when it should be properly buried.

.

[Edited on 9-25-2010 by DENNIS]

None of your damn business!

longlegsinlapaz - 9-25-2010 at 11:52 AM

IMO, this family gone through enough crap without the people they came to for help in locating Melissa & Mat turning on them & telling them they're lying! As curious for the minute-by-minute details of their ordeal as many of you are, it's actually none of your damn business!

Anyone who has spent any time in Baja knows full well how easy it is to get in trouble here if you're not prepared. I believe the information that timdixon related does have a very strong ring of truth considering the inexperience & lack of preparation. Many asked for/demanded details that were really none of their business....timdixon gave that information & look at how many here turn on the family & attack their credibility & veracity. Second guessing because YOU have a problem with the truth serves no meaningful purpose whatsoever!

As several here have expressed, the bottom line was a happy outcome....the rest of you who doubted credibility & challenged the information offered are nothing more than a bunch of rude damn vultures who make me ashamed to be part of this group!

I hope that Doug locks this thread out of respect towards the families.

DENNIS - 9-25-2010 at 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by longlegsinlapaz
none of your damn business!

You will be the last person in this world who will ever tell me what my business is. Like I need some bellowing fish-wife like you to give me instruction on anything.

longlegsinlapaz - 9-25-2010 at 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by longlegsinlapaz
none of your damn business!

You will be the last person in this world who will ever tell me what my business is. Like I need some bellowing fish-wife like you to give me instruction on anything.

I wasn't talking to you, I hadn't even seen you post....you posted while I was writing my post.

DENNIS - 9-25-2010 at 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by longlegsinlapaz
I wasn't talking to you, I hadn't even seen you post....you posted while I was writing my post.

Write faster.

Dave - 9-25-2010 at 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by longlegsinlapaz
I hope that Doug locks this thread out of respect towards the families.

Certainly well deserved. :rolleyes:

Good campfire stories to tell.....

mcfez - 9-25-2010 at 12:53 PM

Santa Claus
Fairy Tooth Mother
Easter Bunny
Wizard of Oz
Roswell
Mat Vasquez - Melissa Dixon adventures

[Edited on 9-25-2010 by mcfez]

surfer jim - 9-25-2010 at 03:20 PM

....didn't it become "Nomad" business the moment they asked for help.....they had many people here doing the looking and other actions...I would expect some sort of explanation better than we got .....

Like many other things the NEXT time someone asks for help will you be as eager to assist? :?:

Cypress - 9-25-2010 at 03:26 PM

They're a classic example of "users", or better yet "losers".

A Really Good Point/ Boy Who Cried Wolf

Bajahowodd - 9-25-2010 at 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by surfer jim
....didn't it become "Nomad" business the moment they asked for help.....they had many people here doing the looking and other actions...I would expect some sort of explanation better than we got .....

Like many other things the NEXT time someone asks for help will you be as eager to assist? :?:

Hopefully, as has been witnessed in the past, Nomads will mobilize to help others. It's happened so many times. But this really does not absolve Tim, no matter what the deal was.

DENNIS - 9-25-2010 at 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
Why haven't we heard that they had no FMM as far south as Constitición, because they didn't and that's probably a large part of the story.

Are we missing this fact in our discussion?

Bajahowodd - 9-25-2010 at 03:46 PM

Maybe they have tightened up security in the past couple of years. However, I must confess to the transgression of having driven to Cabo and back without a tourist visa and without a passport. Several years back, Ms. Odd and I planned the trip to Cabo. In one of those "moments", we discovered that when we reached the border and went into IMM, we discovered that each of us had relied on the other to pack the passports. Inasmuch as we had already spent a couple of hours driving, we decided to forge ahead. Bottom line was that we were never asked for our visas. This is especially interesting, in that on our way back North, I met a fellow in the parking lot of Baja Cactus who told me that he had been ignorant of the requirement. He and his wife had driven down and up the peninsula sans visas. When they got to the checkpoint at the state line by Guerrero Negro, they were scolded and hit with a fine. Something like $60 apiece.

As I mentioned, perhaps they are more attentive today than in years past. But, we can attest to the fact that, at least a few years ago, the process was so hit and miss that we were able to spend two weeks in Baja, travel all the way to Cabo, and never be asked for "our papers".

[Edited on 9-25-2010 by Bajahowodd]

[Edited on 9-25-2010 by Bajahowodd]

DENNIS - 9-25-2010 at 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
the process was so hit and miss that we were able to spend two weeks in Baja, travel all the way to Cabo, and never be asked for "our papers".

I know one can do that, with luck and low profile. Get in a jamb where you're vulnerable and it may become an issue.

SB1070 in the lower region. It's an opportunity for exploitation.

Whatever happened was so serious that it left the realm of casual conversation.

We'll never know, but that doesnt mean we can't talk about it. Our involvement owes us that.

Bajahowodd - 9-25-2010 at 04:15 PM

I hear you. If one gets caught, boom! I have resolved to never attempt such a thing again. Just makes for too much concern.

DENNIS - 9-25-2010 at 06:19 PM

Well....when does it come to the point that we lose our curiosity?? We...as in We...were drawn into this ordeal as players in a game. We did what the circumstances asked for...we made efforts to find and repatriate the lost with their families.
So why should I feel as though I'm imposing on the privacy of anyone when I ask why we did this?

This is a bunch of ****. We deserve to know why we were called into action.

At this point I really don't care why. What I care about is that anybody would feel that we're not worthy of an explaination.

May God help the next desperate person that needs our help. It may not be so forthcoming.

[Edited on 9-26-2010 by BajaNomad]

sd - 9-25-2010 at 07:51 PM

Dennis,

Although we have never met I was impressed by your efforts regarding this search. You stepped up and did what was right.

I also feel you and some others should have been contacted by the family and properly thanked for your effort.

So nice to know people like yourself may be able to assist us in a time of need.

THANK YOU!

toneart - 9-25-2010 at 07:56 PM

Quote:

I understand your frustration and also Dennis' curiosity as stated in a later post. Yes, we have been stiffed. Why? We can only imagine. We will probably not ever know.

Again, the more important thing is they were returned home safely. Our curiosity is secondary. I wish the family peace.

BajaNomad and consequently, this string, is not the be all end all in our lives. Let's move on.

Yes, it is the Nomad spirit to assist the next time someone asks for help. It may make a life or death difference. :yes:

toneart - 9-25-2010 at 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sd
Dennis,

Although we have never met I was impressed by your efforts regarding this search. You stepped up and did what was right.

I also feel you and some others should have been contacted by the family and properly thanked for your effort.

So nice to know people like yourself may be able to assist us in a time of need.

THANK YOU!

Yes! Me too. It is what it is.

"Once a king who felt victim to the ebbs and flows of his mind gathered his wisest advisors and set them a task: “Produce for me an artefact that whenever I am low will make me feel better and whenever I am too high and mighty will steady my state and bring me balance.” The advisors duly reported back to him a few days later and the wisest presented the king with a golden ring. The king put the ring on and noticed that when he looked carefully, he could see the inscribed legend, “This too will pass”. In future, whenever the king felt overwhelmed by anything at all, he would read these words and reflect on them." - Uncommonhelp.com

mcfez - 9-25-2010 at 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by toneart

Quote:

"......Again, the more important thing is they were returned home safely. Our curiosity is secondary. I wish the family peace.

Wrong! Wake up! Get real! I myself spent a minute researching for a little bit of info to pass along to these ungrateful *____. Others here spent perhaps hours for these ungrateful *____. Still more...went to to pass out fliers and hit the bars...hours devoted to these ungrateful *____.

When the Nomads curiosity is not not answered.....and it is left for one to think the story was falsified towards the end...Nomads and others may not go out of their way to help future victims...thanks to these ungrateful marooons.

I myself...am quite peeed off about the whole thing. ....and I certainly wont make up pretty little excuses such as "......Again, the more important thing is they were returned home safely. Our curiosity is secondary. I wish the family peace.

I say they were involved in a drug situation or some other illegally activity .....gone bad. I'll think twice before spending a little time to help future S.O.S. on this board.....thanks to those ungrateful *____.

[Edited on 9-26-2010 by BajaNomad]

Bajamatic - 9-25-2010 at 09:52 PM

Dennis. ******************. Get off the bar stool ****************. Thats hands down the most disrespectful reply i've EVER seen from your tired old ***.

Baja can EASILY swallow someone like that. But thats not the point. what business do you have demanding closure that satisfies YOU? What a KOOK. This poor dude was FREAKING about his kid, and that's all you have to say upon their safe return?? May a POX envelope your miserable house. you know NOTHING about what might have really happened, and god forbid it be worse than they are willing to disclose. * * man.

[Edited on 9-26-2010 by BajaNomad]

Paula - 9-25-2010 at 10:03 PM

Had I not had an extra glass of wine this evening I would not be expressing my opinion on all this...

but Bajamatic sums it all up so well, and it goes not just for Dennis, but for many who have spoken on this issue.

Juanita - 9-26-2010 at 07:32 AM

When we help in a search, our emotions get involved. We inevitably imagine all possible outcomes for the lost people. But it is the search itself that is our work; we cannot control the outcome. Once, I asked a storekeeper here in San Ignacio, 'How are things going?' He replied 'Very well, of those things over which I have control.' I think the search functions were served very well here. And I know we will perform this service again and again over the years, as that is the only thing within our control.

wilderone - 9-26-2010 at 07:53 AM

"We deserve to know why we were called into action."
says you. The initial call for help was driven by fear and thoughts of the worst. When they were finally "found", that fear was dissipated as they were relatively safe. Matt and Melissa were probably horrified to learn that their families and others had been put through the wringer to find them, and more so, by the fact this it was all - their faces on wanted posters - on the internet. No - the masses on the internet are not entitled to know their personal information. Give it a rest. And please be prepared to assist the next time too. This was a good rescue exercise to learn from. I still say we need to reward the "rancher" if that part is true.

surfer jim - 9-26-2010 at 08:44 AM

....and that is part of the problem.....was there ever a "rancher" involved at all? Maybe time to start another search for him? See what I mean?

DT5 - 9-26-2010 at 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajamatic
May a POX envelope your miserable house.
[Edited on 9-26-2010 by BajaNomad]

It goes without saying that the most important thing is that the couple returned home alive and well. No one is denying that their safety was first and foremost the main concern. But that's just it - it WAS enough of a concern to engage the help of strangers, strangers who were willing to go out of their way to help these 2 families. All we're asking for is the common decency not to be lied to. Anyone who doesn't see the discrepancies between what's led up to this finale has either been drinking too much wine or been lost in the desert themselves.
And shame on you bajamatic and paula. To disagree with what nomads are saying is one thing, but to wish cruel things upon Dennis and others is purely amoral.

[Edited on 9-26-2010 by DT5]

[Edited on 9-26-2010 by DT5]

DianaT - 9-26-2010 at 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Juanita
When we help in a search, our emotions get involved. We inevitably imagine all possible outcomes for the lost people. But it is the search itself that is our work; we cannot control the outcome. Once, I asked a storekeeper here in San Ignacio, 'How are things going?' He replied 'Very well, of those things over which I have control.' I think the search functions were served very well here. And I know we will perform this service again and again over the years, as that is the only thing within our control.

Juanita, you wrote what several of us have said and or thought, but you said it SO BEAUTIFULLY. :yes:

THANK YOU

toneart - 9-26-2010 at 10:03 AM

No shame to any Nomads. I said before that I understand the frustrations and curiosity of those who feel stiffed. They WERE stiffed.

My take on the situation was different than theirs. You/we are expressing opinions for which you/we are all entitled. It is a conversation. A major component of the conversation is absent. It should be apparent that they are not going to return to the conversation.

Paula - 9-26-2010 at 10:31 AM

And shame on you... paula. To disagree with what nomads are saying is one thing, but to wish cruel things upon Dennis and others is purely amoral.

You are right, DT5. It isn't nice to wish bad things on anyone, and if I felt the need to comment on this thread I should have used my own words. While I did follow this thread from the beginning, and hoped that the couple would be found safe and healthy, I never felt entitled to the details of what happened to them. But I didn't put in time and effort to aid the search, either. I like to think that if I had, I still wouldn't feel entitled to know their story, and that I would simply find satisfaction in their well being, and move on. There could be many reasons for not publicly sharing information with virtual strangers, and I wouldn't wish to cause more discomfort for these people than they have already experienced.

The help of several nomads was a gift of sorts to the family, and gifts are best given from a wish to share, and without expectation of something in return. As for the rancher who may or may not have participated, we can hope the family has thanked him, but really it isn't our concern.

Wilderone, I do appreciate your generous spirit in wanting to reward him!

Bajahowodd - 9-26-2010 at 01:41 PM

I just wish that Matt and Melissa reported on whether they saw that U-Haul truck.

my last comment on this....

mcfez - 9-26-2010 at 03:40 PM

Josh Fattal, Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer .....
Three kids that got side tracked in the mountains....
Iran jails em.
Mom Dad and the rest of the world tries to help.
Sarah Shourd gets out the other day....

Oh.....and she, and the parents explains the whole enchilada to the world.

Mat and Melissa.....ungrateful and no respect..

desertcpl - 9-26-2010 at 04:44 PM

well here is my take,,

I think they got in over their heads, I think they headed south looking for a little adventure, and not of good kind.
all us gray hairs remember being young, you think you are bullet proof.
met some people south and got put together real fast, got the s**t scared out of them,
when they finally surfaced they were very humble and embarrassed.
then the family got the whole story from them.
I dont they was that happy with them, so they took the web page down.

Roberto - 9-26-2010 at 06:03 PM

Let me see if I have this straight.

Two people ask for help because they don't know where some family members are and they think they might be in Baja.

A bunch of people work from the safety of their computer monitors, and the two are located and safe. All the details are not shared, and those computer warriors feel slighted because of the hard work they put in. Is that about right?

I wonder when and if there was a last time any of those computer helpers that are howling so loudly now have left the safety of their bar stool and actually went out of their way to help and suffered some actual inconvenience to help anyone?

But what do you expect when the first reaction to most cries for assistance is derision and highly offensive questions of lies and fraud.

That's about it, and I would suggest to all of you that you get a life. You are obviously in dire need of one.

comitan - 9-26-2010 at 06:06 PM

Bajamatic - 9-26-2010 at 07:02 PM

"To disagree with what nomads are saying is one thing, but to wish cruel things upon Dennis and others is purely amoral."

Give me a break man. Its a proverb. Obviously I don't wish a real "pox" on the guys house.

BajaBlanca - 9-26-2010 at 07:17 PM

well... some of us went out of our way - above and beyond the call of duty, so to speak. and i think when you are asked to help. and you respond. you therefore expect true and honest and complete answers in exchange....

I made posters, I asked friend for favors (putting the posters up in about 5 different places) and these people were amazing and did it. I thank them.

and now, we do not know what happened ????? all of us have been young. all of us have been really stupid. it wd be nice to have the real story, that's how i feel.

DENNIS - 9-26-2010 at 08:03 PM

Many people here could learn from the whole truth. Why deny the opportunity to broaden the base of Baja travelers knowledge?
If it was, as reported, something that could happen to anybody, why not give a heads-up so others might avoid the hazards that would lead to the loss of a car and send familys underground to hide? This doesn't sound like a common occurance.

wilderone - 9-27-2010 at 07:57 AM

Here's what I think happened - they had some weed in the car, they caught at a checkpoint with it, had the car confiscated, were taken to "jail" -which was probably the nearest municipal admin office; they escaped; hitchhiked to Ciu. Const., hid out, made their calls - we know the rest. If they want to plead the 5th Amendment, that's their right.

tripledigitken - 9-27-2010 at 09:10 AM

There's a couple of things about this story that most Nomads don't need to learn.

Have a visa with you.

Don't drive a Miata to Baja, let alone off road.

I would bet that additional lessons to be learned wouldn't apply to 99% of those reading this thread.

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