Jelani Brinson
A week after Jelani Brinson walked away from his friend’s house in Anoka, his body was recovered in a water hazard at the Greenhaven Golf Course in Anoka. According to the Star Tribune, there are no obvious signs of trauma on Jelani’s body. His friends say he wasn’t intoxicated when he was last seen. His body was recovered in a shallow pond that is just 2 – 3 feet deep. Why did it take 8 days for someone to spot the body? How does a sober man drown in a few feet of water? How did he lose his hat and shoes? Why was he wandering around a golf course? Where is his cell phone?
Dogs tracked Jelani’s scent to a nearby bar. I’ve marked both the friend’s home and the bar on this map. You can also see Greenhaven Golf Course.
The real answers will come in a few weeks when the medical examiner completes the full autopsy and toxicology testing. Click here to read the Star Tribune article about Jelani’s death.
Kristi Piehl Case Updates
Jelani Brinson
Jelani Brinson, 24, was last seen at a friends house in Anoka near the Anoka County Fairgrounds on Friday, April 17. Dogs tracked Jelani’s scent to the nearby Outpost Bar in Ramsey. According to Mapquest, the bar is 1.7 miles away from his friend’s home in the 600 block of Kennedy Street. It would’ve been a shorter walk if he’d followed the railroad tracks. Click here to see a map of the area.
According to various Minneapolis media sources, his shoes and hat have been recovered in separate locations near his friend’s house. Detectives are determining if surveillance video could be helpful in determining what happened to Jelani. Click here to read more about the search for Jelani.
On Monday afternoon, authorities began looking for clues in the nearby Rum River. Jelani’s girlfriend says that he was active in his church, adored his baby daughter and held a steady job at a cell phone store. Click here to read Jelani’s blog.
Again, I’m not implying that Jelani is connected to the other cases, but I do know that publicity is key to solving missing person cases.
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Yesterday, on Twitter, AnnFre asked me this, “What is it going to take to get law enforcement to look at all of these deaths and connect them?” I wrote back that I hope it won’t take more missing young men. Her question got me thinking….
Personally, I think the train got off the tracks with Jaramy Alford. He’s the convicted killer who was interviewed by Minneapolis Police about the Chris Jenkins homicide. Alford has not been charged with any crimes relating to a drowning case.
Retired NYPD Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte also paid several visits to Alford. Gannon and Duarte presented evidence to the FBI. What did the FBI do? It’s all laid out in a letter sent from the FBI to Representative James Sensenbrenner in response to Sensenbrenner’s request for a full investigation.
Here is an excerpt:
“In November 2007, FBI Agents from Minneapolis conducted an interview of this inmate. The information provided by the inmate contained the same assertions that the two private detectives and the professor had claimed. The FBI requested this inmate take a polygraph examination, and the inmate agreed. In January 2008, when agents returned to the correctional facility with a polygraph examiner, the inmate refused to take the test and offered no logical explanation as to why.
Since that time, the FBI has found no evidence of a so-called “Dealers of Death” organization, and our agents in Minneapolis did not find this inmate to be credible. The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit also reviewed pertinent data concerning these deaths and concluded no evidence existed to support the theory these deaths were the result of serial murderers.”
Click here to read the entire letter.
The reason that you won’t find much information on this site about Alford is that I think the FBI needs new evidence and information that doesn’t come from him. Right or wrong, it’s clear that they’ve discounted him and the so-called DOD. My strategy is to move forward and get case files that don’t involve Alford to trained respected professionals. Some of the families and I are working with a former District Attorney, a Medical Examiner and former Federal Agent, Hector Berrellez. Like I’ve said before, a piece of evidence in one case could change everything…. so that’s what we are looking for. I pray we find it and turn it over to the authorities before another boy disappears.
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Desmond Clark
“Accidental drowning” is how authorities are classifying a Montana teen’s death. Desmond Clark left a party near Poplar, Montana on April 10th. He got into an argument with someone at the party and walked into the woods. Attempts to bring the 17-year-old back were unsuccessful. Searchers started looking for him on Easter evening. His body was recovered in the backwaters of the Missouri River. The location is less than a mile from the party where Desmond was last seen. According to the Great Falls Tribune, authorities say there are no reports of trauma or foul play and that Desmond had been drinking alcohol at the party. Click here to read more about Desmond’s death.
Desmond was a junior at a high school in nearby Wolf Point, MT. He was a guard on the basketball team. They’d had a successful season and made local headlines recently for winning the conference tournament.
Roderick Red Star
The Sheriff says that the disappearance of Roderick Red Star is unrelated. The 20-year-old man was last seen on March 14 walking north of Wolf Point. Searches by local and tribal authorities haven’t found any sign of Roderick. Click here to read more about Roderick’s disappearance.
NOTE: Fewer than 1,000 people live in Poplar. The population of nearby Wolf Point is nearly 2,500.
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Dan Zamlen
Dale Zamlen said Wednesday that he believes his missing son was abducted. On April 5th, Dan Zamlen left a party near the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. He was walking to meet a friend and talking on his cell phone. His last words were, “Oh, my God.”
Dale discussed his son’s disappearance in front of a House panel considering a bill that would increase police response times in cases of missing endangered adults. Dale and Sally Zamlen told the committee members that St. Paul Police waited 24 hours before beginning a serious search for Dan. It was days before bloodhounds were brought in to track his scent.
Brandon Swanson
The bill is sponsored by GOP House Minority Chair Marty Seifert. It’s named, “Brandon’s Law” for 19-year-old Brandon Swanson. Brandon was last seen in rural western Minnesota in May 2008. He was confused about his location and talking to his father on his cell phone when it suddenly went dead. Many searches have failed to locate Brandon. Click here to read more about the search for Brandon Swanson. The full House will likely vote on the bill next week.
Meantime, Dan Zamlen’s family, friends and St. Thomas University classmates continue searching for the missing college freshman. Groups from Zamlen’s hometown of Eveleth, MN have also joined the search. According to St. Thomas, volunteers have already talked with homeowners at 7000 residences in the St. Paul neighborhood where Zamlen was last seen. In addition to the door-to-door search, they’re looking along the banks of the Mississippi River and in parks for the missing college freshman. His family is offering a $5,000 reward for information about Dan’s whereabouts. Click here for Dan’s website.
According to the Star Tribune, St. Paul Police spokesman Pete Panos said there is no evidence of foul play. A bloodhound tracked Zamlen’s scent to his last known location and then the trail went cold. Zamlen is last believed to be near an intersection along the Mississippi River in St. Paul.
Anyone with information is asked to call the University of St. Thomas Public Safety Department at 651-962-5555.
By posting information about Dan and Brandon here, I’m not trying to imply that they are connected to any of the other cases. However, I know the best thing for a missing persons case is publicity.
Click here to read more about “Brandon’s Law.”
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Josh Szostak spent the evening of December 22nd, 2007 celebrating a friend’s birthday. He was laughing and talking inside the Bayou Cafe . None of Josh’s friends can explain what happened shortly after midnight or why Josh and a friend went outside. After a few seconds outside, the friend returns to the bar and Josh stays outside.
Was Josh drugged? You decide. Click here to watch the video recorded by a surveillance camera mounted across the street.
** watch the timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen
00:08:35 – Josh walks out.
00:10:06 – Josh is standing on the sidewalk in the lower left hand portion of the screen. He doubles over.
00:10:22 – Josh takes off his sweatshirt and shirt.
00:11:34 – Josh walks away from the bar.
Josh’s car was parked near the apartment where he planned to spend the night. A camera (300 feet south) at 67 N. Pearl Street records Josh alone – standing, looking around. He staggers and walks out of view. Josh is not seen on any other surveillance cameras (a police report verifies this). The Hudson River is 2 miles in the opposite direction. His body was recovered from the Hudson in April 2008.
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Hector Berrellez
Hector Berrellez is a retired Federal Agent with experience solving high-profile homicide cases. Hector believes the drownings are homicides and are connected. Hector and I have discussed the evidence that links the cases and he’s currently reviewing case files. His expertise is critical to uncovering new evidence and encouraging law enforcement to reopen these cases and begin a full investigation.
He is credited for solving the murder of undercover DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena by drug traffickers in Guadalajara, Mexico. For his work, Berrellez received the prestigious DEA Administrator’s Award.
Kristi Piehl Uncategorized
Matthew Grendel
A Wilkes-Barre, PA newspaper article reveals that smiley face graffiti may have been found near the location where Matthew Grendel was recovered in 2007.
I didn’t know much about Matthew’s case until the newspaper reporter emailed me. After some digging, it appears that his story certainly mirrors the others. He was at a house party celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and got separated from his friends. Matthew made a strange cell call (the cell phone has never been found) and vanished. The last time anyone heard from Matthew was in the afternoon of 3/10/07. To get to the water’s edge, he would have had to walk some busy streets in the broad daylight. There were no sightings of him between the campus area and the water.
The newspaper reporter, Jerry Lynott, asked if he could interview me for the story. I agreed and asked for the phone number for Matthew’s mom. Patty Grendel is an amazing woman with inspiring faith who says if her son was killed, she will forgive the perpetrator. Despite a thorough police investigation, many things about Matthew’s disappearance don’t add up. Her family, like so many others, is left searching for answers.
So about that graffiti… I know you are wondering what it looked like and where it was found. I asked the newspaper reporter and he told me that retired NYPD Kevin Gannon says he found it and it matched other graffiti. He refused to disclose a photo or specify the location.
Thanks to Jerry Lynott, the reporter at The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Here’s is a link to the article.
Kristi Piehl In the Press, Uncategorized
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