From the update archive

10/8 tip: The Importance of Photos and Derek’s Shoes

October 9, 2014 · Case Details

Hi all,

Tips have been incredibly helpful in helping us advance the case and we’ve learned some important lessons about the best practices for tips. Here are just a few, with a case below to illustrate the importance.

In general, we have found that the most useful tips are the ones that include photos to help us confirm the accuracy of the report, and to easily include or exclude the tip as a possibility for a lead on Derek.
Flyers seem to work very well for creating new tips, especially those near the LA National Forest

Tip 10/8/14Hello, I live in the city of Whittier. Today when I got home from work I spotted a pair of sneakers on the front porch. I asked my wife about them and she said that our gardener had found them hiding in a bush in our front yard. I inspected them and found a key chain with a key attached to it inside one the shoes. They appeared to have been there for a while because they have cobwebs on the soles. They are Nike size 10, gray with light blue trim. The reason I’m doing this is that I just came back from riding my mountain bike and on the entrance to the hiking trail I saw the missing person’s poster and I thought it might be connected to the disappearance of Derek. A lot of people come to hike on the Whittier hills. Some of these people sit in front of our house and some times they forget items. I don’t know if this is the case. Let me know if you have further questions.ReplyDear Martin,

Thank you very much for taking the time to write us about the shoes found in your yard. I’m sure you can imagine how incredibly difficult the past several weeks have been for us, but I am sincerely grateful to the many people that have tried to help locate my son. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to be any closer to an answer then we were when he first disappeared. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to take a photo of the sneakers and send to me. I can then forward to Derek’s friends to see if any of them recognize them.

Thank you,

Jean (Derek’s mother)

The ShoesThese were the shoes from the tip–The image is very helpful to us because we can confirm these shoes are not Derek’s. However, they are VERY close, and thus its a useful tip.

Shoes spotted near Whittier

Shoes Derek was wearing 8/5

Things we learned:

please be on the lookout for Derek’ Shoes. They may be what breaks the case
If possible, please attach any images you can to help us follow up on the case.
All tips are greatly appreciated, and can truly break the case to help us find Derek. If these were Derek’s shoes, our search would immediately go to an on the grounds search for him.

All the best

Shuhan

Have information about Derek?