Michael Sean Grenley, 41 years old, left his home near 75th Ave and Deer Valley in north Glendale, at 1pm on July 19th. His wife had thought he had simply gone to get lunch, but concerned, reported him missing later that day after he did not return.
Michael enjoyed driving his Jeep Rubicon to remote areas north of Phoenix, and quickly there was speculation he may have simply gone for a ride in the desert. On August 6, 2011, a motorcyclist discovered Michael’s remains near his Jeep approximately 10 miles north of Lake Pleasant and notified Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office. A spokesperson for sheriff’s office indicated the Jeep was found with the front end stuck on a large boulder.
Arizona is known for its rough terrain in the area north of Lake Pleasant. Many venture north on 4x4s, dirt bikes and quads thru unmaintained trails between Lake Pleasant and Crown King, a popular place for avid off-road enthusiasts due to its spectacular scenery and challenging landscape. Though lovely, the Arizona wilderness is also quite unforgiving.
Michael’s cause of death has not been publicly released, however the Medical Examiner indicates there was no sign of foul play or a struggle. On the day of Michael’s disappearance Arizona experienced a Haboob, a storm that created a nearly 3,000-4,000 foot high wall of dust at approximately 4:30pm as it rolled through the counties of Pinal and Maricopa, causing hazardous driving conditions throughout the valley. In addition to driving hazards, temperatures in Arizona, July through August can range from 90-128 degrees, along with potential dangers of flash-flooding where in a matter of minutes 10-30 foot walls of water can fill dry creek beds.
It is not known if weather conditions contributed to Michael’s death but in Arizona, for those suffering from a medical condition, exposure to high temperatures and possible lack of water can quickly cause health complications and death due to exposure.
Posted on an off-road website, a member wrote, “This is a sad reminder to all of us to always bring another person and be well-equipped when traveling off-road.”
Michael Grenley is survived by his wife, Melissa, of 17 years and 6 year-old son. His wife described Michael as a wonderful father and regrets he won’t be there to see their 6-year-old son grow up.
Author – Kym L. Pasqualini
Founder of National Center for Missing Adults
& Social Network Advocate
Missing Persons Advocacy Network
Phone: 800.889.3463
Stunning beauty vanishes in Aruba. Family of Robyn Gardner, missing since August 2, 2011 refuse to lose focus and remind public she is a friend, sister, and daughter and they need the public’s help to bring her home safe.
Robyn Lynn Gardner
Robyn Lynn Gardner
Oranjestad, Aruba – Robyn Lynn Gardner, a 35 year-old resident of Fredericksburg, Maryland, vanished August 2, 2011. It is known she had traveled with Gary V. Giordano, to Aruba on July 31, 2011. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, now assisting Aruban authorities, Robyn was last seen in the vicinity of Baby Beach, Sint Nicolass area of Aruba, located on the southeastern tip of the Caribbean Islands. The pair had been staying at the Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino in Oranjestad.
According to friends, Robyn had met Giordano online approximately a year and a half ago and described him as a platonic friend. Though it is not yet clear why she agreed to travel to Aruba with Giordano, Aruban authorities have confirmed they are making every effort to continue to detain 50 year-old, Giordano, for questioning in Gardner’s disappearance. It is reported Giordano contacted Aruban authorities at approximately 6:20pm on August 2nd, reporting he and Robyn had been snorkeling earlier in the afternoon. He claims last time he saw her, he tapped Robyn’s leg, motioning her to return to shore. He then states he proceeded to shore, noticed Robyn was not behind him, and assumed she had been swept out to sea by the current. To date, there is no confirmation that snorkeling equipment was ever rented by Giordano or Robyn. Giordano’s story just isn’t adding up.
Robyn Gardner and Gary V. Giordano
Robyn Gardner and Boyfriend, Richard Forester
Richard Forester, Robyn’s boyfriend and her brother, Andrew Colson, are both adamant that Robyn would not have had even the slightest interest in snorkeling. “Robyn is the type of woman who is very conscientious of her appearance, her makeup always perfect, she went to get her nails done regularly and took great care not to damage her hair extensions,” says Forester. “She is the type of woman who walks down the street and everyone turns and looks at her, amazingly beautiful!” Her family and friends place no credibility in Giordano’s account of the afternoon of snorkeling at an isolated beach. It doesn’t appear Aruban prosecutors place any credence in his story either.
Questions Remain
According to Richard Forester, Robyn had initially told him she was traveling to Florida to visit her family. On Monday, August 1st, Robyn informed Forester her parents had surprised her with a trip to Aruba. A phone call cut short, and a Facebook post from Robyn simply stating “This Sucks,” began to draw Forester’s concern. On August 2nd, Robyn’s last Facebook message to him said, “Don’t worry. I care about you. I love you and we will talk and sort things out when I get back.” That was the last contact he received from her. Whether Robyn agreed to travel to Aruba for a week of relaxation or if she was lured there by Giordano under false pretenses; questions remain.
Google Mail Activity
According to Forester, he noticed Robyn’s Google Mail account was active in the days following her disappearance. With Google Mail a green indicator light reflects if a person is online and available to chat. Forester sent numerous messages with no response but noticed continuous activity on her account in the two days following Robyn’s reported disappearance. Confused, he was not yet aware Giordano had reported Robyn missing and it was not until the following Friday he received notification from Robyn’s brother authorities. Forester is now concerned the Google Mail activity, he was seeing may have been Giordano accessing Robyn’s email account possibly deleting incriminating correspondence.
Background of Giordano
Giordano’s financial history is in question, but he is described as a self-employed businessman, living in a $1 million residence located in an upper-scale, Gaithersburg, MD, neighborhood. Giordano’s history with women is obviously under a microscope and so far documents two restraining orders and allegations of domestic violence. According to a former female acquaintance of Giordano, who had also met him on the Internet, she obtained a restraining order after being stalked by Giordano. She claims he also covertly videotaped them having sex, then placed sexually graphic photographs of her on the Internet. Montgomery County court records indicate when Giordano was confronted by the woman he then proceeded to place inappropriate personal photographs of her inside her neighbor’s mailboxes. Yet an additional restraining order filed by another female acquaintance states Giordano tried to choke the woman and put his fingers down her throat.
Carrie Emerson, a Richmond, VA, resident has come forward to help in the investigation of Robyn’s disappearance. Emerson has told authorities, around the same time Giordano asked Robyn to go to Aruba, Giordano had viewed online photographs of Emerson’s daughter, a beautiful blonde teen model. Giordano called Emerson claiming to be a producer and offered to take both of them to Aruba for a photo shoot. During one conversation, Emerson recalls Giordano strangely said, “This won’t be another Natalie Holloway case.” Though Emerson declined, Giordano continued to pursue her, even offering lifetime financial security if Emerson and her daughter would both sleep with him. After her own experience with Giordano, Emerson is passionate that other women need to be educated. “Giordano is only one of millions of men who try to lure unsuspecting women into potentially dangerous situations,” Emerson says. “I came forward to help find Robyn first and foremost. People need to remember that Robyn is a person, not an object, who deserves to be further exploited in the media.” Emerson is haunted by a gut feeling that Giordano had been specifically targeting blondes and wonders if he may have been working with someone else, possibly even trying to pre-arrange some kind of deal in the sex-trade industry. When a person vanishes under suspicious circumstances, Emerson’s concerns are not unreasonable and should be investigated.
Giordano’s interactions with these women validates a history of predatory behavior; then add Giordano’s ex-wife who alleges domestic violence occurred in their very short marriage. It is evident, given Giordano’s documented violent behavior that Robyn’s family has every reason to be concerned for her safety.
The Insurance Policy
Aruban authorities state it is not uncommon for travelers to purchase travel insurance. However, reports that Giordano purchased a $1.5 million ‘accidental life insurance policy’ in Robyn’s name listing him as main beneficiary could be perceived as a motive for homicide. While purchasing a travel life insurance policy may not seem unusual, Giordano’s activities following Robyn’s disappearance send some huge red flags for those investigating her disappearance. It has been reported only two-days after Robyn’s mysterious disappearance, Giordano called American Express inquiring if all insurance documents he had submitted had been received, wanting confirmation he was listed sole beneficiary and reported he tried to initiate collection on the policy. While authorities and family were desperately concerned for Robyn’s safety, it appears Giordano had only one thing on his mind, collecting money.
The Investigation
Aruban solicitor general, Taco Stein, has stated Aruban authorities remain very concerned about inconsistencies in Giordano’s account of what happened the afternoon of August 2nd and making every attempt to continue to detain Giordano in Aruba while continuing to investigate Robyn’s disappearance. Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting and searched Giordano’s home. Disappearances of United States citizens overseas tend to be complicated by jurisdictional issues and FBI investigative activity in Aruba limited. Extensive searches of the water, coastline and even phosphate mines in south and north end of the island have produced no leads.
Stein has publicly confirmed a digital camera was recovered that contains images of Robyn but stated during a news interview that Gardener did not appear to be in duress in the photographs. Though reported by some mainstream media that a source described the photographs as ‘beyond pornographic’ friends and family of Robyn are convinced that Robyn would not ever willingly participate in pornographic photographs.
On the day of Robyn’s disappearance, a surveillance camera confirmed the pair went to eat at the Rum Reef Bar & Grill located in the Baby Beach area Robyn reportedly disappeared. Staff at the Reef Bar & Grill reportedly told authorities Robyn appeared woozy during the meal. Additional reports state Giordano has claimed Robyn took a sleeping pill and drank alcohol prior to snorkeling. Giordano’s own assertion may lend credence to speculation Robyn may have been unwittingly drugged the day of her disappearance as those who know Robyn well unanimously agree that is not consistent with her behavior. One must really question what ‘good friend’ would take someone who is inebriated snorkeling, placing them in danger.
The owner of a dive shop located next to the Rum Reef Bar & Grill claims Giordano and Robyn did enter his shop several hours before she was reported missing but did not rent any equipment. The dive shop owner also claims he saw Giordano and Robyn driving on a dirt road in a remote part of the island later in the day.
The Impact on Robyn’s Family and Friends
Ambiguous loss experienced by families searching for missing loved ones is said to be one of the most traumatizing experiences to the human psyche. While imagining what may have happened to their missing loved one; if their loved one is somewhere suffering or a victim of a horrific crime, words can’t adequately describe the worry, desperation, and the terror families of missing persons feel. While in this situation, sometimes lasting months and even years, simply moving on is not an option. When someone you love simply vanishes it affects every aspect of a person’s life. Short of being informed their loved one has been located safe or even deceased, loved ones of missing persons enter a perpetual limbo; unable to move forward. The word ‘closure’ becomes a wicked word for it doesn’t exist for families of missing persons. “I was asked if I think Robyn is still alive and without hesitation I answered, yes. I have to believe that and maintain hope because we won’t give up until she is found,” says Forester.
Public Speculation – Help or Hinder?
As with most high profile missing person cases, public opinion and speculation abounds. While exhausting every ounce of energy, family members and loved ones try to remain focused on finding their loved one and utilizing every resource possible remains paramount.
In today’s society and the age of social networking, keeping people aware is vital and discussion is healthy. However, blather can ignite like unattended embers fueling a fire that quickly consumes acres of forest. Unfortunately, gossip tends to receive more focus than the missing person and sadly some can’t even restrain themselves from blaming the victim for the circumstances of their own disappearance.
Headline news reports have read “Beyond Pornographic Images found on Camera,” and presented in a manner to draw attention but can quickly stigmatize the victim, rapidly desensitizing the public and diverting focus that a young woman is terribly missed by her family. On the ‘Missing Robyn Gardner’ Facebook page, a post from a stranger reads. “Boyfriend paid 50 year-old to hack his girlfriend,” and yet another posted by a man named Chuck Webster, says, “If she had a boyfriend in MD. She was cheating on him. Bad girl!” These statements clearly reflect lack of empathy and become personal attacks on the family and friends of the missing woman. “These statements are disturbing and only add insult to injury,” says Forester.
Quickly disseminating information about a missing person is crucial and increases the potential to generate credible leads, enabling the investigating law enforcement agency to progress with the investigation. For missing person cases, the Internet enables expeditious ‘information sharing’ and is vital to successfully solving cases.
Detective Stewart Martz of Phoenix Police Department says, “Whether people realize it or not, these statements can be perceived as malicious attacks on the family and the victim when it should be a time when communities, even social networking communities, need to come together. These families need help.” Det. Martz adds, “It is a stressful enough time for the victim’s family and when insensitive statements are publicized it only further traumatizes these families. The public needs to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement and we encourage them to help the investigation and make a difference by sharing factual information and photographs of a missing person.”
Despite gossip headlines and personal questions asked during interviews, Robyn’s loved ones remain hopeful and motivated. “There is nothing that will remove my focus on finding Robyn. People need to be sensitive and remember first and foremost, Robyn is not only a girlfriend, she is a daughter, sister and a friend,” says Forester. “Everything else, all of this gossip and questions, becomes irrelevant. We just want to bring her home because she has a family who loves and misses her. I refuse to lose focus on that!”
FBI – Robyn Gardner
Missing Person Advocacy Network
Author – Kym L. Pasqualini
Founder of National Center for Missing Adults
& Social Network Advocate
Missing Persons Network
Phone: 800.889.3463
Several months after Amy Lynn Bradley’s disappearance while vacationing with her family on Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Rhapsody of the Seas, Iva and Ron Bradley receive an email from Frank Jones. Jones proclaimed himself to be a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer working with a team of ex-Army Rangers and ex-Navy Seals under his command in special ops missions. Jones assured the Bradleys his team had the experience and credentials to rescue Amy. With information Amy had been kidnapped and held on the Dutch island of Curacao and little progress made in the federal investigation, Jones offered a glimmer of hope to Amy’s parents.
Jones convinced the Bradleys to hire him in what could be defined as a private investigator role to provide surveillance of a location where there had been a potential sighting of Amy and report back to the distressed parents. Once hired, Jones claimed he sent four of his men to Curacao, assigned to develop information and confirm Amy was alive. Once confirmed he would be begin planning a rescue mission. One source of information was Judith Margaritha, a resident of Curacao, introduced to the Bradleys by acquaintances who were also residents of the island. Margaritha claimed she had knowledge Amy was being held in a barbed wire complex protected by heavily armed guards. She accurately described Amy’s tattoos and even referenced a lullaby Iva Bradley sang to Amy when she was a baby. Margaritha also claimed Amy was often seen with a man with long blonde hair and one arm sleeved with tattoos. With knowledge the Netherland Antilles is a major hub for illegal activity and sex-trafficking, the Bradleys felt they had finally received information that would help rescue their daughter. A special ops mission conducted by experienced former military seemed like the only way to infiltrate an organized crime entity in Curacao. Just like in a Hollywood movie, the operation moved forward to rescue Amy.
www.missingpersonsnetwork.org
Tattoo
Amy’s Tattoo
Jones provided a report indicating two of his Ex-Navy Seals set up surveillance locations on the island and observed Amy in a SUV driven by a man with long blond hair. Jones claimed Amy was under armed guard and in imminent danger. This information only seemed to validate the leads Margaritha had provided. Jones’ report further claimed his men were forced to leave the island after being fired upon by approximately ten armed men. Over the next few months, Jones kept payments coming by reporting to the family he had sent more operatives to the island, followed by reporting the latest sightings of their daughter.
Motivated by the hope Amy had been identified and would soon to be rescued, the cost of bringing Amy home was not to be an obstacle. While exhausting their personal savings, the family also sought help from donors and nonprofit organizations to continue to raise the necessary funds that would be needed bring Amy home alive. When the Bradleys’ received communication from Jones stating he was ready to launch the rescue mission and needed more money, the Bradley’s requested some kind of proof. Jones sent them a picture of a young woman on a beach accompanied by the ‘mysterious’ man with long blond hair and tattoos. The woman was wearing a long-brimmed hat, making it difficult to see her face but the tattoos, one of a baby Tasmanian devil and a symbol on her ankle, jumped out of the picture at Amy’s family. Desperate to know their daughter was alive and not wanting to waste any time, they immediately had the pictures forensically examined. “When I got the pictures, I knew Amy was OK, and it was just a matter of time,” recalls Iva Bradley, who recognized the tattoo on her daughter’s ankle. Upon confirmation the photographs were real and likely their daughter, the Bradleys proceeded to pay Jones.
Amy
Amy’s Tattoo
After receiving payment, Jones directed the Bradleys to travel to Florida to wait his call indicating the mission was a success and immediately depart to Curacao to be reunited with their daughter. Overwhelmed with anxiety, knowing the phone could ring at any moment, during the week that followed, Iva recalls only leaving the room two times to go to the front desk and the parking lot. A Lear jet, provided by Ron Bradley’s employer was on hold awaiting immediate departure upon receiving notification Amy was ready to transport home. Every minute was never-ending while awaiting news of their daughter’s rescue but a week passed without any word from Jones.
Meanwhile, in Curacao, one of Jones team, Timothy Buckholz, a former Army Special Forces sniper, began to wonder if Jones was telling Amy’s parents the truth. Buckholz had been assigned to head up surveillance at the location where Jones had said Amy was under armed guard however, Buckholz had only observed what appeared to be an ordinary family living at the location. While at a bar, Buckholz overheard Jones on the phone telling the Bradleys that the location was under constant surveillance and ‘his men’ were watching the house at that very moment. Buckholz then suspected Jones was conning Amy’s family and immediately contacted the Bradleys to expose Jones.
The Bradleys had expended approximately $24,000 of their personal savings and over $180,000 from the Amy Bradley fund at the Nation’s Missing Children Organization, a nonprofit that provided assistance to the family and held a restricted fund specifically for costs related to search and recovery. Utter devastation followed when the Bradleys were informed by Buckholz, that Jones had never served in the Special Forces and had fabricated the entire story, even the photograph of the woman they thought was their daughter was deceptive. The entire story began to unravel. How could someone con a family into thinking their daughter was alive? How could someone plot and go to the extent of fabricating such an elaborate story? The pain the Bradleys were experiencing was unimaginable.
Later, Jono Senk, who had been working with Jones, told authorities he wore a blond wig, posing as the kidnapper. According to Senk they staged the photograph on a Pensacola beach with a young woman who resembled Amy and was an acquaintance of Jones. They even went to the extent of having two temporary tattoos matching Amy’s painted on the woman’s back and ankle to fool the Bradley’s into thinking it was their missing daughter.
As it turned out, Judith Margaritha’s story that she had seen Amy in a guarded compound in Curacao was also false. Giovanni Margaritha, the son of Judith Margaritha, stated what his mother had done was a lie. He later said in a media interview, “It’s just using Amy’s mother as a way of stealing.” Margaritha maintained she had never lied to Amy’s parents but had been paid approximately $8,000.00 for her information.
In February 2002, federal prosecutors in Richmond charged Jones with defrauding the Bradleys of $24,444 and the Nation’s Missing Children Organization of $186,416.00. In April 2002, Jones pleaded guilty to mail fraud, was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to repay the money. Judge Richard L. Williams imposed an enhanced sentence on Joes, twice the maximum called for by federal guidelines. Jones conviction was an end to an unbelievable journey but not the end of the family’s hope.
The Bradleys are not the first or the last family of a missing person to be preyed upon by those claiming they can help find a victim. When a loved one goes missing and the case is publicized, especially high profile media cases, frantic families become an immediate target of unscrupulous individuals claiming they have information as to the missing person’s whereabouts. Psychics, tipsters, and those claiming to be credentialed and reputable private investigators have invaded family’s lives in order to fraudulently benefit from monetary gain.
When your child is missing, families have no choice but to extend trust to those they feel have credible information. During an interview, Ron Bradley later told Primetime, “If there’s a chance, what else do you do?” Ron Bradley says. “If it was your child, what would you do? I guess we took a chance. And I guess we lost.”
Despite, the few who prey upon other’s misfortune, there are many more good people who are willing to do the right thing and help families in distress. Unless one has experienced the psychological trauma associated with ambiguous loss cause by the ‘not knowing’ if someone you love is safe, one may never understand the sheer determination possessed by families of the missing. Giving up the search for your missing loved one is never an option. The Bradleys epitomize the meaning of courage when faced with unimaginable adversity in their search for their daughter. One thing is certain; the heart never gives up hope!
Links:
FBI.GOV – Amy Bradley
Amy Bradley – Official Site
Author – Kym L. Pasqualini
Founder of National Center for Missing Adults
& Social Network Advocate
Missing Persons Network
Phone: 800.889.3463
My mother, Diana Lynn Harris, 27, disappeared from Big Pine Key, Florida, in October 1981. I was ten years old at the time. My brother and I were in Michigan, visiting our father. After our mother’s disappearance, our grandmother raised us.
Diana Harris
Daina Harris
When I turned 17, I returned to Florida to begin my personal investigation of Mom’s disappearance. I’ve been at it ever since. Information I’ve recently uncovered leads me to suspect that my mother may have become a threat to an ongoing, major drug operation and that she might not have been the only person to lose her life for that reason.
I recently ran names connected to Mom’s disappearance through a search engine. When I ran the name “Mark Ripin” – an ex-convict, who was questioned in regard to my mom’s case — I landed on the Real Crimes web site. My heart dropped into my shoes when I discovered that Mark Ripin was also questioned as a possible suspect in the “Tom Stump Missing Persons Case,” and that several other individuals linked to my mother’s case are also linked to Tom Stump’s case.
On the web site I learned that Tom Stump disappeared from Sugarloaf Key, Florida, in 1995. Like my mom, his body was never found. At the time of his disappearance, Tom was married to Mark Ripin’s ex-wife, Bernie Ripin/Stump. A few days prior to vanishing, Tom was telling people that he suspected Bernie of having an affair with radio talk show host Bill Becker. As soon as she was legally able to do so, Bernie married Becker.
I recognized some of the names on the web site and on the message board as people my mom knew back in 1981. Mark Ripin, the ex-con; Mark’s then-wife Bernie; and their attorney friend, Mitchell Denker, were part of a tight knit group of friends who partied together — and some of whom actually lived together — during that time period. My mom was introduced to that group by a new boyfriend, Gary Vincente Argenzio, who, I’ve now found out, was another ex-convict and a close friend of Mark Ripin. Mark Ripen was then, and still is, a close friend of Bernie’s fourth and current husband, Bill Becker, who was Bernie’s live-in boyfriend in 1980 and again began living with her after Tom Stump vanished in 1995.
In October 1981, Mom phoned a friend in Michigan from a hot tub at attorney Mitchell Denker’s “party house” on Big Pine Key and told her that a big drug drop-off was scheduled and she was afraid the phone might be tapped. She also mentioned guard dogs. That’s the last anybody ever heard from her. I’ve since been told by someone in law enforcement that certain police officers attended functions at that party house and that some lost their jobs because of the activities there.
My grandmother filed missing person’s reports in both Michigan and Monroe County, Florida. Nobody at the party house reported Mom missing.
One week after Mom vanished, Gary Argenzio stole a boat that belonged to a man named Robert Thompson. Mitchell Denker told me that Gary also stole two motorcycles from him and possibly a gun. Mark Ripin has since told me that he and Denker owned a boat together, and Denker once allowed Gary to take this boat out and Gary ran it with no oil and blew the motor. Is that why Gary took Robert Thompson’s boat instead of Denker’s?
Another vehicle that was missing was a car that belonged to Mom’s friend Donna. Donna thought it was taken by a man named “Mark” who lived on No Name Key, which is where Mark Ripin and his wife Bernie lived at that time. However, she also added that she believed that man was Mitchell Denker’s cousin, who worked at Denker’s law office. It’s possible she may have confused Mark Ripin with Mitchell Denker’s cousin, Michael Gilbert, who died of a drug overdose in the ‘80s. Which one was it?
After Argenzio ran off to Mexico, Denker allegedly found Donna’s car on a side road. He has stated that he believes Gary Argenzio took the car, perhaps to transport Mom’s body, and claims to have checked it for forensic evidence and found none. Denker is an attorney, not a forensic expert. Why didn’t he turn the car over to the authorities for a professional work-up?
Detective Richard Conrady and Detective Lynn McNeil of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department were originally the lead detectives in Mom’s case. In June 1995, when Mom’s case was being re-investigated as a possible homicide, Detective Phil Harrold questioned Mitchell Denker. Denker told Detective Harrold that Mom was murdered and suggested that she speak with Argenzio’s friend Mark Ripin. Ripin told him he believed Argenzio killed Mom and dumped her body in the ocean.
In July 1982, Gary Argenzio was arrested in Mexico, but he wasn’t charged with Mom’s murder. Instead, (under the name “Gary Vincento”), he was charged and found guilty of stealing Robert Thompson’s boat. Mitchell Denker’s cousin, Michael Gilbert, a member of Denker’s law firm, defended Gary Argenzio pro bono. Argenzio was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.
In May 1990, I contacted Mitchell Denker by phone, and he informed me that he’d sold the party house in 1984. He said he was going to Turkey on business for two weeks and to call him when he got back. When I called him again, he acted like he’d never before talked to me.
In 1992, Gary Argenzio was convicted of another felony. Five days later, he died in his Broward County home in Dania, Florida, allegedly of pneumonia.
But I wasn’t going to give up. Approximately January 1995, I again contacted Mitchell Denker. This time he told me that he thought Gary Argenzio might have buried my mother in Denker’s back yard. As a result of Denker’s new statement, I was able to convince the Sheriff’s Department to reactivate my mother’s case. When questioned in June 1995 by Detective Harrald, Denker said it would have been impossible to bury a body in his yard because of the guard dogs and the coral. Detective Harrald told me the yard had been cemented over so it could not be searched or dug up.
Mitchell Denker asked Harrold if his original statement from 1981 still existed. When Det. Harrold assured him it did not, Denker and Mark Ripin informed him that Argenzio had admitted to smashing Mom’s head into the wall of Denker’s house. Both men stated that they saw the hole in the wall with blood spatters, but Denker described the hole as being in his bedroom and Ripin described it as being by the back door. Detective Lynn McNeil, who investigated the case in 1981, recalled no such damage. She also told me that she and Det. Conrady had checked the woods in the yard for any evidence and had found none. How could the back yard have had woods on it, when Denker said it was solid coral?
In July 1995 – at approximately the same time my mother’s case was reactivated – Tom Stump disappeared from his home on Sugarloaf Key. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department was investigating both the Stump case and Mom’s case simultaneously and was interrogating Mark Ripin in regard to both missing persons cases. Yet apparently nobody found anything the slightest bit suspicious about the fact that the same man was linked to both cases.
In the summer of 2003, Mitchell Denker was convicted of two felonies — Transporting Monetary Instruments and perjury. He was sentenced to five months in prison and disbarred in the state of Florida. This proof that Denker was as much of a crook as Mark Ripin and Gary Argenzio caused me to start wondering if all three men might have been involved in my mother’s disappearance. I immediately requested that Detective James Norman of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department provide me with reports from their 1981 and 1995 investigations. Det. Norman informed me that the files from 1981 did not exist. I was not surprised to hear this, because my Grandma had been trying to get those files for years and had been told they didn’t exist. I was stunned, however, to be told now that former Sheriff William Freeman had deliberately destroyed all case files from the years 1981-1983 and some from 1984. Det. Norman said he couldn’t say why for sure, but had heard a rumor about a big drug bust called the “Big Pine 29” that occurred on Big Pine Key during that time period. Mitchell Denker was the defense attorney for one of the suspected drug smugglers.
I contacted Sheriff Richard Roth to ask him about Mom’s files. Sheriff Roth told me that, in 1981, he was a detective and remembers this incident. He said it wasn’t an uncommon thing back then for the Sheriff to get rid of old case files. However, when Mom’s files were destroyed they were not old at all! My Grandma was still communicating with detectives about the case.
But I did receive the reports from the 1995 investigation, which is how I got the names to run through the search engine. When Mark Ripin’s name took me to the Tom Stump case, I posted a question on the message board, asking if anyone had heard of “Mitchell Denker.”
Someone responded by quoting a post by Mark Ripin in which he cryptically asked: “What’s the connection? Manny the shark hunter, Mitchell Denker, the lawyer?” (I’ve since found out that Manilito “Manny” Pluig, a shark hunter who swims with the sharks, was hired by Bernie Ripin/Stump/Becker to aid in the search for Tom. The answer to Ripin’s question could well be: “Both men swim with the sharks,” one literally, one figuratively.)
Someone else posted a quote from Bernie’s deposition in which she admitted to living in Mitchell Denker’s house. Since Bernie was married to Mark Ripin at that time, that would seem to suggest that they both were on the premises when Mom vanished. Bernie has since told me she knew my mom and my mom showed her photos of my brother and me. Yet, Bernie didn’t bother to report Mom missing, even though Bernie’s own husband said he saw a hole in the wall that was made by Mom’s head.
Another thing I find bewildering is that, when requestioned by police in 1995, Mitchell Denker — a practicing attorney who should know the law — stated that in his opinion there was more than enough evidence to indict Gary Argenzio for my mom’s murder, but the Sheriff’s Department hadn’t seemed interested in pursuing it. He specifically cited Mom’s disappearance and missing body and Argenzio’s flight with Robert Thompson’s boat. Yet, back in 1982, when Argenzio was tried for stealing that boat, Mitchell Denker’s cousin, a member of his own law firm, defended Argenzio for free, and nobody even mentioned my missing mother. In fact, Mark Ripin testified in Argenzio’s behalf.
My mom was a wonderful mother, and I loved her dearly, but she led a difficult life. After an abusive marriage that ended in divorced, she witnessed her brother shoot himself in the mouth. She attempted to self-medicate by smoking marijuana, but that did little to erase the gristly vision. She relocated to Florida in an effort to escape that awful memory, and continued to smoke marijuana. But she never used hard drugs until she met Gary Argenzio, and I doubt that she had any idea what she was getting into when she started her association with that group of people.
I had my mother for only ten years, but I thank God for every one of them. I have beautiful memories of my life with her. She worked hard, cooked wonderful food, and was never too busy to play with my brother and me. She was a very affectionate mother and, no matter how tired she was or how weighed down by worries, she gave us unstinting love and attention.
My mom was my world. For 25 years I’ve been trying to find out what happened to her, and I will not stop until I get an answer that makes sense.
Arizona is one of the most rugged terrains in the United States. With the Sonoran desert’s extraordinary scenery; deep canyons and Saguaro cactus scattered across the desert, breathtaking sunsets, the majestic red rocks of Sedona, to the pines of Flagstaff, outdoor enthusiasts revel in exploring the beautiful landscape. Arizona’s countryside is also one of the most unforgiving with triple digit temperatures in summer months. July through August temperatures can range from 90-128 degrees. Arizona’s monsoon season also brings perilous flash floods consuming everything in their path. In a matter of minutes, 10-30 foot walls of water can fill canyon streams and dry creek beds. This, combined with some of the most deadly critters in the country, such as the Arizona Diamondback rattlesnake, makes Arizona not only one of the most beautiful places to explore but one of the most dangerous.
Michael Sean Grenley, 41 years old, left his home near 75th Ave and Deer Valley in north Glendale at 1pm on July 19th. He was driving his red Jeep Rubicon, AZ license plate 797-VZS. He is described as an avid off-road enthusiast and often drives to remote areas in his jeep. Grenley, an employee at Honeywell, also suffers from a medical condition and needs his prescription medicine. Friends and family describe Grenley as a very experienced 4-wheeler.
On July 19, Arizona experienced a storm that created a nearly 3,000-4,000 foot high wall of dust at approximately 4:30pm as it rolled through Pinal and Maricopa counties. The National Weather Service reported the storm reached 20-40 mph and reduced visibility up to 60 feet in some areas. Also, known as a ‘Haboob’ in Arabic, this storm was significantly smaller than the July 5th dust storm that produced a wall of dust 5,000-8000 feet high. However, the most recent storm brought with it rain and winds that brought down trees and the potential of major flash flooding in the desert. Weather officials say Haboob only occur in Arizona, parts of the Middle East and the Sahara desert due to dry conditions and high amounts of sand. This extreme weather would pose hazard to anyone caught in its path.
amily and friends continue to wait for any word that Michael Grenley is safe. Glendale Police Department continues to search for the missing man.
VA – On March 24, 1998, Amy Lynn Bradley, mysteriously vanished while vacationing with her family aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Rhapsody of the Seas. The ship had left Oranjestad, Aruba, to sail to Curacao, in the Netherlands Antilles.
The, 23-year-old trained lifeguard, had been awarded a full basketball scholarship and graduated from Longwood University in VA with a degree in Physical Education. Amy also had a teaching certificate from K -12. Amy was looking forward to a future bright with possibilities prior to her disappearance. She had lots of plans upon her return. She adopted an English bulldog named Daisey to keep her bulldog Bailey; took a dozen rolls of film to take pictures to decoupage her coffee table; had concert tickets; a part time job to start on Monday; bought gifts in Aruba for her friends back home; sent post cards to friends from Puerto Rico. The ill-fated Caribbean family vacation with parents, Ron and Iva Bradley, and Amy’s younger brother, Brad, should have been a trip of a lifetime but quickly became overcast amidst darkness and mystery.
Rhapsody of the Seas had left Aruba and was in docking procedure in the Port of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, at the time of Amy’s disappearance. In the early morning hours of March 24th, Amy left her cabin barefoot only taking her lighter and cigarettes, an obvious sign she was not expecting to be gone for an extended amount of time.
Reflecting on the days before Amy’s disappearance, Amy’s mother, Iva Bradley, recalls several members of the crew paying special attention to Amy from the moment they boarded the ship. The day preceding Amy’s disappearance, Amy’s parents were approached by a waiter who asked for Amy by name. The waiter said ‘they’ wanted to take Amy to Carlos and Charlie’s Restaurant while docked in Aruba. Her father recalls thinking the waiter’s request was uncomfortably forward. A short time later, Ron and Iva told their daughter what happened. Both parents are now haunted by Amy’s response, “I wouldn’t go and do anything with any of those crew members. They give me the creeps.”
Creepy didn’t stop there. Later that night, the family attended a party on the upper deck where the band was playing. During the party, Amy, accompanied by her mother, went to the 4th deck photo gallery to view pictures of vacationers that had been taken earlier in the evening. All of the photographs taken of Amy were missing. When they asked the gallery manager where the photos were, he stated he remembered developing them and placing them with the others but was unable to locate them. Iva then asked the photo gallery manager to re-make the photos.
Later that evening Amy and Brad went to the ship’s nightclub and where Amy had some interaction with ship band members of Blue Orchid. Witnesses claim the bass player was trying to pick her up. According to band member Alister Douglas, who goes by the name Yellow, claims Amy had departed to her room at approximately 1:00AM and used the crew elevator. A ship surveillance video showed Amy and Yellow on the dance floor at approximately 3AM. Amy’s father was the last to see her on March 24th at approximately 5:30AM sleeping on the balcony of the cabin the family shared. When Ron awoke again between 5:50- 6:00AM, Amy was nowhere to be found. While relentlessly searching for their beloved daughter, Amy’s parents have endured an unimaginable journey into the abyss of international kidnapping and sex trafficking. Who Amy may have left to meet that morning remains a mystery.
According to the Bradley’s, they quickly found cruise ship management less than cooperative in the search for their daughter refusing to issue a formal public alert or post pictures of the missing American woman for fear of causing concern to other passengers. Though the FBI has conducted an extensive investigation, into Amy’s background, her friends, teachers, relatives, co-workers, employees, basketball coaches, her parents and brother were even polygraphed. Unfortunately, because Amy vanished outside of the US and lack of FBI jurisdiction in the Netherland Antilles, valuable leads have fallen through the cracks and never investigated. Not one search has ever been conducted.
In the 13 years following Amy’s disappearance, the Bradley’s desperate search for their daughter has included multiple trips to Curacao, appeals on national television, even hiring private investigators. Since Amy’s mysteriously disappeared, many tips reported that appear credible. One of the tipsters, David Carmichael, called the hotline after watching an Unsolved Mysteries segment. He confidently identified Amy as a young woman he saw walking along the beach snug between two men. Describing the encounter, Carmichael, along with his dive buddy, also from Canada, identified two tattoos that matched Amy’s, one of a Gecko, the other a Tasmanian devil. He said the woman approached within 16” of him and his friend and made eye contact for several seconds but didn’t utter a word. He said she was then quickly ushered away by the two unidentified men. Another tip came from a US Navy officer that had visited a brothel in 1999. After seeing Amy in People Magazine, he claims he approached Amy and another woman sitting at a table and the woman told him her name was Amy Bradley and began begging him to help her. When he responded there was a Navy ship just down the road, she said, “You don’t understand, I can’t leave. Help me. Please help me” The Naval officer says he dismissed her plea because he wasn’t aware Amy was a missing person and he did not want his superiors to know he was there.
Thousands of leads later, it’s hard to ignore the circumstances of Amy’s disappearance do not strongly point to sex trafficking. According to a 2010 report conducted by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and published by the United States Department of State, the Netherland Antilles is a transit and destination point for women and children who are victims of forced prostitution in a multi-billion dollar industry. It is estimated approximately 80% of all prostitutes are foreigners. The UN Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) lists the Netherlands as a top destination for victims of human and sex trafficking. Women who are coerced or kidnapped face inhumane conditions, extreme violence and multiple rapes to break their spirit. Victims are often threatened with death along with their family members should they try to escape; forced drug dependence is also common.
When we think of the word unimaginable, Amy’s parents truly know its meaning. “Our lives have been so drastically changed. Every waking moment is, ‘Where is Amy?’ I just want people to know that when girls disappear outside of the country, they’re disappearing for a reason. And white slavery and sex trafficking is so alive and well, it would absolutely blow you away. We believe with every fiber in our being that someone took her and we want her back. And I have tried to make deals with God. If we find her today, you can take me tomorrow. When they say the worst nightmare, it is. It’s the worst nightmare.”
Thirteen years later, Amy remains missing in an ocean of international red tape and a series of events that have failed to be investigated. Sadly, as the Bradleys found out, when you are traveling overseas and someone you love goes missing – you are on your own.
