On January 19, 2020, Janet Walsh woke up, got herself ready, and went to her local church for services. Afterwards, she, her daughter Erin, and her son-in-law all went out to lunch. While Janet’s husband, Thomas had died in November of 2019 of an apparent suicide, Janet seemed to be in good-spirits and adjusting well. Her family denied she had any health issues.
On January 20, 2020, Janet and her daughter were scheduled to have dinner together at Janet’s home but when her daughter arrived around 5:00 PM, Janet and her car were no where to be found. Janet’s cell phone was found upstairs. Her daughter waited for a few hours for Janet to return and began calling Janet’s friends to see if she was with them, but ultimately called the police at 8:30 PM to report her mother missing. They arrived at the 100 block of Dolores Drive in Shaler, Pennsylvania and began to gather information and clues.
According to the police, Janet had last been seen the day before, January 19, 2020, at her local church. On either the day she went missing or the day before, she had canceled a therapy appointment scheduled for January 20, 2020. It is not clear what type of therapy this was, whether physical therapy, occupational therapy, or therapy for a mental health issue. Given that her husband had passed away only in November, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was seeing a counselor.
After about a week, the local police turned the investigation over to the Allegheny County Police Department (“ACPD”). No further evidence was found to help explain why or how Janet disappeared.
In 2021, the police gave a press conference to reflect the one-year anniversary of her disappearance. The officer admitted there was no new information but wanted to remind everybody of what Janet looked like and what her car looked like and for people to keep their eyes opened. In that press conference, the officer stated that the GPS location via OnStar from her car had not been available since Sunday which is why they were focusing on the water. A representative from OnStar noted that when a signal is not received from a vehicle, it is because of poor reception, so for example, the car is in a parking garage, has a thick forest canopy overhead, or is in water. The officer stated that help had been provided by the US Army Corp of Engineers from Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh River Rescue Unit and that parts of the Allegheny River had been searched four or five times, but nothing had been found. He stated that future plans to search the River had already been put into place, but they were waiting for the weather to cooperate.
Janet is described as being a 70-year-old Caucasian women with strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes. She is 5’3” tall, 170-300 pounds, and uses a walker or cane to aid in her mobility. She owned a silver and black 2018 Chevrolet Trax SUV with license plate number KTW-6007.
On July 21, 2024, her body was found in a car in the Allegheny River close to wear she lived (a few miles down the river). I didn't initially think it was suicide, but it seems she drove all the way to river access in Oakmont, which is pretty intentional. For those not familiar with the area, she had to cross the river, drive down a road that is pretty much just access to Verona/Oakmont and points beyond (there are very few businesses or turnoffs from Allegheny River Boulevard due to it being sandwiched between the river and a large hill), and turn off the main road in Oakmont to a specific river access area. I suppose she could also have been disoriented and trying to visit an area she had been familiar with in the past. There are a lot of people in her demographic that live in that part of Oakmont - I wonder if she had any connection? How Janet ended up in the river is still unknown...
No comments:
Post a Comment