Is Kortne Stouffer being used as bait to catch bigger fish?

Kortne was in the public eye the entire night – including the wee hours leading up to her mysterious disappearance.

On Saturday night, July 28^th, Kortne went dancing – not at one place – she went to at least two places and while at the second place, the Hardware Bar,  there was some kind of disturbance that involved Kortne and she was either thrown out of the club, asked to leave the club or she left by her own choosing.

Numerous individuals interviewed have said that it was out of character for Kortne to be argumentative – especially in a social setting, so what was up with Kortne that night?

Facts are few and far between but it appears that Kortne left with two individuals, both guys – one being the designated driver.  After reviewing a handful of news articles it appears that Kortne and one of the men entered Kortne’s residence in Palmyra and shortly thereafter Kortne ended up in another argument – this time with her downstairs neighbor.  This neighbor called the police and when they arrived everyone was advised to go inside and get to sleep.  I am sure there were more words that than but the end result was everyone did go into their respective homes and the police left.

Unfortunately, the night did not end there – it would have been nice if it did – maybe Kortne would have woken up and walked the dogs like normal – but the night was far from over.

Again, from piecing various news articles and blogs together, Kortne is rumored to have started stomping on the floor which upset the downstairs neighbor(s) enough to call the police again.  On the other hand, maybe something more sinister was occurring in Kortne’s apartment.  The police arrived again – but Kortne did not answer the door and because everything appeared to be quiet, the police left.

What is interesting however, it appears that the neighbor who called the police did not come out to discuss the reason for the second call.  It also appears that the police did not attempt to contact the neighbor to discuss the second call.  Why?

Skip forward a few hours, the male guest got up and after not seeing Kortne, he left.  He went to a nearby store and at that point he sent a text message to Kortne saying basically that he did not see her so he left.  Sounds a little weird to me, how about you?  Why didn’t he make any attempt to double check whether she was home or not?

Let’s back pedal to the night before at the club.

There are cameras inside the club and outside the club but unfortunately, from what I have read on different blogs, someone associated with the club erased data from the outside cameras – which would have shown people leaving the club and getting into vehicles.  Was someone in the club trying to hide something?  Could that be considered tampering with evidence?

Who picked up Kortne’s friend early Sunday morning?  Was it the same person who dropped them off after they left the club?  If so, why didn’t that person come straight to Kortne’s house to pick up the friend?  Did they meet at the store because there was a store camera to capture Kortne’s friend making a purchase?  Was it done to timestamp his activity?

So, from the time the noise was made after the first police visit, exactly what transpired between then and when this friend was captured on the store camera?  A lot could have happened in those 3 – 4 hours.

I have seen pictures of Kortne in what appears to be the same outfit she wore out at the clubs on Saturday night.  Why aren’t police releasing that photo in an effort to jog anyone’s memory about what they might have seen Saturday night and early Sunday morning?

Also, why aren’t police releasing the names of the two men who were possibly two of the last people to see Kortne that night/morning?  I know the police are not designating either of these individuals as POI’s or suspects, but maybe police could say that these two individuals drove Kortne home that night might help because anyone knowing these two might be able to advise police if either of them have acted differently or if they might have said something that might help in finding Kortne.

Many articles on Kortne’s disappearance skirt the issue of drugs – hinting that maybe there might be individuals involved with drugs who might know about what happened to Kortne.  If Kortne or her boyfriend or the guys who drove her home had a history of drug use or were involved with distribution, the possibilities of what happened to Kortne increase exponentially.

If police feel that drugs are a bigger issue than the issue of finding Kortne, then the wait in finding Kortne might go on for quite a while – and that will be so sad for everyone who misses Kortne.

Kortne’s disappearance reminds me of the Holly Bobo case in Tennessee last year.  Holly went missing from her driveway as she was preparing to go to classes at a nearby nursing school.

Holly Bobo went missing about 16 months ago and the reward fund is up to $250,000.

Back to Kortne.  Different sources have said that the man who spent the night was an old friend and he might have been invited over because Kortne’s boyfriend was away and she might have feared being alone.

If her friend dozed off, someone she feared might have come to the door or maybe Kortne received a call from someone she feared and she quickly left to avoid a confrontation.  If Kortne did leave her apartment in the wee hours and she was walking down the main drag, anyone could have stopped and picked her up – including the police.

The bottom line is that the police know about the two individuals who drove Kortne home and they were concerned enough to question them extensively, search their vehicles and also search their residences.  They also obtained search warrants for Kortne’s place and went through it with a fine tooth comb.

The father of one of the young men spoke on television saying that he knows both boys well enough that if either of them did anything to Kortne, he would have noticed changes in their behavior.  How interesting.  I find it interesting that he went on national television yet the police will not release the names of the two individuals who might be critical to Kortne being found.

Today, I drove up to Palmyra to see exactly where Kortne lives – yes “lives” because as far as I am concerned, she is alive and will hopefully return to where she “lives.”  In front of her apartment were a few flower arangements and  a well worn bible.  Whoever left the bible obviously read it inside out hundreds of times and was thoughtful enough to leave it as a tribute to Kortne.

Kortne’s apartment

After walking past Kortne’s house, I asked a postal delivery person if she could direct me to Mazzocca’s Place, a pizza shop that is making a “Kortne Peace” pizza for 10 bucks, with 5 bucks, yes 5 bucks being donated to the fund being set up as a “Bring Kortne Home Fund.”

I talked with Toby, the prettier of the two owners (husband and wife team), and she told me Kortne’s disappearance really hit close to home because she has a 21 year old daughter of her own.  On a side note, Toby does not look a day over 30, so I found it surprising that she has a daughter that old.

I ordered a Pepperoni “Kortne Peace” pizza and upgraded it with Mushrooms for $2.00 more – money well spent.  The pizza arrived at my table and it looked large enough for the Vienna Boys Choir – with just the right amount of cheese and a tasty marinara sauce and a light thin crust.

Even though I secured a table, I stayed at the counter chatting with Toby and a customer or two as they came in one by one or three by three for their “Kortne Peace” pizzas.

Most of these people have no idea who Kortne is – they read about her and saw all the signs on electric poles and traffic poles and store windows and they decided to show their solidarity by doing what they could to in support of finding Kortne.

I went from Hershey to Londonderry – probably passing through 5 or 6 towns – not knowing when I left one and entered another – maybe that is why the support for Kortne is working – all these towns are one long street of average Americans – many with their own 21 year olds – many hoping that what has happened to Kortne will not happen to one of their own.

No one was saying, “We are Palymra” but they were all reading the signs and shaking their heads and you could see the concern in their eyes.  The ones coming in to buy pizza might not even like pizza but they were coming in a steady stream to take part in the only way they know how.

Several were talking across the tables like people used to do.  These days people come in places and don’t even look at who is seated next to them – but today they wanted to talk about Kortne.

Some expressed concerns that they wanted the police to do more, while others were saying the police were doing all they could do – they all believed the police had more information than they were sharing with the public and many acknowledged the need for police to not reveal everything.

Palmyra, and the surrounding area had the feel of a “Missing POW” but instead of yellow ribbons, the town had photos of Kortne everywhere – some were printed on pink paper and others were on blue paper – nice touch to get people to stop and look and pay attention to the fact that one of their own was missing.

For those who do not like pizza or who have to watch their diets, stop by and get a pizza and drop it off at the police station or the fire station.  If not, go by and buy a gift certificate and drop it in the collection plate on Sunday – your pastor or minister or Rabbi or priest will figure out who could use it best.

Mazzocca’s just took over the location – stripped it down to the bare walls and started from fresh – they put a lot of money into the place and a lot of love.  Regarding what they are doing for Kortne – most restaurants when they do something for a cause will donate a buck for every order – these guys went over the top – they are donating half the price of a large pizza.  My God, who does that any more?

They do not even have a big lighted sign outside and they are donating this kind of money.  By the time the smoke clears, the money they will end up donating would have paid for a pretty nice sign above their front door.

Kudos to Mazzocca’s Place.

In closing, I have three daughters and I can relate what Scott and Wendy, Kortne’s parents, are going through.  Maybe that is what motivated me to drive to Palmyra today.

It is not because Kortne is pretty – even though she is.  It is not because Kortne is a blonde with green eyes – even though the poster describes her that way.

It is because Kortne is someone’s daughter – someone with her whole live ahead of her.

Prayers to Kortne, Kortne’s parents, and all those in the Palmyra area who are in pain tonight because one of their own is missing – and needs to be found.

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