Ambrosia Investigations - Case #8 - The Vanishing Of Ray Parker(Solved)

[Andrew`]

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Case #8 - The Vanishing Of Ray Parker
Plot: A family lives hapily ever after at their house located deep in the woods. They have peace, away from noise, living with their 10-year-old son, Ray, until one day he vanishes.
Find out what happened to him, before it's too late.

Outside of Dakota, 9PM, 2008.
Linda was in the kitchen doing the dishes while John was in the living room watching a football match. She finished the dishes and headed to Ray's bedroom.
-Ray, time to sleep, love.
She received no answer. She checked the bedroom, he wasn't there.
-John, where's Ray, it's getting late, he has school tomorrow.
-I don't know, haven't seen him for an hour now, isn't he with you?
Linda froze. She started running around, checking every room, worried to death. John went outside to look, it was dark.
-Ray, Ray, can you hear me!!!
Adrian ran there as soon as he heard the shouting holding a shovel.
-Hey man, I was in my backyard when I heard you, what happened?
A couple of other neighbors showed up as well. Ray was gone. They called the police shortly after.
-Hello mr.Parker, mrs.Parker, thank you for taking our advice and not going in the woods. Our men will search everywhere, in the meantime I want you to tell me exactly what happened.
-I left his bedroom at about 8pm to go cook and do the dishes. I finished at about 9pm and then I went to see if he was done with his homework but he was gone.
-How about you, sir? Did you hear or see anything during that hour?
-Don't waste your time with him officers, all he does it watch football.
-Are you serious? I work my ass off and I just wanted to watch one match..
-It's your fault and you know it. Since you shouted at him 2 days ago...
-What am I supposed to do when he doesn't do his homework, huh Linda?
The police were looking all over the area along with Ray's father, John.
-I'm sorry for back there, detective. We've been having some... problems lately...
-It happens, don't worry about it.
-Ray... has said that be will leave many times, but you know, he's a kid, they all say that.. we didn't believe him.
-John, it's not your fault, you both love your son, and I promise you we will find him.
In the meantime, the other half of the team were looking for clue within the house along with Linda. They checked Ray's closet.
-Are these all his shoes?
-A pair is missing, actually.
-Anything else you believe is missing from the room? A toy maybe?
-I don't know, probably his favourite teddybear, a small, brown one, but I haven't seen it for a day or two, he could've lost it.. sorry, it's just.. we've been so busy lately, working.. we haven't been near him lately, we're not the happy family we used to be.
He... probably left by himself, I didn't hear any noise while in the kitchen, and he threatened to leave many times. He definitely planned it, but what if he gets hurt, alone in the dark..
-We'll find him, ma'am. Is there anything else you remember that may help us?
-...well, the door was unlocked when Ray was gone, but I remember locking it. We leave spare keys on the small table in the hallway and be knows it, but they're still there. However, he knows he'll be in trouble if he touches them..
-..so he could've put them back. Less trouble, less worries.
-Yeah, he's a kid afterall.
The rest lf the team were still searching for clues in the dark forest.
-Over there! Footprints, about the size of Ray's. It looks like he left barefoot.
-Yeah he was barefoot while in his room, John explained.
As they walked deeper, though, saw more footprints.
-Wait, what about these ones? These ones must be from Ray's shoes.
-So what now, he stopped to put his shoes on?
-Maybe his feet were cold, is.. is that a clue?
-Could be, mr.Parker, could be. But the depth does not match either. These steps went much deeper in the mud as if he suddenly became heavier.
-He could have been running before and the "heavier" footsteps could be cause of him walking, after putting his shoes on.
-Still big of a difference, it's suspicious.
Not much further, the footprints stopped in an area surrounded only by trees.
-Many animal prints as well, do you have many wild animals around here?
-Yes, unfortunately. Oh god.. I hope that's not the case.
After searching for another hour, they returned empty handed.
-What is your name, sir?
Adrian Richards. I.. I live near the Parker house.
-And you also live alone.
-Yes, not married or widowed. I just prefer living alone with my friends.
-Your friends?
-My plants.
-What do you do for living?
-I'm the man for everything around here, electrician, plumber, gardener... we're outside the city and there's like 10 houses around here, I get quite busy during the day!
-So what happened today mr.Richards?
-Well, I was... watering my roses in the backyard like I do everyday, when I heard the Parkers shouting, found out they were looki
ng for Ray. Damn, it's so sad, I loved this young man, he used to come visit me with his little brown teddybear... listen, officers, between you and me, I believe he left his parents. They have been having problems, we're like friends and he told me about it. But if you do believe someone did this, maybe you should check out thay couple that lives over there, the Masons. I heard they lost their kid in an accident and since then they've always wanted another one, plus how did they even hear the Parkers shouting and ran to the scene? I live much closer and I barely heard them, they must've been nearby.
-Alright, mr.Richards, thank you for your time.
------------------------------------------------------------
-What?? So he accused us of kidnapping the kid? Who the hell does he think he is!!!
-Honey, calm down.
-Mrs.Mason, please, calm down, no one's accusing you of anything, we're just doing our job.
-We heard some shouting, we came to help, that's all I can tell you. We moved here recently, we didn't even know this boy.
-Officers, who is that Richards guy anyway? asked mr.Mason.
-He's the local maintenance guy, honey. That guy with the roses in the front yard and all those cabbages in the back. His face looks so familiar to me, I just don't know why...
-How did you lose your son, mr and mrs Mason?
-We used to live in Dakota, not far from here. Our son was 8. We were returning from a visit, it was about 10PM, it was dark. I was driving back home, Jess was sitting next to me and our son, Nickolas, on the back. We stopped at a red traffic light, and then a car came with very high speed out of literally nowhere and hit us from behind. Then he.. simply walked out of his car and ran away. We survived with a few injuries but.. Nick didn't 2 years now and they haven't found him. My wife saw him, though.
-You did?
-Yeah, I looked at the mirror when he hit us, but I hit my head really hard shortly after and I can't remember his face. I've been seeing doctors and taking medication, one day I promised myself I will recover and recall. I do remember his smile, though. He was smiling, can you believe that? That son of a bitch...
------------------------------------------------------------
-Mrs.Parker, we might have to revisit the house later or another day to make sure we didn't miss anything. In the meantime, we'll ask some locals around and keep looking in the woods.
-Even if we're not here and you want to get in, Adrian has an extra key since the day he repaired one of the walls, ask him and he'll give it to you. Thank you for your effort, officers, we appreciate it.
Later at the precinct:
-So what do we have?
-Well, the kid most likely ran away, I mean, no forced entry and no noise from any doors or windows or from the kid, his footsteps outside the house and in the woods... so probably not an abduction. He's either out there, running away from his family, or.. a wild animal attacked him, there were prints everywhere. The footprints don't help at all either as they end in the middle of the woods.
-Well it rained heavily couple of days ago, the area is full of mud, what did we expect..
-Indeed, so we extend the search, fill the town with posters of the kid, and hope for the best.

That is all you need, look for clues carefully. Should the police keep looking? What could have possibly happened?

Good luck.

[D00M]

He ran off from his family, he was great friends with maintenance guy as he said it itself, he probably is staying at his house and the maintenace guy is covering for him. The police should investigate the maintenace guy.

[Amine]

All the evidence points at adrian.
1. He has a copy of the key which helped him get in and sneak the kid out  without the parents knowing.
2. He knew the kid very well and asked him to go with him and the kid didnt resist and took his beloved bear and pair of shoes that andrias didnt let him put on to avoid making noise in the house and because he was in a rush. ( andrias could of stole the bear and told the kid to come with him if he want it back )
3. When they got out the kid walked for a bit and then put his shoe after that andrias heard the family scream thats why he decided to hold the kid and get out faster ( the problem is there is no trace of his footsteps ) ( he removed his footsteps using the shovel and came there as soon as he was done)
4. he said that he is busy on the day but he is really free on the night which gave him freetime to do this.
5. The other family just moved recently but he still knew that they lost their child even tho they dindt know him that well  this could point out that he hit them in the accident also the wife says she remember seeing him before this could be when she saw him in the mirror.
6. he is trying to point fingers on the family and supporting the idea of the son running away (thats why he left the child foot steps).
7. deeper footprints are the cause of him holding the shovel??


gather these after the first read its a mess I know

[Cracky]

All the evidence points at adrian.
1. He has a copy of the key which helped him get in and sneak the kid out  without the parents knowing.
2. He knew the kid very well and asked him to go with him and the kid didnt resist and took his beloved bear and pair of shoes that andrias didnt let him put on to avoid making noise in the house and because he was in a rush. ( andrias could of stole the bear and told the kid to come with him if he want it back )
3. When they got out the kid walked for a bit and then put his shoe after that andrias heard the family scream thats why he decided to hold the kid and get out faster ( the problem is there is no trace of his footsteps ) ( he removed his footsteps using the shovel and came there as soon as he was done)
4. he said that he is busy on the day but he is really free on the night which gave him freetime to do this.
5. The other family just moved recently but he still knew that they lost their child even tho they dindt know him that well  this could point out that he hit them in the accident also the wife says she remember seeing him before this could be when she saw him in the mirror.
6. he is trying to point fingers on the family and supporting the idea of the son running away (thats why he left the child foot steps).
7. deeper footprints are the cause of him holding the shovel??


gather these after the first read its a mess I know

Looks like the case is already solved, i believe that Adrian did abduct the kid since he's become *good friends* with him as he told the cops, he probably just offered the kid a getaway from his family that weren't paying him any attention and going back to what Amine said the family didn't even know Adrian all too well and the guy claims that he knows their son died? how some kind of magical power? i believe not, only thing that makes sense in this case is Adrian and the kid having some sort of bond that made the kid want his help to get away and he probably gave the spare key to Adrian so he can get in and take the kid with him  ( sorry cause i'm referring to Ray as the kid but yea it's easier ) but something probably went wrong, maybe the kid didn't oblige to what Adrian told him and he probably had to take manners into his own hands... therefor killing the kid might've made sense to him and the tracks getting heavier might have been him carrying the kid's body that's just my guess with a bit of help from Amine

[Andrew`]

Your theories are very good and some clues you've found are important, but there are other parts far away from the case and many clues you haven't put together, so you cannot entirely back your thoughts. Keep looking.

[Amine]

The teddy was taking before by adrian days before the vanishing, he did that to seduce the kid to go out with him and kidnap / murder.
the shovel could mean hiding evidence or burying the kid
Also why the fuck do you water your roses at 9pm....
oh and
"That guy with the roses in the front yard and all those cabbages in the back. "
"I was... watering my roses in the backyard like I do everyday"


" His face looks so familiar to me,"
and
"My wife saw him" lead us to think that he did caused the accident and because it was near his house that is really really isolated (10 people live near him thats it) he just ran away on foot.











HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Come to think about it now The shovel was used for both bury and hiding evidence.
1. as said before it was used to hide his footsteps (adrian).
2.The shoe were put on adrian hands to make false evidence that the kid ran away (make false footprints) thats why its deep since he is heavier than a little kid
3. the mud could be the cause of making a hole in the ground to make a grave for the kid (since it rained few days ago there is still mud under the dirt).

[GandElf The Gay]

Waiting for the case to be finished so I can read it in one go 

[Ninja Assassin]

Basically there is somth wrong about the ages. Mr and mrs mason says that 2 years ago their 8 years old boy died. 8+2= 10. How come its the same age as ray? Coincidence?
Then as amine said who the hell waters the plant at 9pm?
Okay adrian has a spare key of the Parker's house.
No physiqual abduction seemed possible since no noises were heard as someone said the teddy bear most probably. But why? What is the purpose of adrian? "He seems familiar" , and the one who crashed the mason's car "smiled". Pedophile psychopath maybe?
Again who would water plants at 9PM? To be honest i dont mean to judge anyone but i won't trust a guy with plants as " friends" looks like a freak to me.



EDIT: the Parkers were having "problems". I believe that the problems are the key to this solution. Andrew mentioned that they lived happily ever after? Wtf whats your definition of happily @Andrew`  xD


How the hell did adrian know that they've always wanted a kid after the accident? Since the masons barerly knows this adrian.
Although all evidences are against adrian i have a feeling he will turn out innocent.
Then there is the animals footprints no one mentionned that because it is hard to find a link between all these clues and the animal footprints.

Come to think about it now The shovel was used for both bury and hiding evidence.

 I dont get it what shovel ? i read the case over 10 times no one mentioned any shovel shown.


Conclusion: the kid is either burried in the place surrounded by trees ( which will be too obvious)


Or the Masons are hiding somth.

[Andrew`]

Ninja, you didn't read the case carefully. And the "happily ever after" could simply be ironic, it's the intro, it literally doesn't matter.

[Cracky]

Ok looking at this once again Adrian lied about another thing he said he was watering his roses in the backyard, tho Mrs.Mason said that Adrian has his roses in the front yard and who the hell waters with a shovel in his hand? plus the police said that it had been raining the past few days and the ground is muddy so why the heck would you water your garden at 9PM when it has been raining? and the shovel somehow tells me he was burying something, perhaps a body?
maybe Ray? so my theory is Adrian did take the Mason's 8 year old boy in the car crash but that has nothing to do with this part of the case, my 2nd theory is that Ray told Adrian that he's going to run away and then Adrian followed him to the forest bashed his head with his shovel made the scene look like animals attacked Ray and he took Ray back to his backyard and buried him, which explains the many footprints of animals around but the heavier footprints could be him carrying Ray's body i mean who knows

[Andrew`]

The police paid a visit to Adrian Richard's house.
-Hiya, Adrian, can we come in?
-Ehm.. sure. What's up, gents?
-We have a warrant for your arrest, actually.
-What? What are you talking about?
-We're talking about the abduction of Ray Parker. It all leads to you. You had an extra pair of keys so at around 8pm, you managed to get in, steal Ray's favourite toy, the teddybear and lure him easily to come with you, his "friend", without him making any worrying noise. You knew he was almost depressed due to all the fights his parents had, so you took your chances. You didn't have much time, both his parents were in the house, so you lured him quickly, not realising he was walking barefoot. Then, you brought him here, to your house. Then, you realised the area was muddy due to the rain and there footprints just ahead of his house, the police wouldn't look much further but the houses around, so what would you do, what would you do... You had to return, get a pair of shoes from his closet, and continue the prints till it was much deeper in the woods to distract us. However, you also made them too deep, probably used too much strength. Last but not least, how were you watering your flowers.. with a shovel? And aren't your roses on the front, instead of the backyard? You didn't have much time to think about your story, did you? The Parkers soon realised Ray was missing, you panicked and messed up a lot. What did you do to Ray, Adrian? Did you bury him in the backyard? He better be alive for your own good.
They checked the whole house, Ray was nowhere to be found. They checked the backyard, there were recent footprints near a specific spot. They dug at that spot, and found Ray's body. There were bruises around his neck, he was strangled.
-You sick son of a bitch. You know, Mrs.Mason is almost certain she remembers you on a hit & run from 2 years ago, another child, Nickolas Mason. We're gonna help her remember for sure, so I promise you that you are going to rot in prison.
-I... I.. I am sorry..  I hate them. They're always noisy and messy and..
-You're under arrest for murder. You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney...
The Parkers were devastated.
-We're very soory for your loss mr and mrs Parker. We know we can't possibly understand your pain, but we're sorry.
-Thank you for your work, officers. You did your best.

Case #8 Solved by Amine. Credits also go to Cracky PineApples for assisting with the case.

Stay tuned for Case #9 - The Shadows (Hard Case), coming soon!