Tragic News...

Four months ago, a 67 year old woman named Billie Jean James, disappeared from her home in Las Vegas, leaving all her possessions behind.  Her husband, also 67, Bill James, told the police she had a stroke a few months before her disappearance, but she was doing fine before her disappearance.

They had lived in their home for over forty years and still lived in a very rural desert area, near St. Rose Parkway and Las Vegas Blvd.  There were several searches for this woman, including friends and police on horse back. I was so touched by the story, I was tempted to join the search. With elderly parents, and she being only four years older than I, the story haunted me...

Periodically, I would check the Facebook page, launched by her friends who were searching for clues.  My Father has Alzheimer's, and the thought of her wandering aimlessly in the desert or lost in the crowded streets of Las Vegas, really upset me.

Today, while waiting for my eye appointment, the television news announced a body had been found in the back bedroom of Billie Jean's home, and it was believed to be her body.  Apparently, they were hoarders, and the house was so cluttered and foul smelling with trash and belongings, even two searches through the house with crime dogs, never found her....

The husband was playing dominoes with a seven year old girl, a neighbor, in this back bedroom.  Some how, he found the leg of his wife sticking out from under some of the things piled to the ceiling, in the back bedroom.  The little neighbor girl told the police, Mr. James was scared and told her to go home.  She told the officers she was sad, because Billie Jean was her best friend.

It is not my place to judge anyone, especially in the face of such tragedy, but some details of this news report really hoisted some red flags.  It struck me very odd, for a parent to allow a seven year old girl to play alone in a home of an older man.  Let alone, the fact his wife had disappeared and the condition of their home...

He did call the police immediately, but when interviewed, understandably, out of respect for his wife, did not give any details. It is still difficult to fathom, he did not search within the house for her...especially, if the house was in such chaos.

The police are definitely not speaking out until the full coroner's report to determine if, in fact, it is the body of Billie Jean James.  Obviously, they will do an autopsy to determine how she died.

Apparently, she was a collector of many things.  Hoarding, from what I understand, often begins after some kind of a tragic loss.  Billie lost her son twenty years ago, possibly his death, was the beginning of the hoarding.

I just cannot imagine.  This is such a tragic story, I just can't stop thinking about it...