Five Months

Hope is the thing...

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

     -- Emily Dickinson

As of today, Gail Palmgren has been missing five months. If you are not familiar with the case, please read this post for more details, and please, if you have any information about Gail or her Jeep, contact someone who can help. Contact information for the authorities is on the right side of this blog.

We are all praying that Gail comes home soon.

No News is No News

The promised Times Free Press update about the searches of the Alabama properties is here on their website, and it doesn't actually say anything new. It's basically the same article as yesterday.

I do have to chuckle at Matt's lawyers. In this article they are quoted as saying, "Matthew Palmgren continues to assist in this investigation and had done so since May."

The article ends with: "To date, neither Matthew Palmgren nor his children have given formal statements to investigators."

I'm trying to figure out how "no formal statement" equals "assisting in this investigation." It's a puzzler to be sure.

NEWS: Detectives (Finally) Searching Alabama Property

UPDATE 9:45 PM: This was mentioned in comments but I wanted to put it up here so you saw it first:

"I hear DIVE TEAMS are in the water searching for Gail and her Jeep (or related evidence). They are searching in the surrounding waters, with close proximity to the Easy Street home in Wetumpka, Alabama. This is "real time" information."

UPDATE: Per BGHN, there was no dive team search. They have updated the BGHN page and I am updating here as well. BGHN has reported that the investigators were at the Alabama site for a search for approximately two hours.

 
---

UPDATE: The Times Free Press has an article with some good news:

Sheriff Jim Hammond said that, after the last of the property searches are completed, investigators may consider doing another aerial search.


“I’m still of the opinion when the leaves drop, we’ll be able to see more,” he said.

Times Free Press says they will have more details tomorrow.


---

The Chattanoogan reported this in a very short article about 2 hours ago:

County detectives are in the process of searching property belonging to Matt and Gail Palmgren in Alabama as part of the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Ms. Palmgren.

And the last sentence:

"This has been done with the complete cooperation of Mr. Palmgren and his attorney, Lee Davis."

But we knew that already, didn't we?

Also, WCRBtv has news on the search in an article updated this evening.

Somebody Wants This Blog Gone

Someone has repeatedly reported this blog as a violation of Blogger's terms of service. The blog was deleted for about 10 minutes earlier tonight until I called Google, who immediately reinstated it. I am investigating the situation, but you need to know the blog may disappear. If it does, it's because someone doesn't want this blog to exist. Since the blog is not in violation of Google's terms of service, I don't think they'll have much luck getting the blog removed permanently.

UPDATE: I've been talking with a help tech guy on the Google Help forums who thinks either someone is using my IP address in a denial of service attack, or someone is trying to manually hack into my email and blog by guessing the password. Considering the odd behavior of my email, I think someone is trying to hack in but hasn't succeeded.

Every time something strange happened with this account tonight, one specific person was reading the blog. This person visits the blog or refreshes the page constantly, often for 7-8 hours a day, sometimes logging over 150 refreshes/hits. They are either obsessed with this blog or they're looking for a way to hack in, I can't think of any other reason for them to be here so often. Because a hacker could possibly get your IP addresses and emails if they were able to log into this account, this hacking issue concerns you and I wanted to let you know what was going on.

This is why IP addresses are logged, guys, because there's always some jerk who wants to pull a stunt like this. I have no identifying information about this person, but I do have their IP logged and am still talking to Google about the possibility that someone is attempting to hack in. I'll keep you up to date.

If this blog disappears, I will put up a new page somewhere for more updates.

Comments Should Be Fixed

This is just a quick note to let you know that I believe I have fixed the problem with comments.  Please try out the comments on the blog and make sure you can post. If you can't, email me at gailismissing (at) gmail.com and let me know.

If you want to know how to post anonymously or have any problems with commenting, read this post for instructions.

Thank you for your patience while I work out the bugs!

CUE and 411Gina For Missing Persons

Good news posted by Clive on Facebook today: Gail has been added to 411Gina.org, an organization to help find missing persons. Gail's page can be seen here.


I also want to re-post what Bring Gail Home Now posted on Facebook Friday:

Gail's family has requested that CUE (Community United Effort) out of North Carolina, and CUE's founder Monica Caison along with her Crew of Professional Searchers has been scheduled sometime soon, to begin a professional search for Gail. They will be coming to the Signal Mountain area on October 22, 2011 (Saturday) during their Road to Remember Rally 2011. The Rally brings attention to those who have gone missing in many states, but will be profiling/spotlighting Gail Nowacki Palmgren's disappearance from Signal Mountain, TN this year.

BGHN also has a discussion page for people who want to volunteer when CUE is in Signal Mountain. There is always something you can do to help, and if you don't want to publicly be listed as a volunteer but still want to help out, email BGHN directly.


This week will mark the 5th month since Gail Nowacki Palmgren went missing. Please, if you have any information at all, please contact CUE and law enforcement. We need your help!

Problems With Comments - PLEASE READ

There have been a few reports that people cannot read comments on posts or post replies on some or all of the blog posts. First, I want to say this:



NOBODY IS BANNED FROM THIS BLOG. NOBODY.

I know there is a history of things being deleted from what I like to refer to as the Unnamed Forum, as well as comments removed from newspaper websites and Facebook pages. This blog was created in part to combat those problems, not to perpetuate them.

Since the blog opened, I have edited one comment and removed another. Everything else was left as-is and no one has been banned. However, there are some rules and sometimes things will be removed. I hope you can understand that. If this blog is to stay up, it's going to have to have to play by some rules and it can't be a free-for-all. That means no copyright infringement, no libel or slander, no posting real names of people who aren't even involved in the case, etc.

If you can't post, it's because there is a technical problem, and I need your patience while I fix the situation.

This is a blog, which means the default comments are just one long list where you can't reply to anyone specifically. Check out Swistle for an example of how default comments look on blogs like this one.

That's why I tried adding a different comment system to the blog, but clearly the system I chose did not work, which is why I had to fix it.

UPDATE: This weekend I installed another commenting system which should allow direct replies to specific people. All the comments that were made last week are still here, but if you see one that is missing, let me know so I can look into it!

Look, I know there has been a lot of stupid crap over the last few months, with people online doing some really rotten things. I know you're all probably gun-shy and assume the worst when something goes wrong, but I'm asking you to trust me a little here, work with me and be patient.

If you need to contact me and can't comment, feel free to email me: gailismissing (at) gmail.com

Thanks.

Discussion: Who has been interviewed?

This was brought up in the first post on the blog, and I thought it would be a good place to start for discussion.

BGHN mentioned a source in the media:

My source said: "Unless there have been new developments in the past 4 or 5 days no one has been interviewed" ~ that was 09/20/11

Praying4Gail asked:

What about other people like Arlene, Diane, Susie B, other friends like the G's, CC from the siting? Did they say if they been interviewed about phone calls or emails or the sightings? Or any conversations with Gail. What about friends of Matt or friends or coworkers of the gf? In other words, is the LE being active going out looking for information? Or just waiting for somebody come to them. Thank you.

That's an excellent question. Has anyone been interviewed by the PD? We know Arlene spoke with the FBI, but I don't know of anyone else who has been interviewed. Who do you think should be interviewed? Do you think Gail's children should be, or are they too young?

Missing Gail

Our thoughts are always with Gail, her family, and her children. As passionate as we are about our opinions, whatever they may be, we are all more alike than we are different because we are here for one common cause, with one common hope, one common prayer.


Shantideva's Prayer

May all beings everywhere
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.


May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
With a mind weighed down by depression.


May the blind see forms,
And the deaf hear sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil
Be restored on finding repose.


May the naked find clothing,
The hungry find food;
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.


May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy;
May the forlorn find hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.


May there be timely rains
And bountiful harvests;
May all medicine be effective
And wholesome prayers bear fruit.


May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their ailments.
Whatever diseases there are in the world,
May they never occur again.


May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed;
May the powerless find power
And may people think of benefiting each other.

Instructions on How to Post Anonymously

There have been a few people having trouble replying, so I hope these instructions help. For the most part, comments are self-explanatory. Type in your reply, the make sure the button on the bottom right has the correct name you want to use. If it does, just click the button and your comment is posted. If it doesn't, click the "logout" link just above the reply box on the right hand side, change the information to what you want, then post.

Remember: The safest way to keep your identity here separate from your other online identities is to post with a pseudonym.

That should be all you need to know. However, if you're having trouble, read the in depth instructions below and see if your question is answered. If not, email me at gailismissing (at) gmail.com and I will try to help as best I can.


To post anonymously or with a pseudonym:

* Type your reply in the box underneath the post.

* Then click the button in the bottom right corner of the box where it says "Post as..."

     --> If that button does not say "Post as..." but has a name already filled in, you will need to click "logout" which is just above the comment box on the right hand side. When you do this, in a few seconds the page will refresh and the button should now say "Post as..."

* A window pops up that has a list of options on the left hand side. Make sure you choose "Guest," which is the option at the top of the list.

* You have to fill out the Email and Name boxes. You can put in a fake name in the Name box, something like Guest or Anonymous or a pseudonym you have made up. You can use a fake email address in the Email box, but if you want to subscribe to comments and get all replies sent to your email address, you must use a real email address! However, no one besides me can see the email address.


To post with another account:

* Disqus allows you to post with your Disqus, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, or OpenID accounts.

* When you want to reply using one of those accounts, type your reply then click the "Post as..." button in the bottom right side of the comment box.

     --> If that button does not say "Post as..." but has a name already filled in, make sure it is the name or account you want to use. For example, if you are already logged in to Facebook, Disqus may detect this and automatically fill in your Facebook name in the button. If that's the account you want to post with, you can continue by commenting and posting.

     -->If that is not the account you want to post with, you will need to click "logout" which is just above the comment box on the right hand side. When you do this, in a few seconds the page will refresh and the button should now say "Post as..."

* Once you clicked the "Post as..." button, a box comes up with the names of various accounts on the left hand side. Choose which account you want to use. (If you don't want to use an account, choose the "Guest" tab.) Disqus will show you a button that asks you to log in. Click it, and it will log you in to the account you chose and post your reply.


Comments cannot be deleted by you once you have posted. Anonymous/Guest posts cannot be edited, but if you have logged in with an identity or an account, you should be able to edit. If you have something you want deleted you can email me to request deletion, but I cannot guarantee I will see your email immediately, it might be hours until I see it.

Comments can be flagged for inappropriate content. There should be a little red flag that appears underneath the comment. Click it and I will be alerted to any problems.

Welcome

This blog was created to provide information, resources, links, and discussion space regarding the case of Gail Palmgren. If you are unfamiliar with Gail's case, please read here for a brief introduction.

This blog is very much a work in progress. Lots of links and info still need to be added on the sidebar and the individual pages. But as I know some of you feel there is a lack of discussion areas for Gail's case, I wanted to go ahead and open the blog and get discussion started.

Note that I don't want this blog to replace or be in competition with any other online forum. There is room enough for everyone on the internet. We're not affiliated with anyone else of course, but we do use other websites and news sources for our own information, and I assume we'll be talking about these other websites on occasion.

Speaking of discussion, I hope that we can get some good discussion on our blog entries. Before you comment, please take a moment to glance at the Moderation Policy tab at the top of the page. Note that people are allowed to post anonymously here, and no one should try to "out" any anonymous or pseudonymous people. Be warned that if I'm not on to moderate things immediately, some trolling or other problematic posts might go through. You're also all going to be my guinea pigs for a few days! I've installed IntenseDebate to help make comments on this blog easier to read, but I don't know if it works yet, which is why you're all guinea pigs.

So to everyone: Welcome! Consider this an open thread. What do you want to talk about today?

Gail Nowacki Palmgren: Missing Since April 30, 2011

Gail Nowacki Palmgren, mother of two, has been missing since April 30, 2011.

Gail Palmgren was last seen about 12:15 PM on April 30, driving away from her home in Signal Mountain, TN. Gail is 5 feet 8 inches tall, 135 pounds, blonde hair, brown eyes. She was driving a 2010 Jeep Rubicon, a dark red color known as Red Rock Crystal Pearl. The Jeep has a back tire cover that says "Life Is Good" with a blue flower, and a personalized Alabama license plate that says EAZY ST



Gail has not been in contact with anyone since April 30. She reportedly left without her driver's license, credit cards, and has not accessed any bank accounts since. Prior to the day she disappeared, she left money and valuables with a variety of friends and relatives, but has not come back for any of these items or contacted the people she gave items to. Her Jeep has not been seen. Her phone last pinged on May 2nd at the base of Signal Mountain, but has not been found.

In the weeks prior to her disappearance, she called 911 on April 22 for a domestic dispute with her husband, and again on April 29th. On the 29th, her husband Matt Palmgren had returned from a Blue Cross Blue Shield company conference in Minnesota; however, instead of attending the conference, he and his girlfriend, co-worker Tammy Helton, had skipped the conference and stayed together for a few days. After he returned on the 29th, Gail and the children went to the Signal Mountain police station where 911 was called. Matt and another person (their name has been redacted from the Signal Mountain police report published in the media) arrived as well. Police gave Gail the number to a safe house. She decided to go to a lake house owned in Alabama, and take the two children and the dogs with her. The next morning at about 6:30 AM, she called her sister Diane Nichols and stated she was returning to Signal Mountain. She asked Diane to call Signal Mountain police and have them meet her at the home when she arrived at about noon. They would not meet her, instead calling her for a welfare check as she drove back to Signal Mountain. When she returned to Signal Mountain about noon on April 30th, she dropped off the kids and left. Matt was not at the home at the time; somehow, he was notified the kids were at the home and so he returned right then. Gail was seen driving off before Matt returned, according to neighbor Susie Button. That is the last anyone has seen of her.

There are more details of course, but some things are complicated enough that they should be discussed separately. Please stay tuned for media links and posts with additional information about this case.

Anyone with any information on Gail or her Jeep, please contact Hamilton County Sheriff's Department at 423-622-0022 or the Signal Mountain Police Department at 423-886-2124. If you feel someone is in distress and needs assistance, call your local 911 immediately.




Photos courtesy WDEF; poster courtesy friends of Gail Palmgren.