Update on search for Nicholas Francisco, missing 4 days

JT February 17, 2008 (7:10 pm)

It makes my chest hurt to even think about being in the same situation. I hope this has the best possible outcome and my thoughts are with the family.

I read Mars Hill’s statement earlier today and was disappointed they had to mention he was a former member more than once and that although he left the church as christians they love him. Thank god for that or they might have waited even longer than 4 days to mention this when it was all over the news.

pretty in peace February 17, 2008 (10:02 pm)

lots of hopeful, healing energies sent the way of the francisco family. this is a worry that surpasses race, religion and, socio-economic status. at the very core of it, a loved one is missing; a man, a son, a husband, a father, a friend and i wish nothing less than a speedy, safe return for all who miss and love him. in love and light from arizona.

searching February 17, 2008 (10:41 pm)

Thanks to the community in West Seattle for posting this and keeping it fresh in the minds of the people here. Continue to pray for Christine and the kids and the decisions they must start to make from here.

While the body of MH has been so wonderful and faithful in this search, we are very dissapointed in the head MH elders for taking so long to respond to this crisis and saddened by the reluctance to provide their resources. Thankfully the campus pastors made announcements today and there was prayer. Hopefully the head pastors will decide to post the information about Nicholas on their main web site page and donate some money to help with the reward or help Christine.

Thank you to those who have been so helpful in our search. God bless you!

clark5080 February 17, 2008 (11:18 pm)

My daughter found out about it on the Mars Hill facebook page on Friday so maybe you are jumping the gun here in blaming the elders for not putting out information sooner.

k February 18, 2008 (6:24 am)

i am not a fan of mars hill, but why is their responsibility to alert people to this situation?

JT February 18, 2008 (7:25 am)

K – Because it’s the right thing to do and they have the connection and resources to do it. The media, as well as this blog, reported the search was including West Seattle because of his affiliation with the church. They used to go there and presumedly still had friends who would want to contribute in any way possible. The obvious being the more people who know, the better. If Safeway had a former employee go missing, don’t you think it would be mentioned on the employee website at the very least, and probably would go as far as holding organized search parties because they could quickly reach and coordinate a large group. Four days is an eternity in a missing person case. It just seems like if you could help, you would, and they had an opportunity to do that.

k February 18, 2008 (7:54 am)

i agree it’s the right thing to do, but from what i understand that is not mars hill’s stance on many things. my thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.

Christine Francisco February 18, 2008 (9:45 am)

please know all the facts. we resigned on monday feb. 11 and he went missing wed. feb 13.

our resignation should not be of any importance at this time. finding my husband and my kids’ father is the only importance here.

Agnes February 18, 2008 (9:58 am)

While the public posting on the church website was poorly worded, Mars Hill members have been doing a great deal for the family since they were initially notified that he was missing. The public posting on the website was certainly NOT the main thing.

Kammie February 18, 2008 (11:25 am)

This is pretty obvious but just want to be sure the police have checked the Safeway surveillance cameras near the office? If he was last seen heading that way, maybe he decided to stop there to get sugar and not bother with Costco?

s February 18, 2008 (1:03 pm)

the car has been found:

http://www.kirotv.com/news/15334301/detail.html

romulusnr February 18, 2008 (4:44 pm)

Did he ever actually go to Costco or not? Costco is a membership-based store, right, so they’d know if he’d gone there, even if he paid in cash… right?

Also doesn’t his work know what he was going to “sign off” on before going to Costco?

kb February 18, 2008 (5:26 pm)

search members checked with Costco last Thursday and there was no record of his acct being used. Also, his employer/coworkers have been very involved in the search from the beginning. They probably just didn’t put too much of that detail in the article.

SomeGuy February 18, 2008 (5:47 pm)

Does Mars Hill require attendees to “resign” if they won’t be coming anymore? That sounds odd to me… Or is that required to halt the automatic weekly debit withdrawal?

clark5080 February 18, 2008 (5:54 pm)

SomeGuy In most Churches I have been involved with it is very common to tender a letter of resignation so they keep there member stats acurate. And by the way Mars Hill does not require a weekly debit withdrawl. Maybe some day you will understand SomeGuy

Adam101 February 18, 2008 (6:14 pm)

It was inappropriate and tasteless for Mars Hill to comment on the membership status of the Francisco family in their “Statement of Support.” The church’s only focus with respect to this tragic event should be the same as all others: finding Nicholas Francisco.

SomeGuy February 18, 2008 (6:45 pm)

clark5080 – I think they will get the idea when they don’t see me sitting there any longer.

H February 18, 2008 (8:55 pm)

My take on it was that Mars Hill only commented on the membership status to identify why they were making a statement about him in the first place – identifying how this person was connected to the church. They couldn’t very well identify him as “member” when he had withdrawn membership. He is not an attendee, and yet he IS connected to the church, closely, as a former member. That’s not a criticism, just a statement of how he is known by the church. Get over it. It was not tasteless, rude, or inconsiderate.

Everyone in the church is deeply concerned for this family, praying, sharing updates, rallying help for searches and donating money. Nobody cares, from a level of concern standpoint, what their membership status is.

inSeattle February 19, 2008 (11:08 am)

One of the reasons it may be important to note that they were former members is for the internal members site. If someone were to search for the Francisco’s they would not have found them because they are no longer members. This would have caused more confusion. With a church as large as Mars Hill, there were many people who did not know the Francisco’s. Mars Hill has nothing to gain or lose by this comment.

praying for a safe return... February 19, 2008 (5:09 pm)

My family and I are praying for Mr. Francisco and his family. We hope and feel in our hearts that a safe return is in the near future. We know that Jesus is looking after him and keeping him safe in His way. Amen.

KerryM February 19, 2008 (7:01 pm)

I’m not a member or former member of Mars Hills. I thought their statement was in poor taste, too. Why do we need to know what their connection is? Either they’re concerned about this matter, or they’re not. Yes, to some of us it was inconsiderate. Get over that too.

Miller February 19, 2008 (7:08 pm)

Please help pass along the following video we made today regarding Nicholas’s disappearance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWwVBXgsgmI

Shirley Q. February 20, 2008 (6:48 pm)

You have got to be kidding me, who cares if he is, was or never has been a member of Mars Hill. This is about a 28 year old father who is missing and his family is need of support not propaganda on who and what the church did or did not do. Put your energy into prayer,supporting the family in this time of crisis and helping in the search for Nicholas.

bjones February 21, 2008 (11:58 am)

my question is how much money does Christine need? and how much has she gotten? and what does she need it for? Just seems odd to me that she keeps mentioning money and is not more obviously upset… maybe he is in Mexico starting a life while she collects $$ and she will join him when she has milked it for all she can

PrayinginAlabama February 21, 2008 (12:10 pm)

I am praying that he will be home safe and sound with his lovely wife and children where he belongs soon. No cell phone or debit card activity? How about the storage facility where he was supposedly seen by a witness? Have they verified that he was there?

tracy tally February 21, 2008 (2:08 pm)

Who cares what the money is used for? She is a stay at home mom with two kids and one on the way. If you think it is so horrible to donate to someone in need then don’t do it. Obviously there are many people out there who feel for Christine and her kids. I am pretty sure the media only prints certain comments that are made. Think about the whole situation and have some compassion for her family while your sleeping good at night she is up worried about her husband and her family. Obviously you have never had a family member or friend go missing. It takes money to locate them you idiot.

A friend February 21, 2008 (3:56 pm)

bjones – that’s got to be one of the most cruel things I’ve ever heard. they are a single income family (his income). while he’s missing, he’s not bringing in a paycheck. if, God forbid, the worst has happened & he continues to not be found, life insurance won’t pay anything. what do you suggest she do to support herself and the kids in these first few weeks while she’s consumed with finding her husband? what do you suggest she do to finance the search for him? please, have some compassion and some common sense before you publically offend.

bjones February 21, 2008 (4:07 pm)

I know it takes money to look- it just seems a bit odd to me that from the very start she was asking for $$. I have actually been supportive from the the time she announced he was missing- but feel that these are valid questions to ask at this point- I would hate to see that all these generous people are being taken for a ride. Esp since it seems Christine knows more than she is letting on at this point.

A friend February 21, 2008 (4:12 pm)

you say from the very start she’s been asking for money. can you site your source? we’ve known this family for several years and have been keeping up with every interview and news story since his disappearance. only once have I heard her mention anything about their finances. yes, I’ve heard friends speak of the fund in case anyone would like to donate, but that’s typically true of any case similar to this.
also, you mention that she doesn’t seem that upset. truth be told – she and the kids are a mess. I’m surprised she’s been able to hold it together for any of these interviews.

A friend February 21, 2008 (4:42 pm)

you say she’s been asking for money from the start…please site your source.

Natalia Bonaparte February 21, 2008 (5:01 pm)

It takes money to locate them.

Comment by tracy tally

Not very Christian of you there, now is it? I ain’t giving money out to anyone like it’s candy. I’d be questioning too and Christine should be asked these questions. I thought she was pregnant back in April of 07 anyway? Whatever happened to that? Why isn’t the other missing man headed to the same store as Nicholas, on the same exact day, being mentioned at all here?

WSB February 21, 2008 (6:41 pm)

And who is this other missing man?

Mason February 21, 2008 (7:04 pm)

What does it matter if she was pregnant in april of 07? Why are some of you acting like Christine and her husband are the guilty parties here? And why are some people on her not Christian like? People, men, and women come up missing for no reason and without every finding them it happens, not just to women. Christine and her family should have every bit of support they can get. Who cares if it is from a church, a previous church they were members to or everyone in the community. For those of you who are throwing stones at people not being christians on here, i dont think any “good” christian would jump to the conclusion that Christine and Nicholas are scamming everyone, if you had compassion you would have sympathy for them not be on some blog accusing her of knowing more then she is saying, and if you don’t want to donate then don’t but don’t discourage other people by your negative and ridicoulas ideas. They are two little kids and one on the way that may never see their father again, and i truly hope that isn’t the case. So for those of you who have grand ideas of what is susposably going on maybe you should join the police force because obviously you know more then them, and more then all of us.

bjones February 21, 2008 (7:30 pm)

Viliamu Fale went missing from the same area the day after Nicholas Francisco did- yet there has been no news coverage about him. He is 30, 5’9″ 310lbs and is married.

As for my source, Christine has been all over the net saying they are broke, and saying money is what they need most when asked if people can help in anyway. I am not saying to give or not give money, I am saying that people need to ask these questions- because something is not right with this story

Natalia Bonaparte February 21, 2008 (7:55 pm)

No one has the ability to put a possible link together of the second missing man whose wife works at the very same Costco Francisco was headed to? Maybe bjones does because that person seems to be level headed.

bjones February 21, 2008 (7:59 pm)

glad you asked Natalia- as I have been following this story quite closely, the 2nd missing man is from Auburn, works at Kent Lumber Products and his wife works at the very same Costco that Nicholas was supposed to be stopping at… I am just amazed that none of this has been in the news

Natalia Bonaparte February 21, 2008 (8:05 pm)

It’s too coincidental. The fact that nothing is mentioned about it makes me think someone is trying to cover something up or not face a possible truth.

Natalia Bonaparte February 21, 2008 (8:12 pm)

Who goes to Costco for just sugar? I am sorry but that is a bit of a stretch for me. Why not just a quick stop at the grocery store?

Barbara February 21, 2008 (8:24 pm)

I went to Costco for just coffee, I also get a lot of my baking supplies from Costco just because of the sheer abundance of it.

WSB February 21, 2008 (8:39 pm)

Curious re: this Viliamu Fale. I can’t find a single mention of this even in blogsearch. I know a lot of places to look, having worked in media 25-plus years now (including running this site). Where are you getting information about his disappearance? Who is the lead police agency?

Natalia Bonaparte February 21, 2008 (8:51 pm)

King County Sheriff’s dept.

bjones February 21, 2008 (8:53 pm)

here is the missing persons report for Viliamu Fale http://www.waspc.org/mp/missing.php?wac=08M0003032 I assure you I looking into things before I bring it to attention. His wife reported him missing and no one has heard from him since. I am uncertain why it is not being looked into further

bjones February 21, 2008 (9:38 pm)

Mason- I missed you post before- but I myself don’t think it has anything to do with religion, but I think if you are going to make your life public and ask for help (which I would also do if my loved one was missing) then you need to be an open book- if you are taking money, then be open with how much you are getting and what you are using it for…

I myself don’t understand why money was one of her 1st concerns, if it were me my only concern would be for the safe return of my loved one

Mason February 21, 2008 (11:18 pm)

I am sure her concern is her husband coming home, and i am sure she is concerned on the welfare of her family.. Search and rescue doesnt come for free. Neither do investigators….B.Jones did you donate to her? I would think if you would like a full audit of her expenses and how much she has received you would want to know where “your” money has gone. I would never expect someone in her situation to explain every penny and account for it to the general public. She has asked for the publics help in finding her husband, Funds were set up for her, not because she did it herself, family and friends moved forward on this. I would certainly hope if one of your family members came up missing and as you said “Make your life public and ask your help” i hope you have a darn good accountant so you can be so worried about every dime and you can explain it to who ever is nice enough to donate to you and your family. I hope and pray for the best for this family and I hope for a safe return of her husband…. but i am sure if that is the case skeptics like you would just be reassured its a scam… well let me say i would rather see the family back together then hear all the ridicioulas theories that are on this blog….Why dont’ you give the wife support instead of being a complete skeptic and giving her something else to stress about.

To the family

Please know our prayers and thoughts are with you, and Christine please dont pay any attention to the people on the blog that have nothing better to do then theorize on stupid theories. Keep on being in the public eye everything you do will help….

bjones February 22, 2008 (12:28 am)

the thing is Mason- I have been here the whole time, praying for the family, I have known them for a while as well. It hits close to home, and I do pray that Nick finds his way home safe and sound- but the questions I raise are fair questions- Grown men do not just vanish, something has happened, there is more to this story than meets the eye. I know I am not the only one guessing on what happened. I am just the only one willing to put the questions out there- sure after it all comes to light people will chime in and say ‘oh I thought that” or what have you, I am just trying to get people to think now, instead of later. there are just some things that seem odd to me, and I could be way off- but Christine’s supports seem more upset when you talk to them than Christine herself does- now does that make her a pillar or strength or a good liar? No one knows yet now do they? I am sorry to offend you, but it really does not seem to be a random act at this point.

And why is no one caring about this other missing man?

I will continue to dig or answers and raise questions- as I feel all that care about Nick should.

Natalia Bonaparte February 22, 2008 (1:50 am)

We only know as much as Christine is telling us. Perhaps she does not know more, perhaps she does. No woman in a seemingly happy marriage wants to believe her husband has “run off” on her nor does she want to “look bad” to all her friends and the rest of a nation she is “reaching out” to, to find him. There may be a link between the 2 missing men she does not want to face. Do your spouses or significant others know every exact detail of your life away from home? I highly will doubt any of you who answer yes. Christine said herself, she did not for an absolute know how poor their finances were until she looked into Nicholas’s paypal account. You know this man by the persona you saw at church and by the description of what his spouse has given you. Do you really know every aspect of his life? No. It is natural for you to be defensive, he’s your friend but you’ve got to let your defenses down and truthfully look at all sides of the coin so that you may find him and with all hope, alive and well. Don’t get angry at those questioning, they are all in all valid questions you should be asking yourselves. Maybe there is something you overlooked or locked away in your memory that you did not want to deal with that could be key to his disappearance. There are many things we’ve all said we would never do but we did…maybe this is one of those times where we believe the same of Nicholas but he did.

jj February 22, 2008 (7:06 am)

This was posted on a public forum by the wife:

“thank you too for the financial support. it truly is desperately needed. it seems my sweet husband was shielding me from some of our debt and i didn’t realize it until thursday when i accessed his paypal account.”

I have a screen shot of it because it strikes me as highly odd…. I can’t help be but skeptical in a situation where he went missing on the 13 and there was already a solicitation for financial help and donations…

If he was shielding her from financial debt… what else could he have been hiding?

Mason February 22, 2008 (7:50 am)

Natalia YOU REALLY NEED SOME HELP!!!!! Conspiracy theories abound. OH my God Christine has put herself in the media, made flyers, and done whatever she has to.. I have seen nothing on this Villiau Falu at all but look at his flyer there is not even a picture… When it comes to a missing person and this is from personal experience you have to be in the spot light all the time or it is just another case, you have to be persistant. Natalia i hope we never see your name in the paper that you are missing someone i would hate to have to draw conclusions on all the coinicidences that i could tie together but i am sure in your case if it involves shopping another person or a car it must be right out of the xfiles

curee February 22, 2008 (11:16 am)

It is interesting that there has been nothing in the media about this other missing person. One wonders whether the police are looking at the two cases to see if they might be related. Auburn is not far from Federal Way, and public records show that there is a homeowner with the last name “Fale” (may or may not be related to this missing guy) living in Federal Way less than 5 miles from where Nicholas Francisco’s car was found.

bjones February 22, 2008 (11:37 am)

curee- that is interesting…

Kim February 22, 2008 (11:46 am)

A Friend said this was a single income family. Doesn’t Christine have a business of her own?

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5588252
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5008691

A friend February 22, 2008 (12:10 pm)

You’re right, Kim. I forgot about that.

Kim February 22, 2008 (12:12 pm)

Thank you for verifying that for me, I wasn’t sure if what I was reading was correct or not.

Regardless of their financial situation or religious affiliation, Nicholas needs to be found. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

A friend February 22, 2008 (12:17 pm)

Amen.

curee February 22, 2008 (12:30 pm)

Re: Christine’s businesses… a commenter on the ABC News thread on this said that she had only opened those businesses on “Etsy” a couple weeks ago. http://abcnews.go.com/US/comments?type=story&id=4325797 (comment with timestamp of 1:51 pm)

A friend February 22, 2008 (12:46 pm)

That’s not correct. I know that Bella Style has been open for at least a couple of years, and the other one I believe opened up sometime within the last year.

A friend February 22, 2008 (12:52 pm)

Yeah, I just looked at her sites & Bella Style opened in November of 2006, and the Spa site is the one that just opened recently. She’s sold like 600 items or something like that from Bella Style, so she’s been an active part of the Etsy community for awhile it seems.

curee February 22, 2008 (1:05 pm)

Thanks for the clarification. Perhaps the original poster on ABCNews looked up her spa site because that is the profile name that she has been posting with on the etsy forum, and that profile says she has been a member since Feb 1 2008. She is obviously a very talented woman and I hope and pray that resolution regarding her husband’s disappearance comes soon, so she can return to creating such beautiful products. (I did notice on her “Bella Spa” profile that she stated she has 3 children. I suppose she could have been including the one on the way, but it seemed a little odd to read that.)

Natalia Bonaparte February 22, 2008 (2:34 pm)

Mason, if you recall, so did Susan Smith.

jj February 22, 2008 (4:33 pm)

Who created the website to inform of the missing person?

http://mailpen.net/

I cannot find information on it on the who is registry, it seems to be under the same account as http://www.mailpen.com which is unaccessible and also with no info on the who is.

ah February 22, 2008 (4:42 pm)

Why is there NO information for the site that was created to house all of the info ?

http://www.mailpen.net

There is absolutely no trace of where this was created etc.

That is a bit suspicious.

WSB February 22, 2008 (5:14 pm)

sure there is. I just found it all on register.com whois.

The site has been around for almost 6 years (“record first created” means when it was registered, and that dates to 2002 in the whois listing).

Don’t know what it was before, but it is registered to:
UltiMeth Systems
3112 150th Place SE
Mill Creek, Washington 98012-4864
US

bjones February 22, 2008 (5:22 pm)

Christine has 3 Etsy shops, Nick has 1, and they have a graphic design business in addition to his day job.

ah February 22, 2008 (9:02 pm)

You are supposed to disclose all of your shops in your profile… I have not seen the other 3 any of the 1 shops though.

Another friend February 22, 2008 (11:02 pm)

Regarding the disparity between media coverage of two disappearances from the same area, the same efforts that were made to contact the media about Francisco can be made to contact the media about Falu.

If you think that disparity is fishy, why not call up the tip lines and say so, rather than grouse about it in the comments section of a blog.

Another friend February 22, 2008 (11:12 pm)

I have donated to the search fund and I don’t care how much money has been donated, nor exactly what it has been used for, and I hope that information is never disclosed. It is absolutely none of our business; the money is being given freely and from each giver’s heart; we just want the disappearance mystery to be closed, and for that family to be restored.

Shame on you. A scam? What a negative approach you have!

pp February 22, 2008 (11:47 pm)

well i read all the comments and after almost being murdered in a high profile case myself and seeing the interactions and coverups, i have this to say: something is definitely not right here! a few thoughts to think about: look at the Flickr/wanna_be_amigo site that posted a $10,000 reward along with the 5,000 and boy does some of the pictures, sayings under and comments and boy do they seem “PROVOCATIVE”. Also look into the Marczak background that owns it and ties they have and also look at his profession (Nicholas) and the article in the BizTimes Daily in 2005. I also find it hard to believe Christine is so concerned and distraught when you look at her business date transactions – both companies have 2/11 transactions and then one on 2/14 (day after disappearance) in which the customer thanks the owner for personally helping with the sale and then the other doesn’t post until 2/16 and both goes up to 2/21; when did she post her TEMPORARILY CLOSED NOTICE? Funny how a friend of hers ridicules bj but in the same token mentions about how she cannot collect on “LIFE INSURANCE” if he is never found-why in the HEL_ would you ever mention life insurance so early in the process? And here is a message to the “FRIEND” – she is not a single income family/only his – BS she was also earning an income and a pretty damn good one if you ask me from the website alone. I am a single mother with two kids and let me tell you something from about turmoil, distraught and many other terms for a persons feelings/actions- i almost died and the actions of any family member, friend, church associate, etc. sure in the hell do not match this stories. One last thought – if Christine is so distraught or whatever is being claimed, then why in the hell is she on the computer reading and responding to these comments? Seems to me she isn’t to upset because I sure in the hell would not be on a computer much less responding to what people are saying and never the less to a situation of when we resigned from a so-called church and then referring to my husband disappeared two days later-she definitely is not “TRULY” showing anguish!! SHE IS ALSO WEARING THE CHILDREN ISSUE VERY THIN – IT USUALLY DEPICTS SOMETHING ARRAY WHEN SOMEONE PLAYS ON AN ISSUE TO MUCH!!!!!! She might want to consult legal help for the future!!

pp February 23, 2008 (12:05 am)

PS- looking at all the comments regarding the so-called whatever classification the MARS HILLS goes under, I like how the comment by H stated that the CHURCH could not recognize him as a “member”, attendee, etc. but he (I like how the only two letters capitalized in this comment)”IS” connected closely to the church, “CLOSELY” as a former member- gotta love that saying and boy does it make you wonder – IS MARS HILLS AND SCIENTOLOGY CLOSELY RELATED IN MANNERISMS?

Natalia Bonaparte February 23, 2008 (1:11 am)

you think that disparity is fishy, why not call up the tip lines and say so, rather than grouse about it in the comments section of a blog.

Comment by Another friend

Don’t stop and think for a second that I didn’t because I did.

pp February 23, 2008 (8:46 am)

Natalia- i don’t think disparity is fishy! i feel when a lot of things don’t add up and people are lying from the beginning about anything in a story than that is fishy (income is a prime example). and don’t think for a second that i have not been in contact with authorities to let them know of some things i found that didn’t sit well because i was married to a cop and trust me-there are bad ones and good ones and even the good ones are human and many not notice every piece of evidence that could help so i was taught you always offer information and they can do what they want with the info-and who knows there may be something that could help lead authorities to get to the bottom of Nicholas’ disappearance-i sure hope so and i do hope he is alive and well!

Natalia Bonaparte February 23, 2008 (1:15 pm)

pp I was quoting someone who “challenged” me to call a tip line with information I have. This whole story has been fishy from the beginning, not to mention there have been conflicts in her statements.

bored February 23, 2008 (2:41 pm)

I find it interesting that they left the church… I am sure no one knows on what grounds. I have seen some crazy things said about that church.

pp February 23, 2008 (6:50 pm)

Hey bored-in response to your comment about them leaving the church and your sure no one knows on what grounds-well Christine sure does and she stated in her comment “please know all the facts” (since you supposedly wanted to offer up the resignation and disappearance date in your comment when it was not necessary whatsoever) go ahead and proceed with the facts surrounding the facts of withdrawing from the church and the dates of the withdrawal and Nicholas’ disappearance since you felt it necessary to bring that out to the public when the dates had not been mentioned in any of these comments before you did it yourself-“WHY”?

amelia February 23, 2008 (7:20 pm)

Just some facts I want to present that are relevant to what is being discussed here:

On Feb 16, Christine posted on Etsy that her husband had been missing since Feb 13. By Feb 17, another poster stated that he/she had spoken “with Christine’s sister and she said that financial support is desperately needed. Finances were tight before this and now they’re in somewhat of a crisis.”

Make what you will of the information. If this is legit, and at this point I have no real reason to doubt it, I truly feel for this woman and her family. I can’t imagine this kind of pain and fear. If this turns out to be some kind of scam… just wow.

Bee February 23, 2008 (7:44 pm)

This is just amazing – all this negativity. You know, there are only three ways of looking at this 1) something bad (and unexpected) happened to him 2) he ‘snapped’ and left or 3) the whole disappearance was orchestrated by the two of them.

Personally? I find it hard to believe that this much effort would go into the third option. Christine is losing out on business right now, for all we know Nicholas is no longer drawing a salary, and all the chaos in their lives is no doubt causing a ton of stress on her, the kids, the entire family. For what?? Maybe $9,000?? That is, I believe, what the Dawn’s Boys efforts raised. Not worth it.

And Christine’s responses that seem, to some of you, suspect?? Who is to say how ANY of us would react under her circumstances. She’s pregnant and in shock. Jackie Kennedy didn’t cry at JFKs funeral, but we all know she had nothing to do with his assassination. Enough said.

Option 2? C’mon – this is a guy who clearly loved his wife and children, and came home every night. No bank or cell phone activity, everything ‘status quo’ from what we hear. Possible? Well, maybe, but personally I don’t think so. Look at him with those kids in all the pictures again and decide for yourself.

Option 1? this to most of us seems the most logical. If this is truly the case and neither Nicholas nor Christine had ANYTHING to do with his disappearing, can you imagine how she feels now? If this is the case this woman deserves love, support and EMPATHY. I wonder how many of you who ‘suspect’ her motivations will call her and say “I’m sorry” if he is indeed found dead, the victim of foul play.

I for one will continue to donate to the Francisco family. I believe in goodness in people.

And even if one of the other scenarios somehow turned out to be the case, I did the best I could to help what appears to be a very needy family.

I’d far rather err on the side of helping out and believing situation number 1 than knowing how incredibly awful I’d feel for withholding support (or worse, being part in this “Salem Witch Trial”) because of what I’d read here.

Innocent until proven guilty. That’s what this country is supposedly all about, isn’t it??

amelia February 23, 2008 (9:09 pm)

The way I see it, there are four possibilities.
1- obviously worst-case scenario, he is dead. 2- he has been kidnapped. 3- he has run out on his family. 4- this is an elaborate scam.
Option 1 doesn’t seem too plausible at this point as there has not been one scrap of evidence suggesting murder… either nothing has come of finding the car, or details haven’t been released for some reason. Option 2 seems very strange as well- why kidnap a 28-year-old middle-class man with 3 dependents? Not likely to generate a lot of money. Also, if he was kidnapped, why hold on to him this long? Yet this is the only option that allows us to believe he can come home safely without having been guilty of any wrong-doing himself. Option 3, unfortunately, seems the most plausible of the 4. He is feeling financial strain, finds out his wife is pregnant, they’ve just pulled out of the churh for some reason… to me, that’s the only one that really adds up to something. See the case of the Chicago woman, Anu Solanki. Option 4 isn’t likely, as pointed out above- probably not going to generate enough money to be worth the effort and risk.

Just my two cents and then some.

dl February 23, 2008 (9:30 pm)

Speculation, rationalization, accusation, mental m#sturbation and gossip. It’s all here. It’s the result of not knowing.

pp February 23, 2008 (9:49 pm)

Bee-I sincerely do not believe anyone who has made comments on this blog just want to be negative. I believe what we as human beings have seen happen in the past with issues like this and the way they have turned out not to be what was initially presented to us (the public), that maybe we have learned to pick up on certain scenarios/pieces that do not fit the puzzle as initially laid out to us from the beginning. As to the pictures- well on the other side of the coin (because there are two sides) we must look at the fact that those pictures were given by someone on behalf of the Francisco family, so of course they are going to show pictures that present a happy life (not saying it was not); but when there have been comments by Christine, friends of the family or other close people to the family that have lead us to think there were problems inside this family life (whether it be financial, emotional, etc.- which we all have problems but we all know how problems can lead to different outcomes in our lives) how can we not help but to look at the other side as a possibility. I truly hope he is alright and I sincerely hope none of this is a scam on anyones part concerning any of the issues here (disappearance, financial, etc.). And in reference to your last line – You definitely chose one word correctly in that last line that truly defines our country today concerning our justice system and the way laws are sometimes enforced- “SUPPOSEDLY”.

pp February 23, 2008 (10:07 pm)

Hey everybody – here is a question no one has asked and it was not mentioned anywhere on behalf of the authorities (which I could have missed)-
WHY IS THERE NO MENTION OF BRINGING OUT THE K-9’s TO TRY AND TRACK A SCENT FROM WHERE THE CAR WAS FOUND? KIND OF STRANGE SINCE PEOPLE AT THE COMPLEX SAID THE CAR HAD NOT BEEN THERE LONG-IT WAS STATED THAT THE CAR WAS NOT THERE THE NIGHT/DAY BEFORE IT WAS FOUND! I am really getting reluctant for the outcome!

observer February 23, 2008 (10:14 pm)

“WHY IS THERE NO MENTION OF BRINGING OUT THE K-9â€™s TO TRY AND TRACK A SCENT FROM WHERE THE CAR WAS FOUND? KIND OF STRANGE SINCE PEOPLE AT THE COMPLEX SAID THE CAR HAD NOT BEEN THERE LONG”

Yes, that was done. It was Tuesday, the day after the car was found: http://www.kirotv.com/news/15348012/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news

Mason February 23, 2008 (11:47 pm)

AS FOR ALL YOU SAYING GROWN MEN DON’T GO MISSING. BULL**** I HAD A VERY CLOSE FRIEND OF MINE GO MISSING, HE WAS 30 YEARS OLD, THEY FINALLY GOT AN ANSWER TO WHAT HAPPENED….WHEN THEY ARRESTED TWO MEN IN FLORIDA THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER 15 GROWN MEN VANISHING. WILL THEY EVERY FIND HIS BODY? NOPE…. BUT THE GUYS ADMITTED TO WHAT THEY HAD DONE… AND HIS TRUCK WAS FOUND ABANDONED OVER 30 MILES FROM HOME. THEY DIDN’T GET AN ANSWER FOR OVER 3 YEARS.. THE POLICE WERE NOT GIVING OUT EVERY PIECE OF INFORMATION THEY KNEW, THEY KNOW IF CERTAIN INFORMATION IS GIVIN OUT THE INVESTIGATION COULD BE HAMPERED. AND NATALIA I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW YOU SEEM TO BE MORE PRIVY TO INFORMATION THEN ANYONE ELSE. YOU SEEM TO KNOW MORE THEN ANYONE WITH YOUR TIPS…. I AM CURIOUS THOUGH SINCE YOU KNOW SO MUCH DO YOU EVEN KNOW THE FAMILY? HAD YOU MET NICHOLAS? OR ARE YOU JUST ONE OF THE MANY WACKOS’ WHO HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON THIER HANDS AND THINK YOU HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS AND BLOW UP THE TIP LINES. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE WONDERING WHY THERE HASN’T BEEN MEDIA COVERAGE ON THE OTHER MISSING MAN, YOU HAVE TO PUSH THE MEDIA FOR COVERAGE, YOU HAVE TO BE A PAIN IN THE A** TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. I DONT KNOW HOW ANY OF YOU CAN MAKE ACCUSATIONS ABOUT THIS FAMILY WHEN YOU DONT’ EVEN KNOW THEM. AND JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE FOR A BUSINESS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS A OPEN BUSINESS. YOU CAN PULL A LICENSE AT ANY TIME, AND OPEN IT IN THE FUTURE.
CHRISTINE I AM PRAYING FOR THE SAFE HOMECOMING OF YOUR HUSBAND.

RIT February 24, 2008 (11:37 am)

I just read Amelia’s quote in post 118218 about the family’s saying they are in financial crisis 3-4 days after Nicholas’ disappearance. This seems odd if he worked as an art director at an established company. He likely would be on salary and paid either monthly or twice a month, for work he’s already done. If he disappeared after work February 13, wouldn’t he get that salary paid on the 15th or the end of the month? Something doesn’t sound right if the family is saying money is needed desperately after only 3-4 days.

Natalia Bonaparte February 24, 2008 (12:42 pm)

Nice way to remain positive there, Mason. You seem to have quite a few friends who have gone missing by the way you “speak”. I know enough of this family to know that something is not sitting right here. Perhaps you too should take your blinders off and open your narrow mind for a moment.

Bee February 24, 2008 (12:45 pm)

RIT – they’re in their late 20’s, with two small kids and another on the way. Probably bought their house fairly recently (it takes a year or two to recover) so likely living paycheck to paycheck, or at least close to it. Chances are, like most American households, they have debt. She’s a SAHM with two small, at home businesses, which will obviously not be operating now. For who knows how long.

They’re trying to get posters up, get flyers produced and distributed, trying to raise reward money and are probably spending a lot more on convenience items than ever before, and people keep asking, “We want to help – what can we do, what will help the most?” The logical answer is, “money is very, very tight – donations would be the most useful and greatly appreciated.”

I don’t see anything odd about it at all. If they were a couple in their 40s or 50s, I’d wonder, but not at their ages.

Natalia Bonaparte February 24, 2008 (1:41 pm)

I always look for my missing friends and family by scouring internet forums for what people have to say about me and incessantly googling websites for where they might be.

Bee February 24, 2008 (1:57 pm)

I’m not sure I follow you line of reasoning here . . . after all, her business is internet based. She’s probably used to doing all her research, purchasing, blogging, networking, sales and communications that way. If I had to guess, she probably spent upwards of 10 hours a day online prior to all this happening. So why would that change now?? What else can you do while taking care of 2 small kids and also during countless hours up at night worrying – I’d be on the internet too, not taking up knitting. IMO, she’s simply falling back on what she knows best.

Mason February 24, 2008 (2:55 pm)

well natalia if you are friends of the family i certainly hope they choose to not include you in their lives from here on out you dont seem like a great friend to have.

Natalia Bonaparte February 24, 2008 (4:30 pm)

My last thought would be “What are people saying about my appearance?” I wouldn’t give 2 poops about what others think. I definitely would not be on the internet looking for critiques on my news show performances or how my make up looked or asking if I appeared sincere.

Natalia Bonaparte February 24, 2008 (4:33 pm)

Mason, likewise.

pp February 24, 2008 (6:49 pm)

Mason- I never said grown men do not come up missing-where did you get that info from? Well since you brought the issue to hand, who was the missing friend and where in Florida were these guys arrested-I cannot find any info about this case and if your friend came up missing then you should not mind giving his name or the place where the guys were arrested. In response to your comment to Natalia-do you know the family, have you met Nicholas or are you just a “WACKO” as you put it to Natalia? Also, as far as the police/media theory goes-seems she has not been pushing to hard (from what I have seen) in the public eye after the ask for financial help issue and after what people have been commenting. “WHY IS SHE STILL NOT IN THE PUBLIC EYE BEING A PAIN IN THE AS_ TO HELP FIND HER HUSBAND SHE SO DESPERATELY CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT AND HER CHILDREN CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT-SEEMS THE DAILY MENTAL ANGUISH ABOUT THE CHILDREN WITHOUT THEIR FATHER ISSUE HAS NOT CAUSED HER TO KEEP STRIVING IN THE MEDIA/POLICE, ETC. (JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT- NOT MAKING ACCUSATIONS), or from the I have been there standpoint-has she been trying and if so how and through what agencies (police, media, etc.)-the public does not always know every standpoint as far as what has or is being done because of where they live or the so-called helping hand agencies(police, media, etc. have went array because it is not what they still consider a hot topic for rating purposes)? What I learned in my ordeal by being judged, not believed, believed, or whatever the public wanted to deal me at different times during my ordeal, it is best she put it out into the public eye and try to keep it there through whatever or whomever she chooses, to let the people know everything she is trying or has tried to do because we do not always see everything from the media, police, etc.; and it also could help give a clue to someone about finding the answer to this issue when it would not have been possible by other means-use every means possible! I truly learned the hard way from my past situation that it is best to put all the cards on the table no matter how low the value may seem to yourself-what is a duece to one may be an ace to another! I truly hope everything gets resolved no matter how bad the outcome, because not knowing is even worse than knowing even if you catch fault when you should not have! In reference to your license issue-you are correct with what you stated but looking at this situation she had a license and used it to open the other business in 2/2008-it states it on her business website-just a fact to point out! For anyone personally dealing with this issue-I feel no matter what the final answer to this situation turns out to be, “LOSING” seems to be the only word I can say the emotions are going to end up being for everyone involved!!

Tonnie February 24, 2008 (11:07 pm)

I am so very sorry for the pain Mrs.Francisco is feeling at this terrible time in her life.
Through pictures, it’s obvious that Nicholas was a family-oriented, loving father and husband. And God knows, there aren’t enough of that kind out there.
Wondering if he’d be the sort who’d pick up someone who was in trouble (or appeared to be?) So many good folks will help others and give them the benefit of doubting they’re up to much more than needing a lift. I have a daughter like that and it’s maddening. Or was it his policy NOT to allow anyone into his car… I have to wonder. But there was no blood or signs of a struggle found, so there is room to have hope here. And with faith in God, there’s ALWAYS hope.
My prayers going out to the Francisco family.
(PlayitagainSam@aol.com)

bjones February 25, 2008 (10:10 am)

Christine is only 8 weeks pregnant and has openly said that she is not out searching for her husband- as she does not want to compromise her pregnancy- (which btw, seems to go against her own beliefs that she is to be a wife 1st and mother second, as stated in one of her blogs). And tell me how is looking for your missing husband going to cause you to miscarry? I understand that you can loose a baby due to stress, but isn’t she stressing just as much sitting at home. So she isn’t caring for her kids (she also openly stated this) and isn’t looking for her husband- What the hell IS she doing besides surfing the net?

A friend February 25, 2008 (10:37 am)

someone could easily ask the same of you, bjones. you are spending an awful lot of time online criticizing how Christine spends her time and pointing out how you disapprove of how this is all being handled.

observer February 25, 2008 (5:16 pm)

Christine shared on one of her Etsy posts that she was pregnant last year and lost the baby to a miscarriage at 2 months (in June 2007). So that may be why she is especially anxious about not compromising the pregnancy.

observer February 25, 2008 (10:35 pm)

Curious if anyone knows what Nicholas Francisco’s ethnic background is, and whether he has any relatives overseas? I am also wondering about a link to the man reported missing on Feb 14, as noted further up on this thread. He is still listed as missing too.

observer February 25, 2008 (10:37 pm)

“I am also wondering about a link to the man…”

…oh by “link” I meant “connection”, not an actual weblink — which is this: http://www.waspc.org/mp/missing.php?wac=08M0003445 (changed from the earlier link posted above)

Natalia Bonaparte February 25, 2008 (10:58 pm)

From what I’ve seen is he presents himself of Italian descent. No word that I know of on the other missing man. His case is rather odd as well.

bjones February 25, 2008 (11:02 pm)

A friend- my husband isn’t missing- and if I did have a loved one missing you can sure bet I would not be online talking about how I was going to have my hair and makeup done- or sitting on my ass on the couch, not tending to my kids or out looking. And at 8 weeks pregnant, going out and posting fliers, searching and being on tv looking for your hubby isn’t going to cause a miscarriage anymore then sitting on the couch is, unless you have some sort of medical condition.

lola February 26, 2008 (2:33 am)

Through pictures, itâ€™s obvious that Nicholas was a family-oriented, loving father and husband. And God knows, there arenâ€™t enough of that kind out there.

Comment by Tonnie

—

you cannot tell ANYTHING about anything from a picture. cameras lie, photographs lie, people lie.

justme February 26, 2008 (11:30 am)

How is it obvious from the pictures “that Nicholas was a family-oriented, loving father and husband”? Would anyone post, or take, pictures of the ugly times in any relationship?

tj February 26, 2008 (2:17 pm)

The two missing people, Nicholas and Villame are of Asian or Pacific / Islander Descent. That is what their nationality appears as on the missing person website provided above…

Now doesn’t that strike you as odd…..

tara February 26, 2008 (2:18 pm)

The two missing people, Nicholas and Villame are of Asian / Pacific Islander Descent. That is what their nationality appears as on the missing person website provided above…

Now doesn’t that strike you as odd…..

Natalia Bonaparte February 26, 2008 (2:41 pm)

The whole thing has been odd from the beginning.

observer February 26, 2008 (2:46 pm)

Thanks Tara/TJ, I had been wondering whether Nicholas Francisco might be Filipino just as Mr Fale, the other missing guy, definitely is. The photo of Nicholas’s sister on the church website and some photos of her on a website she had while attending Gonzaga University made me think that too. (I haven’t seen the sisters’ interview that was on tv a few days ago.) Anyway, the connection between the two missing guys still seems like it could be more than coincidental. Also there is a homeowner in Federal Way with the last name of Fale (not the same guy but maybe a relative?) 5 miles from where Nicholas’s car was found. I doubt that LE is checking out every possible connection like that, but maybe the PI is.

tara February 26, 2008 (3:18 pm)

Something else that I found extremely odd was this:

In the etsy forums christine made post, in the post she gave “answers” one of the stating:

Would Nicholas run away because he had another girlfriend? or Boyfriend?

No, he would never leave his family and no he is not gay (yes people have actually asked if he was)

Now… If you have a significant other and other people have asked at some point if he or she was gay or lesbian might that be a big red flag, some people can read people that well.

It’s almost too coincidental that two men 2 years apart in age, of the same nationality, from similar areas are missing… The chances of that are not high at all…

Natalia Bonaparte February 26, 2008 (3:52 pm)

We know Christine is not always accurate in her descriptions as she states:

“I then started sewing night and day and fell in love with creating my own patterns”

That may be true in some aspect BUT the aprons in her bellastyle store are from commercial patterns found in Simplicity and McCalls pattern books.

justme February 26, 2008 (4:25 pm)

And then there is her post about feeling the baby move and going to pick up the phone to call her husband . . . at 7 weeks!!??!! Really? The baby is size of a grain of rice at that stage, how can she feel it move????

observer February 26, 2008 (5:56 pm)

re Tara’s post above: The possible gay angle was brought up on the websleuths discussion board, I think. So maybe she read it there. I seem to remember (don’t have it in front of me though) that Christine’s etsy post also said “I know that for a fact” about him not being gay or having a boyfriend or girlfriend. Well ok, “gay” might not be the right word, maybe “bisexual”, but still, she really can’t know anything like that “for a fact” no matter how hard she wishes it so.

People cheat and lie and sometimes they come off very sweet while they’re doing it. Sad but true.

observer February 26, 2008 (6:00 pm)

It’s clear from things she wrote before he disappeared, that she really loved this guy and this marriage and family meant a lot to her. But comments about how intertwined they were (“not knowing where one ends and one begins”) also speak to a deep level of codependency. Maybe he wanted to break free from that, after 7 years.

Considering that she had a miscarriage last year, has 2 small kids and is pregnant, and realizing that her life might change drastically if he has in fact left her, a lot of what she has said and how she has reacted might just be from grief (including denial) at realizing her perfect vision of marriage has ended, one way or another. Her own parents divorced when she was 10 and who knows how hard that was on her, or what the circumstances were (was it sudden and unexpected like Nicholas’s disappearance? did it cause financial hardship to her family?). And what kind of father did Nicholas have? We only hear from the mother and sisters. Did his father play a strong role in his life?

When he first went missing, I thought it was a case like Tanya Rider with the car accident. But then the car was found. The issue of him telling Christine (and maybe co-workers too? that was reported somewhere, I think) that his cell phone was dead that day is suspicious if it was unlike him to have his phone off and he didn’t have a car charger. On the other hand, if it was common for him to be out of touch even by cell phone (some people I know are), then that might not be so telling.

Christine’s comment about her “sweet husband shielding her from debt” that she discovered while checking his PayPal account also indicates there was more to this perfect scenario than meets the eye.

The foul play angle is not impossible, but seems just so unlikely given the lack of any evidence. And the lack of anyone coming forward to try and get the reward money if they knew anything about such foul play too.

seattle February 28, 2008 (10:30 am)

can you still run off to Canada without being checked at the border ??

questioning February 28, 2008 (10:31 am)

is it possible to run off to Canada without border control ??

WSB February 28, 2008 (10:51 am)

Hi all. Itâ€™s been quite some days without any significant information and this thread has long since outlived its usefulness, especially considering this is a story we are no longer covering actively on the West Seattle Blog (if any West Seattle-related angle reappears – the only original one was the fact Mr. Francisco had attended church here – we will be posting something new on the home page). So I am closing these comments (and those on similar threads); many of you seem to have come from discussions on sites such as â€œinsessiontrialsâ€ and â€œwebsleuthsâ€ so Iâ€™m sure you have a good place to continue the speculation there. If any of you actually live and/or work in West Seattle, we invite you to visit this site for its main mission, which is to provide WS with 24/7/365 WS-specific news, information and discussion. Take care!