Dana Point, An Unlikely Choice for a Prowling
Mar 13, 2018 1:12:07 GMT
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Post by kemo on Mar 13, 2018 1:12:07 GMT
I just got back from a trip to San Diego. I took the time to swing by Dana Point to check out the lay of the land where the Harrington attack occurred. The town is one of those resort style communities where the well off can live in an idyllic setting far removed from the congestion, noise and social tensions of urban or suburban Orange County. Except for the fact that people might feel a little too safe and get careless about security, there is little there to offer a prowling predator like EAR/ONS.
In 1980, there was the core beach town near the small boat harbor and a number of developments scattered in the surrounding hills. Niguel Shores was perhaps the largest. Like the rest of the town, lots are small, vegetation is sparse and houses are built in tight clusters. Unlike other neighborhoods there, Niguel Shores had, and still has security manned entrance and a wall around it. Today, there is one unsecured entrance for foot traffic. Because of the restricted entrances there is nowhere to walk to within the community; there are no shops, parks or other neighborhood attractions that people would walk to. I walked into the community and felt very conspicuous. I didn’t see anyone else walking and there would really be no reason to except to walk for the sake of walking. A stranger would be noticed.
I have always assumed that ONS targeted the Harringtons after encountering Patrice somewhere else, possibly at her work or in a public place and either followed her home or somehow got her address. I now think this is unlikely. He could not have followed her home since there was, and still is, a guarded entrance. It seems unlikely that she could have been traced through her address since they had only lived there a couple of weeks. DMV records would not have been available yet. Patrice had just started work at a hospital in Santa Ana, but how would he have gotten her address?
I think he found her the way he found most of his targets: prowling and observing. But why do that in Dana Point or that neighborhood in particular? Besides lacking any of the discreet access points or escape route, the residents tended to be middle aged or older with few young adults. The only reason that makes sense is that he was already living in Dana Point or one of the nearby similar communities.
There was a bloody motocross glove found about a mile away in a different neighborhood. If it was related to this crime, it would indicate that he made his escape by walking two blocks on the roads through Niguel Shores, left through the unguarded pedestrian exit and walked through some undeveloped land to the neighborhood where the glove was found near what is now Sea Canyon Park. (That area has since been built up). He may have either lived or parked in that neighborhood.
The region within ten miles of Dana Point is very pleasant but would have little to offer a young man, new to the area, seeking employment. There wasn’t much housing stock that didn’t require an upper-middle class income and it was a long way from the part of Orange County where lots of companies were locating at the time.
The two likely reasons I can see for him living in that area would be either employment with a company involved in a construction project or staying temporarily with someone who lived there; probably a relative. Were any of the construction companies with ties to Goleta doing work in South Orange County and/or were any members of families with ties to those companies living in the area?
I think our guy eventually moved up into the Irving area where there would be employment opportunities and lots of rental housing but I think it is most probable that he lived in the southern part of the county in the summer of 1980.
In 1980, there was the core beach town near the small boat harbor and a number of developments scattered in the surrounding hills. Niguel Shores was perhaps the largest. Like the rest of the town, lots are small, vegetation is sparse and houses are built in tight clusters. Unlike other neighborhoods there, Niguel Shores had, and still has security manned entrance and a wall around it. Today, there is one unsecured entrance for foot traffic. Because of the restricted entrances there is nowhere to walk to within the community; there are no shops, parks or other neighborhood attractions that people would walk to. I walked into the community and felt very conspicuous. I didn’t see anyone else walking and there would really be no reason to except to walk for the sake of walking. A stranger would be noticed.
I have always assumed that ONS targeted the Harringtons after encountering Patrice somewhere else, possibly at her work or in a public place and either followed her home or somehow got her address. I now think this is unlikely. He could not have followed her home since there was, and still is, a guarded entrance. It seems unlikely that she could have been traced through her address since they had only lived there a couple of weeks. DMV records would not have been available yet. Patrice had just started work at a hospital in Santa Ana, but how would he have gotten her address?
I think he found her the way he found most of his targets: prowling and observing. But why do that in Dana Point or that neighborhood in particular? Besides lacking any of the discreet access points or escape route, the residents tended to be middle aged or older with few young adults. The only reason that makes sense is that he was already living in Dana Point or one of the nearby similar communities.
There was a bloody motocross glove found about a mile away in a different neighborhood. If it was related to this crime, it would indicate that he made his escape by walking two blocks on the roads through Niguel Shores, left through the unguarded pedestrian exit and walked through some undeveloped land to the neighborhood where the glove was found near what is now Sea Canyon Park. (That area has since been built up). He may have either lived or parked in that neighborhood.
The region within ten miles of Dana Point is very pleasant but would have little to offer a young man, new to the area, seeking employment. There wasn’t much housing stock that didn’t require an upper-middle class income and it was a long way from the part of Orange County where lots of companies were locating at the time.
The two likely reasons I can see for him living in that area would be either employment with a company involved in a construction project or staying temporarily with someone who lived there; probably a relative. Were any of the construction companies with ties to Goleta doing work in South Orange County and/or were any members of families with ties to those companies living in the area?
I think our guy eventually moved up into the Irving area where there would be employment opportunities and lots of rental housing but I think it is most probable that he lived in the southern part of the county in the summer of 1980.