Across the street from 3405 Main Street/Highway 147 Jill J. Rhein saw a suspicious car on November 1, 2005 (this is near Ridge Road and a turnaround by the East Twin River in Mishicot).
On November 11th, 2005, Jill J. Rhein stopped at the command center at Avery Auto Salvage and told investigators that on November 1st she saw a suspicious car across the street from 3405 Main Street/Highway 147 in Mishicot.
Rhein's statement was noted in the Calumet County (CASO) log on page 79 (image below), but there was no follow up (no report by investigators in the CASO file).
On November 4th, Rahmlow saw a missing persons poster of Teresa and her RAV4 in the Cenex station in Mishicot and recognized the vehicle as being the one parked in the turnaround. He spotted a Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy at the Cenex station in Mishicot and told him about it. He didn't know the deputy's name, but when he watched Making a Murderer in December 2016, a year after its release, he recognized the deputy as Andy Colborn.
Confirmation of the poster being up at the Cenex station in Mishicot is in the dispatch calls (3:20 mark in the video below) -- the caller (Ryan Gilbert, Chief of the Mishicot PD) lists the posters at Cenex and channel 11 (Ryan Hillegas also mentioned at the trial that they faxed missing person posters to all the gas stations).
The following is a screen shot from the motion as it pertains to Kevin Rahmlow (who didn't know his information was important until he watched Making A Murderer in December 2016).
Kevin Rahmlow saw Teresa's RAV4 parked in a turnaround by the East Twin River on November 3rd and 4th, 2005 (image above was captured on December 31, 2004). This is the same area on highway 147 (Main Street) where Jill Rhein saw a suspicious car on November 1st.
From the affidavit of Kevin Rahmlow, attached as Exhibit D to Zellner's October 23rd, 2017 motion:
"On November 3 and 4, 2005, I was in Mishicot. I saw Teresa Halbach's vehicle by the East Twin River dam in Mishicot at the turnabout [by] the bridge, as I drove west on Highway 147. Around midday on November 4, 2005, I stopped at the Cenex gas station at the intersection of Highway 147 and State Street in Mishicot. While there, I saw and read a missing person poster for Teresa Halbach. I remember that the poster had a picture of Teresa Halbach and written descriptions of Teresa Halbach and the car she was driving. I recognized the poster attached as Exhibit A to this affidavit as a copy of the one I saw at the Cenex station on November 4, 2005. I recognized that the written description of the vehicle on the poster matched the car I saw at the turnaround by the dam.
"While I was in the Cenex station, a Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department officer came into the station. I immediately told the officer that I had seen a car that matched the description of the car on Teresa Halbach's missing person poster at the turnaround by the dam. In December 2016, I watched Making a Murderer. In the series, I recognized the officer who I talked to at the Cenex station on November 4, 2005. A photograph of this officer is attached as exhibit B to this affidavit. Having watched Making a Murderer, I now know that his name is Andy Colborn."
Mr. Tadych’s failure to respond to Kevin Rahmlow’s text about seeing the RAV4 at the turnaround by the old dam in November, 2005, before the discovery of the Halbach vehicle on the Avery property, is also suspicious. [Second Supplement to Previously Filed Motion for Reconsideration, November 16, 2017]
On December 12th and 19th, 2016, Rahmlow, who knew Scott Tadych through his brother, sent text messages to Scott about seeing the RAV4 in the turnaround and telling Colborn about it when he ran into him at the Cenex station on November 4th, 2005. Scott never acknowledged the messages.
Colborn testified that he was not scheduled to work on November 4th-6th, 2005: that these were the three days he was scheduled to be off ("he worked a six day on, three day off rotation," noon to 8:00 PM shift, and he was scheduled to be off November 4-6th).
On January 11th, 2007, Colborn was interviewed by CASO's Steier, who asked Colborn if he could recall what he had done on Friday, November 4th, one of his scheduled days off. Colborn told Steier he could not recall what he had done on the 4th.
Colborn feigned ignorance about what he did on November 4th because he didn't want it to be public record that he worked overtime on November 4th to assist with the Teresa Halbach missing person's case, just as he worked overtime on Saturday, November 5th and Sunday, November 6th.
The following is part of Colborn's testimony at Avery's trial:
Q. Sergeant, you hold the rank of sergeant?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And in early November of 2005, did you hold that same rank?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What were your duties back in early November of '05?
A. Essentially the same duties that I hold today. I was a patrol supervisor on -- I work a six day on, three day off rotation. So on the days that the lieutenant that's assigned to the shift is off, I would be the shift commander.
Q. So you have supervisory responsibilities as well?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. I'm going to direct your attention to November 3rd of 2005, ask if you were employed on that evening?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you recall what your duties were on November 3rd?
A. I was the shift commander for the noon to 8 shift, that's the shift I'm assigned to.
Q. Sometime during that shift, Sergeant Colborn, were you informed of a Calumet County missing persons investigation that was ongoing?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And being involved in that -- or excuse me, being aware of that investigation, were you asked to assist in any way?
A. Yes, sir.
[...]
Q. Did you do anything on the 3rd of November to further investigate Mr. Avery?
A. On November 3rd?
Q. Yes.
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever go back onto his property on the 3rd?
A. No, sir.
[...]
Q. After going to the Zipperers with Detective -- I think it was Remiker and Dedering, what did you do after that?
A. After we were done, completed at the Zipperers?
Q. Yes.
A. I went home. I was done with -- you know, I was already on overtime. I checked out and went home.
Q. Do you know about what time that was?
A. 10:30, 11:00 at night, maybe.
Q. All right. Do you remember what you did the rest of that evening?
A. Just probably fell asleep on the couch. I went to bed and, you know, fell asleep.
Q. The next day, on the forth of November, were you working that day?
A. No, sir, I was off that day.
Q. It's a Friday; is that right?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you remember what you did on the 4th? We'll get back to that, but do you recall, generally, your day on the 4th of November?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Move your attention one day further, on the 5th, Saturday, the 5th of November; do you recall what you were doing that day or that morning?
A. That was also a regularly scheduled day off for me. Yes, I recall what I did on that day.
Q. We'll get into the morning, but let me just jump right to this investigation.Were you contacted at all by any supervisors or superiors that day and asked to participate in this case?
A. I was contacted by the noon to 8 shift commander for that day, and he did ask me to come into work and pick up a patrol vehicle and respond out to the Avery Salvage Yard.
Q. Did you do that?
A. Yes.
Q. In a marked vehicle?
A. Yes, I did take a marked vehicle out there.
Q. And about what time was it that you arrived at the Avery scene itself; do you recall?
A. I know I left my house between 4:00 and 4:30. I probably got out to the Avery Salvage Yard between 5:15, 5:30 maybe.
Q. To your best recollection?
A. Yes.
[...]
Q. The next day, that is, on the 6th of November, were you asked to come back to the scene?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And what were you asked to do on the 6th?
A. On the 6th, when I came out there, again, with Detective Remiker and Lieutenant Lenk and I believe just -- this time just Lieutenant Lenk went into the Command Post to make contact with who we would be working with with Cal County that day. And Detective Remiker and I just kind of waited until he came back out. And we were introduced to Deputy Kucharski. And then Deputy Kucharski informed us what our assignment would be for that day.
The image above shows the turnaround at the East Twin River, 590 yards east of Scott Tadych's trailer, where Kevin Rahmlow saw Teresa's RAV4 on November 3rd and 4th, 2005 (the image was captured in October 2008) -- Rahmlow told Andy Colborn about this on November 4th, 2005, when he saw Colborn at the Cenex gas station in Mishicot (Colborn didn't file a report about it).
Near this turnaround is also were a cell phone was found -- Andy Colborn and James Lenk were with CASO deputy Craig Wendling when this cell phone was collected into evidence on November 9th, 2005.
In his report of activity for November 9th (page 185 of CASO's investigative file), CASO deputy Craig Wendling noted that MTSO deputies James Lenk and Andy Colborn were with him when he collected into evidence (tag no. 8451) an Audiovox phone, silver in color, Model CDM8815UT STAR CAM.
Wendling noted that Colborn did all the photography for him, but he collected the phone and kept it in his possesssion.
Wendling mentioned John Campion in his report but not Pam Sturm.
John J. Campion, owner of Chiller's Bar & Grill, who was searching with former private investigator Pam Sturm (jury trial day 2, page 234), actually found the cell phone (Pam testified that she couldn't recall the day that it was found).
Campion found the phone just east of Ridge Road, on highway 147, in the north ditch, along the gravel line.
This is near the sighting by Jill Rhein of a suspicious vehicle across the street from 3405 Main Street/Highway 147 in Michicot on November 1, 2005.
Did they check the number for this phone? Was it a disposable phone?
Pam Sturm (and Sheriff Pagel's cousin by marriage) found business papers along the East Twin River in Mishicot; however, she testified she didn't recall any such papers. She testified instead to finding the Audiovox cell phone that Champion found and turning it over to a sheriff's deputy in uniform. She testified she wasn't sure who the deputy was, and she never gave a name when cross examined.
Out of the presence of the jury, the judge asked Buting, "How did you know how to ask the questions about it?" (the cell phone and business papers found near the river in Mishicot). Buting explained: "We get tips too, just like they do (the prosecution). Sometimes useless, sometimes not. This one sounded like maybe it might be more legitimate, so I thought I would ask her about it. But I had no confirmation of it, until today." Wiegert claimed to know nothing about the police action taken.
When Buting asked her what day she found the phone, she couldn't recall. She said it was after November 5th, the day she found the RAV4 at Avery's Salvage Yard. She first testified that it was Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, but then later changed her story and said, "No, I don't think I worked on the 6th. I think I had off on Monday or Tuesday and I went back to help out." When asked what she did after the deputy took possession of the cell phone, she testified that "we met up with the search party again."
Pam testified that it was found by the river about 1/4 mile outside of Mishicot by a "turnaround."
During Avery's trial, the defense team received a tip from the public about the phone and business papers being found near the turnaround (the prosecution must not have turned over to the defense a copy of Craig Wendling's report or the defense team overlooked it in the discovery materials).
Robert Fabian, Earl Avery's brother-in-law, told CASO investigators that around 8:00 a.m. on November 3rd "he observed a green jeep backed all the way up at a parking area on highway 147 by the river." Investigators noted that "Robert described this area as a turnaround" and that "Robert recalls seeing this jeep at 8:00 a.m. because he had seen a male subject talking on TV about a green jeep being in the area" (page 320).
NOTE: It was (and maybe still is) typical for people in the area to refer to SUVs as "jeeps" (Brendan, Fabian, Siebert); therefore, when a witness says "jeep" he could be referring, in general, to any SUV.
Ervin Koehnke would have been the "male subject" Fabian had seen on TV. Koehnke was interviewed by a local television station and he stated that on the morning of November 3rd, 2005, he saw Teresa's RAV4 in a turnaround on highway 147 east of I-43 (page 221).
On or about January 21st, 2006, Ervin Koehnke called MTSO dispatch, and his contact information was passed onto CASO's Dedering ("as he does not have long distance service"). Dedering wrote (CASO page 353) that Koehnke said he saw "a unit parked in the turnaround in Mishicot, just west of town, on November 4th." He said the vehicle was parking facing east and that he observed a large hole in the windshield as well a a large hole in the driver's side window. Dedering wrote that Koehnke said "the one on television wasn't the same color" (the RAV4 in evidence, which looked green or blue, depending on lighting, doesn't have a large hole in the windshield or driver's side window). According to Dedering's report, "Koehnke further indicated the vehicle shown on television as a result of the preliminary hearing on 12/06/05 did not seem to be the same unit."
According to reddit user Ghwoodall: "Koehnke made that last comment about the vehicle not being the same unit because LE convinced him it wasn't the right one. In the MTSO dispatch calls, there are two guys who call in, and the one older man is upset that the press is asking him questions, and he's saying, "But I didn't know," and they transfer his call to Gary Steier to calm him down. It just so happens that the man who called has passed away, but the guy with him, who is upset, is still alive. He was told by LE that he saw the wrong RAV4. I've spoken with a friend of his, and since the man isn't on social media, I asked his friend to please contact Zellner because this man also saw Andy Colborn with the RAV4 that he saw. Funny, Colborn never made a report about the RAV4, yet he was spotted with it."
Avery's neighbor on Jambo Creek Road, Wilmer Siebert, said he saw a vehicle matching the color, style and size of Teresa Halbach’s Toyota RAV4 driving into the back of Avery’s Auto Salvage via quarry roads days before Pam Sturm found it abandoned in the salvage yard on November 5th, 2005. Sibert saw an older model white jeep with paint chipping off the hood closely following the RAV4 down the access roads into the gravel pits. A short time after seeing the two vehicles enter the gravel pits, he saw the white jeep exit the gravel pits, again using the same access roads just south of his house on Jambo Creek Road.
Above are images captured by Google Maps in September 2009 of Andy Colborn's driveway, and in his driveway is a 1999 white Isuzu Rodeo (SUV).
Attached as an exhibit to Kathleen Zellner's post-conviction petition filed on June 7th, 2017 is an affidavit from Siebert signed on March 23, 2017.
According to reddit user Ghwoodall: "Koehnke made that last comment about the vehicle not being the same unit because LE convinced him it wasn't the right one. In the MTSO dispatch calls, there are two guys who call in, and the one older man is upset that the press is asking him questions, and he's saying, "But I didn't know," and they transfer his call to Gary Steier to calm him down. It just so happens that the man who called has passed away, but the guy with him, who is upset, is still alive. He was told by LE that he saw the wrong RAV4. I've spoken with a friend of his, and since the man isn't on social media, I asked his friend to please contact Zellner because this man also saw Andy Colborn with the RAV4 that he saw. Funny, Colborn never made a report about the RAV4, yet he was spotted with it."
Avery's neighbor on Jambo Creek Road, Wilmer Siebert, said he saw a vehicle matching the color, style and size of Teresa Halbach’s Toyota RAV4 driving into the back of Avery’s Auto Salvage via quarry roads days before Pam Sturm found it abandoned in the salvage yard on November 5th, 2005. Sibert saw an older model white jeep with paint chipping off the hood closely following the RAV4 down the access roads into the gravel pits. A short time after seeing the two vehicles enter the gravel pits, he saw the white jeep exit the gravel pits, again using the same access roads just south of his house on Jambo Creek Road.
Above are images captured by Google Maps in September 2009 of Andy Colborn's driveway, and in his driveway is a 1999 white Isuzu Rodeo (SUV).
Attached as an exhibit to Kathleen Zellner's post-conviction petition filed on June 7th, 2017 is an affidavit from Siebert signed on March 23, 2017.
Paul Metz, a farmer whose cattle are located at the intersection of Jambo Creek Road and Zander Road, was interviewed by CASO detective Dedering.
Attached as an exhibit to Kathleen Zellner's post-conviction petition filed on June 7th, 2017 is an affidavit from Paul Metz, dated April 21, 2017. He says that law enforcement misrepresented his statements in their report. The following is from Metz's affidavit (PC exhibit 99):
"Around dusk on October 31, 2005, I heard a loud buzzing sound that reminded me of electrical wires pulsating. I then smelled what I thought was insulation burning. I initially thought that the high-power tension wires that run just south of my property were overloading, causing the buzzing sound and the bad odor. I did not confuse the smell with that of a burning body. I know what a burning body smells like from my time as a volunteer firefighter. I was interviewed by officers from the Manitowoc County Sheriff s Department ("MCSD"). I did not initiate contact with MCSD and I do not know how MCSD learned about this incident. During the interview, I would not have describe the sound I had heard as a 'whoosh.' Rather, it was a buzzing sound. I did not tell officers from MCSD that the sound reminded me of instances when I poured gasoline or other highly volatile substances on a fire. I did not tell anyone that I thought the smell was coming from the south or from the vicinity of the Avery property off of Highway 147."
Two people who lived on or near Twin Bridge Road in Mischicot contacted the sheriff's office to report a suspicious van parked for three consecutive days at Kruger Road and Twin Bridge Road, an area about two miles north of Avery Auto Salvage. The car was parked there during the day but was always gone in the evening. This was early in the week that Teresa went missing. The one witness described it as a black, four-door van. She also said that, during the first part of the week that Teresa went missing, her dog outside in the pen barked for a solid 20 minutes and she was unable to settle it down.
At 24:30 in the calls to Manitowoc County dispatch, turkey hunters at the Richard Drum Forest and the West Twin River bridge on highway 147 saw a dark or green-colored truck and a guy in waders in the trails below the bridge on Thursday, November 3rd [Scott Tadych drove a green Ford Ranger with a cap at the time]. The hunters felt it was important enough to call the sheriff about what they saw. Whatever the turkey hunters saw was more than just a guy in waders and a truck. They're outdoor sportsman, and they know what is normal and what is not when it comes to hunting and fishing. It was something out of the ordinary that prompted them to take the time to call the sheriff about it. The call was forwarded to Calumet County. [Several people, including Steven, referred to the RAV4 as a truck or jeep at times (rather than calling it a SUV), so it's possible the turkey hunters saw the RAV4 and just called it a truck when reporting it (Teresa's RAV4 looked blue in photographs but looked green in person to most people).]
Just southwest of the West Twin River bridge on highway 147 in Maribel there is a hunting cabin with what looks like a cooker at 7507-7549 W. Main Street (image below). The cooker is used to cook wild game, such as deer and bear, at high temperatures. The secluded cabin with the cooker is only 200 meters south of the bridge and is probably less than a five-minute walk.
