AMY WROE AND THE BIZARRE 911 CALL
Analysis by Evgenia K. Sarri
24th July marks the 24 anniversary of Amy’s disappearance. Her case remains unsolved.
Twenty-four-year-old Amy Wroe and Steve Bechtel were married in 1996. They were avid fitness enthusiasts; she loved running while he loved climbing. They moved to Lander, Wyoming, because its rugged terrain made it a perfect training ground for them. They had recently bought a home of their own and planned to move in sometime during late July 1997. At 9:30 a.m. on July 24, Steve Bechtel left to go rock climbing with a friend while his wife Amy had to teach a fitness class and run errands that day: call the phone company, get the gas turned on, and buy home insurance.
Amy was spotted at a photo store at 2:30 p.m. that afternoon. This is the last confirmed sighting of Amy. It is alleged that she left the photo store and drove to the Shoshone National Forest to explore the course of a 10 kilometer race held by her gym that she was planning on entering.
When Steve returned home at 4:30 p.m. from rock climbing, Amy was nowhere to be found. When darkness fell, Steve called family members and enlisted neighbors to help with the search for Amy. He called the police at 10.30 p.m.
Amy’s car was found parked off a dirt road in the wilderness of the Shoshone National Forest. Her keys were in the car, but her wallet was missing. No signs of foul play were discovered in or around Amy’s vehicle. And Amy has never been found.
We will analyze Steve Bechtel’s call and attempt to outline his profile using the analysis. Additional statements made by S.Bechtel will also provide insight into his personality.
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Expected Versus Unexpected
In Statement Analysis we expect in each case we analyze to find certain words, behaviors and feelings expressed in the statement, taking context into account. This is what we call “the expected.” Words will reflect the subject’s truth, whichever it is. In every case individual responses may vary, but as we are all humans and our bodies are governed by the same chemistry, we all respond to events in a similar manner. A traumatic event affects us all in almost the same way. Emotional expression may differ from person to person depending on their character, but language is different; it always reflects feelings.
When we do not find in the statement what is expected depending on the situation, but we find words and behaviors that do not fit in, we call it “the unexpected.” It can be very surprising at first, but it is a very valuable indicator of what lies beneath the surface of a person’s reaction and leads us to the truth of the person’s feelings. Exploring what caused the unexpected reaction and what it reveals helps us get closer to the true factors at play in the case we are analyzing.
The significance of 911 calls as first reactions
911 calls are invaluable to analysis, as they constitute the very first statement one makes to the police. By answering the question “what is your emergency?” the caller chooses his/her own words, without any contamination by investigators or lawyers, to describe an event and make a request. There are many cases in which the perpetrator of a crime is the one who calls the police. Besides the guilty caller cases, 911 calls reflect the caller’s priorities and thoughts.
When people call 911, it means they are in a state which needs immediate attention and they are in dire need of assistance. It is the only way they will have a service respond and provide them with the help they require. They may call for the police, the fire department or paramedics. In any case, what we expect to see is a sense of urgency. People in despair who are seeking help urgently will most often state their need and provide essential information in order to receive the help they are asking for. The intent is not to give a fully developed account of their recent experience, but to elicit a response from the agency they have called. We expect to see the presence of emotion and the expression of a demand as time is passing by and anxiety and fear are increasing.
Outlining the caller’s profile
Besides detecting points of deception in someone’s language, we can also gain insight into the subject’s psychological profile. The main personality traits are revealed in the way someone speaks and reacts in everyday life situations as well as in traumatic ones.
Since our character dictates our attitude and language is the main expression of our inner truth and feelings, when we analyze someone’s words the basic profile of their character emerges. We can detect their thought process and behavioral characteristics. We can make hypotheses about their priorities, their background and experiences in life which shaped their personality. And this happens because certain character types react in certain ways. We can, therefore, look for signs of emotion and which emotion is that is expressed; empathy, attitude towards self and others, their view of life and society in general; all these are points which can lead us to the main personality traits the subject possesses. We can then explore our hypothesis using corroborative evidence and additional information.
Is it possible to profile someone using one statement?
In context, a simple statement can reveal a lot about the person making it. We may not be able to create a full profile, but when the circumstances in which the statement was made are known, we are able to focus our attention on the subject’s emotions and attitude in a situation at the point of the statement. These are revealed by the grammar the subject uses and any modifying words which provide insights into their behavioral characteristics. What emerges is a broad outline which can later be elaborated on if other statements and information are, or become known.
Steve Bechtel’s 911 call
Unfortunately, the Sheriff’s office has not released the call. They have only released the first part of it.
What do we expect Amy’s husband to say? We expect him to be terribly worried about what has happened to his wife and ask the police to find her, or to help him find her. We expect him to be frantic, distraught; after all, he is a young man in love with his wife, to whom he has been married for just one and a half years. The thought of her having had an accident and being out there somewhere injured or helpless must be driving him crazy. What do we expect to hear? My wife Amy is missing.
This is the start of Bechtel’s 911 call:
Hi, this is Steve Bechtel calling. I’m, um, I’m missing a person… and I was wondering if you maybe had an extra…
Analysis
-Hi, this is SB calling
The call begins with a greeting and SB is introducing himself to the police. There is no urgency. By now, it has been about six hours that he supposedly has been waiting for Amy to come back from her jog. It is about 10.30pm. This is not a situation in which something terrible has just happened and the caller needs assistance for a victim suffering in front of him. This is a husband who is worried about his wife not coming home. The introduction could be appropriate. Something bad but not fatal may have happened to her; a minor accident, or an incident with her car. We know though, that he has not called any hospitals before the call to the police; just his neighbors and Amy’s parents.
We note the fact that the call begins with a salutation and we should keep it in mind. Even though we already said it could be appropriate, we should also think of the possibility that the caller is trying to ingratiate himself to the police.
We also note the formal way in which he introduces himself. Introducing himself on its own is not unexpected, as he could be providing essential information; the rest of the call should help us determine more accurately the reason behind it. We should keep in mind his priorities though. Could it be his sense of self-importance which dictates this start? Could it be distance through formality?
In any case, his introducing himself as a priority and the casual salutation can be an attempt of ingratiation and also an attempt to sound relaxed. Or, he could be relaxed and indifferent.
-I’m, um, I’m missing a person…
The subject stutters on the pronoun. This indicates nervousness. There is also a short pause between the two pronouns which could give him time to think.
Then he goes on to state his problem. Once again, his focus is on himself. This statement is about him.
He is missing a person, not his wife, not even gender is mentioned. Amy is deprived of her wife status. She is reduced to being just a person. This is unexpected from a husband who has been married to her for just over one year. It is extremely distancing language and negative linguistic disposition towards Amy as there is no social introduction of any kind. The impression given is that he is missing something that could be considered a possession.
What we would expect to hear from a distraught husband at that point is: “my wife Amy is missing”; the subject of the sentence and the focus should have been his wife, not him. The absence of a salutation would also be what is expected after anxiety must have been building up for hours.
-and I was wondering if you maybe had an extra
This is the definition of the unexpected; a caller that makes a joke on a 911 call.
Why would he do that? Who does that? What produces it in the subject’s mind?
If one decides to call 911, it means they have no other option. Anxiety has turned into fear and desperation and they need help. In this context, it is very unlikely that they will use humor in their communication with the police.
Why is the subject saying that?
Is he happy and he can’t hide it?
Is he nervous and his attempt of an awkward joke is a manifestation of his state?
Is this an attempt to minimize the fact he is reporting?
Is it an attempt to ridicule the fact that she is missing?
Does he have reasons to believe that she is not missing, that she may have left him and he does not want to lose face if this is the case? This is not a public statement; it is between him and the 911 operator. Is this his way of saying: this may be an overreaction, but…
Could it be about control? Could it be an attempt to show he has not lost control of the situation or his wife?
Humor always has a source and a reason to be present as we mentioned above. In Analysis we always note when it is produced and explore what may have produced it.
Furthermore, we know that he had some errands for her to do before she went missing, while he allegedly had gone rock climbing. No one who is going to leave their spouse makes sure that the gas and the phone for their new house will be connected.
Does he have guilty knowledge of what happened to her and makes the call to the police as part of a plan because this is what a worried husband would do?
Let us pause and look at what he is saying. What is this call about? We may not have it in its entirety, but “order shows priority”. This part is his priority sentence.
It is to report he is missing someone and is looking for a spare. He is asking for a replacement. It is as if he has spilled his coffee and is asking the waiter to bring him another one, or as if something has broken down and he is asking for a spare part to go on doing what he was doing. This is not a call for help. This is the subject stating that she is just a person to him and he does not need her. She is not irreplaceable to him.
Conclusion
Taking into account the importance he places upon himself by introducing himself the way he did and putting himself first, combined with the extremely distancing language regarding Amy and the fact of his inappropriate humorous attempt, we can conclude that there is no sign of any feeling whatsoever towards her. She is not his wife, she does not have a name, and she is “a person”. His linguistic disposition towards her is extremely negative. We would expect, even in a problematic relationship, to see human empathy for someone who may be alone and hurt in a mountainous area at 10.30pm. Even a stranger would have more feeling in their language than he has. This is why it is difficult to imagine joking about something like this, even if one called the police to report the disappearance of someone they did not know.
We note his focus is completely upon himself, his attitude towards the victim is cold bordering to hostile, and we also note a complete lack of any emotion relevant to a traumatic situation. He does not seem to be overwhelmed as we would expect a caller in these circumstances to be.
At the point of the call the subject does not present any of the characteristics an innocent caller would present. Further exploration of his attitude is necessary to determine if he has guilty knowledge of the events which caused his wife’s disappearance, or not.
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