Tommy Booth

Young Man Steps Out of Bar and Disappears

From:
Footprints At The Rivers Edge :

Video surveillance shows Tommy Booth, 24, and his friends arriving at Bootleggers nightclub in Woodlyn the night of January 19, 2008. No one ever saw him leave. Two weeks later, after a warm spell melted the ice, he was found in the creek behind the bar. Tommy had epilepsy and was taking medication.

Search and Recovery

Police initially searched the area in the vicinity of the bar with no success. Tommy's mother and stepfather also organized search parties. There had been no activity on Tommy's cell phone or bank account since his disappearance.

On Sunday, February 3, 2008 about 30 volunteers from the Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue Team organized a search with about seven K-9s and searched the wooded area behind the bar and creek and the ramps to I-95. After about two hours, they found Booth lying face down in the Ridley Creek about 200 yards downstream from the bar. According to Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby, the rear of the bar is about 10 yards from the creek.

It was just he was in the club, and then he was in the creek, said Tommy's step-father, Tim Bush. "It never made any sense how he got there."

Portions of the creek had been frozen, but heavy rains and warmer temperatures the week prior to the search had melted sections.

A Puzzling Case

The coroner ruled Tommy's death an accidental drowning. There were no signs of trauma, not even a bump on the head. "This case always puzzled me," said Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby. Tommy was a healthy, robust young man and hadn't had enough to drink to become disoriented. Booth, was still in possession of his wallet, cell phone and medication.“There’s no obvious sign of foul play,” said Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby. “We don’t know what happened. I can’t figure out why he would have been back there. He doesn’t know this area, doesn’t know the bar.”

6ABC.com:

It made no sense when 24-year-old Tommy Booth was found drowned in Ridley Creek last January. Now, a chilling new twist may offer an explanation while at the same time raise a disturbing question. Was he a victim of the so-called Smiley Face Gang?

"It haunts me every day. Tommy, why were you in the creek?" wondered Barbara MacKay, Tommy's mother.

Video surveillance shows Tommy and his friends arriving at Bootleggers nightclub in Woodlyn the night of January 19th.

No one ever saw him leave.

Tommy's mother and stepfather organized search parties.

Two weeks later, after a warm spell melted the ice, he was found in the creek behind the bar.

"It was just he was in the club, and then he was in the creek. It never made any sense how he got there," said his step-father Tim Bush.

The coroner ruled Tommy's death an accidental drowning. There were no signs of trauma, not even a bump on the head.

"This case always puzzled me," said Detective Sgt. Scott Willoughby.

Tommy was a healthy, robust young man and hadn't had enough to drink to become disoriented.

Something clicked for Willoughby when he saw an ABC News report this week on the Smiley Face killings.

Two retired New York Police detectives have been following the thread for ten years. They've determined that over 40 young men have died the same way. All appear to be accidental drownings. All have been separated from their friends while drinking at frat parties or college town bars.

Bootleggers is a block from Widener University. The other common thread is a smiley face painted where the victim has disappeared.

On a hunch, Willoughby asked his detectives to take another look behind Bootleggers.

"When they went down into the area where we thought he went into the water, they noticed the graffiti and they noticed this smiley face painted on the wall," said Willoughby.

It's a smiley face with a crown on its head. It's on the wall of the bar under the party deck, just 30 feet from the creek.

Detective Willoughby called Tommy's mom who had also seen the news report.

"When he told me about the smiley face, it just gave me chills," she said.

The New York detectives believe there's more than one killer, perhaps a gang, since all of the smiley faces are painted differently.

Detective Willoughby has sent them pictures of the smiley face found near Ridley Creek. He also contacted the FBI, even though they've looked at the other cases and dismissed the possibility of a link.

"I just think we need to look a little further into this case," Willoughby said.

None of the other cases appear to be robberies. The only thing missing, usually, is the victim's cell phone. Tommy was found with his wallet in his pocket. The only thing missing -- his cell phone.

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Here is another strange case involving a young man who was murdered and left in the river. I think it's a bit uncanny that not only that these have been presented to me this way but also that so many have gone unsolved. In this case, there are similarities to other cases with smiley faces drawn on trees and walls nearby. Mind you, these are not all the same, different styles, different colors and even different mediums with some being spray paint, markers and brushed on paint. This one had a crown on it's head and not all have this either. So the comparisons are called for but they are not proven fact.

In this case, the charts were swift and clear. He was killed very shortly after he was last seen and the motive was theft although all that was taken was his phone. It would be sad indeed if this man was murdered for the use of a cellphonne but I have heard of the same and worse. Let me show you what the charts show.

This is the chart for the time he was last seen, 1:30 am, at the club where he went missing. The charts show he died shortly after this sighting and was killed by choking or throttling, which may have been facilitated by resistance. (Mars and Moon in Gemini in the eighth house with the Moon opposing Pluto). The seventh house is ruled by Taurus with Venus in the second house, showing a possession as motivation. I don't know what kind of phone Tommy had but perhaps this person asked to use it and was denied, causing him to attack Tommy. Not an excuse but a possible motive. The first house ruler, Mars, with the Moon in the eighth show his imminent death. These planets are disposed of by Mercury just outside the fourth cusp, which tells me he had just stepped outside when it happened. Perhaps this other person tried to wrestle the phone free and they had an altercation (Pluto with Venus) that ended up in the river. Perhaps Tommy ran from this person to avoid this but was chased and then throttled before the phone was wrestled free and he ended up face down in the water. This is all conjecture I realize but it fits what the charts are describing.

The violent planet Pluto was also a dispositor of the first house ruler, so Tommy did not just give in and walk. He fought back.

I also think he was knocked out during the fight and dragged to the river. I say this because Saturn, which describes his body, is on the ground out in the open by the bar (Saturn in Virgo in the tenth). I think they did not want to leave him there so he was taken to the river and dumped.

I do not know if there was a footbridge or other span over this creek but Aquarius often describes this. Especially Neptune in Aquarius in the fourth, showing location and that Neptune rules water and Aquarius is firm air and can indicate a bridge. The Sun rules the tenth, showing the next location, which would be where his body was found. Sun in the third in Capricorn seems to indicate he was moved from earth to water and perhaps later than that evening? I do not see Tommy in a car or vehicle at all and he appears to die right outside of this bar. In that instance, perhaps the Sun in the third indicates that he was carried along by currents or rolled into the water after being left unconcious. I just can't be sure. Uranus in Pisces rules the fourth so there is no doubt that he left his body in the water, dieing right there. The fourth house often describes the end location of life or the burial place (sometimes even the coffin).

During the entire event, from the time he was last seen to the time of death, Venus rules the seventh house. Venus in Sagittarius is the marker for the killer with Jupiter in Capricorn nearby. This person is outdoorsy and athletic, probably skilled in the use of weapons and may work with ammunition in some manner. He may have dark hair and green or hazel eyes. He may be tall and rangey. Mars co rules the sixth house so he planned on Tommy's body going undiscovered, washed away or otherwise not found but no planets in the sixth to support that idea so he was found after all.

In this chart, Venus moves into the first house in the sign Sagittarius. The killer escaped to nearby woods, a place where people may hunt or play games. Is there a recreational area nearby? Or do people hunt in a nearby wooded area? This would be the place he retreated to after Tommy died. The killer did not reenter the bar. He did not leave the property in a car or other vehicle. The movement of the node in these charts indicates he has been to this area before and spent time in this bar. He is local.

In relation to the smiley face connection, I am just not sure. It could be, seeing that this person is a skilled killer who has done it before... but there is also a link to the local area in this case and not all the cases are in the same place. So it's a 50 / 50 for me and I won't make a call on it because of that.