Julie Weflen

Power Company Worker Disappears From Substation


From Spokesman Review:

As an operator for the BPA, Weflen's duties included energizing and de-energizing power equipment, reading meters and keeping transformers powered up.

On the day she disappeared, she was working with Owen Berio, a former BPA electrician who has since retired.

"It was late in the afternoon, and there was a report that nitrogen was low in one of the transformers at the substation," Berio said recently.

He told Weflen she could let it go for the day, but she told him she had time.

"And last I saw of her, she was walking down the corridor to get in her truck to go to Springhill."

Weflen disappeared about 3:30 p.m. from the substation near where Four Mound and Coulee Hite roads meet, northwest of Spokane.

Her hard hat and toolbox, a water bottle and a pair of sunglasses lay on the ground next to the truck. Her purse was still in the work rig. The truck's driver-side door and back hatch were open.

Randy Ridenhour, who was BPA's liaison for law enforcement, said police told him at the time it appeared Weflen had been overpowered by two people.

Gravel showed signs of a struggle, including what appeared to be drag marks. A fresh tire pattern, not belonging to Weflen's vehicle, was found near the substation.

"Her van was parked in the lot, and there were fairly large pieces of rock stirred up," Hansen said.

Mike Weflen was in Ritzville for his house-painting job. He later told crime novelist Ann Rule that he returned to his motel room to find a note on the door: "Call BPA. Your wife has been kidnapped."

Julie Weflen went missing on a Wednesday. On Thursday, police stopped traffic on Four Mound Road, looking for people who passed that spot every day at the same time.

"One of them was an Avista crew, and they remembered seeing her working in the yard there the previous day," Hansen said, which narrowed the time frame of Weflen's disappearance.

In two days, sheriff's deputies searched 225 square miles by airplane, car and foot. When their search ended, Mike Weflen's continued. He was joined by family, friends and BPA coworkers – Berio included.

"We searched most of the week, but we finally had to go back to work. We kept looking for her on the weekends," Berio said. "The necessary stuff was getting done (at work), but we were focused on looking for Julie."

The family hired a New York psychic who led them to animal bones.

More than 200,000 of those fliers bearing Weflen's picture graced store windows, power poles and lampposts in cities and along major highways in the Northwest and southern Canada. Hundreds of buttons were made with the same message.

About 80 billboards along major thoroughfares in Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho – mostly donated space – featured Weflen's face. Her story was featured on "Good Morning America" and a national news show called "West 57th Street." Good Housekeeping magazine ran an article in February 1989.

Rule, who has written about 1,400 criminal cases over the years, came to Spokane when she learned about the case, she said this week.

"Two years later, I sat in the living room she would have sat in and saw the cookie dough (in the freezer) she had made right before she disappeared," Rule said from her Seattle home. "Her house was decorated so beautifully in pink, blue, white and mint green. I just thought she'd walk in at any moment."

Rule included a chapter about Weflen in her 2004 book, "Kiss Me, Kill Me."

"I don't do many unsolved cases, but frankly I chose this one because I thought it would flush the killer out," Rule said.

Since her book was published, Rule said, she usually gets at least one e-mail per day asking if Weflen has been found.

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I have been informed of this case several times by readers. It was on my list for a long time as other, more pressing, cases kept coming along and distracting me. But once I looked at the charts, I knew I had to do it. The facts say that Julie disappeared sometime around 3:30 after leaving her station for a second location. The chart here for 3 pm has Sagittarius rising with Jupiter just outside the nadir in the third. This is around the time when she left the first location for the second substation. You can literally see her getting into her truck and leaving. Jupiter in Aries shows great self confidence so she felt secure enough to go alone; Aries is a pioneering sign so she was used to taking the lead. Jupiter implies generosity and this was something she did not have to do but simply volunteered. Moon is in it's own sign, Cancer, in the seventh house. Although the Moon is widely square Jupiter by 14 degrees, the strength of the Moon in the sign Cancer is a positive energy. Again, she felt safe and secure and in control of any situation. She had a "motherly" nature, where she took care of everyone and never held back when she was needed. She never thought twice about going out to the substation alone.

But the the seventh house cusp is in the last degree of Gemini disposed of by Mercury. Mercury describes thieves, crooks, sneaky people and liars. It is the sign of the pickpocket and purse snatcher. Mercury is in the ninth house showing me that someone was outdoors in that area, like in the woods or other natural settings nearby. And noting that Mercury in Libra is square the chart ruler - the Moon- which indicates there was no affection here, there was no compassion or sensitivity towards Julie. Another point I have to make is that Mercury is conjoined Venus and the Moon is in Cancer which hints that there was another woman in this event. Mercury and the sign Gemini both imply more than one person and one of those persons was a female.




Now, since both the Ascendant and Descendant in this chart are in the last degree of the sign, things are getting ready to change rapidly. Current conditions at this location change very quickly after Julie arrives. In the next few moments, Capricorn will move onto the first house cusp making Saturn the chart ruler. Saturn is in the twelfth house at that time. The sign Cancer takes over the seventh house cusp with the Moon in Cancer in the seventh. The chart for 3:15 pm shows us that she was taken by behind (first house ruler conjoined Uranus in the twelfth, near the Ascendant) and by surprise. The first house ruler and Uranus are both disposed of by Jupiter which is in the third. I think this shows us her being assaulted near her vehicle. Somebody just came out from behind her, as shown by the twelfth house ruler being Jupiter in the third house as well.

Now, here is the thing I find curious. Scorpio is on the tenth house cusp with Pluto at the midheaven and Mars in the eighth. Mars is also conjoined the Sun, which rules the eighth house. The fourth house ruler is also in the eighth and this is finished out by noting once again that the twelfth house ruler is at the nadir. This is a serious death pattern. But it is somehow connected to her work (two major players co rule the tenth house). I find this strange, to be honest, because no ransoms or other demands were made. Why would taking or killing this woman affect her employer in any way other than forcing them to hire new? Only those in that area who have the total story on this event can determine how her job or the company she worked for played into this. But there is no doubt they took her and killed her. There is no doubt, if the charts are to be believed, that Julie Weflin is alive.

The chart for 3:30 pm has the first house ruler moving into the eleventh house with the Moon still in the seventh house. She is with her abductors at this time and there are more than two. The placement of the first house ruler in the eleventh shows her to with a group of people or, at the least, being taken to a group of people. In this chart, the twelfth house ruler is still in the third and disposed of by Mars in the eighth house which tells me that she was hidden in a vehicle and taken. Mars is also the co ruler of the tenth house and is in the eighth house with the fourth house ruler, Venus. The eighth house ruler, the Sun, sits between the two planets, showing us that death is a part of the purpose here. They did intend to kill her. I believe the charts are showing us two people who are part of a larger group and who are under threat themselves. For some reason, they fear for their own safety and taking Julie had something to do with the motives of the group. Pluto rules the tenth house and is positioned at the midheaven so I believe this is saying that their act of abduction and murder was designed to get attention. They were trying to strike fear in the hearts of people over something. I am just not sure what. But the fact that Mars is disposed of by Mercury in the ninth house, I am guessing it might be a religious group, political group or environmental group but not just a regular public group but more like a cult or private group with extremist ideas.




I am thinking it was her truck that got their attention. They were waiting for an opportunity to make some point and the power company business was either the right target or just the convenient one. I say this because Saturn is disposed of by Jupiter in the third. Jupiter in Aries is a symbol for public ideologies or philosophies, which are often reflected in the mission statements created by businesses. The second house ruler with reflect any possessions of Julies or things that were in her possession at the time. This is Uranus and Uranus describes electrical companies among other things. Uranus is in Sagittarius disposed of by Jupiter in the third, so this is the company truck. Sagittarius often describes advertising and marketing so they knew the truck from ads they'd seen in the local area. I am positive that Julie was taken by a group who intended to send a message about the power company she worked for... or just all power companies in general. This would be a group of radical thinkers (Saturn in Aquarius in the eleventh while Uranus is in Sagittarius in the twelfth) who have religious and saviour philosophies. You won't find these people in the phone book and they are not an established environmental or religious group. This is small, tightly knit group of extremists.




The charts over the next few hours do not change much. They took her and held her. The group appears to have been waiting to see what would be on the news. They want to see if their message is received. The best information we have is in the earlier chart where the death pattern first appeared. I would guess that she was either killed right away or died by accident after she was assaulted and abducted. I know they intended to kill her but the presence of Uranus in the mix makes me think that she died unexpectedly. So perhaps she died as a result of her injuries during the abduction and this was not what they had planned.

But looking over the charts again I see that Neptune is at the Ascendant at the time of her abduction. She was attacked from behind by someone she never even saw. She most likely never saw their faces. They came out from a hidden place and in some way disguised themselves, perhaps wore hoods or other coverage or just made sure she did not see them. If there are areas near the main station that are hidden or dark, secret or not easily seen, then this is where they were. Neptune is disposed of by the first house ruler, so they were there for her. So how did they know she would be there? This is the most important question for those who are trying to find her abductors. Since it was only known by her and other people she worked with, then the suspicion may land there but then there is always the possibility that they had a hideout somewhere nearby where they laid in wait and she just happened to be the one who came. The charts say that they wanted her, but that does not mean that they simply wanted someone from that company or even just any darned woman they could find.




Saturn rules Julie at the time of her abduction and is part of the overall death pattern. This means that Saturn can be taken as a marker for her body. If we were trying to find her body it would be good idea to track the movements of Saturn. Saturn is in the sign Sagittarius which describes wooded areas, places where people hunt or play sports, horse stables, army barracks, buildings servicing the Army Corp of Engineers or Army National Guard, storage facilities for ammunition, fireplaces in upper rooms or fire pits on mountainsides or military bases housing members of the army airborne division. Are there army bases housing soldiers somewhere in the area? Also, consider large fire pits and any storage facilities for ammunition. I realize there is an air force base in the area but Sagittarius is pretty specific for army facilities. So I am inclined to think this is most likely a wooded area where people hunt and camp and there may be horses in the area or nearby stables. If there is a camping area with woods and people hunt there then look for standing grills or fire pits on small hillsides or even on higher mountainsides if there are mountains in the region.

Although the Moon is in Cancer I do not think she is in the water. There is water nearby no doubt but she is not in the water. Neptune in Capricorn implies a rocky area with hardscrabble earth, cracked and dry with rubble and debris. This would be an area back away from the roaming eye, in a dark shaded spot perhaps, not a place that is easy to navigate. It may be a dumping ground of some sort; look for animal carcasses. Getting down to more detail, we see that the Saturn in Sagittarius is conjoined Uranus in the twelfth house and both the fourth and tenth house rulers are in the eighth. This is a public place (tenth house) with hidden areas that are hard to access (fourth house) and where there are either dead animal carcasses or bones (Saturn in Sagittarius) left about or a cemetery in the area with human remains (eighth house). Uranus describes a railroad, railroad tracks running through the area or a nearby train station. There may also be an old uranium or radium mine near there as well. This mine may or may not be still in use. And then I would like to add that because the Moon was in Cancer I would say that there is something historical in this region, something that represents or depicts the birth of the nation. Something of early American heritage whether it be from the American Indians or from the gold rush or from other settlements in the early drive to the West.

Now the next question is bound to be concerning her abductors. Who on earth were these people and what did they look like? Are there distinguishing factors that make them easy to pick out? Going back to the first part of the analysis, I still believe this was some sort of group and that they were interested in Julie for reasons relating to her job. I only say this because the charts describe this relationship without describing any other. I am positive she did not know these people and they did not know her. Because the Moon in Cancer is a marker for the abductors, I would be inclined to say that these people were related to each other in some way. Familial connections are the best fit. So this could be a family group or a couple of siblings who run a group or a group comprised of several families. The ringleader of the group or the one who actually abducted Julie is defined in a certain way. This is a person of average height who tends to be chubby or stout. An oval face with a pale complexion; not meaning this person is white but that the complexion is light for the race and possibly pale due to illness. There would be brown hair with lighter eyes; blue eyes are common. Thick lips that are noticeable. This person is very talented, energetic and clever. They seem to "glide" through life, with things usually going smoothly. The Moon is opposed to Neptune and this reflects weakness towards food, drugs, alcohol or sex. In fact this person may been drunk or high on drugs at the time; indulgence makes this person feel strong and willing to do things they might otherwise not do. The Moon is also square Mercury showing that poor judgement, a tendency to overlook important details and sloppiness in planning affects everything this person does. In fact, the fact that Julie was killed at an earlier time than desired is a reflection of this.

Moon sextile Mars with Mars ruling the tenth and third houses tells me that there were clues left around the vehicle that would help track this person down. Also, the vehicle they were driving is a key element. There was a sloppiness in the actual act that rendered clues that may have been overlooked or missed. Mercury in Libra in the ninth shows the efforts of Law Enforcement in the matter, with great attention to detail. But Mercury is square to the Moon so they missed something this person left behind or didn't dispose of well enough. In fact, the Moon in Cancer can indicate that this person has kept something of Julie's to this day and that this "artifact" or "souvenir" would help the police. Without finding her body, though, it is hard to say how they would know what was kept. If they know of nothing missing from her vehicle, then I am not sure anyone is aware of the actual item that was taken. The best aspect to Mercury comes from Saturn in Sagittarius so this crime will not be solved until they find her body. But because Saturn is in a cadent house in a cadent sign the length of time before she is found is almost indeterminable. There is only one degree before Mercury contacts Saturn but Mercury is also in a cadent house. Libra is an angular sign so this is a clue that she might be found someday and might speed the process up a little but the cadent houses drag it out. Add to this the fact that Jupiter is retrograde in the third house and things will take forever.