I think we should be careful about this type of speculation. And there are possibly some problems with this thinking, such as the many usages of colloquialisms in the letter that a person wanting to not be so open about things would avoid (too obviously written by a native speaker).
I realize it’s a sensitive issue, but it seems like all possibilities should be considered. As for problems with this thinking, not everybody is thinking clearly at all times.
1 Like
Or the wife could have asked some native speaker to translate because the things she wanted to write were too complecated to be done by herself.
2 Likes
Yes. This, of course, is another possibility.
In general, embassies do not do much things actively in this kind of incidents? such as confirming the identity of a missing person and contacting to a family in home country etc.
Look at the angle of the front forks. That scooter has crashed head on into something. That’s why the front panels are off.
On that model the battery I believe is under the footwell on the right hand side?
That model of bike has a kick start which doesn’t seem to be out. Also why put a bike on the side stand if you are fixing it? Normal behaviour is to put it on centre stand and use the kickstart?
Re: The tinfoil, I’m not sure why it was mentioned in the accounts above as its pretty normal to put foil or a space blanket in the bottom of the seat box to reflect some heat back from the engine. Otherwise you’re gonna cook whatever’s in the box during a long ride or on a hot day. Not so common in Taiwan but in other countries yes.
2 Likes
That’s pretty perceptive. The scooter hit something with a lot of force. Either a wall or a vehicle. Both have very different implications I think.
Keystone cops.
2 Likes
Nice observations.
True about kick-starts.
The great thing about older scooter models is kick-starting if battery died. Happened more often than people think.
Wife bought a new scooter a few years ago. No kickstart. Apparently most models now like that (another way for manufacturer to save on production cost). I was not a happy camper.
3 Likes
The wife said he was seen being picked up on CCTV by two vehicles.
How is there CCTV in that area ?
Most likely we may think that Dave jumped at the cliff as he was feeling depressed about the situation .
But the stories about the CCTV and the cars don’t make any sense to me. Unless he got a ride to the cliffs from the place the scooter was crashed. So was the crash location right at the cliffs or not ?
Did he just ride straight into that wall in the photo ? Any evidence from the photos or videos ?
That definitely is a scooter that is broken
Yea that is the keyhole and no keys present.
Assuming it was as the bike and broken front plastics (debris) are in the same place. More troubling is this:
Front rim from a helmet on RHS. Suggesting that somebody was on the bike when it sustained the front damage. It also looks to me like the bike has been cleaned up from the road along with the plastics and left that way? Maybe also why the keys were tossed in the seat box?
2 Likes
Somebody has to go to that location and get some more details about it . Or can it be ID on Google maps ?
Perhaps:
- he sped his scooter straight at the rock wall, standing up, so that brunt force propelled him over the cliff
- hit by a local car/truck head-on in a tunnel or somewhere. the people immediately took conscious/unconscious Dave and threw him over cliff at that park and left scooter there
- not 1 nor 2. Continue… with conjectures
3 Likes
Good catch. Here’s another scenario: A driver veers into oncoming traffic to pass another car and runs into the scooter, killing the rider. The driver tosses the body over the cliff to destroy the evidence. Grisly but possible. @KHHville beat me to it.
5 Likes
On the news vid there are two problematic points on the voiceover.
-
They allude the bike was broken down and not that it had been in an accident which is clearly wrong.
-
They suggest that he may have been trying to make a fire to keep warm using the battery and tinfoil. Canadian’s probably don’t get cold in Taiwan. Especially Canadians kitted out to ride from Taidong to Taipei that have just done the reverse trip days prior.
Assuming the foil was not simply there to protect the seat box from engine heat and the battery was not a spare in the seat box, or propelled out of the bike in the crash as it had not been bolted in properly (it happens).
An injured person in shock may have wanted to keep warm. Especially one with first aid experience? Although this is doubtful based on the video as you need a relatively narrow strip of foil to do this and it quickly browns. The foil in the video is clean.
Again mostly conjecture. But just working with what was said/shown in the video.
2 Likes
Would imagine that some/all of the tunnels on the Qingshui section of the Suhua have CCTV at the entrances. Is there a definite location for the scooter from that pic?
1 Like
Apparently he was living in Taidong. He did not make a round trip journey.
It is not so clear. We have only seen one photo. We dont know the original position of the scooter. We don’t know what was moved, taken out, etc. We don’t know if the casing was removed by blunt force (collision) or by hand / tools. You can’t pry off the casing by hand. You need tools. So that does lean more to the collision being true.
1 Like
This so called CCTV of him getting in the car. Where is it ?
Crucial.
Davesbro…She doesn’t mention anything about that in the communication with your father.
Edit : she does , she said she had checked surveillance videos . This whole story needs to be ironed out . What was the conclusion from the videos
Which police provided the videos ? There must be a copy of those videos somewhere. Even if no copy a policeman somewhere on Qingshui area should be able to recall what was observed in the CCTV.
CCTV footage would help a ton. However, how long do they keep footage before it is recorded over or erased? Does anyone know? Is there any standard for this in Taiwan that all traffic cameras have to follow? Not all CCTV cameras are put up by government agencies. Some belong to store owners, etc. So not all the cameras would keep footage for the same length of time. See the problem?