Reading This Post Could Be Worth $5,000
Breaking News Update: Sadly, Mr. Fox was found this evening, dead in his truck which had run off the road into some deep woods, not far from his destination. I had a suspicion along these lines because I know how thick the woods are in Georgia this time of year and it would be easily for searchers in a helicopter to miss seeing the truck. There were no signs of foul play and no skid marks so it’s possible Mr. Fox fell asleep at the wheel or suffered a heart attack. I’m truly sorry this story didn’t turn out better and my sincere condolences to his family and friends.Too bad they had to suffer through so many days of not knowing, simply because the trucking company can’t calculate simple returns on investment. RIP, Richard.
The headline is an experiment … I’m always tinkering and trying to learn my craft as a writer and a professional blogger. But it’s also a legitimate call for help to solve a mystery … could be life or death. I blogged a few days ago about the disappearance of a truck drive, Richard Fox and his truck and load of groceries. (Latest Update Here)
Richard Fox has been missing for days now I originally picked up on this story because his company and the local media made note of the fact, too late to help in this case, that Ingles, the trucking company involved, chose not to use GPS tracking to manage their fleet. I’ve noticed this myself in my own business, that even though companies like Wal*Mart, the low price leader, and every highly competitive general freight company are long-time GPS tracking users, many of the wholesale grocery concerns seem to feel immune from modern fleet management. Don’t understand it myself, since their trucking expenses are strictly overhead and every dollar saved goes directly to the company’s bottom line, but hey … it’s a business decision.
Now there’s little doubt that almost everyone involved wishes there had been a GPS tracker or some kind of device to give a clue. Did Richard somehow have an accident that hid the truck from view? Did he suffer foul play, even though his cargo wasn’t particularly of high value? Did he go off on an unsuspected “walk about” himself and is presently parked in a truck stop at Key West (AKA Margaretville)? No one knows and we all wish we knew. Please read the reward flyer and give the police even the most tenuous clue you might know of … we want Richard found safe and sound and his family deserves to know.
May 31st, 2006 at 11:32 pm
[...] I wrote a few days ago about how reading one of my posts could win you $5.000. Well, reading this one could be worth more … quite a bit more. Mazda scattered 7 brand new cars across Google Earth and all you have to do is find one and you win the car. Sounds interesting, spouse and I are already searching. You folks with big screens and high screen resolutions have a big advantage. [...]
July 12th, 2006 at 3:28 am
[...] GPS To The Rescue — What Is A Life Worth I’ve written before about missing vehicles that the police couldn’t find even when they had a good idea of the vehicle’s route. The sad case of Mr. Fox, for example, a truck driver in Kentucky this past May … failed to complete his run, police searched even with helicopters, an 80,000 pound truck and 53 foot trailer … nada. Days later a relative found the truck … and the dead driver … off the road in heavy woods. See here; and here:Today we see a lady on her way home from the grocery store … missing. No one seriously suspected foul play, the husband and police knew pretty much where she should be, but no luck. Fortunately, the police weren’t Luddites like the Massachusetts inspectors I wrote about a few posts back … they determined the car had OnStar, the OnStar service center directed the police right to the ravine where the woman lay trapped and injured. Article here: [...]