Jenna Van Gelderen
In August of 2017, 25 year old Jenna Van Gelderen was house and pet sitting while her parents were out of town. She’s a small girl being only about 4 foot 11 inches with dark brown hair and brown eyes. She had recently moved into an apartment, striving to be more independent, and her family hadn’t been to her new place, they didn’t even have the exact address.
I’ve heard different reports as to how exactly she realized she wasn’t in touch with anyone, one that she didn’t meet up with a friend she was scheduled to, the other that the vet tending to the elderly cat came and she didn’t answer. Either way, it came to attention that no one was hearing from her and her brother went to the house to check on her. Jenne and the car were both missing however the door was locked, and the TV and lights were both on. Also still in the house were her makeup/toiletries and her most commonly worn everyday shoes, as well as phone chargers.
After 24 hours her brother reports her missing.
In addition to Jenna being gone, another strange thing has happened. A large Egyptian tapestry was also missing. It was super large and would need at least two people to get the frame down, let alone put it back up with the tapestry missing. Also, the tapestry didn’t have a lot of financial worth, its value was largely sentimental to the family.
On September 5th, Jenna’s car was found in Northwest Atlanta with her purse inside. The seat was pushed back, so it is likely someone else was driving the car, seeing how short she was she would have typically had the seat pretty close to the wheel.
Now, it turns out Jenna had two cell phones, one on her parents’ plan, and one that her family hadn’t known about. No one is exactly sure WHY it is she felt she needed a secret cell phone.
Her last phone ping at 7:45 am was near Fairburn Georgia, however her license plate was seen on a camera in midtown Atlanta was around that same time, and the two are a 30 minute drive from each other. So it is unclear if Jenna was with her phone, her car, or somewhere else completely.
Her brother got access to her passwords and was able to get into her social media and see some of her conversations. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be figured out WHO some of the people she was talking to actually were. She had however been speaking to people online, and someone had wanted her back at her apartment that night. Jenna, was pretty gullible and she has previously been tricked into stealing money from her work to give to people online. So it is possible that someone online could have convinced her to do something.
Theories: The family feels that Jenna was murdered, and they want to have her declared dead. Just recently, August 29, 2021 they held a memorial for her.
Ran away to start a new life… doesn’t explain the tapestry or the fact that someone else had to be involved.
Roommate: Jenne was behind on rent, and he wouldn’t let police search the apartment. He put her belongings outside in bags for her family to collect.
Ex-boyfriend: Her ex-boyfriend was saying strange things about her, he claimed that she was a prostitute and on drugs.
If her boyfriend was right, perhaps something happened to her due to a pimp
People also believe the tapestry could have been something to misdirect police… though it seems strange they wouldn’t do anything else.
Sources:True crime files