On April 13, 20-year-old nursing student Holly Bobo got ready to leave for classes at her family’s home in Darden, Tennessee. Around 7:40AM, she walked out to her car but someone apparently ambushed her on the way there.
Her 25-year-old brother Clint said he went to look out a window after a barking dog awoke him. He saw a man in camouflage holding his sister by the arm and leading her into the nearby woods. He only saw the man’s back but assume it was her boyfriend and didn’t think anything more of it.
As he got ready to leave for work, he thought it was odd Holly’s car was still in the driveway when she should have been at class. So he called Holly’s boyfriend to see what they were up to but the boyfriend had no idea what he was talking about.
Clint then saw a some blood in the carport and called 911. He also called his mom, who called 911 as well, before he ran into the woods looking for his sister. Neither his sister, the camouflage man nor any more blood were found.
In fact, no one has seen Holly Bobo since that day.
Abductor is Likely a Local
Investigators have been pretty mum about the case. Extensive searches have been done and a few items of her belongings have reportedly been found. But publicly, they won’t confirm much–including whether the blood in the garage was Holly’s.
A few days after her disappearance, investigators said both the brother and current boyfriend were cleared. But they have still not named any persons of interest.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recently said they believe the perpetrator is from the local Decatur County area–which everyone assumed anyway. After all, no one would have chosen the dense woods by the Bobo house for a getaway unless they were very familiar with them.
There’s been a lot of speculation that she’s being held captive in the woods somewhere. Investigators, volunteers and the Bobo’s have spent hours searching but have so far come up empty.
The family also believes the abductor was someone who knew their schedule–that her parents would have already left for work when Holly would be leaving for school.
Given that she wasn’t kicking, screaming and fighting to get her brother’s attention, it’s possible she may have even known the person–and thought he wasn’t a real threat or that he was someone she could “handle.”
The bottom line is that there are plenty of rumors, but not much we can say for certain since investigators aren’t confirming anything. The TBI does say that tips are still called in daily and up to 10 agents are assigned exclusively to Holly’s case at any given time.
There is currently an $85,000 reward for the return of Holly Bobo and the arrest of her abductor. If you have any information that could help, call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
In the next post, we’ll discuss possible suspects.
