Post by Scumhunter on Oct 9, 2013 8:05:46 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: amw.com archives)
Missing Person Profile as of December 4th, 2017: (Based on 2011 amw.com archives, news articles)
Sex: Male
Race: White
Date of Disappearance: January 12th, 2006
Age (at time of disappearance): 54 years old
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 220 lbs
Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair): Black. As part of a practical joke, Trindade had dyed his hair blonde and cut it very short.
Eyes: Brown
Other Phys. Characteristics: An all-around athlete, Trindade was well-built for his age, very muscular, and tanned.
Traits and Habits:
-Experienced boater and fisherman
-Made hundreds of crossings between Florida and the Bahamas
-Played drums in a rock band
-World champion kick boxer
-Road-raced Porches on a national circuit
-Avid golfer and big-game hunter
-Successful real estate developer
-Business innovator and entrepreneur
-Loves to cook big meals
The story of James "Jimmy" Trindade is in my opinion one of the most intriguing but baffling missing person cases in AMW history.
Trindade was vacationing his friends Roger and Mary Gamblin when he vanished the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 12, in the ocean between Palm Beach County and Memory Rock, a marker known to boaters who travel to the Bahamas. Trindade had went into the ocean with his Donzi boat. Roger's son Chris and his friend Brian Potts trailed closely behind in separate boats. Around 3:55 p.m., Chris and Brian both heard Trindade say: "U.S. Coast Guard. U.S. Coast Guard." His words were followed by loud static, the sound boaters hear when someone else is trying to use the same radio channel.
That was the last time anyone saw Jimmy Trindade alive, and not him or his body if he was killed has been found. Theories abound, such as if drug runners or pirates hijacked his boat. It was discovered his boat's GPS had been tampered with after the fact. I remember on the AMW airings how baffled Trindade's family was since he was a smart and not to mention very physically fit guy that would be hard to bring down on his own, making it hard to believe a theory strangers were able to outmaneuver or overpower him.
But the brightest spotlight shone on Chris and Brian, who would both fail their first polygraph tests according to Jimmy Trindade's brother, Patrick. The Gamblins' attorney says they passed subsequent ones, however.
Despite Roger seeming to launch a massive search effort to find answers on his friend, he certainly didn't help ease any suspicions when he disappeared a few years later. Him and his wife Peggy became fugitives after accusations Roger piflered 10 million dollars from his once revered title company.
The Gamblins were finally caught 2 1/2 years later in Colorado. However, if Roger Gamblin did have any secrets, he took those to his grave when he died from long-standing heart problems a month later. Peggy Gamblin plead guilty to one count of failing to report Roger's financial crimes and sentenced to a month in prison. And if she does know anything as well, according to Patrick Trindade, she hasn't said much.
Does anyone have thoughts on this baffling case? I remember how adamant Chris and Brian were on AMW that they had nothing to do with Jimmy Trindade's disappearance but it doesn't sit right with me that Chris's father disappeared and became a wanted fugitive albeit for a different circumstance. And it also doesn't sit right with me that Patrick says they failed their first lie detector test. I'm not accusing them, but I have my suspicions they might know more than they're letting on at the very least. Trindade was an experienced boater who knew his way around the ocean, and while obviously you can't necessarily stop a sudden attack from more than one stranger with weapons no matter how physically fit you are, it would seem he would have had the smarts to out maneuver and speed away if his boat was fully in tact. Unless his boat was tampered with, as suggested in the YouTube link below. I also should add he's said to know that ocean like the back of his hand, and what makes this even weirder is he probably knew trouble spots if there were any to stay away from in the first place.
The following is the feds theory from a Palm Beach article in 2008 (http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-boating-discussion/120359-missing-owner-38-donzi-8.html):
"The feds believe Chris Gamblin and Pratts were in the middle of a cocaine transaction at sea when Trindade surprised them. The feds say he was shot by an unnamed drug dealer. Gamblin and Pratts helped dispose of the body and covered up the killing, according to investigators with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which took over from the FBI as the lead agency in the case about a year ago"
Unfortunately, this seems a case where there really is no hard evidence.
According to online research, if you have any information on this case please contact:
Homeland Security Investigations
West Palm Beach Office
phone: 561-659-4606 or National Tip Line: 866-347-2433
www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/dateline-features-jimmy-trindades-disappearance-an/nLtTj/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW69-8ar69g
mysticsnowangel.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=trindade&action=print&thread=1627
web.archive.org/web/20111019190233/http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=41321
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