The Dinghy in the Cove

This photo taken by Dennis Davern offers an excellent view of the dinghy in operation, as it proves how the motor's position is "enclosed."  Noguchi's speculation (in his book Coroner) was that Natalie could have acquired bruises from the metal frame that held the motor in place on the dinghy, which is ludicrous because if she had made her way that far up onto the dinghy, she would have been able to get in it.  The back of the dinghy is lowered here in the water, but it's obvious she would have been in the dinghy had she reached a position where the motor could cause bruising on her legs. Thus, it's logical to dismiss Noguchi's untested theory.
Dr. Lyndon Taylor performed tests of trying to climb into a dinghy like "The Valiant" shown here. It was a very difficult task for him and took 10 attempts, and although he made it to inside the  dinghy, the attempt had caused NO BRUISING.


Paul Miller, of the County Medical Examiner’s Office was asked by Noguchi to come up with a theory. Miller was Chief Consultant on oceanic accidents in the L.A. County area. Miller prepared an advisory report, but later disagreed with Noguchi’s acceptance of Wagner’s banging dinghy theory, saying rubber doesn’t make noise, but Wagner, in Lambert’s book, supported the banging dinghy theory by saying the dinghy’s outboard motor would make noise because of the metal hitting wood against the Splendour.


This photo here says a thousand words. It would be IMPOSSIBLE for the dinghy’s outboard motor to bang against Splendour. The motor is “enclosed” by rubber. Even if the dinghy had been tied down "back-to-back" (which it wasn't) the motor still could NOT bang against Splendour.  It's all just another lie on the long list of SPECULATION to support "accidental drowning." Everything in reports relating to Natalie's death was theoretically based. Nothing was actually tested.


Accidental drowning was the rush-to-judgment call leaving a trail of questions behind. The theories supporting the call are easily debunked. Dr. Lyndon Taylor and I tested everything we included in Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour. Everything!


While looking at this photo, take a moment to view the vast ocean Natalie floated in while wearing her red down jacket, her only link to possible rescue while it kept her afloat in the cold ocean in the intimidating dark of night.


It's too disturbing to even think about. Maybe that's why there has been nothing but THEORIES until GNGS. Did they even think to test their theories? Or maybe the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. just can't swallow pride. Theirs, along with the Medical Examiner's so-called investigation, was pathetic. Talking to a few Island workers does not constitute a thorough job, and Detective Rasure is the person responsible for the hornet's nest surrounding the case throughout the years. His investigation involved nothing more than a few hours of accepting lies. NO "evidence testing" was performed. Rasure so smugly told us "rough seas" broke the wine bottle. Wagner admits 25 years later that he broke it, confirming what Dennis revealed publicly in 1983.  It was on a documentary TV show that Rasure called Dennis a liar about the bottle.

Natalie didn't fall over a four-foot wall into the ocean. She never stepped out onto a swim step to quiet a banging dinghy. Natalie's death could have -- should have -- been solved with nothing more than some simple good detective work.