Taylor Behl’s family: Street smarts failed
Taylor Behl’s mom Janet Pelasara remembers the advice she gave her 17-year-old daughter when she dropped her off at Virginia Commonwealth University to begin her freshman year:
“I told her to have as much fun as you can stand and still get good grades,” Pelasara recalled the other day, nearly three weeks after her daughter disappeared.
They were the words of a mother confident in her daughter’s judgment.
These of course would be words that Taylor’s mom would come back and ponder as the knowledge that she had instilled into Taylor Behl say not have been enough to deal with real life situations.
So when it came time to choose a college, Pelasara had few worries that her “street-smart” daughter wouldn’t be able to handle its challenges.
But Behl also had made connections, through friends and the Internet, with people in the city who dwelled on the fringes of college life, some of whom police are investigating for possible clues to her disappearance.
Among them is Ben Fawley, a 38-year-old photographer and self-described “Goth Skater” Behl met in February during a visit to VCU. He was one of the last people to see Behl before she vanished Sept. 5.
In an interview with Matt Behl, Taylor’s dad from Fox News Greta Van Susteren, “On The Record,” they discuss meeting Ben Fawley:
VAN SUSTEREN: You’ve met Ben Fawley?
BEHL: Yes, I have.
VAN SUSTEREN: When did you first meet him?
BEHL: Early February when Taylor was interested in going to VCU I ended up taking her down there to spend the night at that house and go with her friend from high school to classes the next day and to the student union to eat, things like that.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, your impression of him, I mean which may be favorable or unfavorable? It doesn’t necessarily mean he had anything to do with her disappearance but I’m curious what did you think about him?