Missing Controller

[TobiasMasonPark]

     The fact that nobody asks about what the heck happened to Saddler.

[Dogman15]

The books go into just the right amount of detail when it comes to talking about what the reaction of Saddler's death was. I think.

...Yeah, Rachel mentions in her narration how everyone was going gaga over Saddler/David at Jake's house. To everyone else except the Animorphs, Saddler was miraculously well and healthy and talking at Jake's house. Then he goes out (to Taco Bell, perhaps he tells them, to eat with Jake and his friends, he maybe tells them), and they never see him again. Later, Saddler's body is found at or near the hospital.

What would they think of this?

[NateSean]

On the otherhand it didn't go into quite enough detail, in my opinion.

This is a kid that the entire family came to see on his death bed. Everyone witnessed his "recovery" and then suddenly he disappears and his body is found in almost the same condition later that week. The fact that Jake's dad, a doctor, and Rachel's mother, a lawyer who can pretty much take your organs in a law suit and not blink an eye wasn't asking questions is particularly disturbing. It would mean that she's suddenly perfectly all right with a hospital losing patients who are in critical condition. At the very least a class action lawsuit against the hospital would be in order.

And of course the Yeerks who monitor the hospitals would certainly find these events even remotely connected with the family of a high ranking controller rather interesting.

[Morilore]

I were the Yeerks, I'd put two and two together pretty fast.  Human kid joins the Andalite bandits after having his entire family infested.  Another human kid is nearly killed but miraculously recovers all his wounds to the complete bafflement of human doctors.  Human kid nearly betrays Andalite bandits to Visser Three and is never seen again.  Other human kid vanishes and is found in the hospital, dead of his wounds which had been thought healed.

The thing about this is that it looks like a complete coincidence that accident victim is related to a high-ranking controller.

[NateSean]

And we saw how Visser Three (Who was promoted to Visser One at the time) reacted to that little coincidence when he found out that Jake the Animorph was Tom's brother.

[Tim Bruening]

Did anyone miss Eva?  sure, but it's pretty easy to cover up dead controllers.  Pretty easy to cover up missing human controllers... there was probably an increase in car crashes, boating accidents, wild animal attacks in the woods, et cetera reported in California at the time.

Lots of wild animal attacks near or in Yeerk facilities!

[donut]

It's a wonder someone as stupid as him would rise to the rank of military commander.

   If you only knew...


Buuttt, so what if the people noticed when someone disappeared or died - what would actually happen?  The police would get called to investigate (who are controlled by the yeerks), they'd either rule it unsolvable, or blame it on a someone convenient.  And if they disappeared?  Amber alert for kids and then nothing.  I always see the walls of Walmart covered with Amber alerts.  The only way they'd notice there's a lot is if someone reports them.  Without social media, the yeerks controlling the police and the news, who's going to know there were a dozen others through the city?

[Tim Bruening]

I were the Yeerks, I'd put two and two together pretty fast.  Human kid joins the Andalite bandits after having his entire family infested.  Another human kid is nearly killed but miraculously recovers all his wounds to the complete bafflement of human doctors.  Human kid nearly betrays Andalite bandits to Visser Three and is never seen again.  Other human kid vanishes and is found in the hospital, dead of his wounds which had been thought healed.

The thing about this is that it looks like a complete coincidence that accident victim is related to a high-ranking controller.

Tom should certainly have been suspicious, especially since David actually SLEPT AT JAKE'S HOME for a night!

[Dylan]

You see, Tom's an older brother. Older brother's aren't always the most protective people in the world...
Also, when did David sleep in Jake's house? I don't remember that.

[RYTX]

They did move him to Jake's, somewhere in twenty, which is admittedly stupid, but I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt and assume he was snuck in, and Tom was out that night.
Probably looking for David actually

[Tim Bruening]

You see, Tom's an older brother. Older brother's aren't always the most protective people in the world...
Also, when did David sleep in Jake's house? I don't remember that.

Book 20. David first slept in Rachel's house, then was transferred to Jake's house.

Tom may be an older brother, but he isn't a normal older brother.  He is a Controller, so should be on the lookout for anything weird (such as a cousin coming back from near death, then disappearing  few days later, only for his dead and battered body to be found near the hospital.  All this occurring within days of a civilian (David) being recruited by the Andalite Bandits) that could hamper the Yeerks' mission of conquest.