Community Puzzle: The Case of the Missing Couple

[MAUSZX]

Ok so I solved the square, had some problems with some words but didn't affect the solution.... lol I also used badasses lol. The trophy letters and the clue I am terribly confused

 

Spoiler

T,H,E, S,E, T,I,W,S,N   AND THE CLUE SAYS THE GAME HAS BEEN FEATURED IN PSPLUS but then it points out 3 and 7... means two words.

 

THE WITNESS

 

Edited July 1, 2022 by MAUSZX

[GuitaristZag]

This sounds great! Will do the act of kindness asap and report back

[HusKy]

@DonFrancesco If you remove emoji from your post, your spoiler tag will work properly.

[DonFrancesco]

@HusKy Haha, I just replied to the thread you made about that topic. Do you mean the first spoiler tags I posted or the ones from the post I made a few hours ago? Because I can open both of them normally now, and the first one doesn't even contain emojis. Can you open one of them and not the other? Or do both work / not work for you?

[HusKy]

2 minutes ago, DonFrancesco said:

@HusKy Haha, I just replied to the thread you made about that topic. Do you mean the first spoiler tags I posted or the ones from the post I made a few hours ago? Because I can open both of them normally now, and the first one doesn't even contain emojis. Can you open one of them and not the other? Or do both work / not work for you?

 

Don't want to go too much offtopic here but yeah, both spoiler tags do not work for me because both posts contain an emoji somewhere.

Visit first page directly through this URL and try to open those spoilers: https://forum.psnprofiles.com/topic/128112-open-community-puzzle-the-case-of-the-missing-couple/

Do not go 1 page back as that will magically fix them. ?

 

[DonFrancesco]

2 minutes ago, HusKy said:

 

Don't want to go too much offtopic here but yeah, both spoiler tags do not work for me because both posts contain an emoji somewhere.

Visit first page directly through this URL and try to open those spoilers: https://forum.psnprofiles.com/topic/128112-open-community-puzzle-the-case-of-the-missing-couple/

Do not go 1 page back as that will magically fix them.

 

 

But that's the thing - the first post does not contain any emojis. The second does, but the first doesn't. So that can't be all there is to it.

 

But yeah, you're right, let's not derail this thread too much. Although it would be great to find a solution for this, since spoiler tags will obviously be used regularly here.

[HusKy]

6 minutes ago, DonFrancesco said:

But yeah, you're right, let's not derail this thread too much.

Yes, sending you a PM. Sorry @Platinum_Vice!

[Im2Fast_4U]

Late to the party, but just did the crossword myself. I wound up with:

 

Spoiler

Letters: E S N I T E H W S T

 

Unscrambled: The Witness

 

A very curious password given the detective theme... and checks out with what others have gotten as well

 

As for clues, I laughed and was disappointed at the same time with the clue for 26 down... 11 across had me thinking it was a specific game for way too long and was very mad at myself when I realized haha. And 22 down, I definitely only saw the incorrect correct-answer. Nice puzzle though!!!

Edited July 2, 2022 by Im2Fast_4U
bad at remembering numbers

[MattbluePT]

Well, ended up with the following answear, which seems to be the correct one as the others are getting the same:

 

Spoiler

The Witness

 

I also thought immediately on badasses for 22 down actually, but the one that made me think a bit was 32 (which I actually find funny when i got it ahah)

[Platinum_Vice]

Puzzle 2 of 9

Thanks PSNP, that was a valiant effort! There were some blistering speeds in the solve of that first one.

 

I have seized Jane's laptop and brought it back to my office. When I entered the password, which was indeed:

Spoiler

The Witness

 

...the laptop presented another puzzle.

 

The completed first puzzle looks like this:

Spoiler

 

 

To give you some context on how important I consider your help, be aware that my leads are fairly elementary at the moment: 

 

Kevin's bank account hasn’t been used for a month since he withdrew $3,000 from an ATM one block from the apartment. According to my banking inquiries, he has no other accounts except for some cryptocurrency and stock market investments that he buys into quite heavily. Otherwise, he usually withdraws his savings as cash. 

 

Jane has no other accounts other than the ones connected to the bank cards that were left behind. 

 

I've seized Jane and Kevin's mobile phones (they were left behind in the apartment) and am attempting to gain access, although I don’t have a code, so it is likely to take a few months while the computers brute force their way in.

 

Neither Jane nor Kevin have additional phone numbers registered to them. I've got nothing at the moment to suggest that they have additional phones. 

 

I’ve also spoken with Robert Smith quite a lot. He is actually a Police Sergeant. He doesn’t like Kevin. He hasn’t approved of Jane's relationship since it began. Robert describes Kevin as a “stalker-type" that managed to trick his daughter into loving him. When I asked Robert more about this, he told me that Kevin met Jane at her Starbucks three years ago and had managed to move into Jane's apartment with her within a month of them dating.  

 

Robert does not have any other evidence of Kevin “stalking” Jane, but his gut feeling about Kevin has always been off. Robert has not approved of any of Jane’s boyfriends. 

 

Jane’s mother passed away from an autoimmune disease while Jane was four. 

 

Kevin’s parents died in a car crash five years ago.  

 

Neither Jane or Kevin have siblings or other close family. 

 

Neighbours describe Jane and Kevin as a quiet and sweet couple who make no noise, always smile when they pass in the hallways and elevators, and, once, Kevin came over to one neighbouring apartment to remove a mouse that had been terrorising the elderly owner. 

 

Some of my most immediate inquiries will include speaking with Jane’s employer and collecting CCTV from the aforementioned ATM and the area surrounding Jane and Kevin's apartment block. 

 

Good luck with the second puzzle. It looks like a Sudoku, which I hear are fairly simple for puzzle-lovers.
 

Again, I’ve transcribed it to a website for those who can’t print it off, although it might just be easier for you to copy it down onto a piece of paper for yourself so that you’ll know where those little green question marks are.

 

https://sudokuexchange.com/play/?s=030007008000691000072000500794000200000079010005080000000052300100700000060008070

 

Good luck!

- Vice 

 

 

Sudoku 

 

Welcome to the vault, Batman. A class of schoolchildren are locked inside and you only have 30 minutes to get them out. 

 

Figure out the numbers of my four Riddler Trophies and then arrange them in ascending order to unlock the vault: _ _ _ _ 

 

 

 

@DrBloodmoney

@MAUSZX

@DonFrancesco

@Im2Fast_4U

@DoctorDrPepper

@YaManSmevz

@rjkclarke

@MattbluePT

@HusKy

@GuitaristZag

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Platinum_Vice

[Malachen]

Nice. Got the first one and I think the answer to the second one is 

1259

But I am crap at sudoku. Can I still get added to this event?

[Im2Fast_4U]

I've got a solve on the sudoku, with a resulting passcode of:

Spoiler

1259

 

I hope you can save the kids detective. Let me know when I can be of service again.

[MattbluePT]

Solved the puzzle.

The password is

Spoiler

1259

 

[DonFrancesco]

Didn't expect the 2nd puzzle so soon! But here's the solution I got:

 

Spoiler

1259

 

[YaManSmevz]

I only do this on my phone so I ain't got no spoiler thing to use. Don't wanna answer the first cuz I saw what it was? I'll message you my solution.

 

Also, the fact that the sudoku site has a timer? RUDE!! My dumb ass felt mad judged???

 

Anyway in case I haven't already, I wanted to give props for your creativity man, this is such a dope challenge??

[Malachen]

34 minutes ago, YaManSmevz said:

I only do this on my phone so I ain't got no spoiler thing to use. Don't wanna answer the first cuz I saw what it was I'll message you my solution.

 

Also, the fact that the sudoku site has a timer? RUDE!! My dumb ass felt mad judged

 

Anyway in case I haven't already, I wanted to give props for your creativity man, this is such a dope challenge

Use [ spoiler ] message here [ /spoiler ] without spaces on mobile to spoiler tag

[YaManSmevz]

Nice! Thanks man!

[MAUSZX]

Long time without sudoku took me a while

 

1259

Edited July 3, 2022 by MAUSZX

[DrBloodmoney]

Yo, mr. detective!

 

I got

 

Spoiler

1259

 

Get that vault open!

[Platinum_Vice]

Puzzle 3 of 9

 

 

Good morning all. 

 

You got that last puzzle right, the password was

Spoiler

1259

...and now another puzzle has revealed itself, which I will transcribe below.

 

The completed 2nd puzzle looked like this:

Spoiler

 

Here are some of the other aspects of the investigation behind the scenes:

 

Kevin works freelance as a computer programmer and as far as I can tell, there is no employer awaiting his contact in the foreseeable future. 

 

Jane is studying video game design online and works part-time at a Starbucks two blocks away from the apartment. I visited her manager Sandra at the café.

 

Sandra knows Jane as a quiet but very smart and competent worker.  

 

Sandra knows Kevin and how he likes his coffee (strong latte, no sugar). He walks Jane to and from work every shift and often can be seen typing on a laptop in the corner of the café while Jane works. 

 

Jane called Sandra four days prior to Robert calling the police. Sandra didn’t answer so Jane sent the following SMS: “Sorry Sandra, I need the next week off. Sorry that it’s short notice.” According to Sandra, this is apparently not unusual for Starbucks employees, but it is unusual for Jane. It is also Jane’s first full week off ever as she usually takes leave in half-week chunks to help with her study schedule.

 

So... Jane only wanted one week off. She should have been back at work by the 29th of June, two days into my investigation and two days before I posted the first puzzle on PSNP. I therefore went back to Jane and Kevin's apartment with Robert’s key and his consent to enter. I didn’t bring him with me just in case Jane (an adult) had returned and wasn't actually missing - I've had more than a few 'missing persons' cases where the subject wasn't actually missing and they were just avoiding the reporting person!

 

Alas, the apartment was as I left it eight days ago… everything is still in the same place including the receipt that I left behind for the property that I seized and my note requesting that Jane and Kevin call me upon their hypothetical return…

 

Here is the third puzzle, team. It's a little different to your garden variety Sudoku!

 

Good luck!

- Vice

 

 

“Stronger Together”  

 

Take the FIRST:

- 2 letters from the 1st answer, 

- 2 letters from the 2nd answer, 

- 1 letter from the 3rd answer, 

- 1 letter from the 4th answer, 

- 2 letters from the 5th answer, 

…and combine them in that order for an 8 letter password: _______ 

 

 

1: 

What game am I? Drive or fly? 

Dominating more than just the floor, I work hard for the roaring applause. 

Both the gameplay (and most of the DLC!) requires some boostin’,

It’s not the size of your balls that counts, the skill gap comes from how you use ‘em. 

 

2: 

Synthetics, humans, a gas, grim, 

Just some of the many enemies within 

This game which grants you multiple choices 

Like whether to show mercy to those who’d destroy us. 

I feature a council that gives poor counsel 

But I’ve received more attention for the player's decisions spousal. 

Did you choose 'birdcop?' Or 'tall, green and handsome?' 

Or did you choose 'Michael Jackson?' 

Or do you prefer the subtlety of 'blue booty?'  

Or someone with more baggage like 'face-in-a-tubey?'

 

3: 

JRPG fans can show off their familiars, 

I have sold into the millions, 

With art a la Studio Ghibli, 

My most-loved character is Drippy, 

What game am I... opinions? 

 

4:  

Everybody dislikes escort missions and kids in games, so let’s play that for the whole campaign. 

Traumatised birds of a feather stick together, as do the stolen pages of mens’ nethers. 

Mercilessly kill all survivors and Fireflies – and try to figure out what game am I. 

 

5:  

As I free you from the imprisonment of a birdcage, 

I wear two horns and have yet to come of age, 

Take my hand, 

Let’s escape this land. 

I come from Japan but made it onto the world's stage. 

 

Password: __ __ _ _ __

 

 

@DrBloodmoney

@MAUSZX

@DonFrancesco

@Im2Fast_4U

@DoctorDrPepper

@YaManSmevz

@rjkclarke

@MattbluePT

@HusKy

@GuitaristZag

@Malachen

 

[DrBloodmoney]

Mr Detective sir...

 

Spoiler

I'm feeling a little ROMANTIC...

 

...is this normal?

[HusKy]

What I have so far, will try to come up with full answer:

 

Spoiler

ROcket League

MAss Effect

Ni no Kuni

The Last of Us

ICo

 

edit. Can't figure out 2 and 5. I give up.

edit2. OK, now only number 2 is left.

edit3. Done.

Edited July 4, 2022 by HusKy

[Platinum_Vice]

59 minutes ago, HusKy said:

What I have so far, will try to come up with full answer:

 

  Hide contents

ROcket League

-- ?

Ni no Kuni

The Last of Us

-- ?

 

edit. Can't figure out 2 and 5. I give up.

 

I like what you have so far. Maybe someone can give you a hint for #2 and #5?

[DrBloodmoney]

1 hour ago, HusKy said:

edit. Can't figure out 2 and 5. I give up.

 

 

A couple of clues for those two (assuming I'm right, of course - but I think I am!)

 

Clue for 2:

Spoiler

Weight without gravity would also have consequence.

 

 

Clue for 5:

Spoiler

Great game, and a game changer, but tends to live in the shadow of a colossally good sequel

 

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by DrBloodmoney

[HusKy]

Alright, I got it done. And I know some of you may call this cheating but just hear me out...

 

Spoiler

I couldn't figure #2 out, even from the additional clue. I have never played the game before and had no idea about its lore, story and characters. I knew the answer was "ROMANTIC" at this point from the other 4 answers.

 

However I figured DrBloodmoney surely must have played it.

 

So I went to his profiles, loaded all 713 games and then ran this little one liner in the developer console looking for all games starting with "Ma":

 

 

... Mass Effect ... ? Yeah that sounds about right.

 

Little bit of Google-fu looking for "mass effect michael jackson" and bingo!

 

 

If this isn't detective work then I don't know what is!

Edited July 4, 2022 by HusKy