IT COULD ALSO  BE JANE'S   DAD
OR JANE  HIM SELF.

Grace has red hair.
The meaning of the word 'John' is 'GRACE and mercy.'

Therefore... Red John.

There are also lots of other things that people have posted which would support my theory.

Firstly, i'd like to begin with saying that Van Pelt is not Red John

Now that's out of the way, we can get to business. Van Pelt is the most interesting character on the show IMO. I find it strange that we're into the 6th season now, yet we still know very little, if anything, about Grace's past, whereas every other team member has been given their own backstory-centric episode. We learnt about Lisbon's alcoholic dad, and the fact she acted as a surrogate mother to her brothers, we learnt about Cho's gang and military background, we learnt about Rigsby's troubled past, and we've learnt a lot about Patrick. But nothing really about Grace. All we know is:

- She's from a small town
- Her father is a football coach
- Her cousin is a psychic
- She's emotionally shut down
- She has a bad memory that she's not willing to share, even with Rigsby
- She's fascinated with Visualize and the occult
- She's very capable with technology

That last 2 points for me are important, given RJ's Visualize links, and proven technical nous. We learn the vast majority of those points during the show, in the present, no flashbacks or backstory episodes, again, different from the other characters. We learnt through backstory that Cho is tough, unflappable and very reliable. We learn that Rigsby has a mean streak inherited from his father etc.

Something that dawned on me, from rewatching season 5, she has a lot in common with Lorelei Martins. Both are beautiful women with troubled pasts, both are tough and physically capable, both are easy to manipulate, both would be an ideal target for a serial killer with a cult-ish following. My guess is that RJ recruited Van Pelt much the same he did with Lorelei, harming someone she loved without telling her, and rocking up and playing the hero/shoulder to cry on. 

So my theory is that GVP is RJ's CBI insider (Ron being a red-herring), and RJ's technical expert. Note that RJ only seems to contact the CBI via Grace (like the Dr. Joe N.H part). 

I have no idea who RJ is though. 

ok gentlemen and ladies put your hot pockets down fora moment I think I know who it is who always has access to the computers who knew about the GPS monitoring ??? Grace Van Pelt!!!she's always alone at CBI headquarters she watches everything she looks kind of shifty eyed always observing.whenever they show Red John he appears slightly feminine, voice is altered.its her......

Van pelt is not RJ but ive always felt she was in on it just makes to much sense being the newest member of the team and read headed and such ... But in the link below does it look like she has a blade in her left hand while cho is in handcuffs ..Does anyone else see that in this picture or am i just crazy ..PLEASE LET ME KNOW !

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/35500000/New-BTS-Pic-TheMentalist-601-or-602-the-mentalist-35...

Don't think GVP is RJ but think she will lead us to him somehow.  Heller said "you will see the white whale" [for last season, meaning the killer will be out there] -- the "white whale" a reference to killer whale Moby Dick.  I realized that besides King Arthur references in the character names, there are Moby Dick themes, as well, in The Mentalist.  In MD, Ishmael, an outcast orphan [from Bible, too] joins Captain Ahab [who lost his leg to the "white whale killer"] on his ship out on the Pacific to find Moby Dick.  It's about an obsessive search for a killer in a sea of unknown -- and how revenge can destroy you [as Captain Ahab and his crew, but for Ishmael, go down trying to take the killer whale down].  Moby Dick is symbolic of fighting forces that are often beyond our control.  There's also a character, Elijah, in MD [and also from Bible, meaning Prophet] who tells Ishmael he mustn't have soul to go on this journey, and likens a soul to being a "FIFTH WHEEL ON A WAGON."  What's so interesting about all this is that there are many character names relating to: the SEA, WATER, CLIFF, ROCK, RIDGE, BOATS and WAGON MAKERS & REPAIRERS.  Is Van Pelt the "5th wheel" on the CBI team?  Did Ellis Mars [meaning Elijah: Prophet/War, Blood Red] predict something overlooked?  Maybe he will come back?  Interestingly, an anagram for Patrick Jane is "Captain Jerk" and the longest word found in Van Pelt's name is "parentage" -- her father is mentioned, and supposedly known by RJ associate and killer Craig O'Laughlin [whose name means Rocky Water/Lake] so I think Grace's father may become known or revealed this season, considering Van Pelt means "curer of animal hides," like Tanner [Orville & DuMAR Tanner], also RJ associates.  Van Pelt's family obviously has red hair somewhere down the line; her sister committed suicide and Jane says she's repressing a terrible memory.  She has a psychic aunt named Yolanda [which means Violet] -- there are just too many loose ends with VP, these all have to lead somewhere.  Now, I'm thinking Jane's Suspect List may have been his ploy to throw off "Roy" LOL and that it's been Van Pelt all along who is going to lead us to RJ [not that she knows it].

Uh oh guys!  I'm only posting this not because I want this theory to be true but I read this article and it kinda freaked me out.  Say it isn't true.  Tell me I'm just reading way too much into it.  I want VanPelt or Rigsby to have NOTHING to do with Red John because that is like a slap in the face to Lisbon and the team for the past 5 years!  ----   Anyway, this article is from cartermatt.com  and this excerpt is discussing the introduction of the two new characters who will be replacing Grace and Rigsby. :


  The information below comes to us via TVLine: 1. Kim Fischer – A former homicide detective from Dallas who is in her thirties, and is both intelligent and attractive. Is it a possible love interest for someone? You can never rule it out.2. Nick Abbott – A veteran from the Iraq war, and an African-American graduate from West Point who is a very good guy to have on your side … but not a good guy by any means to make angry.One of the other reasons for these new castings are that they merely represent a major jump into the future for the show. The plan right now is to finally close the book on the Red John story after so many years, which means (thankfully) that there will be some other people set for some much-deserved time in the spotlight. [b]The exits of these two fan favorites, based on at least some initial claims, is going to be tied to the Red John story in some way.[/b]

It doesn't sound like they just walk away to get married now does it?