Speaker 1: Hello friends, Staves Talkton here with you. Welcome to our
Speaker 1: latest video. Today we're going to bring you six strange
Speaker 1: cases of people last seen running into the woods. Now,
Speaker 1: the missing person epidemic not only affects just the US,
Speaker 1: but the UK and many other parts of the world. Thankfully,
Speaker 1: most missing people are discovered alive and well, but some
Speaker 1: cases remain cold and unsolved, whether that be for a
Speaker 1: few years or even decades. So take a walk with
Speaker 1: me now as we explore these six strange cases. Number
Speaker 1: six Craig Freer. Craig Freer was your average seventeen year old.
Speaker 1: He was going into his senior year at high school
Speaker 1: and was the co captain of the school's football team.
Speaker 1: Craig had also picked up a part time job and
Speaker 1: was looking ahead to the future, and his future was bright.
Speaker 1: There were a few colleges interested in offering Craig a
Speaker 1: scholarship for sporting abilities, and the world was truly his oyster. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: any chance at a bright future was taken away from
Speaker 1: him one faithful day in June two thousand and four.
Speaker 1: His sudden disappearance would turn the lives of his family
Speaker 1: upside down, and as recently as twenty twenty one. The
Speaker 1: New York State Police are still actively investigating and chasing.
Speaker 2: Down new leeds.
Speaker 1: Craig's parents were happy when they heard he'd picked up
Speaker 1: a part time job at the Price Chopper supermarket in Glenville,
Speaker 1: New York. Craig picked up a few shifts, which somehow
Speaker 1: he managed to fit into his busy schedule. On Sunday,
Speaker 1: June twenty seventh, two thousand and four, Craig walked out
Speaker 1: of his home for what would be the last time
Speaker 1: as far as his parents were concerned. He was headed
Speaker 1: to work. His mother, Veronica, had seen him carrying his
Speaker 1: uniform with him to his car, But when Veronica arrived
Speaker 1: at the supermarket where Craig worked just a few hours
Speaker 1: after he'd left for his shift, she was shocked to
Speaker 1: find no sign of him. She was even more shocked
Speaker 1: to learn that Craig hadn't been working at the supermarket
Speaker 1: for quite some time. Whether it was shame, embarrassment, or
Speaker 1: something else that made Craig guide the fact that he
Speaker 1: got sacked, we'll never know. His parents were of course
Speaker 1: very upset that Craig had lied to them, and they
Speaker 1: called Craig's girlfriend to see if.
Speaker 2: She knew who he was.
Speaker 1: At first, she said she had no idea, but after
Speaker 1: a second call, she caved in and admitted that he
Speaker 1: was with her.
Speaker 2: Ronica gave Craig a stern talking to, telling.
Speaker 1: Him that he needed to come home right away and
Speaker 1: that they needed to have a chat, the sentence that
Speaker 1: every teenager dreads hearing. Craig said goodbye to his girlfriend
Speaker 1: and left her apartment located in Scotia, New York. According
Speaker 1: to his girlfriend, she watched as he walked towards his car,
Speaker 1: but then at the last minute darted off in the
Speaker 1: opposite direction. What had scared Craig and why did he
Speaker 1: run away from his car? Surely, if he was in danger,
Speaker 1: the best thing to do would be to head to
Speaker 1: the car and drive away or go back inside. According
Speaker 1: to reports, Craig ran into the nearby woods, and this
Speaker 1: is the last confirmed sighting of him. From here, all
Speaker 1: we have are alleged sightings and a few new pieces
Speaker 1: of evidence that may finally help us pieces puzzle together.
Speaker 1: When Craig failed to return home to have a chat
Speaker 1: with his parents, they waited and waited and waited as
Speaker 1: the hours ticked by. It eventually dawned on them that
Speaker 1: something just wasn't right. Craig was in trouble, but it
Speaker 1: wasn't like him to run away and leave without telling
Speaker 1: his parents where he was going. Some people naturally leaned
Speaker 1: towards the flight side of the fight or flight feeling,
Speaker 1: but his parents knew he would have to come home
Speaker 1: at some point, But at some point never came, and
Speaker 1: by five pm that day, Veronica had picked up the
Speaker 1: phone and reported her seventeen year old son missing. It
Speaker 1: appears that the investigators weren't all too interested at first,
Speaker 1: as is the case with most missing young people, after
Speaker 1: hearing about their disagreement earlier that day, they believed that
Speaker 1: Greig just wanted time to cool.
Speaker 2: Off and that he would eventually come back.
Speaker 1: Unfortunately, ours turned into days, and when the investigators found
Speaker 1: that he didn't have his phone or wallet with him
Speaker 1: at the time of his disappearance, they agreed that something
Speaker 1: was wrong and began to further investigate. Those investigators found
Speaker 1: that Craig had left his wallet and forty dollars behind
Speaker 1: in his house, something he would have needed if he
Speaker 1: planned on spending a few days away from his family.
Speaker 1: His driver's license was also missing. However, his parents explained
Speaker 1: that it had been lost before his disappearance and he
Speaker 1: was in the process of getting a new one. So
Speaker 1: without money, ID or driver's license, it was clear that
Speaker 1: Craig wouldn't have gotten very far. All he had was
Speaker 1: his car, but that had been left abandoned in the
Speaker 1: parking lot of his girlfriend's apartment complex.
Speaker 2: So where was he?
Speaker 1: Investigators hit a big lead when interviewing witnesses from that day.
Speaker 1: A group of teenagers came forward to tell the police
Speaker 1: that they had seen Craig, or at least someone matching
Speaker 1: his description, walking along the railroad tracks behind his girlfriend's
Speaker 1: apartment complex, shortly after he was seen entering the woods.
Speaker 1: It appears that they tried to engagement in conversation, but
Speaker 1: he motioned for them to be quiet and then just
Speaker 1: kept on walking. This event stuck in their mind due
Speaker 1: to the strange behavior and the bizarre nature of the incident,
Speaker 1: and it wasn't until news of his disappearance was made
Speaker 1: public that they connected the dots. Armed with this new lead,
Speaker 1: investigators began searching up and down the railway line behind
Speaker 1: Craig's girlfriend's apartment, but no sign of him was to
Speaker 1: be found. As the days pressed on, and the investigation
Speaker 1: began to heat up. Officers with dog units and ground
Speaker 1: teams were sent to the area where Craig was last seen.
Speaker 1: They also sent units to the Mohawk River, wondering whether
Speaker 1: he had gotten injured and fallen in but all of
Speaker 1: these searches turned up nothing. It seemed as if Craig
Speaker 1: had vanished into thin air, as if he were here
Speaker 1: one moment and then gone the next. Creig's family and
Speaker 1: friends were all administered polygraph tests, and it appears that
Speaker 1: everyone passed, although as we know, polygraph tests are a
Speaker 1: debatable technique in and of themselves and are not admissible
Speaker 1: in court in most countries. Hundreds of hours of interviews
Speaker 1: were conducted, but nothing ever came to fruition. How could
Speaker 1: a bright, promising seventeen year old just vanish into the woods.
Speaker 1: Searchers continue for Craig, and have done so over the years,
Speaker 1: although they have been majorly scaled back, of course, Craig's
Speaker 1: family are still desperately seeking answers, of course, and two
Speaker 1: years after he disappeared, the New York State Police became
Speaker 1: involved in his case. In twenty twenty one, a new
Speaker 1: lead was discovered and investigators hope this is the clue
Speaker 1: they need. One of Craig's co workers at the Price
Speaker 1: Shopper supermarket told investigators that sometime between June twenty seventh
Speaker 1: and July second, two thousand and four, he saw Craig
Speaker 1: in the passenger seat of a car traveling north on
Speaker 1: Route fifty in Glenville. According to this witness, the car
Speaker 1: stopped at the traffic light on Sheffield Road before turning left,
Speaker 1: and that's when the witness lost sight of the car.
Speaker 1: This sighting has not been confirmed as off yet, However,
Speaker 1: it is the largest piece of information in regards to
Speaker 1: Craig's whereabouts that's turned up lately. Greig's parents have never
Speaker 1: given up and are hoping that one day they will
Speaker 1: learn the truth about what happened to their son. Craig
Speaker 1: Freer is described as a white male, red hair, brown eyes,
Speaker 1: five foot eleven inches tall and weighs approximately one hundred
Speaker 1: and ninety pounds. He was last seen going into the
Speaker 1: woods behind the Cambridge Manor apartment complex in Scotia, New York,
Speaker 1: on June twenty seventh, two thousand and four. When last seen,
Speaker 1: he was wearing a white short sleeved t shirt, blue
Speaker 1: jeans or jean shorts, why Adida's tennis shoes with three
Speaker 1: black stripes and a gold chain with the Saint Christopher medallion.
Speaker 2: Craig also had all.
Speaker 1: Four of his wisdom teeth removed in April two thousand
Speaker 1: and four and may wear his facial hair in a
Speaker 1: go tea. Anyone with any information is as to please
Speaker 1: contact the New York State Police at five point eight
Speaker 1: six three zero one seven zero.
Speaker 2: Zero number five.
Speaker 1: Jeremy Alex twenty eight year old Jeremy Alex was doing
Speaker 1: well for himself. He and his girlfriend were in the
Speaker 1: process of moving in together in Northport, Maine, and he
Speaker 1: was working as a self employed landscape gardener in Lincolnville, Maine.
Speaker 1: When not at work, Jeremy enjoyed skateboarding and playing the guitar,
Speaker 1: and he spent much of his young adult life traveling
Speaker 1: around in the US and had even gotten involved with
Speaker 1: the organization Greenpeace at one point. By all accounts, Jeremy
Speaker 1: seemed like a fun, loving free spirit who was great
Speaker 1: to be around. In April two thousand and four, Jeremy
Speaker 1: turned twenty eight years old and was a keep one
Speaker 1: in his life. Has previously mentioned, he and his girlfriend
Speaker 1: were getting ready to move in together, and they were
Speaker 1: excited to start this new chapter in their lives. On
Speaker 1: April twenty third, two thousand and four, Jeremy's parents drove
Speaker 1: from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to his home in Lincolnville, Maine,
Speaker 1: to celebrate his twenty eighth birthday that had just passed.
Speaker 2: They sat down for.
Speaker 1: Her meal, spoke about Jeremy's upcoming move, and talked about
Speaker 1: any possible plans he had for the future. Sadly, however,
Speaker 1: his parents' world would be turned upside down just twenty
Speaker 1: four hours later. On April twenty fourth, two thousand and four,
Speaker 1: the day after Jeremy's birthday dinner with his parents, Jeremy
Speaker 1: arrived at his girlfriend's house at around eleven.
Speaker 2: Am to help her move.
Speaker 1: From the moment he arrived, she could tell that something
Speaker 1: was off. The once happy, smiling Jeremy had been replaced
Speaker 1: with a scared and paranoid person. Jeremy was very frustrated
Speaker 1: and blurted out to his girlfriend that quote bad people
Speaker 1: were after him. No amount of consoling or comforting could
Speaker 1: change Jeremy's mind, and he decided to leave instead of
Speaker 1: staying to help her move. This in itself was incredibly
Speaker 1: busy they are and very out of character, and the
Speaker 1: following events of that day would bring about even more questions.
Speaker 1: At around five twenty pm, a woman saw Jeremy running
Speaker 1: out of the woods and into her back garden on
Speaker 1: Pound Hill Road, a mile and a half from Jeremy's
Speaker 1: new home that he was in the process of moving
Speaker 1: into with his girlfriend.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: This woman also happened to be an old teacher of Jeremy's,
Speaker 1: and she recognized him readily. She got closer to him,
Speaker 1: trying to console him and ask him what was wrong. Again,
Speaker 1: he rambled off that bad guys were trying to hurt him,
Speaker 1: and she reported that it appeared as if he was hallucinating.
Speaker 1: The woman called for her husband, who ran out into
Speaker 1: the garden and kept Jeremy there while she called the police.
Speaker 1: The couple noticed that Jeremy was clutching money in his hand.
Speaker 1: By the time the woman had gone inside to call
Speaker 1: the police, Jeremy had broken free from her husband's grip
Speaker 1: and took off, running into the woods once more. Other
Speaker 1: witnesses reported seeing a man fitting Jeremy's description on Route one,
Speaker 1: and after this he's never been seen or heard from again.
Speaker 1: The police quickly arrived at the scene and took statements
Speaker 1: from the husband and wife duo. The next day, Jeremy's
Speaker 1: van was found abandoned near Pound Hill Road at the
Speaker 1: Waldo County Humane Society. Inside the van where his keys
Speaker 1: and phone, but sadly no sign of Jeremy. Searches of
Speaker 1: the woods where Jeremy's car had been found were conducted,
Speaker 1: but no sign of him could be found there either.
Speaker 1: Investigators then began interviewing his girlfriend and found out that
Speaker 1: Jeremy may have fallen into old habits. Jeremy was in
Speaker 1: recovery from drug addiction, and according to his girlfriend, in
Speaker 1: recent months he had unfortunately relapsed. Jeremy's girlfriend also stated
Speaker 1: that on the day he disappeared, he had been using
Speaker 1: illicit substances and that he had been experiencing these paranoid
Speaker 1: states for a while, and that she and his friends
Speaker 1: were concerned for him. Was Jeremy's disappearance and his ramblings
Speaker 1: about the bad Men substance related psychosis or was someone
Speaker 1: really after him? Of two thousand and four, a full
Speaker 1: five months after Jeremy disappeared, a contractor in Jackson, Maine
Speaker 1: reported seeing a man fitting Jeremy's description again coming out
Speaker 1: of the woods. According to this workman, the man he
Speaker 1: saw was acting erradically and strangely and couldn't seem to
Speaker 1: understand what was being said to him. Apparently, this kind
Speaker 1: of stranger offered the man some food, but Jeremy, if
Speaker 1: it was Jeremy, refused. There was also another possible sighting
Speaker 1: in October two thousand and four where someone claimed to
Speaker 1: have seen Jeremy in the woods in Owl's Head, Maine.
Speaker 1: After that, Jeremy's case went cold for another four years,
Speaker 1: and then in April, this case took another bizarre turn.
Speaker 1: His driver's license was found to be in the possession
Speaker 1: of a couple living in Northport, Maine, the area that
Speaker 1: Jeremy was in the process of moving to with his girlfriend.
Speaker 1: According to this couple, they had begun building their house
Speaker 1: in May of two thousand and four, and over the years,
Speaker 1: random items that belonged to Jeremy began washing up on
Speaker 1: the shore near their The couple held on to the
Speaker 1: driver's license and some money that washed ashore, and it
Speaker 1: wasn't until years later that they connected the dots to
Speaker 1: Jeremy's disappearance. What's even more bizarre is that their newly
Speaker 1: constructed home is connected to the woods that Jeremy was
Speaker 1: last seen running into. Did Jeremy fall off a cliff
Speaker 1: while running in the woods or is there something more
Speaker 1: nefarious at play. His family believes that he likely met
Speaker 1: with foul play, although they did comment that he knew
Speaker 1: how to survive in the wilderness. Jeremy Alex was last
Speaker 1: seen on April twenty fourth, two thousand and four, running
Speaker 1: into the woods.
Speaker 2: In Northport, Maine.
Speaker 1: He is described as a white male with brown hair,
Speaker 1: brown eyes, tands about five foot seven inches tall, and
Speaker 1: weigh approximately one hundred and fifty pounds. Investigators have stated
Speaker 1: that Jeremy did indeed appear to be under the influence
Speaker 1: and confused at the time of his disappearance. Jeremy was
Speaker 1: known to smoke hand roll cigarettes and was last seen
Speaker 1: wearing an olive green flannel Timberland sweatshirt, blue jeene for
Speaker 1: brown Corroy pants, tennis shoes, and carrying a red backpack.
Speaker 1: Anyone with any information regarding Jeremy's disappearance is urged to
Speaker 1: please contact the Maine State Police at two zero seven
Speaker 1: six two four seven zero seven six, number four. Willie Hodge. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: there's not a lot of information surrounding the disappearance of
Speaker 1: thirty nine year old Willie Hodge in January of twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: but here's what we do know. On January twenty third,
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, Willie was last seen by his family as
Speaker 1: he was leaving his home in the eleven hundred block
Speaker 1: of Island Drive in Sumter County, South Carolina. According to
Speaker 1: the Charlie Project, Willie had an argument or altercation with
Speaker 1: his mother and left the house upset. This was the
Speaker 1: last time he was seen by his family. Police records
Speaker 1: indicate that later that evening, Willie was pulled over at
Speaker 1: the intersection of Pine One Road in Columbia Circle during
Speaker 1: a traffic STOPTX News notes that Willie was pulled over
Speaker 1: for a traffic violation, but what the violation was has
Speaker 1: never been specified. The South Carolina arrest database does show
Speaker 1: that Willy has been arrested five times previously before his
Speaker 1: traffic stop in twenty nineteen, with offences ranging from burglary, larceny,
Speaker 1: driving under suspension, to possession of narcotics and assault. These
Speaker 1: arrests may or may not be linked to his disappearance. However,
Speaker 1: it may explain what happened next. As the police pulled
Speaker 1: him over, Willie jumped out of his car.
Speaker 2: And ran into the woods.
Speaker 1: Did Willy have a distrust of the police because of
Speaker 1: his previous charges or was he scared of getting yet
Speaker 1: another charge? According to officers, they searched the immediate area
Speaker 1: for Willie, but there was no sign of him. As
Speaker 1: the days passed, his car remained abandoned, and they continued
Speaker 1: in their search for the missing man. Charles Bonner, a
Speaker 1: senior investigator with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, told News
Speaker 1: nineteen in February of twenty nineteen. We don't want to
Speaker 1: get him in trouble because of that. I just want
Speaker 1: to talk to him and make sure he's okay. Because
Speaker 1: he is a missing person. I take these very seriously,
Speaker 1: so I want to make sure.
Speaker 2: That he's okay.
Speaker 1: There was also another person in the car with him
Speaker 1: that night he disappeared. However, this witness has been unable
Speaker 1: to provide any further information. Willie's mother, Sadie Hodge, told
Speaker 1: News nineteen. In my heart, I don't feel like.
Speaker 2: He's alive anymore. It's just kind of a sense of peace.
Speaker 2: That I have.
Speaker 1: In a way, it's a good thing, but I still
Speaker 1: hold out hope. I just want to know he's okay,
Speaker 1: whether it's here, whether he's found eternal peace. I just
Speaker 1: want to know he's okay. Willie Hodge was last seen
Speaker 1: running into the woods after being stopped by police at
Speaker 1: the intersection of Pine One Road in Columbia Circle in Sumter, Coli,
Speaker 1: South Carolina.
Speaker 2: Willie is described as a.
Speaker 1: White male with brown hair and brown eyes, standing five
Speaker 1: foot eight inches tall.
Speaker 2: And weighs one hundred and forty pounds.
Speaker 1: Willie has letters intab tattooed on his knuckles, Street on
Speaker 1: the back of one arm, and dreams on the other.
Speaker 1: He also has a thug life tattooed across his stomach
Speaker 1: with a name Sadie over her heart, and a tattoo
Speaker 1: of a woman on his calf. Anyone with any information
Speaker 1: is asked to please contact the Sumter County Sheriff's Office
Speaker 1: at eight zero three four three six two zero zero
Speaker 1: zero or crime Stoppers at one eight eight eight Crime sc.
Speaker 2: Number three.
Speaker 1: Terrence Woods Junior, twenty six year old Terrence Woods Junior
Speaker 1: was working as a TV production assistant for the UK
Speaker 1: production company Raw TV in conjunction with the Discovery Channel
Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen and was out on location in Idaho. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: one night, while filming, Terrence ran off into the woods
Speaker 1: and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Terrence was
Speaker 1: working as part heart of a twelve person crew who
Speaker 1: were tasked with filming gold Rush Dave terrans Lost Mine.
Speaker 1: Filming and production were going well, with the crew following
Speaker 1: Dave Turin around seeing what he could dig up in
Speaker 1: the remote parts of the western United States. Then on
Speaker 1: the evening of October fifth, twenty eighteen, everything changed. According
Speaker 1: to Vice, the crew had wrapped up filming for the
Speaker 1: day in Penman Mine near Oral Grande, Idaho County, when
Speaker 1: Terrence told two of the other crew members that he
Speaker 1: had to go and use the bathroom. Then, just seconds later,
Speaker 1: the associate producer, Simon g who Terrence worked under, saw
Speaker 1: Terce drop his radio and take off running into the trees.
Speaker 1: Terrence apparently ran down a steep cliff into a forest
Speaker 1: before disappearing into the thick woods. Those on set called
Speaker 1: out Terrence's name and desperately tried to catch up with
Speaker 1: him to see what was the matter, But the area
Speaker 1: he had apparently run into was rough and unpredictable. According
Speaker 1: to the crew, The crew spent some time searching for
Speaker 1: Terrence before realizing that they needed to call it in
Speaker 1: to the police. But six p forty one pm, Terrence
Speaker 1: Woods Junior was reported missing to the Idaho County Sheriff's Office.
Speaker 1: Somewhat Disturbingly, the Sheriff's office didn't arrive at the scene
Speaker 1: to begin the search for Chance until the next morning.
Speaker 1: Their excuse was that the call was made at a
Speaker 1: late hour. This is just one of the disturbing facts
Speaker 1: surrounding Terrence's case. When the Idaho County Sheriff's Office finally arrived,
Speaker 1: they sent dog units ATVs helicopters, as well as boots
Speaker 1: on the ground to look for any sign of Terrence.
Speaker 1: The Idaho County Sheriff's Office found no sign of him.
Speaker 1: The dogs failed to pick up on any scent, and sadly,
Speaker 1: after six days, the search was called off. The Idaho
Speaker 1: County Sheriff's Office fail to act quickly in Terrence's disappearance,
Speaker 1: but they are not the only ones who acted strangely
Speaker 1: following his vanishing act. According to Valerie Woods, Terrence Junior's mother,
Speaker 1: the first thing Simon said on the phone and when
Speaker 1: I met him in the police department, was I had
Speaker 1: high expectations for your son, but when I met him,
Speaker 1: he didn't stand up to them. Weiss ran an article
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty about Terrence's disappearance and the allegations of
Speaker 1: the toxic work culture at raw TV, and included an
Speaker 1: interesting detail. The article reads, quoting here the original Idaho
Speaker 1: County Sheriff's Office report see by vice, says that Terrence
Speaker 1: was having a really hard time emotionally and had a
Speaker 1: mental breakdown earlier today. When the nine to one one
Speaker 1: call was made, the caller, who was not part of
Speaker 1: the Raw TV crew, alleged that Terrence had been dealing
Speaker 1: with mental issues throughout the shoot. However, when pushed to
Speaker 1: confirm these statements by Terrence's family in the week's following
Speaker 1: his disappearance, they were retracted end quote. This article also
Speaker 1: includes information from Terrence's mother, Valerie. She says he was responsible.
Speaker 1: He wouldn't run away without good reason unless he was scared.
Speaker 1: The article goes on to say they believed Terrence felt
Speaker 1: intimidated or mistreated by his colleagues. They say that he
Speaker 1: was wanted to return to his home in Maryland.
Speaker 2: An ex raw.
Speaker 1: TV employee also told Weiss there was a laddie culture
Speaker 1: at the company. There was a toxic undercurrent which made
Speaker 1: me feel very uncoachable. There were conversations where they would
Speaker 1: make disparage and comments about people they were looking to hire.
Speaker 2: It made me feel quite uncomfortable.
Speaker 1: With all this information about raw TV, it still remains
Speaker 1: to be seen whether they had anything to do with
Speaker 1: Terrence's disappearance. As of twenty twenty, the Idaho County Sheriff's
Speaker 1: Office said that Terrence's case is still open but not active,
Speaker 1: in that they are not actively searching for him. Terence Woods,
Speaker 1: Junior was last seen running into the woods near Orogrand
Speaker 1: in Idaho County, Idaho, on October fifth, twenty eighteen, after
Speaker 1: telling two colleagues that he needed to use the bathroom.
Speaker 1: Terrence is described as an African American male with black hair,
Speaker 1: brown eyes, five foot nine inches tall at one hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty pounds. Terrence has a tattoo of a black
Speaker 1: oval on the inside of his left wrist and was
Speaker 1: last seen wearing a light brown jacket and black cargo pants.
Speaker 1: Anyone with any information deserged to please contact Lieutenant Jerry
Speaker 1: Johnson of the Idaho County Sheriff's Office at two zero
Speaker 1: eight nine eighty three one to one zero zero and
Speaker 1: reference case one eight to one zero zero eight one
Speaker 1: number two Lars Mittank. The case of Lars Mitank is
Speaker 1: perhaps one of the most perplexing disappearances in recent true
Speaker 1: crime history, and while there are numerous theories surrounding his
Speaker 1: mysterious disappearance, we are still no closer to uncovering the
Speaker 1: truth of what happened. In twenty fourteen. On June thirtieth
Speaker 1: of that year, twenty eight year old Lars Mittank and
Speaker 1: a group of his friends traveled from their home in
Speaker 1: Germany to the Golden Sands resort in Varna, Bulgaria.
Speaker 2: This was the.
Speaker 1: Perfect party destination for twenty eight year old Lars and
Speaker 1: his friends, and parts of Bulgaria have picked up a
Speaker 1: reputation over the years for being party hotspots for young
Speaker 1: European tourists.
Speaker 2: Blazing, drinks are.
Speaker 1: Cheap, and clubs are open all night long, making it
Speaker 1: the perfect place for young people to go and let
Speaker 1: their hair down. And that's exactly what Lars and his
Speaker 1: friends did. The first few days of the holiday went
Speaker 1: by without incident, with the group soaking up the sun
Speaker 1: enjoying everything that the Golden Sands resort had to offer. Then,
Speaker 1: on July sixth, just a day before they were due
Speaker 1: to head home, something strange happened. While out at a bar,
Speaker 1: Lars got into an argument with a rival football fan.
Speaker 1: Lars was a Verda Bremen fan, while the other person
Speaker 1: was a Baren Munich fan. In Europe, they take football
Speaker 1: very seriously, and for some it's more of a religion
Speaker 1: than a sport, so it isn't surprising to hear that
Speaker 1: the argument became heated very quickly. The argument was dissipated
Speaker 1: after harsh words were thrown around, and Lars left the
Speaker 1: bar first without his friends. His friends figured that he
Speaker 1: was likely heading back to the hotel and that they
Speaker 1: would be able to catch up with him later. It
Speaker 1: wasn't until the next morning, however, that Lars returned to
Speaker 1: the hotel room with a ruptured ear drum and an
Speaker 1: injured jaw. According to reports, his friends gave investigators differing
Speaker 1: accounts of what had happened that night. Some of his
Speaker 1: friends said that after Lars left the bar, the men
Speaker 1: that he had been arguing with earlier jumped him, causing
Speaker 1: the injuries, while others claimed that the men in the
Speaker 1: bar had paid a local man to.
Speaker 2: Do their dirty work for them.
Speaker 1: Either way, Larres was left with a pretty serious injury
Speaker 1: that would kick start a bizarre chain of events. His
Speaker 1: friends took him to see a doctor at the airport,
Speaker 1: who confirmed that his ear drum had ruptured and he
Speaker 1: would not be able to fly until it was healed.
Speaker 1: Larres was given five hundred milligrams of SEF Brazil to
Speaker 1: help curb infection, and was advised to remain in Bulgaria
Speaker 1: for a few days. His friends rallied around him, assisting
Speaker 1: that they would stay with him until he was cleared
Speaker 1: to fly, but oddly, Lars declined their offer. He insisted
Speaker 1: that he would be okay on his own, telling them
Speaker 1: to go ahead and fly back to Germany and that
Speaker 1: he would see them again very soon. There were no
Speaker 1: indications of was to come, and the events of the
Speaker 1: next few days would shock everyone. Lars checked himself into
Speaker 1: another hotel and remained there for just one night. Employees
Speaker 1: at the hotel reported he was acting very bizarrely and
Speaker 1: seemed as if he was paranoid and scared of someone
Speaker 1: or something. During his short stay at the second hotel,
Speaker 1: Lars also called his mother in a hushed voice. He
Speaker 1: panically told her that four men were after him. His
Speaker 1: mother would let her tell investigators that the fear of
Speaker 1: his voice was very real and no amount of consoling
Speaker 1: would calm him down. After a very restless night's sleep,
Speaker 1: Lars returned to Varna Airport on July eighth, twenty fourteen,
Speaker 1: and visited the office of doctor Kosta Kostov. Lars helps
Speaker 1: her returning home were dashed, however, when doctor Kostov reiterated that,
Speaker 1: given his condition, he would not be in his best
Speaker 1: interest to fly, but Lars decided to ignore this recommendation.
Speaker 1: He told the doctor that he was willing to accept
Speaker 1: responsibility for whatever happened to him. Just as the appointment
Speaker 1: was right up, a construction worker entered the room. Barna
Speaker 1: Airport was undergoing a lot of construction and renovation work
Speaker 1: at the time, and it's likely that the construction worker
Speaker 1: had simply wandered into the wrong room. This situation was
Speaker 1: more of an annoyance than anything else, but for Lars,
Speaker 1: it freaked him out. His whole demeanor change when the
Speaker 1: man entered the room and he exclaimed, I don't want
Speaker 1: to die here. I need to get out of here.
Speaker 1: With that, Lars ran out of the door of the
Speaker 1: doctor's office, leaving behind his luggage and bags, and made
Speaker 1: a beeline for the entrance to the airport. This bizarre
Speaker 1: escape was captured on CCTV and became the most infamous
Speaker 1: piece of evidence we have in Lars's case. The CCTV
Speaker 1: footage shows Lars running almost as if he's running for
Speaker 1: his life, through the airport into the parking area, and
Speaker 1: then jumping over a fence and running.
Speaker 2: Near Highway A two.
Speaker 1: When Lars failed to return home and make contact with
Speaker 1: his family, he was reported missing and an investigation was open.
Speaker 1: His friends were questioned, and the CCTV footage was heavily reviewed.
Speaker 1: Larus had been exhibiting bizarre, paranoid behavior in the days
Speaker 1: leading up to his disappearance, and investigators began to wonder
Speaker 1: whether this paranoia was founded upon truth. As previously stated,
Speaker 1: Lars had gotten into an argument and been beaten up
Speaker 1: on July sixth, twenty fourteen. Was someone really after him
Speaker 1: or was it the head injury, possibly combined with the
Speaker 1: medication he was prescribed that induced this paranoia. The antibiotic
Speaker 1: self puzzle is known to cause hallucinations and paranoia. His
Speaker 1: family said that he had never exhibited signs of middle
Speaker 1: illness before his trip, and when his friends boarded their
Speaker 1: flight home, they said he seemed happy. He was in
Speaker 1: a good mood. Despite numerous investigations, the disappearance of Lars
Speaker 1: Mettank remains unsolved. His mother, Sandra told Crime and Investigation
Speaker 1: there's a good chance he'll come back.
Speaker 2: He just needs my help.
Speaker 1: Lars Mettank was last seen running out of the Varna
Speaker 1: Airport in Varnut, Bulgaria, on July eighth, twenty four. Anyone
Speaker 1: with any information is asked to police contact the BKA,
Speaker 1: which is the federal criminal police office in that country,
Speaker 1: at four nine one five one sixty one three seven
Speaker 1: eight six seven three, or as an alternative, you can
Speaker 1: contact the Varnet Police directly at three five nine five
Speaker 1: two six one five one six.
Speaker 2: Number one.
Speaker 1: Dennis Shephard forty six year old Dennis Shepherd was described
Speaker 1: as an energetic and lively person who loved his girlfriend
Speaker 1: and his family. Dennis worked as a personal assistant in
Speaker 1: Port Washington, New York and was doing well in his
Speaker 1: career and his private life. That was until a sudden
Speaker 1: onset of paranoia sent Dennis down a dark path. He
Speaker 1: became convinced that everyone he knew was working with the
Speaker 1: FBI to conspire against him. One day, Dennis's paranoia boiled over.
Speaker 1: Dennis was witnessed running door to door asking neighbors to
Speaker 1: call the United Nations because he wanted to report the
Speaker 1: conspiracy against him. Told those who opened their doors that
Speaker 1: his family, neighbors, lawyers, and others in his life were
Speaker 1: involved in an FBI conspiracy to.
Speaker 2: Get him, and that he needed help.
Speaker 1: This alarmed neighbors, who called the police, and Dennis was
Speaker 1: involuntarily taken into the Stonybrook University Hospital's psychiatric unit for
Speaker 1: observation and treatment. During his time in the hospital, Dennis
Speaker 1: was still convinced that there was an FBI conspiracy against him,
Speaker 1: and even believed that the officers who had taken him
Speaker 1: in and the staff who were treating him were in
Speaker 1: on the conspiracy and that's why he had been taken in.
Speaker 1: In reality, Dennis had been taken in for his own
Speaker 1: safety and well being, but his paranoia had grown too much.
Speaker 1: And he was unable to make rational decisions. Dennis repeatedly
Speaker 1: told the staff at Stonybrook, I want to see how
Speaker 1: I do without medications, and that he would not be
Speaker 1: taking medications under any circumstances. He did not believe that
Speaker 1: anything was wrong, and the hospital was in the process
Speaker 1: of filing a court order been sure that Dennis would
Speaker 1: have to take his medica and get the therapy and
Speaker 1: help he needed. On May eighteenth of twenty twelve, Dennis
Speaker 1: was being transported to the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center for further treatment.
Speaker 1: He intended to fight the court order once he arrived
Speaker 1: at the psychiatric center, but he would never make it.
Speaker 1: According to staff who were traveling with Dennis that day,
Speaker 1: he simply jumped out of the car and ran off
Speaker 1: into the woods, never to be seen again. Oddly enough,
Speaker 1: his disappearance was not reported by medical staff until several
Speaker 1: hours later, and the Suffolk County Police Department were extremely hesitant.
Speaker 2: To get involved.
Speaker 1: It became clear that the Suffolk County Police Department did
Speaker 1: not take Dennis's disappearance seriously, despite the fact that he
Speaker 1: had been taken into psychiatric care and his notes stated
Speaker 1: that he was suffering from delusions and possibly schizophrenia. The
Speaker 1: Suffolk Police rested on the idea that Dennis had run
Speaker 1: away and was hiding from the police, although he had
Speaker 1: no real reason to do so. Disturbingly, no Golden Alert,
Speaker 1: which is for a missing vulnerable adult, was issued when
Speaker 1: Dennis disappeared, a fact that has greatly angered his family.
Speaker 1: These alerts have been proven to save lives and have
Speaker 1: been used in different iterations across countless states. Had a
Speaker 1: Golden alert been issued, the outcome of Dennis's story may
Speaker 1: have been a lot different than the outcome I'm telling
Speaker 1: you now the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center. Since across from the
Speaker 1: Oak Brush Plains State Reserve, sprawling park of over eight
Speaker 1: hundred and thirteen acres, is it possible that Dennis ran
Speaker 1: through the woods and made his way into this reserve.
Speaker 1: Since his disappearance, little progress has been made in this case,
Speaker 1: and his family has since filed a five million dollar
Speaker 1: lawsuit against the Stonybrook Institution for allowing Dennis to escape.
Speaker 1: In March of twenty twenty one, a Reddit user named
Speaker 1: always Sonny and Upstate made a post about Dennis's disappearance,
Speaker 1: and the post received an interesting comment. The commenter who
Speaker 1: claimed to be Victoria Sheppard. Dennis's sister gave some further
Speaker 1: insight into her brother's case. She wrote, and I'm quoting here,
Speaker 1: this is Victoria Shepherd. I am his sister. The police
Speaker 1: have been of no help at all. He is still missing.
Speaker 1: His dental records and our mom and another sister's DNA
Speaker 1: is on record. They did not even alert the police
Speaker 1: until several hours after he went missing. He was a
Speaker 1: limo driver and avid bike rider, so he knows Long
Speaker 1: Island very well. He lived in Nassau County when he
Speaker 1: went missing, and we lived in Suffolk for many years.
Speaker 1: He really could be anywhere, but we know no activity
Speaker 1: on bank accounts, credit cards, or social Security number, so
Speaker 1: that makes us lose hope. Hopefully one day he will
Speaker 1: be found. His family misses him terribly, especially his mom.
Speaker 1: She's been heartbroken since the day went missing.
Speaker 2: End quote.
Speaker 1: Dennis Shepherd was last seen running into the woods near
Speaker 1: the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, New York, on May
Speaker 1: eighteenth or twenty twelve. Dennis is described as a white
Speaker 1: male with blonde hair and blue eyes, stands about six
Speaker 1: feet tall and weighed approximately one hundred and ninety pounds.
Speaker 1: Genis may be suffering from schizophrenia and at the time
Speaker 1: of his disappearance he was suffering from paranoid delusions. He
Speaker 1: was last seen wearing a black T shirt, tan pants
Speaker 1: and tan tennis shoes. Anyone with information is asked to
Speaker 1: contact Detective Steve Gargins of the Suffolk County Police Department
Speaker 1: at six three one eight five two sixt' one one
Speaker 1: zero and reference case number twelve three zero nine six
Speaker 1: seven eight. Well, friends, there you have it. What do
Speaker 1: you think of this half dozen strange cases where people
Speaker 1: disappeared after running into the woods. Very strange, indeed. I
Speaker 1: look forward to your comments, but please be friendly and respectful.
Speaker 1: Many times the families of these victims do watch the
Speaker 1: videos and read the comments, so please don't comment anything
Speaker 1: you would want to read if it was your family member.
Speaker 2: Or loved one being discussed. In the meanwhile, be good to.
Speaker 1: Yourselves each other. Stay safe out there, and I'll see
Speaker 1: you just a little farther on down the trail. I'm
Speaker 1: Steve Stockton and I'll talk to you next time.