WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.839 Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is 2 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:05.719 not intended for all audiences. 3 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:08.519 Listener discretion is advised. 4 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:14.880 And when you guys show me the picture of her, 5 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:18.199 I believe the sexual stuff, but I didn't want to 6 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.079 believe that he had done anything equal to her. 7 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:23.000 I'm like, know what if he did this? Stop buying. 8 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:31.600 Some of the stories we tell here on Soor and 9 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:36.560 Scale will make you sick. They'll tug at your heartstrings, 10 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:45.960 They'll change your whole perspective on humanity. They're the ones 11 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.920 you can't get over, the ones you can't really shake, 12 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:52.640 and they stay with you for a long time. The 13 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:56.399 story we're about to tell you is one of them. 14 00:00:56.600 --> 00:01:00.640 This is part one of a two part series. Let's go. 15 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:53.560 Nine one one. 16 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:55.359 What's the location of your emergency? 17 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:59.120 The call is coming out of kissing Me, Florida in 18 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:02.400 a quiet suburb in Pocket near Hunter's Creek Middle. 19 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:05.680 School, Police, fire or medical police? 20 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:07.680 Possibly, I'm reporting a missing child? 21 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:10.039 And is she white, black or Hispanic? 22 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:14.719 She's white, kay and dirty blonde hair, blue eyes. 23 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:18.280 Okay, hold on with me here, okay, And then how 24 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:20.159 long has it been though, since you guys have last 25 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:20.639 seen her? 26 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:24.919 Since this morning? She was dropped off at school this morning, 27 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:30.000 and apparently she never showed up. We called everyone we knew, 28 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:33.280 no one had seen her. She was less seen at 29 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:36.360 the church next to Hunter's Creek Middle School. I think 30 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:37.400 it's called Peace Church. 31 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:38.080 I'm not sure if. 32 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:38.919 He's back to dress. 33 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:42.360 She was dropped off that morning, just steps away from 34 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:46.840 the school, but she never made it inside. By that afternoon, 35 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:50.080 no one had seen her, not her friends, not her teachers, 36 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:54.199 not a single person at the school she was dropped 37 00:02:54.199 --> 00:03:00.639 off then just disappeared. Her name was Madeline Soda and 38 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:05.039 she was just thirteen years old. This was her best friend. 39 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:07.479 She came to school in the middle of the year 40 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:09.879 in fourth grade. She was like the new kid, so 41 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:12.319 like everybody kind of just picked on her stuff. She 42 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:13.560 was in a different class to me. 43 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:16.479 She had picked on a lot by people like. 44 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:22.400 That, like nobody really liked and stuff. And then one 45 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:24.240 day I kind of like went up to. 46 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:25.479 Her and I was like, Hey, what's your name? 47 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:28.000 And then we got to know each other ever since, 48 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:29.639 I just been best friends. 49 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.599 As best friends, she and Maddie talked every day. 50 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:34.840 Like every single day. 51 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:37.080 She texted me every morning, I wake up and I 52 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:41.479 was gonna text her mind unless she but usually I 53 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:43.639 thought it was fitchy yesterday when she didn't text me 54 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:45.960 at all, because usually even if justn't going to school 55 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:49.039 that day, she texted me like the night or the 56 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:50.800 date of like she like up brightly just so like 57 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:51.800 text me like, hey, I'm. 58 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:53.759 Not going to school. And she didn't yesterday. 59 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:55.759 But I think everything of it except thought she like, 60 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:56.400 oh she like. 61 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:57.520 S left it or something. 62 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:01.400 That morning, February twenty sixth, twenty twenty four, was supposed 63 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:05.599 to be routine, a ride to school, maybe breakfast on 64 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:08.360 the way. It was the kind of morning you don't 65 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:12.280 think twice about until something goes horribly wrong. That morning, 66 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:15.719 her mother's boyfriend, Stephen Stearns, drove her to school. 67 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:19.519 Stephanie who all him and she loved him. 68 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:21.160 They were really close. 69 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:24.839 They left earlier than usual. They had time to spare 70 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:30.199 and talked about stopping for breakfast at McDonald's, but she 71 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:35.000 changed her mind, as little kids do. She was sleepy, 72 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.439 but she also just wanted to get to school early 73 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:40.480 to hang out with her friends. Instead of waiting in 74 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:43.920 the insufferable car line, she asked to be dropped off 75 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.279 about a block away. She would walk the rest of 76 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:50.879 the way to find her friends. Apparently, no matter who 77 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:53.680 was taking her to school, Maddy preferred to be dropped 78 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:57.519 off in the near vicinity. This was usually at the 79 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.399 church across the street, where a lot of parents dropped 80 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:04.199 off their kids to avoid the long lines. That morning, 81 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:08.920 the car pulled over, Maddie got out and started walking. 82 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:12.360 They're going to the school to double text and everything. 83 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:14.800 But from what we know, she wasn't there, so they 84 00:05:14.839 --> 00:05:16.959 could be back at seem too because it's right. 85 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:19.480 Next So that's fine. So if at least one of 86 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:21.759 you remains there, though I have to meet with an officer, 87 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:22.720 that's more than fine. 88 00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:24.240 Okay, Yeah, I'll be here. 89 00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:27.040 I'll be here, Okay, then all right, thank you so much, ma'am. 90 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:28.560 And I'll go ahead and let you goo. We'll be 91 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:29.879 out there as quickly as we can. 92 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:30.319 Okay. 93 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:36.120 When someone goes missing, every second matters. Unfortunately, it doesn't 94 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:39.360 matter how much you want a limited resource like law enforcement. 95 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:44.079 If there's no cops available. There's no cops available, what 96 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:48.319 do you expect? After years of demonizing law enforcement all 97 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:52.000 cops are bastards? You say, yeah, that has a negative 98 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:53.759 but opposite effect. 99 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:54.639 Duh. 100 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:59.519 At LISTADICONI I called that long ago reporting the missing child. 101 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:01.920 That it's sort of so howdong the captate here? 102 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:04.199 Okay, hold on, let me open up the call. Let's 103 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:07.120 say the cost still currently depending. They had the deputies 104 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:09.399 respond out there that we don't have any available deputies. 105 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:11.639 We still have the call up though, holding. 106 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:16.519 Okay, so so no one's on their way yet, not yet. 107 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:20.399 No does it take long set up to respond to 108 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:20.720 the call. 109 00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:24.560 If there's a big emergency in the area and there's 110 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:27.560 nobody there's no units available, they put the call on hold, 111 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:30.480 but as soon as one becomes available, they respond to 112 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.160 the next pressing call. I'll go ahead and update them 113 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:33.959 for the information. 114 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:37.120 All right, thank you, because it's happened on very recently, 115 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:38.800 so we just want to everyone here. 116 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:43.800 Since eight am, at the same time, her family started 117 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:46.399 calling the school, reaching out to teachers to see if 118 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:49.279 anyone had seen her, but no one had. 119 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:52.399 It was one on any please pior medical. 120 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:54.920 No, it's not a medical issue. 121 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:56.920 We have a missing child. 122 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:58.040 Since this morning. 123 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:01.959 We already called three times and the police didn't show 124 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:03.720 it up to it because ma'am. 125 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.279 I see it. There's a wait for a deputy response. 126 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:08.000 They haven't. They haven't come here yet. 127 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:09.519 I'm wareing, mam. 128 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:09.879 I see it. 129 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:11.600 It's waiting for a deputy response. 130 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:14.920 You're waiting for a deputy response, ma'am. 131 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:17.680 And how long what do we need to wait? 132 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:19.319 It's a child missing. 133 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:21.480 I understand it, man, but I'm just not able to 134 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:23.399 give out eta. I don't know when they'll be. 135 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:27.120 There, So how long do we need to wait? An 136 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.000 emergency and we. 137 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:31.720 Have the information, but it just is they're trying to 138 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:33.000 get this someone as soon as possible. 139 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:35.279 So this is not informant for you guys. 140 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:38.079 Really, then we were very busy in the area. Look, 141 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:40.160 I understand, and they'll be there something they can, Okay. 142 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:43.319 They didn't just call nine one one once. They had 143 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:46.879 to call three times. The first call came in at 144 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:51.360 around four forty three pm, then again at five sixteen, 145 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:56.040 and then another one at seven twenty one. It took 146 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:00.480 officers almost three hours to arrive, and they get there 147 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:05.120 until seven thirty seven pm. Deputy logs show the call 148 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:09.639 sat waiting because no deputies were available. Units were tied 149 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:12.879 up with other emergencies and this one had to wait 150 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:17.639 its turn. But before you blame dispatchers, understand that the 151 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:21.680 people answering those calls weren't the ones heading out to search. 152 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:25.240 They were taking information and waiting for someone in the 153 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:29.040 field to clear. They did their jobs correctly by the book, 154 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:34.559 exactly as instructed. Mattie's mother was later told there were 155 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:39.919 other missing children that day. Seems like an epidemic, right, 156 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:46.080 resources were stretched thin. In fact, nearly one thousand children 157 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:50.360 are reported missing in the United States every day. That 158 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:55.200 works out to about one child every ninety seconds, or 159 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:59.919 roughly three hundred and fifty thousand children under eighteen each year. 160 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:04.919 Think about that for just a second. That's roughly the 161 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:10.480 capacity of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So yeah, an Indianapolis 162 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:17.039 Motor Speedway's worth a children goes missing every year. But 163 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:21.440 to Maddie's parents, family and friends, statistics didn't really matter 164 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:26.440 at the moment. This was serious and urgent. This was 165 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:31.240 their own daughter. An entire day had now passed with 166 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:32.559 no one seeing Maddie. 167 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:35.080 Does she have a cell phone that she might keep 168 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:35.799 on her person? 169 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:38.559 She does it, She had when she looked at home 170 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:39.879 conveniently today. 171 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:43.799 Okay, there was no surprise that Maddie left her phone 172 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:47.960 at home. This was a common occurrence and it wasn't 173 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.279 just because she was forgetful. 174 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:50.320 Okay? 175 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:53.559 Is she diagnosed with any medical mental conditions at all? 176 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:59.120 I know she takes medication for ADHD, and I think 177 00:09:59.159 --> 00:09:59.879 that I'm pretty sure that. 178 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:03.879 At seven thirty seven PM, officers pulled into the condo 179 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:08.279 complex and Kissime, where Mattie lived with her mother, Jennifer Soda. 180 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:12.279 Also in the home was Jennifer's boyfriend, Stephan Stearns, who 181 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:16.399 was frequently there despite an on and off again relationship. 182 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:20.679 The unit itself was shared with rooms rented out to 183 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:24.799 other women, and the condo was owned by Mattie's grandfather. 184 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.879 It was a crowded living arrangement, with multiple people coming 185 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.879 and going in limited space inside the home. By the 186 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:35.840 time deputies got there that evening, both Jennifer and Stephan 187 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:39.879 were there answering questions and helping officers piece together the 188 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:44.399 last known details from that morning. Officers started with the basics, 189 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:48.759 documenting what Maddie was wearing and establishing a clear timeline. 190 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:51.159 Be there, what's going on? 191 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:55.519 So it was dropped off close to school this morning, 192 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:56.480 but never wee it. 193 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:02.799 I went to the partment to school. I'm sorry once again, ahead, are. 194 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:05.000 We looking for another kid, or we have a kid. 195 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:10.639 Looking for another one. 196 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:14.120 Like I said, an epidemic, especially when Disney World is 197 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:14.960 in your backyard. 198 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:17.559 So she was supposed to be dropped off high school, 199 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:19.080 didn't make it to school, didn't make. 200 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:19.399 It to school. 201 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:21.000 I went to pick her up from school today and 202 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:22.279 she never came out. 203 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:25.159 They announced it over the speaker, and I'm just like, 204 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:26.159 maybe she walked. 205 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:27.919 Here, because sometimes she'll walk here to this office. 206 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:29.720 I came here, nothing. 207 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:30.519 I went back to the school. 208 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:31.240 We were closed. 209 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:34.799 I got to notice an email from the school thing 210 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:37.200 she was absent. But I also messaged her teacher and 211 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:39.080 he looked at her entire tends today and saw that 212 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:40.840 she was completely not at school today either. 213 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:42.919 Okay, so she never made it. 214 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:44.279 Okay. What's her name? 215 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:46.080 Madeline? 216 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.679 M A d E O I an e I'm ade 217 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:52.960 out I any any last name? 218 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:56.000 Otoya. 219 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.360 Date of birth February twenty second, two thousand and eleven, 220 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:02.519 twenty seven seconds. 221 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:07.360 Oh sorry, twenty second, twenty eleven, thirteen for bred. 222 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:10.919 He said it quietly, but Stephan just pointed out that 223 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:15.240 Maddie had just turned thirteen. In fact, just the day 224 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:20.559 before a Sunday, the family had a birthday party. Her mother, Jennifer, 225 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:24.120 and her mother's boyfriend, Stephan, were not there, but her 226 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:28.519 best friend was. But on Monday evening back at the scene, 227 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:32.159 officers needed to know what Maddie was wearing when she 228 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:35.799 was last seen, so they talked to her mom and Stephan. 229 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:42.399 Green green, white, cross white, cross blue or black? 230 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:42.840 Parents. 231 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:48.759 I think black shorts, black shorts, okay, my shorts? 232 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:52.279 All right. Do you know she has a friends in area? 233 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:54.639 She does, but she doesn't know where they live. 234 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:56.120 She doesn't know where she live. 235 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:57.919 Okay, I asked all of them. 236 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:03.759 Okay, sometime is this like, did she like have any 237 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:06.159 places that you guys know that she would usually be 238 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:09.000 at any friend's house, any places that like she used 239 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:09.639 to hang out? 240 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:13.279 No, not typically okay. 241 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:19.759 Yeah, uh wait one hundred and ten for hundred, hair 242 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:27.720 color flung long like that, okay, eye color blue. 243 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:30.279 Does she have any marking arn like any scars or. 244 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.360 Anything distinctive beauty mark on her face. 245 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:35.080 On her face, on the face, like below the nose, 246 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:35.919 the nose. 247 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:37.440 Yeah, like righting that area there. 248 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:38.720 It's it's very distinctive. 249 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:39.840 You'd know it if you saw her. 250 00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:40.720 Well. 251 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:43.600 One officer was talking to Mattie's parents another was speaking 252 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.639 with staff at the church where she was dropped off. 253 00:13:46.679 --> 00:13:50.600 That morning, Surveillance showed a child sitting in a parking 254 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:54.039 lot for about ten minutes before getting up and walking away. 255 00:13:55.080 --> 00:14:00.159 After that, the trail disappeared. At that point, investigators were 256 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:05.279 still working through possibilities, including one that seemed plausible that 257 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:07.519 Maddie may have left on her own. 258 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:14.639 It's possible that she came here and sat in the 259 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:15.600 parking lot. 260 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:16.440 For a while. 261 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:21.559 HiT's blurry video, but it looks like I was a 262 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:25.200 child sitting right there, and she's sitting The people here 263 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:28.039 said that they were adamant they see her on the property, 264 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.519 But like I said, it's a blurry video, and I 265 00:14:32.519 --> 00:14:35.200 don't see her getting into anybody's car in the video, 266 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:38.320 I see you're sitting on property for going to take 267 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:41.559 ten minutes and then walking off property. I don't know 268 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:43.240 which way she went from there. 269 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:47.799 The video was blurred, he said, but clearly he showed 270 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:50.679 a child lingering for a bit and then walking away. 271 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:55.879 Could it have been Maddie? There were signs, even messages 272 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:59.519 and comments about wanting to leave, about going off on 273 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:02.639 her own, living in the woods when she turned thirteen. 274 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:08.799 Why the Woods why thirteen, You may ask, who knows? 275 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.399 But when don't we all like to just go off 276 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:15.879 the grid from time to time regardless. This half baked 277 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:19.399 plan was something she had confided about with her friend. 278 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:23.000 We were walking around the bus loop and she was like, 279 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:27.000 she was talking about a gator and then she was like, 280 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:29.279 you know, it'd. 281 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:30.360 Be like so cool to do. 282 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:31.080 And I was like what. 283 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:33.960 She was like, if we like run into the woods, 284 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:35.519 like you know that trail we'd the scope. 285 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:36.279 I was like, yeah. 286 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:37.879 She was like, you would be so cool with like 287 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:40.480 go there and just think the little house. And I 288 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:43.720 was like the woods like with like animals stuff, And 289 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:44.840 I was like, where are you going to get this 290 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:45.679 like wooden. 291 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:47.360 Stuff to go this house? And she was like, I 292 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:50.600 don't know, if figure it out. And I thought she 293 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:52.240 was joking and stuff because she kind of like E 294 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.120 smiled if you did it, so I thought she was joking, 295 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:56.720 but I didn't. I didn't think her seriously. 296 00:15:57.320 --> 00:16:01.679 And then when I found she was missing, I can 297 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.039 deposit in my mind and that to my dad, her 298 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:06.840 saying if she were to run away, go into the 299 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:11.240 woods and find a place and stay there. 300 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:16.320 If this were true, if she really had planned to leave. 301 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:18.399 Then where did she go? 302 00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:21.600 He dropped her off a block away and drove away. 303 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:23.679 Okay, did she go to school? 304 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:26.399 Was walking in that direction? 305 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:29.759 She was rifling through her backpack, sliding, so my thought 306 00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:31.559 maybe she was just looking for her headphones before she 307 00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:34.320 kind her walking on. Yeah, but she was just coming, 308 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:36.159 you know, shambling over in that direction. 309 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:37.600 I looked the same as any. 310 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:41.559 Other morning, Okay, But it wasn't just like any other morning. 311 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.879 On any other morning, Mattie would have been safe in 312 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.720 school all day, but she wasn't. She would have made 313 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:53.799 it home after school like every other day, but she didn't. 314 00:16:54.919 --> 00:16:59.120 Whether Maddie ran away or something far worse happened, the 315 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:04.160 truth was that she wasn't just missing. She had vanished. 316 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:08.519 She had just turned into a teenager, and now her 317 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:44.519 family feared she would never make it to adulthood. Mattie 318 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:49.359 Soto had just turned thirteen. She lived in Kissimi, Florida, 319 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:53.039 with her mother, Jennifer Soto, in a condo complex near 320 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:56.799 her school. On the morning of February twenty sixth, twenty 321 00:17:56.839 --> 00:17:59.440 twenty four, she was dropped off just a short distance 322 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:03.720 from the school, a walk she had made before and 323 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:08.200 won that at the time didn't seem unusual, but that 324 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:13.160 morning she never made it inside. Hours passed before anyone 325 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:17.079 realized something was wrong. Her family made calls to the school, 326 00:18:17.240 --> 00:18:20.759 then to nine point one. By the time deputies arrived 327 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:24.799 that evening, Mattie had already been missing for hours, and 328 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.119 no one could say where she had gone after getting 329 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:31.759 out of the car. At first, there were explanations. Maybe 330 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:35.960 she left on her own, maybe she wandered off. She 331 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:39.640 had allegedly made comments about wanting to leave, about going 332 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:43.839 off into the woods. When she turned thirteen. Mattie lived 333 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:45.880 with her mother, and she also spent time with her 334 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:49.880 grandmother from the time she was about six. Her mother's 335 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:54.640 boyfriend was also in the picture. Jennifer and Stephen were 336 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:58.880 in an on again, off again relationship for years. For 337 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:02.039 the majority of that time, they lived under the same roof. 338 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:06.880 According to Jennifer and other family members, Stephan was like 339 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:10.799 a dad to Maddie and they had a great relationship. 340 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:14.279 But she also had a great relationship with her biological 341 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:18.400 dad and her sister, who lived miles away. If she 342 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:20.640 didn't take off to live in the woods, maybe she 343 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:23.799 took off on a bus or plane to see them. 344 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:28.720 Her friend remembered her preoccupation with getting money for her birthday. 345 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:31.759 One section thirteen, I'm going to leave this house and 346 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:36.359 never come back. Why thirteen Because I think because she 347 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:39.039 would always brag. Because I said that I can't wait 348 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:40.440 to my birthday and she was like, are you having 349 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:43.519 a birthday party? I said no, and she was like, oh, 350 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:45.880 I get a home went of money, like five hundred 351 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:48.720 and something dollars on my birthday, you know, like that's 352 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:51.039 like so much money. And I was like, yeah, like 353 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:53.400 I get money, but like not like that. And I 354 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:54.839 don't really like having birthday parties. 355 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:57.480 To last birthday party, I have so much drama. 356 00:19:57.720 --> 00:19:58.720 Then she was like okay. 357 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:01.000 She would always talk about getting money for her birthday 358 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:06.839 and I didn't give her money, and I already had 359 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:07.519 given her a gift. 360 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:08.839 I brought it to school. 361 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:11.079 She kind of got mad that I didn't give her 362 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:12.839 any money or anything, and I was like, I spent 363 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:16.519 money on this and physically give you any money though. 364 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:20.400 And then when we also got there, I was like, 365 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:22.640 how many presents did you get? And then she was 366 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.680 like I barely got any money yet, Like I'm kind 367 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:29.240 of mad because I want more money. I think she 368 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:32.880 was waiting to turn thirteen. That way she could get 369 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:34.000 all with her money and go. 370 00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:35.319 She got to her sister. 371 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:37.839 Her dad is in Washington, DC, and I think her 372 00:20:37.880 --> 00:20:40.720 sister is too. Her and her sister are close. 373 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:44.680 Missing her biological dad and sister weren't the only reasons 374 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:48.319 Maddie may have taken off without telling anyone. Her friend 375 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:50.839 said she didn't always get along with her mom, and 376 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:55.480 she had ADHD and other challenges based something I know. 377 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:58.680 I think she kind of just wanted to be free, 378 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:02.160 kind of just not live under Like. 379 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:09.720 The word mom or mom's rules was redacted, but that's 380 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:13.519 a reasonable inference that she didn't necessarily want to live 381 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:18.319 under her mom's rules. She had just turned into a teenager. 382 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:22.440 Was she like defiant, like didn't like to follow the rules? 383 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:22.799 Sort of? 384 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:25.799 Yeah, I mean. 385 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:28.400 Took her mans if she didn't take her medsin, she's 386 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:30.720 like really crazy and she just thinks she just does 387 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:32.599 so like impulsive. 388 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:33.160 Yeah. 389 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:37.559 When investigators took a closer look at what actually happened 390 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:41.640 that morning, Mattie's disappearance seemed less like a troubled teenager 391 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:45.440 looking for escape and more like a vulnerable girl who 392 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:49.279 may have been abducted on the morning of Mattie's disappearance, 393 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:54.440 Stephan drove her to school. This wasn't unusual. In fact, 394 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:56.880 they had a routine for the days he took her 395 00:21:56.880 --> 00:22:01.240 to school that included stopping at McDonald's. But that day 396 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:05.920 was different. Mattie was more lethargic and slept the whole way. 397 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:09.079 She refused breakfast twice. 398 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:14.920 Woke up around seven seven fifteen somewhere around there. This 399 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:17.279 is an early start for us, but she had We 400 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:20.000 had talked about getting McDonald's like this beforehand, so we 401 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:20.960