WEBVTT 1 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:37.399 And he said five about five am, the babies. 2 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:43.039 Up, Yeah, and she was crying so and uh, I 3 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:44.240 was really surprised. 4 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:45.280 That she wasn't there. 5 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:58.759 Rockbridge Memorial State Park is a place of beauty nestled 6 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:00.960 in the heart of Missouri. It's a stretch of wilderness 7 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:05.079 where nature shows both its gentle and untamed sides. The 8 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:08.680 park's grand dule is its namesake, Rockbridge, a towering natural 9 00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:12.079 limestone arch carved over thousands of years by water pressing 10 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.200 through the stone around it. The land on folds like 11 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:18.319 a labyrinth. More in two thousy two hundred acres of 12 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:23.200 dense hardwood forest, winding trails, sinkhals caves, and the famous 13 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:27.159 Stevil's Ice Box, a cavern where underground streams snake through 14 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:31.640 Missouri's ancient coarse landscape. In early spring, when the frost 15 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:36.640 finally loosens its grip, the forest floor awakens. Wild floors 16 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:40.359 dot the trails with color, birds return, filling the canopy 17 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:44.200 with songs. On the morning of March fifteenth, two thousand 18 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:47.439 and twenty, a man named Stephen Roberts decided to take 19 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:50.840 advantage of the good weather. He laysd up his hiking 20 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:54.400 boots and headed out to the trails at Rockbridge Memorial. 21 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:58.799 The forest was alive around him. The path was familiar, 22 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:03.480 but as he walked, something unusual caught his attention. Just 23 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:07.319 beyond the tree line, something sharp and rectangular broke the 24 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:12.599 natural shape of bank and leaves. Curiosity tugged at him. 25 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:15.360 He stepped off the trail and made his way through 26 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:20.240 the undergrowth, but when he drew closer, he froze. On 27 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:23.719 the ground, half covered by foliage, was a human skull. 28 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:40.560 Mung Chiji Elige was born on the eighteenth of April 29 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:43.919 nineteen ninety one in China, during the nation's strict one 30 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:48.280 child policy. Her parents Ki Ren and Shaolinji had only 31 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.680 ever planned for one child, and mung Chi was their everything. 32 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:55.759 Our mother would later recall, we only ever wanted one child. 33 00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:58.439 We wanted to give all of our love to this child. 34 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:02.080 Mungchi was kind of daughter that most parents dreamed of. 35 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:06.520 She was gentle, well behaved, but also lively and curious. 36 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:10.199 Her parents placed a strong emphasis on education, and from 37 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:14.360 an early age, Munchi thrived. By the time she was five, 38 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:18.400 she was already practicing calligraphy and painting, carefully guided by 39 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:22.080 her parents belief in cultivating hobbies. At seven, she added 40 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:25.680 swimming and ping pong to her routine. English tutoring followed 41 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:28.120 soon after, and by the time she was ten, she 42 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:32.439 had taken up the guitar. Photography was another passion, one 43 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:35.479 her father nurtured by making sure she always had the 44 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:40.159 best cameras, but painting remained her true love. Her mother 45 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:43.479 remembered proudly. We thought that the development of hobbies was 46 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:46.879 important for the growth of Mungchi. It was clear from 47 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:50.479 the start that Mungchi was remarkable. In two thousand and nine, 48 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:53.919 she was accepted into the prestigious East China University of 49 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:57.919 Science and Technology in Shanghai. Three years later, an opportunity 50 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:01.319 presented itself that we changed the course of her life forever. 51 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:04.919 She was accepted into an exchange program in the United 52 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:09.319 States and enrolled at the University of Missouri. There, Mungchi 53 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:12.199 completed her undergraduate studies and went on to earn a 54 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:16.800 master's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering. She excelled at 55 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:19.480 the point that one of her professors, who was impressed 56 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:23.079 by her intelligence and dedication, hired her straight out of skill. 57 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:27.959 The company was a biomaterials firm called Nonva and It 58 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:31.120 was there within the sterile technical halls of Science and 59 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:36.360 Innovation that Mungchi met Joseph Elich. Joseph had grown up 60 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:39.199 in Kansas City and was studying engineering at the same 61 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:44.319 university at No Nova. Mungchi was technically his supervisor, but 62 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:48.079 soon enough professional boundaries blurred and the two started dating. 63 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:52.959 Her friend Chui Jang remembered she didn't know why, but 64 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:55.759 she was crazy about Joe. A year and a half 65 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.920 into their relationship, Joseph proposed while they were hiking at 66 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:03.759 Rockbridge Memorials step Park. Two weeks later, Munchi and Joseph 67 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:08.199 were married. It was a whirlwind. Love was part of it, certainly, 68 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:12.800 but so too with circumstances. Mung Chi's visa was set 69 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:15.519 to expire, and marriage meant that she could stay in 70 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:19.480 the United States and stay with Joseph. The couple moved 71 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:23.879 into an apartment on Eastwood Drive. Just months into the marriage, 72 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:27.319 mung Chi was offered a big job opportunity. It could 73 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.920 have been a pivotal moment in her career, but then 74 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:34.319 came unexpected news she was pregnant. At that time, mung 75 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.319 Chi was the sole bread winner. Joseph had quit his 76 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:40.319 job to finish school, and he was a senior mechanical 77 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:44.680 engineering student with no steady income. But the decision was 78 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:47.439 made Mung Chi would turn down the job and become 79 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:51.319 a step at home mother. In October of twenty eighteen, 80 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:55.319 their daughter Anna was born. In Chinese tradition, the first 81 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:58.879 one hundred days after a baby's birth, at a sacred period, 82 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:03.439 it's customary for the grandparents to come and stay, helping 83 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:07.000 to care for both mother and child, enduring rest, protection 84 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:11.600 and a smooth transition into new life. True to tradition, 85 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:15.079 Mungchi's parents flew in from China to help their daughter 86 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:20.000 and meet their granddaughter. For a time, life seemed stable, 87 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:29.519 but beneath the surface, cracks were beginning to form. Mung 88 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:32.920 Chain Joseph was once dreamed of building a big family together. 89 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:37.199 They spoke of three, maybe even five children, and imagined 90 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:39.800 raising them in a house that blended both American and 91 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:43.040 Chinese traditions. It was the kind of vision that many 92 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:46.920 young couple share, a house filled with laughter, a mix 93 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:50.240 of cultures, and the promise of a future built together. 94 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:55.639 But after their daughter Anna was born, things began to shift. 95 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:59.319 Mungchi loved her baby deeply, but the ache of homesickness 96 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:03.720 grew strong her, especially after her parents returned to China. 97 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:06.800 The apartment that had once felt like a new beginning 98 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:11.399 now seemed almost isolating. Her lifeline to home became her 99 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:15.160 daily phone call with her mother, ki Ren. Every day 100 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:18.920 without fail, they spoke, sharing the ups and downs of motherhood, 101 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:22.240 the quiet frustrations, and the joy of watching Anna grow. 102 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.759 But then, on the ninth of October twenty and nineteen, 103 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:30.000 the phone never rang. At first, ki Ran tried to 104 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:34.480 brush away her unease. Maybe Mungchi was tired, maybe she 105 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:38.360 was busy. But when ours passed with no word, she 106 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:42.639 began to call again and again. Her daughter never picked up. 107 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:47.399 The next day, silence continued. Ki Ran reached out to 108 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:51.600 Joseph directly, calling and texting, but he didn't respond either. 109 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:56.160 Panic began to settle in desper She asked one of 110 00:07:56.199 --> 00:08:00.240 Munchi's friends to check on her. When that friend arrived 111 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:04.160 at the Eastwood Drive apartment, Joseph was there alone with Anna. 112 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.480 Munk Chi was nowhere to be found. Joseph told the 113 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:10.160 friend that when he woke up on the morning of 114 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:15.279 the ninth of October, his wife was simply gone. Despite 115 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:20.040 his wife being missing. Joseph's demeanor was strange, calm, detached, 116 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:24.480 even nonchalant. He ran confronted him over a video call, 117 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:28.240 demanding he take action. She urged him to report her 118 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:32.440 daughter missing. Joseph sent a few casual texts to friends 119 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:36.039 asking if they had seen mun Chi. Eventually, he phoned 120 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.240 three to one one, the non emergency line, to report 121 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:40.080 his wife missing. 122 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:47.240 Yesterday morning, I just woke up and then she was gone. 123 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:51.279 You wasn't here the night before. I went to sleep 124 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:54.159 with her at the thing, you know, we said at 125 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:56.440 the same time, but whether it was just the next 126 00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:01.480 morning she was gone and HeLa her her wedding rings, 127 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:08.200 and she left her phone and her car with her keys. 128 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:16.360 I think her. 129 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.639 After making the missing person's report, detectives arrived at Joseph 130 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:26.720 and Mungchi's apartment. When they sat down with Joseph after 131 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:29.960 the report, they asked him to explain what had happened. 132 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:34.720 Joseph's story went like this. On the evening of October eighth, 133 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:38.679 mung Chi had gone to bed, Joseph steed up in 134 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:43.200 the living room, watching YouTube videos and playing video games 135 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.720 at her On eleven thirty pm, he finally joined her 136 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:49.720 she was in bed when he fell asleep. He said. 137 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:54.919 At five am, their daughter Anna's cries woke him. He 138 00:09:55.039 --> 00:09:57.759 rolled over and noticed that mung Chi was no longer 139 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:01.919 in bed. She wasn't in the apart either. Her keys 140 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:04.919 were there, her phone was there, but Joseph didn't look 141 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:08.600 for her. Instead, he climbed back into bed and fell 142 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:12.480 asleep again. Three hours later, on his cries will come 143 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:15.840 up once more. This time, Joseph said, he got up 144 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:18.799 and fed her. He said it was the first time 145 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:23.039 he had ever fed his daughter himself munk. She had 146 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:27.039 been brast feeding, although she sometimes left bottles of expressed milk. 147 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:31.120 Joseph explained that he simply mimicked what he had seen 148 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:31.840 his wife do. 149 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:36.080 And he said five about five am, the babies up. Yeah, yeah, baby, 150 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:38.360 look up and she was crying. 151 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:41.960 So I woke up, and I was really surprised that 152 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:43.200 the munk she wasn't there. 153 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:45.799 And then I went to get Anna. 154 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:47.759 I kind of thought that Munchie might be in the 155 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:50.679 room with Anna. 156 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:52.200 But she wasn't, and started putting in it down. See 157 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.120 by looking all the way the place of the career, 158 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.120 she wasn't there. Her purse was. 159 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:00.480 Gone, so I don't think she took us per what kind. 160 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:03.960 Of her she have? It's how jess a fabric curse 161 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:05.440 has what color? 162 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.120 Black is a bass color and has like white stars, 163 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:13.480 and inside the star it actually has red stripes, and 164 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:15.159 I think has like a little blue corner. 165 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:17.120 Like an American players. So that's all she All she 166 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:21.919 took was her person. Yeah, and he said, says she's yeah. Yeah. 167 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:27.159 I noticed her black nikes are missing, so I. 168 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:27.639 Guess she must be wearing those. 169 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:30.639 It was only then that Joseph noticed that munk Chi's 170 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:34.919 car was still parked out side. Even so, he didn't search, 171 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:39.080 she didn't call friends, and he didn't alert police. He 172 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:41.000 said he thought that munk She might have gone on 173 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:45.320 an errand or perhaps he speculated that she had even 174 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:49.679 left him for another month. According to Joseph, while combing 175 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:53.360 through her laptop after she vanished, he found journal anddrees 176 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:56.480 in which she admitted to having an emotional affair with 177 00:11:56.600 --> 00:11:57.720 someone back in China. 178 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:04.759 There is I actually found this earlier. It's like a 179 00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:08.320 journal tucolate document. It's just a word file and it 180 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:15.600 talks about her I feeling like some secret love. She 181 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:17.480 mentioned this guy's name and actually it turns out it's 182 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:23.840 this guy right here. Yeah, I just I just messaged 183 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:26.480 him earlier and he responded to me. But I think 184 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:30.960 he's in China right now. But anyway, I think this 185 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.039 is her secret love or something. 186 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:35.360 It's probably back in China. 187 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:39.120 I suppose I think he was here though, because he says, 188 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:41.960 I'll be back in Shanghai tomorrow. 189 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:44.679 I'll be busy. I'll be in Shanghai for the for 190 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:46.879 the next week or for the next few days. I'll 191 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:48.679 be out of time. And I don't know when that was. 192 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:50.200 It just says ten thirty three again. 193 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:54.840 He recalled one line in particular, which read, it's sad 194 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:58.039 though that I have no interest in my husband but. 195 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:00.559 That but that she's married and she had bating and 196 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:03.279 so she has to stop like doing this message in 197 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:07.320 him there. I think, yeah, yeah, I don't know. I 198 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:09.960 don't know if she's seen this guy, but right so 199 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:11.879 she might not even have met this dude, is what 200 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:12.360 you're thinking. 201 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:14.519 Well, I don't know. 202 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:17.240 I kind of think that she has because, like I 203 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:20.519 said that, I think there's been about four times where 204 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:23.159 she's gone out and she's been out for like an 205 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:29.360 a reasonably long time a time. Yeah, pretty much, and 206 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:33.399 then she always gives some weird excuse. The first, the 207 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:37.279 weirdest time was she went out. She was walking out 208 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:39.159 the door, who has And I asked her where she 209 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:40.600 was going, and she said that she has to get 210 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:43.519 something from her car. And it was about forty five 211 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:45.679 minutes later she came back with the spoon that was 212 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:48.279 in her car for like probably two years. 213 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:50.639 I remember really spoon, Yeah, and she came back with 214 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:51.120 that spoon. 215 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:54.759 For detectives, none of this stot right. It was highly 216 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:57.759 unusual for her husband to wait so long before reporting 217 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:02.399 his wife missinggan to press harder. Had there been an 218 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:07.120 argument before she disappeared? Joseph claimed no. Then, almost as 219 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:10.559 an afterthought, he admitted they had what he described as 220 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:15.679 a small fight about a week earlier. Nothing serious, he insisted, 221 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:18.399 but he went on to paint a picture of a 222 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:24.360 strained marriage. Intimacy had waned Mungchie, he said, had become withdrawn. 223 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:28.879 He admitted that it left him frustrated. The night before 224 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:34.000 she disappeared, Joseph described giving her a massage. He told detectives, 225 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:36.600 I was going kind of slow. I was trying to 226 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:38.960 drag it out because I wanted to extend the amount 227 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.720 of time that we were together doing something. He said 228 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:45.480 that Mungchi seemed tense. She then told them she needed 229 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:49.440 to be somewhere in the morning. Curious, Joseph pressed her, 230 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:54.039 asking three separate times who she was meeting. Her response 231 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:59.559 each time was the same me she wouldn't elaborate what 232 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:02.240 Joseph I did the next day, the day he discovered 233 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:07.240 his wife missing, only deep in detective suspicions. Instead of 234 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:10.639 searching for Mungchi, he packed Anna into the car and 235 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:15.200 took two long drives in mung Chi's vehicle. He wasn't 236 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:18.159 looking for his wife, he said, he was looking for 237 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:22.919 new hiking trails. He said to investigators, there's this big 238 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.600 area that's all grain on Google Maps, and so I 239 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:27.840 wanted to go and see if there were walking paths 240 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:32.480 back there. His route wandered through Ashland, then back and 241 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:36.720 forth to Guthrie before heading towards Columbia and Rockport. By 242 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:40.240 his own account, he drove around aimlessly until around ten pm. 243 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:44.759 Detective John Voss asked the obvious question, did you lock 244 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:47.519 your door when you left the apartment. You've got her 245 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:50.919 keys in her car, her phones in the house. She 246 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:58.039 can't even call anybody, Joseph sammed. Caught off guard, he replied, yeah, 247 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:12.679 I don't know. Police quickly went public with news of 248 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:17.600 Mungchi's disappearance, appealing to the community for help. Missing person 249 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:21.919 posters were circulated with her description a young Chinese woman 250 00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:25.480 with brown eyes and shoulder length black hair, often worn 251 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:28.759 in a neat bun. She said somewhere between five foot 252 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:33.000 one inch and five foot three inches, with both ears pierced. 253 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:37.519 At first, investigators considered the possibility that Joseph's claim might 254 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:40.679 be true, that mung Chi had left him for another man, 255 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:45.919 perhaps even returned to China, but that theory crumbled almost immediately. 256 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:50.440 All of her essentials were still in the apartment. Her phone, 257 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:54.480 her iPod, her passport, even her clothing. Everything she would 258 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:58.159 have needed to leave had simply been left behind. It 259 00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:01.639 was impossible to believe she had gone very far without them, 260 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:05.039 and more importantly, Mungchi's one year old daughter, Anna was 261 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:07.960 still at home. Those who knew her bath said that 262 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.359 Anna was their entire world. The idea that she would 263 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:16.160 abandon her child was unthinkable. As the search intensified, Joseph 264 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:20.319 Alich made his first public appearance. He sat down with 265 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:25.319 CBS affiliate KRCG and give his version of events. 266 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:28.960 Talk to me about Menji is Menji, that's how you 267 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:29.440 pronounced me. 268 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:32.720 It's actually mung Chi and it has talne to it's mung. 269 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:36.039 Chi looking Subdurity told the reporter he believed that mung 270 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:37.720 Chi had left him for another mom. 271 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:40.519 What do you think about the fact that she left 272 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:45.720 behind for Wallee and everything, uh, while at her passport 273 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:49.519 and her fond So that suffs very weird to me. 274 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:54.759 I know she was talking to somebody else on the side, 275 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:57.359 and I didn't know that until after she had left. 276 00:17:57.400 --> 00:18:02.400 But uh, you know, whatever, whatever she's doing, I just 277 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:05.720 hope she's safe. And I really hope that she can, 278 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:08.799 you know, find herself and come back to me and 279 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.000 and and we can just have a big long talk 280 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:14.240 and that's all we need, but we can work things out. 281 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:19.079 I think she's she's just confused and maybe scared, and 282 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:22.920 I don't know if she felt alone. But I just 283 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:25.400 really want her to come back. And it does worry 284 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:29.839 me she doesn't have any of that stuff. I just 285 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:31.799 really yeah, I just hope that she's safe. I hope 286 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:35.279 that she's with at least with somebody who cares for her, 287 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:37.880 you know, enough to keep her safe. 288 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:43.079 And came across is awkward, even smiling. Several times. He 289 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:45.519 described her as a joting mother, but quickly turned the 290 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:47.880 focus back to their martal problems. 291 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:52.519 I have absolutely no idea where she might be. It's 292 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:59.000 just all so strange. She just disappeared. I don't know. 293 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:02.039 I just really don't know. She hasn't contacted anybody. She 294 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:04.359 talked to her mom, I think probably two or three 295 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:07.400 times every single day. The fact that she hasn't heard 296 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:13.519 from her really worries me is very surprising. At it's 297 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:15.200 just hard to think about what's going on. 298 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:19.039 To Manny, Joseph sounded like a husband grasping for answers, 299 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.920 but to detectives, his behavior seemed almost rehearsed, and his 300 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:33.200 words raised more questions than they answered. Behind the scene, 301 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:37.960 suspicion was already turning squarely in Joseph's direction. The first 302 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:40.759 red flag was how little concern he seemed to show 303 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:45.279 for his wife's disappearance. Detectives discovered that on the ninth 304 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.440 of October, the very morning he claimed to have found 305 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:53.799 her missing, Joseph texted his mother a birthday greeting in 306 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:56.519 that message, he never mentioned that his wife was missing. 307 00:19:57.559 --> 00:19:59.960 It wasn't until the following day that he casually took 308 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:07.160 over text. Halloween isn't just about costumes and can they 309 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:10.160 It's about capturing those memories, and this year puzzle you 310 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:13.039 hits the perfect way to turn your spooky season photos 311 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:15.920 into a one of a kind keepsake. 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He offered no explanation. The next day, he 333 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:34.119 followed up with another text, I'm kind of stuck at 334 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:37.759 home and busy with my daughter again, not a single 335 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:42.240 mention of his wife being missing. The investigators it was baffling. 336 00:21:43.079 --> 00:21:47.880 A spouse disappearing would normally spark panic phone calls, questions, 337 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.759 frantic searches, but Joseph behaved as if nothing had changed 338 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:55.920 at all. He later told detectives he avoided thinking about 339 00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:59.640 it because he had classwork to focus on. This was 340 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:03.039 his last semester of skill, he explained, and he wanted 341 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:06.400 to give attention to that and to his daughter Anna. 342 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:11.519 The explanation rang hollow. Detective stuck deeper. They learned that 343 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:16.359 Mungchi's marriage was far from happy friends and acquaintances painted 344 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:20.960 a picture of a relationship that was weighed down by resentment, loneliness, 345 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:26.480 and cultural clashes. One interview stood out. Daniel Culp, a 346 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:30.119 former boyfriend of Mungchi, revealed that she had reached out 347 00:22:30.119 --> 00:22:34.119 to him in late August twenty nineteen, just weeks before 348 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:39.119 she disappeared. She asked for information about a divorce attorney. 349 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.480 It was a crucial detail. It meant that Mungchi hadn't 350 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:48.680 simply disappeared into the night. She was actively considering leaving Joseph. 351 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:52.519 Detectives called Joseph back in for another round of questioning. 352 00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:56.640 This time, their tone was sharper less accommodating. 353 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.559 I get to relax at the same time. 354 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:04.519 Wait a minute, you got to relax. Your wife is missing, 355 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:09.559 You're now the sole caregiver of a one year old child, 356 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:13.640 and you went on a relaxing drive. I gotta tell you, 357 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:15.920 you know that strikes me as strange, and I don't 358 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:19.799 think I'm alone in that. I think Alan here would 359 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:22.359 probably agree with that. I think ninety nine out of 360 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:25.359 one hundred people on the street would say that's not 361 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:28.359 the time to relax. I mean, you haven't even told 362 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:33.200 anybody I don't know where my wife is. Yeah, you got. 363 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:36.319 I'm asking you to look at this from my standpoint, right, Yeah, 364 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:37.759 because I have a job to do. My job is 365 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:40.960 define mention, Right, I understand, for good or for bad, 366 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:43.400 it's the finest. If she left on her own and 367 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:46.359 she wants to stay gone, that's her right the boy, 368 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:50.039 or she didn't. We got a whole different situation, doesn't we. 369 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:53.440 If somebody did something to her, or if she accidentally 370 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:58.279 did something to herself, we absolutely cannot stop until we 371 00:23:58.319 --> 00:23:59.640 find her. You understand that, right. 372 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:02.599 Yeah. I want to hope you guy as much as I. 373 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:06.000 Can, and I will not apologize for doing my job 374 00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:08.519 and asking to some questions. You understand that too, Right, 375 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:10.119 did you kill your wife? 376 00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:10.480 No? 377 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:15.119 I did not, But detectives weren't convinced. The pieces weren't 378 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:18.599 fitting together, and Joseph Ellige was looking more and more 379 00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:29.480 like the only person who knew the truth. Detective suspicions 380 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:33.079 of Joseph Villige were growing by the day. They obtained 381 00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:35.640 a search weren't for his cell phone, hoping it would 382 00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:38.279 shed light on his movements or his concern for his 383 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:41.920 missing wife. Instead, what they found only deep in there 384 00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:46.000 on ease. On October ninth, Joseph made no attempt to 385 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:51.440 contact anybody about his wife's whereabouts. Not a single call, 386 00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:55.359 not a single message. It wasn't until the next day, 387 00:24:55.880 --> 00:24:59.240 after mung Chi's mother, ky Wren, began sounding the alarm 388 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:03.839 the joseh have reached out. He contacted his brother Richard, 389 00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:08.200 asking if he had seen her. Soon after, somebody identified 390 00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:12.319 as Deway messaged Joseph, offering suggestions on how to track 391 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:18.519 mung Chi down, but Joseph's responses revealed little urgency. Just 392 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:22.279 fifty minutes later, he texted Richard again, not about Munchi, 393 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:25.720 but to ask if he wanted to play online games. 394 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:30.079 He then replied to Deway, saying he contacted police and 395 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:34.680 was exhausted. After that, Joseph got online and played video 396 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:38.839 games with a relative while his wife was missing. He 397 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:42.400 was gaming, But the most damning discoveries weren't about what 398 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:45.759 Joseph didn't do. They were about what he had been 399 00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:50.599 doing on his phone. Detectives uncovered ours of secret recordings 400 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:54.559 Joseph had made of his wife dan Ors in total 401 00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:59.000