WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:10.560 The murder of seven year old Athena Strand has recently 2 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:14.640 gone viral following the recent twenty twenty six trial of 3 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:19.199 former FedEx driver Tanner Horn. It all started as an 4 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:22.559 ordinary evening in a quiet rural town in Texas, when 5 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:27.120 suddenly it turned into a massive missing child investigation after 6 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:32.240 Athena vanished from outside her home just weeks before Christmas. 7 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:38.079 But as investigators began tracing delivery roots, reviewing hidden truck footage, 8 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:43.039 and unraveling conflicting stories, the case quickly transformed into something 9 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:47.719 far darker than anyone initially realized, and what they eventually 10 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:52.359 uncovered would shock people across the country and globe, as 11 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:55.439 the story of a monster who stole a child would 12 00:00:55.479 --> 00:00:59.679 leave an entire community forever changed. And I should warn 13 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:03.280 you this story deals in child abuse in violent and 14 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:07.879 sexual nature. This is the story of Athenis Strand. 15 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:12.040 My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked 16 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:16.439 and Grim, a true crime podcasting. The following. 17 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:45.480 Material more mature audience listeners. Everything outside is just amazing 18 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:48.840 right now. The leaves are blooming, flowers around, Pollen is 19 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:50.439 in the air, isn't it, Nicole? 20 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:54.480 Yeah, I might sound a little bit sick, but I 21 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:56.799 think it's just I don't know. The last two days 22 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:59.079 I've had really bad allergies and it's weird because I 23 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:02.719 haven't been affected by allergies for a few years, and 24 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:04.959 all of a sudden it's just like full throat all 25 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:05.400 this year. 26 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:08.479 Well, you've done the honey trick before, you maybe should 27 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:10.520 be doing that like this year have been? You have 28 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:13.240 been doing it this year? Yeah, okay, okay, we'll never 29 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:15.240 mind if you guys don't know the honey trick. It's 30 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:17.800 supposed to be really good for allergies. You get honey 31 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:20.599 from your local area, which is made by bees from 32 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:23.599 the local pollen and flowers, and it's very much so 33 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:26.240 just like the same effect of when you get like 34 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:29.319 a vaccine or a booster shot, except it's a natural 35 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:30.919 version of it where you get the bit of the 36 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:32.840 pollen and it helps your immunity. 37 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:38.560 Well, actually the honey I have is older. No, oh, okay, 38 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:40.960 is it older? I don't know. I need to maybe 39 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.120 look at this because yeah, I've been struggling a little bit. 40 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:45.080 Okay, let's go to the farmer's markets. We're going to 41 00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:47.319 our farmer's market tomorrow. That's what we're gonna do, and 42 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:49.800 we're gonna get you some honey from this year. 43 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.759 Yeah. Okay, yeah, but I think too. It was just 44 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:56.759 that our spring hit hard this year, like it was 45 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.520 just like boom, that's true, boom, it's spring. 46 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:02.479 Yeah, because like what a week ago we still had 47 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:04.719 like some snow piles and stuff, and now it's just 48 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:07.680 all of a sudden, it's been blue Blazer's sun golfing, 49 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:09.599 green grass outside. 50 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:14.680 Amazing. Yeah. So anyway, sorry for my voice. I've done 51 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.360 some things this morning to help it, but it's not 52 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:17.960 really helping. 53 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:20.400 You should have some tea as well, tea with honey 54 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:23.560 in it. Out out all right, We're gonna go to 55 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:25.599 the farmer's market, get some honey. We're going to go 56 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:28.439 to a grocery store, gets you your favorite tea. We 57 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:30.360 got to take care of you here, I know, no. 58 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:34.879 Shit, no shit. Yeah. But anyway, this case today, I've 59 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.599 been asking you to do it because it has just 60 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:40.960 been taken over my Facebook feed. 61 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:45.080 It's one of those ones that's gone extremely viral recently, 62 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.199 and it is a very new case. I mention it 63 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:51.319 actually in the context of this story later on in 64 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:53.800 the script, but I'll say it now as well. The 65 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:58.400 resolution came three days ago. Three days ago we had 66 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:03.280 the sentencing phase and the hammer rained down. So it's 67 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:06.719 been yeah, it's been everywhere. Yeah, and it's such a 68 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:08.560 sad story. And if you are one of the people 69 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:11.319 who skip the intros, I suggest you go back and 70 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:13.680 listen to the intro because there is a bit of 71 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:17.639 a trigger warning regarding children this story. 72 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:21.240 I've really wanted to hear more about this story. So 73 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:25.879 I'm glad that you're doing it. And yeah, as I 74 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:27.720 was asking you to do it for quite some time, 75 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:31.480 but as soon as there was like that resolution, I'm like, okay, 76 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:32.879 like you you've got to be on it. 77 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:35.079 Yeah, yeah, No, you were sending me some stuff as 78 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:36.879 like the trial was going for sure. And then as 79 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:38.920 soon as it was like well, as soon as I 80 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:40.519 knew I was going to be doing the case this 81 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:43.120 Friday and I didn't have one picked out and I 82 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:46.360 knew it was resolved, I'm like, well, I'm doing the case. 83 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:48.519 And there's a lot of info out there on this 84 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:51.240 case because it's so public, there's a lot of articles, 85 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:54.519 there's a lot, but not many content creators have covered 86 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:57.680 it yet. Not many YouTubers or podcasts, So we are 87 00:04:58.279 --> 00:04:59.600 one of the first to bring the story in the 88 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:02.319 forefront as far as this medium. But there is a 89 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:05.639 lot out there delivering all the information. So I had 90 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:08.920 a lot to sift through. I bet Yeah, what are 91 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:09.639 you ready for it? 92 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:11.240 Yeah? I think we should dive in. 93 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:16.360 Okay, Well, this story starts off and takes place in Paradise, 94 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:20.800 literally Paradise, Texas. It's the kind of place where people 95 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:23.839 they have space between their homes and the rest of 96 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:26.920 the world. There's long stretches of rural roads that cut 97 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:30.639 through fields and trees, and properties sit far apart from 98 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:34.560 one another behind wire fences, gravel driveways, open lands, and 99 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:38.680 even farms. It's quiet. The town itself only had a 100 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:42.319 few thousand residents, and much of Wise County carried the 101 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:46.560 same slow pace and small town familiarity that many rural 102 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:50.360 Texas communities were known for. And in many ways, it 103 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:54.480 is exactly as as it's called. It's Paradise. 104 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:58.079 Seriously, like the town name is called Paradise. 105 00:05:58.199 --> 00:05:59.279 It's called Paradise. 106 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:02.360 Okay, you've already just got me the first freaking sentence. 107 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:06.040 Here, people recognize one in each other. Here, going to 108 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:10.480 gas stations or school events or local stores. Kids ride 109 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:13.720 bikes outside, Families let their children play in yards without 110 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:18.319 even thinking twice. It's just life, and Athena lived here. 111 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:22.120 She was born on May twenty third, twenty fifteen, so 112 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:24.439 by late twenty twenty two she wasn't far off from 113 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:27.879 turning eight years old. She lived with her father, Jacob Strand, 114 00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:31.560 and her stepmother Ashley, on a rural property outside of Paradise. 115 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:35.720 The home sat on several acres of land, with outbuildings nearby, 116 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:39.560 including a converted shed which was storage, but it had 117 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:41.839 been turned into a bedroom area. It was the kind 118 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:46.120 of property where children can go out and roam and explore. 119 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:50.199 People who knew Athena described her as loud, but in 120 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:54.920 the best way possible. She was energetic, outspoken, funny, and 121 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:58.920 deeply emotional. She also loved the color pink. She loved barbies, 122 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:02.120 but she also loved art and drawing. She was very 123 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:05.560 creative and very caring, but also wild and full of energy. 124 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:08.600 She was also described as the kind of child who 125 00:07:08.680 --> 00:07:11.120 was always seeming to have a smile on her face. 126 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:14.439 Athena also had a habit of speaking her mind too. 127 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:17.000 If she was excited, people knew about it. And if 128 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:20.800 she was upset, well, people also knew about it. To 129 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:23.519 say the least, there was nothing quiet or reserved about 130 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:27.120 her personality. Family members even described her as the type 131 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.839 of child who filled every room the moment she walked 132 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:32.800 into it. At school, she was known for being social 133 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:37.040 and affectionate towards other students. Her teacher, Lindsey Thompson, said 134 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:39.759 that Athena had a huge personality. It was the kind 135 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:43.439 of student who constantly stood out in class. She also 136 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:46.399 said that Athena often tried to include other classmates who 137 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.680 were sitting alone or who were upset. She could be 138 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:53.720 emotional and dramatic one moment, then completely carefree the next, 139 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:57.560 but to the adults around her, she still felt very 140 00:07:57.639 --> 00:07:59.279 much so like a little kid. I mean, that's what 141 00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:02.720 she was. She was seven years old. She was someone 142 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:06.079 who was playful, trusting, and curious about the world around 143 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:10.560 her now. Athena's teacher also described another moment that soon 144 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:14.519 came to haunt her. Actually, you see, during one school conversation, 145 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:18.120 Miss Thompson had apparently asked the students a simple question 146 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:21.519 about the future. She asked them if they had a tomorrow, 147 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:24.600 trying to give them a sense of time and space 148 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:28.639 and thinking ahead, looking forward to the future, and Athena 149 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:32.919 enthusiastically answered yes, as if she couldn't wait for it 150 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:37.360 to come. But unfortunately, as we all know, tomorrow sometimes 151 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.879 doesn't come for us all. By the fall of twenty 152 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:44.200 twenty two, Athena was living in ordinary childhood life in 153 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:48.159 rural Texas. Christmas was approaching, school was still in session, 154 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:52.960 and the weather had started cooling down. Wednesday, November thirtieth, 155 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:56.360 twenty twenty two, was just another day for the Strand family. 156 00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:59.240 Athena had spent part of her day at school before 157 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:02.840 returning home to the family's property outside of Paradise. The 158 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:05.960 area around the house was rural spread out. As I mentioned, 159 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:09.080 her father, Jacob was preparing to leave for a hunting 160 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:12.159 and camping trip later that evening. Back at the house, 161 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:16.960 Ashley was preparing dinner. Her stepmother. Athena had reportedly been 162 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:21.080 helping sort laundry near that converted shed bedroom area around 163 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:24.799 the same time. Tanner was working as a delivery driver 164 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.759 on his route. Tanner was thirty one years old at 165 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:31.039 the time, working as a contracted FedEx driver through a 166 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:36.000 company called Big Top Spin. Now, unlike direct FedEx employees. 167 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:41.120 Contracted drivers often worked long rural delivery routes with less 168 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:45.600 direct oversight. Tanner's route that day took him through Wise 169 00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:51.200 County and the surrounding rural communities like Paradise. On his deliveries. 170 00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:54.399 He was described that day as being very polite, joking 171 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:57.279 about Christmas deliveries and all the packages that were coming through, 172 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:02.399 and even behaving completely normal. That normal appearance would later 173 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:04.879 become one of the most disturbing aspects of this case. 174 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:09.080 Investigators would eventually discover that while families were decorating for 175 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:13.240 Christmas and children were playing outside, Tanner was moving through 176 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:17.039 rural neighborhoods on that FedEx truck carrying hundreds of packages, 177 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:21.559 and prosecutors would argue he was already planning violence at 178 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:25.840 that moment. Now, at some point that afternoon, Tanner arrived 179 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.759 at the Strand property to deliver a package that contained 180 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:32.240 Barbie dolls from the You Can Be Anything Barbie line, 181 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.000 and it was meant to be a Christmas gift for Athena. 182 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:38.679 Of course it was. Yeah, okay. I also just have 183 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:42.159 to say, Athena just seems ridiculously lovely. 184 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:44.559 She does like a literal gem. 185 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:48.399 Hey, yeah, like just a little I don't know, beautiful soul. 186 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:49.080 Mm hmm. 187 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.000 So sometime after that delivery, Athena was outside near the 188 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:57.759 shed helping sort that laundry, and according to later evidence 189 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:01.519 presented in court, this is likely Tanner encountered her again, 190 00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:07.200 and then moments later, Athena was suddenly gone. At first, 191 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.919 it was assumed Athena had wandered around the property or 192 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:12.879 hid and you know, doing what she usually does right, 193 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:15.120 not coming out right away, what any child would want 194 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:18.879 to do something like that. So when her stepmom, Ashley 195 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.320 began to worry about this, she didn't have panic setting 196 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:25.279 in right away, at least not yet, because she's probably somewhere. 197 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:28.360 The property had plenty of places for a child to 198 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:32.440 disappear too briefly, so family members checked the usual spots first. 199 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:35.840 They searched around the house, around the converted shed, and 200 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:39.279 around nearby vehicles and outbuildings. At one point they even 201 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:42.639 checked a pear tree that Athena liked to climb. Ashley 202 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:45.799 called out for her repeatedly, over and over, expecting to 203 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:47.919 hear an answer back at any moment, and then the 204 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:53.000 warry would just melt away, but there was nothing. As 205 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:57.240 the minutes passed by, and darkness slowly came blanketing over 206 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:01.759 the Texas countryside. The warry got hit and heavier, and then, 207 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:05.080 approximately by six forty one PM, a nine to one 208 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:09.840 one call was officially made to report Athena missing. The 209 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:15.600 urgency escalated almost immediately. Wise County deputies began responding to 210 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:18.679 the property, while family members and neighbors continued searching the 211 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:23.159 surrounding area themselves. Deputies began gathering information at the property, 212 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:27.440 with family members desperately trying to retrace Athena's last known movements, 213 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:30.559 and Ashley explained that Athena had been sorting laundry near 214 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:34.279 that shed area shortly before she disappeared. She told them 215 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:37.200 there was only a very small window of time between 216 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:39.559 when she was last seen and when she was just 217 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:45.519 suddenly gone. As the evening continued, more emergency vehicles arrived, 218 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:48.679 and the flashing lights soon filled the property while officers 219 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:51.559 spread out across nearby roads and fields in their search, 220 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:55.960 Search teams began organizing, neighbors started joining the effort, and 221 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.919 family members made calls to anyone who might have seen Athena. 222 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.039 Helicopters arrived soon too, their lights swept across the property 223 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:07.759 in surrounding countryside, as darkness had officially settled over Paradise, 224 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:13.399 both literally and metaphorically. For the Strand family, the realization 225 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:16.759 hit hard in that very moment. Law enforcement was no 226 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:19.639 longer treating this as a child who might have simply 227 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:22.440 been someone hiding nearby in the bushes or maybe stuck 228 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:24.240 in a little bit of a mud hole in a 229 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:27.600 ditch somewhere. They were treating this like a possible abduction, 230 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.679 and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, 231 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:33.440 the search for Athena grew into one of the largest 232 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:38.120 missing child operations the area had seen in years. Investigators 233 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:40.679 knew almost immediately that the timeline did not make sense. 234 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:44.879 Athena had vanished within an extremely small window, with no 235 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:49.360 suggestions or sightings or screams or anything being around, no struggle, 236 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:53.360 no nothing. Throughout the night, the Strand family waited with 237 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:59.039 bated breath while authority searched the surrounding countryside. Athena's father, Jacob, 238 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:03.440 later described the emotional collapse that followed. See he had 239 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:06.360 actually already left earlier that day for his hunting and 240 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:10.799 camping trip, but before receiving the terrifying news that Athena 241 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:15.360 was missing, so he rushed back towards Paradise as the 242 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:19.639 search operations intensified around the property. At the same time, 243 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:23.879 investigators began trying to reconstruct Athena's final known movements minute 244 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:27.720 by minute, and one of the earliest breakthroughs came from 245 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:32.399 the FedEx delivery records. Investigators soon learned that a package 246 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:36.039 had been delivered to the Strand home shortly before Athena disappeared, 247 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:40.120 and investigators quickly began tracing the root information connected to 248 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:44.120 the driver responsible for that stop, which was Tanner Horn. 249 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:48.440 The FBI became heavily involved as authorities worked to map 250 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:52.480 Tanner's movements through GPS data, delivery logs, and even TROCK activity. 251 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:57.759 According to later testimony from FBI agent Patrick Maguire, investigators 252 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:00.879 discovered a troubling gap in Tanner's delivery every timeline that 253 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:04.799 evening see there was roughly a thirty minute period that 254 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:08.320 did not line up cleanly with his scheduled route, and 255 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:11.840 when agents contacted Tanner by phone, what he said immediately 256 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:15.879 raised some suspicion. See At first, Tanner reportedly claimed that 257 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:19.720 he had seen a suspicious green Chevrolet astro van near 258 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:23.000 the strand property. According to his story, the van had 259 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:26.600 concerned him enough that he actually even remembered it specifically. However, 260 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.279 investigators would later discover that there was no evidence supporting 261 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:34.360 the existence of that vehicle. Tanner also reportedly claimed that 262 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:36.639 during part of his route he had stopped because he 263 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:40.360 felt sick and needed to vomit. But as investigators continued 264 00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:44.080 checking his movements, the inconsistencies just kept growing, and what 265 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:48.080 investigators did not realize initially was that the most important 266 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:52.120 evidence in the case was already sitting inside Tanner's delivery truck. 267 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:55.879 Okay, I'm actually shocked that he still did the delivery. 268 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:01.399 I expected that if he was, I don't know, doing 269 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.159 some shady shit, that he wouldn't also leave the package. 270 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:05.840 Like that's ridiculous. 271 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:07.840 Well, no matter whether he left it or not, there's 272 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:11.559 a delivery root schedule that's going to be filed away, right. 273 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:13.480 Okay, so it still would have been. 274 00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:17.320 It's still there exactly, So no matter you dropping the 275 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:19.720 package off or not. In fact, I would argue that 276 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:23.039 not dropping off the package is even more suspicious. 277 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:24.039 Would make you look more guilty. 278 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:29.240 Yes, in my perspective. Yeah, Now, the FedEx vehicle assigned 279 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:33.000 to Tanner's route was equipped with an internal security camera 280 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:36.879 designed to monitor both inside and outside activity involved in 281 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:41.039 the truck. Now, they knew they needed to investigate the truck. 282 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:44.759 That's what investigators knew. So once investigators secured access to 283 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.360 it and the footage, they began reviewing the recordings from 284 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:52.519 November thirtieth in hopes of clarifying Tanner's movements during the 285 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:57.000 period surrounding Athie in his disappearance. Now, Instead, they uncovered 286 00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:02.600 evidence that fundamentally changed the direction of this investigation. According 287 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.240 to prosecutors later at trial, portions of the truck camera 288 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.799 system appeared to have been intentionally covered prior to Tanner 289 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:14.960 arriving at the Strand property. It seemed that the front 290 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:18.640 facing camera had been obstructed roughly an hour before Athena 291 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:22.279 was abducted, suggesting that Tanner may have already been preparing 292 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:26.079 to commit a violent crime before ever even even encountering 293 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:26.799 Athena at all. 294 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:30.720 Geez and was it going to be her or we 295 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:31.480 don't really know. 296 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:35.680 We don't really know, but it seems like it was 297 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:38.920 just in preparation for whoever he encountered. 298 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:39.480 Jeez. 299 00:17:40.839 --> 00:17:44.079 Now, despite portions of the visual recording being blocked, the 300 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:49.359 truck still captured crucial footage and audio alike. Investigators reviewing 301 00:17:49.400 --> 00:17:52.799 the recordings discovered that Athena had in fact been inside 302 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:56.680 the truck after disappearing from the property. It seemed like 303 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:59.799 she was fine when she entered the vehicle, well somewhat anyways. 304 00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:04.039 They also saw allegedly Tanner placing his hand over Athena's 305 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:06.960 mouth after getting her into the truck, And what made 306 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:09.960 the footage even more disturbing was that although the visual 307 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:15.000 recordings were eventually obstructed, the audio still continued to run 308 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:19.559 for an extended period of time. The recording captured Tanner 309 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:23.319 speaking to Athena. He asked her questions about her age, 310 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:27.559 where she went to school, all while warning her repeatedly 311 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:31.480 not to scream. At various points, he threatened to hurt 312 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:33.599 her if she didn't stay quiet when she's asking, you know, 313 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:35.799 where are we going? He eventually even told her that 314 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:40.599 we're going to quote hang out. Then, as the recordings continued, 315 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:45.440 Athena could reportedly be heard beginning to cry and as 316 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:48.160 she was trying to understand what was going on. I'm 317 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:50.000 sure that was a lot of emotion for such a 318 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.559 young girl. At one point, Tanner allegedly instructed her to 319 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:58.640 remove her shirt. During another portion of the recording, Athena 320 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:02.640 asked him if he he was a kidnapper. Now, one 321 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.839 of the most disturbing moments investigators heard came when Athena 322 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:09.240 asked Tanner why he was doing this to her, and, 323 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:14.039 according to the recordings, he responded by saying, quote, because 324 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:14.440 you are. 325 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:16.920 Pretty holy shit. 326 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:22.319 The audio reportedly continued like this for more than an hour. 327 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:27.519 As investigators compared the recordings against the GPS data delivery 328 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:31.319 timelines and Tanner's statements, his explanations for what had happened 329 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:35.559 was clearly bullshit when you look at the evidence on hand. 330 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:39.839 For investigators, the truck recording quickly became the most important 331 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:43.279 piece of evidence in the entire case, But at that 332 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:47.119 stage of the investigation, law enforcement still faced another urgent problem. 333 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:51.880 They still had not found Athena. When investigators pressed Tanner 334 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:55.440 about what they had found, while he reportedly claimed that 335 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:58.920 Athena had seen him snorting cocaine in his truck after 336 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:02.440 the delivery, and then that's when he panicked because he 337 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:04.000 was afraid he was going to lose his job and 338 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:07.400 potentially lose access to his own son if Athena told 339 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:10.839 anyone what she had seen. But even that explanation did 340 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:13.039 not fit the evidence investigators were looking at. So of 341 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:15.599 course Tanner changed his story again. 342 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:19.160 Well, yeah, that doesn't make sense if he had premeditation 343 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:21.359 of covering up cameras and. 344 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:25.880 Such exactly now. Next he allegedly claimed that Athena had 345 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:28.920 somehow been accidentally hit by the truck and that he 346 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:33.200 panicked afterwards. But still investigators were struggling to reconcile that 347 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:36.880 explanation too with what they were actually hearing on the recordings. 348 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:41.119 It didn't make any sense. There's the prolonged cries, for example, 349 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:43.640 screams that could be hurt. The threats, and the length 350 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:47.960 of the audio all pointed towards an ongoing, controlled situation 351 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:52.400 rather than someone reacting irrationally after an incident like hitting 352 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:56.400 a child with a vehicle. And then investigators were introduced 353 00:20:56.440 --> 00:21:01.720 to someone Tanner referred to as zero. Now during questioning, 354 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:06.119 Tanner reportedly began talking about another personality or version of 355 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:11.160 himself that he claimed had taken over. According to investigators, 356 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.279 his demeanor would sometimes change during interviews. At times, he 357 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:19.119 altered his speech patterns and mannerisms while attempting to separate 358 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:22.480 himself from the violence that had actually happened inside that truck. 359 00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:27.319 According to statements that investigators would later document, Tanner at 360 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:30.279 one point said I didn't do it, but he did. 361 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:34.279 He also reportedly said quote, I'm wondering who the hell's 362 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:37.680 been in my head this whole time. For investigators trying 363 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:40.680 to locate Athena as quickly as possible, the situation became 364 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:45.279 increasingly frustrating. Seemed every time they believed Tanner might finally 365 00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:48.960 be giving them truthful information, the story would just shift 366 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:53.599 once again. Different explanations overlapped each other, certain details would change, 367 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:57.240 and other details directly contradicted the evidence investigators already had 368 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.400 right in front of them. And at the center of 369 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:02.359 it all was the most important unanswered question of the case. 370 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:08.279 Where was Athena. Investigators pushed Tanner repeatedly for her location, 371 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:14.559 but even then he continued to well negotiate. He even 372 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:16.960 asked if he could spend one final Christmas with his 373 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:20.279 son in exchange for information on Athena, but that request 374 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:24.680 was denied. Then Tanner began giving authorities different locations where 375 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:29.440 he claimed Athena could be found. The first location was false. 376 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:33.200 Investigators searched the area realized fairly quickly that they were 377 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:37.680 being misled, and eventually, though the investigators finally began getting 378 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:40.559 information that actually appeared to be a bit more credible. 379 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:45.160 Tanner directed authorities towards an area near the Trinity River 380 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:50.319 system southeast of Paradise, so search teams and investigators moved 381 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:53.279 into the area while continuing to verify the information he 382 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:57.680 was actually providing. Now at this point, investigators, of course 383 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:01.640 already feared the worst. Audio evidence they heard from inside 384 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:05.440 the truck made it painfully cleared that Athena was likely 385 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:11.400 no longer alive. The audio very clearly henced that a 386 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:12.759 murder took place as well. 387 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:18.519 This is just brutal because it's also so almost relatable 388 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:21.640 because who doesn't get packages delivered right, and you wouldn't 389 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:26.519 think twice about the delivery person being like a complete monster. 390 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:30.119 But that's what this was. That delivery brought a monster 391 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:32.359 to their very doorstep, Oh. 392 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:35.359 My gosh, delivering a Christmas present for her, which is 393 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:36.680 just horrible. 394 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.440 Now, no matter what authorities assumed or feared they needed 395 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:47.119 to find Athena, it was December twond twenty twenty two 396 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:50.839 and nearly two full days had passed since Athena had disappeared. 397 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:54.720 Search teams had spent countless hours coming through fields, roads, 398 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:59.119 wooded areas, drainage ditches, and rural properties throughout Wise County 399 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:02.480 hoping to find her alive, and now investigators were heading 400 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:05.680 towards a secluded creek area based on the directions provided 401 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:09.680