Missing: Dead or Alive? (2023) s01e01 Episode Script
Episode 1
1
- [radio beeps]
- [dispatch] Hey, Vicki.
Hey, I've got a new case.
It's a missing person report
with a 61-year-old lady.
She lives with her son, but I've been told
he has a history of violence.
[dispatch] Okay.
[Vicki] Can you send some backup?
[pensive music playing]
[siren whoops]
[ominous music playing]
[banging on door]
[Vicki] There's a light on inside.
The house is empty,
like there's nothing in it.
I wonder what these things are?
[woman] It's weird. It's like
There's a toilet seat. There's a mattress.
[Vicki] Look, the carpet's pulled up.
[doorbell ringing]
[woman 2 on intercom] Hello?
I'm Investigator Rains
with Richland County Sheriff's Department.
Do you know a neighbor Lorraine Garcia?
We're out here trying to find her.
[woman 2] All I know is she told me
her son Tony was mistreating her.
At times,
she was being locked in a bedroom.
Things were being taken away.
Her bank card, her phone.
Okay.
[woman 2] The next time I saw her,
she needed help
because her son was calling
for her to come.
And she says, "I don't wanna go with him."
"I'm scared."
"I don't know
what he's going to make me do."
And I have not seen her since that day,
and I'm very concerned about her.
[Vicki] That's her.
[man] Hey, guys, that back door is open.
Sheriff's Department.
If you're in here, let yourself be known.
[menacing music playing]
[man] Sheriff's Department.
If you're in here,
let yourself be known.
[Vicki] My God, it smells like bleach.
You know, like if you poured bleach on
something, it would turn white like that.
And why would you do that?
[menacing music continues]
[woman] The light's on upstairs.
[man] I hate this shit.
[Vicki] Sheriff's Department!
Fuck me.
It's clear.
[Vicki] You know, that's weird.
What is that?
This new board.
[menacing music building]
[kicks door]
Yeah, this is really weird.
'Cause it's screwed in.
- [keypad clicking]
- [phone dialing]
[woman] Hey, we got out here.
The house is empty,
but there's a room in the garage
that's bolted shut.
And there's a strong smell of bleach.
We'll need a search warrant
to get in there.
Okay.
[man] What in the world
is behind that door?
- [dark music playing]
- [indistinct police radio chatter]
[contemplative music playing]
[Vicki] I've been a cop for 22 years.
I started in Kansas.
Then I moved to South Carolina.
I used to work in Major Crimes.
But I just transferred to Missing Persons.
I'm used to working cases
where there's a body.
I've worked murders, kidnappings.
Nothing really surprises me.
But the idea that you can save someone
before they come to harm?
That's why I want to work Missing Persons.
It's a busy unit. I work adults.
Do you remember
what your daughter was wearing that day?
[indistinct chatter]
[Vicki] We have J.P.
who works missing juveniles.
[J.P.] 'Cause it would be helpful if you
[Vicki] There are other investigators
and victims' advocates who help us out.
Our sergeant is Nina,
and our unit is headed up
by our captain Heidi.
She pours her heart into these cases.
In this unit,
there's a chance you can save a life.
And there's nothing more rewarding
than saving a life.
[Heidi] All right,
we got a few important cases
that are concerning right now.
So thank you all
for being willing to help.
The one that I'm really concerned about
is the Lorraine Garcia case,
the 61-year-old woman.
We were at the house last night
and there were some things
that were concerning.
Vicki?
[Vicki] She's actually
been missing for two months.
The last person to see her
was her neighbor,
and that was on September 13th.
She hasn't been seen since.
- Okay. What about the son?
- [Vicki] We're trying to locate him.
He doesn't have a number
where we can get in touch with him.
He was previously in the military,
and we do know
that he has a history of violence.
[Heidi] Did you get in touch
with the ex-daughter-in-law?
I called her.
I need to call her back again.
She had some information,
but she said
that she was gonna find out some more.
So strange that a daughter-in-law
who lives in another state
would be the one that's calling
to make this report, not her own son.
[grave music playing]
- [phone line ringing]
- [woman on phone] Hello?
This is Investigator Rains
with Richland County Sheriff's Department.
How are you?
[woman] I'm doing just fine,
how about yourself?
Um, I'm doing good.
I'm looking at the report
with Lorraine Garcia.
[woman] Yes.
When is the last time
that you talked to her?
[woman] I last spoke to her
on the phone sometime
in the beginning of September.
We used to talk all the time,
and then I didn't hear from her.
And the son, is that the one
that was living with her? Anthony?
- [woman] Anthony Garcia, yes.
- Okay.
- And that's your ex-husband?
- That's my ex-husband.
Okay.
Is Tony still around,
you know, out at the address?
[woman] He was living there.
That was the last address I had for him.
Okay.
When you talked to her then,
what was she saying?
[woman] She was saying
that she was scared of him.
Okay.
Do you think
he may have done something to her?
[woman] I'm afraid of that.
I can't say for sure
because he's really got a temper.
And he's unpredictable.
[menacing music playing]
[woman] The last time I talked to her
was on the phone.
She seemed very paranoid,
like she couldn't talk much on the phone.
Like, you know,
maybe people were listening to her.
And then it was like
she vanished without a trace.
I said, "I gotta call the police."
"I need to report her missing."
"I need to find out where she is."
Tony's scary, um, bottom line.
She was afraid of him.
And she let me know
that she was scared of him.
There's like a level of sociopathy.
When he does something
that he doesn't want people to know about,
his first gut reaction is to cover it up.
And that's the kind of person that he is.
[siren wailing faintly]
[Vicki] They signed the warrant
for the room in the house.
Okay. Good.
[Vicki] They were like,
"You think he's holding her hostage
or you think he did something worse?"
[officer] All right, I'm heading that way.
[tense music playing]
[dog barks in distance]
[tense music continues]
[officer] Hey, Vicki.
About halfway afraid to open that.
- [Vicki] All right, you ready?
- [officer] Yeah.
[Vicki] Wait a minute.
Gonna get my flashlight on.
- [officer sighs]
- [Vicki] All right, let's go.
[officer] Okay, thank God.
It's just a storage room.
Wonder what's in all these boxes and bags.
[Vicki] Wonder what that is.
[officer] Well, there's paperwork.
Maybe that's her bank account?
[Vicki] We can follow up on that.
See all these holes?
Maybe where a fist went.
The knuckle marks.
[ominous music playing]
[Vicki] Why does all the doors
have string on them?
How bizarre.
I think that this was her room.
It opens to the inside,
but look where it's screwed.
- Multiple times.
- Yeah. Definitely.
Maybe she was locked in here.
My God, it smells like bleach,
and it's [officer gags]
[Vicki] Why does the carpet
need to be out of her bedroom
and not any other bedrooms in the house?
[intriguing music playing]
[officer] Something electronic.
[Vicki] Could be her cell phone?
Oh, that bothers me, right there.
- [trash rustling]
- [Vicki] Well, that
You know, that is actually the cell phone.
[officer] Mm-hmm.
[Vicki] Why would you burn the cell phone?
[officer] Cell phones store content.
So what was on the content
that caused someone
to want to burn it and try to destroy it?
[radio host] This is 101.3 The Big DM.
There's the sunrise.
You know it's gonna be a great day
in the neighborhood.
Do something for somebody,
but make sure you do
something special for yourself too.
It's time to get busy. This is 101.3
[expectant music playing]
[Vicki] When I was young,
my mom wanted me to go into nursing.
But I wanted to be a police officer.
I still wanted to help people.
But I loved the idea of solving mysteries.
My mom didn't think it was safe.
She was like, "Girls can't do that."
My dad said,
"If that's what's in your heart,
then you should definitely go do it."
"Treat people fair,
treat people right, and be safe."
"But be very careful.
There are bad people out there."
[phone ringing]
[Vicki] This is Investigator Rains.
[man on phone] Somebody told me that
That you were looking for my mom.
Mr. Garcia?
[dramatic music playing]
[Anthony] Yes?
[Vicki] When is the last time
you saw your mom?
[Anthony] The hospital was
the last person to see my mom. Like
[Vicki] So you took her to the hospital?
[Anthony] Prisma Health.
[Vicki] What was the problem that
[Anthony] Oh, I just needed her
to take her medicine!
You took her to Prisma
to make them give her her medicine?
[Anthony] Then I tried
to find out where she was.
And nobody didn't know where she was.
Do you know if your mom has a cell phone?
[Anthony] Uh, yes.
[Vicki] Do you know
where her cell phone's at?
[phone beeps]
- Is it in a burn barrel in the backyard?
- Exactly.
[Anthony] Um I don't know.
But I could look.
You could look where?
[Anthony] In the array of stuff.
[Vicki] Mr. Garcia, your mom is missing.
Is there a reason
you didn't file a police report,
if you're worried
and you're trying to find her?
[Anthony] I feel like
like you're interrogating me.
Like I'm the number-one suspect.
These questions are
really important for us to find your mom.
Mr. Garcia, can you come in right now?
[dramatic music continues]
[Anthony] Um
Do I need to bring a lawyer?
I mean, you're not
under arrest or anything.
I'm just trying to find your mom. [laughs]
[Anthony] She's somewhere. I'm not saying
She's alive. I know she's alive. She's
She's alive. I know she is. Ain't no way.
[call dropping]
He hung up.
Ugh.
I'm gonna go ahead and head down there.
[Heidi] I've been
Captain of Missing Persons Unit
for the last five years.
The most unsettling thing
is when someone is missing
and I think they might be in danger.
I think about it non-stop.
I think about that person
when I'm driving home,
when I'm eating,
when I'm brushing my teeth at night,
when I'm laying down
trying to go to sleep.
Their life could be dependent
on you finding them.
Every hour could be critically important.
It's like an obsession.
[pensive music playing]
[phone line ringing]
- [Vicki on phone] Yes, ma'am.
- Vicki, he's out here.
- [Vicki] What?
- I think that's his truck back behind me.
Is it a red truck?
Yeah, he's out here.
[Vicki] His license is suspended,
so he shouldn't be driving his truck.
He's totally on the phone
looking at me now,
but he's behind the neighbor's house.
[Vicki] Oh my gosh. Okay.
There's a reason he didn't come here
'cause there's nothing inside that house.
Fuck.
- That Wait, the carpet, it's gone.
- [Vicki] I'll be right there.
The carpet's gone?
- [tense music playing]
- [camera clicks]
Oh, the carpet's gone.
Oh my God.
[Heidi on phone] Yeah, head this way
as quick as you can.
[Heidi] That's him.
He is freaking me out.
[unsettling music playing]
[Vicki] Can you walk over here with me?
- Just walk straight up to the driveway.
- [dog barking]
[Anthony] You got a whole squad with you?
Do you gotta stay on the phone?
This is kinda important.
[Anthony] Y'all think
I want to be a statistic on CNN?
- [Vicki] Do you have any weapons on you?
- No, ma'am.
[Vicki] I just wanna make sure.
[Anthony] Can I keep breathing?
- [Heidi] Can you what?
- Can I live to see another day?
[Heidi] Yeah. Yeah.
[Anthony] Officers come here
with their hands on their pistol.
[Heidi] This is about your mom's missing.
[Vicki] Mr. Garcia, look at me, please.
Why did you come out here
and start moving trash
instead of coming and talking to me?
[Anthony] No, no, no. I did not even
know you was looking for me.
[phone beeps]
[Vicki] Can you show me
where your mom stayed at in the house?
- [Anthony] Her bedroom?
- [Vicki] Yeah, wherever she stayed.
- [Anthony] In the living room.
- [Vicki] Okay.
Did she sleep in the living room?
[Anthony] Yes, ma'am.
[Heidi] What did she sleep on
when she was in here?
[Anthony] The air mattress.
[Vicki] Why does all the doors
have string on them?
[Anthony] That would definitely not hold
my mama back. She's strong.
[Vicki] Where do you think your mom is?
[Anthony] Probably with some guy.
[Vicki] Can I get the name
of the guys that she's been dating?
[Anthony] The last person she dated was
Albert.
No, hold on, hold on, hold on. Uh-uh.
Theodore Roosevelt.
Listen. You don't want us
to help you find your mom?
[Anthony] To
Um, she ran away from the house.
[grave music playing]
[Vicki] Who is this?
[Anthony] That's my mama.
[Vicki] So why would a picture
of your mom be out here in the trash?
Would that not be a picture
you'd want to keep?
This looks like
a lot of pictures, actually.
Are these things not important?
Why did you not report your mom missing?
[Anthony] My ex-wife did.
No, I'm asking you why you didn't.
[Anthony] 'Cause I didn't.
[Vicki] You're not under arrest,
but we do need
to speak with you at headquarters.
And we're taking your truck.
[officer] Watch your knee, okay?
I don't want to get your knee.
[pensive music playing]
[Heidi] I hate mysteries.
I don't like board games
that are mysteries.
I don't like movies that are mysteries,
books that are mysteries.
I hate 'em all.
We do this in real life every day,
and it's not a game.
These are not just cases. They're people.
Maybe they just want to disappear.
Then again, it could be
somebody did something to them.
Over the years, I've learned
that you never know
what direction things are gonna go.
It's normal for your mind
to go one particular place to start with,
but you can't allow your mind
to stay there.
Because that's when you're gonna go wrong.
That's when you're gonna miss
something that's really important,
and possibly fail
at either finding someone
or not finding them fast enough
that you could have saved them.
[tense music playing]
[Vicki] I need you to give a statement
about the last time you saw your mother.
[officer] So what happened that night?
[Anthony] She was off her meds.
She has to be on her meds.
[officer] For what?
[Anthony] She gets paranoid
and then she, like
starts talking
about people out to get her,
and she wants to give up on everything.
[sighs] I said, "Mom, if you don't
get on your medication,
I'm gonna take you somewhere
where they're gonna make you."
But she's thinking like I'm
"What you mean, make me?"
Oh God, here we go.
[officer] So she had a bunch of issues.
[Anthony] A bunch of issues.
Sometimes she seemed sane,
and then other times it's like,
"Oh, what's going on, Mama?"
[menacing music playing]
[Nina] Right, so I got the medical records
from the hospital. He did drop her off.
[Heidi] Was there a medical reason
for her to be there?
No. His reason was,
"She needs to be back on her meds."
She was on Prozac a while back,
but she didn't like what it was doing,
and so she stopped taking that.
The doctor said
that she seemed very lucid.
"She's pleasant to talk to."
"Doesn't have any hallucinations
or delusions."
And it says, this is interesting,
"When I ask the patient if she feels
safe in her home with her son,
she replied, 'I'll take the Fifth.'"
[dark music playing]
"Patient does not have a cell phone
and states she went
to her neighbor's house
to ask them to call the bank
to restrict any access."
[Heidi] Oh, look at that.
She's worried he's trying
to make her out to be crazy.
- [Nina] Mm-hmm. Yup.
- And get some money.
"I informed her that she
would have to make a police report,
and she cannot stay in the hospital."
[Heidi] Somebody who
is really a victim of crime
is gonna stand there and say, you know,
"They locked me in my room."
"They won't give me food and water."
"They're trying to sell my house."
"They're taking my cell phone."
- They're Yeah. All of that sounds
- [Nina] All of it. Yes.
Stuff would sound the same
as somebody who was paranoid.
Tells everyone, to all the doctors,
saying she doesn't want to go home,
she doesn't want to go home.
So they placed her in the lobby.
[Heidi] But did she go back to the house?
I mean, I don't know.
[Anthony] Went into the hospital,
Prisma Health. I went in there.
Tried to specify, "I just want
y'all to get her on her medication."
"That's all I want y'all to do.
I'm not trying to put her in here."
They put her in inpatient anyway.
By the time I get back to Prisma Health
and I try to find my mom,
it's like, "Oh, she signed out
on her own recognizance."
I'm like, "What in the world?
So where's she at?"
"She signed out and left."
It's like they erased her off the books
and let her go free.
[officer] A couple days
go by when she's in the hospital?
[Anthony] Four, five, six days?
[officer] So since
she went to the hospital,
you've never seen her again?
[Anthony] No.
[Lamanda] I met Tony back in 2004.
He was getting ready
to go into the military.
He was happy-go-lucky.
He never met a stranger.
Everyone immediately became his friend.
He was in Iraq for two and a half,
three years.
They used him to kick in the doors,
when they'd go in and clear buildings.
While stationed over there, they were
Their Stryker was hit with an IED.
When Tony came back from Iraq,
it was just a wild look in his eyes.
He had seen a lot of things,
and he couldn't go a day without drinking.
Paranoia set in. You know,
he wasn't sure of everybody's motives.
The first time I realized he had PTSD,
it was New Year's Eve,
and he was we were in the house.
And of course,
people were outside popping off fireworks.
And he got up, and he turned off
every light in the house.
And he made me sit down,
and he told me to "Shh."
And then he grabbed
a knife out of the kitchen,
and then he just stood by the door.
We sat there quiet like that
for at least ten minutes,
before I was like, "You know
nobody's coming in here, right?"
[Lamanda] I know firsthand
[sighs] how scary it can get.
The violence that can go too far.
So do I think
he could have done something to his mom?
Yes. I do.
[dramatic music playing]
[Vicki] The burn barrel
that's in the backyard,
did you ever burn anything in there?
[Anthony] Not that I can recall.
All this stuff out there in the back?
There was so much more
stuff in that house.
It's been, like, in storage facilities.
[Vicki] When did you start taking stuff
out of the house to put in storage?
[Anthony] This past week.
[Vicki] This past week? Okay.
[car horn honking]
[Heidi] Are we in your way or anything?
Where are you trying to go?
- [man] Right there.
- [Heidi] What are you supposed to do?
[man] Put carpet in one room.
You're gonna go to the house
to put carpet in?
[man] Yes, ma'am.
Yeah. Who hired you guys?
[man] Well, the guy,
I think he's buying the house.
Okay.
Did he already buy the house?
[man] Well,
he gave a deposit for it, $2,500.
What did he do?
Oh, he paid for the carpet?
No, for the deposit on the house.
[Heidi] Oh, he paid $2,500
for the deposit on the house. Gotcha.
How did he advertise the house?
[man] Facebook market?
Facebook Marketplace?
[Heidi] Oh, okay.
Do you have that ad, by chance?
Can you pull that up?
[officer] Can I see it?
Wait, hold on. I'll take a picture of it.
[camera clicking]
[Heidi] Who signed the paperwork?
Oh, Anthony signed the paperwork? Okay.
[man] Anthony. Mm-hmm.
As of right now,
this house is not for sale.
So, I mean, as far as you doing any
kind of work in there, not gonna happen.
I'll drive my car around and come back.
Yeah. All right.
[phone line ringing]
[Vicki] Hey, I just got your message.
So, somebody showed up
and already owns the house or something?
It's a direct sale from Anthony
to someone else for
He already put down the $2,500 deposit.
Wow. Okay.
It's not a legal contract,
but yeah, he already sold it by owner.
I sent you a picture
of the Marketplace ad.
This guy's paid $2,500 cash,
and was gonna pay $300 a month
until it was paid off.
- [Vicki] Wow. Okay.
- Yeah.
And he was sending
someone over to go ahead
and put the carpet in one room,
so the guy has carpet in his van too.
That's crazy. All right. I'm gonna
go in there and question him about that.
Can you help me
get in touch with this guy?
They're talking back and forth on Facebook
because he bought the house
on Facebook Marketplace.
But when Heidi was taking the pictures,
it cut off the top of the conversation.
I imagine he said,
"Why are you selling your house?"
- But can you ask him that?
- Yeah, let me call him now.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Vicki] I've worked a lot of major crimes,
including homicides, for over 20 years.
You learn to expect to be lied to,
but you develop an instinct
to know when it's happening.
Things just don't feel right.
That's when you need
to start asking direct questions.
Because liars haven't worked out
all the answers.
Their stories begin to fall apart.
And you know they're hiding something big.
I just got a couple questions for you.
Are you comfortable like that?
[Anthony] It's my back.
[Vicki] Okay. Some guy just showed up
out there saying that he
that he bought the house,
and that he's paid you money for a bit.
[Anthony] Rent to own.
[Vicki] The problem with selling the house
is it's in your mom's name.
And are you listening to me?
[Anthony] Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.
[Vicki] Okay. And you don't
have power of attorney, right?
[chair rattles]
Right?
- Mr. Garcia?
- [Anthony] I'm listening.
[Vicki] I know,
but I asked you a question.
All right, I need you to look at me.
You're not even looking at me.
[Anthony] Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.
I told him it's in my mama's name.
When I get power of attorney
power of attorney to
She's not in her right mind.
[Vicki] Right, but how can you file
when your mom is not here to sign?
- She wanted to sell it.
- [Vicki] Who's she?
Lorraine M. Garcia.
[Vicki] Right, but she didn't sell it,
'cause she went missing, right?
- Okay.
- [Vicki] Is that correct?
She didn't sell it,
'cause she went missing?
- [Anthony] Yes.
- [Vicki] Okay.
So why are you not looking
for your mother?
Why are you selling her house
instead of looking for her?
I'll be back.
[in Spanish] Okay,
and do you still have that message?
[man on phone] Yes, I saved it.
[in English] He said the person
that translated everything to him
He said that it sounded like
they said somebody died there.
[Vicki] Oh my.
[in Spanish] Is there any way
you can send it to me as a message
to the number I gave you yesterday?
[man] Yes, I can send it to you right now.
[Deena in English] Okay. Gracias.
[phone chimes]
[phone chimes]
[Vicki] Wow. "Just recently passed."
"When would you like
to come see the house?"
So, who is he saying just passed?
[mysterious music playing]
[woman] The day she disappeared
was the last day I saw her.
In the past, Lorraine told me
that Tony had never
threatened her directly,
and it was worse this time
than it had been before.
The day she disappeared,
she was telling me
that he had taken her
to a lawyer's office.
He told her
that she was going to sell the house.
And she told him
she didn't want to sell the house.
And she said
Tony grabbed her arm and told her,
"Mama, do you realize how easy it'd be
to push you
down these steps and kill you?"
"You will do what I tell you to do."
[Vicki] Do you and your mom ever argue?
[Anthony] All the time.
Like we're married.
[Vicki] Does it ever turn physical?
[Anthony] I don't know what to do.
[Vicki] I don't know.
People do crazy things.
Sometimes they do things,
and then they regret what they did.
Or say you're arguing with somebody,
and you push them,
and they fall,
and hit their head, and die.
And you hide the body because you don't
want to go to prison for an accident.
You think I had
somethin' to do with my mama.
[Vicki] No. I'm hoping your mom
is fine and we find her.
What I'm trying to ask you are just facts.
Why are
[Anthony] You're trying to
insinuate I did something with my mother
[Vicki] No, I'm not trying to insinuate.
[Anthony] to sell the house.
That's ludicrous.
Y'all know I don't have to talk to y'all.
I know my amendment rights, right?
It's my legal right
not to say a motherfuckin' word.
[dramatic music playing]
[Vicki] If you can think of anything that
would help us find your mom, let us know.
[dark music playing]
[Anthony] Vicki Rains,
Richland County cop.
She was so slick with it.
I did not see this woman coming at all.
She's like a shark born swimming.
She acted like it was all cool.
It was like,
"No one's accusing you."
No, you guys
accused me.
Even though I know you ain't say that,
"Did you kill your mom?"
You ain't say that,
but that don't mean you didn't
insinuate.
When soldiers go to war,
they go to war heroes,
but come back monsters.
I went to Iraq.
My innocence is gone because
I was a part of that shit.
But what really pisses me off?
All my motherfucking respect.
All that motherfucking blood,
sweat, and tears?
All that shit's over there.
I come here? It don't mean shit.
The police, the military, God, the devil.
I don't give a fuck.
We will all pay for our sins.
[chuckles] Just like I'll pay for mine.
So let's just gun it out
or y'all just shoot me in the head.
Let's just get this shit over with.
I refuse to go quietly
into that good night, man.
I refuse.
[preacher] Abraham did not get caught up
in all of the turmoil around him.
He said, "I will follow the one
who is in front of me
who has given me his word."
If you're gonna run the race of life
for God, it will cost you.
[Vicki] I believe there's
good and evil in the world.
But when it comes to crimes,
I think it's way more complicated.
[preacher] I know so many people
that are so gifted.
They have so much potential,
but they allow bad habits
and sinful desires to overtake them.
[Vicki] I've worked Sex Crimes
and Major Crimes for many years.
Some people thrive on doing bad things.
It's just who they are.
When we mess and play with the things
that are outside of God's word,
there is always a price to pay.
[Vicki] But I've learned a lot of times
good people make bad decisions.
A lot of it is environment,
support they did or didn't have.
They're a victim of circumstances.
I think you need to have a certain level
of understanding and empathy
towards another human being.
But the sad truth is often the people
who have been the most badly damaged
end up being the most dangerous.
[Heidi] So, we've got a missing person,
and it's starting to look like a homicide.
Vicki, do you want to
go ahead and brief everyone?
[Vicki] On the 18th of this month,
Lamanda Garcia
filed a missing person report
on her ex-mother-in-law Lorraine Garcia.
Usually they stay in close contact,
but she hadn't heard from her at all.
When she asked her ex Tony about her,
he would never give her
a straight answer of where his mom was.
She didn't really
want to get involved in it
because she was afraid of him herself.
She's like, "Sometimes he just sees red."
He loses his temper,
he punches holes in the wall,
which we saw out at the house.
So, she filed a missing person report.
Is there any documented history of abuse
with the ex-wife or
- Like, I'm talking police reports.
- [Vicki] Right.
A lot of times she didn't report it
because she was very scared of him.
Damn.
Finally, she left, got the kids,
and went back to North Carolina.
But she said when she was with the son,
he was very abusive to his mom physically,
mentally, every which way.
I asked him why
he moved everything out of the house,
because if his mom's gonna come back,
that's where she's gonna live.
Um, he said,
"No, no, no, I took everything important."
"Put all of that stuff in storage."
[Heidi] They locked
the storage unit down last night,
figured out where the units were,
and called the manager.
So they're locked down.
Were you able to do any kind of research
as far as financials or anything yet?
[Vicki] We found several
All South bank statements
in the locked room
we did a search warrant on,
but we haven't had a chance
to call the bank yet.
[Kevin] We need to do that.
That'll give us at least
roads to go down if it's been used.
[Vicki] If anything is getting taken out
or anything like that.
- Or she's renting a room somewhere.
- Right.
Well, get started on that stuff.
See what we get. [sighs]
[phone line ringing]
[woman on phone] All South
Federal Credit Union, how can I help?
Hi, this is Investigator Rains
with Richland County Sheriff's Department.
I have a missing person case.
And she has an All South bank account.
She's been missing for a couple months.
I'm just wondering
if there's any activity on that account.
[woman] What's that person's name?
Her first name is Lorraine.
L-o-r-r-a-i-n-e. Her last name is Garcia.
[woman] She's been missing how long?
[Vicki] Since the middle of September.
[woman] Let me see
if I can pull something.
I have video of some activity.
[Vicki] Was it activity
after the middle of September?
[woman] The 13th.
Wow, the same day
he said he took her to the hospital.
[woman] I'm gonna send this to you quick.
The video is of course still coming.
[Vicki] So she took out $500?
[woman] Yeah.
- Did it come through?
- [Vicki] Let's see.
[suspenseful music playing]
[officer] That's definitely Lorraine.
That looks exactly like her.
[Vicki] Okay. Here's the video.
That's him.
[officer] Did he say
he took her to the bank?
[Vicki] Nope, he said he took her
straight to the hospital.
At no point did he ever, ever say anything
about going to the bank.
He's never even mentioned that money.
[officer] So that's the only money
that was pulled?
[Vicki] This is the only time that it
was used, right? On September 13th?
[woman on phone] For the time frame
you were asking, yes.
- There's been nothing since then.
- Yeah. Okay, yeah. Thank you so much.
So, this is the very last
sighting of Lorraine.
After this, she disappears
and never accesses her bank account again.
[officer] It doesn't look good.
So, this is a search warrant,
and it'll say in there
we can get any and all video
related to these storage units,
any access, stuff like that.
Can I see the video?
Let's see
[suspenseful music playing]
[man] There he is, right there.
See that thing he's pulling?
How heavy that is?
[Vicki] What's so important
that he has to get it out?
[Heidi] Hey, Vicki.
[Vicki on phone] Hey,
I just wanted to update you.
I'm out here at the storage unit
that Tony has.
Okay.
He's been moving stuff in and out of here
the past few days.
- Oh.
- If your mom is just missing,
why do you want that stuff
out of your storage unit?
We've got a search warrant,
so we're about to go check out the inside.
Well, I'm on the way to Tony's now.
[dark music playing]
[phone line ringing]
[Vicki] Yes, ma'am?
[Heidi] There is a car
parked in the backyard.
Oh, really?
Oh, someone's definitely here. Red shirt.
[radio tuning]
[automated voice] Region Three.
Region Two.
2106 to any Region Two unit.
[officer on radio] 2106.
[Heidi] This is that home
where the lady's missing from,
and we suspect foul play.
And there's a car parked
in their backyard.
Just didn't want to approach
without someone else here
because of the potential
for something to go wrong.
[officer] 10-4.
[Heidi] She's coming out.
Who are you?
- Ma'am?
- [Heidi] What's your name?
Shakayla Moran.
- [Heidi] Shakayla? Okay.
- Yes, ma'am.
[Heidi] You guys stay together?
You and Tony together?
- Mm-hmm. Yeah.
- Okay.
How long have you known Tony?
[Shakayla] Um, since 2017.
- [Heidi] Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
[Heidi] I was comin' by
to see if you guys saw Lorraine yet?
No, ma'am.
- [Heidi] You haven't seen her at all?
- We seen the poster on the news.
- But that was it.
- [Heidi] Okay.
[Shakayla] Yes, ma'am.
You haven't heard any news or
[Heidi] Oh, you know, we're learning
a little bit as we go every day.
Okay, good, but she's
lookin' like she's alive, right?
[Heidi] Why would you say that?
- Because he's worried.
- [Heidi] Mm-hmm.
He's like, "If they can't find her now
with her picture all over the news"
- Something is, he's
- Do you have anything in your pocket?
- No, just my phone charger.
- [Heidi] Okay.
- [Heidi] I got my hands in my pockets too.
- I'm sorry.
- [Heidi] Just 'cause I'm a police officer
- Yeah, that's why I said
- [Heidi] I always have to ask that, right?
- I apologize.
[Heidi] Where are all her things now?
She had, like, a couple clothes and stuff,
like some bags of clothes.
[Heidi] And where are those?
Um, I think we actually threw them out.
Yes, ma'am.
[Heidi] How come?
She wasn't here. Like, we
We took it as, "Okay, she left."
Because we weren't thinking
that she was just gonna
All this was gonna happen.
Would anyone have any reason to think
Tony was abusive to her?
No, ma'am.
Is there any reason
that she would tell anyone that?
[Shakayla] I mean, I've heard her
say some crazy things.
She was saying people
were walking in and out the house,
people were breaking in.
She asleep at night,
people were coming in the front door
and going out the back door.
We were like,
"Miss Lorraine, no one's doing it."
She would just be like,
"People are trying to kill me."
The neighbors were talkin' about
tying her up to the back of their truck,
and drag her down the road.
He hates it all. He says it's embarrassing
to have to be running after his mom,
looking after her, and, like
It bothers him.
To look after his mom?
[Shakayla] He's tired of it, like.
He's like, "I want to live my life."
Hey, this is Heidi.
I just wanted to let you know,
I just talked to Shakayla.
I guess she's Tony's girlfriend.
And she told me
some really interesting things
about the relationship between Tony
and his mom Lorraine.
She mentioned that
Tony was getting really frustrated.
So, now I'm wondering
if he might have snapped.
[Vicki on phone] Holy cow.
[Vicki] We're gonna see
if there's anything
anything out of place, anything just odd.
Um
Blue carpet right there,
that came out of the house.
[officer] Oh. Oh.
[Vicki] And why put that piece
of carpet out, and put it in storage?
[Nina] An axe.
A shovel.
Smell of bleach.
- [officer] Yeah.
- [Nina] Bleach.
[officer on phone] We're at the storage.
Inside are pieces of carpet.
And then there is also
this cooler that has
liquid residue in the bottom
that smells like bleach.
There's an axe, a sledgehammer.
- And a shovel and the carpet.
- Shovels? You didn't say shovels.
- That does not sound good.
- [officer] Right. No, it doesn't.
I think all of those items together
could paint a picture
of something very bad.
- [dramatic music playing]
- [phone ringing]
[Vicki] This is Tony's ex-wife.
Investigator Rains.
[Lamanda] He's calling me.
And, um, like, from different numbers,
ranting and raving.
He's acting very suspicious.
He thinks that y'all are coming
to pick him up.
[Vicki] Pick him up like
- [Lamanda] Like arrest him for something.
- Okay.
Does he say what?
- No, he doesn't say what for.
- Okay.
He's like, "I don't know
what they're gonna get me for."
I was like, "Did you do anything
that would make them arrest you?"
"No, I didn't do anything!
I didn't do anything!"
"Why do you think they're coming for you?"
"I don't know!"
I don't know if it's psychosis,
or if he's worried
about something he's done,
that y'all are gonna make
some kind of connection with.
[Vicki] Wow.
[dark music playing]
[Vicki] What surprised me most
when I first became a police officer
was the level of violence
that can take place inside of a family.
I've seen family do
the worst things to each other.
Cases where people have shot, stabbed,
or brutally injured
their own family members.
Back then,
even though it bothered me, it was, um
maybe easier to let go.
But you don't realize that it's eventually
gonna take a toll on you.
Everyone has their own limitations
of what they can handle,
and what they can't.
As the years passed,
working in the Major Crimes unit, I
I found it harder to let it go.
[reporter 1] Richland County deputies are
looking for 61-year-old Lorraine Garcia,
last seen leaving Prisma Health Hospital.
Originally, location
[Vicki] That's why I came
to the Missing Person unit.
I realize that now
I just need it to be a happy ending.
[reporter 2] Tonight, deputies
need your help to find Lorraine Garcia.
Investigators say she was last spotted
leaving Prisma Health Hospital
in Richland County.
Police believe she may be in danger.
[man on recording] I was over there
and I remember
I was getting an air mattress.
And I was bringing supplies for the house
because he had her
he had her sleeping on the floor.
[Vicki] We got a tip
I thought was really interesting.
[man] This was a good friend of mine,
you know what I mean?
[Vicki] Yeah.
[man] And I got pretty close with
the mother, you know what I'm saying?
I'd look at her as a mother figure
towards me, you know what I'm saying?
[Vicki] The friend.
[man] That's why I felt
like I needed to say something
If something can be done,
I could never forgive myself
if I didn't say anything.
[Vicki on recording] Right. So, he had her
sleeping on just the floor,
so you got her an air mattress?
[man] I got her an air mattress.
I got her new blankets. I got, um
He was leaving her at the house all day,
always asking for money.
- It was bad. Yeah.
- [Vicki] Wow. That's so sad.
[Vicki] He continually
talks throughout that whole thing.
- Every time I listen to it, I catch more.
- [officer] Yeah.
[Vicki] There is the issue of him
selling his mother's home.
[Heidi] We need to hold him accountable
for selling that house.
It's not his to sell.
[Vicki] So, this guy,
his mother's missing.
And she has been for a couple of months.
The house is empty,
there's a strong smell of bleach,
and there's shovels
and things in the storage unit.
We're getting DNA,
but he went on the internet,
on Facebook Marketplace,
and listed her house for sale.
I know there's a fraud charge
because it's not his house.
Are there any other charges
that you know of?
Did he sign anything,
or was it just done online?
[Vicki] He signed it.
- So he signed paperwork as well?
- [Vicki] With his name.
Okay, um
So you can charge him
with forgery for the signature
if he's signing some sort of document
that's untrue.
Even though he signed his name, it's
Since the document is fraud?
Yes. And you can also charge him as well,
if it was done online.
You can charge him with
We have a Computer Crimes Act.
[Vicki] So we have concrete evidence
to charge him for selling her house.
Tony wants to come and pick up his truck,
but we're going to arrest him.
[dramatic music playing]
[Vicki] Charging him with using a computer
to commit a crime, forgery,
and false pretenses above $2,500.
So it's a felony.
[dramatic music continues]
[Vicki] So, he should be here any second.
Gonna go grab my phone
in case he texts me.
[line ringing]
[automated voice] Please leave
your message.
[tense music playing]
[Vicki] Okay, this is him.
Who are all those people?
I was not expecting that.
Another day in paradise.
[man] I heard that.
There is some stuff
I need to talk to you about.
About her bank accounts
and stuff like that.
Oh, like that. Okay, wow.
Well, I mean, she was always
kind of secretive anyway.
Scorpio by nature.
[laughs]
[man] I didn't know
your mom was a Scorpio.
I'm a Scorpio too, yo.
So that means you're secretive.
[tense music continues]
[officer] Put your hands behind your back.
[Anthony] No, no, no.
[Vicki] Anthony, you're under arrest
for selling your mom's house.
We're gonna take you to headquarters
and go over the charges there.
[pensive music playing]
- I'm glad that worked like it did.
- [officer] Yup.
[Vicki] We've got a warrant
to search his truck.
He was using it
to get rid of a lot of her belongings
after she went missing.
[officer] I'll take pictures.
[Vicki] Mm-hmm.
Phew. All right, we'll see what we got.
All right.
The guy who called in with the tip
said he bought her an air mattress.
Oh, what's That looks like blood.
I would bet money that's blood.
I just don't know whose blood.
Should we call the lab out?
We can collect it
and request they do tests on it.
[officer] Okay.
[man] It is believed that
the defendant did willfully and unlawfully
sign a contract for the sale rent-to-own
of his mother's house,
and accept $2,500 from the victim.
Under false pretenses,
the defendant listed the home for sale
on Facebook Marketplace.
It is believed the defendant
did commit the crime of forgery.
Conversations took place
over an electronic device.
They'll call it wire fraud.
[Vicki] I want you to know,
we have done a lot of work.
If we did not have all this evidence,
we would not be doing this right now.
I didn't do nothing wrong.
That's why we brought you in here
to give you a chance to say,
"You know what,
scratch everything I said."
"I'm gonna come clean and tell
y'all the truth 'cause it is my mama."
- I don't
- [Vicki] Listen to this. But listen.
This is your one free chance
to tell the truth.
After right now,
every deal's off the table.
When all the DNA evidence comes back
that we have, there's no deals.
I just want you to know that.
- I didn't do anything.
- Right. Just want to know you're good.
What do you think happened to your mom?
I would like to think
that she left somewhere.
- And is safe.
- [Vicki] Is that what
I know that's what
you want to think, mentally.
But is that what your gut tells you?
My gut is saying that
What if somebody did something to her?
And it was right under my nose,
and now I'm getting pinned for it?
And my dumb ass
just let the whole shit happen.
'Cause I was just so oblivious.
[officer] If you have information
of where your mother is or what happened,
whether that involves you or anybody else
- Get me a lawyer.
- now is the time to talk about it.
Did you harm your mother in any way?
No.
[officer] Were y'all involved
in any kind of physical altercation?
Would I find any evidence of her blood,
your blood, the two mixed together?
- No. No, I would never hurt my mama.
- [officer] Mm-hmm.
Anything in your car, in your truck?
- Not that I know of.
- In storage units you know we searched?
Not that I know of, sir.
You have to admit
this stuff doesn't look good for you.
- I got no reason to lie about that.
- No.
I have no And I understand all this,
and that, and everything,
but I did not do nothing to my mama.
And I believe my mama's fine.
[suspenseful music playing]
All right, boy, step out. You go ahead,
grab a jacket, and put it on.
[Anthony] I don't want
to talk to her no more.
[Vicki] You're going to jail.
Once you make bond,
you'll need to stay in the area.
Okay, that's all good.
[officer] All right,
relax your arms for me.
Just turn 'em like this. There you go.
[pensive music playing]
- [officer] This car with the blue lights?
- Yes, sir.
[officer] All right.
You go on the passenger side.
Separate your legs for me.
[Anthony] Probably, but hell, I don't
know what to believe at this point. Shit.
All right, sir, go ahead and have a seat.
And watch your head getting in.
[Anthony] All right.
[officer] Watch your foot.
[Anthony] Thank you.
[somber music playing]
[Vicki] I've spent enough of my career
finding bodies,
feeling that dread you get
when you realize someone
has done something really bad.
I came to this unit
to feel something different.
I came here to save people,
but maybe I have to accept
Missing Persons
isn't really that different.
[Heidi] It's easy to feel down about it.
But you know what?
The case is never really over
until you find the person.
That's what keeps me up at night.
The need to find the missing person.
Even when I think things look bad,
I know I need to keep an open mind.
We don't know everything.
We should never be that confident.
We should always keep hope.
And until we find the person,
let's believe that they're alive,
until we know that they're not.
You need to keep going.
You never know where it might lead.
[radio host] Today's jams
and the best old school.
This is 101.3 The Big DM.
It's time to get busy.
This is 101.3 The Big DM.
[somber music playing]
[Heidi] I've got something
that could change everything.
I've been going through the bank files
and discovered this recording
that was made a couple of weeks
after she disappeared.
It gives me hope
that she could still be alive.
[woman 1 on recording] Thank you
for calling All South. How can I help?
[teller] Hi. I'm with a client,
and she cannot locate her account number,
so we were trying to do that for her.
[woman 1] So, where she would be able to
locate it is online or mobile banking.
[teller] Okay, well, she doesn't
have an online account,
and you need the account number
to create an online account.
[woman 1] The option is actually visiting
the branch location.
[teller] Okay. That's the only option?
[woman 1] We'd have to speak
directly to her.
[teller] She's here with me right now.
[woman 2] Hello?
[woman 1] Yes, hi, good afternoon.
How are you?
- [woman 2] I'm fine. How are you?
- [woman 1] I'm doing well, thank you.
It's my understanding that you're trying
to retrieve your account number?
Unfortunately, we're not able to
provide that by phone,
but I can get you pulled up and verified,
and then mail that information to you.
So you Let's see
[woman 2] I have a different address now.
[woman 1] Gotcha.
What's your first and last name?
[Vicki] Did she give her address?
[woman 2] Lorraine Garcia.
[dramatic music playing]
- [radio beeps]
- [dispatch] Hey, Vicki.
Hey, I've got a new case.
It's a missing person report
with a 61-year-old lady.
She lives with her son, but I've been told
he has a history of violence.
[dispatch] Okay.
[Vicki] Can you send some backup?
[pensive music playing]
[siren whoops]
[ominous music playing]
[banging on door]
[Vicki] There's a light on inside.
The house is empty,
like there's nothing in it.
I wonder what these things are?
[woman] It's weird. It's like
There's a toilet seat. There's a mattress.
[Vicki] Look, the carpet's pulled up.
[doorbell ringing]
[woman 2 on intercom] Hello?
I'm Investigator Rains
with Richland County Sheriff's Department.
Do you know a neighbor Lorraine Garcia?
We're out here trying to find her.
[woman 2] All I know is she told me
her son Tony was mistreating her.
At times,
she was being locked in a bedroom.
Things were being taken away.
Her bank card, her phone.
Okay.
[woman 2] The next time I saw her,
she needed help
because her son was calling
for her to come.
And she says, "I don't wanna go with him."
"I'm scared."
"I don't know
what he's going to make me do."
And I have not seen her since that day,
and I'm very concerned about her.
[Vicki] That's her.
[man] Hey, guys, that back door is open.
Sheriff's Department.
If you're in here, let yourself be known.
[menacing music playing]
[man] Sheriff's Department.
If you're in here,
let yourself be known.
[Vicki] My God, it smells like bleach.
You know, like if you poured bleach on
something, it would turn white like that.
And why would you do that?
[menacing music continues]
[woman] The light's on upstairs.
[man] I hate this shit.
[Vicki] Sheriff's Department!
Fuck me.
It's clear.
[Vicki] You know, that's weird.
What is that?
This new board.
[menacing music building]
[kicks door]
Yeah, this is really weird.
'Cause it's screwed in.
- [keypad clicking]
- [phone dialing]
[woman] Hey, we got out here.
The house is empty,
but there's a room in the garage
that's bolted shut.
And there's a strong smell of bleach.
We'll need a search warrant
to get in there.
Okay.
[man] What in the world
is behind that door?
- [dark music playing]
- [indistinct police radio chatter]
[contemplative music playing]
[Vicki] I've been a cop for 22 years.
I started in Kansas.
Then I moved to South Carolina.
I used to work in Major Crimes.
But I just transferred to Missing Persons.
I'm used to working cases
where there's a body.
I've worked murders, kidnappings.
Nothing really surprises me.
But the idea that you can save someone
before they come to harm?
That's why I want to work Missing Persons.
It's a busy unit. I work adults.
Do you remember
what your daughter was wearing that day?
[indistinct chatter]
[Vicki] We have J.P.
who works missing juveniles.
[J.P.] 'Cause it would be helpful if you
[Vicki] There are other investigators
and victims' advocates who help us out.
Our sergeant is Nina,
and our unit is headed up
by our captain Heidi.
She pours her heart into these cases.
In this unit,
there's a chance you can save a life.
And there's nothing more rewarding
than saving a life.
[Heidi] All right,
we got a few important cases
that are concerning right now.
So thank you all
for being willing to help.
The one that I'm really concerned about
is the Lorraine Garcia case,
the 61-year-old woman.
We were at the house last night
and there were some things
that were concerning.
Vicki?
[Vicki] She's actually
been missing for two months.
The last person to see her
was her neighbor,
and that was on September 13th.
She hasn't been seen since.
- Okay. What about the son?
- [Vicki] We're trying to locate him.
He doesn't have a number
where we can get in touch with him.
He was previously in the military,
and we do know
that he has a history of violence.
[Heidi] Did you get in touch
with the ex-daughter-in-law?
I called her.
I need to call her back again.
She had some information,
but she said
that she was gonna find out some more.
So strange that a daughter-in-law
who lives in another state
would be the one that's calling
to make this report, not her own son.
[grave music playing]
- [phone line ringing]
- [woman on phone] Hello?
This is Investigator Rains
with Richland County Sheriff's Department.
How are you?
[woman] I'm doing just fine,
how about yourself?
Um, I'm doing good.
I'm looking at the report
with Lorraine Garcia.
[woman] Yes.
When is the last time
that you talked to her?
[woman] I last spoke to her
on the phone sometime
in the beginning of September.
We used to talk all the time,
and then I didn't hear from her.
And the son, is that the one
that was living with her? Anthony?
- [woman] Anthony Garcia, yes.
- Okay.
- And that's your ex-husband?
- That's my ex-husband.
Okay.
Is Tony still around,
you know, out at the address?
[woman] He was living there.
That was the last address I had for him.
Okay.
When you talked to her then,
what was she saying?
[woman] She was saying
that she was scared of him.
Okay.
Do you think
he may have done something to her?
[woman] I'm afraid of that.
I can't say for sure
because he's really got a temper.
And he's unpredictable.
[menacing music playing]
[woman] The last time I talked to her
was on the phone.
She seemed very paranoid,
like she couldn't talk much on the phone.
Like, you know,
maybe people were listening to her.
And then it was like
she vanished without a trace.
I said, "I gotta call the police."
"I need to report her missing."
"I need to find out where she is."
Tony's scary, um, bottom line.
She was afraid of him.
And she let me know
that she was scared of him.
There's like a level of sociopathy.
When he does something
that he doesn't want people to know about,
his first gut reaction is to cover it up.
And that's the kind of person that he is.
[siren wailing faintly]
[Vicki] They signed the warrant
for the room in the house.
Okay. Good.
[Vicki] They were like,
"You think he's holding her hostage
or you think he did something worse?"
[officer] All right, I'm heading that way.
[tense music playing]
[dog barks in distance]
[tense music continues]
[officer] Hey, Vicki.
About halfway afraid to open that.
- [Vicki] All right, you ready?
- [officer] Yeah.
[Vicki] Wait a minute.
Gonna get my flashlight on.
- [officer sighs]
- [Vicki] All right, let's go.
[officer] Okay, thank God.
It's just a storage room.
Wonder what's in all these boxes and bags.
[Vicki] Wonder what that is.
[officer] Well, there's paperwork.
Maybe that's her bank account?
[Vicki] We can follow up on that.
See all these holes?
Maybe where a fist went.
The knuckle marks.
[ominous music playing]
[Vicki] Why does all the doors
have string on them?
How bizarre.
I think that this was her room.
It opens to the inside,
but look where it's screwed.
- Multiple times.
- Yeah. Definitely.
Maybe she was locked in here.
My God, it smells like bleach,
and it's [officer gags]
[Vicki] Why does the carpet
need to be out of her bedroom
and not any other bedrooms in the house?
[intriguing music playing]
[officer] Something electronic.
[Vicki] Could be her cell phone?
Oh, that bothers me, right there.
- [trash rustling]
- [Vicki] Well, that
You know, that is actually the cell phone.
[officer] Mm-hmm.
[Vicki] Why would you burn the cell phone?
[officer] Cell phones store content.
So what was on the content
that caused someone
to want to burn it and try to destroy it?
[radio host] This is 101.3 The Big DM.
There's the sunrise.
You know it's gonna be a great day
in the neighborhood.
Do something for somebody,
but make sure you do
something special for yourself too.
It's time to get busy. This is 101.3
[expectant music playing]
[Vicki] When I was young,
my mom wanted me to go into nursing.
But I wanted to be a police officer.
I still wanted to help people.
But I loved the idea of solving mysteries.
My mom didn't think it was safe.
She was like, "Girls can't do that."
My dad said,
"If that's what's in your heart,
then you should definitely go do it."
"Treat people fair,
treat people right, and be safe."
"But be very careful.
There are bad people out there."
[phone ringing]
[Vicki] This is Investigator Rains.
[man on phone] Somebody told me that
That you were looking for my mom.
Mr. Garcia?
[dramatic music playing]
[Anthony] Yes?
[Vicki] When is the last time
you saw your mom?
[Anthony] The hospital was
the last person to see my mom. Like
[Vicki] So you took her to the hospital?
[Anthony] Prisma Health.
[Vicki] What was the problem that
[Anthony] Oh, I just needed her
to take her medicine!
You took her to Prisma
to make them give her her medicine?
[Anthony] Then I tried
to find out where she was.
And nobody didn't know where she was.
Do you know if your mom has a cell phone?
[Anthony] Uh, yes.
[Vicki] Do you know
where her cell phone's at?
[phone beeps]
- Is it in a burn barrel in the backyard?
- Exactly.
[Anthony] Um I don't know.
But I could look.
You could look where?
[Anthony] In the array of stuff.
[Vicki] Mr. Garcia, your mom is missing.
Is there a reason
you didn't file a police report,
if you're worried
and you're trying to find her?
[Anthony] I feel like
like you're interrogating me.
Like I'm the number-one suspect.
These questions are
really important for us to find your mom.
Mr. Garcia, can you come in right now?
[dramatic music continues]
[Anthony] Um
Do I need to bring a lawyer?
I mean, you're not
under arrest or anything.
I'm just trying to find your mom. [laughs]
[Anthony] She's somewhere. I'm not saying
She's alive. I know she's alive. She's
She's alive. I know she is. Ain't no way.
[call dropping]
He hung up.
Ugh.
I'm gonna go ahead and head down there.
[Heidi] I've been
Captain of Missing Persons Unit
for the last five years.
The most unsettling thing
is when someone is missing
and I think they might be in danger.
I think about it non-stop.
I think about that person
when I'm driving home,
when I'm eating,
when I'm brushing my teeth at night,
when I'm laying down
trying to go to sleep.
Their life could be dependent
on you finding them.
Every hour could be critically important.
It's like an obsession.
[pensive music playing]
[phone line ringing]
- [Vicki on phone] Yes, ma'am.
- Vicki, he's out here.
- [Vicki] What?
- I think that's his truck back behind me.
Is it a red truck?
Yeah, he's out here.
[Vicki] His license is suspended,
so he shouldn't be driving his truck.
He's totally on the phone
looking at me now,
but he's behind the neighbor's house.
[Vicki] Oh my gosh. Okay.
There's a reason he didn't come here
'cause there's nothing inside that house.
Fuck.
- That Wait, the carpet, it's gone.
- [Vicki] I'll be right there.
The carpet's gone?
- [tense music playing]
- [camera clicks]
Oh, the carpet's gone.
Oh my God.
[Heidi on phone] Yeah, head this way
as quick as you can.
[Heidi] That's him.
He is freaking me out.
[unsettling music playing]
[Vicki] Can you walk over here with me?
- Just walk straight up to the driveway.
- [dog barking]
[Anthony] You got a whole squad with you?
Do you gotta stay on the phone?
This is kinda important.
[Anthony] Y'all think
I want to be a statistic on CNN?
- [Vicki] Do you have any weapons on you?
- No, ma'am.
[Vicki] I just wanna make sure.
[Anthony] Can I keep breathing?
- [Heidi] Can you what?
- Can I live to see another day?
[Heidi] Yeah. Yeah.
[Anthony] Officers come here
with their hands on their pistol.
[Heidi] This is about your mom's missing.
[Vicki] Mr. Garcia, look at me, please.
Why did you come out here
and start moving trash
instead of coming and talking to me?
[Anthony] No, no, no. I did not even
know you was looking for me.
[phone beeps]
[Vicki] Can you show me
where your mom stayed at in the house?
- [Anthony] Her bedroom?
- [Vicki] Yeah, wherever she stayed.
- [Anthony] In the living room.
- [Vicki] Okay.
Did she sleep in the living room?
[Anthony] Yes, ma'am.
[Heidi] What did she sleep on
when she was in here?
[Anthony] The air mattress.
[Vicki] Why does all the doors
have string on them?
[Anthony] That would definitely not hold
my mama back. She's strong.
[Vicki] Where do you think your mom is?
[Anthony] Probably with some guy.
[Vicki] Can I get the name
of the guys that she's been dating?
[Anthony] The last person she dated was
Albert.
No, hold on, hold on, hold on. Uh-uh.
Theodore Roosevelt.
Listen. You don't want us
to help you find your mom?
[Anthony] To
Um, she ran away from the house.
[grave music playing]
[Vicki] Who is this?
[Anthony] That's my mama.
[Vicki] So why would a picture
of your mom be out here in the trash?
Would that not be a picture
you'd want to keep?
This looks like
a lot of pictures, actually.
Are these things not important?
Why did you not report your mom missing?
[Anthony] My ex-wife did.
No, I'm asking you why you didn't.
[Anthony] 'Cause I didn't.
[Vicki] You're not under arrest,
but we do need
to speak with you at headquarters.
And we're taking your truck.
[officer] Watch your knee, okay?
I don't want to get your knee.
[pensive music playing]
[Heidi] I hate mysteries.
I don't like board games
that are mysteries.
I don't like movies that are mysteries,
books that are mysteries.
I hate 'em all.
We do this in real life every day,
and it's not a game.
These are not just cases. They're people.
Maybe they just want to disappear.
Then again, it could be
somebody did something to them.
Over the years, I've learned
that you never know
what direction things are gonna go.
It's normal for your mind
to go one particular place to start with,
but you can't allow your mind
to stay there.
Because that's when you're gonna go wrong.
That's when you're gonna miss
something that's really important,
and possibly fail
at either finding someone
or not finding them fast enough
that you could have saved them.
[tense music playing]
[Vicki] I need you to give a statement
about the last time you saw your mother.
[officer] So what happened that night?
[Anthony] She was off her meds.
She has to be on her meds.
[officer] For what?
[Anthony] She gets paranoid
and then she, like
starts talking
about people out to get her,
and she wants to give up on everything.
[sighs] I said, "Mom, if you don't
get on your medication,
I'm gonna take you somewhere
where they're gonna make you."
But she's thinking like I'm
"What you mean, make me?"
Oh God, here we go.
[officer] So she had a bunch of issues.
[Anthony] A bunch of issues.
Sometimes she seemed sane,
and then other times it's like,
"Oh, what's going on, Mama?"
[menacing music playing]
[Nina] Right, so I got the medical records
from the hospital. He did drop her off.
[Heidi] Was there a medical reason
for her to be there?
No. His reason was,
"She needs to be back on her meds."
She was on Prozac a while back,
but she didn't like what it was doing,
and so she stopped taking that.
The doctor said
that she seemed very lucid.
"She's pleasant to talk to."
"Doesn't have any hallucinations
or delusions."
And it says, this is interesting,
"When I ask the patient if she feels
safe in her home with her son,
she replied, 'I'll take the Fifth.'"
[dark music playing]
"Patient does not have a cell phone
and states she went
to her neighbor's house
to ask them to call the bank
to restrict any access."
[Heidi] Oh, look at that.
She's worried he's trying
to make her out to be crazy.
- [Nina] Mm-hmm. Yup.
- And get some money.
"I informed her that she
would have to make a police report,
and she cannot stay in the hospital."
[Heidi] Somebody who
is really a victim of crime
is gonna stand there and say, you know,
"They locked me in my room."
"They won't give me food and water."
"They're trying to sell my house."
"They're taking my cell phone."
- They're Yeah. All of that sounds
- [Nina] All of it. Yes.
Stuff would sound the same
as somebody who was paranoid.
Tells everyone, to all the doctors,
saying she doesn't want to go home,
she doesn't want to go home.
So they placed her in the lobby.
[Heidi] But did she go back to the house?
I mean, I don't know.
[Anthony] Went into the hospital,
Prisma Health. I went in there.
Tried to specify, "I just want
y'all to get her on her medication."
"That's all I want y'all to do.
I'm not trying to put her in here."
They put her in inpatient anyway.
By the time I get back to Prisma Health
and I try to find my mom,
it's like, "Oh, she signed out
on her own recognizance."
I'm like, "What in the world?
So where's she at?"
"She signed out and left."
It's like they erased her off the books
and let her go free.
[officer] A couple days
go by when she's in the hospital?
[Anthony] Four, five, six days?
[officer] So since
she went to the hospital,
you've never seen her again?
[Anthony] No.
[Lamanda] I met Tony back in 2004.
He was getting ready
to go into the military.
He was happy-go-lucky.
He never met a stranger.
Everyone immediately became his friend.
He was in Iraq for two and a half,
three years.
They used him to kick in the doors,
when they'd go in and clear buildings.
While stationed over there, they were
Their Stryker was hit with an IED.
When Tony came back from Iraq,
it was just a wild look in his eyes.
He had seen a lot of things,
and he couldn't go a day without drinking.
Paranoia set in. You know,
he wasn't sure of everybody's motives.
The first time I realized he had PTSD,
it was New Year's Eve,
and he was we were in the house.
And of course,
people were outside popping off fireworks.
And he got up, and he turned off
every light in the house.
And he made me sit down,
and he told me to "Shh."
And then he grabbed
a knife out of the kitchen,
and then he just stood by the door.
We sat there quiet like that
for at least ten minutes,
before I was like, "You know
nobody's coming in here, right?"
[Lamanda] I know firsthand
[sighs] how scary it can get.
The violence that can go too far.
So do I think
he could have done something to his mom?
Yes. I do.
[dramatic music playing]
[Vicki] The burn barrel
that's in the backyard,
did you ever burn anything in there?
[Anthony] Not that I can recall.
All this stuff out there in the back?
There was so much more
stuff in that house.
It's been, like, in storage facilities.
[Vicki] When did you start taking stuff
out of the house to put in storage?
[Anthony] This past week.
[Vicki] This past week? Okay.
[car horn honking]
[Heidi] Are we in your way or anything?
Where are you trying to go?
- [man] Right there.
- [Heidi] What are you supposed to do?
[man] Put carpet in one room.
You're gonna go to the house
to put carpet in?
[man] Yes, ma'am.
Yeah. Who hired you guys?
[man] Well, the guy,
I think he's buying the house.
Okay.
Did he already buy the house?
[man] Well,
he gave a deposit for it, $2,500.
What did he do?
Oh, he paid for the carpet?
No, for the deposit on the house.
[Heidi] Oh, he paid $2,500
for the deposit on the house. Gotcha.
How did he advertise the house?
[man] Facebook market?
Facebook Marketplace?
[Heidi] Oh, okay.
Do you have that ad, by chance?
Can you pull that up?
[officer] Can I see it?
Wait, hold on. I'll take a picture of it.
[camera clicking]
[Heidi] Who signed the paperwork?
Oh, Anthony signed the paperwork? Okay.
[man] Anthony. Mm-hmm.
As of right now,
this house is not for sale.
So, I mean, as far as you doing any
kind of work in there, not gonna happen.
I'll drive my car around and come back.
Yeah. All right.
[phone line ringing]
[Vicki] Hey, I just got your message.
So, somebody showed up
and already owns the house or something?
It's a direct sale from Anthony
to someone else for
He already put down the $2,500 deposit.
Wow. Okay.
It's not a legal contract,
but yeah, he already sold it by owner.
I sent you a picture
of the Marketplace ad.
This guy's paid $2,500 cash,
and was gonna pay $300 a month
until it was paid off.
- [Vicki] Wow. Okay.
- Yeah.
And he was sending
someone over to go ahead
and put the carpet in one room,
so the guy has carpet in his van too.
That's crazy. All right. I'm gonna
go in there and question him about that.
Can you help me
get in touch with this guy?
They're talking back and forth on Facebook
because he bought the house
on Facebook Marketplace.
But when Heidi was taking the pictures,
it cut off the top of the conversation.
I imagine he said,
"Why are you selling your house?"
- But can you ask him that?
- Yeah, let me call him now.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Vicki] I've worked a lot of major crimes,
including homicides, for over 20 years.
You learn to expect to be lied to,
but you develop an instinct
to know when it's happening.
Things just don't feel right.
That's when you need
to start asking direct questions.
Because liars haven't worked out
all the answers.
Their stories begin to fall apart.
And you know they're hiding something big.
I just got a couple questions for you.
Are you comfortable like that?
[Anthony] It's my back.
[Vicki] Okay. Some guy just showed up
out there saying that he
that he bought the house,
and that he's paid you money for a bit.
[Anthony] Rent to own.
[Vicki] The problem with selling the house
is it's in your mom's name.
And are you listening to me?
[Anthony] Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.
[Vicki] Okay. And you don't
have power of attorney, right?
[chair rattles]
Right?
- Mr. Garcia?
- [Anthony] I'm listening.
[Vicki] I know,
but I asked you a question.
All right, I need you to look at me.
You're not even looking at me.
[Anthony] Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry.
I told him it's in my mama's name.
When I get power of attorney
power of attorney to
She's not in her right mind.
[Vicki] Right, but how can you file
when your mom is not here to sign?
- She wanted to sell it.
- [Vicki] Who's she?
Lorraine M. Garcia.
[Vicki] Right, but she didn't sell it,
'cause she went missing, right?
- Okay.
- [Vicki] Is that correct?
She didn't sell it,
'cause she went missing?
- [Anthony] Yes.
- [Vicki] Okay.
So why are you not looking
for your mother?
Why are you selling her house
instead of looking for her?
I'll be back.
[in Spanish] Okay,
and do you still have that message?
[man on phone] Yes, I saved it.
[in English] He said the person
that translated everything to him
He said that it sounded like
they said somebody died there.
[Vicki] Oh my.
[in Spanish] Is there any way
you can send it to me as a message
to the number I gave you yesterday?
[man] Yes, I can send it to you right now.
[Deena in English] Okay. Gracias.
[phone chimes]
[phone chimes]
[Vicki] Wow. "Just recently passed."
"When would you like
to come see the house?"
So, who is he saying just passed?
[mysterious music playing]
[woman] The day she disappeared
was the last day I saw her.
In the past, Lorraine told me
that Tony had never
threatened her directly,
and it was worse this time
than it had been before.
The day she disappeared,
she was telling me
that he had taken her
to a lawyer's office.
He told her
that she was going to sell the house.
And she told him
she didn't want to sell the house.
And she said
Tony grabbed her arm and told her,
"Mama, do you realize how easy it'd be
to push you
down these steps and kill you?"
"You will do what I tell you to do."
[Vicki] Do you and your mom ever argue?
[Anthony] All the time.
Like we're married.
[Vicki] Does it ever turn physical?
[Anthony] I don't know what to do.
[Vicki] I don't know.
People do crazy things.
Sometimes they do things,
and then they regret what they did.
Or say you're arguing with somebody,
and you push them,
and they fall,
and hit their head, and die.
And you hide the body because you don't
want to go to prison for an accident.
You think I had
somethin' to do with my mama.
[Vicki] No. I'm hoping your mom
is fine and we find her.
What I'm trying to ask you are just facts.
Why are
[Anthony] You're trying to
insinuate I did something with my mother
[Vicki] No, I'm not trying to insinuate.
[Anthony] to sell the house.
That's ludicrous.
Y'all know I don't have to talk to y'all.
I know my amendment rights, right?
It's my legal right
not to say a motherfuckin' word.
[dramatic music playing]
[Vicki] If you can think of anything that
would help us find your mom, let us know.
[dark music playing]
[Anthony] Vicki Rains,
Richland County cop.
She was so slick with it.
I did not see this woman coming at all.
She's like a shark born swimming.
She acted like it was all cool.
It was like,
"No one's accusing you."
No, you guys
accused me.
Even though I know you ain't say that,
"Did you kill your mom?"
You ain't say that,
but that don't mean you didn't
insinuate.
When soldiers go to war,
they go to war heroes,
but come back monsters.
I went to Iraq.
My innocence is gone because
I was a part of that shit.
But what really pisses me off?
All my motherfucking respect.
All that motherfucking blood,
sweat, and tears?
All that shit's over there.
I come here? It don't mean shit.
The police, the military, God, the devil.
I don't give a fuck.
We will all pay for our sins.
[chuckles] Just like I'll pay for mine.
So let's just gun it out
or y'all just shoot me in the head.
Let's just get this shit over with.
I refuse to go quietly
into that good night, man.
I refuse.
[preacher] Abraham did not get caught up
in all of the turmoil around him.
He said, "I will follow the one
who is in front of me
who has given me his word."
If you're gonna run the race of life
for God, it will cost you.
[Vicki] I believe there's
good and evil in the world.
But when it comes to crimes,
I think it's way more complicated.
[preacher] I know so many people
that are so gifted.
They have so much potential,
but they allow bad habits
and sinful desires to overtake them.
[Vicki] I've worked Sex Crimes
and Major Crimes for many years.
Some people thrive on doing bad things.
It's just who they are.
When we mess and play with the things
that are outside of God's word,
there is always a price to pay.
[Vicki] But I've learned a lot of times
good people make bad decisions.
A lot of it is environment,
support they did or didn't have.
They're a victim of circumstances.
I think you need to have a certain level
of understanding and empathy
towards another human being.
But the sad truth is often the people
who have been the most badly damaged
end up being the most dangerous.
[Heidi] So, we've got a missing person,
and it's starting to look like a homicide.
Vicki, do you want to
go ahead and brief everyone?
[Vicki] On the 18th of this month,
Lamanda Garcia
filed a missing person report
on her ex-mother-in-law Lorraine Garcia.
Usually they stay in close contact,
but she hadn't heard from her at all.
When she asked her ex Tony about her,
he would never give her
a straight answer of where his mom was.
She didn't really
want to get involved in it
because she was afraid of him herself.
She's like, "Sometimes he just sees red."
He loses his temper,
he punches holes in the wall,
which we saw out at the house.
So, she filed a missing person report.
Is there any documented history of abuse
with the ex-wife or
- Like, I'm talking police reports.
- [Vicki] Right.
A lot of times she didn't report it
because she was very scared of him.
Damn.
Finally, she left, got the kids,
and went back to North Carolina.
But she said when she was with the son,
he was very abusive to his mom physically,
mentally, every which way.
I asked him why
he moved everything out of the house,
because if his mom's gonna come back,
that's where she's gonna live.
Um, he said,
"No, no, no, I took everything important."
"Put all of that stuff in storage."
[Heidi] They locked
the storage unit down last night,
figured out where the units were,
and called the manager.
So they're locked down.
Were you able to do any kind of research
as far as financials or anything yet?
[Vicki] We found several
All South bank statements
in the locked room
we did a search warrant on,
but we haven't had a chance
to call the bank yet.
[Kevin] We need to do that.
That'll give us at least
roads to go down if it's been used.
[Vicki] If anything is getting taken out
or anything like that.
- Or she's renting a room somewhere.
- Right.
Well, get started on that stuff.
See what we get. [sighs]
[phone line ringing]
[woman on phone] All South
Federal Credit Union, how can I help?
Hi, this is Investigator Rains
with Richland County Sheriff's Department.
I have a missing person case.
And she has an All South bank account.
She's been missing for a couple months.
I'm just wondering
if there's any activity on that account.
[woman] What's that person's name?
Her first name is Lorraine.
L-o-r-r-a-i-n-e. Her last name is Garcia.
[woman] She's been missing how long?
[Vicki] Since the middle of September.
[woman] Let me see
if I can pull something.
I have video of some activity.
[Vicki] Was it activity
after the middle of September?
[woman] The 13th.
Wow, the same day
he said he took her to the hospital.
[woman] I'm gonna send this to you quick.
The video is of course still coming.
[Vicki] So she took out $500?
[woman] Yeah.
- Did it come through?
- [Vicki] Let's see.
[suspenseful music playing]
[officer] That's definitely Lorraine.
That looks exactly like her.
[Vicki] Okay. Here's the video.
That's him.
[officer] Did he say
he took her to the bank?
[Vicki] Nope, he said he took her
straight to the hospital.
At no point did he ever, ever say anything
about going to the bank.
He's never even mentioned that money.
[officer] So that's the only money
that was pulled?
[Vicki] This is the only time that it
was used, right? On September 13th?
[woman on phone] For the time frame
you were asking, yes.
- There's been nothing since then.
- Yeah. Okay, yeah. Thank you so much.
So, this is the very last
sighting of Lorraine.
After this, she disappears
and never accesses her bank account again.
[officer] It doesn't look good.
So, this is a search warrant,
and it'll say in there
we can get any and all video
related to these storage units,
any access, stuff like that.
Can I see the video?
Let's see
[suspenseful music playing]
[man] There he is, right there.
See that thing he's pulling?
How heavy that is?
[Vicki] What's so important
that he has to get it out?
[Heidi] Hey, Vicki.
[Vicki on phone] Hey,
I just wanted to update you.
I'm out here at the storage unit
that Tony has.
Okay.
He's been moving stuff in and out of here
the past few days.
- Oh.
- If your mom is just missing,
why do you want that stuff
out of your storage unit?
We've got a search warrant,
so we're about to go check out the inside.
Well, I'm on the way to Tony's now.
[dark music playing]
[phone line ringing]
[Vicki] Yes, ma'am?
[Heidi] There is a car
parked in the backyard.
Oh, really?
Oh, someone's definitely here. Red shirt.
[radio tuning]
[automated voice] Region Three.
Region Two.
2106 to any Region Two unit.
[officer on radio] 2106.
[Heidi] This is that home
where the lady's missing from,
and we suspect foul play.
And there's a car parked
in their backyard.
Just didn't want to approach
without someone else here
because of the potential
for something to go wrong.
[officer] 10-4.
[Heidi] She's coming out.
Who are you?
- Ma'am?
- [Heidi] What's your name?
Shakayla Moran.
- [Heidi] Shakayla? Okay.
- Yes, ma'am.
[Heidi] You guys stay together?
You and Tony together?
- Mm-hmm. Yeah.
- Okay.
How long have you known Tony?
[Shakayla] Um, since 2017.
- [Heidi] Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
[Heidi] I was comin' by
to see if you guys saw Lorraine yet?
No, ma'am.
- [Heidi] You haven't seen her at all?
- We seen the poster on the news.
- But that was it.
- [Heidi] Okay.
[Shakayla] Yes, ma'am.
You haven't heard any news or
[Heidi] Oh, you know, we're learning
a little bit as we go every day.
Okay, good, but she's
lookin' like she's alive, right?
[Heidi] Why would you say that?
- Because he's worried.
- [Heidi] Mm-hmm.
He's like, "If they can't find her now
with her picture all over the news"
- Something is, he's
- Do you have anything in your pocket?
- No, just my phone charger.
- [Heidi] Okay.
- [Heidi] I got my hands in my pockets too.
- I'm sorry.
- [Heidi] Just 'cause I'm a police officer
- Yeah, that's why I said
- [Heidi] I always have to ask that, right?
- I apologize.
[Heidi] Where are all her things now?
She had, like, a couple clothes and stuff,
like some bags of clothes.
[Heidi] And where are those?
Um, I think we actually threw them out.
Yes, ma'am.
[Heidi] How come?
She wasn't here. Like, we
We took it as, "Okay, she left."
Because we weren't thinking
that she was just gonna
All this was gonna happen.
Would anyone have any reason to think
Tony was abusive to her?
No, ma'am.
Is there any reason
that she would tell anyone that?
[Shakayla] I mean, I've heard her
say some crazy things.
She was saying people
were walking in and out the house,
people were breaking in.
She asleep at night,
people were coming in the front door
and going out the back door.
We were like,
"Miss Lorraine, no one's doing it."
She would just be like,
"People are trying to kill me."
The neighbors were talkin' about
tying her up to the back of their truck,
and drag her down the road.
He hates it all. He says it's embarrassing
to have to be running after his mom,
looking after her, and, like
It bothers him.
To look after his mom?
[Shakayla] He's tired of it, like.
He's like, "I want to live my life."
Hey, this is Heidi.
I just wanted to let you know,
I just talked to Shakayla.
I guess she's Tony's girlfriend.
And she told me
some really interesting things
about the relationship between Tony
and his mom Lorraine.
She mentioned that
Tony was getting really frustrated.
So, now I'm wondering
if he might have snapped.
[Vicki on phone] Holy cow.
[Vicki] We're gonna see
if there's anything
anything out of place, anything just odd.
Um
Blue carpet right there,
that came out of the house.
[officer] Oh. Oh.
[Vicki] And why put that piece
of carpet out, and put it in storage?
[Nina] An axe.
A shovel.
Smell of bleach.
- [officer] Yeah.
- [Nina] Bleach.
[officer on phone] We're at the storage.
Inside are pieces of carpet.
And then there is also
this cooler that has
liquid residue in the bottom
that smells like bleach.
There's an axe, a sledgehammer.
- And a shovel and the carpet.
- Shovels? You didn't say shovels.
- That does not sound good.
- [officer] Right. No, it doesn't.
I think all of those items together
could paint a picture
of something very bad.
- [dramatic music playing]
- [phone ringing]
[Vicki] This is Tony's ex-wife.
Investigator Rains.
[Lamanda] He's calling me.
And, um, like, from different numbers,
ranting and raving.
He's acting very suspicious.
He thinks that y'all are coming
to pick him up.
[Vicki] Pick him up like
- [Lamanda] Like arrest him for something.
- Okay.
Does he say what?
- No, he doesn't say what for.
- Okay.
He's like, "I don't know
what they're gonna get me for."
I was like, "Did you do anything
that would make them arrest you?"
"No, I didn't do anything!
I didn't do anything!"
"Why do you think they're coming for you?"
"I don't know!"
I don't know if it's psychosis,
or if he's worried
about something he's done,
that y'all are gonna make
some kind of connection with.
[Vicki] Wow.
[dark music playing]
[Vicki] What surprised me most
when I first became a police officer
was the level of violence
that can take place inside of a family.
I've seen family do
the worst things to each other.
Cases where people have shot, stabbed,
or brutally injured
their own family members.
Back then,
even though it bothered me, it was, um
maybe easier to let go.
But you don't realize that it's eventually
gonna take a toll on you.
Everyone has their own limitations
of what they can handle,
and what they can't.
As the years passed,
working in the Major Crimes unit, I
I found it harder to let it go.
[reporter 1] Richland County deputies are
looking for 61-year-old Lorraine Garcia,
last seen leaving Prisma Health Hospital.
Originally, location
[Vicki] That's why I came
to the Missing Person unit.
I realize that now
I just need it to be a happy ending.
[reporter 2] Tonight, deputies
need your help to find Lorraine Garcia.
Investigators say she was last spotted
leaving Prisma Health Hospital
in Richland County.
Police believe she may be in danger.
[man on recording] I was over there
and I remember
I was getting an air mattress.
And I was bringing supplies for the house
because he had her
he had her sleeping on the floor.
[Vicki] We got a tip
I thought was really interesting.
[man] This was a good friend of mine,
you know what I mean?
[Vicki] Yeah.
[man] And I got pretty close with
the mother, you know what I'm saying?
I'd look at her as a mother figure
towards me, you know what I'm saying?
[Vicki] The friend.
[man] That's why I felt
like I needed to say something
If something can be done,
I could never forgive myself
if I didn't say anything.
[Vicki on recording] Right. So, he had her
sleeping on just the floor,
so you got her an air mattress?
[man] I got her an air mattress.
I got her new blankets. I got, um
He was leaving her at the house all day,
always asking for money.
- It was bad. Yeah.
- [Vicki] Wow. That's so sad.
[Vicki] He continually
talks throughout that whole thing.
- Every time I listen to it, I catch more.
- [officer] Yeah.
[Vicki] There is the issue of him
selling his mother's home.
[Heidi] We need to hold him accountable
for selling that house.
It's not his to sell.
[Vicki] So, this guy,
his mother's missing.
And she has been for a couple of months.
The house is empty,
there's a strong smell of bleach,
and there's shovels
and things in the storage unit.
We're getting DNA,
but he went on the internet,
on Facebook Marketplace,
and listed her house for sale.
I know there's a fraud charge
because it's not his house.
Are there any other charges
that you know of?
Did he sign anything,
or was it just done online?
[Vicki] He signed it.
- So he signed paperwork as well?
- [Vicki] With his name.
Okay, um
So you can charge him
with forgery for the signature
if he's signing some sort of document
that's untrue.
Even though he signed his name, it's
Since the document is fraud?
Yes. And you can also charge him as well,
if it was done online.
You can charge him with
We have a Computer Crimes Act.
[Vicki] So we have concrete evidence
to charge him for selling her house.
Tony wants to come and pick up his truck,
but we're going to arrest him.
[dramatic music playing]
[Vicki] Charging him with using a computer
to commit a crime, forgery,
and false pretenses above $2,500.
So it's a felony.
[dramatic music continues]
[Vicki] So, he should be here any second.
Gonna go grab my phone
in case he texts me.
[line ringing]
[automated voice] Please leave
your message.
[tense music playing]
[Vicki] Okay, this is him.
Who are all those people?
I was not expecting that.
Another day in paradise.
[man] I heard that.
There is some stuff
I need to talk to you about.
About her bank accounts
and stuff like that.
Oh, like that. Okay, wow.
Well, I mean, she was always
kind of secretive anyway.
Scorpio by nature.
[laughs]
[man] I didn't know
your mom was a Scorpio.
I'm a Scorpio too, yo.
So that means you're secretive.
[tense music continues]
[officer] Put your hands behind your back.
[Anthony] No, no, no.
[Vicki] Anthony, you're under arrest
for selling your mom's house.
We're gonna take you to headquarters
and go over the charges there.
[pensive music playing]
- I'm glad that worked like it did.
- [officer] Yup.
[Vicki] We've got a warrant
to search his truck.
He was using it
to get rid of a lot of her belongings
after she went missing.
[officer] I'll take pictures.
[Vicki] Mm-hmm.
Phew. All right, we'll see what we got.
All right.
The guy who called in with the tip
said he bought her an air mattress.
Oh, what's That looks like blood.
I would bet money that's blood.
I just don't know whose blood.
Should we call the lab out?
We can collect it
and request they do tests on it.
[officer] Okay.
[man] It is believed that
the defendant did willfully and unlawfully
sign a contract for the sale rent-to-own
of his mother's house,
and accept $2,500 from the victim.
Under false pretenses,
the defendant listed the home for sale
on Facebook Marketplace.
It is believed the defendant
did commit the crime of forgery.
Conversations took place
over an electronic device.
They'll call it wire fraud.
[Vicki] I want you to know,
we have done a lot of work.
If we did not have all this evidence,
we would not be doing this right now.
I didn't do nothing wrong.
That's why we brought you in here
to give you a chance to say,
"You know what,
scratch everything I said."
"I'm gonna come clean and tell
y'all the truth 'cause it is my mama."
- I don't
- [Vicki] Listen to this. But listen.
This is your one free chance
to tell the truth.
After right now,
every deal's off the table.
When all the DNA evidence comes back
that we have, there's no deals.
I just want you to know that.
- I didn't do anything.
- Right. Just want to know you're good.
What do you think happened to your mom?
I would like to think
that she left somewhere.
- And is safe.
- [Vicki] Is that what
I know that's what
you want to think, mentally.
But is that what your gut tells you?
My gut is saying that
What if somebody did something to her?
And it was right under my nose,
and now I'm getting pinned for it?
And my dumb ass
just let the whole shit happen.
'Cause I was just so oblivious.
[officer] If you have information
of where your mother is or what happened,
whether that involves you or anybody else
- Get me a lawyer.
- now is the time to talk about it.
Did you harm your mother in any way?
No.
[officer] Were y'all involved
in any kind of physical altercation?
Would I find any evidence of her blood,
your blood, the two mixed together?
- No. No, I would never hurt my mama.
- [officer] Mm-hmm.
Anything in your car, in your truck?
- Not that I know of.
- In storage units you know we searched?
Not that I know of, sir.
You have to admit
this stuff doesn't look good for you.
- I got no reason to lie about that.
- No.
I have no And I understand all this,
and that, and everything,
but I did not do nothing to my mama.
And I believe my mama's fine.
[suspenseful music playing]
All right, boy, step out. You go ahead,
grab a jacket, and put it on.
[Anthony] I don't want
to talk to her no more.
[Vicki] You're going to jail.
Once you make bond,
you'll need to stay in the area.
Okay, that's all good.
[officer] All right,
relax your arms for me.
Just turn 'em like this. There you go.
[pensive music playing]
- [officer] This car with the blue lights?
- Yes, sir.
[officer] All right.
You go on the passenger side.
Separate your legs for me.
[Anthony] Probably, but hell, I don't
know what to believe at this point. Shit.
All right, sir, go ahead and have a seat.
And watch your head getting in.
[Anthony] All right.
[officer] Watch your foot.
[Anthony] Thank you.
[somber music playing]
[Vicki] I've spent enough of my career
finding bodies,
feeling that dread you get
when you realize someone
has done something really bad.
I came to this unit
to feel something different.
I came here to save people,
but maybe I have to accept
Missing Persons
isn't really that different.
[Heidi] It's easy to feel down about it.
But you know what?
The case is never really over
until you find the person.
That's what keeps me up at night.
The need to find the missing person.
Even when I think things look bad,
I know I need to keep an open mind.
We don't know everything.
We should never be that confident.
We should always keep hope.
And until we find the person,
let's believe that they're alive,
until we know that they're not.
You need to keep going.
You never know where it might lead.
[radio host] Today's jams
and the best old school.
This is 101.3 The Big DM.
It's time to get busy.
This is 101.3 The Big DM.
[somber music playing]
[Heidi] I've got something
that could change everything.
I've been going through the bank files
and discovered this recording
that was made a couple of weeks
after she disappeared.
It gives me hope
that she could still be alive.
[woman 1 on recording] Thank you
for calling All South. How can I help?
[teller] Hi. I'm with a client,
and she cannot locate her account number,
so we were trying to do that for her.
[woman 1] So, where she would be able to
locate it is online or mobile banking.
[teller] Okay, well, she doesn't
have an online account,
and you need the account number
to create an online account.
[woman 1] The option is actually visiting
the branch location.
[teller] Okay. That's the only option?
[woman 1] We'd have to speak
directly to her.
[teller] She's here with me right now.
[woman 2] Hello?
[woman 1] Yes, hi, good afternoon.
How are you?
- [woman 2] I'm fine. How are you?
- [woman 1] I'm doing well, thank you.
It's my understanding that you're trying
to retrieve your account number?
Unfortunately, we're not able to
provide that by phone,
but I can get you pulled up and verified,
and then mail that information to you.
So you Let's see
[woman 2] I have a different address now.
[woman 1] Gotcha.
What's your first and last name?
[Vicki] Did she give her address?
[woman 2] Lorraine Garcia.
[dramatic music playing]