1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:06,482 [narrator] Tracie Bell was last seen on March 6th, 2018. 2 00:00:06,586 --> 00:00:08,758 [Maurice Macklin] Tracie was a no-call, no-show. 3 00:00:08,862 --> 00:00:11,862 I said, send somebody to her house, like, pronto. 4 00:00:13,241 --> 00:00:16,793 But when the police got there, no signs of Tracie. 5 00:00:16,896 --> 00:00:20,413 Some people think, like, she just left, but I don't think so. 6 00:00:20,517 --> 00:00:23,379 If she was gonna leave, why she didn't take her car with her? 7 00:00:23,482 --> 00:00:26,758 [narrator] Her family is desperate for answers. 8 00:00:26,862 --> 00:00:30,241 The officers, they wound up finding her keys in the parking lot. 9 00:00:30,344 --> 00:00:32,862 Why is her keys tossed away? 10 00:00:32,965 --> 00:00:34,965 Where is Tracie? 11 00:00:35,068 --> 00:00:38,551 I ran into some paperwork in the closet in her bedroom 12 00:00:38,655 --> 00:00:40,965 from Tracie's ex-boyfriend. 13 00:00:41,068 --> 00:00:44,551 I think he was living a double life 'cause he's supposed to had a wife. 14 00:00:45,724 --> 00:00:47,551 [narrator] This episode ofDisappeared 15 00:00:47,655 --> 00:00:51,413 retraces Tracie's last known steps. 16 00:00:51,517 --> 00:00:55,137 There's a few different theories that lends itself to 17 00:00:55,241 --> 00:00:57,241 an accident or foul play. 18 00:00:57,344 --> 00:01:00,413 So, we decided we have to conduct a search. 19 00:01:00,517 --> 00:01:02,724 [Jason Morgan] All right, good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. 20 00:01:03,586 --> 00:01:04,688 We're here for Tracie. 21 00:01:07,310 --> 00:01:08,344 Zoom in. 22 00:01:11,241 --> 00:01:13,655 [man] It was kinda like a hit you in the gut, 23 00:01:13,758 --> 00:01:17,000 and you thinking, "Hmm, something ain't right, 24 00:01:17,103 --> 00:01:18,965 but I just don't know it yet. 25 00:01:19,068 --> 00:01:20,931 I'm just gonna keep digging until I find her." 26 00:01:23,068 --> 00:01:25,689 [narrator] The more people who know Tracie's story, 27 00:01:25,793 --> 00:01:29,103 the greater the chance of bringing her home. 28 00:01:29,206 --> 00:01:32,000 Share on social media, get the word out, 29 00:01:32,723 --> 00:01:34,068 help find her. 30 00:01:34,793 --> 00:01:36,689 Have you seen Tracie Bell? 31 00:01:53,172 --> 00:01:56,517 I'm Louella Bell, and I'm Tracie Bell's mother. 32 00:01:56,620 --> 00:02:01,620 She disappeared on March the 6th, 2018 from Richton Park. 33 00:02:03,206 --> 00:02:05,724 She was born and raised here in Chicago. 34 00:02:09,205 --> 00:02:12,827 I'm Stephanie Thomas. I'm Tracie Bell's favorite cousin. 35 00:02:12,931 --> 00:02:16,758 Tracie and I grew up together since we were ten or so. 36 00:02:16,862 --> 00:02:18,655 And we referred to each other as favorite cousins, 37 00:02:18,758 --> 00:02:21,482 because we didn't have, like, a sister to grow up with. So... 38 00:02:22,172 --> 00:02:23,620 that was our thing. 39 00:02:24,689 --> 00:02:27,689 Tracie grew up on the south side of Chicago. 40 00:02:27,793 --> 00:02:29,758 So, she's pretty much a real city girl. 41 00:02:29,862 --> 00:02:33,344 She likes to hang out and have fun. Very easygoing. 42 00:02:33,448 --> 00:02:34,689 Hard-working. 43 00:02:35,620 --> 00:02:37,275 Tracie liked school. 44 00:02:37,379 --> 00:02:41,241 Her thing was to get a job so that she could become independent of her mom and dad 45 00:02:41,344 --> 00:02:42,862 and move out and get her own place. 46 00:02:45,344 --> 00:02:49,067 My daughter Tracie went to college here in Chicago. 47 00:02:49,172 --> 00:02:52,827 She was 20... 20-something when she had Giovanna. 48 00:02:52,930 --> 00:02:54,862 [Stephanie] We were calling her GG. 49 00:02:54,965 --> 00:02:59,655 I don't remember exactly when Tracie started to date Giovanna's dad, 50 00:02:59,758 --> 00:03:01,241 but they went their separate ways. 51 00:03:01,344 --> 00:03:03,965 I think she let him come around to see Giovanna, 52 00:03:04,068 --> 00:03:08,793 but of course, he backed off at some point. 53 00:03:08,896 --> 00:03:12,862 And then she dated another young man some years after that, 54 00:03:12,965 --> 00:03:16,137 and then he also vanished. 55 00:03:17,551 --> 00:03:21,689 But that's not something that she wanted people to know. 56 00:03:21,793 --> 00:03:25,310 Tracie started working for the State's Attorney's Office as a secretary, 57 00:03:25,413 --> 00:03:27,862 and she loved, loved, loved her job. 58 00:03:29,482 --> 00:03:31,724 I'm Maurice Macklin. I'm a retired deputy chief 59 00:03:31,827 --> 00:03:33,482 from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. 60 00:03:34,448 --> 00:03:36,930 Started there June 1st, 1990. 61 00:03:37,034 --> 00:03:39,620 Was an investigator, moved up through the ranks 62 00:03:39,724 --> 00:03:43,965 from investigator, sergeant, commander and then deputy chief. 63 00:03:44,067 --> 00:03:47,689 And then, as I moved up in rank, Tracie was right there as my assistant. 64 00:03:51,310 --> 00:03:54,000 She was very meticulous about stuff, 65 00:03:54,103 --> 00:03:55,517 and she was very organized. 66 00:03:55,620 --> 00:03:57,034 So, I can always depend on her. 67 00:03:57,137 --> 00:04:00,758 So, she was a good employee. 68 00:04:00,862 --> 00:04:05,517 Went we first came there, we was co-workers, then we became family members, 69 00:04:05,620 --> 00:04:07,793 because me and her would argue like we were brothers and sisters. 70 00:04:09,758 --> 00:04:11,965 [Stephanie] Early '90s, she purchased her condo, 71 00:04:12,068 --> 00:04:14,931 and she loved it because it was two baths, 72 00:04:15,034 --> 00:04:17,310 two beds. So, that way she could have 73 00:04:17,413 --> 00:04:19,689 some space that was her space, 74 00:04:19,793 --> 00:04:23,413 and then still have more than enough room for Giovanna, 75 00:04:23,517 --> 00:04:24,758 and whomever wanted to visit. 76 00:04:26,793 --> 00:04:29,241 [Maurice] She cared about GG. I mean, she used to try to 77 00:04:29,344 --> 00:04:33,000 make sure she had the means to do things, as she was a young kid. 78 00:04:34,689 --> 00:04:37,655 [Stephanie] Giovanna met her future husband 79 00:04:37,758 --> 00:04:41,620 and it seemed that Tracie liked him, initially. 80 00:04:41,724 --> 00:04:43,758 They made a nice little young couple. 81 00:04:43,862 --> 00:04:46,137 [Louella] She must have been 17 or 18, 82 00:04:46,241 --> 00:04:48,413 or she may have been 19. Something like that. 83 00:04:48,517 --> 00:04:51,931 She wasn't that old when she got married to this boy. 84 00:04:52,034 --> 00:04:54,448 And then, once they were married, 85 00:04:54,551 --> 00:04:56,413 I think he joined the military, 86 00:04:56,517 --> 00:04:59,068 and they had their first child together, a daughter. 87 00:04:59,172 --> 00:05:03,965 He was in the military and then stationed outside of the state of Illinois. 88 00:05:04,068 --> 00:05:06,896 That's, I think, when we started to see a different side of him, 89 00:05:07,965 --> 00:05:11,344 and we were not particularly fond of him. 90 00:05:11,448 --> 00:05:12,896 Of what was going on with him. 91 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,413 And it may not have just been him, it may have been 92 00:05:15,517 --> 00:05:18,551 the two of them together. It just wasn't a good fit. 93 00:05:18,655 --> 00:05:21,620 [Louella] She got deeply into the drinking, Giovanna did, 94 00:05:21,724 --> 00:05:24,103 and that made things even worse. 95 00:05:24,206 --> 00:05:27,344 And when she drank, she turned into a different person. 96 00:05:29,068 --> 00:05:33,827 And Tracie many times would let her know, "GG, you can't... you know, 97 00:05:33,931 --> 00:05:35,379 drinking is not for you." 98 00:05:36,586 --> 00:05:40,758 But she had become just irrational, 99 00:05:40,862 --> 00:05:42,482 and sometimes even violent. 100 00:05:42,586 --> 00:05:45,724 She could not control her drinking habits. 101 00:05:51,068 --> 00:05:55,379 By the time Giovanna and her husband back to the state of Illinois, I think they had 102 00:05:55,482 --> 00:05:57,000 two children. 103 00:05:57,103 --> 00:06:00,034 And they moved in with Tracie, 104 00:06:00,137 --> 00:06:02,241 and it wasn't ideal for Tracie, 105 00:06:02,344 --> 00:06:05,758 because now you've got four people in and out 106 00:06:05,862 --> 00:06:07,724 in her place, 107 00:06:07,827 --> 00:06:11,862 and you go to work, and you come home and things are a mess. 108 00:06:15,551 --> 00:06:19,206 Which was difficult for her because she was used to not sharing her space, 109 00:06:19,310 --> 00:06:23,241 and she had asked them to move but they didn't ever move out. 110 00:06:26,275 --> 00:06:28,137 And along came child number three. 111 00:06:28,241 --> 00:06:31,275 I think that's when this husband of hers 112 00:06:31,379 --> 00:06:35,862 became very, I don't know, demanding, angry, unlikable, 113 00:06:35,965 --> 00:06:38,965 for both Tracie and Giovanna. Especially for Tracie, 114 00:06:39,068 --> 00:06:42,034 because now he's not just being mean to the wife, he's being mean 115 00:06:42,137 --> 00:06:44,827 sometimes to the kids, and also to Tracie. 116 00:06:46,172 --> 00:06:47,689 She had a lot she was dealing with, 117 00:06:47,793 --> 00:06:52,896 and I don't know how she managed to deal like that as long as she did, 118 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,655 because that would have wore me down tremendously. 119 00:06:56,758 --> 00:07:00,241 [Maurice] You could tell it was weighing on her when it came to her work. 120 00:07:00,344 --> 00:07:02,689 She was, like, missing things and... 121 00:07:03,517 --> 00:07:05,793 as I think about it, 122 00:07:05,896 --> 00:07:08,551 that should have been a tell-tale sign too, about... 123 00:07:08,655 --> 00:07:12,379 that she just needed to go somewhere, just rest for 24 hours. [chuckles] 124 00:07:13,172 --> 00:07:15,379 And just some me-time. 125 00:07:15,482 --> 00:07:18,827 She was tired of being up all night sometimes, 126 00:07:18,931 --> 00:07:22,482 or dealing with what's going on with her daughter and her son-in-law. 127 00:07:22,586 --> 00:07:25,551 And she said, "I'm finna change the locks so nobody can get in here." 128 00:07:25,655 --> 00:07:27,620 I said, "No, can't do that. 129 00:07:27,724 --> 00:07:29,448 You have to go through steps. 130 00:07:29,551 --> 00:07:31,034 You need to talk to somebody about this." 131 00:07:31,137 --> 00:07:34,896 And then she found out about the eviction process. 132 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:39,448 [Louella] My daughter was finally able to get an eviction order 133 00:07:39,551 --> 00:07:43,482 to get her daughter to vacate from her property. 134 00:07:43,586 --> 00:07:45,862 They gave her a date that was on March the 6th. 135 00:07:48,896 --> 00:07:53,172 So that day, my granddaughter, the kids got her stuff and she went over 136 00:07:53,275 --> 00:07:56,068 to the hotel. That's where she got a place to be, 137 00:07:56,172 --> 00:07:58,655 because she could no longer be there. 138 00:07:58,758 --> 00:08:01,862 Tracie had took some time off leading up to March 5th. 139 00:08:01,965 --> 00:08:04,448 So, she took off that Friday and that Monday. 140 00:08:09,689 --> 00:08:14,620 On March 6th, 2018, Tracie was a no-call, no-show. 141 00:08:14,724 --> 00:08:17,000 Tracie always communicated about being off, 142 00:08:17,103 --> 00:08:20,448 and when it became a no-call, no-show for Tracie Bell, 143 00:08:20,551 --> 00:08:25,000 that was definitely something of urgence that we needed to take care of. 144 00:08:25,103 --> 00:08:27,482 I wasn't at work 'cause I had the flu. 145 00:08:27,586 --> 00:08:30,206 But I said, "Send somebody to her house, 146 00:08:30,310 --> 00:08:33,275 like, pronto, like now." 147 00:08:33,379 --> 00:08:37,206 Because of the history, I knew what was going on with the eviction, 148 00:08:37,309 --> 00:08:39,379 things of that nature, so that's why I sent investigators 149 00:08:39,482 --> 00:08:41,448 out to their house right away. 150 00:08:41,551 --> 00:08:44,931 But when they got on the scene, they said, "Hey, 151 00:08:45,034 --> 00:08:46,862 we don't see her, she's not in the condo." 152 00:08:46,965 --> 00:08:50,551 So they continued to do their search around and look for Tracie, 153 00:08:50,655 --> 00:08:53,793 and then they find Tracie hiding under the stairs. 154 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,275 The way they explained it to me is just that, like, 155 00:08:57,379 --> 00:09:00,724 she was just hiding, and then she came out, like, "Okay, you found me." 156 00:09:00,827 --> 00:09:04,413 And that was it. Then she became really stand-offish. Like, "Hey, 157 00:09:04,517 --> 00:09:07,620 you know, I'm okay, leave me alone," basically, and they were like, 158 00:09:07,724 --> 00:09:09,655 "Hey, we're here to help you." 159 00:09:09,758 --> 00:09:12,758 They was trying to get her to just talk and try to figure out 160 00:09:12,862 --> 00:09:15,206 why you are up under these stairs. 161 00:09:15,310 --> 00:09:18,793 And that's something that she did not provide. She was just there. 162 00:09:18,896 --> 00:09:21,586 [Stephanie] That was weird. Why would you be tucked away? 163 00:09:21,689 --> 00:09:23,172 Why aren't you upstairs in your place? 164 00:09:23,275 --> 00:09:25,172 I mean, what was going on? 165 00:09:25,275 --> 00:09:27,689 Who's she hiding from and why? 166 00:09:27,793 --> 00:09:31,896 [Maurice] That's when the paramedics show up, but she is refusing medical treatment. 167 00:09:33,482 --> 00:09:35,344 She probably would have been okay 168 00:09:35,448 --> 00:09:38,931 if she had went and got some medical treatment, 169 00:09:39,034 --> 00:09:42,206 'cause then they could have helped, but she refused to do that. 170 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:45,931 [Maurice] I sent her a text talking about, basically, 171 00:09:46,034 --> 00:09:50,310 "Hey, I'm upset that you didn't let the medical staff examine you, 172 00:09:50,413 --> 00:09:52,793 but I'm glad they found you." 173 00:09:52,896 --> 00:09:55,655 And I said, "I will talk to you later on. 174 00:09:55,758 --> 00:09:57,517 You know, I will call you." 175 00:09:57,620 --> 00:10:00,000 I was just relieved that she was okay. 176 00:10:00,103 --> 00:10:02,172 That was the main thing. 177 00:10:07,620 --> 00:10:09,517 Wednesday, March 7th, 178 00:10:09,620 --> 00:10:11,827 same situation comes up where 179 00:10:11,931 --> 00:10:13,965 Tracie's a no-call, no-show. 180 00:10:14,068 --> 00:10:18,137 And I'm like, "Wait a minute. Get back over to the house right away, again." 181 00:10:18,241 --> 00:10:22,241 So, dispatched Richton Park police right back to the house again. 182 00:10:22,344 --> 00:10:24,137 I eventually wind up going over there. 183 00:10:24,241 --> 00:10:27,931 Louella, her mom, was there at the house, at the condo when I pulled up 184 00:10:28,034 --> 00:10:33,965 and we had to wind up ordering a locksmith to gain entry into the condo. 185 00:10:34,068 --> 00:10:37,448 Inside the house, a lot of alcohol bottles in the front 186 00:10:37,551 --> 00:10:40,965 where GG and her husband were staying at. 187 00:10:41,068 --> 00:10:44,482 Kids' clothes and things of that nature around the house, around the condo. 188 00:10:45,655 --> 00:10:48,068 And that was basically it when we got there. 189 00:10:48,586 --> 00:10:50,172 No signs of Tracie, 190 00:10:50,275 --> 00:10:53,137 and also we went to the back area to check the stairs 191 00:10:53,241 --> 00:10:55,655 to make sure she wasn't hiding under the stairs. 192 00:10:55,758 --> 00:10:57,034 So, she was not there either. 193 00:10:57,724 --> 00:10:59,379 [Louella] It was in a mess 194 00:10:59,482 --> 00:11:03,551 because of the kids' stuff was everywhere, 195 00:11:03,655 --> 00:11:06,206 and it wasn't nothing in order. 196 00:11:06,310 --> 00:11:11,827 Now, her bedroom was pretty decent, but the living room and kitchen area, 197 00:11:11,931 --> 00:11:14,620 you know, nobody had nothing put away. 198 00:11:17,310 --> 00:11:21,206 The police instinct came out first... 199 00:11:21,310 --> 00:11:24,586 of looking at what's what. Is there a sign of struggle here? 200 00:11:24,689 --> 00:11:28,103 What... Is there anything... blood evidence? 201 00:11:28,206 --> 00:11:31,206 Anything that you could see that said, "Hey, 202 00:11:31,310 --> 00:11:33,586 this is a crime scene" and go from there. 203 00:11:33,689 --> 00:11:35,482 But we didn't see that. 204 00:11:35,586 --> 00:11:37,965 But Tracie's purse was there. 205 00:11:38,068 --> 00:11:41,000 No cell phone and no keys 206 00:11:41,103 --> 00:11:44,172 to the vehicles was inside the purse. 207 00:11:44,275 --> 00:11:46,827 At that point in time, I'm trying to figure out, I'm like, 208 00:11:46,931 --> 00:11:50,241 "Okay, so she just grabbed her keys and cell phone, just left out the house, 209 00:11:50,344 --> 00:11:53,172 in a hurry to just make a quick run somewhere?" 210 00:11:53,275 --> 00:11:55,275 But the thing was, her car was still there. 211 00:11:55,379 --> 00:11:58,827 So, if your car is still there, where are you going? 212 00:11:58,931 --> 00:12:01,862 That didn't add up. Did not make sense. 213 00:12:01,965 --> 00:12:04,310 And, you know, for your purse to be there, I'm like, 214 00:12:04,413 --> 00:12:07,482 "No, you normally take your purse with you." 215 00:12:07,586 --> 00:12:10,137 So, just to grab two items and go out, 216 00:12:10,965 --> 00:12:12,862 that doesn't make sense at all. 217 00:12:12,965 --> 00:12:15,206 So, it was kinda like a hit you in the gut 218 00:12:15,310 --> 00:12:18,586 and you thinking, "Hmm, something ain't right 219 00:12:18,689 --> 00:12:20,586 but I just don't know it yet. 220 00:12:20,689 --> 00:12:22,413 I'm just gonna keep digging until I find it." 221 00:12:23,724 --> 00:12:27,000 We wound up calling a K9 and they found a scent 222 00:12:27,103 --> 00:12:30,137 of Tracie coming out of the apartment 223 00:12:30,241 --> 00:12:34,241 and the dogs just stopped right in the parking lot. Just stopped. 224 00:12:34,344 --> 00:12:38,379 There was no more like... it appeared like somebody picked her up 225 00:12:38,482 --> 00:12:40,344 and drove away. 226 00:12:40,448 --> 00:12:44,275 It's not that far. If this is the door, 227 00:12:44,379 --> 00:12:45,793 here's the parking lot. 228 00:12:47,448 --> 00:12:49,310 It's not like it's a long walk. 229 00:12:49,413 --> 00:12:51,482 You step outside the door, 230 00:12:51,586 --> 00:12:53,482 and it's only a few feet before, you know, 231 00:12:53,586 --> 00:12:55,655 you're right in the path of where the cars are parked. 232 00:12:57,413 --> 00:13:01,793 Now the officers, they wound up finding her keys in the parking lot, 233 00:13:01,896 --> 00:13:04,241 away from her car, by another car. 234 00:13:04,344 --> 00:13:07,758 So it was just by chance with them just looking in the parking lot 235 00:13:07,862 --> 00:13:09,689 and they found her keys. 236 00:13:09,793 --> 00:13:14,275 So now, why's her keys tossed away? 237 00:13:14,379 --> 00:13:16,862 I knew something was wrong. 238 00:13:16,965 --> 00:13:19,827 But you're trying to figure out, did somebody grab her? 239 00:13:20,482 --> 00:13:22,137 Where is Tracie? 240 00:13:35,551 --> 00:13:38,793 [Maurice] We trying to figure out, did somebody grab her? 241 00:13:38,896 --> 00:13:40,965 That kinda threw us for a loop and didn't make sense. 242 00:13:41,068 --> 00:13:44,965 So, we had to do a step-by-step investigation. 243 00:13:46,517 --> 00:13:49,758 We didn't know if Tracie walked away, 244 00:13:49,862 --> 00:13:52,103 disappeared, some criminal activity. 245 00:13:52,206 --> 00:13:54,172 We didn't have nothing. 246 00:13:56,724 --> 00:13:58,206 It was eating me up on the inside. 247 00:13:58,310 --> 00:14:01,379 That's without a doubt. It was eating me up. 248 00:14:01,482 --> 00:14:05,586 But in order to bring Tracie home safely, 249 00:14:05,689 --> 00:14:08,448 I got to stay focused on the investigation, 250 00:14:08,551 --> 00:14:11,413 making sure we're using the right tools and resources 251 00:14:11,517 --> 00:14:12,965 to bring her back home. 252 00:14:14,896 --> 00:14:18,482 The Richton Park Police Department only had like a couple of detectives. 253 00:14:18,586 --> 00:14:22,310 And we had more investigations in the bureau, had expertise, 254 00:14:22,413 --> 00:14:25,620 and, you know, wires, cell phone tracking... 255 00:14:25,724 --> 00:14:29,068 different things of investigators, homicide detectives. 256 00:14:29,172 --> 00:14:31,620 So, that's when we came into the Richton Park Police Department. 257 00:14:31,724 --> 00:14:34,862 I wanna say it was about eight or nine of us 258 00:14:34,965 --> 00:14:37,448 walking in there like, Tracie's one of us. 259 00:14:37,551 --> 00:14:40,655 She's a family member. We're here to assist you 260 00:14:40,758 --> 00:14:43,896 in this investigation of our own person too. 261 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,344 So, I reached out to Sergeant Margaret. 262 00:14:48,206 --> 00:14:49,862 My name is Margaret. 263 00:14:49,965 --> 00:14:52,655 I'm a sergeant with Cook County State's Attorney's Office Investigations Bureau. 264 00:15:03,034 --> 00:15:06,655 Tracie Bell was the administrative assistant to that unit, 265 00:15:06,758 --> 00:15:08,482 the unit I supervised. 266 00:15:08,586 --> 00:15:11,620 But we did not have any personal... 267 00:15:12,448 --> 00:15:13,965 interaction at that time. 268 00:15:14,068 --> 00:15:18,103 And through the interviews of her colleagues who shared her work space, 269 00:15:18,206 --> 00:15:22,758 we learned that Tracie was having difficulty in her home, 270 00:15:22,862 --> 00:15:27,172 which stemmed primarily from the difficult relationship 271 00:15:27,275 --> 00:15:30,068 between her daughter and her daughter's husband. 272 00:15:32,896 --> 00:15:35,137 [Maurice] She started sharing stories about 273 00:15:35,241 --> 00:15:38,137 what was going on with Giovanna and her husband. 274 00:15:38,241 --> 00:15:41,068 She was saying there was a lot of domestic problems, 275 00:15:41,172 --> 00:15:43,931 and you could see it in Tracie's face. 276 00:15:44,034 --> 00:15:45,965 I started putting stuff together. 277 00:15:46,068 --> 00:15:48,965 [indistinct police chatter] 278 00:15:49,068 --> 00:15:51,965 [Margaret] Some of the calls for service Richton Park police documented 279 00:15:52,068 --> 00:15:53,724 to Tracie Bell's condominium 280 00:15:53,827 --> 00:15:56,620 historically included domestic violence incidents 281 00:15:56,724 --> 00:15:59,862 between her daughter and her daughter's husband. 282 00:16:01,862 --> 00:16:04,448 [Stephanie] I had conversations with Tracie and other family members 283 00:16:04,551 --> 00:16:06,931 about Giovanna and her husband being violent. 284 00:16:07,034 --> 00:16:10,241 About Giovanna having, you know... 285 00:16:10,344 --> 00:16:14,931 broken ribs, broken eye socket or something. 286 00:16:15,034 --> 00:16:18,068 Him dragging her down the sidewalk in front of the kids, 287 00:16:18,172 --> 00:16:20,931 and really just ugliness. 288 00:16:25,206 --> 00:16:27,896 [Maurice] Tracie wanted to do something about it herself 289 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,310 and we had domestic violence experts 290 00:16:30,413 --> 00:16:32,000 down there to where she could talk to and say, 291 00:16:32,103 --> 00:16:36,310 "Hey, what steps can... or resources can my daughter use 292 00:16:36,413 --> 00:16:39,448 to get out of this situation, or to help the situation or something?" 293 00:16:40,310 --> 00:16:42,758 [keypad beeping] 294 00:16:44,724 --> 00:16:47,517 [Margaret] I learned the weekend prior to Tracie's disappearance, 295 00:16:47,620 --> 00:16:50,862 she had telephone contact with Richton Park Police Department 296 00:16:50,965 --> 00:16:54,206 and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services 297 00:16:54,310 --> 00:16:55,758 relative to her grandchildren. 298 00:17:02,448 --> 00:17:05,655 [Stephanie] Tracie made the call to Child Protective Servies on 299 00:17:05,758 --> 00:17:08,137 Giovanna's husband, I believe it was something that he had 300 00:17:08,241 --> 00:17:12,550 supposedly done to the son, the youngest child. 301 00:17:12,655 --> 00:17:16,482 And I believe DCFS had pulled all three children from the home. 302 00:17:18,034 --> 00:17:22,413 But shortly after the children were placed with DCFS, 303 00:17:22,517 --> 00:17:27,792 a medical review unfounded the allegations of abuse, 304 00:17:27,896 --> 00:17:30,413 and those children were returned to their parents. 305 00:17:32,551 --> 00:17:35,275 [Stephanie] They gave the children back to Giovanna. 306 00:17:35,379 --> 00:17:38,310 Now, Tracie still doesn't have peace of mind, 307 00:17:38,413 --> 00:17:42,034 because now these kids are back in the hands of their mom 308 00:17:42,137 --> 00:17:43,689 and possibly their dad. 309 00:17:43,793 --> 00:17:45,206 So you're still worried about them. 310 00:17:52,931 --> 00:17:54,931 [Margaret] During the early stages of the investigation, 311 00:17:55,034 --> 00:17:58,482 it became important to have formal interviews 312 00:17:58,586 --> 00:18:01,551 of Giovanna, as well as her husband. 313 00:18:03,068 --> 00:18:07,103 We formally interviewed the husband at a suburban police agency. 314 00:18:07,206 --> 00:18:11,620 He accounted for his whereabouts, and he was co-operative. 315 00:18:11,724 --> 00:18:15,793 We were also able, the following day, to formally interview Giovanna. 316 00:18:16,965 --> 00:18:20,068 Her recollection was inconsistent, 317 00:18:20,172 --> 00:18:24,068 but attribution to whether or not that was 318 00:18:24,172 --> 00:18:27,862 her memory or her substance abuse was difficult to determine at the time. 319 00:18:27,965 --> 00:18:30,931 So that interview, it did not provide any additional leads. 320 00:18:34,827 --> 00:18:39,517 Giovanna eventually just kind of got on a negative, um... 321 00:18:39,620 --> 00:18:41,620 she stopped dealing with any of us 322 00:18:41,724 --> 00:18:44,827 because she felt like we were pointing a finger at her, 323 00:18:44,931 --> 00:18:46,241 her or her husband. 324 00:18:46,344 --> 00:18:47,724 And we weren't. We just wanted to talk to her. 325 00:18:51,034 --> 00:18:53,068 [Maurice] My personal opinion, 326 00:18:53,172 --> 00:18:58,000 anything that deals with my mom and my mom is missing, 327 00:18:58,103 --> 00:19:00,965 I'm gonna be calling you every day. 328 00:19:01,068 --> 00:19:03,827 I'm gonna be sending you a text like, "Hey, what's the update? 329 00:19:03,931 --> 00:19:05,000 What's going on?" 330 00:19:07,103 --> 00:19:10,172 [Margaret] Although there was an established history of domestic violence 331 00:19:10,275 --> 00:19:12,931 between Giovanna and her husband, 332 00:19:13,034 --> 00:19:15,862 there was never an allegation, that I'm aware of, 333 00:19:15,965 --> 00:19:19,620 of violence between Tracie Bell and Giovanna's husband. 334 00:19:19,724 --> 00:19:21,896 Or Tracie Bell and Giovanna. 335 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,586 So we had to continue to do our investigation. 336 00:19:31,586 --> 00:19:34,551 [Stephanie] So, I believe that 337 00:19:34,655 --> 00:19:38,137 Thursday I met Tracie's supervisor Maurice at her condo 338 00:19:38,241 --> 00:19:40,620 and then I just kind of 339 00:19:40,724 --> 00:19:43,793 picking things up off the floor and straightening things up, 340 00:19:43,896 --> 00:19:48,034 I ran into some paperwork from Tracie's ex-boyfriend. 341 00:19:50,758 --> 00:19:54,793 I was like, "Wow, this stuff is only like six months old." 342 00:19:54,896 --> 00:19:58,965 So that means that this person's now back in her life, 343 00:19:59,068 --> 00:20:01,793 when you're telling us for the last several years 344 00:20:02,689 --> 00:20:04,172 he was not in your life. 345 00:20:05,482 --> 00:20:08,137 I was so taken aback, until I... 346 00:20:08,241 --> 00:20:10,655 I kinda threw my hands up, I was like, what's going on? 347 00:20:22,620 --> 00:20:27,448 [Stephanie] While cleaning Tracie's apartment, and I ran across mail 348 00:20:27,551 --> 00:20:29,793 of her ex-boyfriend's, I was just... 349 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:32,551 thrown aback, because... 350 00:20:33,758 --> 00:20:35,310 he's not in the picture anymore, 351 00:20:35,413 --> 00:20:37,620 is what I've been told for the last several years. 352 00:20:37,724 --> 00:20:40,103 But this mail was, like, six months old. 353 00:20:42,034 --> 00:20:43,965 I was confused 'cause, 354 00:20:44,068 --> 00:20:46,620 you know, in the past when I knew him when they were dating, 355 00:20:46,724 --> 00:20:48,310 when Giovanna was little, 356 00:20:48,413 --> 00:20:51,551 we all got alone with him. He was fun, he was great... 357 00:20:51,655 --> 00:20:54,655 fun guy to be around. But... 358 00:20:54,758 --> 00:20:57,896 when they stopped seeing each other, I didn't know. I was like, "Okay, 359 00:20:58,000 --> 00:20:59,965 things fall together, they fall apart." 360 00:21:01,344 --> 00:21:03,965 But after asking her for several years, 361 00:21:04,068 --> 00:21:07,068 "Are you still seeing this guy, are you guys friends?" 362 00:21:07,172 --> 00:21:08,689 "No, no, no, no." 363 00:21:08,793 --> 00:21:12,275 Like, I mean, adamantly, like, "No, he's a clown." 364 00:21:12,379 --> 00:21:15,241 Okay. So when I saw the mail, I was just like, 365 00:21:15,344 --> 00:21:16,655 "Hmm... 366 00:21:17,758 --> 00:21:19,034 hmm... okay." 367 00:21:21,310 --> 00:21:24,793 [Louella] Well, he wasn't my cup of tea because 368 00:21:24,896 --> 00:21:27,241 he'd deal with other people's children. 369 00:21:27,344 --> 00:21:30,620 There was some competition there with Tracie, 370 00:21:30,724 --> 00:21:32,689 and I don't know why she kept seeing him. 371 00:21:38,172 --> 00:21:42,068 [Maurice] To my knowledge, Tracie was in no relationship with anybody at that point, 372 00:21:42,172 --> 00:21:44,586 but we still had to follow up on 373 00:21:44,689 --> 00:21:47,724 finding out about her ex-boyfriend. Like, "Hey, 374 00:21:47,827 --> 00:21:49,689 when did y'all break up?" 375 00:21:49,793 --> 00:21:52,448 Or, "When's the last time y'all seen each other? 376 00:21:52,551 --> 00:21:55,482 Did you pick her up on a Saturday night?" [chuckles] 377 00:21:55,586 --> 00:22:00,517 So, those are things that... those pointed questions needed to be asked 378 00:22:00,620 --> 00:22:05,068 about that person. So, if he is gonna be a suspect, let's clear this up right away. 379 00:22:07,379 --> 00:22:09,724 [Margaret] We were able to ascertain his identity 380 00:22:09,827 --> 00:22:12,034 and make contact with him, 381 00:22:12,137 --> 00:22:17,379 and he did provide a time for us to do an interview at his home. 382 00:22:25,793 --> 00:22:29,344 He appeared co-operative, he answered their questions. 383 00:22:29,448 --> 00:22:32,655 Denied a current relationship with Tracie, 384 00:22:32,758 --> 00:22:36,172 and suggested his contact with her was limited to the 385 00:22:36,275 --> 00:22:38,103 fall of 2017. 386 00:22:38,206 --> 00:22:42,620 In a review of the historical records from Tracie's phone, 387 00:22:42,724 --> 00:22:45,965 his known numbers were consistent 388 00:22:46,068 --> 00:22:50,965 with not having contacted her cell phone since September of 2017. 389 00:22:55,517 --> 00:22:58,137 [Maurice] He was very forthcoming right away, 390 00:22:58,241 --> 00:23:01,931 and definitely wanted to make sure because 391 00:23:02,034 --> 00:23:04,137 he had a life of his own, 392 00:23:04,793 --> 00:23:06,965 and married and stuff, so, 393 00:23:07,068 --> 00:23:09,172 he was able to clear this up. 394 00:23:09,275 --> 00:23:11,724 I don't think he wanted that to bleed off into his 395 00:23:11,827 --> 00:23:13,586 personal life, right then and there. 396 00:23:17,137 --> 00:23:19,172 But I said, "I think he was living a double life," 397 00:23:19,275 --> 00:23:20,896 because he was supposed to had a wife. 398 00:23:22,448 --> 00:23:23,827 That's what I heard. 399 00:23:25,965 --> 00:23:30,068 [Stephanie] I felt like they always had a decent relationship, so even... 400 00:23:30,172 --> 00:23:31,965 if they were on friendly terms again, 401 00:23:32,068 --> 00:23:35,275 maybe she just does not want 20 questions from us. Like, 402 00:23:35,379 --> 00:23:38,241 "So, you're friends with him? You guys dated, you broke up, 403 00:23:38,344 --> 00:23:41,103 and now you're friends again. He's hanging out. You know, what's going on?" 404 00:23:41,206 --> 00:23:42,896 Maybe she didn't want all those questions. 405 00:23:46,827 --> 00:23:50,758 [Maurice] So, at this point, what do we have? 406 00:23:50,862 --> 00:23:54,103 We need to look through everything again and again. 407 00:23:56,206 --> 00:23:57,724 [Margaret] We have to follow the evidence. 408 00:23:57,827 --> 00:24:00,724 And the evidence suggests it's just as possible 409 00:24:00,827 --> 00:24:03,379 Tracie Bell left on her own accord. 410 00:24:06,068 --> 00:24:09,758 [Maurice] So, the Richton Park Police put on their website 411 00:24:09,862 --> 00:24:11,551 that Tracie Bell was missing. 412 00:24:11,655 --> 00:24:15,793 So, those little identifiers and stuff in the neighborhood, that was done. 413 00:24:18,413 --> 00:24:21,310 [Margaret] They were able to create a missing person's flyer, 414 00:24:21,413 --> 00:24:25,620 distribute it to the Cook County Sheriff's Court Services Department, 415 00:24:25,724 --> 00:24:28,103 which covered all of our locations. 416 00:24:36,689 --> 00:24:40,793 [Stephanie] There was a vigil that was organized, was put together 417 00:24:40,896 --> 00:24:45,655 with the State's Attorney's Office and some family members, and, um... 418 00:24:45,758 --> 00:24:49,379 so several co-workers came out, detectives, 419 00:24:49,482 --> 00:24:50,827 clerical, um... 420 00:24:51,758 --> 00:24:54,793 a dozen or so family members, 421 00:24:54,896 --> 00:24:56,413 and probably people exchanged information, 422 00:24:56,517 --> 00:24:58,827 so that we can stay in touch with one another. 423 00:24:58,931 --> 00:25:00,689 Giovanna didn't show up for that. 424 00:25:03,206 --> 00:25:06,344 When we did foot searches, we let her know we were gonna go out. 425 00:25:06,448 --> 00:25:08,931 She never did any of those. 426 00:25:09,034 --> 00:25:12,379 In fact, Giovanna got on bad terms with all of us 427 00:25:12,482 --> 00:25:14,448 for one reason or another. 428 00:25:14,551 --> 00:25:18,517 I believe so that she would not have to deal with us. 429 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,068 [Louella] So then, where else do you go? 430 00:25:27,379 --> 00:25:31,344 Because you can say that sometimes peoples are confused, 431 00:25:31,448 --> 00:25:33,344 and they do wind up in places 432 00:25:33,448 --> 00:25:36,137 because they don't know what's what. 433 00:25:36,241 --> 00:25:38,965 But then, if you show 'em pictures and ask some questions, 434 00:25:39,068 --> 00:25:41,000 and nobody's seen anybody like that, 435 00:25:41,103 --> 00:25:43,275 it's like they don't exist. 436 00:25:49,172 --> 00:25:54,172 In December 2018, the investigation felt like it stood still. 437 00:25:54,275 --> 00:25:56,206 But just when we think there's nothing, 438 00:25:56,310 --> 00:25:58,827 a co-worker who's known her for over 25 years 439 00:25:58,931 --> 00:26:02,827 is sure she saw Tracie Bell at a western suburb, 440 00:26:02,931 --> 00:26:04,172 at a restaurant. 441 00:26:04,275 --> 00:26:07,034 It's not that far from Tracie Bell's relatives 442 00:26:07,137 --> 00:26:09,000 who live in the south suburbs. 443 00:26:09,103 --> 00:26:10,344 It's a viable lead. 444 00:26:17,586 --> 00:26:21,517 [narrator] Tracie Bell was last seen on March 6th, 2018. 445 00:26:21,620 --> 00:26:23,655 [narrator reading] 446 00:26:39,724 --> 00:26:42,344 [Margaret] At the low point in the investigation, 447 00:26:42,448 --> 00:26:45,310 we were uplifted when a colleague 448 00:26:45,413 --> 00:26:47,137 from Cook County State's Attorney's Office 449 00:26:47,241 --> 00:26:49,413 who had known Tracie for over 25 years 450 00:26:50,620 --> 00:26:55,413 reported that she'd swear she saw Tracie 451 00:26:56,551 --> 00:26:58,103 ahead of her in line at a restaurant. 452 00:26:59,448 --> 00:27:02,517 It was December, so it was cold. 453 00:27:02,620 --> 00:27:04,448 Everybody was bundled up, 454 00:27:04,551 --> 00:27:07,137 and she said it was exactly Tracie 455 00:27:07,241 --> 00:27:11,482 with different hair and purple lipstick. 456 00:27:11,586 --> 00:27:16,413 With that information, we were able to go to the restaurant. 457 00:27:16,517 --> 00:27:18,517 We requested video, 458 00:27:18,620 --> 00:27:20,275 but some time had passed, 459 00:27:20,379 --> 00:27:23,551 and unfortunately, that video had been overwritten. 460 00:27:26,103 --> 00:27:30,034 It brings excitement because you're like, "Okay, somebody saw her. 461 00:27:30,137 --> 00:27:32,000 So, she's alive, walking around." 462 00:27:33,068 --> 00:27:34,655 But then you sitting back, like, 463 00:27:34,758 --> 00:27:37,034 "Is this a mistaken identity?" 464 00:27:37,724 --> 00:27:39,896 I tried not to get my 465 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:41,551 hopes that high right then and there. 466 00:27:41,655 --> 00:27:45,344 I'm like, "Okay, until I actually hear that Tracie Bell voice, 467 00:27:45,448 --> 00:27:47,310 we gonna follow these tips and see where it leads us." 468 00:27:50,103 --> 00:27:53,827 [Margaret] Richton Park filed a request by her service provider 469 00:27:53,931 --> 00:27:57,689 and they were provided limited access to cell phone data. 470 00:27:57,793 --> 00:28:00,758 Unfortunately, her device was last used 471 00:28:00,862 --> 00:28:04,034 the evening before she was reported missing. 472 00:28:04,137 --> 00:28:06,551 It did not provide any additional leads. 473 00:28:06,655 --> 00:28:08,758 We were also able to request 474 00:28:08,862 --> 00:28:12,137 to be notified, should any financial activity occur. 475 00:28:12,241 --> 00:28:15,068 No activity had been present on her accounts 476 00:28:15,172 --> 00:28:17,482 since the weekend prior to her disappearance. 477 00:28:19,379 --> 00:28:22,172 [Louella] Some of the people just wanna think like she just left, 478 00:28:22,275 --> 00:28:23,551 but I don't think so, 479 00:28:23,655 --> 00:28:26,344 because she had a plan of redoing her house. 480 00:28:27,206 --> 00:28:29,827 And she had also just got a new car. 481 00:28:29,931 --> 00:28:32,517 So, if she was gonna leave, why she didn't take her car with her? 482 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,172 Regarding the supposed sighting, 483 00:28:38,275 --> 00:28:41,931 I don't buy into it because of her medical conditions. 484 00:28:42,034 --> 00:28:44,206 She had rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes. 485 00:28:44,310 --> 00:28:45,827 Got to take your medications daily. 486 00:28:45,931 --> 00:28:48,275 There's not been any activity on her bank account, 487 00:28:48,379 --> 00:28:50,724 her vehicle's not being moved. 488 00:28:50,827 --> 00:28:54,862 How's she getting around? How's she surviving with no money? 489 00:28:54,965 --> 00:28:57,344 The Tracie that I know would not have just... 490 00:28:58,310 --> 00:29:00,862 vanished into thin air. 491 00:29:00,965 --> 00:29:04,586 You know, like saying to the world, "Kiss my ass, world." 492 00:29:04,689 --> 00:29:08,241 I'm not feeling like, you know, she's alive. 493 00:29:08,344 --> 00:29:10,655 And I wanted to know what happened to her. 494 00:29:16,103 --> 00:29:18,137 [Margaret] In the fall of 2021, 495 00:29:18,241 --> 00:29:21,896 we learned that the Cook County Sheriff's Department was 496 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,586 creating a Missing Person's project, 497 00:29:24,689 --> 00:29:27,241 which coincided with our investigation, 498 00:29:27,344 --> 00:29:29,620 and our need for further assistance. 499 00:29:29,724 --> 00:29:32,379 The Sheriff's Office will now have a dedicated link 500 00:29:32,482 --> 00:29:33,724 on its website, 501 00:29:33,827 --> 00:29:36,448 and have also dedicated three detectives 502 00:29:36,551 --> 00:29:40,172 to start working these Missing Person's cases full time. 503 00:29:41,793 --> 00:29:44,517 My name's Tom Dart. I am sheriff of Cook County. 504 00:29:44,620 --> 00:29:47,275 I've been sheriff now for 17 years. 505 00:29:48,344 --> 00:29:50,965 Back in September of '21, 506 00:29:51,068 --> 00:29:54,137 I wanted to formalize a specific Missing Person's unit, 507 00:29:54,241 --> 00:29:57,034 because in the spectrum of things law enforcement works on, 508 00:29:57,137 --> 00:29:59,275 Missing Persons is pretty low on the spectrum. 509 00:30:00,827 --> 00:30:04,241 The reason being is because this person went missing today 510 00:30:04,344 --> 00:30:06,310 and an hour later they're back. 511 00:30:07,758 --> 00:30:10,482 Those things happen all the time, 512 00:30:10,586 --> 00:30:15,068 which lends itself to then not being treated as seriously by departments at times. 513 00:30:16,724 --> 00:30:18,482 And so, as a result of that, 514 00:30:18,586 --> 00:30:23,517 it really requires you to have some really focused people working on it. 515 00:30:23,620 --> 00:30:27,586 And so, one of the ones we're actively on now is Tracie Bell's case. 516 00:30:29,448 --> 00:30:31,379 My name is Jason Moran. 517 00:30:31,482 --> 00:30:33,827 I'm a detective commander with the Cook County Sheriff's police. 518 00:30:36,068 --> 00:30:39,241 What our first job to do is to 519 00:30:39,344 --> 00:30:42,172 start looking at all the available information. 520 00:30:42,275 --> 00:30:44,551 So, we'll reach out to the originating agencies 521 00:30:45,172 --> 00:30:47,517 and we'll ask them to see 522 00:30:47,620 --> 00:30:50,586 the reports and any evidence that was collected. 523 00:30:57,103 --> 00:31:00,379 [Margaret] There was a meeting in March of 2021 524 00:31:00,482 --> 00:31:05,275 with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office Investigations Bureau 525 00:31:05,379 --> 00:31:07,172 and Richton Park Police Department, 526 00:31:07,275 --> 00:31:10,482 as well as Cook County Sheriff's Police. 527 00:31:10,586 --> 00:31:15,551 During that meeting, there was a disclosure by Richton Park Police Department 528 00:31:15,655 --> 00:31:19,896 about a report on the evening Tracie Bell went missing 529 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,482 that was not something known to the State's Attorney's Office 530 00:31:23,586 --> 00:31:25,551 prior to March of '21. 531 00:31:35,517 --> 00:31:38,172 This report was not identified, 532 00:31:38,275 --> 00:31:42,103 in part because the description was a 533 00:31:42,206 --> 00:31:43,896 female Hispanic. 534 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,413 Tracie Bell was a very light-skinned Black female. 535 00:31:47,517 --> 00:31:50,724 But it established itself as the last known sighting of Tracie Bell. 536 00:31:54,137 --> 00:31:58,241 [Jason] This officer wa s concerned for this woman's well-being. 537 00:32:00,034 --> 00:32:04,068 That she appeared to be confused in some way. 538 00:32:04,172 --> 00:32:08,310 This is at the McDonald's restaurant near Lake George. 539 00:32:08,413 --> 00:32:10,448 Maybe 50 feet away from Lake George. 540 00:32:12,965 --> 00:32:16,000 While Tracie appeared to be confused, 541 00:32:16,103 --> 00:32:20,000 she was not interested in having the police or paramedics assist her. 542 00:32:21,310 --> 00:32:24,827 So once we realized Tracie was in that area 543 00:32:24,931 --> 00:32:28,068 at night by Lake George, 544 00:32:28,172 --> 00:32:33,931 is it possible that Tracie was having a mental health issue? 545 00:32:34,034 --> 00:32:37,068 Or a medical issue, maybe like a low blood sugar, 546 00:32:37,172 --> 00:32:40,172 and could she have had an accident? 547 00:32:40,275 --> 00:32:44,310 Given the fact that the hours following her disappearance 548 00:32:44,413 --> 00:32:48,862 were particularly frigid for that time of year... 549 00:32:48,965 --> 00:32:51,586 [Tom] It's large enough where, um... 550 00:32:52,862 --> 00:32:57,241 you could conceivably see an individual going there 551 00:32:57,344 --> 00:32:59,000 and passing away. 552 00:33:00,586 --> 00:33:04,206 It's sort of a place that sorta screamed for additional searches. 553 00:33:07,724 --> 00:33:09,758 So we decided we have to conduct a search. 554 00:33:11,620 --> 00:33:14,448 All right, good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. 555 00:33:14,551 --> 00:33:15,758 We're here for Tracie. 556 00:33:17,482 --> 00:33:20,827 We know that she was last seen down at this McDonald's here. 557 00:33:22,758 --> 00:33:25,827 And about 50 feet behind that McDonald's is Lake George here. 558 00:33:27,172 --> 00:33:30,827 So, what we're trying to do is learn 559 00:33:30,931 --> 00:33:34,620 if Tracie, for whatever reason, was... 560 00:33:34,724 --> 00:33:37,482 came into the lake and unfortunately drowned. 561 00:33:37,586 --> 00:33:41,000 And we could find her remains, or... 562 00:33:41,103 --> 00:33:43,793 we could find her clothing or something 563 00:33:43,896 --> 00:33:45,275 that puts her here. 564 00:33:47,103 --> 00:33:50,379 We're gonna walk along the shoreline to see if there's any... 565 00:33:50,482 --> 00:33:51,827 anything that's important. 566 00:33:52,758 --> 00:33:56,379 We're also gonna do a UAV in the air 567 00:33:56,482 --> 00:33:58,068 and a remote-control submarine. 568 00:33:59,655 --> 00:34:02,068 If anything is found, holler out 569 00:34:02,172 --> 00:34:04,620 and we'll assess what evidence you're seeing. 570 00:34:05,241 --> 00:34:06,172 Okay. Perfect. 571 00:34:06,896 --> 00:34:08,000 [Jason speaking] 572 00:34:13,447 --> 00:34:15,413 [Jason] The drones, they're really great 573 00:34:15,516 --> 00:34:18,000 to sort of see a larger area. 574 00:34:18,103 --> 00:34:20,827 It helps us understand the scene. 575 00:34:20,931 --> 00:34:24,068 It also helps us locate evidence that we otherwise wouldn't see. 576 00:34:27,447 --> 00:34:29,000 We're gonna go look at the screen now. 577 00:34:38,413 --> 00:34:40,000 What's that long thing in the back? 578 00:34:44,655 --> 00:34:47,585 The long white thing next to that lure, or that bobber. 579 00:34:53,620 --> 00:34:56,379 [drone buzzing] 580 00:35:01,413 --> 00:35:02,482 It's just wood. 581 00:35:12,172 --> 00:35:15,344 Yeah, I could see a million different scenarios where someone 582 00:35:15,448 --> 00:35:17,517 came in, fell in, whatever it might be, 583 00:35:17,620 --> 00:35:21,137 and... I mean, no one would see that. 584 00:35:22,620 --> 00:35:24,896 And in case Tracie did go in... 585 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,551 So that's where this submarine would come in. 586 00:35:29,068 --> 00:35:31,758 [Todd Duignan] So, our latest addition to this ASRT team 587 00:35:31,862 --> 00:35:33,310 has been the new ROV. 588 00:35:33,413 --> 00:35:36,034 It's a submersible remote-operated vehicle. 589 00:35:36,896 --> 00:35:38,482 These use these on shipwrecks. 590 00:35:38,586 --> 00:35:41,586 They used these same type of devices that go 200, 300 meters deep. 591 00:35:47,034 --> 00:35:49,931 Bodies are usually within a very short distance of where they go in. 592 00:35:52,241 --> 00:35:54,586 [Jason] The McDonald's is just right on the other side of that, 593 00:35:54,689 --> 00:35:56,586 so we're working towards that direction. 594 00:35:58,862 --> 00:36:00,586 [engine whirring] 595 00:36:08,137 --> 00:36:09,862 [Jason speaking] 596 00:36:20,275 --> 00:36:21,793 [Jason] And we're gonna let the family know too 597 00:36:21,896 --> 00:36:23,241 that we were out here trying. 598 00:36:23,344 --> 00:36:24,137 -Yeah. -Yeah. 599 00:36:24,241 --> 00:36:25,965 -We're not gonna give up. -Yeah. Yeah. 600 00:36:32,379 --> 00:36:34,620 [Margaret] We've done a lot of work at this point. 601 00:36:34,724 --> 00:36:38,241 We have not ruled out any options. 602 00:36:38,344 --> 00:36:40,413 [Jason] Around the time of Tracie's disappearance, 603 00:36:40,517 --> 00:36:44,379 she could have been going though a mental, and/or medical issue. 604 00:36:44,482 --> 00:36:47,275 There's a few different theories 605 00:36:47,379 --> 00:36:49,793 that lends itself to an accident. 606 00:36:50,482 --> 00:36:52,758 Or foul play. 607 00:36:52,862 --> 00:36:55,896 [Margaret] We know that the relationship between 608 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,000 Giovanna and her husband 609 00:36:58,103 --> 00:37:02,137 was increasing in frequency of domestic violence 610 00:37:02,241 --> 00:37:03,827 at the time of her disappearance. 611 00:37:11,586 --> 00:37:15,724 Missing Person cases are a mystery. 612 00:37:15,827 --> 00:37:18,620 You know, some more mysterious than others. 613 00:37:18,724 --> 00:37:21,241 And in Tracie's case, we could not discount the fact 614 00:37:21,344 --> 00:37:25,000 that she could have been gone due to suspicious circumstances. 615 00:37:25,862 --> 00:37:28,241 And... or foul play. 616 00:37:28,344 --> 00:37:31,172 That is something that we still are weighing, 617 00:37:31,275 --> 00:37:32,379 and we're still looking at. 618 00:37:37,965 --> 00:37:42,034 [Stephanie] Giovanna passed the last October, 2022. 619 00:37:42,137 --> 00:37:45,103 It was difficult. It was difficult because, 620 00:37:45,206 --> 00:37:49,413 you know, Tracie's been missing since 2018, and now 621 00:37:49,517 --> 00:37:51,655 her only child is gone. 622 00:37:51,758 --> 00:37:55,896 And we still don't have answers to Tracie's disappearance. 623 00:37:57,896 --> 00:38:02,137 When I found out about Giovanna passing, 624 00:38:02,241 --> 00:38:04,172 it took me back. I was like, "Wait a minute, 625 00:38:04,275 --> 00:38:06,448 she passed?" 'Cause she's young. 626 00:38:06,551 --> 00:38:08,241 So you look at it and then you're like, 627 00:38:08,344 --> 00:38:09,275 "Wait a minute, what happened?" 628 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:14,000 She passed away from a drug overdose. Fentanyl. 629 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:16,655 I know she always drank, 630 00:38:16,758 --> 00:38:19,344 but as far as her to dabble in 631 00:38:19,448 --> 00:38:22,275 anything other than that, no knowledge. 632 00:38:22,379 --> 00:38:25,172 But, you know, things change, people change. 633 00:38:25,275 --> 00:38:28,620 [Louella] And I think it was, she didn't want to live anymore. 634 00:38:29,482 --> 00:38:31,482 I really do. I think that, 635 00:38:31,586 --> 00:38:33,068 that's just my personal thought... 636 00:38:33,965 --> 00:38:37,000 because her mother wasn't here anymore. 637 00:38:39,379 --> 00:38:41,689 [Stephanie] During Giovanna's funeral, 638 00:38:41,793 --> 00:38:43,793 her husband was incarcerated 639 00:38:43,896 --> 00:38:47,689 because of domestic disturbance with Giovanna. 640 00:38:49,241 --> 00:38:54,241 Part of me believes that Giovanna knew something. 641 00:38:54,344 --> 00:38:59,689 [Maurice] To think, to me, in my opinion, I think GG might have known something. 642 00:38:59,793 --> 00:39:03,344 She might have known something extra but she just didn't reveal it. 643 00:39:03,448 --> 00:39:06,758 And we lost the opportunity when she passed away. 644 00:39:10,310 --> 00:39:13,517 [Jason] Tracie Bell has been missing for over five years, 645 00:39:13,620 --> 00:39:16,310 and we're still investigating her disappearance. 646 00:39:18,103 --> 00:39:22,724 For all missing persons, your case does not close 647 00:39:22,827 --> 00:39:26,172 until the missing returns or is located. 648 00:39:28,137 --> 00:39:30,862 [Stephanie] We're still just kind of hanging in limbo. 649 00:39:31,620 --> 00:39:33,000 Her disappearance... 650 00:39:34,172 --> 00:39:39,413 has been a... has affected so many people. 651 00:39:39,517 --> 00:39:41,344 So many people, and... 652 00:39:41,448 --> 00:39:45,586 and left a lot of us with a lot of unanswered questions 653 00:39:45,689 --> 00:39:48,206 and confused, and... 654 00:39:49,241 --> 00:39:51,655 you know, I miss our long conversations. 655 00:39:52,448 --> 00:39:53,655 I miss her laugh. 656 00:39:55,931 --> 00:39:59,034 [Louella] That's a thing that's not easy to deal with, 657 00:39:59,137 --> 00:40:00,586 losing a child. 658 00:40:01,275 --> 00:40:03,448 And the main part about it, 659 00:40:03,551 --> 00:40:07,241 you don't know what happened, and where the remains at. 660 00:40:07,344 --> 00:40:09,862 But if you lose a child and you put them away, 661 00:40:09,965 --> 00:40:14,551 you know, a funeral or burial, then you knew that's that. 662 00:40:14,655 --> 00:40:17,275 But then you have a child that is missing, 663 00:40:18,310 --> 00:40:21,275 you often be wondering, where? What? 664 00:40:24,241 --> 00:40:26,344 And that makes the difference. 665 00:40:26,448 --> 00:40:28,379 [Maurice] Help us to bring closure. 666 00:40:28,482 --> 00:40:31,275 Tracie, if you out here looking at this, 667 00:40:31,379 --> 00:40:35,000 hey, you are loved. You not gonna be judged. 668 00:40:35,931 --> 00:40:39,241 Just come on home and say, "Hey, I am okay, 669 00:40:39,344 --> 00:40:41,862 you all. I just took a time out. 670 00:40:41,965 --> 00:40:44,000 And that time out lasted five years." 671 00:40:44,793 --> 00:40:46,517 But call us. 672 00:40:46,620 --> 00:40:50,206 Either way it goes, if you know something, 673 00:40:50,310 --> 00:40:52,241 especially if you hear us out there, 674 00:40:52,344 --> 00:40:55,034 or somebody that knows something... 675 00:40:55,137 --> 00:40:58,620 don't hesitate. Make that phone call today. 676 00:40:58,724 --> 00:41:08,068 ♪♪ 677 00:41:17,517 --> 00:41:19,758 ♪♪ 678 00:41:19,862 --> 00:41:21,620 I go to the river, and I see Chris' truck, 679 00:41:21,724 --> 00:41:23,931 and I look in the truck-- he's not there. 680 00:41:25,965 --> 00:41:28,551 That only in my mind makes me think that he got picked up. 681 00:41:28,655 --> 00:41:31,448 The only clue that's recovered is a cigarette butt. 682 00:41:32,482 --> 00:41:35,137 I don't see my husband willingly leaving his children.