1 00:00:01,543 --> 00:00:02,836 What was your experience with the police officers 2 00:00:02,961 --> 00:00:04,003 that showed up? 3 00:00:04,086 --> 00:00:05,797 [Michael] They had pinged her phone. 4 00:00:05,881 --> 00:00:08,425 It was out of state and it was in Missouri. 5 00:00:08,509 --> 00:00:09,760 Wow. 6 00:00:09,843 --> 00:00:11,512 How the hell was her phone in Missouri? 7 00:00:11,595 --> 00:00:14,348 Yeah, why is her phone in a different state? 8 00:00:14,473 --> 00:00:15,724 Was it located? 9 00:00:15,849 --> 00:00:19,728 It was found the next morning on the side of, I believe 10 00:00:19,853 --> 00:00:21,730 it was like an on-ramp or an off-ramp. 11 00:00:22,773 --> 00:00:26,652 Does your mother know anybody in Missouri? 12 00:00:26,735 --> 00:00:30,030 -No one. -Was there any part of you 13 00:00:30,113 --> 00:00:34,535 that was thinking your mother could have possibly 14 00:00:34,660 --> 00:00:37,204 just walked away? -Absolutely not. 15 00:00:38,455 --> 00:00:42,376 I think something went very bad, and it... 16 00:00:43,794 --> 00:00:46,672 may have cost her her life. 17 00:00:48,549 --> 00:00:51,343 -[theme music playing] -[Pamela] I was born in Chicago. 18 00:00:51,426 --> 00:00:53,554 I grew up in Chicago. 19 00:00:53,637 --> 00:00:56,056 This is my city. 20 00:00:56,139 --> 00:00:59,685 I spent 20 years as a Chicago PD, 21 00:00:59,768 --> 00:01:01,728 missing persons detective. 22 00:01:02,854 --> 00:01:06,441 But when I retired, the work never stopped. 23 00:01:06,567 --> 00:01:09,361 This job never leaves you. 24 00:01:10,571 --> 00:01:14,157 And my mission now is to return to the cases 25 00:01:14,241 --> 00:01:15,617 that others left behind. 26 00:01:17,536 --> 00:01:21,414 And find that one clue that can finally break the case. 27 00:01:29,131 --> 00:01:34,344 [Pamela] Most missing persons cases are solved within a few hours, 28 00:01:34,428 --> 00:01:37,889 but others can drag on for years. 29 00:01:37,973 --> 00:01:41,476 And when the missing is an adult, the answers can be 30 00:01:41,602 --> 00:01:43,270 even harder to find. 31 00:01:44,979 --> 00:01:51,445 On September 25th, 2019, 53-year-old Erica Thompson 32 00:01:51,527 --> 00:01:55,782 mysteriously vanished from Brookfield, Illinois... 33 00:01:55,866 --> 00:01:57,576 [reporter] The light outside of Erica Thompson's home 34 00:01:57,658 --> 00:01:59,620 is still on. 35 00:01:59,745 --> 00:02:02,956 That she hasn't been seen or heard from in weeks. 36 00:02:03,999 --> 00:02:07,127 [Pamela] ...leaving behind a trail of cryptic messages -- 37 00:02:07,252 --> 00:02:10,964 He received a text and it read, "It's me time, 38 00:02:11,048 --> 00:02:12,966 it's time for me." 39 00:02:13,050 --> 00:02:15,260 ...tumultuous relationships -- 40 00:02:15,344 --> 00:02:17,596 She did not pick the greatest men. 41 00:02:17,679 --> 00:02:19,640 I like the bad-boy type of thing. 42 00:02:19,723 --> 00:02:21,475 ...and disturbing clues. 43 00:02:21,558 --> 00:02:24,019 I looked down and there's a bracelet. 44 00:02:24,144 --> 00:02:26,480 What condition was the bracelet in? 45 00:02:26,605 --> 00:02:27,606 [Dana] It was broken. 46 00:02:29,107 --> 00:02:32,235 [Pamela] Now, six years later, her family seems 47 00:02:32,319 --> 00:02:35,405 no closer to finding answers. 48 00:02:35,489 --> 00:02:36,990 [Dana] I don't know where she is. 49 00:02:37,074 --> 00:02:39,993 The hardest part of all this is we can't find her. 50 00:02:40,118 --> 00:02:42,746 And the questions swirl. 51 00:02:42,829 --> 00:02:45,165 Was she running away to start a new life? 52 00:02:46,291 --> 00:02:49,002 "I am off to do some huge soul-searching 53 00:02:49,127 --> 00:02:52,297 to see if I have one and where I put it." 54 00:02:52,381 --> 00:02:56,176 Or had something from her past come back to haunt her? 55 00:02:56,259 --> 00:02:58,345 [Struck] He got arrested for domestic battery 56 00:02:58,428 --> 00:03:00,847 and Erica was the victim, 57 00:03:00,931 --> 00:03:04,142 I think something went very bad, 58 00:03:04,226 --> 00:03:06,728 and it may have cost her her life. 59 00:03:11,983 --> 00:03:15,237 [Pamela] In 2021, the Cook County Sheriff's Office 60 00:03:15,362 --> 00:03:18,198 set up a missing-persons unit to look at cases 61 00:03:18,323 --> 00:03:21,952 in the greater Chicago area that had stalled. 62 00:03:22,035 --> 00:03:24,704 Erica's case was one that had recently popped up 63 00:03:24,829 --> 00:03:26,248 on their list. 64 00:03:26,373 --> 00:03:30,043 You know, when a child goes missing, everybody's looking. 65 00:03:30,127 --> 00:03:34,339 When an adult goes missing, it's a totally different story. 66 00:03:34,423 --> 00:03:37,718 Days can get past you before anyone notices 67 00:03:37,801 --> 00:03:40,887 that this might actually be a missing-persons case. 68 00:03:43,014 --> 00:03:44,558 Erica lived in Brookfield, 69 00:03:44,683 --> 00:03:47,602 a small suburb just southwest of Chicago. 70 00:03:48,728 --> 00:03:52,399 Today, I'm meeting with Erica's son, Michael. 71 00:03:52,524 --> 00:03:54,735 I'm gonna get Michael's point of view 72 00:03:54,817 --> 00:03:57,070 as to what happened to his mother. 73 00:03:57,154 --> 00:03:59,990 And I also wanna know what was going on in her life, 74 00:04:00,073 --> 00:04:02,409 leading up to her disappearance. 75 00:04:07,581 --> 00:04:10,292 So, Michael, it's been six years. 76 00:04:10,417 --> 00:04:13,086 I know you have a lot of questions. 77 00:04:13,211 --> 00:04:17,673 Tell me about the last time you spoke with your mother. 78 00:04:17,757 --> 00:04:20,761 So, the last time I talked to my mom was 79 00:04:20,844 --> 00:04:27,476 through text throughout the day of September 24th of 2019. 80 00:04:29,144 --> 00:04:31,980 I was texting her for a couple days about some packages 81 00:04:32,105 --> 00:04:36,443 that I had being delivered over there, but by October 1st, 82 00:04:36,568 --> 00:04:39,112 I haven't heard from her for several days 83 00:04:39,237 --> 00:04:41,531 and she was not responding to any of my text messages. 84 00:04:41,615 --> 00:04:43,325 -And that was unusual? -Very. 85 00:04:45,202 --> 00:04:47,120 So me and my girlfriend at the time 86 00:04:47,245 --> 00:04:49,664 ended up going over there the next day. 87 00:04:49,790 --> 00:04:52,250 [Pamela] Did you notice anything unusual? 88 00:04:52,334 --> 00:04:55,629 Yes, her car wasn't there to begin with, which already 89 00:04:55,712 --> 00:04:59,049 gave me a bad feeling, and then the back door, 90 00:04:59,132 --> 00:05:01,176 the sliding glass door, was open. 91 00:05:01,301 --> 00:05:05,472 The central AC unit is directly next to the door outside, 92 00:05:05,555 --> 00:05:07,974 and it was running at full strength, 93 00:05:08,099 --> 00:05:09,976 and that was very unusual. 94 00:05:10,060 --> 00:05:12,187 Because she would never do both at the same time. 95 00:05:12,312 --> 00:05:14,481 [Michael] She was very big on saving money. 96 00:05:14,564 --> 00:05:15,690 It wouldn't make any sense. 97 00:05:17,025 --> 00:05:18,777 And you go into the house. 98 00:05:21,488 --> 00:05:23,323 [Michael] It was very bizarre. 99 00:05:23,406 --> 00:05:27,410 The kitchen table takes up a lot of space in the room, 100 00:05:27,494 --> 00:05:29,496 so it's usually pushed up against the wall, 101 00:05:29,579 --> 00:05:31,623 and it was strewn out into the middle of the floor 102 00:05:31,706 --> 00:05:36,044 on a diagonal angle. -What was your next move? 103 00:05:36,169 --> 00:05:40,048 I started dialing her boss. 104 00:05:40,173 --> 00:05:43,677 He said she had not been at work for a couple days. 105 00:05:43,802 --> 00:05:47,848 Was she typically the type that would go to work 106 00:05:47,931 --> 00:05:50,517 every single day? -Yes. 107 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,563 And her boss did mention to me he received a text 108 00:05:54,688 --> 00:05:58,400 from my mother one of the days that she did not 109 00:05:58,525 --> 00:06:00,026 show up for work. 110 00:06:00,151 --> 00:06:02,404 And it read something strange. 111 00:06:03,780 --> 00:06:08,368 Something like, "It's me time. It's time for me." 112 00:06:08,451 --> 00:06:11,204 It wasn't articulate. Didn't make sense. 113 00:06:13,206 --> 00:06:16,251 What was your mother's state of mind at the time 114 00:06:16,376 --> 00:06:17,919 of her disappearance? 115 00:06:18,044 --> 00:06:21,882 She was doing a lot of self-reflecting. 116 00:06:22,007 --> 00:06:23,967 She had broken up with a boyfriend, 117 00:06:24,050 --> 00:06:26,553 I believe, in April. -[Pamela] OK. 118 00:06:26,678 --> 00:06:29,848 -Was that difficult for her? -Yeah. 119 00:06:29,931 --> 00:06:33,685 She was depressed and she was upset with herself. 120 00:06:33,768 --> 00:06:37,272 -[Pamela] OK. -[Michael] Her relationship with him 121 00:06:37,397 --> 00:06:40,692 had caused a lot of whiffs between 122 00:06:40,775 --> 00:06:42,777 herself and her sister, 123 00:06:42,903 --> 00:06:45,822 herself and her mother, me and her. 124 00:06:46,990 --> 00:06:48,867 So, you've mentioned the ex-boyfriend. 125 00:06:48,950 --> 00:06:51,578 What was going on in her life with him? 126 00:06:53,413 --> 00:06:54,831 [Michael] Chet. 127 00:06:54,915 --> 00:07:00,086 -She had met him at a local bar. -How long had she known Chet? 128 00:07:00,211 --> 00:07:01,087 It's been a couple years. 129 00:07:01,212 --> 00:07:03,131 I'm not entirely sure the full length. 130 00:07:03,256 --> 00:07:04,841 Did they have a good relationship? 131 00:07:04,925 --> 00:07:06,468 No. 132 00:07:06,593 --> 00:07:07,886 Why do you say that? 133 00:07:07,969 --> 00:07:10,472 From an outside perspective, it seemed like there was 134 00:07:10,597 --> 00:07:14,267 a lot of narcissism and manipulation. 135 00:07:14,351 --> 00:07:18,146 I think anything he does would be to serve himself 136 00:07:18,271 --> 00:07:22,150 and not with the intention of caring for my mom. 137 00:07:22,275 --> 00:07:24,778 My mom would isolate herself. 138 00:07:24,861 --> 00:07:26,571 I think he was responsible for that. 139 00:07:27,948 --> 00:07:31,409 Do you think your mom realized what he was doing? 140 00:07:31,493 --> 00:07:33,036 Yes. 141 00:07:33,119 --> 00:07:37,916 I think it took her a while, but she had broken up with him 142 00:07:37,999 --> 00:07:41,628 and she was picking back up on the relationship with me 143 00:07:41,753 --> 00:07:44,130 and the rest of the family and stuff. 144 00:07:44,255 --> 00:07:49,052 After Chet, did she get involved with anyone else? 145 00:07:49,135 --> 00:07:51,805 No, no. He was the last one. 146 00:07:51,888 --> 00:07:52,889 [Pamela] OK. 147 00:07:52,973 --> 00:07:56,518 So, you contacted work. What did you do next? 148 00:07:56,643 --> 00:07:59,562 [Michael] I decided to go to some of the local places I know 149 00:07:59,646 --> 00:08:02,857 she would stop in at to ask around if anyone had 150 00:08:02,983 --> 00:08:04,275 seen her recently. 151 00:08:04,359 --> 00:08:07,570 But they hadn't seen her in a while. 152 00:08:07,654 --> 00:08:08,655 OK. 153 00:08:10,699 --> 00:08:14,285 At around 6:30 PM on October 1st, 154 00:08:14,369 --> 00:08:16,621 Michael called the Brookfield PD 155 00:08:16,705 --> 00:08:19,499 and filed an official missing-persons case 156 00:08:19,582 --> 00:08:20,625 for his mother. 157 00:08:21,668 --> 00:08:23,878 What was your experience with the police officers 158 00:08:24,004 --> 00:08:25,171 that showed up? 159 00:08:25,296 --> 00:08:29,467 The detective wasn't overly concerned. 160 00:08:29,551 --> 00:08:32,470 That the police had to entertain the idea 161 00:08:32,554 --> 00:08:36,599 that she could have just up and left on her own. 162 00:08:36,683 --> 00:08:40,061 And then within a couple hours, I got a call back. 163 00:08:41,229 --> 00:08:43,063 They had pinged her phone. 164 00:08:43,188 --> 00:08:45,650 It was out of state, and it was in Missouri. 165 00:08:45,734 --> 00:08:47,485 Wow! 166 00:08:47,569 --> 00:08:50,864 So, what are you telling the police at this point? 167 00:08:52,115 --> 00:08:53,241 That she is missing. 168 00:08:53,366 --> 00:08:55,493 Yeah, how the hell is her phone in Missouri? 169 00:08:55,577 --> 00:08:58,371 Yeah, why is her phone in a different state? 170 00:08:58,455 --> 00:09:00,415 Was it located? What did it just pick? 171 00:09:00,540 --> 00:09:03,251 It was located the next morning. 172 00:09:03,376 --> 00:09:08,006 It was found on the side of, off of a highway. 173 00:09:08,089 --> 00:09:10,300 I believe it was like an on-ramp or an off-ramp. 174 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:16,056 And if I do remember correctly, one of the detectives told me 175 00:09:16,139 --> 00:09:17,265 that it was in a bag. 176 00:09:18,558 --> 00:09:20,101 [Pamela] Mm. 177 00:09:20,226 --> 00:09:23,980 Does your mother know anybody in Missouri? 178 00:09:24,064 --> 00:09:25,565 No one. 179 00:09:25,690 --> 00:09:29,027 [Pamela] She had no reason to be in Missouri? 180 00:09:29,110 --> 00:09:30,111 [Michael] No. 181 00:09:32,864 --> 00:09:38,203 Was there any part of you that was thinking your mother 182 00:09:38,286 --> 00:09:41,247 could have possibly just walked away? 183 00:09:41,331 --> 00:09:42,415 Absolutely not. 184 00:09:43,540 --> 00:09:46,503 I think something went very bad, 185 00:09:46,586 --> 00:09:49,547 and it may have 186 00:09:50,590 --> 00:09:51,800 cost her her life. 187 00:09:54,469 --> 00:09:56,513 This is a really strange case. 188 00:09:57,889 --> 00:09:59,099 Erica vanishes, 189 00:10:00,225 --> 00:10:02,602 the house is left open, 190 00:10:02,685 --> 00:10:03,812 her car is missing, 191 00:10:05,105 --> 00:10:07,065 and her phone is in Missouri. 192 00:10:08,274 --> 00:10:09,359 Was she taken? 193 00:10:10,777 --> 00:10:12,695 Or could she have walked away on her own? 194 00:10:13,863 --> 00:10:16,533 I want to know more about this boyfriend. 195 00:10:17,534 --> 00:10:21,955 I want to know more about what was going on in her life. 196 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,792 People keep secrets, and sometimes you need to dig 197 00:10:25,917 --> 00:10:27,877 deep to find the truth. 198 00:10:36,219 --> 00:10:41,391 [Pamela] In the days after Erica's son Michael reported her missing, 199 00:10:41,516 --> 00:10:46,479 a Brookfield PD canine team found no trace of remains 200 00:10:46,563 --> 00:10:47,981 in her home. 201 00:10:48,064 --> 00:10:52,777 The dogs tracked Erica's scent to her driveway where her car 202 00:10:52,902 --> 00:10:54,445 was usually parked. 203 00:10:55,738 --> 00:10:58,241 But from there, the trail went cold. 204 00:11:00,535 --> 00:11:04,414 Begging the question, did Erica leave on her own 205 00:11:04,539 --> 00:11:06,541 or was she with someone else? 206 00:11:07,709 --> 00:11:10,128 Michael believes someone is responsible 207 00:11:10,253 --> 00:11:13,548 for her disappearance, but I know all too well 208 00:11:13,631 --> 00:11:17,802 that families often jump to the worst conclusions 209 00:11:17,927 --> 00:11:22,515 because they cannot imagine a loved one simply walking away. 210 00:11:26,144 --> 00:11:31,065 Michael just sent me this email that Erica sent to her sister 211 00:11:31,149 --> 00:11:35,945 Dana just six days before she went missing. 212 00:11:36,029 --> 00:11:37,280 And it says, 213 00:11:38,281 --> 00:11:41,910 "Slowly over the past few months, I have looked at myself 214 00:11:41,993 --> 00:11:45,872 "trying to figure who I am, what I have become. 215 00:11:45,955 --> 00:11:48,165 "Somewhere in time, I broke. 216 00:11:48,290 --> 00:11:50,835 "I do understand I have caused great resentment. 217 00:11:52,003 --> 00:11:56,299 "Somewhere something happened and I have quit being human. 218 00:11:56,424 --> 00:12:01,429 "I do not feel joy or happiness. Not sure when, if I ever did. 219 00:12:02,597 --> 00:12:04,933 "I hope you find the best in yourselves. 220 00:12:05,016 --> 00:12:07,810 "You deserve far better from life. 221 00:12:07,936 --> 00:12:10,563 "I am off to do some huge soul searching 222 00:12:10,647 --> 00:12:13,608 to see if I have one and where I put it." 223 00:12:16,361 --> 00:12:19,405 This is truly her breaking inside. 224 00:12:19,489 --> 00:12:20,990 She was in a lot of pain. 225 00:12:23,159 --> 00:12:26,746 Reading this, you gotta ask -- "What was her mindset 226 00:12:26,829 --> 00:12:29,874 "at the time? Could she have run away? 227 00:12:29,999 --> 00:12:31,334 Could she have harmed herself?" 228 00:12:33,836 --> 00:12:37,423 Erica's disappearance devastated her family, 229 00:12:37,507 --> 00:12:40,176 especially her mother Bonnie, 230 00:12:40,301 --> 00:12:43,805 who has not left her home or received visitors 231 00:12:43,888 --> 00:12:45,348 in the past six years. 232 00:12:46,766 --> 00:12:50,228 She's never spoken with police or the media, 233 00:12:50,353 --> 00:12:53,022 but she and her partner Velma have agreed 234 00:12:53,147 --> 00:12:57,026 to a phone call to tell me more about her daughter. 235 00:13:04,075 --> 00:13:07,537 -Hi, is this Bonnie? -[Bonnie] Yes, this is Bonnie. 236 00:13:07,662 --> 00:13:09,622 [Pamela] Hi, Bonnie. This is Pamela. 237 00:13:09,706 --> 00:13:12,041 I appreciate you taking my call. 238 00:13:12,125 --> 00:13:16,754 I know that you knew Erica better than anybody. 239 00:13:16,879 --> 00:13:20,675 And I just wanna get a clear understanding 240 00:13:20,758 --> 00:13:23,261 of what Erica was like. 241 00:13:23,386 --> 00:13:25,680 [Bonnie] Erica was very talkative. 242 00:13:25,763 --> 00:13:27,557 -She was very smart. -[Pamela] Mm-hmm. 243 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,268 [Bonnie] She was very kind and sweet, to a fault, 244 00:13:30,393 --> 00:13:32,437 to some extent, you know? 245 00:13:32,562 --> 00:13:34,439 She would help people all the time. 246 00:13:36,190 --> 00:13:39,902 What can you tell me about the last exchange 247 00:13:40,028 --> 00:13:43,323 that you had with Erica? 248 00:13:43,406 --> 00:13:49,162 [Bonnie] We were texting on the 25th of September, 2019. 249 00:13:49,245 --> 00:13:53,458 And I think we stopped texting about 10:30 at night. 250 00:13:53,583 --> 00:13:55,543 At 10:30 PM? 251 00:13:55,626 --> 00:13:57,003 [Bonnie] Yes, that's accurate. 252 00:13:57,086 --> 00:14:02,216 So how was Erica mentally when you guys were 253 00:14:02,300 --> 00:14:06,304 communicating before she disappeared? 254 00:14:06,429 --> 00:14:09,557 [Velma] I'm Bonnie's partner, Velma. Can I say something? 255 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,267 [Pamela] Yes, of course. 256 00:14:11,392 --> 00:14:13,686 [Velma] I've known Erica for 21 years. 257 00:14:13,770 --> 00:14:16,856 She was self-reflecting about, you know, about some things 258 00:14:16,939 --> 00:14:19,400 that happened to her in the past with some men, 259 00:14:19,484 --> 00:14:23,279 and she was wanting to change and be better, but she was fine 260 00:14:23,404 --> 00:14:25,615 on the 25th. She sounded fine. 261 00:14:25,740 --> 00:14:30,370 So at this point in September, she and Chet were apart. 262 00:14:30,453 --> 00:14:33,206 -The relationship was over? -[both] Yes. 263 00:14:33,289 --> 00:14:35,750 [Pamela] What was that like for her? 264 00:14:35,833 --> 00:14:37,293 [Bonnie] It wasn't easy. 265 00:14:38,378 --> 00:14:40,254 What was he like? 266 00:14:40,338 --> 00:14:42,590 [Velma] I got a bad vibe about him when I met him. 267 00:14:42,673 --> 00:14:44,592 I didn't like him. 268 00:14:44,675 --> 00:14:47,303 [Bonnie] He wasn't like personable at all. 269 00:14:47,387 --> 00:14:50,765 [Velma] And then we had Googled him and found out he had been 270 00:14:50,848 --> 00:14:52,433 in and out of jail. 271 00:14:52,517 --> 00:14:57,188 He had set his ex-wife's apartment on fire. 272 00:14:57,313 --> 00:14:59,315 The whole apartment building went up in flames. 273 00:15:00,525 --> 00:15:02,777 At the time, luckily, nobody was in there. 274 00:15:03,986 --> 00:15:07,365 -And he went to jail for that? -[both] Yeah. 275 00:15:07,490 --> 00:15:09,659 [Velma] And then he got out on parole from it, 276 00:15:09,742 --> 00:15:12,537 and then Erica met him in 2017. 277 00:15:12,662 --> 00:15:15,665 [Pamela] She knew this, and she was still dating him? 278 00:15:15,748 --> 00:15:17,667 [Velma] She was giving him the benefits of the doubt, 279 00:15:17,750 --> 00:15:20,503 you know, thinking, uh, people change, you know. 280 00:15:20,586 --> 00:15:21,546 [Pamela] Mm-hmm. 281 00:15:21,671 --> 00:15:24,674 And where was Chet when Erica disappeared? 282 00:15:24,757 --> 00:15:27,760 [Velma] We heard that, uh, Chet was in Texas 283 00:15:27,844 --> 00:15:29,762 when Erica went missing. 284 00:15:29,846 --> 00:15:33,099 [Pamela] OK. Was there a guy before Chet? 285 00:15:34,183 --> 00:15:36,310 -[Bonnie] Yes. -What was his name? 286 00:15:36,394 --> 00:15:38,521 -[Bonnie] Brad? -Brad. 287 00:15:38,646 --> 00:15:40,523 What can you tell me about Brad? 288 00:15:40,648 --> 00:15:43,359 [Velma] He did tell us that he was a bit controlling. 289 00:15:43,484 --> 00:15:44,819 [Pamela] Brad was controlling. 290 00:15:44,902 --> 00:15:49,365 [Bonnie] Yeah, 'cause she told me that he got her 291 00:15:49,490 --> 00:15:51,075 grump all the time 292 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:53,494 At one point, it was her birthday and I went 293 00:15:53,578 --> 00:15:55,872 over there and she was out of her mind. 294 00:15:55,997 --> 00:15:58,290 She couldn't even hold her head up. 295 00:15:58,374 --> 00:16:00,293 I've never seen her like that, ever. 296 00:16:02,336 --> 00:16:08,342 I just know there are women that are always needing a guy. 297 00:16:10,261 --> 00:16:12,555 That is, I think, Erica. 298 00:16:17,351 --> 00:16:20,897 Speaking with Bonnie and Velma, it seems like Erica 299 00:16:20,980 --> 00:16:23,566 was the kind of person who would get involved 300 00:16:23,649 --> 00:16:25,318 with the wrong men. 301 00:16:25,401 --> 00:16:27,570 And if there's one thing that I've learned, 302 00:16:27,653 --> 00:16:31,073 the kind of men who prey on women like Erica 303 00:16:31,199 --> 00:16:34,702 can be more dangerous than family could ever imagine. 304 00:16:38,039 --> 00:16:41,334 I'm going to meet my former partner, Joe Struck. 305 00:16:41,417 --> 00:16:44,837 While I've been doing interviews, Joe's been pulling 306 00:16:44,921 --> 00:16:47,798 records on Chet and Brad. 307 00:16:47,924 --> 00:16:51,260 He also has a report from a contact at CPD 308 00:16:51,344 --> 00:16:54,597 about security footage of Erica's car driving 309 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:58,518 around town the morning after her family last heard from her. 310 00:17:01,479 --> 00:17:02,563 So basically, 311 00:17:03,940 --> 00:17:06,483 I got one report that discusses her car. 312 00:17:06,608 --> 00:17:08,986 -Mm-hmm. -And it basically says 313 00:17:09,111 --> 00:17:13,950 that they got video of it from the 26th of September. 314 00:17:14,032 --> 00:17:18,329 It says that at approximately 7:25, they see the dark-colored 315 00:17:18,454 --> 00:17:20,623 Nissan Juke, which is her car, 316 00:17:21,624 --> 00:17:23,917 the scene stopping at the stop sign located 317 00:17:24,001 --> 00:17:28,047 on Westbound Monroe and Maple Street in Brookfield. 318 00:17:28,130 --> 00:17:29,799 [Pamela] Wow. The last time she 319 00:17:29,924 --> 00:17:34,303 spoke with her mom was September 25th 320 00:17:34,428 --> 00:17:36,180 at night. 321 00:17:36,305 --> 00:17:39,684 [Struck] And they observed a male white subject wearing 322 00:17:39,809 --> 00:17:42,937 a white button-down collar shirt with a black object protruding 323 00:17:43,020 --> 00:17:44,397 in his pocket. 324 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:46,566 [Pamela] So a man's driving her car? 325 00:17:46,649 --> 00:17:47,984 -[Struck] Correct. -She's not. 326 00:17:48,109 --> 00:17:51,195 -A female is not driving the -- -No. 327 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,741 We sent the videos to this tech guy at CPD 328 00:17:55,825 --> 00:17:59,120 who was able to clear up the videos some, but not enough 329 00:17:59,203 --> 00:18:03,124 to make any kind of positive ID. 330 00:18:03,207 --> 00:18:04,667 [Pamela] OK. 331 00:18:04,750 --> 00:18:07,128 What other reports were you able to come across? 332 00:18:07,211 --> 00:18:10,423 [Struck] Well, I have criminal histories on Chet and one 333 00:18:10,506 --> 00:18:13,092 of her older ex-boyfriends, Brad. 334 00:18:13,175 --> 00:18:15,803 Now, Chet's the guy that was -- he was a truck driver. 335 00:18:15,886 --> 00:18:19,515 I mean, he's a violent guy. He's a registered sex offender. 336 00:18:19,599 --> 00:18:22,184 When he was in his 20s, he home invaded some woman, 337 00:18:22,268 --> 00:18:24,645 raped her... -Wow. 338 00:18:24,729 --> 00:18:28,357 [Struck] And then in 2010, he was charged with setting 339 00:18:28,482 --> 00:18:31,360 his ex-wife's house on fire. -[Pamela] He's not a good guy. 340 00:18:31,444 --> 00:18:34,405 -[Struck] No. -So what do we know about Brad? 341 00:18:34,530 --> 00:18:37,658 Brad had two domestic violence 342 00:18:38,743 --> 00:18:40,494 arrests. 343 00:18:40,578 --> 00:18:44,123 In 2013, he got arrested for domestic battery 344 00:18:44,206 --> 00:18:46,876 and Erica was the victim. 345 00:18:47,001 --> 00:18:50,129 He was drinking a lot and he attacked her. 346 00:18:50,212 --> 00:18:53,215 And then in 2015, he had another domestic battery 347 00:18:53,299 --> 00:18:56,010 with Erica as the victim, but then she didn't show up 348 00:18:56,093 --> 00:18:57,595 in court. -So it got tossed. 349 00:18:57,720 --> 00:18:59,388 So it got tossed, yeah. 350 00:18:59,513 --> 00:19:04,060 That is interesting because her mom did say 351 00:19:04,143 --> 00:19:07,355 that she didn't know Brad to be abusive, 352 00:19:07,438 --> 00:19:09,899 but this girl evidently didn't tell her mom 353 00:19:10,024 --> 00:19:12,026 about the two domestic batteries. 354 00:19:12,109 --> 00:19:13,235 [Struck] Yeah. 355 00:19:13,319 --> 00:19:15,780 She apparently doesn't pick her significant others 356 00:19:15,905 --> 00:19:17,365 too well. -No, she doesn't. 357 00:19:20,951 --> 00:19:25,122 Two allegations of domestic abuse with Brad, 358 00:19:25,247 --> 00:19:28,626 a registered sex offender and convicted arsonist, 359 00:19:28,751 --> 00:19:30,211 and Chet. 360 00:19:30,294 --> 00:19:35,007 And now we have an unknown male driving her car after she was 361 00:19:35,091 --> 00:19:36,759 last heard from. 362 00:19:36,884 --> 00:19:40,221 At this point, you've gotta ask yourself, 363 00:19:40,304 --> 00:19:42,973 who else could have entered Erica's life? 364 00:19:43,099 --> 00:19:45,142 Could there be a man more dangerous 365 00:19:45,267 --> 00:19:47,144 than her two previous boyfriends? 366 00:19:56,362 --> 00:20:00,658 [Pamela] The year after Erica Thompson's mysterious disappearance, 367 00:20:00,741 --> 00:20:04,662 news reports revealed that Brookfield Police Detectives 368 00:20:04,745 --> 00:20:08,624 had filed 115 reports on her case 369 00:20:08,708 --> 00:20:12,962 and followed numerous leads, but they've never confirmed 370 00:20:13,045 --> 00:20:16,215 that a suspect has been interviewed. 371 00:20:16,298 --> 00:20:19,635 They've also made no mention of either of Erica's 372 00:20:19,719 --> 00:20:23,639 ex-boyfriends or that an unknown male 373 00:20:23,723 --> 00:20:25,641 had been seen driving her car. 374 00:20:26,642 --> 00:20:30,104 So what's in these 115 reports? 375 00:20:30,229 --> 00:20:32,398 Who were they looking at and why? 376 00:20:34,900 --> 00:20:39,405 I'm going to meet with Erica's sister, Dana, who had firsthand 377 00:20:39,530 --> 00:20:42,575 interactions with both of these guys. 378 00:20:44,368 --> 00:20:47,246 She and Erica have been estranged for years, 379 00:20:47,371 --> 00:20:51,500 but have reconnected right before Erica's disappearance. 380 00:20:57,214 --> 00:21:00,926 Dana, I had an opportunity to look at this email 381 00:21:01,051 --> 00:21:04,013 that Erica wrote to you. 382 00:21:04,096 --> 00:21:07,975 She's apologizing profusely for bad behaviors. 383 00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:12,521 And she was trying to regroup, trying to find herself. 384 00:21:12,605 --> 00:21:15,900 And I wanted to ask, I know that she sent this to you, 385 00:21:15,983 --> 00:21:19,612 and was there a reply that you had? 386 00:21:19,737 --> 00:21:22,573 -Yes, I replied. -So, would you like to share? 387 00:21:22,656 --> 00:21:25,451 I don't even know if I can read it. 388 00:21:25,534 --> 00:21:26,535 Would you like for me to? 389 00:21:27,953 --> 00:21:29,121 Yeah. 390 00:21:29,580 --> 00:21:32,541 So this is your reply. "Erica, I love you. 391 00:21:34,210 --> 00:21:36,629 "I want so much for you to get better. 392 00:21:36,712 --> 00:21:38,631 "I'm wishing for nothing but healing, 393 00:21:38,756 --> 00:21:40,549 "hopeful thoughts for you. 394 00:21:40,633 --> 00:21:43,761 "You've put up with so much crap from the exes 395 00:21:43,844 --> 00:21:46,347 "and worked so hard to get where you are. 396 00:21:46,472 --> 00:21:49,016 "You're so smart, beautiful, intelligent. 397 00:21:49,141 --> 00:21:51,352 "It would be a good time for some healing. 398 00:21:51,477 --> 00:21:54,897 No one can fix you but you. You've got this." 399 00:21:54,980 --> 00:21:57,066 And that's really beautiful. 400 00:21:57,149 --> 00:22:00,694 The good thing about this is that you were able to send this 401 00:22:00,820 --> 00:22:04,949 to her before she disappeared. -[Dana] Yeah -- she replied. 402 00:22:05,032 --> 00:22:07,493 But that is the last email I received from her. 403 00:22:08,661 --> 00:22:13,374 It's clear that your sister Erica surrounded herself 404 00:22:13,499 --> 00:22:17,211 with some sketchy, you know, questionable fellas. 405 00:22:17,336 --> 00:22:18,921 -Yeah. -[Pamela] But before we get 406 00:22:19,004 --> 00:22:22,508 ahead of ourselves here, before Chet, 407 00:22:22,591 --> 00:22:25,553 there was Brad. 408 00:22:25,678 --> 00:22:29,849 Now, what was Brad like in her life? 409 00:22:29,974 --> 00:22:31,016 Brad... 410 00:22:32,810 --> 00:22:35,729 was very outgoing, energetic. 411 00:22:35,855 --> 00:22:39,149 You know, we had a Fourth of July at her house. 412 00:22:41,193 --> 00:22:43,028 [indistinct chatter] 413 00:22:43,529 --> 00:22:46,198 He was fun. It was nice to get along with. 414 00:22:47,700 --> 00:22:49,660 But after a while, 415 00:22:49,743 --> 00:22:52,371 their relationship ended up rocky. 416 00:22:53,372 --> 00:22:55,583 Did you know that he was abusive to her? 417 00:22:55,708 --> 00:22:59,336 [Dana] There were a couple of instances where she 418 00:22:59,420 --> 00:23:04,717 had told me that he choked her or had his hands around her neck 419 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,261 during an argument. -'Cause apparently 420 00:23:07,386 --> 00:23:10,681 at two separate instances, he was arrested. 421 00:23:10,764 --> 00:23:12,099 I wasn't aware of it. 422 00:23:12,224 --> 00:23:15,311 She never told me that police were called to her house. 423 00:23:17,146 --> 00:23:19,148 [Struck] So when did they break up, her and Brad? 424 00:23:19,231 --> 00:23:22,568 Her and Brad? That probably was 2015. 425 00:23:22,693 --> 00:23:26,280 So do you think that around 2019 he could have been 426 00:23:26,405 --> 00:23:29,283 around and been involved with her being a missing person? 427 00:23:29,408 --> 00:23:30,409 No, no. 428 00:23:31,452 --> 00:23:33,370 He wasn't around. 429 00:23:33,454 --> 00:23:36,123 I did look on Facebook and found that he was 430 00:23:36,248 --> 00:23:40,169 in New Jersey, and he had been for several years before this. 431 00:23:41,962 --> 00:23:43,714 What can you tell me about her most recent 432 00:23:43,797 --> 00:23:46,342 boyfriend, Chet? -She met him at the bar. 433 00:23:47,801 --> 00:23:49,929 [Struck] She met him in, like, 2017, right? 434 00:23:50,012 --> 00:23:53,557 [Dana] Yes, somewhere between May and July. 435 00:23:53,641 --> 00:23:56,268 I have video of me in her backyard with her, 436 00:23:56,393 --> 00:23:58,812 and she was on the phone the whole time with him. 437 00:23:58,938 --> 00:24:01,357 [indistinct arguing] 438 00:24:04,652 --> 00:24:08,072 And then we learned about his background, arson, 439 00:24:08,155 --> 00:24:10,282 sex offenders registry. -[Pamela] Mm-hmm. 440 00:24:11,408 --> 00:24:14,411 And she was trying to convince us 441 00:24:14,495 --> 00:24:16,497 that he deserved a second chance. 442 00:24:17,957 --> 00:24:22,711 So eventually they broke up. How did that unfold? 443 00:24:22,795 --> 00:24:26,966 It may have been around April or May, maybe May, that she had 444 00:24:27,091 --> 00:24:29,301 gotten him out of the house. -[Pamela] In 2019? 445 00:24:29,426 --> 00:24:31,804 -[Dana] Yeah. -Was that the end of it? 446 00:24:31,929 --> 00:24:33,389 I didn't think so. 447 00:24:33,472 --> 00:24:35,265 He may have been out of the house, but he would 448 00:24:35,349 --> 00:24:38,060 still come back. He would still come around. 449 00:24:38,143 --> 00:24:41,814 -[Pamela] For what? -[Dana] For laundry or a shower 450 00:24:41,897 --> 00:24:45,150 because he was supposedly living in his truck. 451 00:24:45,234 --> 00:24:46,568 So he was trying to, like, 452 00:24:48,445 --> 00:24:51,490 hang on to every little thread he could. 453 00:24:51,615 --> 00:24:53,283 [Dana] Yeah. 454 00:24:53,367 --> 00:24:54,868 She gave him an ultimatum 455 00:24:55,911 --> 00:24:59,748 because he was on a sex offender registry 456 00:24:59,832 --> 00:25:01,000 and needed to register. 457 00:25:03,002 --> 00:25:05,587 Registered sex offenders are required to keep 458 00:25:05,671 --> 00:25:09,008 their addresses current with law enforcement. 459 00:25:10,592 --> 00:25:13,095 At the time of Erica's disappearance, 460 00:25:13,178 --> 00:25:15,681 Chet was registered at her home. 461 00:25:17,391 --> 00:25:20,352 She was going to file paperwork for evictions. 462 00:25:20,436 --> 00:25:23,647 -And he knew she was serious. -Yes. 463 00:25:23,731 --> 00:25:25,774 And she would have been adamant about it, 464 00:25:25,858 --> 00:25:28,402 and that would have ticked him off, I imagine. 465 00:25:31,405 --> 00:25:33,866 Do you think that she was afraid of him? 466 00:25:33,991 --> 00:25:35,159 Yeah. 467 00:25:35,242 --> 00:25:39,580 She had cameras set up around her house and her driveway, 468 00:25:39,705 --> 00:25:44,209 the front door, and the backyard that monitored 469 00:25:44,334 --> 00:25:47,212 the perimeter of her house, pretty much. 470 00:25:47,296 --> 00:25:51,383 But after she went missing, we found out that 471 00:25:51,508 --> 00:25:55,679 her camera footage was deleted. It was not there. 472 00:25:55,763 --> 00:25:58,932 Somebody had to have manually gotten rid of it. 473 00:25:59,058 --> 00:26:00,726 What were you thinking at that point? 474 00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:04,063 [Dana] I thought immediately that it was Chet. 475 00:26:08,525 --> 00:26:11,779 [Pamela] While it sounded like Chet was out of Erica's life, 476 00:26:12,863 --> 00:26:15,574 it's clear he was not. 477 00:26:15,699 --> 00:26:19,536 And if there was an ultimatum, that's the kind of thing 478 00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:23,332 that could set off someone with a history of violence. 479 00:26:24,458 --> 00:26:28,837 But if Chet was out of town, who was driving Erica's car? 480 00:26:30,089 --> 00:26:34,301 Could Chet be responsible for her disappearance? 481 00:26:41,725 --> 00:26:45,646 [Pamela] At first, it wasn't clear how much Erica's ex-boyfriend, 482 00:26:45,729 --> 00:26:48,732 Chet, was still in her life. 483 00:26:48,857 --> 00:26:53,320 But we've since learned he was very much still in the picture. 484 00:26:54,530 --> 00:26:58,659 So the big question for me is, where was Chet 485 00:26:58,742 --> 00:27:00,202 when she disappeared? 486 00:27:01,745 --> 00:27:04,706 We have an unknown male driving her car. 487 00:27:04,832 --> 00:27:08,460 But we've also learned from Erica's mom that Chet was 488 00:27:08,544 --> 00:27:13,882 allegedly in Texas at the time she was reported missing. 489 00:27:14,007 --> 00:27:16,510 But we have not been able to confirm that. 490 00:27:17,594 --> 00:27:19,888 We've reached out to Brookfield PD, 491 00:27:19,972 --> 00:27:23,016 but they've turned us down for an interview. 492 00:27:23,100 --> 00:27:25,394 But they are reviewing our request 493 00:27:25,477 --> 00:27:27,354 to access the case files. 494 00:27:28,397 --> 00:27:30,232 So what did police know? 495 00:27:30,315 --> 00:27:32,943 Were they looking at Chet or someone else? 496 00:27:34,653 --> 00:27:37,239 Dana told me her cousin Scott was in touch 497 00:27:37,322 --> 00:27:38,991 with law enforcement 498 00:27:39,074 --> 00:27:41,660 and even did some of his own investigating, 499 00:27:42,703 --> 00:27:46,498 and found information that he thought could be valuable. 500 00:27:49,835 --> 00:27:51,587 So how did you get involved with the police? 501 00:27:51,670 --> 00:27:55,591 Dana gave me the lead detective's information. 502 00:27:55,716 --> 00:27:58,427 We spoke on the phone for about 45 minutes. 503 00:27:58,510 --> 00:28:01,263 Did the police ever give you any idea 504 00:28:01,346 --> 00:28:05,309 of what they were focusing on? 505 00:28:05,434 --> 00:28:08,061 He said they were looking at it as a kidnapping. 506 00:28:08,145 --> 00:28:09,271 A kidnapping? 507 00:28:09,396 --> 00:28:12,107 -[Struck] Did he tell you why? -He didn't expound on why. 508 00:28:12,232 --> 00:28:14,318 I didn't ask questions. 509 00:28:14,443 --> 00:28:17,154 I was shocked when he said, "kidnapping," 510 00:28:18,155 --> 00:28:19,448 but it made sense. 511 00:28:20,574 --> 00:28:22,034 And then I found an article. 512 00:28:23,619 --> 00:28:27,122 It says, "Heyworth, a police chase involving 513 00:28:27,206 --> 00:28:30,334 "a kidnapping suspect from Chicago ended peacefully 514 00:28:30,459 --> 00:28:31,627 "late Friday. 515 00:28:31,752 --> 00:28:33,629 "The driver tried to elude the police. 516 00:28:33,712 --> 00:28:37,966 He went off-road and he got stuck in a ditch near Route 51." 517 00:28:38,050 --> 00:28:41,678 It's about two hours and 15 minutes away from here. 518 00:28:41,803 --> 00:28:45,015 It says, "He was inside the truck for several hours. 519 00:28:45,140 --> 00:28:47,809 "The SWAT finally forced their way into the truck, 520 00:28:47,935 --> 00:28:48,810 "smashing a window, 521 00:28:48,936 --> 00:28:50,312 and they filled it with pepper spray." 522 00:28:51,772 --> 00:28:54,066 -And he gave up. -[Pamela] And what date is this? 523 00:28:54,149 --> 00:28:55,150 [Scott] October 4th. 524 00:29:05,202 --> 00:29:08,330 I do have a friend that works for that Illinois tollway, 525 00:29:08,413 --> 00:29:12,376 and he knew that I was having this issue with my cousin. 526 00:29:12,501 --> 00:29:15,879 He took this snapshot of a truck that came in 527 00:29:16,004 --> 00:29:18,507 through the pound close to where he works. 528 00:29:20,175 --> 00:29:22,344 I believe that's Chet's truck. 529 00:29:22,427 --> 00:29:25,222 And this truck was involved in this high-speed chase. 530 00:29:26,807 --> 00:29:29,726 Did the detective ever give you any information 531 00:29:29,851 --> 00:29:32,437 on that day? -No, actually none. 532 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:38,902 There was nothing for about two years until they finally 533 00:29:39,027 --> 00:29:43,282 told us that they found her car. 534 00:29:43,365 --> 00:29:44,950 -[Struck] What did they tell you? -[Scott] They told us 535 00:29:45,033 --> 00:29:47,577 they found it down in central Illinois 536 00:29:47,703 --> 00:29:49,705 in Ten Mile Creek. 537 00:29:49,830 --> 00:29:51,832 But do not release it. "Don't tell anybody. 538 00:29:51,915 --> 00:29:54,251 Don't tell the media. Don't tell your friends." 539 00:29:54,376 --> 00:29:56,336 And then there was no more communication until we had 540 00:29:56,420 --> 00:29:59,673 the meeting at the Brookfield Police Department in August 541 00:29:59,756 --> 00:30:02,050 of 22. -[Pamela] Mm-hmm. 542 00:30:02,134 --> 00:30:05,554 And that's when they told us that they hit a brick wall, 543 00:30:05,679 --> 00:30:07,222 quote unquote. 544 00:30:07,347 --> 00:30:10,434 You haven't tried to reach out and talk to 'em? 545 00:30:10,559 --> 00:30:12,602 No, and I was extremely disappointed, 546 00:30:12,728 --> 00:30:14,730 but we understood. 547 00:30:14,813 --> 00:30:17,941 And there hasn't been too many updates ever since. 548 00:30:21,778 --> 00:30:25,907 [Pamela] From talking with Erica's family, one thing is clear. 549 00:30:25,991 --> 00:30:30,579 Brookfield PD kept this investigation locked down. 550 00:30:30,704 --> 00:30:33,749 They shared little with the family and even less 551 00:30:33,832 --> 00:30:36,752 with the public. I can understand why. 552 00:30:38,420 --> 00:30:40,756 One wrong detail slipping out 553 00:30:40,839 --> 00:30:43,675 can derail an entire investigation. 554 00:30:46,386 --> 00:30:49,598 But now, for the first time, Brookfield PD is 555 00:30:49,723 --> 00:30:51,600 opening their files. 556 00:30:51,683 --> 00:30:54,811 And after weeks of waiting, we finally have 557 00:30:54,936 --> 00:30:56,438 the police reports in hand. 558 00:30:57,606 --> 00:31:01,526 It's a massive 400-page document. 559 00:31:01,610 --> 00:31:05,906 It's redacted, but it's obvious investigators were focused 560 00:31:05,989 --> 00:31:09,201 on one main person. 561 00:31:09,284 --> 00:31:13,080 He's a truck driver and registered sex offender. 562 00:31:13,163 --> 00:31:16,458 It appears they're talking about Chet. 563 00:31:20,128 --> 00:31:23,965 According to this document, on the day that Erica was 564 00:31:24,049 --> 00:31:28,095 reported missing, which was October 1st in 2019, 565 00:31:28,178 --> 00:31:30,972 Chet does have a conversation with the police. 566 00:31:32,224 --> 00:31:35,060 It looks like they have a brief call, and then they have 567 00:31:35,143 --> 00:31:38,313 a more detailed conversation the next day. 568 00:31:38,397 --> 00:31:39,981 -[Struck] On October 2nd? -Yeah. 569 00:31:41,566 --> 00:31:45,570 He stated that he was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 570 00:31:45,654 --> 00:31:49,991 And he's telling the detectives the last time he spoke to Erica 571 00:31:50,075 --> 00:31:54,871 was on the 28th of September through a text message saying, 572 00:31:54,996 --> 00:31:57,290 "Hey, asshole, I'm behind you." 573 00:31:57,374 --> 00:32:01,002 They asked him where he was when the message was sent. 574 00:32:01,086 --> 00:32:05,298 And his response was, now get this, he was in Missouri 575 00:32:05,382 --> 00:32:09,386 between Springfield and Joplin. -Where the phone was found. 576 00:32:09,511 --> 00:32:11,847 [Pamela] Mm-hmm. So the officers asked him, 577 00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:14,057 "Well, why would she be right behind you?" 578 00:32:14,182 --> 00:32:18,186 And he stated that she had been talking to him about going 579 00:32:18,270 --> 00:32:23,900 to Missouri to buy meth, which is total bullshit. 580 00:32:25,819 --> 00:32:29,698 And according to this police report, the GPS shows 581 00:32:29,781 --> 00:32:33,660 that on 28 September 2019, he was at the Walmart 582 00:32:33,743 --> 00:32:35,036 in Springfield, Missouri. 583 00:32:36,746 --> 00:32:39,624 He is seen walking into the Walmart by himself. 584 00:32:41,376 --> 00:32:42,878 He buys some alcohol. 585 00:32:44,045 --> 00:32:48,383 He makes a money transfer to a gentleman in Mount Vernon. 586 00:32:49,759 --> 00:32:54,181 Then it goes on to say, "Erica's cell phone was found 587 00:32:54,264 --> 00:32:57,184 inside of a Walmart bag on the side of the road." 588 00:32:57,267 --> 00:32:59,311 [Struck] That really wouldn't mean much normally, but if you 589 00:32:59,394 --> 00:33:01,563 throw in the fact that he just went to a Walmart 590 00:33:01,688 --> 00:33:05,066 and he bought liquor there, so he had a Walmart bag. 591 00:33:05,192 --> 00:33:07,110 And it's in the same town where the phone was found. 592 00:33:07,235 --> 00:33:08,236 [Struck] Right. 593 00:33:09,237 --> 00:33:12,782 [Pamela] And then three days after, she's reported missing. 594 00:33:14,576 --> 00:33:17,078 [Struck] They spot that truck leaving the gas station. 595 00:33:18,413 --> 00:33:19,831 That's when that whole chase thing happened. 596 00:33:19,915 --> 00:33:21,833 [Pamela] Yes, right here. 597 00:33:21,917 --> 00:33:24,753 According to the reports, the truck was 598 00:33:24,836 --> 00:33:26,671 thoroughly searched. 599 00:33:26,755 --> 00:33:30,926 But there's no indication if police found any evidence 600 00:33:31,009 --> 00:33:34,429 of Erica having been in that truck. 601 00:33:34,513 --> 00:33:37,432 According to court reports, Chet was convicted 602 00:33:37,557 --> 00:33:39,559 on weapons charges. 603 00:33:39,643 --> 00:33:42,729 He was sentenced to six years in prison 604 00:33:42,812 --> 00:33:46,107 and was paroled in 2023. 605 00:33:46,191 --> 00:33:48,193 But there is no mention 606 00:33:48,276 --> 00:33:51,029 of charges related to Erica Thompson. 607 00:33:53,907 --> 00:33:57,244 The question for me now is, where was Chet 608 00:33:57,327 --> 00:33:59,371 when Erica disappeared? 609 00:33:59,454 --> 00:34:03,124 And that's precisely what I'm going to ask him. 610 00:34:10,590 --> 00:34:14,886 [Pamela] When I began investigating Erica Thompson's disappearance, 611 00:34:14,969 --> 00:34:19,641 the possibility that she simply walked away from her life 612 00:34:19,724 --> 00:34:22,561 or harmed herself was very real. 613 00:34:23,687 --> 00:34:26,313 But the more I learned about Erica, 614 00:34:26,398 --> 00:34:31,610 the clearer it became that she was a woman at a crossroads 615 00:34:31,735 --> 00:34:34,364 that had chosen a new path, 616 00:34:36,366 --> 00:34:38,702 a path with its own risk, 617 00:34:39,995 --> 00:34:42,246 because it's when a woman severed ties 618 00:34:42,330 --> 00:34:46,960 with a volatile man that life is most dangerous. 619 00:34:47,085 --> 00:34:50,338 And while Erica had supposedly broken up with Chet 620 00:34:50,422 --> 00:34:52,047 months before she vanished, 621 00:34:53,091 --> 00:34:56,511 it wasn't until, allegedly, she threw him out for good 622 00:34:56,594 --> 00:34:59,264 that things appeared to take a truly dark turn. 623 00:35:03,893 --> 00:35:08,023 Every registered sex offender must keep their current address 624 00:35:08,106 --> 00:35:09,566 on file. 625 00:35:09,649 --> 00:35:11,901 Chet is currently out on parole 626 00:35:11,985 --> 00:35:14,446 and registered at a large halfway house. 627 00:35:15,655 --> 00:35:17,115 It's right up the road here. 628 00:35:19,367 --> 00:35:23,288 Gaining access to this building is doable, but getting Chet 629 00:35:23,413 --> 00:35:26,249 to speak is a whole different challenge. 630 00:35:27,292 --> 00:35:28,418 There he is right there. 631 00:35:31,921 --> 00:35:33,632 [Struck] He drives either a black Harley 632 00:35:33,757 --> 00:35:37,218 or a orange pickup truck. -Would that happen to be it? 633 00:35:37,302 --> 00:35:38,887 [Struck] That would probably be it right there. 634 00:35:38,970 --> 00:35:41,973 It's an old bike too, yeah. So he's probably here. 635 00:35:48,730 --> 00:35:50,565 -[Pamela] Hello, how are you? -[man] Good, how are you? 636 00:35:50,649 --> 00:35:51,650 [Pamela] Great. 637 00:35:58,990 --> 00:36:01,868 We just visited Chet's halfway house. 638 00:36:01,993 --> 00:36:03,328 They knew him. They knew him. 639 00:36:03,453 --> 00:36:05,330 They knew who we were looking for. 640 00:36:05,455 --> 00:36:08,416 One guy said, "Oh, let me go knock on his room door." 641 00:36:08,500 --> 00:36:10,502 He said he usually answers it for him, 642 00:36:10,627 --> 00:36:12,796 but he did not. 643 00:36:13,963 --> 00:36:16,341 [Pamela] I'm sure he doesn't wanna talk to us. 644 00:36:16,466 --> 00:36:19,386 I did leave my name and number. I'm not gonna give up. 645 00:36:20,428 --> 00:36:21,429 I wanna talk to Chet. 646 00:36:22,972 --> 00:36:24,766 [siren wailing] 647 00:36:24,849 --> 00:36:28,520 [Pamela] There's a point in every case when you feel that you're 648 00:36:28,645 --> 00:36:30,271 out of moves. 649 00:36:30,355 --> 00:36:34,025 You need that one thing that could push a case forward, 650 00:36:34,109 --> 00:36:37,195 If you keep working those relationships, 651 00:36:37,278 --> 00:36:39,239 those connections, 652 00:36:39,364 --> 00:36:41,825 and if you shake the tree long enough, 653 00:36:41,908 --> 00:36:43,451 something is gonna fall out. 654 00:36:44,536 --> 00:36:46,496 And today, we've got that something. 655 00:36:47,872 --> 00:36:49,165 -Hey, Joe. -[Struck] Yeah. 656 00:36:49,249 --> 00:36:51,793 You know the report that you got from CPD 657 00:36:51,876 --> 00:36:55,380 about Erica's car being driven by someone else 658 00:36:55,505 --> 00:36:59,092 the morning after she was last heard from? 659 00:36:59,217 --> 00:37:01,803 [Struck] Yeah, her Nissan Juke or something? 660 00:37:01,886 --> 00:37:02,887 [Pamela] Yes. 661 00:37:03,012 --> 00:37:05,098 Well, Brookfield PD just released some 662 00:37:05,223 --> 00:37:07,892 surveillance video from that morning. 663 00:37:08,017 --> 00:37:09,436 [Struck] What does it show? 664 00:37:09,561 --> 00:37:10,854 [Pamela] There are two videos here. 665 00:37:10,937 --> 00:37:15,483 So in the first video, you can see at 7:25 AM, 666 00:37:15,567 --> 00:37:19,070 Erica's Nissan Juke is seen on video cameras 667 00:37:19,195 --> 00:37:20,989 driving on a street near her home. 668 00:37:21,072 --> 00:37:24,409 [Struck] That's the video that's CPD enhanced, right? 669 00:37:24,492 --> 00:37:25,577 Yes. 670 00:37:25,660 --> 00:37:29,122 And you can actually see inside the vehicle, 671 00:37:29,247 --> 00:37:34,544 there's a white male. And I wonder if this is Chet. 672 00:37:34,627 --> 00:37:36,713 [Struck] You have the report in front of you? 673 00:37:36,796 --> 00:37:39,215 'cause I think there was a description of Chet 674 00:37:39,299 --> 00:37:41,468 from his court appearance on the 25th. 675 00:37:41,593 --> 00:37:43,052 I do have that. 676 00:37:43,136 --> 00:37:47,724 [Struck] Have it here, too. It says, at 10:05, redacted, 677 00:37:47,807 --> 00:37:49,517 he's seen entering through the main doors 678 00:37:49,601 --> 00:37:50,643 of the courthouse. 679 00:37:50,769 --> 00:37:53,021 He's observed to be wearing a white button-down, 680 00:37:53,104 --> 00:37:54,939 short sleeve collared shirt. 681 00:37:55,064 --> 00:37:58,401 It appears he's got a black cell phone in his chest pocket. 682 00:37:58,485 --> 00:38:00,570 [Pamela] It looks like he's got on a white shirt 683 00:38:00,653 --> 00:38:03,239 with something black in his pocket here. 684 00:38:03,323 --> 00:38:06,075 Yeah, this guy fits Chet's description 685 00:38:06,159 --> 00:38:08,828 from the day before when he was in court. 686 00:38:08,953 --> 00:38:12,123 [Struck] So, basically, we have a video of Chet driving the car. 687 00:38:12,248 --> 00:38:14,459 And there's a second car here as well. 688 00:38:15,627 --> 00:38:18,338 A white Dodge Stratus right behind it. 689 00:38:20,006 --> 00:38:24,177 There's also a second video here from the gas station. 690 00:38:25,553 --> 00:38:30,850 Now, in that video, I can see the white Dodge Stratus. 691 00:38:30,975 --> 00:38:33,520 It arrives at about 8 o'clock AM. 692 00:38:33,645 --> 00:38:36,397 And it looks like Chet is getting out. 693 00:38:36,481 --> 00:38:38,691 There's a guy in a black sweatshirt. 694 00:38:38,817 --> 00:38:41,903 He looks like he's been waiting there for Chet. 695 00:38:41,986 --> 00:38:45,740 [Struck] So, the video near her house is at 7:25, 696 00:38:45,824 --> 00:38:47,659 and the gas station is about 8 o'clock. 697 00:38:47,742 --> 00:38:52,455 So in basically a half hour, the Juke just disappeared. 698 00:38:52,539 --> 00:38:57,961 Yes, and they all end up together in the Dodge Stratus. 699 00:38:58,044 --> 00:39:00,129 [Struck] Can you see who else is in the Dodge Stratus? 700 00:39:00,213 --> 00:39:03,633 Not enough to identify them, but yes. 701 00:39:03,716 --> 00:39:07,470 There are two people who eventually get out. 702 00:39:07,554 --> 00:39:12,141 The driver is a female wearing a purple hooded sweatshirt, 703 00:39:12,225 --> 00:39:16,938 and there's a guy wearing a black T-shirt who gets out 704 00:39:17,021 --> 00:39:18,439 on the passenger side. 705 00:39:21,568 --> 00:39:24,320 So, after watching this video, 706 00:39:25,697 --> 00:39:29,409 it's very probable that this is Chet in her car. 707 00:39:30,535 --> 00:39:33,496 And there is no sign of Erica anywhere. 708 00:39:33,580 --> 00:39:35,456 [Struck] Right, and that's the last time we see the car 709 00:39:35,540 --> 00:39:38,960 until a year later when it's in some creek 710 00:39:39,043 --> 00:39:40,962 down in Central Illinois. 711 00:39:44,716 --> 00:39:49,137 [Pamela] This video is shocking to me, and it's a game changer. 712 00:39:51,097 --> 00:39:54,642 It appears that Chet is driving Erica's car 713 00:39:54,726 --> 00:39:57,645 at the time of her disappearance. 714 00:39:57,729 --> 00:40:00,189 And there's two other individuals here 715 00:40:00,273 --> 00:40:02,942 who may have information about this case. 716 00:40:05,862 --> 00:40:09,240 For years, this family had suspicions, 717 00:40:09,365 --> 00:40:12,243 but now they have facts. 718 00:40:12,368 --> 00:40:18,082 Fact one, we have video of a man we believe to be Chet 719 00:40:18,207 --> 00:40:22,420 in Erica's car the morning after she vanished. 720 00:40:23,588 --> 00:40:26,549 Fact two, according to police reports, 721 00:40:26,633 --> 00:40:29,594 Chet was in Springfield, Missouri 722 00:40:29,677 --> 00:40:33,598 when Erica's phone was left on the side of a road. 723 00:40:33,723 --> 00:40:34,766 Fact three, 724 00:40:36,059 --> 00:40:40,188 Chet was making purchases in a Missouri Walmart 725 00:40:40,271 --> 00:40:44,275 just before Erica's phone was found in a Walmart bag 726 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:45,944 just a few miles away. 727 00:40:47,695 --> 00:40:50,198 I have to commend the Brookfield PD. 728 00:40:51,491 --> 00:40:56,037 From what I see, they left no stone unturned in this case. 729 00:40:57,163 --> 00:41:00,124 But they still need help. 730 00:41:00,249 --> 00:41:04,170 I believe this new information is the shot in the arm 731 00:41:04,295 --> 00:41:05,380 that this case needs. 732 00:41:06,673 --> 00:41:10,885 Someone knows who these individuals with Chet are 733 00:41:10,969 --> 00:41:13,638 on the morning of the 26th. 734 00:41:13,721 --> 00:41:17,308 Someone knows about Chet's activities 735 00:41:17,433 --> 00:41:22,313 between September 25th and October 4th. 736 00:41:22,397 --> 00:41:27,318 And finally, someone knows where Erica Thompson is.