WEBVTT - Buried Secrets 0:00:08.245 --> 0:00:16.045 School of Humans, just waiting for Brandon, hoping he makes 0:00:16.045 --> 0:00:19.605 it back. We were on the horse trail. We followed 0:00:19.645 --> 0:00:21.165 that to the end and got to a pretty steep 0:00:21.205 --> 0:00:25.165 drop off. Oh yeah, here he comes. This is like 0:00:25.205 --> 0:00:27.125 the beginning of every horror movie where the people go 0:00:27.245 --> 0:00:30.325 into the woods, so I'm very aware of that even 0:00:30.365 --> 0:00:35.005 though we are being safe. We've been trying to get 0:00:35.045 --> 0:00:38.645 onto Malibu Canyon Ranch because over the years, a lot 0:00:38.685 --> 0:00:41.525 of people have said that there was direct access from 0:00:41.565 --> 0:00:44.645 the back of that property to Dark Canyon, where my 0:00:44.725 --> 0:00:48.525 TRACE's remains were found, so we're trying to figure out 0:00:48.645 --> 0:00:52.485 if that's true. The ranch is a thirty acre property 0:00:52.725 --> 0:00:56.085 with horses. They also do a lot of photo shoots 0:00:56.125 --> 0:01:01.325 and productions, and it's also private property. But I found 0:01:01.365 --> 0:01:04.845 a listing on Airbnb for the guest house. We booked 0:01:04.885 --> 0:01:08.725 it for two nights. My producer Brandon got there first. 0:01:09.405 --> 0:01:12.925 He met Sus Randall, the owner. She rode up to 0:01:12.925 --> 0:01:16.045 meet him on a horse. She also introduced us to 0:01:16.085 --> 0:01:20.045 her big black dog, Pickles. We both love dogs, so 0:01:20.085 --> 0:01:22.685 we ended up tagging along as we looked around the property. 0:01:23.325 --> 0:01:25.565 What did you tell me? What? Okay? So, Pickles the 0:01:25.645 --> 0:01:27.805 dog is very happy because he likes to play fetch 0:01:27.805 --> 0:01:30.045 and he just brought something back to me and I 0:01:30.085 --> 0:01:32.565 thought it was a stick, but upon closer inspection, it's 0:01:32.565 --> 0:01:37.885 a deerfoot. So we're finally here in the place that 0:01:38.005 --> 0:01:40.205 a lot of people have been trying to get access 0:01:40.245 --> 0:01:45.045 to since the night my terse went missing. We're hoping 0:01:45.085 --> 0:01:48.405 to find a way to Dark Creek. I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:01:48.925 --> 0:02:24.765 This is Helen Gone. So we're just as you can see, 0:02:24.805 --> 0:02:29.485 we're walking to the back of the property. Here. When 0:02:29.525 --> 0:02:33.005 you approach Malibu Canyon Ranch, you can see the Spanish 0:02:33.005 --> 0:02:36.285 style main house. You can see horses in a little paddock, 0:02:36.845 --> 0:02:40.325 and as you drive around you see a small guesthouse. 0:02:41.445 --> 0:02:46.245 This side is just basically a wall of dirt and rock. 0:02:46.445 --> 0:02:49.525 On the right to the left there of the properties. 0:02:49.805 --> 0:02:53.565 In the background the Santa Monica Mountains, which is where 0:02:53.565 --> 0:02:57.245 the Backbone Trail is. There's a saltwater pool and there 0:02:57.245 --> 0:02:59.925 are views in every direction of the canyon and the 0:02:59.925 --> 0:03:03.365 Santa Monica Mountains. We're going to continue down this road 0:03:04.205 --> 0:03:06.445 and when you walk out of the guest house you 0:03:06.525 --> 0:03:09.285 see a dirt road which they call the fire Road. 0:03:09.965 --> 0:03:13.405 It leads to an incredibly steep drop down to the canyon. 0:03:13.965 --> 0:03:18.565 That's down the canyon. That's the canyon. I'd say that's 0:03:18.605 --> 0:03:22.685 probably a one hundred foot drop. Seventy five foot drops. Yeah, 0:03:23.405 --> 0:03:26.205 see now and again, if you told me like the 0:03:26.285 --> 0:03:30.605 remains were here, I'd be like, Okay, you drop it 0:03:30.645 --> 0:03:33.485 off right that makes sense. Someone dropped it or she 0:03:33.565 --> 0:03:36.325 fell or whatever. Is this right here? Yeah, if you 0:03:36.365 --> 0:03:40.205 took one wrong step, especially if it was darker night, 0:03:40.245 --> 0:03:43.285 or if you're so tired. When you look at a map, 0:03:43.925 --> 0:03:46.645 the remains are point two miles from the fire road 0:03:47.085 --> 0:03:50.045 where we're standing. But what you don't see on those 0:03:50.125 --> 0:03:54.285 maps is this giant drop off. It's so steep they've 0:03:54.285 --> 0:03:58.685 put up barriers, so although the remains are close, there's 0:03:58.765 --> 0:04:01.885 no way to get there without hiking down and around 0:04:01.965 --> 0:04:07.485 this drop off. We did find this little sort of 0:04:08.085 --> 0:04:12.285 depression that seems to lead toward the canyon. We just 0:04:12.325 --> 0:04:15.685 back up a little. We both talked to Susan Randall, 0:04:15.965 --> 0:04:18.325 and she told us about the other trails at the 0:04:18.325 --> 0:04:21.365 back of the property. We're just trying to figure out 0:04:21.445 --> 0:04:25.485 where all of these trails lead. We started to hike. 0:04:26.165 --> 0:04:30.445 Pickles followed us around and let us down. Some horse trails. Well, 0:04:30.485 --> 0:04:33.245 he's walking down there. I was about pickles is cause 0:04:35.125 --> 0:04:39.485 you Okay, buddy, come on back through. So if you're 0:04:39.525 --> 0:04:44.885 a if you're a two foot black lamb, you can 0:04:45.045 --> 0:04:47.965 you can get through this brush. Well it looks like 0:04:48.005 --> 0:04:50.285 it drops right there. Though, see like I can't I 0:04:50.325 --> 0:04:54.965 can't tell how stupid it is. Well, it's I think 0:04:55.165 --> 0:04:57.925 down here there's another overking, so maybe we can get 0:04:57.965 --> 0:05:02.685 a sense of that. So we followed every single horse 0:05:02.685 --> 0:05:05.845 trail that led from the back of that property. We 0:05:05.925 --> 0:05:09.045 went down in some areas that weren't actual trails the 0:05:09.085 --> 0:05:12.045 other way. Let's go on here, look just to like 0:05:12.925 --> 0:05:16.205 be threough. I'm gonna check the map from here. Okay, 0:05:16.565 --> 0:05:19.765 I'm gonna walk down the bottom. Brandon and I split 0:05:19.885 --> 0:05:24.885 up to look around. Anything interesting. It's real, it's real steep, 0:05:24.925 --> 0:05:28.085 and it's again it's this loamy soil. Yeah. I think 0:05:28.125 --> 0:05:31.205 if you started down that path that we saw that 0:05:31.325 --> 0:05:34.765 my thought might be impossible. You'd started slipping and you'd 0:05:34.765 --> 0:05:37.925 fall the hole. Yeah, you'd fall just one wrong step 0:05:38.005 --> 0:05:42.125 up here, and let me look at this on the right. God, 0:05:42.485 --> 0:05:44.325 I tell you, like for someone who did not like 0:05:44.365 --> 0:05:46.845 the woods, a girl after my own heart. I can 0:05:46.885 --> 0:05:49.605 only imagine how scary this would be. And I was 0:05:49.605 --> 0:05:51.005 saying too when you were up there. I was like, 0:05:52.245 --> 0:05:54.965 you know, the other thing that's strange is it's extremely 0:05:55.045 --> 0:05:56.885 hard to figure out what time of day it is 0:05:56.965 --> 0:06:00.045 right now. There are so many the sun disappears behind 0:06:00.085 --> 0:06:03.125 the mountains, and I can't tell what time. I have 0:06:03.205 --> 0:06:04.725 no idea what time of day it is right now. 0:06:04.765 --> 0:06:06.805 It's partly class and it could be ten o'clock in 0:06:06.845 --> 0:06:11.125 the morning, could be seven o'clock at night. After following 0:06:11.165 --> 0:06:13.805 all these trails at the back of the property, it 0:06:13.885 --> 0:06:17.165 really seems that there's no way down. There is no 0:06:17.325 --> 0:06:20.445 shortcut between the back of that property and the area 0:06:20.485 --> 0:06:24.165 where my Trees's remains were found in Dark Canyon. After 0:06:24.205 --> 0:06:27.325 we exhausted all the possibilities that way, we then went 0:06:27.445 --> 0:06:30.885 back toward the Backbone trail, which took us right back 0:06:31.005 --> 0:06:35.285 to the same routes we had taken before. But I'm 0:06:35.285 --> 0:06:40.645 gone this way, yeah, I'm probably can regret this. We 0:06:40.685 --> 0:06:43.325 decided to hike back to the coordinates where my trees 0:06:43.445 --> 0:06:48.245 was found. Again. It was the hardest hike I've ever done. 0:06:48.285 --> 0:06:50.565 We say we went hiking, but it's not a hike. 0:06:50.965 --> 0:06:55.325 It's a climb. It's climbing sheer rock face and trying 0:06:55.365 --> 0:06:57.485 not to slip and fall down the sides of the canyon. 0:06:58.285 --> 0:07:01.485 The soil is very loose. It's almost like trying to 0:07:01.525 --> 0:07:04.685 climb a sand dune. It is easier that it's cooler. 0:07:04.725 --> 0:07:08.925 I'll tell you that it's much easier because it's cooler. 0:07:09.845 --> 0:07:13.565 That was what was kind of killing us. But I'm 0:07:13.605 --> 0:07:16.925 glad we did it twice when we hike this route. 0:07:16.925 --> 0:07:19.885 The first time it was around the same time of 0:07:20.005 --> 0:07:23.885 year when my trees went missing mid September. We were 0:07:23.925 --> 0:07:27.805 seeing dark canyon as she had been experiencing it. It 0:07:27.885 --> 0:07:30.365 was hot and dry, and there was a thick curtain 0:07:30.405 --> 0:07:33.885 of trees and it was almost impossible to get through 0:07:34.765 --> 0:07:37.325 because there were so many trees covering the rock face 0:07:37.365 --> 0:07:40.285 on both sides. It was really hard to tell how 0:07:40.285 --> 0:07:43.845 steep it was at any point. But this time, hiking 0:07:43.845 --> 0:07:47.085 in December, a lot of those leaves have dropped. It 0:07:47.205 --> 0:07:50.365 was cooler and easier to take a thorough look at 0:07:50.365 --> 0:07:52.845 the sides of the canyon. It's so much easier because 0:07:52.885 --> 0:07:55.605 all of these were in full bloom, like they were 0:07:55.645 --> 0:08:03.725 like cutting. This was all like impassable almost yeah, you 0:08:03.725 --> 0:08:08.285 can actually see what's going on. This time, we saw 0:08:08.365 --> 0:08:10.485 that there did seem to be a few spots that 0:08:10.565 --> 0:08:14.405 were less steep where you could climb up, but those 0:08:14.445 --> 0:08:19.325 points were still far from the remains. We also saw 0:08:19.325 --> 0:08:25.005 something else, a lot more trash, soda cans, deflated balloons, plastic, 0:08:25.285 --> 0:08:28.725 and other debris. We saw some areas where branches have 0:08:28.805 --> 0:08:31.365 been organized, and pseudo huts seemed to have been built. 0:08:32.205 --> 0:08:35.645 It was really creepy because we know that cartel people 0:08:35.805 --> 0:08:39.085 have used this area to grow cannabis, and the grow 0:08:39.205 --> 0:08:43.085 season is from April to November. It gives me chills 0:08:43.125 --> 0:08:46.405 to think that while we were hiking through there, people 0:08:46.405 --> 0:08:49.845 could have been hiding behind those leaves. We also found 0:08:49.885 --> 0:08:54.605 an oven. So we're now at the point let's see 0:08:54.605 --> 0:08:57.725 if I get this, this would be the equivalent point 0:08:57.765 --> 0:09:00.525 in the creek bed of when we walked to the 0:09:00.645 --> 0:09:02.805 end of the fire road, which is like the furthest tip, 0:09:03.165 --> 0:09:05.125 the point where we're saying, hey, we're point two miles 0:09:05.125 --> 0:09:09.885 from theirs, and from this point we've seen a lot 0:09:09.965 --> 0:09:14.045 of Basically, we saw something. We see some debris down here, 0:09:14.405 --> 0:09:16.445 and it looks like that might be an oven or 0:09:16.765 --> 0:09:19.725 mini fridge got some more pictures of that. But there's 0:09:19.725 --> 0:09:21.805 definitely signs that there have been people down here, and 0:09:21.845 --> 0:09:26.205 it looks like if before the fence was put up, 0:09:26.245 --> 0:09:28.685 It's very plausible that this could have been somewhere that 0:09:28.685 --> 0:09:31.565 someone could have pulled up and dumped something down. However, 0:09:31.765 --> 0:09:34.645 because we've still got a ways to go, that makes 0:09:34.685 --> 0:09:36.845 this less likely because the road doesn't continue that far. 0:09:37.645 --> 0:09:41.845 We also found more hoses. Remember my Treesa's body was 0:09:41.925 --> 0:09:45.525 found not during a police search, but because park rangers 0:09:45.565 --> 0:09:49.965 were looking for an illegal marijuana grow. They found irrigation hoses. 0:09:50.885 --> 0:09:54.045 When we did our first hike, we also saw hoses 0:09:54.045 --> 0:09:58.245 that looked old, but on this hike we found other hoses, 0:09:58.845 --> 0:10:02.765 different types of hoses that looked pretty new. There was 0:10:02.845 --> 0:10:05.685 also a thin layer of water flowing in the creek 0:10:05.725 --> 0:10:08.445 at this time, and that's where the hoses seemed to 0:10:08.485 --> 0:10:11.525 be connected. I'm starting to think that it's more likely 0:10:11.565 --> 0:10:14.565 than not that my Trees did walk up on the 0:10:14.565 --> 0:10:18.405 wrong people. There's a lot of evidence of people hiding 0:10:18.445 --> 0:10:21.765 in the woods and camping. This is not an area 0:10:21.885 --> 0:10:24.765 where you would hike to and set up camp unless 0:10:24.765 --> 0:10:30.605 you were trying to hide from someone. This is a 0:10:30.605 --> 0:10:33.565 tough case because there's so much that was either not 0:10:33.765 --> 0:10:36.965 done at the scene the first time or done incorrectly. 0:10:37.685 --> 0:10:42.045 It's hard to have definitive answers. So doing the height 0:10:42.165 --> 0:10:46.485 twice was extremely important because unless you go in there, 0:10:46.925 --> 0:10:50.685 it's hard to put yourself on my Teresa's shoes. For example, 0:10:51.085 --> 0:10:53.725 when we started our investigation, there were a lot of 0:10:53.765 --> 0:10:56.885 people talking about the fact that the area where the 0:10:56.965 --> 0:11:00.405 remains were found is close to the ranch property. It 0:11:00.485 --> 0:11:03.245 is close, but if you have to drop off a cliff, 0:11:03.685 --> 0:11:08.245 that distance is meaningless. The bottom line is, any way 0:11:08.285 --> 0:11:11.365 we tried to go, we still ended up having to 0:11:11.405 --> 0:11:14.605 go around and hike the long way, But we wouldn't 0:11:14.685 --> 0:11:17.405 know that if we hadn't gone out there. And once 0:11:17.445 --> 0:11:19.805 you get to Dark Creek, you get a sense of 0:11:19.845 --> 0:11:23.045 how treacherous it was, and we found so much with 0:11:23.125 --> 0:11:26.685 the new hoses an oven, it just seems clear to 0:11:26.765 --> 0:11:30.685 me that even though this area seems extremely remote and dangerous, 0:11:31.405 --> 0:11:34.565 there are people out there living in those woods, and 0:11:34.605 --> 0:11:37.965 if she encountered those people, it's likely that they would 0:11:38.005 --> 0:11:41.005 have done something bad to her. We had also heard 0:11:41.005 --> 0:11:43.485 a lot of theories about someone driving out there and 0:11:43.565 --> 0:11:46.805 dumping a body. Now, there have been cases in this 0:11:46.885 --> 0:11:50.125 area where that happened with gang members and serial killers, 0:11:50.165 --> 0:11:54.045 for example, But in all of those cases, the bodies 0:11:54.085 --> 0:11:56.205 were dumped in places where you can pull a car 0:11:56.325 --> 0:11:59.885 up near a road, for example, in my Teresa's case, 0:12:00.165 --> 0:12:04.765 that would be impossible. So from the road you see 0:12:04.765 --> 0:12:07.725 the no TRESSPA sign, you see the fire road. It's 0:12:07.765 --> 0:12:09.805 a dirt road, but a car could drive down that 0:12:09.845 --> 0:12:12.805 part of it. So there is this so I can 0:12:12.885 --> 0:12:15.725 understand why people might have asked the question. You know, 0:12:15.805 --> 0:12:18.885 could someone have driven some way, maybe with an ATV 0:12:18.925 --> 0:12:21.005 even or something, and gotten close to where the body 0:12:21.045 --> 0:12:24.245 was dumped and then dumped it there. But that's impossible. 0:12:24.645 --> 0:12:27.365 It's there's no road up here, there's no way unless 0:12:27.365 --> 0:12:29.445 the car could fly, there's no way to get to 0:12:29.485 --> 0:12:33.405 that spot. So either she walked back there herself or 0:12:33.405 --> 0:12:51.645 someone carried her there. Like everywhere else in the world, 0:12:52.125 --> 0:12:55.765 twenty twenty has been an apocalyptic year. In Los Angeles. 0:12:56.725 --> 0:13:01.565 There's been a global pandemic, massive protests, super spreader events, 0:13:02.085 --> 0:13:05.125 and a fire season that turned the La sky red 0:13:05.725 --> 0:13:10.245 days at a time. Then in September, a black man 0:13:10.405 --> 0:13:13.885 named Dejon Kizzy was riding his bicycle on the wrong 0:13:13.965 --> 0:13:18.045 side of the street in South la When police tried 0:13:18.085 --> 0:13:21.205 to stop Kizzy, he fled and when they caught up 0:13:21.205 --> 0:13:24.765 to him, there was a scuffle. Police say that Kizzy 0:13:24.845 --> 0:13:27.725 struck a deputy in the face and then dropped and 0:13:27.765 --> 0:13:30.885 picked up a handgun, which ended with police firing at 0:13:30.925 --> 0:13:36.245 him multiple times. After his death, protesters took to the streets, 0:13:37.165 --> 0:13:40.725 and a few days later, two young police deputies, one 0:13:40.765 --> 0:13:43.885 male and one female, were sitting in their squad car 0:13:44.045 --> 0:13:47.405 outside of Metro station in Compton when a single shooter 0:13:47.765 --> 0:13:50.525 walked right up to their car window and shot them 0:13:50.685 --> 0:13:56.325 both multiple times at point blank range. Both deputies survived 0:13:56.365 --> 0:14:00.125 the execution attempt, but the shooting and the protest that 0:14:00.205 --> 0:14:03.925 followed sent shock waves through a community where tension was 0:14:03.965 --> 0:14:07.565 already at breaking point. The deputies were taken to a 0:14:07.605 --> 0:14:11.445 local hospital and a small number of protesters were gathered outside. 0:14:12.405 --> 0:14:15.885 A few of them started to chant let them die. 0:14:15.965 --> 0:14:20.125 Then a KPCC reporter named Josie y Wog was covering 0:14:20.205 --> 0:14:22.885 the protest when she was thrown to the ground by deputies. 0:14:24.005 --> 0:14:27.725 Sheriff Alex Villanueva first said that Wang had interfered with 0:14:27.765 --> 0:14:30.605 the arrest and that she did not have press credentials, 0:14:32.205 --> 0:14:35.485 but video captured on cell phones showed that she was 0:14:35.565 --> 0:14:39.045 wearing a lanyard identifying herself as a member of the media. 0:14:39.845 --> 0:14:42.805 She said that she complied with the deputy's orders, but 0:14:42.965 --> 0:14:46.205 was arrested and detained for five hours for obstructing a 0:14:46.205 --> 0:14:58.645 peace officer. Sheriff Alex Villanueva was sworn in in December 0:14:58.645 --> 0:15:02.965 twenty eighteen on a promise to reform, rebuild, and restore 0:15:03.085 --> 0:15:07.005 the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and he has made 0:15:07.045 --> 0:15:10.805 some reforms, but he's also seen his share of controversy. 0:15:11.205 --> 0:15:15.365 In twenty nineteen, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, who 0:15:15.445 --> 0:15:20.045 had enthusiastically endorsed him, issued a statement criticizing Sheriff l 0:15:20.165 --> 0:15:24.125 Nueva for what it called numerous complaints of abuse of 0:15:24.165 --> 0:15:28.805 his office. It said that these alleged abuses had eroded 0:15:28.805 --> 0:15:32.965 the trust of the public. Among other things, they criticized 0:15:33.005 --> 0:15:36.685 his decision to reinstate deputies who had previously been fired 0:15:36.685 --> 0:15:42.125 for misconduct, including allegations of domestic violence, and some critics 0:15:42.125 --> 0:15:46.725 have also questioned the current administration's transparency. In October, a 0:15:46.765 --> 0:15:49.445 civil complaint was filed by deputies who claimed that they 0:15:49.445 --> 0:15:52.365 were assaulted at the East LA Station by a group 0:15:52.405 --> 0:15:55.485 of older officers who were allegedly members of a gang. 0:15:56.005 --> 0:15:59.725 They called themselves Bandidos and had tattoos of a skeleton, 0:15:59.965 --> 0:16:04.325 wearing a sombrero and carrying guns. The complaint alleges that 0:16:04.365 --> 0:16:08.525 the Bandidos controlled the East LA station like inmates running 0:16:08.525 --> 0:16:13.085 a prison yard. My Teresa's disappearance happened in two thousand 0:16:13.085 --> 0:16:16.685 and nine, years before the Black Lives Matter movement, but 0:16:16.805 --> 0:16:20.165 during the protests in La, her name was being added 0:16:20.205 --> 0:16:23.965 to hashtag Say her Name, along with Breonna Taylor, who 0:16:24.045 --> 0:16:26.645 was killed by police at her home during a raid. 0:16:27.445 --> 0:16:31.045 We had to scream and fight every inch of the 0:16:31.085 --> 0:16:36.525 way for like the resources from the Sheriff's department, for 0:16:38.005 --> 0:16:42.165 the local mainstream television drive by media to cover it. 0:16:42.925 --> 0:16:46.965 Like we had a fight for everything. This is Jasmine Caannic. 0:16:47.525 --> 0:16:50.405 She's a journalist who's been involved with my Teresa's case 0:16:50.605 --> 0:16:55.285 since the beginning. You know, nobody should be disappearing like that. 0:16:56.205 --> 0:17:00.445 No one should disappear like that, Like that was crazy 0:17:00.605 --> 0:17:04.045 and that could have been anyone, Yeah, right, that could 0:17:04.125 --> 0:17:05.965 have been And that was one of the things that 0:17:06.045 --> 0:17:08.005 resonated with me a lot. It was just like that 0:17:08.045 --> 0:17:12.045 could have been me, that could have been anyone. She 0:17:12.165 --> 0:17:16.005 says that some cases strike you hard, and she decided 0:17:16.045 --> 0:17:18.885 to get even more involved with the case after she 0:17:19.005 --> 0:17:23.045 met with my Teresa's dad, Michael, ten years ago. She's 0:17:23.085 --> 0:17:26.765 remained close to Michael ever since. We all met at 0:17:26.805 --> 0:17:31.165 Starbucks and had like a really long conversation. That's when 0:17:31.165 --> 0:17:36.165 I started writing about it. And as is the case 0:17:36.285 --> 0:17:43.045 with some of the stories that I choose to take on, 0:17:43.365 --> 0:17:46.045 I get a little more involved than I do in others, 0:17:47.205 --> 0:17:50.125 and the Matrise one was one of them because it 0:17:50.365 --> 0:17:54.685 was being ignored. This girl just, you know, disappeared, and 0:17:55.045 --> 0:17:58.605 it was not giving the attention that you know, a 0:17:58.685 --> 0:18:02.765 blonde hair, blue eyed girl who would go missing in 0:18:02.805 --> 0:18:13.045 Malibu would have gotten the trees, you know, did not 0:18:13.565 --> 0:18:18.205 get the benefit of Black Lives Matter. And it's unfortunate 0:18:18.365 --> 0:18:23.645 because I feel like her case should have been one 0:18:23.685 --> 0:18:26.125 of the proposter children for Black Lives Matter. I mean, 0:18:26.165 --> 0:18:29.765 if you have this, you know, young black woman who 0:18:30.205 --> 0:18:35.365 was clearly having mental health crisis. So it's tragic on 0:18:35.485 --> 0:18:39.285 all these different levels to me because had it just 0:18:39.405 --> 0:18:43.005 been a few years later, I think more people would 0:18:43.045 --> 0:18:46.965 have been screaming about it. I think had it been 0:18:47.005 --> 0:18:50.685 a few years later, maybe she wouldn't have been taken 0:18:50.725 --> 0:18:54.405 into custody in the first place, because the little anybody 0:18:54.445 --> 0:18:58.525 anse of weed is not anything that can be criminally charged. 0:19:10.045 --> 0:19:13.085 Some people believe that one or more of the officers 0:19:13.085 --> 0:19:16.005 on duty that night could have played a more direct 0:19:16.085 --> 0:19:19.925 role in my Teresa's death. The deputies who were identified 0:19:19.965 --> 0:19:22.965 by multiple sources as being the ones who appeared on 0:19:23.085 --> 0:19:27.645 video have never spoken out. But however you look at it, 0:19:27.765 --> 0:19:32.165 Jasmine says that the Lost Hill Sheriff's Department clearly failed 0:19:32.445 --> 0:19:34.845 in their duty of care to my trees on the 0:19:34.925 --> 0:19:37.965 night she went missing. Well, it's clear the sheriffs had 0:19:38.005 --> 0:19:41.605 something to do with her death, I mean, just for 0:19:41.645 --> 0:19:44.605 the simple fact that they released her, you know, after 0:19:44.685 --> 0:19:47.845 saying they wouldn't in the middle of the night without anything, right, 0:19:47.965 --> 0:19:50.325 So they had something to do with her death because 0:19:50.725 --> 0:19:53.565 after that, you know, as we all know now, she 0:19:53.965 --> 0:19:58.005 ended up dead. But many of us do believe that, 0:19:58.565 --> 0:20:00.925 you know, the Sheriff's had one or two of the 0:20:00.965 --> 0:20:04.845 deputies over there had more to do with it than 0:20:05.765 --> 0:20:09.285 you know, we've ever really been able to prove but 0:20:09.405 --> 0:20:13.205 for me, all fingers point back to the Sheriff's apartment 0:20:13.205 --> 0:20:17.325 because at the end of the day, they told her mother, 0:20:17.725 --> 0:20:21.885 her grandmother, that they weren't going to release her, and 0:20:21.925 --> 0:20:28.485 then they did. And that's a common problem in La County, 0:20:29.205 --> 0:20:31.605 which is, you know, they like to let women go 0:20:31.885 --> 0:20:36.365 at these odd you know, hours of the night when 0:20:36.405 --> 0:20:41.845 it's dangerous. It's beyond me why they did that, like 0:20:42.005 --> 0:20:45.525 after they told her family, with Teresa's family, that they 0:20:45.525 --> 0:20:48.845 were not going to do that, and then they did it. Anyway, 0:20:50.645 --> 0:20:53.605 My Teresa's case was given to the Office of Independent Review, 0:20:54.125 --> 0:20:57.125 a civilian oversight group that was supposed to ensure that 0:20:57.205 --> 0:21:03.005 allegations of LASD officer misconduct were investigated fairly. The Office 0:21:03.005 --> 0:21:08.245 of Independent Review produced the report hundreds of pages with 0:21:08.365 --> 0:21:12.805 almost zero proper names. The Office of Independent Review was 0:21:12.845 --> 0:21:18.525 disbanded in twenty fourteen. Most police departments around the country 0:21:18.845 --> 0:21:23.245 have no type of civilian oversight. Jasmine says that my 0:21:23.325 --> 0:21:26.765 trease was the inspiration behind her work with the reform 0:21:27.005 --> 0:21:32.445 La Jail's ballot measure. The measure passed in March twenty twenty. 0:21:33.165 --> 0:21:36.405 Jasmine has been advocating for years for the creation of 0:21:36.405 --> 0:21:41.485 the La County Sheriff's Department Civilian Oversight Commission, She wants 0:21:41.525 --> 0:21:44.925 to make sure that it's a truly independent organization and 0:21:44.965 --> 0:21:47.405 that it has the tools necessary to do its job. 0:21:48.405 --> 0:21:52.165 The ballot measure gave the commission subpoena power to effectively 0:21:52.205 --> 0:21:57.165 and independently investigate misconduct, and it requires the attendance of 0:21:57.205 --> 0:22:02.165 witnesses and production of evidence connected to their investigations and oversight. 0:22:03.245 --> 0:22:06.245 When my trease disappeared in two thousand and nine, there 0:22:06.365 --> 0:22:10.205 was no Oversight Commission on that night. If people hear 0:22:10.245 --> 0:22:13.045 about this and they're outraged and they want to do something, 0:22:13.045 --> 0:22:14.685 because we always like to sort of have a call 0:22:14.685 --> 0:22:18.125 to action on what people can actually do, what's the 0:22:18.125 --> 0:22:19.965 best way to put your energy for it and try 0:22:20.005 --> 0:22:23.845 to help with us. I mean, at this point in time, 0:22:24.725 --> 0:22:30.165 you know, people need to pay attention to more than 0:22:30.205 --> 0:22:34.565 what's going on in Washington, d C. What happens in 0:22:34.565 --> 0:22:38.165 your backyard affects you way more than anything going on 0:22:38.205 --> 0:22:42.565 in Washington, d C. But voters don't tend to pay 0:22:42.605 --> 0:22:45.205 attention to what's going on at city hall, what's going 0:22:45.245 --> 0:22:47.805 on with their county Board of supervisors. Most voters don't 0:22:47.805 --> 0:22:51.605 even know who represents them. At the local level. Everyone 0:22:51.645 --> 0:22:53.525 in this country, no matter where they are. They live 0:22:53.565 --> 0:22:57.125 in some county, they live in some city, they live 0:22:57.165 --> 0:23:00.245 in some state, and at each of those levels there 0:23:00.405 --> 0:23:03.805 is a body of government that governs them, and they 0:23:03.925 --> 0:23:08.605 should be engaged. Believe it or not, most law enforcement 0:23:08.645 --> 0:23:12.725 agencies do not have civilian oversight. There's a really big 0:23:12.805 --> 0:23:16.205 push now, especially in the wake of you know, Breonna 0:23:16.285 --> 0:23:20.205 Taylor and George Floyd and all of these other names. 0:23:20.205 --> 0:23:21.805 So I could go on and on and on, and 0:23:22.165 --> 0:23:24.965 I always call out Matries's name too. I never let 0:23:24.965 --> 0:23:29.765 people forget about Matris, you know, because now people are 0:23:29.805 --> 0:23:34.605 paying attention. And so that's what I tell people, like, 0:23:34.685 --> 0:23:37.085 they have to get engaged at the local level. They 0:23:37.085 --> 0:23:40.125 have to push for these changes. They have to unseat 0:23:40.165 --> 0:23:43.685 people who aren't willing to do the changes and put 0:23:43.725 --> 0:23:46.205 people in the office who are willing to make the changes. 0:23:46.245 --> 0:23:50.245 Because in this country, we only get changed real systemic change, 0:23:50.325 --> 0:23:56.085 real institutional change, two ways court rulings or legislation. It 0:23:56.205 --> 0:23:58.445 just is what it is. That's how we get changed. 0:23:58.485 --> 0:24:00.885 You can protest in the street all you want, but 0:24:00.965 --> 0:24:03.845 if the people who are in power aren't moved by 0:24:03.885 --> 0:24:07.325 your protests to change the law. You're just protesting in 0:24:07.365 --> 0:24:14.005 the street. Sheriff Lee Baca is currently in federal prison. 0:24:15.285 --> 0:24:20.205 He has reportedly been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Jasmine is convinced 0:24:20.565 --> 0:24:25.565 that Sheriff Bacca knows more about my Teres's case. I mean, 0:24:25.845 --> 0:24:29.765 he may end up dying with that secret unless one 0:24:29.765 --> 0:24:35.565 of the other deputies involved want to come forward. Ismail 0:24:35.645 --> 0:24:39.845 Rodriguez and Lazara Sanchez, the deputies who were identified as 0:24:39.885 --> 0:24:42.845 possibly being on camera walking out of the station shortly 0:24:42.845 --> 0:24:46.405 after my Trees, have both been transferred from Lost Hill station. 0:24:47.405 --> 0:24:51.765 Both still work for the LASD. Neither have ever spoken 0:24:51.805 --> 0:25:09.685 publicly about the night my Trees went missing. Officially, my 0:25:09.805 --> 0:25:13.365 Teres's case is still classified as an open investigation, but 0:25:13.485 --> 0:25:16.405 because her death has not officially been rolled a homicide, 0:25:17.045 --> 0:25:20.125 the case, like so many others in Los Angeles and 0:25:20.205 --> 0:25:24.005 around the country, seems to be in limbo. Police have 0:25:24.045 --> 0:25:28.125 described it as a clue driven investigation, which basically means 0:25:28.165 --> 0:25:30.405 if someone comes to them with a lead, they will 0:25:30.405 --> 0:25:35.085 investigate it, but they aren't out knocking on doors. I 0:25:35.205 --> 0:25:39.045 still believe that someone knows something and that there could 0:25:39.125 --> 0:25:44.565 be more clues. Still buried somewhere in dark Canyon. Again, 0:25:44.965 --> 0:25:47.925 part of being a thorough investigator is doing a Sherlock 0:25:48.005 --> 0:25:51.725 Home style process of investigation. Let's take a look at 0:25:51.765 --> 0:25:56.725 the main theories of what could have happened in My Trees. One, 0:25:57.005 --> 0:26:00.125 someone killed her, put her in their car, and dumped 0:26:00.125 --> 0:26:04.325 her body. Now this was a theory that depended on 0:26:04.925 --> 0:26:08.245 the fire road or some access road behind the Malibu 0:26:08.285 --> 0:26:11.125 Canyon ranch or in that general area leading down to 0:26:11.165 --> 0:26:13.245 a point where a body could have been dropped in 0:26:13.245 --> 0:26:16.325 the spot where her remains were found. But now we 0:26:16.485 --> 0:26:21.045 know that that road doesn't exist. The fire road just 0:26:21.125 --> 0:26:24.165 leads to some horse trails, all of them and at 0:26:24.205 --> 0:26:27.525 a very steep drop that puts you almost a mile 0:26:27.565 --> 0:26:30.085 from where the remains were found. And as part of 0:26:30.165 --> 0:26:33.285 checking out this theory, we've also looked at other past 0:26:33.325 --> 0:26:36.565