WEBVTT - Papa, Can You Hear Me: Florida Man Kidnaps Self 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:03.720 Ridiculous crime is a production of My Heart Radio. Hey 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:07.960 Elizabeth Dutton, saren you know what's ridiculous I do? Do 0:00:08.039 --> 0:00:12.879 you want to share? All right? You convinced me what 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:17.440 do aphids, anacondas, and zebra sharks have in common? They 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:21.880 all have a's in their names. Done, that's ridiculous. Um, 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:25.840 you know that some of them are born pregnant. Wait 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:30.040 what Yeah, some are born pregnant. Yes, some a fids 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:33.919 are born pregnant, but individual adults. Right, they can give 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.920 birth to up to nine offspring a day. I'm just looking. 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.440 They reproduce a sexually. Okay, So it wasn't like dad 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.680 got mom and pregnant part in a genesis. Well, it 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:48.720 did remind me of my favorite Yahoo answers of all time. 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:52.760 The question was can your baby get pregnant if you 0:00:52.840 --> 0:00:57.040 have sex while pregnant? And then that was the title, 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:00.640 and then the question the question underneath says like, if 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:02.760 you are pregnant with a baby, girl and you have 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.400 sex while you are pregnant, can the sperm go up 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:09.520 in there and impregnate the baby in there? And then 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:16.800 someone calling themselves Hennessy the best answer chosen by voters 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:22.080 and said the baby can get pregnant only if it's female. 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:25.040 If you suspect that your baby is pregnant, try not 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:27.720 to have sex again. You run the risk of getting 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:32.280 your baby's baby pregnant, and that can lead to complications 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:37.280 like an infinite loop. So that's kind of what goes 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:43.640 on with its like a Russian Yeah, so that was 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:48.000 all ridiculous. Oh that is uncut ridiculous and Hennessy, thank 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:52.760 you for clarifying. Thank you. That's a damn good one. Um, 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.000 if you have a moment, I got a wild one 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:58.000 for you. Yes, please, Are you got a second? I 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:00.520 can make time nice for you. I can. Then I'm 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:03.559 just gonna ask you. Imagine that you're twenty years old, okay. 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.880 Now you live in Florida, okay, and you decide it 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.840 would be a good idea for you to fake your 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:14.520 own kidnapping and extort two million dollars in ransom from 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:20.040 a Colombian cartel connected gangster. Right, and this man is 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:44.519 also your father. Oh wow, this is ridiculous. Crime A 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:49.600 podcast about absurd and outrageous capers, heists and cons. It's 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:57.920 always murder free and Elizabeth ridiculous. Okay, I promised you 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:02.639 story Florida. You made that promise three. This is one 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:08.160 year before the year that or Well made famous, right right? Okay, 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.600 remembright here. So to put you back in time, I 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:12.880 want you to just go over some major cultural touch 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:15.720 zones of nineteen eight three. You're ready, ready, Okay, way 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:20.920 back machine starting now? Okay, RayBan sunglasses, Michael Jackson Thriller 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:27.240 dominates the charts. The McDonald's chicken McNugget debuts, Jane Fondes 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:30.920 Jazzer Size is selling bookoo vhs and Beta Max tapes 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:34.640 on Yeah Becausette tapes and their return of the Jedi. 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:38.360 It's dominating at the box office right nineteen Can you 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:42.040 feel the surging through you? I have straight up there? 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.600 And when someone says nineteen three, does anything jump to mind? 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:46.840 Anything leap to mind? Anything that you just have, like 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:51.240 oh when I think three, boom um, I don't know. 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:54.160 It all sort of blurs together for me. That it's 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.120 a hard one to separate out, to be quite honest, 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:58.480 because it's not an election year, not an Olympic, hadn't 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:04.240 hit Olympic fever happening around the culture. I feel like 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:06.680 I was listening to a lot of Duran Duran. Okay, 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:10.320 that could see that. Yeah, they I think the Smiths 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.520 had their first album three right. Yeah, so there's some 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:17.200 cultural touchdowns that were coming up for you personally. I 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:20.960 mean that, yeah, but you were just a young six 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.200 still eyeing the culture, going what's going to come next? 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:27.440 Exactly now, Elizabeth, this also was the birth ye or 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:30.760 some of your favorite people. I looked it up. I 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:33.159 checked to see the list. I pulled out a couple 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:34.839 of my favorites. You know, we're going to skip past 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.240 the Azas and sories of the world. Who was born 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:40.479 in three but we're also going to stick to the 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:43.000 summer babies because that's when this story takes place, all right. 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:47.800 So June maclemore was brought into the world as Baby Macklemore. 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:52.279 I know, not one of your favorites, the rapper Macilmore. Yeah, 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:59.640 you feel like a scooter video. I'm doing this is 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:03.599 good now. A month later after Baby Mackamore entered the world, 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:08.280 funny hammer guy Chris hams Work was born. Yeah, and 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:12.200 one of your favorite time He's funny, he's got a hammer. 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:14.560 So there was let's see. Also at the end of 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.840 the summer, Donald Glover was born, who you actually do 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:21.360 like much like Funny Hammer Guy's say, Malcolmore. Now September 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:24.839 was Donald Glover's birthday. Just putting that out there because 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:27.800 you wanted to send a birthday card. Coming up fast now, 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.960 two weeks before Donald Glover inches the world. That's where 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:35.880 our story takes place. Okay, you into this. Okay, Florida 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:40.839 late summer, Yeah, hot, humid, sticky, eats everything you don't 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:43.599 want to be Now. It's the kind of place where 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.440 it feels like it may start raining anytime soon, or 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:48.920 it's just gotten done rainy. There was an old joke 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:50.440 I used to hear when I was a kid about Florida, 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:52.120 which is like, if you don't like the weather in Florida, 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:55.320 just stick around an hour, it'll change. Now this is 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.440 what you're experiencing as you are in South Florida, the 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:01.480 Miami Dade area. And the star of our tale that 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:02.920 I would like to tell you about today is a 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:06.679 man named David Hampton Butler Senior. David Hampton Butler Senior 0:06:06.880 --> 0:06:08.480 will be a test latter, so please write that time 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.360 writing it right now, the four years before our story begins. 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:15.880 David Hampton Butler Senior. He is a you know drug 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:19.760 smuggler and he's hanging out gets busted in Alabama and 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.599 that becomes like who he is. But when we meet 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:25.279 him in nine, he's a vice president of a small 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.760 charter airline called trans Air. And this is, you know, 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:32.240 a step up for an x con. You don't expect 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:35.159 him to be the VP of a private airline, right right. 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:38.320 He's living well, not like you know, high on the hog. 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:40.280 But the guy has a three thousand dollar home in 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:43.760 three which is you know, that's sizeable and expensive, and 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.080 he's doing well in life. Has also got a garage 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:48.640 full of several luxury cars, and he likes to keep 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:52.039 a low profile. Does he have an embroidered pillow in 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:54.960 his home that says living well is the best revenge? 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:58.760 Nobody needs one? He does with like the gold tassels 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:03.600 and stuff. So this guy, David Hampton Butler Senior, who 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:07.680 appears to have gone legit, he is doing what psychiatries 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:10.600 like to call a lie. He is living a lie. 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:14.400 He has not gone leg yet. Clinical, Yes, keep up 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:17.160 with me. I'll try not to use too much of 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:21.880 the Yeah, this one. He's also what criminologists would be 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:25.960 referred to as an active drug smuggler. Yeah, so he's 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:28.120 also has one other secret. He is a high level 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:35.640 informant for the FBI. Oh yeah, he's hit. He's pouncing around. Now. 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:39.000 His family doesn't know this. In particular, his twenty year 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:43.920 old son doesn't know this. Dave Hampton Butler Jr. Twenty 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:46.360 year old son. Now, this one little secret will go 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:50.080 on to shape both of their futures because I believe 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:52.440 if his son did know that his father was a 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:55.440 high level FBI informant, he probably wouldn't think it was 0:07:55.480 --> 0:08:00.400 a good idea to fake his own kidnapping. Otherwise, it's 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.320 a great ideas a solid plan. But I'm saying is 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:04.600 if your dad has buddies in the FBI, they've got 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:07.160 the tools to catch you real quick. Now, at the 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.520 time of this kidnapping, his best friend is this Judge's son, 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.240 who's this is narrative. Well, he's also has a girlfriend. 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:14.920 She's an eighteen year old who attends at a community college. 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:18.440 She's also an exercise teacher. Her name is Carmen Karin. 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:22.360 And uh yeah, so he's got the narrative. Well, Judge's 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:26.280 best friend, the jazzercise teacher as his girlfriend, and together 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.400 these three amateur kidnappers come up with a plan to 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:34.800 con and extort his father, the cocaine cartel gangster. There's 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:39.520 three amateurs idea. It's a simple plan to keep it 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:41.600 down to brass. Tax was like, well, we're not gonna 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:43.240 have a lot of a dormant and embellishments. We're just 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.880 gonna do straight ransom notes. Right. So, David Butler Jr. 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:49.200 This is their plan. He'll go missing on a Friday, 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:52.320 have a nice long weekend, hang out with his girlfriend, 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:54.960 you know, just normally do what they would do. They 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:58.320 they're gonna go enjoy a Florida weekend together while his 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:03.199 friend Joe Hickey, he helps work out the threatening parts 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:05.840 for his father, right, because it's important that his father 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:07.760 be terrified that he's gone. It can't just be that 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:09.960 they go off on a lark. So they have this 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:12.400 whole plan. On Friday, he'll go missing and then hide 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:14.800 up for the weekend, laylo with her girlfriend. On Monday, 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:17.920 they'll arrange for his return once they've properly scared his 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:21.760 father throughout the weekend. Okay, Okay. Now, his girlfriend Carmen, 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:23.800 she comes up with the plan. She'll type up ransom 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:26.920 notes at the community college. They have typewriters there. That 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:29.480 way they won't be traced back to her, won't be handwritten. 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:33.280 Kind of smart right now, Joe Hickey, he helps a 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:35.959 word these so they're maximally threatening. He actually has a 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:38.760 little history with threatening people. He faced a charge where 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:40.839 he tried to get a woman to pay five hundred 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.360 dollars to get a dog back or something. And so yeah, 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:45.720 he's like a whole I said, never do well, He's like, 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:47.160 I got this one. Here's what we gotta do. Put 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:50.280 in terrifying language. So he believes that it's the cocaine 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:52.720 smugglers who grabbed you. So he's working on making this 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:56.480 terrifying ransom notes. Right, So, the first typewritten ransom note 0:09:56.559 --> 0:10:00.840 arrives at the Butler home on Friday, Right one's gone missing. 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:05.080 The ransom note reads, we have finally taken revenge against you, 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:08.280 Mr Butler. We are now holding your son David Jr. 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:11.319 Al Right, simple, straightforward, right to the point, right, And 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:14.679 the note also includes the demand they will insist on 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:18.120 two million dollars in small bills if you ever want 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:23.080 to see your son ever again. It's this one strapper money. 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.679 They're like, yeah, I want five and one and they 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:29.080 got to be crinkly and correctly. And I can't smell sweat. 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:33.240 I don't want it now. David Butler Sr. His son's grabbed. 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.480 He knows he deals with bad men all the time 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:38.360 from a living He immediately begins to panic. His worst 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:41.480 fears have been realized. His criminal business dealings have now 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:44.640 not only put his life at risk, but put his 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:47.680 family's life at risk. Right, So on Friday, he doesn't 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:49.319 know what to do. He does he want to tell 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:52.400 his wife? Does he what can? He can't call the cops. 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:54.720 He doesn't know what to do, right, So he's like panicking, 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:58.320 racking his mind, spends the whole night in fear. Saturday, 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:01.800 new ransom note or lives and he's like, okay, so 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:04.840 he checks the ransom note and this one, this one 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:09.120 is more threatening. Thank you, Joe Hicky. So but no, 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:12.080 you must know our threat is real. David is safe. 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:14.600 Your time is running out. We will not stand for 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.439 any setups or police involvement if we are informed. Otherwise 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:22.920 your son will be killed without hesitation. Right, So it's 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:27.600 ramping up. Good job, Joe Hicky. Now the father David 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:31.520 Butler Sr. He believes Rampson notes are or could be legit. 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:33.880 He's not exactly certain because they don't quite fit the 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:36.959 pattern he would expect. But it's his son. I would 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:39.319 think at this point they'd be like sending a pinky 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:41.760 or something that exactly, you know, if he's dealing with 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:44.760 real Colombian Cartel's like, we got to ramp this up, 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:48.280 and it's not. It's hard to find a spare pinky 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:52.480 to send. So like if I were them, if they 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:56.040 went upstairs to the faculty lounge at this community college 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:57.760 and they got me to come down and help them 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:00.440 type it up, it's true freedom. I feel. Here's what 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.120 we do. You guys go get a piece of bologney 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:05.199 and we'll say we cut off some of his rump 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:09.880 meat and this is it slice. Yeah, it would be 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:12.199 really good on rye. Yeah exactly. I like this. You 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:15.440 could have been good. See I don't think not, and 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:17.880 we just haven't found out about it yet. The look 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:22.520 on my face right now, pure shock, Elizabeth, Master, criminal 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:25.080 that you are. What would you do next? You've got 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.720 the father terrified. Okay, so we're not sending rump meat, 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.360 so flip it. What do you do as the father? 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:33.920 As the father, how about that. I call some people 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:39.120 I know and feel like you're good at this. These 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:41.320 amateur criminals, they should have consulted with someone like you, 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:44.120 because that's exactly what his father did. There. He goes 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:47.760 right to his handlers at the FBI and he's like, Okay, 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.520 my son has been grabbed. And the FBI is like, 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.600 you're in luck. That's what we do. We don't care. 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:57.120 So they're like, we promise you will find your son 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:03.280 or we will try really hard. So FBI's free. He 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:07.440 spring into action. Right, they promised to find the kidnappers. Sunday, 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:11.120 nothing has occurred yet a new ransom note arrives at 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:15.280 the Butler home. Right. This note now has instructions for 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:17.280 what he's supposed to do to get his son back. 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.000 The note tells him to follow instructions to a sidewalk 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.560 cafe in Coconut Grove, Florida. So he does. He gets 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:25.720 in his car, takes into one of his luxury cars, 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:28.560 drives down to Coconut grow He finds his sidewalk cafe. 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:31.400 He walks in. He follows a ransom notes instructions and 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:33.440 it says to check behind a poster on the wall. 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:35.720 He goes up, he finds his poster on the wall, 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:41.439 and there behind the poster is what a second note. 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.679 It's fun hanging out down. It's just like flat stamps. 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.280 So this second note, it warn't quote. Every precaution has 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:56.600 been taken to prevent any of your tricks. So these 0:13:56.640 --> 0:14:00.280 people apparently know him, right, these people is his son? 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:02.720 His son knows his father, well, he knows his father's 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:04.400 up to all his tricks. At least he thinks he 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:07.720 knows his father. Well, that's the key. Now, as this 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:11.720 weekend drags on, David Hampton Butler Sr. Begins to suspect 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:15.400 it may not be a rival Colombian cartel that kidnapped 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:18.160 his son. It doesn't feel like their style. They wouldn't 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.040 send all these cheeky messages, is your point. They would 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:22.360 send a finger, They would do and something. Can you 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.680 imagine they had to go to this cafe and like 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:27.320 slip the paper, do they know, like one of the 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:30.640 waiters like don't tell anybody for a scavenger and then 0:14:30.640 --> 0:14:32.640 like slip it behind in Florida State. It's fun. It's 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:37.760 a fat thing. So yeah, that's not cartel behavior. Yeah, 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:40.120 the whole like sidewalk cafe. I mean, right there, I'm like, 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:43.200 you are not a member of a cocaine cartel. They're like, Okay, 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:48.320 go to this frozen yogurt the bottom of the eminem sprinkle. 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:50.440 Make sure it asked for the fun fl you find 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:55.040 your son's pinky. Well, it turns out that his instincts 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:57.800 are mostly right, as we will soon find out after 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:00.160 the short break. Will be right back with more The 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:03.720 Strange Tale of David Hampton Butler Jr. Versus David Hampton 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:27.520 Butler Sr. So, Elizabeth, where were we? We were talking 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.760 some Dave versus Dave action. We got the battle and 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:34.400 Dave Dave Senior, Dave Junior producer, Dave yea, do you 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.480 have any comments on this? Houses Dave on Dave action? 0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:39.480 For you, I mean, the thing is, you can't really 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:43.400 bet for or against either Dave. I mean comes out 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.360 you just you just got. It's written for Dave. I 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:51.720 always root for Dave. Dave always wins. Dave's right now. 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:57.000 David Hampton Butler Jr. Missing David Hampton Butler Senior panicked 0:15:57.160 --> 0:15:59.280 but has the FBA on his side. So he's feeling 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:00.920 a little bit of a good position and he's kind 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:02.840 of certain this is a little hinky and that maybe 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:05.680 his son is not really in danger. That's where we're at. 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.880 So being an FBI informant, he's feeling, you know, these 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:13.560 tricks don't quite play, and he's uh, you know, curious. 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:15.960 But at the same time, it's his son. He's got 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.160 to still care about what's going to happen to his son. 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:20.480 So if he's wrong, even if ten percent chance that 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:22.480 it could be actual cartel, he's got to play that 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:26.600 tempercent chance, right. But his FBI context they also have 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:29.400 their doubts, so it's getting lower, more like a five 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.920 percent chance. Right By Monday, the FBI agents come to 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:35.720 the conclusion that there are no true kidnappers involved in this. 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.080 They've looked over all the materials, they've read it. They're like, 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:40.320 these are amateurs. I don't know what's going on here. 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:42.600 Do you have any personal contexts? Do you owe anybody 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:44.360 money who would be trying to do this to you? 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:48.120 Dave Hampton Butler, seeing your rax's mind, he cannot think 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.720 of anybody he owes money to anybody personally who would 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:52.040 be doing this to him. It's got to be one 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.800 of his criminal contexts. If somebody was doing this to you. 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:57.000 Would you have a long list of people you would 0:16:57.000 --> 0:17:03.720 guess at the intern um, I don't really. I would 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:05.439 not have a long right. It's difficult to come up 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:07.880 with a list of enemies for the average person. Now, 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.440 if you're an FBI informant, you have a little bit 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.879 longer list, and if you're a drug dealer, double your length. 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:17.840 So he's got a list he's kind of creating, like uh, 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:20.480 and he's crossing out names. He can't figure it out. 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:23.520 Luckily for him, Monday night, he gets a call from 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:26.760 the kidnappers, first time they have actually spoken with him. 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.440 So now he's like, oh, I guess they are legit. 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.240 They tell the worried father, if you pay the ransom, 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:36.119 your boy will be returned the following day. So he's like, 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.000 all right, well, I gotta play the five percent chance 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.919 that these people are He's instructed to bring twenty bags 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.680 of cash once again, all small bills, totaling two million dollars, 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:49.400 and drive out to a remote location for the exchange. 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:52.600 David Hampton Butler Senior. He listens to all the instructions, 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.639 He's like, okay, bet, and he does as he's So 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:58.560 he's got that kind of cash. He's a drug smuggler. 0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:01.639 So I got he's got the two million sitting around, 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.480 went out to the deep freezer and the only hard 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:06.560 part was making sure it's small bills. He's like, I 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:08.600 gotta go down and find he broke, Like he had 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.080 to go around breaking him at strip clubs. He was 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:13.120 going out to clubs and when the girls are walking out, 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:15.639 how would you shift? Did you make a couple of foul? 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.560 So after he's been done, gathering up all his cash, 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:22.520 putting it in like ziplock bags of twenty ziplock bags, 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:25.639 all with little cash. He does this. He's instructed. He 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:27.720 drives out to this remote location. Now he has to 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:30.320 go down to two lane highway from basically Tampa to 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:33.239 Miami that runs through the Everglades. And this is like, 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:36.240 there's nothing on this highway. It's just the Everglades, just 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:38.600 swamp right. So he's like, I don't know where I'm 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:41.600 going to possibly meet a person out here. Elizabeth, you've 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:43.159 ever been to the floor Everglades? Now do you know 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:46.080 what I'm talking about? It all seen. So imagine a road, 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:48.440 the two lanes like a southern highway, a little grass 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:49.920 strip on either side, and then as soon as the 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:53.280 grass strip ends, it's just swamp swamp immediately cypress trees. 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:55.479 Like an alligator could crawl out onto the road. Right, 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:57.560 that's where he's driving by himself, with all these two 0:18:57.560 --> 0:19:00.840 million dollars in cash. So, Elizabeth, I'd like you to 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:05.520 close your eyes and picture it. Okay, It's a sweltering 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:07.919 Monday night in Florida. It's the kind of humid night 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:10.680 that makes your clothes stick to your skin. You can 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:13.360 hear the air vibrating with the heat and the bugs. 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:16.520 You're alone, standing on the side of a two lane 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:20.440 rural highway hitchhike. It's a very yeah, you know, we 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:23.080 got the short shorts on. So far, it's been a long, 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:25.679 hot night. A few cars have passed, none have stopped 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:28.400 for you, and the mosquitoes there won't leave you alone. Finally, 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:31.440 out past the curtain of cypress trees and the thick 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:35.120 swamp rushes, you spy headlights approaching in the dark distance. 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.320 Maybe this will be the car that stops you. Hope, 0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:40.640 you say a small prayer. You need to get out 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.960 of this night. The mosquitoes are pretty much feeding on you, 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.119 and the sweat is driving you mad. So the car. 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:49.080 It slows down. Maybe a small hope is being answered. 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:51.480 It's a Mercedes. It pulls to a stop in the 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:54.800 loose gravel right next to you. It starts idle, passenger 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:57.879 windows slides down. It's middle aged white man. He's at 0:19:57.920 --> 0:19:59.800 the wheel. He tarranting, looks at you. His face is 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:02.320 really worried. It's kind of actually scary. He says, do 0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:07.360 you know where the trail Indian Baptist churches? You're like, uh, Now, 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:09.399 before the truth can escape your lips, which is no, 0:20:09.560 --> 0:20:12.320 you do not, a lie leaps from your lips and 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:13.879 you say, yes, yes I do. If you give me 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:15.440 a ride, I'll show you where it is. I'm going 0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:19.080 that way. Now, you're from California. You don't know Florida 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:22.879 at all. You're with psychiatrists. Call lying. I am covered 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:26.960 in mosquitoes. I'm getting like anaphylactic at this point. Yeah, 0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:28.840 I'm like whatever, Yeah, I know where everything is. Let 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:31.560 me in the car. I'll personally build the church. Let's go. 0:20:31.720 --> 0:20:34.000 I built the globe. Let me in here. Well, it's 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:35.760 like I say, a bump steer is better than no 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:38.439 steer at all. So you give him the bumpstaer and 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:40.240 send him on the road, but you also hop in 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:42.479 the car with him. So he's like, yeah, get in. 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:44.639 You're like, all right, cool. You immediately notice when you 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:47.159 get in that there are but at least fifteen bags 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:49.920 of cash in the back seat. I'm like, well, just dude, 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:51.639 to turn around with bags of cash? Did he just 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:55.000 rob a strip clumb Now this car idea maybe wasn't 0:20:55.000 --> 0:20:56.679 such a good idea for you, but you're in it, 0:20:56.760 --> 0:20:58.800 and he floors it. And now you're on this rural 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:01.720 highway tearing down inn Mercedes and this guy with the 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:04.240 loose cash in the back and he's got wild eyes. 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:08.240 You're like, I need to make better choices with my life. Yeah, totally, 0:21:08.400 --> 0:21:13.040 But hear me out, I'd rather see bags of cash 0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:15.480 in the back than see like an abduction kit of 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:19.680 like duct tape and a hammer and that garbage bags. 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:21.840 And he's just you know, that's so I look around. 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:23.840 I see the cash like this I can probably handle. 0:21:23.960 --> 0:21:26.479 Maybe he's a legitimate businessman. Maybe he won't notice if 0:21:26.480 --> 0:21:29.639 I just put one into my back pocket. I like 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:32.920 your thoughts. So this middle aged man, frantic eyes behind 0:21:32.920 --> 0:21:34.960 the wheel, he turns to you. After a few miles, 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:36.560 he says it's the church this way or back the 0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:41.000 other way, and you're like, uh, now you got tell well, 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:44.959 I'm trying to go straight right it is down the road, apiece. 0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:47.240 We will just keep going. It's exactly what you say. 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:50.080 You lie your sweet face off it. He buys it. 0:21:50.200 --> 0:21:52.359 And now you're turning to wonder if you get to 0:21:52.359 --> 0:21:54.159 the church, can you make a run for it because 0:21:54.200 --> 0:21:56.800 this guy is really making you nervous. Oh yeah I can. 0:21:57.119 --> 0:21:59.400 And then oh what luck? You spy a sign there? 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:04.200 It is? You claim it's the Trail Indian Independent Baptist Church. Yes, 0:22:04.240 --> 0:22:07.679