1 00:00:15,316 --> 00:00:22,676 Speaker 1: Pushkin. This is a story about a young woman who 2 00:00:22,796 --> 00:00:26,676 Speaker 1: ran away from home. At least that's how it all started. 3 00:00:27,236 --> 00:00:29,116 Speaker 1: I think people think that I had this master plan 4 00:00:29,196 --> 00:00:31,356 Speaker 1: and I went out and did it, and like, you know, 5 00:00:31,476 --> 00:00:35,836 Speaker 1: like it's not fun, right, You're constantly scared. You have 6 00:00:35,876 --> 00:00:38,076 Speaker 1: no support, you have no one to talk to, which 7 00:00:38,116 --> 00:00:41,196 Speaker 1: is part of the reason it got so carried away. 8 00:00:41,236 --> 00:00:45,076 Speaker 1: Like if I had just talked to somebody, they would 9 00:00:45,076 --> 00:00:48,796 Speaker 1: have been like this is crazy. Along the way, there 10 00:00:48,796 --> 00:00:51,316 Speaker 1: were plenty of moments where she could have stopped running, 11 00:00:52,116 --> 00:00:56,476 Speaker 1: but she didn't. Sort of like I got on a 12 00:00:56,516 --> 00:01:00,396 Speaker 1: train track. There was clearly the wrong train track, and 13 00:01:00,476 --> 00:01:03,236 Speaker 1: like my train is running away, and at some point 14 00:01:03,716 --> 00:01:05,836 Speaker 1: you're not thinking crap, how do we get off this 15 00:01:05,916 --> 00:01:08,316 Speaker 1: train track, or just thinking crap, how do I stop 16 00:01:08,316 --> 00:01:11,756 Speaker 1: this train from going off the rails? You know, just 17 00:01:11,836 --> 00:01:15,156 Speaker 1: kept making a horrible decision after horrible decision after horrible decision, 18 00:01:16,236 --> 00:01:18,836 Speaker 1: just trying to keep the train from crashing and killing me. 19 00:01:18,876 --> 00:01:25,036 Speaker 1: At that point, we're going to come back to this 20 00:01:25,076 --> 00:01:28,196 Speaker 1: woman and go deep into her story, so you'll hear 21 00:01:28,236 --> 00:01:31,836 Speaker 1: more about all that, but not just yet, because this 22 00:01:31,956 --> 00:01:36,196 Speaker 1: is actually a story about not one, but two young 23 00:01:36,236 --> 00:01:39,796 Speaker 1: women who vanished at about the same time. The two 24 00:01:39,836 --> 00:01:42,636 Speaker 1: of them were roughly the same age, but in so 25 00:01:42,676 --> 00:01:45,436 Speaker 1: many other ways they could not have been more different. 26 00:01:46,236 --> 00:01:49,276 Speaker 1: One grew up in rural Montana, where she was raised 27 00:01:49,276 --> 00:01:53,316 Speaker 1: in a sheltered, devoutly religious home. She was shy and 28 00:01:53,516 --> 00:01:56,756 Speaker 1: kind of a nerd. The other was a kind hearted 29 00:01:56,796 --> 00:02:01,516 Speaker 1: free spirit from South Carolina. She partied often and sometimes 30 00:02:01,676 --> 00:02:05,276 Speaker 1: hung out with a rough crowd. They both disappeared in 31 00:02:05,396 --> 00:02:09,636 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine. Their families searched for them but didn't 32 00:02:09,676 --> 00:02:14,596 Speaker 1: find many clues, and then improbably their stories collided when 33 00:02:14,596 --> 00:02:19,716 Speaker 1: a lone investigator got involved and quickly became obsessed. I 34 00:02:19,756 --> 00:02:23,756 Speaker 1: think of a situation as a sweater. So sometimes you 35 00:02:23,836 --> 00:02:26,516 Speaker 1: have a loose thread and you pull the thread and 36 00:02:26,556 --> 00:02:29,116 Speaker 1: you get a knot. And sometimes you pull a thread 37 00:02:29,316 --> 00:02:32,716 Speaker 1: and it just keeps unraveling and you just keep falling 38 00:02:32,756 --> 00:02:37,156 Speaker 1: invulnent bulling. This investigator was convinced that the fates of 39 00:02:37,196 --> 00:02:40,516 Speaker 1: these two young women, the free spirit and the nerd, 40 00:02:40,956 --> 00:02:44,756 Speaker 1: were linked, and that by solving one of their cases 41 00:02:45,076 --> 00:02:48,276 Speaker 1: he might also solve the other. Not just that he 42 00:02:48,396 --> 00:02:51,756 Speaker 1: suspected that one of them was a master of deception, 43 00:02:52,316 --> 00:02:55,436 Speaker 1: a highly trained chameleon who conned her way into the 44 00:02:55,476 --> 00:02:59,396 Speaker 1: ivy leagues. He began an investigation that ultimately drew in 45 00:02:59,676 --> 00:03:03,596 Speaker 1: the Secret Service, the US Marshals, and the Justice Department. 46 00:03:04,076 --> 00:03:08,356 Speaker 1: The media soon got wind of this, Allegations of murder, fraud, 47 00:03:08,476 --> 00:03:14,676 Speaker 1: and spaje swirled. Eventually, a nationwide manhunt got underway, all 48 00:03:14,756 --> 00:03:19,996 Speaker 1: because of this one investigator and his hunch. Now, given 49 00:03:20,036 --> 00:03:23,116 Speaker 1: the gigantic scope of all this, you might think that 50 00:03:23,156 --> 00:03:26,796 Speaker 1: our investigator worked for some big city police department or 51 00:03:26,836 --> 00:03:30,636 Speaker 1: a fancy federal agency, or maybe even an international outfit 52 00:03:30,716 --> 00:03:35,316 Speaker 1: like Interpoll. Nope, he was a small town cop who'd 53 00:03:35,356 --> 00:03:38,596 Speaker 1: just become a detective. He didn't have a partner, or 54 00:03:38,756 --> 00:03:42,916 Speaker 1: for a while even a computer. But he was doggedly stubborn, 55 00:03:43,556 --> 00:03:47,996 Speaker 1: almost perversely. So I just pulled a thread and it 56 00:03:48,116 --> 00:03:50,236 Speaker 1: just kept going and going and going to the whole 57 00:03:50,236 --> 00:03:54,516 Speaker 1: thing unraveled. I get it. I love pulling on threads. 58 00:03:54,916 --> 00:03:58,036 Speaker 1: As a journalist. I've done this so many times, pulled 59 00:03:58,076 --> 00:04:00,756 Speaker 1: and pulled until I've lost track of what I was 60 00:04:00,796 --> 00:04:04,076 Speaker 1: originally looking for or whether it was worth it. And 61 00:04:04,196 --> 00:04:08,516 Speaker 1: sometimes most of the time, in fact, it's not. But 62 00:04:09,156 --> 00:04:11,956 Speaker 1: every once in a while there's a set of facts. 63 00:04:11,996 --> 00:04:15,756 Speaker 1: It's so irresistibly curious that I just can't let go. 64 00:04:17,516 --> 00:04:20,876 Speaker 1: And I suppose it doesn't matter whether you're a journalist, 65 00:04:21,076 --> 00:04:25,116 Speaker 1: or a detective or just a nosy neighbor. So many 66 00:04:25,156 --> 00:04:28,596 Speaker 1: of us believe that great mysteries lurk in the periphery 67 00:04:28,636 --> 00:04:32,716 Speaker 1: of our lives. So when we find an especially curious thread, 68 00:04:33,436 --> 00:04:37,636 Speaker 1: we keep pulling because we won't be satisfied until we've 69 00:04:37,676 --> 00:04:56,676 Speaker 1: unraveled at all. I'm Jake Albern and this is deep Cover, 70 00:04:57,516 --> 00:05:25,916 Speaker 1: Season three, Never Seen Again, Episode one, The Dark Corner. 71 00:05:31,116 --> 00:05:33,916 Speaker 1: The detective that I told you about. His name is 72 00:05:34,036 --> 00:05:37,396 Speaker 1: John Campbell, and he's just about the friendliest guy I've 73 00:05:37,436 --> 00:05:40,836 Speaker 1: ever met. He has whispy brown hair and a boyish grin. 74 00:05:41,276 --> 00:05:44,236 Speaker 1: He wears a pair of those wraparound sunglasses that dads 75 00:05:44,276 --> 00:05:47,356 Speaker 1: always wear a little league practice. He's also got this 76 00:05:47,516 --> 00:05:51,316 Speaker 1: goofy and totally lovable laugh that he breaks into all 77 00:05:51,356 --> 00:05:55,356 Speaker 1: the time. So not an old timey lawman. In fact, 78 00:05:55,516 --> 00:05:57,596 Speaker 1: one of the first things that he tells me is 79 00:05:57,636 --> 00:06:00,236 Speaker 1: that he doesn't care for guns. When I retire, I 80 00:06:00,276 --> 00:06:01,876 Speaker 1: can't wait to put this in a drawer. I mean, 81 00:06:01,916 --> 00:06:04,036 Speaker 1: this is this is a this is the thing I 82 00:06:04,116 --> 00:06:08,196 Speaker 1: banged my elbow on all the time. So it's not 83 00:06:08,236 --> 00:06:10,276 Speaker 1: about carrying a gun. I carry gun because we have to. 84 00:06:10,356 --> 00:06:13,316 Speaker 1: I'd rather be like Andy Griffith and just be shared 85 00:06:13,396 --> 00:06:17,316 Speaker 1: without a gun. I met John Dunnan Traveler's Rest, South Carolina, 86 00:06:17,396 --> 00:06:19,916 Speaker 1: where he lives. This, by the way, it was also 87 00:06:19,996 --> 00:06:22,596 Speaker 1: the hometown of the free spirited young woman that I 88 00:06:22,636 --> 00:06:25,196 Speaker 1: told you about, one of the two that went missing 89 00:06:26,356 --> 00:06:29,796 Speaker 1: back in the early two thousands, when our story really starts. 90 00:06:30,316 --> 00:06:33,676 Speaker 1: John was the town's loan detective. I asked him what 91 00:06:33,716 --> 00:06:36,876 Speaker 1: this was like. He told me that back then this 92 00:06:36,996 --> 00:06:41,196 Speaker 1: was truly a sleepy backwater. Traveler's Rest was almost a 93 00:06:41,276 --> 00:06:44,876 Speaker 1: dry town. We had one bar and one liquor store, 94 00:06:45,116 --> 00:06:47,556 Speaker 1: and the liquor store closed I think at eight or 95 00:06:47,636 --> 00:06:51,036 Speaker 1: nine o'clock at night. The bar closed at midnight, and 96 00:06:51,236 --> 00:06:53,956 Speaker 1: we rolled up the streets and the only problems we 97 00:06:53,996 --> 00:06:57,716 Speaker 1: ever had was at the bar, and so we shut 98 00:06:57,756 --> 00:06:59,636 Speaker 1: the bar down two or three times, took their license. 99 00:06:59,956 --> 00:07:06,356 Speaker 1: Outside of town, well, that was a different story. The 100 00:07:06,476 --> 00:07:09,916 Speaker 1: thickly wooded slopes quickly rose of the peaks of the 101 00:07:09,916 --> 00:07:14,276 Speaker 1: Blue Ridge Mountains. The land was steep and craggy. Some 102 00:07:14,396 --> 00:07:19,316 Speaker 1: called it the Dark Corner. For generations, it was known 103 00:07:19,356 --> 00:07:22,876 Speaker 1: as a place where Mountain folk brewed moonshine and lived 104 00:07:22,916 --> 00:07:27,996 Speaker 1: by their own rules Mountain Justice. By the nineteen nineties 105 00:07:28,036 --> 00:07:31,716 Speaker 1: that had begun to change. Newcomers were arriving, retirees and 106 00:07:31,796 --> 00:07:35,116 Speaker 1: the like, but the Dark Corner remained a place where 107 00:07:35,116 --> 00:07:37,876 Speaker 1: it wasn't wise to venture at night or turned down 108 00:07:37,876 --> 00:07:41,556 Speaker 1: a road you didn't know. I talked to one local 109 00:07:41,596 --> 00:07:44,356 Speaker 1: who told me he once found a great big log 110 00:07:44,516 --> 00:07:47,836 Speaker 1: blocking the road with a stack of dog skulls on it, 111 00:07:48,396 --> 00:07:57,876 Speaker 1: and then he just knew better turn around. John says 112 00:07:57,916 --> 00:08:01,156 Speaker 1: that occasionally the Mountain folks would just show up at 113 00:08:01,236 --> 00:08:04,116 Speaker 1: John's office. Here, this roar of a truck would come in, 114 00:08:04,356 --> 00:08:06,556 Speaker 1: and people would pile out, and they'd say, we're looking 115 00:08:06,596 --> 00:08:09,076 Speaker 1: for the law, you know, And Mountain Justice had fail 116 00:08:09,516 --> 00:08:11,796 Speaker 1: and they had to come to into town to find 117 00:08:12,676 --> 00:08:16,476 Speaker 1: some law enforcement for the police and Traveler's Rest. The 118 00:08:16,596 --> 00:08:20,836 Speaker 1: key was basically to secure the town's perimeter. So I 119 00:08:20,916 --> 00:08:23,076 Speaker 1: called Traveler's Rest of the circle of wagons. So we 120 00:08:23,156 --> 00:08:25,236 Speaker 1: had seven square miles that was like a circle of 121 00:08:25,276 --> 00:08:27,916 Speaker 1: wagons in our little town, and we kept all the 122 00:08:27,916 --> 00:08:30,756 Speaker 1: crime out of our little circle out into the county 123 00:08:30,836 --> 00:08:33,276 Speaker 1: bushed it out. Wait, so your job was basically just 124 00:08:33,356 --> 00:08:37,356 Speaker 1: like make sure that the criminals stayed out of the circle. Yeah, 125 00:08:37,356 --> 00:08:40,796 Speaker 1: pretty much. Did you ever like like tell guys like 126 00:08:40,916 --> 00:08:42,756 Speaker 1: not in here your other Oh yeah, what did you say? 127 00:08:42,796 --> 00:08:47,076 Speaker 1: This is our town out? Take that up the mountains. 128 00:08:47,436 --> 00:08:51,316 Speaker 1: John says this strategy it worked. Not much happened in 129 00:08:51,316 --> 00:08:54,836 Speaker 1: the way of major crime in Traveler's Rest. But then 130 00:08:55,076 --> 00:08:59,276 Speaker 1: one day, something rather sinister happened in this small town, 131 00:09:03,396 --> 00:09:07,196 Speaker 1: something that broke the humdrum rhythm of daily life. A 132 00:09:07,276 --> 00:09:11,556 Speaker 1: twenty year old girl went missing. Her name was Brooke Henson. 133 00:09:12,276 --> 00:09:15,796 Speaker 1: She vanished from within the town's limits, inside the circle 134 00:09:15,836 --> 00:09:20,236 Speaker 1: of wagons, and her disappearance would ultimately send John Campbell 135 00:09:20,556 --> 00:09:24,836 Speaker 1: on an epic quest. It would become a huge case, 136 00:09:25,196 --> 00:09:29,956 Speaker 1: a national case, and John, the small town detective who 137 00:09:30,036 --> 00:09:33,356 Speaker 1: hated carrying a gun, would be at the center of 138 00:09:33,396 --> 00:09:41,236 Speaker 1: it all. The day before Brooke Henson went missing, John 139 00:09:41,276 --> 00:09:45,116 Speaker 1: Campbell says he saw her on the street totally by chance. 140 00:09:45,716 --> 00:09:49,436 Speaker 1: It was July of nineteen ninety nine. John wasn't a 141 00:09:49,436 --> 00:09:52,156 Speaker 1: detective at the time, he was still just a patrolman 142 00:09:52,436 --> 00:09:56,356 Speaker 1: making the rounds. He remembers that day crisply, and he 143 00:09:56,396 --> 00:09:58,836 Speaker 1: recounted it to me while we were driving around town 144 00:09:58,876 --> 00:10:04,316 Speaker 1: together in his truck. When I saw Brooke. She was 145 00:10:04,396 --> 00:10:09,836 Speaker 1: walking down this street here, close to her house, and 146 00:10:09,956 --> 00:10:12,956 Speaker 1: she turned around and looked at me right about right here. 147 00:10:13,356 --> 00:10:15,436 Speaker 1: It was where I saw her. And so that's her 148 00:10:15,436 --> 00:10:19,636 Speaker 1: house where that sign is, it's your driveway. The street 149 00:10:19,676 --> 00:10:22,876 Speaker 1: that we're on, where Brooke used to live, is shrouded 150 00:10:22,916 --> 00:10:27,116 Speaker 1: in thick, tangled vegetation. The woods thrum with the buzz 151 00:10:27,116 --> 00:10:30,796 Speaker 1: of cicadas. We pull up to Brook's old house. This 152 00:10:30,876 --> 00:10:33,596 Speaker 1: is the front of the house as you can. You 153 00:10:33,596 --> 00:10:36,076 Speaker 1: can't see it. I mean, it's completely over her own. 154 00:10:36,316 --> 00:10:39,516 Speaker 1: Was it always this overgrown? The front was grown up, 155 00:10:39,556 --> 00:10:42,116 Speaker 1: but it was no You could see the house and everything, 156 00:10:42,316 --> 00:10:45,116 Speaker 1: but you can't even tell there's a house in there. Yeah, 157 00:10:45,116 --> 00:10:48,076 Speaker 1: I mean it looks like like Radley's house from To 158 00:10:48,156 --> 00:10:52,796 Speaker 1: Kill a Mockingbird. It's almost abandoned looking now. John didn't 159 00:10:52,796 --> 00:10:56,756 Speaker 1: really know Brooke, but other people who did described her 160 00:10:56,796 --> 00:11:01,676 Speaker 1: to me as easygoing, kind, free spirited. She shopped at 161 00:11:01,756 --> 00:11:05,396 Speaker 1: thrift stores, wore Doc Martins and flannels. She was a 162 00:11:05,476 --> 00:11:08,916 Speaker 1: huge fan of Nirvana. She dropped out of high school 163 00:11:09,116 --> 00:11:11,596 Speaker 1: and in the summer of nineteen ninety nine, she was 164 00:11:11,636 --> 00:11:15,276 Speaker 1: still living at home with her parents. Now I've gone 165 00:11:15,276 --> 00:11:17,476 Speaker 1: through a bunch of accounts of what happened the night 166 00:11:17,516 --> 00:11:21,636 Speaker 1: she went missing, including the original police report, which was 167 00:11:21,676 --> 00:11:25,316 Speaker 1: basically a statement from Brooke's mom, But there's not a 168 00:11:25,356 --> 00:11:28,396 Speaker 1: whole lot that we know for sure. What we do 169 00:11:28,516 --> 00:11:31,316 Speaker 1: know is that she disappeared early on the morning of 170 00:11:31,396 --> 00:11:35,316 Speaker 1: July fourth. There'd been a party at Brooke's house that night. 171 00:11:35,756 --> 00:11:39,636 Speaker 1: Her boyfriend, a guy named Ricky Sewn Shirley, was there, 172 00:11:40,316 --> 00:11:44,716 Speaker 1: and apparently the two of them were fighting. According to 173 00:11:44,716 --> 00:11:48,636 Speaker 1: the police report. At two forty three am, Brooke told 174 00:11:48,636 --> 00:11:52,156 Speaker 1: her mother, quote, I'm getting out of here. Her mom 175 00:11:52,196 --> 00:11:55,756 Speaker 1: told her it was too late to wander about. Brooke replied, quote, 176 00:11:56,196 --> 00:11:58,916 Speaker 1: I'm not going anywhere. I'm just seeing what he'll do. 177 00:11:59,196 --> 00:12:03,396 Speaker 1: I'm messing with Sean. Brooke then left the house. She 178 00:12:03,516 --> 00:12:09,196 Speaker 1: set off into the night. She never came home. In 179 00:12:09,236 --> 00:12:12,036 Speaker 1: the morning, Brook's mother found a note on her bed. 180 00:12:12,516 --> 00:12:16,436 Speaker 1: It was intended for Sean, her boyfriend. It read, I'm 181 00:12:16,476 --> 00:12:29,076 Speaker 1: walking follow me if you care. The million dollar question, 182 00:12:29,156 --> 00:12:32,956 Speaker 1: of course, is this where did she go? And there 183 00:12:32,996 --> 00:12:35,116 Speaker 1: are a lot of theories about this. But the theory 184 00:12:35,156 --> 00:12:37,236 Speaker 1: that I heard most was that she was headed to 185 00:12:37,276 --> 00:12:41,076 Speaker 1: a nearby store. Apparently Brooke went there from time to 186 00:12:41,156 --> 00:12:44,076 Speaker 1: time to get cigarettes. This is the store where she 187 00:12:44,156 --> 00:12:47,196 Speaker 1: was headed, by the way, the store right here behind 188 00:12:47,276 --> 00:12:52,236 Speaker 1: us gas station. Yeah, to get cigarettes. Like, why would 189 00:12:52,276 --> 00:12:54,036 Speaker 1: she go to the store. She would have known the 190 00:12:54,036 --> 00:12:56,716 Speaker 1: store was closed because it was like two thirty in 191 00:12:56,756 --> 00:12:59,836 Speaker 1: the morning, so that store was not open at that time. Well, 192 00:12:59,876 --> 00:13:03,596 Speaker 1: she would have known the store was closed. Also, I 193 00:13:03,596 --> 00:13:09,476 Speaker 1: mean those roads, it's it's dark here that night. Yeah, 194 00:13:09,516 --> 00:13:12,756 Speaker 1: and especially back then, we rolled the streets up at 195 00:13:12,796 --> 00:13:16,196 Speaker 1: nine o'clock and travel's rest. I mean, there was nothing 196 00:13:16,276 --> 00:13:28,476 Speaker 1: going on at night in this town. The whole thing 197 00:13:28,636 --> 00:13:31,596 Speaker 1: was more than a little mystifying. How does a young 198 00:13:31,636 --> 00:13:34,516 Speaker 1: woman vanish off a small town street in the dead 199 00:13:34,556 --> 00:13:37,596 Speaker 1: of night en route to a store that's not even open. 200 00:13:38,916 --> 00:13:42,556 Speaker 1: Even the note that she left was enigmatic. Follow me 201 00:13:42,636 --> 00:13:49,636 Speaker 1: if you care. Brooks's parents are both deceased now, so 202 00:13:49,676 --> 00:13:52,516 Speaker 1: I couldn't talk with them. Instead, I had to rely 203 00:13:52,636 --> 00:13:55,996 Speaker 1: on what few clues I could glean. Brooke's mom did 204 00:13:56,036 --> 00:13:58,716 Speaker 1: file a report with the police the day after she 205 00:13:58,796 --> 00:14:02,556 Speaker 1: went missing, but at first the police didn't do much. 206 00:14:03,316 --> 00:14:06,396 Speaker 1: Seems like no one did. A few missing posters went up, 207 00:14:06,756 --> 00:14:11,356 Speaker 1: that's about it. No one was sounding alarms. I spoke 208 00:14:11,396 --> 00:14:15,236 Speaker 1: with Brooks's cousin, Holly Henson about what she remembers from 209 00:14:15,236 --> 00:14:19,796 Speaker 1: this time. I was staying out a friend's house in Marietta, 210 00:14:19,996 --> 00:14:23,316 Speaker 1: just above Traveler's Drest, and her mom took us to 211 00:14:23,356 --> 00:14:27,476 Speaker 1: the gas station and I saw a missing poster with 212 00:14:27,676 --> 00:14:30,276 Speaker 1: Brooks picture and name on it. So I told my 213 00:14:30,356 --> 00:14:35,236 Speaker 1: dad and brooks family had never told us that she 214 00:14:35,356 --> 00:14:39,356 Speaker 1: was missing, but she had just went missing. Kind of odd, right, 215 00:14:40,196 --> 00:14:44,076 Speaker 1: This is how she learns about her cousin's disappearance, But 216 00:14:44,276 --> 00:14:47,956 Speaker 1: cousin Holly says that her family and Brooks had kind 217 00:14:47,956 --> 00:14:51,116 Speaker 1: of grown apart in the years leading up to her disappearance. 218 00:14:51,836 --> 00:14:55,356 Speaker 1: Holly's mother told me that she disapproved of brooks parents 219 00:14:55,636 --> 00:14:58,476 Speaker 1: of the way that they raised their children, allowing them 220 00:14:58,516 --> 00:15:01,556 Speaker 1: to drink and party and come and go as they pleased, 221 00:15:01,796 --> 00:15:04,556 Speaker 1: like there were no rules. She did not want that 222 00:15:04,676 --> 00:15:08,276 Speaker 1: for her own kids. But when they learned that Brooke 223 00:15:08,356 --> 00:15:12,876 Speaker 1: had gone missing, they rushed over. Everyone went cousin Holly, 224 00:15:13,156 --> 00:15:17,356 Speaker 1: her sister, Patty, their mom. They wanted to show solidarity 225 00:15:17,716 --> 00:15:20,916 Speaker 1: to help if they could. When they showed up, the 226 00:15:20,996 --> 00:15:24,436 Speaker 1: scene at Brooks house was somber. We were just all 227 00:15:24,476 --> 00:15:27,796 Speaker 1: sitting in the livenary and it was just the whole 228 00:15:27,796 --> 00:15:31,276 Speaker 1: thing was just weird. It was quiet, nobody was really 229 00:15:31,316 --> 00:15:36,756 Speaker 1: saying anything. That's Brook's other cousin, Patty. She and Holly 230 00:15:36,916 --> 00:15:40,436 Speaker 1: both remember the silence. Some of Brooks friends were present, 231 00:15:40,876 --> 00:15:44,956 Speaker 1: sitting there mutely. Brooke's mother was on the sofa just crying. 232 00:15:45,556 --> 00:15:47,436 Speaker 1: From the way they described it, it was like a 233 00:15:47,516 --> 00:15:51,036 Speaker 1: vigil for someone who died. The odd part was that 234 00:15:51,156 --> 00:15:54,556 Speaker 1: Brooke had just gone missing. It wasn't all that unusual 235 00:15:54,596 --> 00:15:56,516 Speaker 1: for Brooke to just go off and disappear for a 236 00:15:56,556 --> 00:16:00,516 Speaker 1: few days, visiting friends or whatever. Here's cousin Holly again. 237 00:16:01,076 --> 00:16:04,636 Speaker 1: Brooke was allowed to come and go as she pleased. 238 00:16:04,676 --> 00:16:06,516 Speaker 1: She could be gone for two or three days. And 239 00:16:06,556 --> 00:16:09,316 Speaker 1: you know, there wasn't cell phones back the end, and 240 00:16:09,516 --> 00:16:12,716 Speaker 1: her parents wouldn't really know where she was. But when 241 00:16:12,756 --> 00:16:19,396 Speaker 1: Brooke went missing, her mama was very, very upset, as 242 00:16:19,396 --> 00:16:24,236 Speaker 1: if she knew Brooke wasn't coming home. The whole gathering 243 00:16:24,236 --> 00:16:27,636 Speaker 1: at the Henson House left a chilling impression on Holly 244 00:16:27,716 --> 00:16:31,276 Speaker 1: and Patty's mother mary Anne Henson. She was Brook's aunt. 245 00:16:32,116 --> 00:16:36,516 Speaker 1: It was very eerie. It was something I don't want 246 00:16:36,516 --> 00:16:40,996 Speaker 1: to ever experience again. According to Aunt Mary Anne, the 247 00:16:41,036 --> 00:16:43,636 Speaker 1: only person who seemed to be doing much of anything 248 00:16:44,116 --> 00:16:47,396 Speaker 1: was this one guy that someone had invited. He was 249 00:16:47,476 --> 00:16:51,756 Speaker 1: walking through the house, going through Brooks possessions. Who ever 250 00:16:51,916 --> 00:16:55,076 Speaker 1: got him? I'm not even sure. And I don't think 251 00:16:55,076 --> 00:16:58,836 Speaker 1: he was really an investigator. I mean, they said he was, 252 00:16:58,956 --> 00:17:03,316 Speaker 1: but he was an odd person. He was an older man, creepy, 253 00:17:03,916 --> 00:17:06,316 Speaker 1: but they said he was kind of like a psychic too. 254 00:17:09,396 --> 00:17:12,196 Speaker 1: He would just like pick her things up. I remember 255 00:17:12,276 --> 00:17:16,956 Speaker 1: him picking up the hairbrush, and I mean, it was 256 00:17:17,036 --> 00:17:21,116 Speaker 1: like a bad movie. Becausin. Patty was also confused about 257 00:17:21,156 --> 00:17:25,356 Speaker 1: the whole thing. I feel like, why weren't the police there? 258 00:17:25,516 --> 00:17:28,996 Speaker 1: Are they? I don't understand why the police weren't there. 259 00:17:29,036 --> 00:17:32,916 Speaker 1: It was the whole thing was weird. That night, when 260 00:17:32,916 --> 00:17:36,156 Speaker 1: she got home, she says she had a dream. It 261 00:17:36,316 --> 00:17:38,916 Speaker 1: was one of those dreams that was so vivid and 262 00:17:39,076 --> 00:17:41,836 Speaker 1: life like that it felt like it was really happening. 263 00:17:42,276 --> 00:17:44,556 Speaker 1: I was getting up to go to the bathroom and 264 00:17:44,756 --> 00:17:48,836 Speaker 1: the shower curtain was cracked, and I kind of looked 265 00:17:50,156 --> 00:17:52,756 Speaker 1: and did a second look, and it looked like muddy 266 00:17:52,796 --> 00:17:58,236 Speaker 1: water and the bathtub. And then I got down on 267 00:17:58,356 --> 00:18:02,436 Speaker 1: my knees and Brooke was coming up from the water 268 00:18:03,836 --> 00:18:06,516 Speaker 1: and she was grabbing my arms like she was scratching 269 00:18:06,556 --> 00:18:10,596 Speaker 1: my arms. And then I said, who did this to you? 270 00:18:10,676 --> 00:18:13,836 Speaker 1: And she said, Sean Charlotte his first name and his 271 00:18:13,956 --> 00:18:20,836 Speaker 1: last name, Sean Shirley. That was Brooke's boyfriend, the guy 272 00:18:20,876 --> 00:18:23,636 Speaker 1: who she left the note for. They'd been having a 273 00:18:23,636 --> 00:18:27,916 Speaker 1: fight the night the Brook disappeared, and apparently their relationship 274 00:18:27,996 --> 00:18:31,716 Speaker 1: was a turbulent one. According to cousin Patty, he'd hit 275 00:18:31,796 --> 00:18:34,956 Speaker 1: Brooke on a few occasions, and there are other accounts 276 00:18:34,956 --> 00:18:38,396 Speaker 1: that he was violent. Three days after Brooke went missing, 277 00:18:38,876 --> 00:18:42,196 Speaker 1: Sean was actually arrested on a separate matter. He was 278 00:18:42,356 --> 00:18:46,276 Speaker 1: charged with criminal sexual conduct in the third degree. He 279 00:18:46,356 --> 00:18:50,476 Speaker 1: eventually pled down to lesser charges. The one time that 280 00:18:50,516 --> 00:18:53,476 Speaker 1: the cousins met him, they didn't get a good feeling 281 00:18:53,516 --> 00:18:58,116 Speaker 1: from him, so cousin Patty's dream it felt spot on, 282 00:18:58,716 --> 00:19:03,276 Speaker 1: like it just confirmed her worst fears. In the coming weeks, 283 00:19:03,556 --> 00:19:08,116 Speaker 1: as Brooke remained missing, rumors began to circulate. One of 284 00:19:08,156 --> 00:19:10,916 Speaker 1: them was that on the night of her disappearance. Brooke 285 00:19:10,956 --> 00:19:13,436 Speaker 1: had gone to a party in the mountains in the 286 00:19:13,556 --> 00:19:17,796 Speaker 1: Dark Corner. Aunt mary Anne told me that her husband 287 00:19:17,876 --> 00:19:21,636 Speaker 1: Patrick was determined to have a look checked this place out. 288 00:19:22,316 --> 00:19:24,836 Speaker 1: After all, he was Brooke's uncle and he felt he 289 00:19:24,836 --> 00:19:29,356 Speaker 1: should be doing something. Before going, he visited Brooks parents 290 00:19:29,636 --> 00:19:33,276 Speaker 1: to see if they might help. Apparently they didn't want 291 00:19:33,276 --> 00:19:39,636 Speaker 1: to come. Brooks daddy said, happy hunting. I mean, this 292 00:19:39,756 --> 00:19:43,596 Speaker 1: is my family, and I'm about to cry because that 293 00:19:43,996 --> 00:19:47,836 Speaker 1: that's very odd. Happy honey. And I can't even imagine 294 00:19:48,676 --> 00:19:53,556 Speaker 1: not hunting from my shore friends. I talked with Uncle Patrick. 295 00:19:54,236 --> 00:19:55,876 Speaker 1: He told me that he went up to the Dark 296 00:19:55,876 --> 00:20:00,036 Speaker 1: Corner anyway to have a look. Eventually he found the 297 00:20:00,076 --> 00:20:04,036 Speaker 1: place where the parties supposedly happened, a cabin back in 298 00:20:04,076 --> 00:20:08,116 Speaker 1: the woods. A man answered the door. He was shirtless 299 00:20:08,156 --> 00:20:11,596 Speaker 1: and had nipple pierce. The man said that Brooke was 300 00:20:11,636 --> 00:20:15,956 Speaker 1: at the beach. Uncle Patrick didn't believe it. He kept searching, 301 00:20:16,516 --> 00:20:21,116 Speaker 1: but he didn't find her, not even a trace. It 302 00:20:21,156 --> 00:20:23,796 Speaker 1: would be just one of many dead ends in this case. 303 00:20:24,556 --> 00:20:27,516 Speaker 1: No one could find Brooke, not her family or the 304 00:20:27,556 --> 00:20:35,356 Speaker 1: Traveler's rest police or that creepy psychic investigator. She was gone. 305 00:20:39,196 --> 00:20:42,676 Speaker 1: It was roughly two years later, two years after Brooke 306 00:20:42,676 --> 00:20:47,956 Speaker 1: Henson's disappearance, that John Campbell was promoted from patrolman to detective. 307 00:20:48,836 --> 00:20:51,516 Speaker 1: It was at this point, in two thousand and one, 308 00:20:51,796 --> 00:20:56,196 Speaker 1: that he became the principal investigator in the case. By then, 309 00:20:56,316 --> 00:20:59,716 Speaker 1: the case was cold. John says he reviewed the files, 310 00:20:59,916 --> 00:21:03,196 Speaker 1: but many of the witness statements, which were handwritten, were 311 00:21:03,236 --> 00:21:07,116 Speaker 1: actually illegible. John spoke with people who had partied with 312 00:21:07,156 --> 00:21:10,316 Speaker 1: Brooke the night she went missing, but their stories were 313 00:21:10,356 --> 00:21:16,276 Speaker 1: often convoluted and conflicting. John suspected that Brooke had been murdered, 314 00:21:16,676 --> 00:21:19,756 Speaker 1: but without a body, it was difficult to build a case. 315 00:21:20,716 --> 00:21:24,356 Speaker 1: He surmised that her boyfriend, Sean Shirley played a role 316 00:21:24,396 --> 00:21:28,076 Speaker 1: in all of this. The Travelers Rest police did bring 317 00:21:28,116 --> 00:21:31,356 Speaker 1: Sean in and interview him, but he was never charged. 318 00:21:32,156 --> 00:21:35,476 Speaker 1: There's no detailed records of what was said, but apparently 319 00:21:35,716 --> 00:21:40,676 Speaker 1: Sean offered no useful information. At one point, John thought 320 00:21:40,676 --> 00:21:44,556 Speaker 1: he almost had the evidence to prove Sean's guilt. It 321 00:21:44,596 --> 00:21:47,636 Speaker 1: came from an informant who gave him a tip. One 322 00:21:47,676 --> 00:21:49,956 Speaker 1: guy came to me and said, I saw a confession 323 00:21:50,636 --> 00:21:56,196 Speaker 1: written by Sean Shirley in a box in a wall 324 00:21:56,236 --> 00:21:59,916 Speaker 1: behind a brick. That's right. This guy who knew Sean 325 00:21:59,996 --> 00:22:03,676 Speaker 1: Shirley claimed that he'd been in Sean's house poking around 326 00:22:03,956 --> 00:22:07,516 Speaker 1: when he'd found this note. Here's what the informant told John. 327 00:22:07,956 --> 00:22:10,436 Speaker 1: I was looking for drugs. I knew he kept his 328 00:22:10,556 --> 00:22:12,316 Speaker 1: drugs in the basement. I went down there, I pulled 329 00:22:12,356 --> 00:22:15,116 Speaker 1: the brick out. There was a little box. I opened 330 00:22:15,156 --> 00:22:17,516 Speaker 1: the box. There was a folded up note in there, 331 00:22:17,556 --> 00:22:20,316 Speaker 1: and it was basically a confession saying that he killed Broke. 332 00:22:20,836 --> 00:22:24,676 Speaker 1: Sound far fetched maybe, and John was never able to 333 00:22:24,676 --> 00:22:27,556 Speaker 1: get to the bottom of it. The problem was the 334 00:22:27,636 --> 00:22:32,036 Speaker 1: tip from this informant was cold. The informant had waited 335 00:22:32,116 --> 00:22:34,596 Speaker 1: too long to tell the police about what he'd seen, 336 00:22:35,396 --> 00:22:38,396 Speaker 1: so when John went before a magistrate to ask for 337 00:22:38,476 --> 00:22:42,156 Speaker 1: a search warrant, the judge nixed it, said too much 338 00:22:42,236 --> 00:22:45,516 Speaker 1: time had passed. That's the most frustrating thing in the 339 00:22:45,556 --> 00:22:49,276 Speaker 1: world to think there is a confession in a box 340 00:22:49,476 --> 00:22:52,956 Speaker 1: in behind a brick in the wall, and I can't 341 00:22:53,036 --> 00:22:55,676 Speaker 1: get the legal permission to go in there and get it. 342 00:22:55,676 --> 00:22:58,476 Speaker 1: I mean, as part of you wonder if that's still 343 00:22:58,516 --> 00:23:02,436 Speaker 1: behind that brick, the house in there anymore? So the 344 00:23:02,476 --> 00:23:05,476 Speaker 1: house is burned down, so it's not there anymore. And 345 00:23:05,556 --> 00:23:08,236 Speaker 1: that's kind of how it went with this case. There 346 00:23:08,276 --> 00:23:11,956 Speaker 1: were these missing moments, but they never seemed to pan out. 347 00:23:13,316 --> 00:23:16,676 Speaker 1: There were times when John got these tips that Brooke 348 00:23:16,876 --> 00:23:20,756 Speaker 1: actually was alive. There were sightings, people who claimed they'd 349 00:23:20,756 --> 00:23:23,636 Speaker 1: seen her. After all, Brooke's face was on a whole 350 00:23:23,676 --> 00:23:26,476 Speaker 1: bunch of missing posters. It was always some kind of 351 00:23:26,636 --> 00:23:29,676 Speaker 1: vague sighting that, you know, I saw her at a 352 00:23:29,716 --> 00:23:32,836 Speaker 1: phone booth in at the Outer Banks or something like that. 353 00:23:32,876 --> 00:23:35,836 Speaker 1: You know, how do you follow up on something like that. 354 00:23:35,876 --> 00:23:37,956 Speaker 1: There's nobody there now. But it was just enough to 355 00:23:38,116 --> 00:23:40,436 Speaker 1: give the family a spark of hope, and it would 356 00:23:40,436 --> 00:23:43,796 Speaker 1: give just enough question as to whether or not she 357 00:23:43,876 --> 00:23:49,116 Speaker 1: was actually dead. And then one day, in June of 358 00:23:49,196 --> 00:23:52,996 Speaker 1: two thousand and six, almost seven years after Brooke Henson 359 00:23:53,036 --> 00:23:56,716 Speaker 1: had vanished, John got a big break. It was a 360 00:23:56,716 --> 00:24:00,396 Speaker 1: phone call from a state law enforcement official. He said, 361 00:24:00,436 --> 00:24:02,956 Speaker 1: I think I found your girl, and she's alive. She's 362 00:24:02,956 --> 00:24:07,836 Speaker 1: in New York. And I said, really more on that 363 00:24:08,396 --> 00:24:22,636 Speaker 1: after the break. Okay, so it's two thousand and six. 364 00:24:22,996 --> 00:24:26,476 Speaker 1: John gets his big break, a call saying Brooke Henson 365 00:24:26,796 --> 00:24:30,596 Speaker 1: is alive. And the state law enforcement official, the one 366 00:24:30,596 --> 00:24:33,996 Speaker 1: who called John here's the deal with him. He was 367 00:24:34,036 --> 00:24:36,756 Speaker 1: a point of contact in this case, worked for the 368 00:24:36,756 --> 00:24:39,596 Speaker 1: state of South Carolina, and his name in a phone number. 369 00:24:39,596 --> 00:24:42,116 Speaker 1: It was on one of the Brook Henson missing posters. 370 00:24:42,756 --> 00:24:46,356 Speaker 1: Someone had seen this poster online and called in a lead, 371 00:24:46,876 --> 00:24:51,116 Speaker 1: a very promising lead. The callers said that Brooke Henson 372 00:24:51,476 --> 00:24:55,076 Speaker 1: was now living in New York City in Manhattan, where 373 00:24:55,116 --> 00:24:59,196 Speaker 1: she was a student at Columbia University. The caller provided 374 00:24:59,236 --> 00:25:02,396 Speaker 1: Brooks home address, an apartment on West one hundred and 375 00:25:02,436 --> 00:25:05,116 Speaker 1: eighth Street, and said that the Brook who lived there 376 00:25:05,436 --> 00:25:07,476 Speaker 1: had the same date of birth as the Brook from 377 00:25:07,516 --> 00:25:11,316 Speaker 1: South Carolina, that she also looked like the Brook and 378 00:25:11,356 --> 00:25:15,196 Speaker 1: the missing poster. John couldn't wrap his head around any 379 00:25:15,236 --> 00:25:18,796 Speaker 1: of this. It didn't make sense. Brooke Henson had dropped 380 00:25:18,796 --> 00:25:21,036 Speaker 1: out of high school and vanished in the hills of 381 00:25:21,076 --> 00:25:24,956 Speaker 1: South Carolina seven years ago. How is she now a 382 00:25:24,996 --> 00:25:29,076 Speaker 1: student at Columbia University in Manhattan. The only thing that 383 00:25:29,196 --> 00:25:31,236 Speaker 1: John could think of was that this was some kind 384 00:25:31,276 --> 00:25:34,556 Speaker 1: of elaborate stunt, and that when he tracked down this woman, 385 00:25:34,756 --> 00:25:39,636 Speaker 1: this Columbia student, she'd explain everything. Eventually, John got in 386 00:25:39,676 --> 00:25:42,636 Speaker 1: touch with a cop, and the NYPD who agreed to 387 00:25:42,636 --> 00:25:45,396 Speaker 1: help him out, said he would find this Brooke Henson 388 00:25:45,516 --> 00:25:49,836 Speaker 1: character and see what the deal was. So anyway, the 389 00:25:49,956 --> 00:25:54,036 Speaker 1: NYPD cop figures out who she is, intercepts her between 390 00:25:54,076 --> 00:25:59,756 Speaker 1: classes and asked her who she is, you know, if 391 00:25:59,756 --> 00:26:02,836 Speaker 1: she's really Brooke Henson. She said, I am Brooke. I 392 00:26:02,876 --> 00:26:07,356 Speaker 1: am a victim of domestic violence, and I'm just hiding 393 00:26:07,396 --> 00:26:12,276 Speaker 1: out here and I don't want anybody to know. Don't 394 00:26:12,316 --> 00:26:16,276 Speaker 1: tell my family. So the NYPD caused and he says, yep, 395 00:26:16,556 --> 00:26:22,116 Speaker 1: she's broke. You can clear your case. So much of 396 00:26:22,156 --> 00:26:25,516 Speaker 1: it added up, the name, the date of birth, the 397 00:26:25,596 --> 00:26:28,316 Speaker 1: general likeness of the photo, even the fact that she 398 00:26:28,436 --> 00:26:32,276 Speaker 1: was fleeing domestic violence. It was a little hard to fathom. 399 00:26:32,356 --> 00:26:35,916 Speaker 1: But wasn't it possible that when Brooke Henson walked out 400 00:26:35,956 --> 00:26:38,836 Speaker 1: the door that night, away from Sean Shirley and her 401 00:26:38,876 --> 00:26:41,916 Speaker 1: life in Traveler's Rest, that she just kept on going. 402 00:26:42,436 --> 00:26:46,196 Speaker 1: Did what Americans have done from the very beginning, reinvent themselves, 403 00:26:46,476 --> 00:26:52,676 Speaker 1: defy everyone's expectations, start anew. Sure, says John, that's reasonable enough. 404 00:26:53,116 --> 00:26:56,236 Speaker 1: He sees how another cop might have accepted this and 405 00:26:56,396 --> 00:26:58,516 Speaker 1: let it go at that if it hadn't been me 406 00:26:58,716 --> 00:27:01,396 Speaker 1: who had been with the police appartment since ninety nine 407 00:27:01,396 --> 00:27:03,956 Speaker 1: and knew the case as well as I knew. If 408 00:27:03,956 --> 00:27:06,036 Speaker 1: you've been somebody that just been hired, you know, we 409 00:27:06,076 --> 00:27:08,196 Speaker 1: had a lot of turnover and everything. Someone said, oh yeah, 410 00:27:08,196 --> 00:27:14,156 Speaker 1: we found her case closed, And honestly, this could have 411 00:27:14,156 --> 00:27:16,716 Speaker 1: been the end of the story right here. But in 412 00:27:16,756 --> 00:27:19,676 Speaker 1: a way, John had been waiting his whole life for 413 00:27:19,676 --> 00:27:24,316 Speaker 1: this moment. Let me explain you see. John loves mysteries 414 00:27:24,316 --> 00:27:27,956 Speaker 1: and spy novels too, the weirder the better. He's a 415 00:27:28,076 --> 00:27:31,036 Speaker 1: huge fan of The X Files, the show starring David 416 00:27:31,116 --> 00:27:35,116 Speaker 1: Duchovny that tells us the truth is out there. John 417 00:27:35,156 --> 00:27:40,436 Speaker 1: loves stories about aliens, paranormal activity, and vast government conspiracies, 418 00:27:40,876 --> 00:27:44,396 Speaker 1: and he's looking for them pretty much always. He told me, 419 00:27:44,476 --> 00:27:48,236 Speaker 1: back in the nineteen nineties, everyone was looking for the Unibomber, 420 00:27:48,636 --> 00:27:51,716 Speaker 1: you know, the mysterious madman who wrote a manifesto and 421 00:27:51,796 --> 00:27:55,676 Speaker 1: sent bombs in the mail. John studied the case obsessively, 422 00:27:56,076 --> 00:28:00,076 Speaker 1: and eventually he became convinced that he had found the Unibomber. 423 00:28:00,396 --> 00:28:03,516 Speaker 1: He even called the FBI. They didn't take him seriously, 424 00:28:03,796 --> 00:28:08,236 Speaker 1: and it turns out John was wrong. Then, in nineteen 425 00:28:08,396 --> 00:28:11,916 Speaker 1: ninety five, a domestic terrorist blew up a federal office 426 00:28:11,956 --> 00:28:17,076 Speaker 1: building in Oklahoma City. It was huge news. The authorities 427 00:28:17,156 --> 00:28:22,236 Speaker 1: found their suspect, Timothy McVeigh. John claims that he found 428 00:28:22,276 --> 00:28:26,516 Speaker 1: an accomplice tracked him down. Again. He called the FBI, 429 00:28:27,236 --> 00:28:30,956 Speaker 1: but again they didn't take him seriously. And to this day, 430 00:28:31,356 --> 00:28:35,956 Speaker 1: John questions how the FBI handled this, Like, what were 431 00:28:35,956 --> 00:28:40,596 Speaker 1: they hiding? Look? John is the first to acknowledge that 432 00:28:40,676 --> 00:28:45,756 Speaker 1: conspiracy theories are seductive, sometimes dangerously. So I've known people 433 00:28:45,756 --> 00:28:50,836 Speaker 1: who are absolutely consumed by a conspiracy theory and you 434 00:28:50,836 --> 00:28:53,916 Speaker 1: can look at them, I'm like, that guy's nuts, you know, John, 435 00:28:54,036 --> 00:28:56,676 Speaker 1: Some people might think that about you. Yeah, all they do, 436 00:29:00,676 --> 00:29:03,756 Speaker 1: So you get the picture. John was not the type 437 00:29:03,796 --> 00:29:05,796 Speaker 1: of guy who was going to walk away from an 438 00:29:05,876 --> 00:29:10,036 Speaker 1: unsolved mystery. Sure, maybe he'd watched one many episodes of 439 00:29:10,036 --> 00:29:14,196 Speaker 1: The X Files, but something about this Brooke Henson situation 440 00:29:14,356 --> 00:29:17,436 Speaker 1: in New York City just didn't feel right to him. 441 00:29:18,196 --> 00:29:20,996 Speaker 1: So he decided that he wanted to create a test 442 00:29:21,556 --> 00:29:25,676 Speaker 1: to see if this really was Brooke Henson. He consulted 443 00:29:25,676 --> 00:29:28,276 Speaker 1: with someone in the Henson family and came up with 444 00:29:28,276 --> 00:29:31,076 Speaker 1: a set of questions that only Brooke would know. The 445 00:29:31,076 --> 00:29:34,676 Speaker 1: answers too, like what is your late uncle's name and 446 00:29:34,796 --> 00:29:38,036 Speaker 1: what is your brother's best friend's name. He asked the 447 00:29:38,156 --> 00:29:42,676 Speaker 1: NYPD to contact Brooke and pose these questions. They agreed. 448 00:29:43,236 --> 00:29:46,436 Speaker 1: A short while later, John says the detective called back 449 00:29:46,676 --> 00:29:50,556 Speaker 1: and basically said, Yep, she answered most of the questions correctly. 450 00:29:50,996 --> 00:29:54,356 Speaker 1: Seems to be her. So I said, I'm not happy 451 00:29:54,396 --> 00:29:59,316 Speaker 1: with that. I want DNA DNA. I mean, you got 452 00:29:59,316 --> 00:30:02,596 Speaker 1: to hand it to him. That's ballsy. He's a small 453 00:30:02,636 --> 00:30:06,636 Speaker 1: town detective from South Carolina. He's got evidence of plenty 454 00:30:06,716 --> 00:30:10,716 Speaker 1: that this is Brooke Henson, and he's telling the ny NAH, 455 00:30:10,756 --> 00:30:15,516 Speaker 1: I don want DNA. Kind of amazingly, the NYPD agrees. 456 00:30:16,156 --> 00:30:19,756 Speaker 1: I don't fully understand why exactly they did, but they did. 457 00:30:20,316 --> 00:30:22,996 Speaker 1: The NYPD says they'll reach out to her, try to 458 00:30:23,036 --> 00:30:27,716 Speaker 1: make arrangements to get some DNA. The woman Brooke agrees, 459 00:30:28,476 --> 00:30:33,236 Speaker 1: They set a date, and then she simply vanishes. When 460 00:30:33,316 --> 00:30:35,996 Speaker 1: she didn't show up to give DNA, she was in 461 00:30:35,996 --> 00:30:38,796 Speaker 1: the wind. She never went back to the apartment that 462 00:30:38,876 --> 00:30:41,556 Speaker 1: she was living in. She never showed back up to class. 463 00:30:41,556 --> 00:30:43,396 Speaker 1: She was gone, and at that point we had no 464 00:30:43,436 --> 00:30:49,956 Speaker 1: idea who she was, no idea, and that right there 465 00:30:50,636 --> 00:30:55,796 Speaker 1: was the thread dangling like an invitation of sorts. But 466 00:30:55,956 --> 00:30:58,876 Speaker 1: what to do with it? Well, for starters, what was 467 00:30:58,916 --> 00:31:02,716 Speaker 1: this exactly a missing person's case? Or was it two 468 00:31:02,756 --> 00:31:06,196 Speaker 1: missing people? Or was it a case of stolen identity? 469 00:31:06,716 --> 00:31:09,476 Speaker 1: Or was it a murder case with a mysterious spect 470 00:31:09,676 --> 00:31:13,076 Speaker 1: who was now on the run? Impossible to say. As 471 00:31:13,156 --> 00:31:16,916 Speaker 1: a detective, John knew that these categories were important, but 472 00:31:17,036 --> 00:31:20,276 Speaker 1: this case didn't fit neatly into any of them. So 473 00:31:20,396 --> 00:31:23,196 Speaker 1: what was John supposed to do? He didn't work for 474 00:31:23,236 --> 00:31:26,476 Speaker 1: the FBI or the US Marshals. He was just a 475 00:31:26,516 --> 00:31:30,076 Speaker 1: small town detective from the mountains of South Carolina. He 476 00:31:30,116 --> 00:31:32,716 Speaker 1: says he had a travel budget of about a thousand bucks. 477 00:31:33,316 --> 00:31:36,596 Speaker 1: His official jurisdiction was just a few miles in diameter. 478 00:31:37,196 --> 00:31:40,236 Speaker 1: This case was way out of the circle of wagons. 479 00:31:41,116 --> 00:31:44,436 Speaker 1: But that hadn't really stopped him before, had it. I mean, 480 00:31:44,476 --> 00:31:47,956 Speaker 1: he'd gone after the unibomber and the Oklahoma City bomber too, 481 00:31:48,756 --> 00:31:52,556 Speaker 1: but that he'd done on his own, almost as a hobby. 482 00:31:53,356 --> 00:31:57,156 Speaker 1: He had a real claim to this one. This was 483 00:31:57,436 --> 00:32:02,076 Speaker 1: his case, his thread, and damned if he wasn't going 484 00:32:02,116 --> 00:32:09,756 Speaker 1: to pull on it. Coming up this season a deep Cover. 485 00:32:10,316 --> 00:32:13,756 Speaker 1: I said, I'm calling about a girl you might know 486 00:32:13,956 --> 00:32:17,556 Speaker 1: named Brooke Henson, and he said, I wondered when you 487 00:32:17,596 --> 00:32:20,916 Speaker 1: were gonna call. When my son brought her home, I 488 00:32:20,996 --> 00:32:24,236 Speaker 1: knew she was troubled Natalie. I knew her as Natalie. 489 00:32:24,396 --> 00:32:27,716 Speaker 1: She introduced herself as as a professional chess player. There 490 00:32:27,716 --> 00:32:31,276 Speaker 1: are a lot of people stealing names, but something dealing 491 00:32:31,276 --> 00:32:37,476 Speaker 1: with espionage spies, that was a fascinating, fascinating development. We 492 00:32:37,476 --> 00:32:40,436 Speaker 1: were chasing her around the country and you know, we 493 00:32:40,436 --> 00:32:42,276 Speaker 1: would look at each other said, how are we not 494 00:32:42,476 --> 00:32:45,876 Speaker 1: finding this young girl who could grief? Guys, we're the 495 00:32:45,876 --> 00:32:47,596 Speaker 1: federal government here. We gotta be able to do that. 496 00:32:48,556 --> 00:32:52,276 Speaker 1: I think I got a message from Columbia Security saying 497 00:32:52,316 --> 00:32:54,756 Speaker 1: they wanted to talk to me, and I was like, 498 00:32:54,876 --> 00:33:22,396 Speaker 1: oh shit. Deep Cover is produced by Amy Gaines and 499 00:33:22,556 --> 00:33:28,036 Speaker 1: Jacob Smith. It's edited by Karen Shakurgee mastering by Jake Gorski. 500 00:33:28,636 --> 00:33:32,236 Speaker 1: Our show art was designed by Sean Karney. Original scoring 501 00:33:32,316 --> 00:33:35,956 Speaker 1: at our theme was composed by Luis Gara, fact checking 502 00:33:36,076 --> 00:33:40,396 Speaker 1: by Arthur Gompert's Special thanks to Mia Lobell, Greta Cone, 503 00:33:40,836 --> 00:33:44,196 Speaker 1: and Jacob Weissberg. I'm Jake Albern