WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Taylor Barksdale Part 2 0:00:05.485 --> 0:00:07.205 It's really scary. I don't know if I'm supposed to 0:00:07.245 --> 0:00:07.845 be back here. 0:00:13.605 --> 0:00:17.485 I'm in Madison County, Arkansas, known locally by its nickname 0:00:17.645 --> 0:00:20.845 Booger County. When I was working on another case down 0:00:20.845 --> 0:00:23.685 here a while back, the Billie Jean Phillips murder, I 0:00:23.725 --> 0:00:26.045 asked a lot of people where this nickname came from, 0:00:26.085 --> 0:00:28.445 by the way, and heard a bunch of different explanations. 0:00:29.085 --> 0:00:32.405 Madison County, like a lot of the Ozarks, was very 0:00:32.445 --> 0:00:35.885 sparsely populated and had very few highways running through it 0:00:35.965 --> 0:00:39.205 until the nineteen sixties. The original road, which was then 0:00:39.325 --> 0:00:43.165 called Highway four twelve to Kingston, was dirt until nineteen 0:00:43.205 --> 0:00:46.285 sixty one. My dad and some other people told me 0:00:47.245 --> 0:00:50.285 that people from Madison County were referred to as boogers 0:00:50.525 --> 0:00:52.525 because they were tough, like a crusty booger on the 0:00:52.525 --> 0:00:55.605 inside of your nose. Other people think it's because of 0:00:55.605 --> 0:00:58.125 the expression it was a booger to get around there 0:00:58.205 --> 0:01:00.805 or to live there, meaning that it was tough to navigate. 0:01:01.445 --> 0:01:03.845 There are also some rumors the nickname has something to 0:01:03.885 --> 0:01:07.245 do with ghosts or spirits or an old moonshiner. The 0:01:07.325 --> 0:01:10.005 point is that everyone seems to know about the nickname, 0:01:10.485 --> 0:01:12.965 but no one really knows how it got started. It's 0:01:13.045 --> 0:01:15.965 just something that has always been that way, and they 0:01:15.965 --> 0:01:18.245 think it will always be that way in Madison County, 0:01:18.765 --> 0:01:21.165 which is the same thing a lot of people say 0:01:21.245 --> 0:01:24.685 about local law enforcement and about what they see is 0:01:24.725 --> 0:01:29.125 the relationship between people who have power and people who don't. 0:01:30.405 --> 0:01:32.525 The Madison County Sheriff's office got a nine to one 0:01:32.605 --> 0:01:35.005 one call in the early morning hours of August fifth, 0:01:35.005 --> 0:01:39.965 twenty twenty four. The caller heard sounds she believed that 0:01:40.005 --> 0:01:42.445 they were coming from a woman who was being raped 0:01:42.565 --> 0:01:47.085 or tortured, but the police never came. Then a few 0:01:47.085 --> 0:01:50.765 weeks later, around September fifth, people were expressing concern about 0:01:50.765 --> 0:01:53.485 Taylor Barksdale, a thirty year old woman who had been 0:01:53.565 --> 0:01:57.085 living in Huntsville and who had gone missing. When police 0:01:57.165 --> 0:01:59.205 finally went into the area of the nine to one 0:01:59.325 --> 0:02:02.525 one call to investigate, more than a month after the 0:02:02.605 --> 0:02:04.805 nine to one one call was made, on September ninth, 0:02:05.565 --> 0:02:08.925 they went out to a residence in Kingston. They found 0:02:08.965 --> 0:02:12.845 Taylor's remains. Side note, I've also been told that the 0:02:12.925 --> 0:02:16.205 rumor about Taylor's remains being found in a hay bale 0:02:16.405 --> 0:02:19.645 or not true. But I have another source who says 0:02:19.645 --> 0:02:21.565 they were present on the day the remains were found 0:02:21.685 --> 0:02:24.445 and they said that it is true. The Madison County 0:02:24.445 --> 0:02:27.285 Sheriff's office is not saying one way or another, and 0:02:27.365 --> 0:02:30.605 I don't want to fuel rumors, so I should make clear. 0:02:31.205 --> 0:02:34.325 We don't know for sure whether Taylor's remains were found 0:02:34.325 --> 0:02:37.685 in Heybale's, but either way, we do know that her 0:02:37.725 --> 0:02:41.605 remains were found on a property in Kingston. Taylor was 0:02:41.645 --> 0:02:44.685 a mother of two young children, someone who was loved 0:02:44.685 --> 0:02:47.325 by her friends and family, and someone who was vulnerable, 0:02:48.205 --> 0:02:52.445 someone who died screaming in a dark field, desperately waiting 0:02:52.485 --> 0:02:54.005 for help that never came. 0:02:55.725 --> 0:02:56.805 I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:02:57.325 --> 0:03:00.045 Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast, 0:03:00.085 --> 0:03:03.125 Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing 0:03:03.245 --> 0:03:07.245 as a small town where murder never happened. I've received 0:03:07.365 --> 0:03:10.565 hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking 0:03:10.565 --> 0:03:14.405 for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families. 0:03:14.045 --> 0:03:15.005 And their communities. 0:03:15.765 --> 0:03:17.525 If you have a case you'd like me and my 0:03:17.565 --> 0:03:19.805 team to look into, you can reach out to us 0:03:19.845 --> 0:03:22.205 at our Helen Gone Murder Line at six seven eight 0:03:22.525 --> 0:03:25.925 seven four four six one four five. That's six seven 0:03:26.005 --> 0:03:30.285 eight seven four four six one four five. Or you 0:03:30.325 --> 0:03:33.405 can send us a message on Instagram at Helen Gonpod. 0:03:35.045 --> 0:04:25.325 This is Helen Gone Murder Line. I talked to Taylor's 0:04:25.325 --> 0:04:28.365 aunt in the last episode. Now that I'm in Madison County, 0:04:28.445 --> 0:04:30.685 I make a plan with her and Taylor's uncle to 0:04:30.685 --> 0:04:33.205 meet up with them. My source, Jay Brown, and I 0:04:33.245 --> 0:04:36.445 meet beforehand, then we head to a local gas station 0:04:36.565 --> 0:04:39.485 to meet with them. Our plan is to go out 0:04:39.685 --> 0:04:41.925 and to get near the area where the caller heard 0:04:41.925 --> 0:04:44.805 the screams and to try to piece together what was 0:04:44.845 --> 0:04:47.645 going on with Taylor between July twentieth, when she was 0:04:47.685 --> 0:04:52.085 apparently reported missing by someone, and August fifth, the night 0:04:52.205 --> 0:04:55.005 she was heard screaming when we believe she was killed. 0:04:55.925 --> 0:04:59.165 Taylor's aunt tells us about her frustrations with the Madison 0:04:59.205 --> 0:05:03.525 County Sheriff's office. Since Taylor's remains were found, a lot 0:05:03.565 --> 0:05:07.285 of people have been expressing their frustrations with the Sheriff's 0:05:07.325 --> 0:05:09.725 office and what they believe is a lack of information 0:05:09.885 --> 0:05:14.165 on social media pages chatting about Madison County. Taylor's aunt 0:05:14.205 --> 0:05:16.805 brings up the fact that in Facebook posts, the sheriff 0:05:16.885 --> 0:05:19.965 mentions he doesn't have enough officers and says that the 0:05:20.005 --> 0:05:23.045 county needs a new jail. And while this might be true, 0:05:23.605 --> 0:05:25.845 many people feel that this is a deflection from the 0:05:25.885 --> 0:05:29.285 real issue. A woman was in distress, a deputy failed 0:05:29.325 --> 0:05:31.845 to respond to her and later lied about it, and 0:05:31.925 --> 0:05:36.205 yet this deputy was allowed to resign. She's asking, quite rightly, 0:05:36.285 --> 0:05:38.485 in my opinion, what does any of this have to 0:05:38.485 --> 0:05:41.045 do with a new jail. She says that even though 0:05:41.085 --> 0:05:44.205 she understands the sheriff wants a new jail, better facilities, 0:05:44.205 --> 0:05:47.725 and more manpower, she believes that his response to Taylor's 0:05:47.725 --> 0:05:51.525 family was unacceptable. She said that her husband is even 0:05:51.605 --> 0:05:53.925 offered to become a reserve deputy. 0:05:54.525 --> 0:05:58.365 And donate one night a week. And we told him 0:05:58.405 --> 0:06:00.885 that you can be a reserve. Yeah, my dad did. 0:06:00.925 --> 0:06:01.445 I told me. 0:06:01.805 --> 0:06:04.725 I said, he's offered to be a reserve. Yeah, and 0:06:04.765 --> 0:06:07.445 that would be an I'm not bragging. We're not reaching 0:06:07.205 --> 0:06:09.605 any means, but I would be willing to let him 0:06:09.645 --> 0:06:12.245 miss the day of our pay and that's big money 0:06:12.485 --> 0:06:15.005 to go reserve that night and stay up all night 0:06:15.045 --> 0:06:15.525 to reserve. 0:06:15.645 --> 0:06:16.645 But he doesn't want it. 0:06:17.605 --> 0:06:20.685 And we talk about our shared outrage that the deputy 0:06:20.725 --> 0:06:24.365 blake Castle admitted to Drew Scott, the officer on duty, 0:06:24.725 --> 0:06:26.325 that he did not respond to the nine to. 0:06:26.285 --> 0:06:26.845 One one call. 0:06:27.605 --> 0:06:31.565 He admitted that on August fifth, so Drew knew the 0:06:31.605 --> 0:06:36.165 next day that blake Castle had lied about taking that call. 0:06:36.205 --> 0:06:39.765 And even when Sheriff Ronnie Boyd did respond, which we'll 0:06:39.765 --> 0:06:42.845 go into in detail later in the episode, it seemed 0:06:42.845 --> 0:06:45.845 to me that a lot of the sheriff's response was 0:06:45.925 --> 0:06:50.565 focused on venting the frustrations that the police officers feel 0:06:51.085 --> 0:06:54.885 and not on what consequences, if any, this deputy was 0:06:54.925 --> 0:06:57.525 going to face. It was just like, you know, how 0:06:57.525 --> 0:07:00.605 about the I mean, I don't know, from my perspective, 0:07:00.605 --> 0:07:02.325 it should have said something like, we're so sorry that 0:07:02.365 --> 0:07:04.925 we failed this victim, and you know, the deputy will 0:07:04.925 --> 0:07:06.245 be thinking about the for the rest of his life, 0:07:06.245 --> 0:07:07.765 the fact that he did not respond to that call 0:07:07.805 --> 0:07:09.725 and someone is dead as a result of his negligent, 0:07:09.845 --> 0:07:10.565 utter negligence. 0:07:10.605 --> 0:07:11.365 I mean, instead of. 0:07:11.285 --> 0:07:14.525 That, we can sare iff, why did he not follow up? 0:07:15.885 --> 0:07:19.285 Would Taylor still be dead or could have he gotten 0:07:19.285 --> 0:07:22.085 to her? She probably would have been. But if you 0:07:22.125 --> 0:07:24.965 would have gone on the fifth, if Drew Scott, who 0:07:25.005 --> 0:07:28.565 wrote the fifth it's it's on there. You signed it. 0:07:28.885 --> 0:07:32.805 You're just as guilty. Sorry, Why didn't you go check 0:07:32.885 --> 0:07:34.045 up on that nine one one call? 0:07:34.365 --> 0:07:35.405 Yeah, he knew. 0:07:36.765 --> 0:07:38.485 We did a foy A request and we got a 0:07:38.525 --> 0:07:41.445 statement back saying that blake Castle, the deputy who was 0:07:41.485 --> 0:07:43.525 the only one on duty in the early morning hours 0:07:43.565 --> 0:07:45.205 of August fifth when the nine to one one call 0:07:45.285 --> 0:07:47.485 came in, did not respond to the nine to one 0:07:47.525 --> 0:07:50.965 one call. Later that same day, when Drew Scott, the 0:07:51.005 --> 0:07:54.405 officer in charge, asked about it, blake Castle was given 0:07:54.445 --> 0:07:57.605 what they referred to in the statement as verbal counseling. 0:07:58.645 --> 0:08:00.525 This means that the sheriff. 0:08:00.245 --> 0:08:03.085 Presumably would have known about the deputy's failure to respond 0:08:03.165 --> 0:08:06.805 to the call on August fifth, and yet blake Castle 0:08:06.965 --> 0:08:10.805 was allowed to remain on duty until September eleventh, two 0:08:10.885 --> 0:08:14.885 days after Taylor's remains were found, he was allowed to resign. 0:08:14.925 --> 0:08:17.805 He wasn't fired. There was no mention of firing him 0:08:17.965 --> 0:08:22.845 or potential criminal charges. So what led Taylor to that 0:08:23.005 --> 0:08:26.405 field where she was on August fifth, alone at night, 0:08:26.805 --> 0:08:27.565 screaming with. 0:08:27.565 --> 0:08:28.285 No one to help. 0:08:32.965 --> 0:08:36.045 Taylor's aunt tells me that Taylor was one of five siblings, 0:08:36.405 --> 0:08:38.845 and that her mother passed away when Taylor was fifteen 0:08:38.925 --> 0:08:42.565 years old. Her father worked long hours to provide for 0:08:42.605 --> 0:08:46.125 the family. I've seen many posts talk about her kindness, 0:08:46.325 --> 0:08:48.685 how she was a great friend, and how much she 0:08:48.765 --> 0:08:53.005 loved her children. At some point, Taylor became involved in drugs, 0:08:53.525 --> 0:08:55.885 and even though we have talked to people who say 0:08:55.925 --> 0:08:58.925 that she was focused on seeing her children and trying 0:08:58.925 --> 0:09:00.685 to find a job in the weeks before her death, 0:09:01.205 --> 0:09:04.605 she continued as so many people do, to struggle with addiction. 0:09:05.765 --> 0:09:09.085 Before the incident on August fifth, multiple sources say that 0:09:09.085 --> 0:09:11.485 Taylor was staying on and off with a man named Kenny. 0:09:12.085 --> 0:09:14.965 We talked to one of Kenny's neighbors, someone who lives 0:09:15.085 --> 0:09:18.325 very close by. She said that Taylor and Kenny fought 0:09:18.325 --> 0:09:20.925 often and loudly. She said that she lived in a 0:09:20.965 --> 0:09:23.885 spot where she could hear everything coming from that residence. 0:09:24.485 --> 0:09:28.245 She heard them screaming at each other often. The neighbor 0:09:28.325 --> 0:09:31.325 also said that she would frequently see Taylor walking up 0:09:31.325 --> 0:09:31.965 and down the road. 0:09:32.605 --> 0:09:33.925 She said she wanted. 0:09:33.605 --> 0:09:36.485 To help Taylor, but she felt totally helpless to intervene 0:09:36.925 --> 0:09:40.645 because Taylor would refuse help. As someone who has had 0:09:40.645 --> 0:09:44.205 people close to me struggle with addiction. I totally relate 0:09:44.245 --> 0:09:46.925 to this, and judging from the calls and emails I've 0:09:46.925 --> 0:09:51.525 gotten a lot of our listeners do too. Then, sometime 0:09:51.565 --> 0:09:55.365 around July twentieth, twenty twenty four, Taylor and Kenny got 0:09:55.445 --> 0:09:59.005 into a big argument, one that apparently resulted in Taylor 0:09:59.125 --> 0:10:02.005 leaving the residence, either because Kenny kicked her out or 0:10:02.045 --> 0:10:06.245 she left voluntarily. Again, we're not sure what happened here. 0:10:06.325 --> 0:10:08.445 That's part of what we're trying to figure out. We 0:10:08.525 --> 0:10:11.045 do know that apparently someone called nine to one one. 0:10:11.845 --> 0:10:13.045 That's well, that's my question. 0:10:13.765 --> 0:10:16.685 We seen, we saw, We have one calls where there 0:10:16.765 --> 0:10:21.245 was three. It was out there midnight nineteenth to the twentieth, 0:10:21.245 --> 0:10:24.085 and there was two. In the last one, there was 0:10:24.125 --> 0:10:26.485 a Taylor Borsdale name in the last call. 0:10:26.325 --> 0:10:27.765 That on July twentieth. 0:10:28.125 --> 0:10:31.125 Apparently one of Taylor's children was in this area, So 0:10:31.805 --> 0:10:33.845 Taylor may have been trying to see her child. 0:10:34.605 --> 0:10:35.925 But that's really just a theory. 0:10:36.245 --> 0:10:38.885 In reality, we don't know a lot about what she 0:10:39.005 --> 0:10:42.845 was doing during those days. Then, at some point, Taylor's 0:10:42.885 --> 0:10:46.285 clothing was found scattered in the Big Clifty area. That's 0:10:46.325 --> 0:10:49.565 about a forty five minute drive from Kingston, but we 0:10:49.645 --> 0:10:53.125 don't know exactly when that happened either. The sheriff referred 0:10:53.125 --> 0:10:55.765 to the clothing on social media in one of the 0:10:55.885 --> 0:10:59.845 Madison County Sheriff's Offices press releases, we don't know why 0:10:59.925 --> 0:11:02.885 her clothes were scattered in that spot or exactly when 0:11:02.925 --> 0:11:07.165 it happened, but it was sometime on or around July twentieth. 0:11:07.845 --> 0:11:09.925 We also don't know how did she get from Big 0:11:09.965 --> 0:11:13.685 Clifty to Kingston, the area where she was seen by 0:11:13.685 --> 0:11:16.605 the nine one one caller. I talked to one of 0:11:16.605 --> 0:11:19.925 my sources, Jay Brown, about the fact that on July twentieth, 0:11:19.965 --> 0:11:23.325 Taylor's picture was on a missing person's website. We're trying 0:11:23.325 --> 0:11:26.885 to figure out who put it there, since he worked 0:11:26.925 --> 0:11:30.805 in law enforcement. He explains the sequence of events. 0:11:30.725 --> 0:11:33.525 So somebody, she's got a missing date of seven, twenty 0:11:33.525 --> 0:11:33.925 twenty four. 0:11:33.965 --> 0:11:36.645 At some point a deputy had to tell a dispatcher 0:11:36.685 --> 0:11:38.965 to enter her into ACIC as a missing person. 0:11:39.205 --> 0:11:40.565 Well, it seems kind of quincid. Old. There was a 0:11:40.645 --> 0:11:41.845 nine to one one call. 0:11:41.845 --> 0:11:49.005 That a friend of Taylor's had gotten her from somewhere, 0:11:50.245 --> 0:11:52.805 and she went to this friend's house and slept. 0:11:52.445 --> 0:11:55.445 For a long time, probably coming off of drugs. I don't. 0:11:55.685 --> 0:11:57.325 I mean, they know where I do. 0:11:57.885 --> 0:12:00.445 But when she woke up after sleeping for a long time, 0:12:00.565 --> 0:12:03.485 she wanted to see her son. One of her sons 0:12:03.565 --> 0:12:08.125 lives on Kipper Street, Okay. So she called this dad 0:12:08.725 --> 0:12:10.605 and asked if she could come over, if she could 0:12:10.605 --> 0:12:13.325 bring Taylor over there, and he said yes, So Taylor 0:12:13.405 --> 0:12:16.605 went to his house. I don't know how long she did, 0:12:16.645 --> 0:12:19.605 how many days she stayed with him or what, but 0:12:19.925 --> 0:12:22.445 she stayed with him for a while, slipped up and 0:12:22.485 --> 0:12:24.445 came back high one time, and he kicked her out. 0:12:24.965 --> 0:12:29.005 You gotta go, So I believe that that is going 0:12:29.085 --> 0:12:32.765 to be that timeframe that he kicked her out. But 0:12:32.885 --> 0:12:35.805 she still wanted to see her son. So she's on 0:12:35.885 --> 0:12:38.165 Cooper Street way around Okay. 0:12:38.645 --> 0:12:41.925 Again, we aren't sure exactly what happened. We're not sure 0:12:41.925 --> 0:12:44.445 what the argument was about, but we do know that 0:12:44.525 --> 0:12:47.885 her drug use had Taylor in a dark place, which 0:12:47.925 --> 0:12:52.685 made her vulnerable. After the argument, Taylor was not seen 0:12:52.965 --> 0:12:55.645 by the neighbor at her ex boyfriend Kenny's residence again, 0:12:56.525 --> 0:12:59.925 and then somehow Taylor made her way from her ex 0:12:59.965 --> 0:13:02.525 boyfriend's house to the area where Taylor was hanging out 0:13:02.565 --> 0:13:07.285 in Kingston. Other than Kenny, Taylor was sometimes seen hanging 0:13:07.325 --> 0:13:11.445 out with three mutual friends. They were three men and 0:13:11.525 --> 0:13:15.765 they knew Kenny and Taylor. We know these men's names. 0:13:16.605 --> 0:13:19.965 They're also posted on social media. But we're still talking 0:13:19.965 --> 0:13:22.245 to people and also trying to reach out to these 0:13:22.285 --> 0:13:25.965 mystery men to figure out exactly what happened and when 0:13:26.005 --> 0:13:29.725 they last saw Taylor. One of these men was staying 0:13:29.725 --> 0:13:32.125 in a camper near the nine one one callers property, 0:13:32.485 --> 0:13:35.485 the camper that, according to Taylor's aunt and uncle, was 0:13:35.565 --> 0:13:37.885 moved a few days after her body was found. 0:13:38.725 --> 0:13:41.445 Said that her posessions auver belongings round in the field. 0:13:41.885 --> 0:13:47.085 Then on September the six, someone let them get some 0:13:47.205 --> 0:13:50.965 information or gave them information that she was last seen 0:13:51.005 --> 0:13:52.805 in the Huntsville Kingston area. 0:13:53.125 --> 0:13:56.845 Okay, Okay, so that's. 0:13:56.205 --> 0:13:58.645 I guess when she's trying to make it click that. 0:13:58.845 --> 0:14:02.765 The Kilston area that now I'm on home cancers. 0:14:02.765 --> 0:14:04.205 Because he still didn't know her. 0:14:05.765 --> 0:14:09.565 After calling nine one one and the lack of police response, 0:14:10.005 --> 0:14:12.085 the nine to one one caller went through social media 0:14:12.125 --> 0:14:14.485 pages to see if she could make a connection to 0:14:14.565 --> 0:14:18.405 figure out who Taylor was. She contacted Taylor's aunt to 0:14:18.445 --> 0:14:21.605 confirm her identity. The nine to one one caller blamed 0:14:21.645 --> 0:14:25.125 herself for not doing more, but Taylor's aunt told her 0:14:25.165 --> 0:14:28.565 it wasn't her fault, that it was the police's responsibility 0:14:28.565 --> 0:14:32.765 to answer the call, not hers. After talking with Taylor's 0:14:32.765 --> 0:14:35.565 aunt and uncle, we head out to an area near 0:14:35.685 --> 0:14:39.085 where Taylor's body was found. 0:14:40.165 --> 0:14:41.045 This is really scary. 0:14:41.085 --> 0:14:41.725 I don't know if I'm. 0:14:41.645 --> 0:14:42.645 Supposed to be back here. 0:14:46.725 --> 0:14:49.525 We can't get all the way to the spot where 0:14:49.525 --> 0:14:52.685 Taylor's body was found, but we drive to an area nearby. 0:14:53.085 --> 0:14:56.685 It's very remote. We can see bales of hay everywhere. 0:14:57.605 --> 0:15:00.645 We can't figure out how Taylor's remains ended up out here. 0:15:01.685 --> 0:15:05.885 Thinking about the entire scenario is horrific. There are so 0:15:06.045 --> 0:15:10.405 many unanswered questions in this investigation. The county prosecutor, Matt 0:15:10.485 --> 0:15:14.725 Durrett told NWA online, quote, We're treating it as a 0:15:14.725 --> 0:15:17.925 homicide until it's determined it is or isn't. We're not 0:15:17.965 --> 0:15:22.565 assuming anything end quote. Taylor's uncle talks about the lack 0:15:22.605 --> 0:15:26.765 of crime scene tape and this sounds weird, But honestly, 0:15:27.005 --> 0:15:31.165 I'm unsure about who has controlled the investigation because Sheriff 0:15:31.245 --> 0:15:34.005 Ronnie Boyd said in a press release that the Arkansas 0:15:34.045 --> 0:15:37.325 State Police were assisting with the case, but the Madison 0:15:37.365 --> 0:15:40.725 County Record called the ASP to confirm that, and the 0:15:40.765 --> 0:15:44.925 ASP apparently said they were not officially assisting. The sheriff 0:15:45.005 --> 0:15:47.925 later clarified that he had discussed the case with someone 0:15:47.965 --> 0:15:51.565 in the ASP in a more unofficial manner. The release 0:15:51.645 --> 0:15:55.365 says something like the Arkansas State Police have been contacted 0:15:55.365 --> 0:15:58.245 to assist in the investigation, So the wording is a 0:15:58.245 --> 0:16:02.685 little ambiguous, but again, it seemed to Taylor's aunt and 0:16:02.725 --> 0:16:05.725 the rest of the family that law enforcement was not 0:16:05.885 --> 0:16:10.325 being forthcoming with them with information. Jay Brown talked about 0:16:10.325 --> 0:16:14.285 what he had heard about irregularities and evidence collection. He 0:16:14.445 --> 0:16:18.045 claimed that sources told him the Sheriff's department collected evidence 0:16:18.445 --> 0:16:20.965 at the crime scene in a potato chip back. 0:16:21.725 --> 0:16:24.325 That made me laugh. That actually made me laugh. Okay, 0:16:24.925 --> 0:16:27.485 here's the story behind that. There is a chat tooo too. 0:16:27.485 --> 0:16:29.285 Okay, he owned property. 0:16:29.725 --> 0:16:33.485 How about testing and see this human blood? I mean sorry, 0:16:33.485 --> 0:16:35.685 I mentioned the back of chips because I'm sorry. 0:16:35.725 --> 0:16:39.165 I've done this job before and I have never in 0:16:39.245 --> 0:16:40.405 my life collected it. 0:16:42.885 --> 0:16:45.045 Anyone who's ever watched law and order knows not to 0:16:45.085 --> 0:16:46.725 do that. You don't even have to be a cop. 0:16:46.805 --> 0:16:47.765 I mean, that's crazy. 0:16:49.205 --> 0:16:51.725 I don't know if the chip bag rumor is true, 0:16:52.205 --> 0:16:54.965 but if it is, it would not totally shock me. 0:16:55.525 --> 0:16:58.325 In the Rebecca Gould case, the local police department had 0:16:58.365 --> 0:17:00.325 to go to Harp's grocery for evidence bags. 0:17:00.765 --> 0:17:02.405 But in that case, the. 0:17:02.285 --> 0:17:05.485 Izard County Sheriff's Department did the right thing in my opinion. 0:17:05.965 --> 0:17:10.005 They immediately realized that they needed help and they immediately 0:17:10.045 --> 0:17:12.805 turned the case over to the Arkansas State Police. And 0:17:12.885 --> 0:17:15.605 in this case, if the Madison County Sheriff's office is 0:17:15.645 --> 0:17:19.725 so understaffed and overwhelmed, I'm wondering why they don't just 0:17:19.765 --> 0:17:22.005 hand the whole case over to the Arkansas State Police. 0:17:22.965 --> 0:17:24.205 Thank you for driving us around. 0:17:24.245 --> 0:17:27.085 This is the kings to the squair and the camp 0:17:27.485 --> 0:17:31.525 is there if that's not yet, but it's right, gotcha. 0:17:32.005 --> 0:17:33.605 So we can plan if you want to be in 0:17:33.725 --> 0:17:34.365 so you can see. 0:17:35.645 --> 0:17:36.325 I'll give you an idea. 0:17:36.325 --> 0:17:38.805 I look that I look on the maps the proximity 0:17:38.845 --> 0:17:41.725 between the nine WI one caller and this location. 0:17:42.045 --> 0:17:46.725 I mean, what she was hearing was a viable call. Yeah, 0:17:46.765 --> 0:17:49.485 it was reasonable to call for help. Sure, they just 0:17:49.565 --> 0:17:51.325 chalked up to a bunch of junkies were not. 0:17:52.965 --> 0:17:54.685 So said, there's a bunch of junkies were not even 0:17:54.685 --> 0:17:55.485 going out through the mission. 0:17:55.645 --> 0:17:58.565 Oh no, But but this guy says, if it was 0:17:59.205 --> 0:18:00.645 people off their medicine and not in the. 0:18:01.085 --> 0:18:03.725 Saw that, yeah, And he said we always something like 0:18:03.765 --> 0:18:05.885 what really like actually enraged me? Was and he said 0:18:05.925 --> 0:18:08.565 we always we try best to give help to people 0:18:08.565 --> 0:18:09.445 who actually want help. 0:18:09.525 --> 0:18:10.365 Or it was something like. 0:18:10.325 --> 0:18:12.565 That, And I was like, what you think someone getting 0:18:12.645 --> 0:18:14.085 murdered might want some help? 0:18:14.165 --> 0:18:16.765 Because has said if he would have arrested her a 0:18:16.765 --> 0:18:19.325 long time ago and gotten her help, she could be clean, 0:18:19.525 --> 0:18:21.965 then go arrest him. 0:18:22.765 --> 0:18:25.365 We are still reaching out to people. We are filling 0:18:25.445 --> 0:18:27.845 in the blanks of what was going on in Taylor's life. 0:18:28.405 --> 0:18:30.685 We have heard that during some of this time, the 0:18:30.765 --> 0:18:33.485 Taylor spent time in the library. Some people say she 0:18:33.525 --> 0:18:35.965 was applying for a job. Others say she would stop 0:18:36.005 --> 0:18:39.365 in to look for information or to use the Wi Fi. So, 0:18:39.645 --> 0:18:41.885 if anyone out there was in the library in the 0:18:41.925 --> 0:18:45.965 time period between mid July and August fifth, that critical 0:18:46.005 --> 0:18:50.125 few weeks and saw Taylor Barksdale, please reach out. We've 0:18:50.165 --> 0:18:53.245 also been in touch with another person, someone who says 0:18:53.285 --> 0:18:56.765 that she has information about Taylor being at a residence 0:18:56.805 --> 0:19:01.125 on August fourth, right before Taylor disappeared, and this person 0:19:01.205 --> 0:19:04.925 claims that Taylor was there with one of the mutual friends, 0:19:05.085 --> 0:19:07.085 one of the men who Taylor had been hanging out 0:19:07.125 --> 0:19:11.245 with recently. We need to find out if that's true, 0:19:11.285 --> 0:19:15.365 and if it is true whether Taylor and this guy 0:19:15.605 --> 0:19:18.005 left the residence for a few minutes and then came 0:19:18.085 --> 0:19:20.965 right back and basically stayed the night, which is one 0:19:21.205 --> 0:19:25.645 version that we've heard, or if as this woman apparently claims, 0:19:26.205 --> 0:19:28.525 the guy left with Taylor then did not come back 0:19:28.605 --> 0:19:34.325 until after daybreak, and when he came back, he returned alone. 0:19:34.485 --> 0:19:36.925 While we're trying to figure out who these mystery men are, 0:19:36.965 --> 0:19:39.885 what their background is, and what Taylor's movements were on 0:19:39.925 --> 0:19:42.965 the night of August fifth, the Madison County Sheriff's Department 0:19:43.005 --> 0:19:46.645 posted a response on Facebook. Actually, I should say it 0:19:46.725 --> 0:19:49.805 was posted by Madison County Sheriff Ronnie Boyd on the 0:19:49.805 --> 0:19:53.885 Sheriff Ronnie Boyd page. It reads, in part quote, when 0:19:53.925 --> 0:19:55.845 I ran for sheriff, I knew that there were going 0:19:55.885 --> 0:19:57.885 to be a lot of challenges ahead of me if elected. 0:19:58.525 --> 0:20:00.205 There have been a lot of issues from the past 0:20:00.245 --> 0:20:02.765 that still get brought up to this day. I knew 0:20:02.765 --> 0:20:05.085 that I would have some opposition or outright enemies from 0:20:05.085 --> 0:20:07.805 the outsid said, because I knew I wasn't the choice 0:20:07.805 --> 0:20:10.365 for some. But I hope that I've won some of 0:20:10.365 --> 0:20:12.445 those over by my actions of doing what's right and 0:20:12.485 --> 0:20:15.125 trying to improve the quality of law enforcement in our county. 0:20:15.925 --> 0:20:16.925 I know that I've. 0:20:16.765 --> 0:20:20.445 Also acquired some new enemies by not succumbing to requests 0:20:20.445 --> 0:20:23.565 of giving some people special consideration for running a foul 0:20:23.605 --> 0:20:26.565 of the law, and by actually holding people accountable some 0:20:26.685 --> 0:20:30.005 even in law enforcement. I have some very basic guidelines 0:20:30.045 --> 0:20:32.245 that I believe are easy to follow and hold my 0:20:32.325 --> 0:20:33.325 personnel to account. 0:20:34.125 --> 0:20:35.005 Show up ready to. 0:20:34.965 --> 0:20:36.645 Do your job, do your job to the best of 0:20:36.685 --> 0:20:40.285 your ability, do what's right, and treat all people with respect. 0:20:40.725 --> 0:20:41.285 End quote. 0:20:41.685 --> 0:20:44.485 He goes on to talk about the challenges of being understaffed. 0:20:44.885 --> 0:20:48.445 He says the police department would rather work shorthanded than 0:20:48.485 --> 0:20:52.365 to deal with those who aren't striving to meet his principles. 0:20:53.525 --> 0:20:56.485 He goes on to say, quote, I know the recent 0:20:56.525 --> 0:20:58.885 case of what happened to Taylor Barksdale has angered and 0:20:58.885 --> 0:21:00.085 dismayed a lot of people. 0:21:00.765 --> 0:21:02.525 Many of those were already. 0:21:02.085 --> 0:21:04.565 Looking for any reason to go after the sheriff's office 0:21:04.645 --> 0:21:07.725 or me personally. For those who are using this situation 0:21:07.805 --> 0:21:11.005 to further you're already existing personal agreements with a sheriff's 0:21:11.005 --> 0:21:11.605 office or me. 0:21:12.285 --> 0:21:13.405 I find that despicable. 0:21:13.805 --> 0:21:15.765 To say that the incident did not sit well with 0:21:15.805 --> 0:21:19.685 me either would be an understatement. My sympathies are with 0:21:19.725 --> 0:21:22.165 Taylor's family and friends. I wish that I could turn 0:21:22.205 --> 0:21:24.325