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Speaker 1: School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold

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Speaker 1: case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite

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Speaker 1: witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially

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Speaker 1: be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights

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Speaker 1: from family and community members, their statements should not be

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Speaker 1: considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts

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Speaker 1: inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has

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Speaker 1: presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Speaker 1: Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply

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Speaker 1: that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime

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Speaker 1: is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening.

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Speaker 2: On Saturday, November two, twenty twenty four, fifteen year old

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Speaker 2: Trip Brazil headed out of his house in Forest City,

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Speaker 2: Arkansas on a four wheeler.

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Speaker 3: Trip grew up and.

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Speaker 2: When he had been hanging around with his uncle and

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Speaker 2: aunt that day, His mother, Jennifer Brazil, told us that Trip,

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Speaker 2: her brother, and her sister in law went to a

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Speaker 2: party at a friend's house. They were in the area

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Speaker 2: of Saint Francis County Road four O nine, near Forest

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Speaker 2: City after dark and into the early morning hours of Sunday,

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Speaker 2: November three, They continued to hang out in a part

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Speaker 2: of the woods called Crow Creek, riding ATVs, which are

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Speaker 2: also called four wheelers. Trips aunt and uncle were on

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Speaker 2: one four wheeler, Trip was on the other. One of

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Speaker 2: his friends was also there at some point riding another atv.

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Speaker 3: Now it's mostly illegal.

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Speaker 2: To ride four wheelers on paved roads in Arkansas and

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Speaker 2: in many other places, but out there in the country

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Speaker 2: it is a common mode of transportation for teens. His mother,

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Speaker 2: Jennifer Brazil, told us that Trip was homeschooled and also

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Speaker 2: had a job at a carpet store.

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Speaker 4: They love being outside, sweet, respectful kids. He knew how

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Speaker 4: to actus his elders. They had been riding fullers all day. Actually,

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Speaker 4: his brother and sister. I'm glad that they got to

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Speaker 4: send the day with him. Then he went by our

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Speaker 4: friend's house, so they were having a party. And if

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Speaker 4: it comes back you had alcohol in this system, that's

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Speaker 4: not going to shock me. But as far as drugs, no,

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Speaker 4: Trip was not a drug user. He told his friends

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Speaker 4: to try to stop smoking weeds. Trip was very scared

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Speaker 4: of drugs.

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Speaker 2: There were police officers near the teens in the woods

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Speaker 2: that night. Deputy Tray Bonham and Sergeant David Kenney from

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Speaker 2: the Saint Francis County Sheriff's Office had been out there

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Speaker 2: responding to a call dealing with a missing eleven year

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Speaker 2: old and twelve year old girl and boy from Cross County.

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Speaker 2: So Sergeant Kenny and Deputy Bonham got called out to

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Speaker 2: an area near Highway three eight because one of the

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Speaker 2: missing Cross County kids phones was.

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Speaker 3: Pinging in that area.

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Speaker 2: Deputy Bynham wrote in his report that while they were

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Speaker 2: checking out a residence in the woods, they heard ATVs

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Speaker 2: driving around erratically. When they finished up and got back

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Speaker 2: to their vehicles, Sergeant Kenney went to.

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Speaker 3: Go find those ATVs.

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Speaker 2: He was the first one to make contact with Trip

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Speaker 2: and his family members. In his report, he said that

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Speaker 2: he was talking to the people who were on one

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Speaker 2: of the four wheelers, basically telling everyone to slow down.

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Speaker 2: As Deputy Bontam approached, he saw one of the four

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Speaker 2: wheelers slow down like it was about to stop, but

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Speaker 2: then he said, the four wheeler took off and passed

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Speaker 2: him at a high rate of speed. The driver of

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Speaker 2: that ATV was Trip Brazil. The police started.

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Speaker 3: Talking to Trip's aunt and uncle and one of Trip's friends.

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Speaker 4: Then he was riding with my brother and sister in

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Speaker 4: law who her dad is a state trooper, and the

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Speaker 4: cop pulled up to the stop sign and said what

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Speaker 4: are y'all doing? They said, oh, we'll just stop riding.

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Speaker 4: Looks a little way y'all need to go.

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Speaker 3: Sergeant Kenny was interviewed about this incident.

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Speaker 5: There's two four wheelers and four individuals there. They all

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Speaker 5: looked to be leaked teen's early twenties. As I got

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Speaker 5: out of my truck and walked around in front of

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Speaker 5: my vehicle, one of the four wheelers took off going

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Speaker 5: south on two eighty four. He went a couple hundred

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Speaker 5: yards and stopped, looked over his shoulder. I said, where's

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Speaker 5: he going. One of the kids popped up and said,

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Speaker 5: we don't know, sir. I said, so he's just going

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Speaker 5: to leave y'all here. He said, that's what it looks like.

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Speaker 5: Will he come back by? And he was approaching. He

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Speaker 5: was slowing down like he was going to stop.

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Speaker 2: At that point, Deputy Bonham started his pursuit of the

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Speaker 2: four wheeler.

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Speaker 3: He was trying to pull trip over.

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Speaker 2: Sergeant Kenny said he just wanted the driver of that

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Speaker 2: ATV to slow down. He said he called out on

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Speaker 2: the radio to the driver, telling him to watch the

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Speaker 2: hairpin turns on the roadway.

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Speaker 3: Trip didn't stop.

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Speaker 2: Instead, he turned onto another road, Highway four O nine,

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Speaker 2: and sped away, so Deputy Bottom followed him. This high

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Speaker 2: speed chase went on up a hill and back down

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Speaker 2: a hill. Technically it was a dirt burm, but that's

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Speaker 2: how the deputies described it. And that's when something happened,

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Speaker 2: something that caused Trip to abruptly stop and jump off

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Speaker 2: his four wheeler at twelve forty two am. This is

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Speaker 2: the bodycam footage of that chase. In real time. You

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Speaker 2: can hear the deputy yell at Trip, but he'd already

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Speaker 2: gotten off the four wheeler and was running. Trip was

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Speaker 2: wearing a camouflage hoodie, blue jeans, and boots as he

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Speaker 2: took off through the woods. In that bodycam footage, it

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Speaker 2: looks like he jumped over a barbed wire fence and

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Speaker 2: took off across a field.

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Speaker 3: Trip didn't stop or turned back.

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Speaker 2: He fled into the woods and kept on running, and

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Speaker 2: then he disappeared.

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Speaker 3: I'm Catherine Townsend.

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Speaker 2: Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast,

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Speaker 2: Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing

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Speaker 2: as a small town where murder never happens. I've received

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Speaker 2: hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking

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Speaker 2: for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families,

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Speaker 2: and their communities. If you have a case you'd like

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Speaker 2: me and my team to look into, you can reach

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Speaker 2: out to us at our Helen Gone Murder Line at

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Speaker 2: six seven eight seven four four six one four five.

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Speaker 2: That's six seven eight seven four four six one four five,

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Speaker 2: Or you can send us a message on Instagram at

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Speaker 2: Helen Gonepod. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. In that

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Speaker 2: police bodycam footage, you can see trips abandoned yellow and

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Speaker 2: dark gray four wheeler. Deputy Bottom runs up to the

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Speaker 2: barber Ware fence where he stops with his gun drawn,

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Speaker 2: but there's no sign of trip. He'd already run into

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Speaker 2: the dark woods. So Deputy Bottom goes back to his

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Speaker 2: vehicle and gets on the radio. Now some parts of

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Speaker 2: this are kind of hard to understand, but he's saying

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Speaker 2: that they wrecked and that he had the four wheeler

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Speaker 2: he wrecked out.

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Speaker 4: I got the fooler.

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Speaker 6: I'm good, but we went up the ditch. I said,

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Speaker 6: I'm good, but we went up that ditch right there,

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Speaker 6: both of us, me and him both.

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Speaker 2: The second officer on the scene, Sergeant Kenny, shows up.

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Speaker 2: They start talking about what happened.

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Speaker 6: There's gonna be a white male on a cam flies

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Speaker 6: hoodie and blue jays. Looked like he went off that way.

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Speaker 4: Did he roll it or something?

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Speaker 6: Hey turned it and jumped off and took off running

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Speaker 6: across the field.

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Speaker 2: At this point, it doesn't seem like they believed that

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Speaker 2: this was a super serious situation. The deputy later said

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Speaker 2: that he had followed his partner so that he would

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Speaker 2: have backup if needed, but at this point they had

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Speaker 2: no weapons drawn.

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Speaker 5: He had jumped over the fence and we looked called out, hey,

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Speaker 5: come back to the road.

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Speaker 7: You've been fire a weapon or anything.

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Speaker 5: No sir, No sir.

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Speaker 2: Later police were able to figure out through examining the

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Speaker 2: four wheeler that the connection to the battery was lost somehow.

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Speaker 2: There was damage to the hot battery cable. Basically, something

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Speaker 2: happened that made the battery die. This was a high

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Speaker 2: speed chase, and both the police and trip went over

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Speaker 2: a hill, so it might have happened. Then. The impact

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Speaker 2: was enough that the officers did check for damage on

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Speaker 2: his truck, but they said they did not find any

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Speaker 2: significant damage. It turned out that after Trip came off

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Speaker 2: that four wheeler and ran away, he started making phone calls.

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Speaker 2: He called his mother, Jennifer, and was also in touch

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Speaker 2: with his father, but at some point his phone died.

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Speaker 2: Deputy Bottoms secured the four wheeler and Sergeant Kenny got

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Speaker 2: a trailer to take it back to the station. Once

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Speaker 2: they got there, they were looking for a VEN number

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Speaker 2: on that vehicle. Sergeant Kenny said they couldn't find one. Later,

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Speaker 2: he said they figured out that the vehicle had been stolen.

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Speaker 2: There is nothing else about that in the reports, so

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Speaker 2: I need to say I have no idea if the

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Speaker 2: four wheeler was stolen or who allegedly stole it, but

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Speaker 2: from the reports, it does not look like that was

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Speaker 2: the police priority. They were focused on finding Trip. When

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Speaker 2: Deputy Bynum and Sergeant Kenny were trying to pull over Trip,

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Speaker 2: they said they didn't know who he was, but they

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Speaker 2: didn't know his family.

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Speaker 5: This late at night would allowed for their waking folks.

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Speaker 5: And I know his dad, I know his mom, and

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Speaker 5: I know his brother, but I wouldn't know him if

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Speaker 5: he walked up and spit on it. And I don't

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Speaker 5: know if he recognized me, and that's why he took

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Speaker 5: off and wanted.

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Speaker 2: To be the chasing Deputy Bonum said that another deputy,

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Speaker 2: Deputy Bridshaw, reached out to Tripp's father. This would have

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Speaker 2: been at around one am. According to the incident report,

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Speaker 2: Tripp's parents said he had still not come home and

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Speaker 2: that they were going out to look for him, and

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Speaker 2: according to Sergeant Kenney's report, Jennifer was in touch with

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Speaker 2: Trip during this time and pleading with her son to

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Speaker 2: come out and turn himself in, while at the same

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Speaker 2: time trying to calm him down. Both of Tripp's parents

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Speaker 2: were trying to reassure him that they were on their

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Speaker 2: way to find him. Jennifer said that after Trip was

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Speaker 2: thrown off his four wheeler and walked through the woods

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Speaker 2: for a period of time, that he called her to

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Speaker 2: come and pick him up. So Jennifer and Gil headed

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Speaker 2: out to Highway four oh nine to the area where

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Speaker 2: Trip was last seen.

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Speaker 3: When they arrived, deputies were still there.

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Speaker 2: Trip talked to other people too, and one of his friends,

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Speaker 2: who was interviewed by police, said that Trip's location could

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Speaker 2: be viewed on Snapchat live. At some point Sergeant Kenney

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Speaker 2: said that he got Trip's phone number. He said he

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Speaker 2: sent Trip a text himself, but Trip never responded. He said, quote,

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Speaker 2: I only wanted to tell the kids to not drive

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Speaker 2: reckless at night. If he had only stopped, then I

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Speaker 2: would have just called his dad. His mother showed me

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Speaker 2: a text where I was telling her that he was

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Speaker 2: a screw up and apologies to both parents.

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Speaker 3: End quote.

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Speaker 2: That text was sent at one forty one am, but

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Speaker 2: a few minutes after that, sometime around two am, Trip's

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Speaker 2: phone went dead. Meanwhile, an anonymous phone call was placed

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Speaker 2: to the Sheriff's office.

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Speaker 6: We got an unknown anonymous phone call, and the phone

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Speaker 6: call whoever it was, stated that he was in the woods.

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Speaker 6: He was behind the church on Sec. Four O nine

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Speaker 6: in that area.

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Speaker 2: Deputy Bonhams said that an anonymous caller told him that

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Speaker 2: Trip had been driving the four wheeler. He said that

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Speaker 2: some deputies went out to that area behind the church

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Speaker 2: and looked for Trip, but couldn't find him. Police talked

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Speaker 2: to one of Trip's friends. This is from Deputy Tray

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Speaker 2: Bonham's body camp. You can hear him talking to the

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Speaker 2: friend asking him if he knows anything about Trip's whereabouts

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Speaker 2: all right.

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Speaker 7: Man, you've been bored for a while. He's up.

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Speaker 6: Tell me the truth.

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Speaker 4: That's the truth. You know what, Trips, I ain't a

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Speaker 4: fucking clue with Trip.

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Speaker 7: I've been trying to find Trip, my damn hill to him.

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Speaker 6: Get the fuck home, not being a dat When I

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Speaker 6: say this, ranning, it's rains, ran out of his shoes.

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Speaker 6: It's fourteen years old and nobody's seen him or heard.

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Speaker 2: Trip's friend shows the deputy where Trip's last location pinned.

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Speaker 2: Trip was on Snapchat and his friend used a live

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Speaker 2: location video to show the deputy trips last location.

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Speaker 7: So look right here, you got where four or nine splits.

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Speaker 5: That's four or nine goes two ways.

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Speaker 7: That's where it was three hours ago.

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Speaker 5: I'm sure that's where he left.

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Speaker 7: The fool was right there over there and took off

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Speaker 7: front of him for at the end of this day,

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Speaker 7: end or one of the others. That's fourteen minute drive

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Speaker 7: from here.

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Speaker 6: My main concern is if he's hurting.

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Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean the way y'all said.

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Speaker 6: He jumps ran from the politics.

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Speaker 3: I got Toldkay when he walked in, it's like a

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Speaker 3: little brother to me.

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Speaker 7: I got his back like I got had my little

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Speaker 7: brothers back.

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Speaker 4: But in this situation, I tell where my little brother was.

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Speaker 4: I have what tripple was. I tell you well, I'm.

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Speaker 6: Heard a bug out there. If you hear anything, lemon know.

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Speaker 3: Jennifer was also upset that, in her words, that the

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Speaker 3: police seemed to be more concerned with securing and taking

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Speaker 3: the four wheeler than they were about finding her son.

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Speaker 4: I last talked the trip at one, and I made

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Speaker 4: it to the woods at two o'clock, where his phone

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Speaker 4: went dead and the full wheeler was already gone. There

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Speaker 4: were no cops out theirs. I hollered, went in the woods,

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Speaker 4: hollowed for trip nothing but within that amount of time

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Speaker 4: that foll whelller was already gone. They weren't looking for

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Speaker 4: my kids. They wanted the full wheeler. He followed his

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Speaker 4: vehicle up on the embankment after the trip, where it

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Speaker 4: looked like he could I possibly use the vehicle as

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Speaker 4: a deadly weapon. Actually called me and said they got

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Speaker 4: the full wheeler because he was hiding. Apparently that's what

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Speaker 4: it sounded like. And I said, Okay, I'm coming to

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Speaker 4: get you. He said, well, my phone's about to guy.

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Speaker 4: I said, I've got your fans location on all my

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Speaker 4: way she said, okay, I said I love you. He

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Speaker 4: said love you too. So it wasn't like guy who

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Speaker 4: was arguing with him or killing him on the feature

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Speaker 4: foot when you get home. It was just coming to

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Speaker 4: get you. One I got a weird text message with

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Speaker 4: another County Talk who at this time we found out

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Speaker 4: was not even on night shift. Pe' dayshift, so why

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Speaker 4: did you call my husband's phone at one nine? At

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Speaker 4: the same time, I got a weird text on my

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Speaker 4: phone from Trip and said they got tripped with then

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Speaker 4: one until ocock the foiler was gone.

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Speaker 2: Jin and her husband kept searching for Trip throughout the night.

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Speaker 2: The police search also went on late into the night

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Speaker 2: and into the next day. At four twenty am, Sergeant

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00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,720
Speaker 2: Kenney asked the fire department to send out drones with

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00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:34,040
Speaker 2: thermal and night vision, but they found no trace of Trip. Later,

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Speaker 2: Jen posted on social media that she found that suspicious

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00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,760
Speaker 2: the fact that the drones found no trace of Trip,

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Speaker 2: even though he was supposed to have.

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Speaker 3: Been running through the woods.

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Speaker 2: But drones that respond to body heat can have lots

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Speaker 2: of obstacles. They don't always work perfectly. They can be

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Speaker 2: impeded by trees or outdoor temperature wind, and a lot

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00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:59,600
Speaker 2: of other factors. At seven twenty am, the East Arkansas

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Speaker 2: Department of Corrections brought in their tracker dogs. The dogs

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00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:06,880
Speaker 2: were released where Trip had been when he fled the

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Speaker 2: Saint but they were unable to get a tracking sent

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Speaker 2: on him. Then they were taken to the area where

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Speaker 2: Trip's cell phone had last panned.

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Speaker 3: Still no luck.

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00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:20,520
Speaker 2: The Arkansas State Police were called in to assist. So

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Speaker 2: now you have the ASP, the Saint Francis County Sheriff's office,

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Speaker 2: the Game and Fish Commission, and multiple other organizations, plus

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00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,840
Speaker 2: tons of local volunteers. Everyone in that county was looking

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Speaker 2: for Trip Brazil. Local news crews were talking to Tripp's family,

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Speaker 2: and word got out fast, both on the news and

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Speaker 2: on social media, and a lot of people were asking

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Speaker 2: how this happened. This was a kid who knew the

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Speaker 2: area well, so they couldn't figure out how he had

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Speaker 2: gotten lost out there and just disappeared, and why with

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Speaker 2: all the people searching for him, he hadn't been found.

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Speaker 2: Searchers fanned out all over the area where Trip was missing,

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Speaker 2: a part of the woods near Crow Creek. The area

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Speaker 2: near where Trip went missing is basically on the edge

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Speaker 2: of Crowley's Ridge, which is a continuous range of rolling

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Speaker 2: hills that goes from Missouri across eastern Arkansas. The area

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Speaker 2: got its name from the first white settler to reach

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Speaker 2: the area, Benjamin Crowley. The ridges happened when the Mississippi

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Speaker 2: River changed course at one point and kept cutting into

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Speaker 2: the terrain, so you have this really unique geographical feature.

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Speaker 2: It goes from flat delta country to an elevation of

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Speaker 2: two hundred and fifty feet really quickly. This terrain can

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Speaker 2: be pretty unforgiving even for people who know it well,

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Speaker 2: and it's very easy to get lost up there. And

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Speaker 2: told the local wrig news channel that she thought that

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Speaker 2: maybe Trip would walk back to where he believed he

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Speaker 2: had left the ATV, and then because the police had

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Speaker 2: taken his vehicle, she said maybe he couldn't find it,

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Speaker 2: So she reasoned that he may have started walking into

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Speaker 2: the woods, gotten disoriented somehow, and gotten lost. His mother

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Speaker 2: said that Trip had last been in touch with him

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Speaker 2: in the early morning hours on Sunday, that Trip was

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Speaker 2: talking about the police chasing him, that he was scared,

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Speaker 2: and that he wanted his parents.

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Speaker 3: To come get him.

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Speaker 2: She said she believed that Trip jumped off his atv

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Speaker 2: and over a barb wire fence in order to escape

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Speaker 2: the officer who was pursuing him. She was basing that

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Speaker 2: on the fact that near that fence they found Trip's

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Speaker 2: hat in his shoe. This was just a few feet

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Speaker 2: from where he came off as four wheeler and started

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Speaker 2: running from police. They found something else on Monday too.

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Speaker 2: Searchers found more of Trip's clothes, his other boot, his hoodie,

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Speaker 2: his cell phone, and his wallet, and Jennifer said the

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Speaker 2: way that his clothing was found was odd. His sweatshirt

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00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,280
Speaker 2: was lying on some leaves and his phone, wallet, screwdriver,

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Speaker 2: and phone charger were laying on top of the sweatshirt.

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Speaker 2: So she wondered, why would Trip have left his stuff

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Speaker 2: out there in the dark like that, or could something

351
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Speaker 2: else have happened to him? Did someone else leave the

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Speaker 2: stuff out there?

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Speaker 4: Later well, Monday morning, we mysteriously find his other boot

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Speaker 4: and his hoodie and siphon and wallet. It wasn't their Sunday,

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Speaker 4: but it was their Monday some reason. His sweatshirts, phone wallet, screwdriver,

356
00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,120
Speaker 4: and phone charger were laying on top of his sweatshirt.

357
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Speaker 4: But then he hundred yards up the other side of

358
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Speaker 4: the ridge he found his boots. I don't understand that,

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Speaker 4: because if I'm gonna go ahead and take off my

360
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:41,720
Speaker 4: sweatshirt that I have, I'm going to take off my

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Speaker 4: last boot that I had on. Anyway, I'm not gonna

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Speaker 4: go further up and then put my boot there and

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Speaker 4: then continue to walk. Because we found his boot and hat,

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Speaker 4: and they brought dogs in and the dogs never hit

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Speaker 4: on anything.

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Speaker 2: So now she was thinking that this was seriously odd.

367
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Speaker 2: Why would he start taking off clothes in the middle

368
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,440
Speaker 2: of the night and keep running. And Jennifer said this

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00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,440
Speaker 2: wasn't the first time that Deputy Bonham had gotten into

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Speaker 2: some kind of a confrontation with her son and his

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00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,840
Speaker 2: friends over riding four wheelers in that area.

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Speaker 4: Just because Tripp had out Randim on the four wheeler before,

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Speaker 4: and he told people that he would get him, and

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Speaker 4: he made sure that Trip was aware of that that

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Speaker 4: he told people. It was supposedly said that this other

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00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,600
Speaker 4: boy he was chasing he pulled up in their driveway

377
00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,240
Speaker 4: one day and Trip his name was mentioned in that

378
00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:38,080
Speaker 4: conversation that if he'd seen him again, he would kill him.

379
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,400
Speaker 2: But Deputy Bonham stated in his report that he had

380
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,120
Speaker 2: no idea that the driver who had doubled back and

381
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,760
Speaker 2: passed back by him and turned into a highway four

382
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Speaker 2: O nine was Trip, even when he was close to it.

383
00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:56,000
Speaker 2: On Monday, November fourth, the Arkansas State Police were called

384
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Speaker 2: in to assist. They found Trip's iPhone in the woods.

385
00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:02,640
Speaker 2: It had died, and it was turned over to police

386
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,680
Speaker 2: and taken in for data extraction. Later that afternoon, at

387
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Speaker 2: around four thirty pm, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

388
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Speaker 2: officer saw something north of Benner State forty, near the

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Speaker 2: two hundred and forty three point seven mile marker. It

390
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:40,040
Speaker 2: was Trip's body. He was hanging from a tree at

391
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Speaker 2: around four thirty in the afternoon on Monday, November fourth,

392
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,160
Speaker 2: thirty six hours after fifteen year old Trip Brazil got

393
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Speaker 2: into a high speed chase with a police officer in

394
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Speaker 2: Saint Francis County, Arkansas, his body was found hanging from

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Speaker 2: a tree. We filed freedom of information requests and we

396
00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,720
Speaker 2: were able to get copies of the incident report, though

397
00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:05,080
Speaker 2: parts of it were redacted, probably due to Trip's age.

398
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Speaker 3: I wanted to.

399
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,040
Speaker 2: Cover this case because we get a lot of calls

400
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:11,560
Speaker 2: from parents and from other family members who believed that

401
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,480
Speaker 2: their loved one did not take their own life, and

402
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,800
Speaker 2: that there was some kind of foul play not suicide involved.

403
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,640
Speaker 2: We wanted to see what we could do to help

404
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:25,000
Speaker 2: Trip's family get answers. At first, we wondered if Trip's

405
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,440
Speaker 2: four wheeler incident could have been something else, Maybe the

406
00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,240
Speaker 2: police truck had hit him, or there was some kind

407
00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 2: of automobile accident. There has been quite a bit of

408
00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 2: publicity in recent years about the so called pit maneuvers

409
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,880
Speaker 2: in Arkansas. That's when police try to stop a high

410
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:46,920
Speaker 2: speed chase by forcing the other driver into some kind

411
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:47,440
Speaker 2: of a wreck.

412
00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,040
Speaker 3: There have been fatalities as a result.

413
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,920
Speaker 2: Of some of these maneuvers, so we wondered if this

414
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,720
Speaker 2: could have been a pit maneuver. Deputy Bonham was interviewed

415
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,080
Speaker 2: about the police chase and he was asked why he

416
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:03,400
Speaker 2: was chasing Trip in the first place.

417
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,920
Speaker 7: So we can get some clarifications on one thing. You know,

418
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,040
Speaker 7: of course it would be brought up the reason why

419
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,600
Speaker 7: he was chasing him was because it appeared to you

420
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:18,440
Speaker 7: he was fleeing from David Kitty. And do you know

421
00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 7: why David Kinny even stopped him for he was just

422
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:22,320
Speaker 7: was he just doing a welfare check on was there

423
00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:24,560
Speaker 7: a reason for him stime was was there on a

424
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:26,840
Speaker 7: road that went to voting for admiral for wheelers.

425
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:28,800
Speaker 6: It was on Highway two twenty four and in the

426
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,640
Speaker 6: area of that neighborhood was driving at the redick speed too?

427
00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,080
Speaker 7: Yeah, anxiously And so do y'all think that this person

428
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:37,360
Speaker 7: they may have been a part of that kid that

429
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:39,360
Speaker 7: may have been missing his opinion from Cross County?

430
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,680
Speaker 6: Nosha, I don't these two, Like I said, it was

431
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:43,560
Speaker 6: eleven and twelve.

432
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,520
Speaker 7: Years old, okay, So you just in that area, but

433
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,440
Speaker 7: then ran across to them and decided to check him

434
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,480
Speaker 7: on the reason why I was saying that because it's

435
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:52,360
Speaker 7: late at night.

436
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,520
Speaker 6: Late at night, how to four. But there's a lot

437
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:58,960
Speaker 6: of people driving through there at that time. You know,

438
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:00,880
Speaker 6: someone's intoxicated and stuff like that.

439
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,800
Speaker 7: That give me your reason for chasing him that I'm

440
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 7: gonna make sure I understood your reason.

441
00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,320
Speaker 6: The blue lights and the sirens for the four wheler

442
00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:09,840
Speaker 6: to stop, and it didn't stop.

443
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:13,200
Speaker 7: Okay, But what was the probable cause? I guess what

444
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,160
Speaker 7: I'm trying to say, the excessive speeds and did you

445
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,680
Speaker 7: clock him on radar? Just no, sir, No, I'm not

446
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:20,600
Speaker 7: trying you know what I'm saying. That just I won't

447
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,680
Speaker 7: because what the family gonna say is this and that

448
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:25,160
Speaker 7: another other you know what I'm saying.

449
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:28,880
Speaker 2: He said that he estimated that his speed was around

450
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 2: eighty miles an hour while chasing the four wheeler. Now,

451
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:35,440
Speaker 2: apparently some four wheelers can get to speeds of seventy

452
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,400
Speaker 2: to eighty miles per hour. The more average speed on

453
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,200
Speaker 2: four wheelers ranged generally from around fifty to ninety miles

454
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:46,160
Speaker 2: an hour, though again Deputy Bonum admitted that he had

455
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 2: no way of checking and did not know how fast.

456
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:50,400
Speaker 3: The fore wheeler was actually going.

457
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,200
Speaker 2: Trip's mom said that he had traveled quite a distance

458
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,400
Speaker 2: from the spot where he left his four wheeler.

459
00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,440
Speaker 4: I think they said about sum Orles and it's growth terrain.

460
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,600
Speaker 4: It was Crowley's ruge. I means hold you that you

461
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,960
Speaker 4: couldn't see that was covered up with leaves.

462
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:12,880
Speaker 2: The police said that early indications pointed to suicide, but

463
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,760
Speaker 2: from the beginning Trip's parents felt that the circumstances around

464
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,840
Speaker 2: his death did not add up. Trip's body was found

465
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 2: in the middle of some dense woods. He was hanging

466
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 2: from a tree overlooking a gully. There was a deer

467
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:29,000
Speaker 2: stand thirty feet south of where the body was found,

468
00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,240
Speaker 2: and police figured out that the green rope that was

469
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,520
Speaker 2: removed from Trip's body was actually a ratchet strap. It

470
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:38,440
Speaker 2: was a match to the green one that was tied

471
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,760
Speaker 2: around the deer stand to secure it to a tree.

472
00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:45,680
Speaker 2: Police cut Trip's body. He was taken to the Morgue

473
00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,960
Speaker 2: in for At City, and that's where his mother, Jennifer,

474
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,160
Speaker 2: saw her son for the last time.

475
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,000
Speaker 4: What they're saying, but it's hard to believe that he

476
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,040
Speaker 4: walked up far in the woods and in the creek.

477
00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,240
Speaker 4: Did you say he didn't have any damage to the

478
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,960
Speaker 4: bottom of his seat. Nope, none, not a scratch. And

479
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,840
Speaker 4: I walked through those woods for two days and I

480
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,880
Speaker 4: had blisters on my feet and scratches from where Old

481
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:13,880
Speaker 4: Bob War was laying under leaves.

482
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,920
Speaker 2: His mother wondered why that deer stand, in particular, why

483
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,800
Speaker 2: would he choose that location.

484
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,440
Speaker 4: I didn't get to see him until after he was

485
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,400
Speaker 4: brought back to the funeral home, and the first thing

486
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,400
Speaker 4: I looked at wasn't the bottom of his feet, because

487
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:35,200
Speaker 4: hesedly went there footed and there was no scratch, no bruise.

488
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,120
Speaker 4: But they had his body to overed up. His doctor

489
00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:42,720
Speaker 4: even came to the house that night and Ris' talking now,

490
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:45,520
Speaker 4: and she said, it's not who Trip was. Trip was

491
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,480
Speaker 4: a I don't give a f kid.

492
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:51,120
Speaker 2: She said that she was told that the police officer's

493
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,640
Speaker 2: body camera was recording when Trip's body was cut down,

494
00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,520
Speaker 2: and the police told her they found no signs of

495
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,880
Speaker 2: foul play, which Jennifer said she found hard to believe.

496
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,280
Speaker 4: Like, I said, there should be something wrong with the

497
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,640
Speaker 4: bottom of his feet, and I thought for myself that

498
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:11,880
Speaker 4: nothing was wrong with him. Yeah. Bruising around the eyes, yeah,

499
00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:17,520
Speaker 4: bruising around the neck, between his big knuckle and ring finger,

500
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,440
Speaker 4: there was a big gash like he had been in

501
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:23,960
Speaker 4: a fight, Like he was fighting. He was putting up

502
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:24,320
Speaker 4: a fight.

503
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,800
Speaker 2: Now, Trip's devastated family had to try to figure out

504
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,680
Speaker 2: what happened. What would cause a healthy and happy fifteen

505
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 2: year old to take his own life just because of

506
00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:38,080
Speaker 2: an incident with a four wheeler. Why would he kill

507
00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:42,320
Speaker 2: himself over something that seemed to be so minor. One

508
00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:44,360
Speaker 2: of the questions that I had, and that a lot

509
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:46,680
Speaker 2: of other people have had in Saint Francis County and

510
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:50,520
Speaker 2: everywhere else, is how common suicide is in young teens,

511
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,760
Speaker 2: And would this even be something that someone that age

512
00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 2: would do on the spur of the moment like that.

513
00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:59,560
Speaker 2: According to report from the National Library of Medicine, which

514
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,480
Speaker 2: looked at patterns and suicides in the United States from

515
00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,520
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety nine through twenty twenty, In that twenty one

516
00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:08,720
Speaker 2: year period, there were forty seven thousand, two hundred and

517
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:14,200
Speaker 2: seventeen adolescent suicide deaths, and hanging in exphyxiation is now

518
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 2: right up there with firearms as having the highest age

519
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:21,760
Speaker 2: adjusted suicide rates among Americans of every age. Death rates

520
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,160
Speaker 2: for all means of suicide on average increased annually from

521
00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety nine to twenty twenty, but actually hanging in

522
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:33,640
Speaker 2: exphyxiation had the largest absolute increase among male and female adolescents.

523
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:37,720
Speaker 2: In a nutshell, Sadly, this is becoming a more and

524
00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:40,040
Speaker 2: more common choice for teens who may be.

525
00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,200
Speaker 3: At risk of suicide.

526
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,720
Speaker 2: The Arkansas State Police took over the investigation into Trip's death,

527
00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:48,960
Speaker 2: and it was not long before rumors were flying on

528
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,720
Speaker 2: social media. Suicide is not a common occurrence in Saint

529
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,400
Speaker 2: Francis County. According to data from the Arkansas Department of Health,

530
00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:01,880
Speaker 2: Saint Francis County actually had zero suicides in twenty twenty three. However,

531
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,120
Speaker 2: we do have to keep in mind there are only

532
00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:06,280
Speaker 2: just a little over twenty two thousand people in the

533
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:10,480
Speaker 2: entire county, so it is pretty sparsely populated, but suicide

534
00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:15,200
Speaker 2: happens everywhere for children and teens trips age. The causes

535
00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,520
Speaker 2: of suicide can be pretty complicated to figure out. In

536
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,920
Speaker 2: around forty percent of use suicides, there is some sort

537
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:25,080
Speaker 2: of precipitating event like sexual abuse or the death of

538
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,480
Speaker 2: someone close to them, or even things like divorce, But

539
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,680
Speaker 2: that also means that in sixty percent of cases there

540
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:33,160
Speaker 2: is not an obvious cause.

541
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,320
Speaker 3: So in a lot of these cases, teens this age.

542
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,160
Speaker 2: Can and do make impulsive decisions that can be hard

543
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:44,040
Speaker 2: to understand. So Trip's devastated family was true trying to

544
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,440
Speaker 2: make sense of why he would do this, and they

545
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:50,720
Speaker 2: also weren't sure about the police's version of events. Tripp's

546
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,520
Speaker 2: families say there were no mental health issues and zero

547
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:57,520
Speaker 2: indication that he could be thinking of taking his own life,

548
00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:00,400
Speaker 2: but it turned out that Trip did send another text

549
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,920
Speaker 2: that night. We got more of the Foyer file back,

550
00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:06,440
Speaker 2: and one of the items that we got was a

551
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:09,600
Speaker 2: picture of a text message that was sent from Trip

552
00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:13,640
Speaker 2: to a family member shortly after he disappeared at one

553
00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:18,160
Speaker 2: forty one am. It read, in part quote, look, I

554
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,160
Speaker 2: love y'all so much, and I'm so sorry to do

555
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,600
Speaker 2: this to y'all. I love you more than anything. I

556
00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:26,320
Speaker 2: guess it took me till now to realize that y'all

557
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 2: have been great parents to me. I guess I'm just

558
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,080
Speaker 2: a fuck up and I couldn't change that. I wish

559
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:32,960
Speaker 2: I could have. I'm sorry.

560
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,560
Speaker 3: None of this is y'all's fault, only mine.

561
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,880
Speaker 2: I love y'all. I'm sorry I should have stopped. I

562
00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:42,120
Speaker 2: love y'all so much. My phone is about to die,

563
00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,000
Speaker 2: so I got to go. I hope this makes it

564
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 2: to y'all. I never wanted to end this way, but

565
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:53,120
Speaker 2: I guess it has to end quote. His family reached

566
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,000
Speaker 2: out to him after that to say they were on

567
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:59,360
Speaker 2: their way, but Tripp never responded, and at some point

568
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:03,840
Speaker 2: his battery must have died out there. This is such

569
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:09,120
Speaker 2: a tragic story because I completely understand why Trip's parents

570
00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,120
Speaker 2: and many other people in the community may have believed

571
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,800
Speaker 2: that there was some kind of foul play involved, but

572
00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,320
Speaker 2: the evidence that we have seen does not support anything

573
00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:22,280
Speaker 2: other than a suicide. It seems as though Trip's death

574
00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:25,840
Speaker 2: was a series of unfortunate events. Each one on its

575
00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:30,280
Speaker 2: own might have seemed small, but taken together, unfortunately, it

576
00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:34,720
Speaker 2: seems they led to a devastating consequence. I wish that

577
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,840
Speaker 2: I had a better answer for Tripp's family, but the

578
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:41,080
Speaker 2: reality is we may never know why he did what

579
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,160
Speaker 2: he did that night, or what was going on in mind.

580
00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:47,920
Speaker 2: But I believe that Trip's story is important to tell

581
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:52,000
Speaker 2: because part of this show's mission is helping families get answers,

582
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,760
Speaker 2: even when those answers may not.

583
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:55,800
Speaker 3: Be what they want to hear.

584
00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:00,600
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty, there was one death by suicide in

585
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:04,120
Speaker 2: the United States every eleven minutes. I want to let

586
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:06,880
Speaker 2: you know there's now a national number that you can

587
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:08,520
Speaker 2: call for help. It used to be known as the

588
00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:12,320
Speaker 2: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Now it's called the nine eight

589
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:16,200
Speaker 2: eight Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. To reach out, you just

590
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,200
Speaker 2: dial nine eight eight and you'll be connected directly to

591
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:23,400
Speaker 2: a mental health professional. There are versions of this service

592
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:27,240
Speaker 2: for veterans. There are versions in Spanish. There's also a

593
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,720
Speaker 2: video version for people who may be hard of hearing

594
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,600
Speaker 2: or who use American Sign language. There are also lgbt

595
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:40,080
Speaker 2: QI counselors. There are versions of this service for everyone.

596
00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:45,120
Speaker 2: Trip's death is an absolute tragedy and I can only

597
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:49,160
Speaker 2: hope that in some small way this might help someone

598
00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,400
Speaker 2: else who's struggling out there to reach out for help.

599
00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:54,400
Speaker 3: I'm Katherine Townsend.

600
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:59,400
Speaker 2: This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Helen Gone Murder Line

601
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,280
Speaker 2: is a production of School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts.

602
00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:05,920
Speaker 2: It's written and narrated by me Catherine Townsend and produced

603
00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:09,320
Speaker 2: by Gabby Watts. Special thanks to Amy Tubbs for her

604
00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:13,720
Speaker 2: research assistance and James Wheaton for legal review. Noah Camer

605
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:16,640
Speaker 2: mixed and scored this episode. Our theme song is by

606
00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:21,240
Speaker 2: Ben Sale. Executive producers are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, and ELC.

607
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:21,800
Speaker 3: Crowley.

608
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,280
Speaker 2: Listen to Helen Gone ad free by subscribing to the

609
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:29,360
Speaker 2: iHeart True Crime Plus channel on Apple Podcasts. If you

610
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,240
Speaker 2: were interested in seeing documents and materials from the case,

611
00:34:32,720 --> 00:34:36,160
Speaker 2: you can follow the show on Instagram at Helen gonepod.

612
00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:38,800
Speaker 2: If you have a case you'd like me and my

613
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,200
Speaker 2: team to look into, you can reach out to us

614
00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:43,600
Speaker 2: at our Helen Gone Murder Line at six seven eight

615
00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:47,440
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616
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,440
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617
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:56,800
Speaker 1: Five School of Humans,