1
00:00:08,245 --> 00:00:11,925
Speaker 1: School of Humans.

2
00:00:14,765 --> 00:00:18,245
Speaker 2: On March eleventh, twenty twenty one, Shannon Lee Collins, a

3
00:00:18,285 --> 00:00:21,045
Speaker 2: forty eight year old veteran, came back from a work

4
00:00:21,085 --> 00:00:25,485
Speaker 2: trip to his home in Pottsville, Arkansas. Shannon lived in

5
00:00:25,525 --> 00:00:28,005
Speaker 2: a house with his wife, Teresa, who had been married

6
00:00:28,005 --> 00:00:30,645
Speaker 2: to for more than twenty years, their son Josh, who

7
00:00:30,725 --> 00:00:33,845
Speaker 2: was in his early twenties, and Shannon's stepdaughter Britney, who

8
00:00:33,885 --> 00:00:37,525
Speaker 2: was about ten years older. I talked to Blake, Shannon's

9
00:00:37,565 --> 00:00:40,925
Speaker 2: younger brother, for the episode last week. Blake has become

10
00:00:41,045 --> 00:00:44,445
Speaker 2: kind of the unofficial family spokesperson. He's put together a

11
00:00:44,485 --> 00:00:48,725
Speaker 2: comprehensive timeline of the events since Shannon went missing. As

12
00:00:48,765 --> 00:00:51,085
Speaker 2: we said last week when we took a look at

13
00:00:51,085 --> 00:00:55,205
Speaker 2: Shannon's timeline, by the time Blake reported Shannon missing in

14
00:00:55,245 --> 00:00:58,965
Speaker 2: November of twenty twenty one, it had been nine months

15
00:00:58,965 --> 00:01:03,405
Speaker 2: since he disappeared. So as we continue our investigation, we're

16
00:01:03,405 --> 00:01:06,565
Speaker 2: going to look at a couple of different things. First,

17
00:01:06,605 --> 00:01:09,565
Speaker 2: what angles are the police investigating and are they making

18
00:01:09,645 --> 00:01:13,045
Speaker 2: any progress in finding out what really happened to Shannon?

19
00:01:13,325 --> 00:01:17,005
Speaker 2: And secondly, what do you do if you suspect foul

20
00:01:17,045 --> 00:01:19,725
Speaker 2: play but there's no body or sign of a struggle.

21
00:01:20,605 --> 00:01:22,765
Speaker 2: What do you do if you're a family member and

22
00:01:23,045 --> 00:01:26,845
Speaker 2: someone you love disappears, when the person seems to have

23
00:01:26,845 --> 00:01:30,045
Speaker 2: been erased from existence? And what is going to happen

24
00:01:30,125 --> 00:01:33,565
Speaker 2: to Shannon's family? Who will not let Shannon go and

25
00:01:33,605 --> 00:01:38,005
Speaker 2: will not stop asking questions? I'm Catherine Townsend. Over the

26
00:01:38,085 --> 00:01:41,325
Speaker 2: past five years of making my true crime podcast, Helen Gone,

27
00:01:41,885 --> 00:01:44,365
Speaker 2: I have learned that there is no such thing as

28
00:01:44,405 --> 00:01:48,445
Speaker 2: a small town where murder never happens. I have received

29
00:01:48,525 --> 00:01:51,845
Speaker 2: hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking

30
00:01:51,885 --> 00:01:55,285
Speaker 2: for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families,

31
00:01:55,405 --> 00:01:58,405
Speaker 2: and their communities. If you have a case you'd like

32
00:01:58,485 --> 00:02:00,685
Speaker 2: me and my team to look into, you can reach

33
00:02:00,685 --> 00:02:03,205
Speaker 2: out to us at our Helen Gone Murder Line at

34
00:02:03,245 --> 00:02:06,925
Speaker 2: six seven eight seven four four six one four five.

35
00:02:07,485 --> 00:02:11,645
Speaker 2: That's six seven eight seven four four six one four five.

36
00:02:12,725 --> 00:03:07,925
Speaker 2: This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Last week we went

37
00:03:08,125 --> 00:03:11,405
Speaker 2: into a lot of detail about the timeline, figuring out

38
00:03:11,485 --> 00:03:14,765
Speaker 2: what we know for sure. Again, this is based on

39
00:03:14,845 --> 00:03:17,645
Speaker 2: information that the police have shared with Blake, Shannon's brother.

40
00:03:18,525 --> 00:03:22,285
Speaker 2: On March eleventh, twenty twenty one, Shannon returned to Arkansas

41
00:03:22,325 --> 00:03:25,045
Speaker 2: from a work trip he had delivered an item to

42
00:03:25,085 --> 00:03:28,885
Speaker 2: the East Coast, but before he came home, he flew

43
00:03:28,925 --> 00:03:31,765
Speaker 2: from the East Coast to Memphis, Tennessee, where he spent

44
00:03:31,845 --> 00:03:34,885
Speaker 2: some time with a woman he had been seeing. Shannon's

45
00:03:34,885 --> 00:03:38,365
Speaker 2: girlfriend lived in Tennessee. Blake said he does not know

46
00:03:38,405 --> 00:03:41,285
Speaker 2: who she is, but police have told him that she

47
00:03:41,445 --> 00:03:46,325
Speaker 2: has cooperated fully with law enforcement. Even though on the surface,

48
00:03:46,525 --> 00:03:50,285
Speaker 2: Blake said that it seemed like Shannon and his wife, Teresa,

49
00:03:50,365 --> 00:03:53,765
Speaker 2: had a good relationship, Shannon had told his family that

50
00:03:53,805 --> 00:03:57,485
Speaker 2: behind the scenes, things had been deteriorating for a long time.

51
00:03:58,605 --> 00:04:01,445
Speaker 2: Shannon had been telling members of his family that he

52
00:04:01,525 --> 00:04:04,565
Speaker 2: and his wife had discussed divorce many times and that

53
00:04:04,605 --> 00:04:07,125
Speaker 2: he planned a divorce Teresa as soon as their son

54
00:04:07,205 --> 00:04:13,605
Speaker 2: graduated from college. Shannon's wife knew about his girlfriend and

55
00:04:14,165 --> 00:04:17,045
Speaker 2: was tracking his every movement the entire time he was

56
00:04:17,085 --> 00:04:21,965
Speaker 2: gone that week. Investigators know from electronic data that Shannon

57
00:04:22,045 --> 00:04:25,445
Speaker 2: returned home to his address in Pottsville, Arkansas, around ten

58
00:04:25,525 --> 00:04:29,885
Speaker 2: thirty PM on the night of March eleventh, twenty twenty one. Now,

59
00:04:29,925 --> 00:04:32,965
Speaker 2: when he arrived home that night, data shows that both

60
00:04:32,965 --> 00:04:36,125
Speaker 2: his wife and his son were in the house. His

61
00:04:36,205 --> 00:04:39,965
Speaker 2: stepdaughter came by the next morning. No one else was

62
00:04:40,005 --> 00:04:42,645
Speaker 2: in the house that night, just Shannon, his wife, and

63
00:04:42,685 --> 00:04:47,285
Speaker 2: their son, and electronic data also shows that Shannon had

64
00:04:47,325 --> 00:04:50,285
Speaker 2: been communicating with his girlfriend, the woman he was seeing

65
00:04:50,325 --> 00:04:54,525
Speaker 2: before he ever entered the house. We also know that

66
00:04:54,565 --> 00:04:57,285
Speaker 2: from what the police have told Blake about these communications

67
00:04:57,285 --> 00:05:00,805
Speaker 2: and statements from this woman, that Shannon was worried about

68
00:05:00,805 --> 00:05:05,285
Speaker 2: going home that night. Blake said that Shannon's girlfriend sent

69
00:05:05,565 --> 00:05:09,005
Speaker 2: him a Facebook message and that she received one back,

70
00:05:09,405 --> 00:05:13,285
Speaker 2: supposedly from Shannon, that just said I'm okay, But Blake

71
00:05:13,365 --> 00:05:16,005
Speaker 2: said he does not believe that this came from his brother.

72
00:05:17,085 --> 00:05:20,805
Speaker 2: This is important to note because Blake said he believes

73
00:05:21,005 --> 00:05:24,845
Speaker 2: that this message came from someone in Shannon's house, someone

74
00:05:24,965 --> 00:05:28,925
Speaker 2: who had access to his Facebook account. Blake explained in

75
00:05:28,965 --> 00:05:33,005
Speaker 2: his timeline that the settings on Shannon's Facebook account appear

76
00:05:33,085 --> 00:05:37,005
Speaker 2: to have been manipulated since his disappearance, and that Shannon's

77
00:05:37,005 --> 00:05:40,085
Speaker 2: friends list had been changed to private. He went on

78
00:05:40,165 --> 00:05:43,365
Speaker 2: to explain that the location where these changes took place

79
00:05:43,925 --> 00:05:48,245
Speaker 2: could be traced back to a specific IP address. Since

80
00:05:48,365 --> 00:05:51,925
Speaker 2: March twelfth, twenty twenty one, police have been unable to

81
00:05:51,965 --> 00:05:54,605
Speaker 2: find one single shred of data that can be linked

82
00:05:54,605 --> 00:05:59,965
Speaker 2: to Shannon any way. There's no surveillance footage, no confirmed

83
00:06:00,005 --> 00:06:03,445
Speaker 2: calls made to any family or friends, no text messages,

84
00:06:03,485 --> 00:06:07,365
Speaker 2: no Facebook posts or messages, no Internet searches on Shannon's

85
00:06:07,365 --> 00:06:11,045
Speaker 2: phone or his computer, no checks written from his bank account,

86
00:06:11,605 --> 00:06:16,805
Speaker 2: no credit card purchases. Blake said Shannon neither put money

87
00:06:16,845 --> 00:06:19,885
Speaker 2: in nor withdrew money from his bank account. He didn't

88
00:06:19,925 --> 00:06:23,965
Speaker 2: transfer any money, and most crucially, Shannon did not contact

89
00:06:23,965 --> 00:06:27,925
Speaker 2: the government about his pension. And Yet, even though Shannon

90
00:06:28,005 --> 00:06:31,445
Speaker 2: apparently could not call his brother, his parents, or his sister,

91
00:06:32,565 --> 00:06:36,285
Speaker 2: someone was allegedly changing the settings on Shannon's Facebook page.

92
00:06:36,725 --> 00:06:40,725
Speaker 2: So if it wasn't Shannon who did that, who could

93
00:06:40,765 --> 00:06:44,725
Speaker 2: have potentially had access to his social media his electronic devices.

94
00:06:45,845 --> 00:06:48,925
Speaker 2: After Blake reported Shannon missing in November of twenty twenty one,

95
00:06:49,485 --> 00:06:53,085
Speaker 2: Blake talked to federal agents. Now at that time, Shannon's

96
00:06:53,165 --> 00:06:56,205
Speaker 2: VA disability and pension payments had been cut off for

97
00:06:56,285 --> 00:07:00,005
Speaker 2: several months. At this point, it's been almost three years

98
00:07:00,005 --> 00:07:02,965
Speaker 2: since he went missing. He would have been owed over

99
00:07:03,085 --> 00:07:06,845
Speaker 2: one hundred thousand dollars in back pay, and yet Shannon

100
00:07:06,885 --> 00:07:11,045
Speaker 2: has never called to reactivate those benefits. In addition to this,

101
00:07:11,125 --> 00:07:14,805
Speaker 2: information from the police Blake has heard about what Shannon's

102
00:07:14,845 --> 00:07:18,725
Speaker 2: wife has told law enforcement. She has allegedly told law

103
00:07:18,805 --> 00:07:21,525
Speaker 2: enforcement that Shannon decided to leave the house with no

104
00:07:21,685 --> 00:07:24,965
Speaker 2: money or belongings, and not in any one of the

105
00:07:25,005 --> 00:07:28,165
Speaker 2: three vehicles they had at home, that he simply walked

106
00:07:28,165 --> 00:07:31,045
Speaker 2: out of the house and walked away on foot. In

107
00:07:31,125 --> 00:07:35,165
Speaker 2: July twenty twenty one, Shannon's stepdaughter told his sister Holly,

108
00:07:35,325 --> 00:07:38,365
Speaker 2: that Shannon was texting from his old phone number. The

109
00:07:38,445 --> 00:07:41,805
Speaker 2: police said there was never a text message sent from

110
00:07:41,805 --> 00:07:46,005
Speaker 2: Shannon's phone after he disappeared. Teresa apparently tried to explain

111
00:07:46,085 --> 00:07:50,205
Speaker 2: this discrepancy. She said that when Shannon left the house,

112
00:07:50,285 --> 00:07:52,045
Speaker 2: he had his phone with him, but she said he

113
00:07:52,085 --> 00:07:55,325
Speaker 2: must have lost it because she told police that Shannon

114
00:07:55,365 --> 00:07:59,045
Speaker 2: had started texting from a new phone number. Teresa claimed

115
00:07:59,045 --> 00:08:02,805
Speaker 2: she'd been receiving calls and texts from this new phone. Now,

116
00:08:02,805 --> 00:08:06,045
Speaker 2: this was a number that Shannon's family had never seen before.

117
00:08:07,205 --> 00:08:09,245
Speaker 2: We talked a little about that last week, but I

118
00:08:09,285 --> 00:08:13,125
Speaker 2: got more details from Blake because apparently, not only did

119
00:08:13,165 --> 00:08:16,925
Speaker 2: Teresa say Shannon's texting from this new number, but she

120
00:08:17,005 --> 00:08:19,885
Speaker 2: said Shannon told her specific things in his text that

121
00:08:19,925 --> 00:08:24,485
Speaker 2: would supposedly answer some of the police's questions. These alleged

122
00:08:24,485 --> 00:08:27,725
Speaker 2: texts from Shannon said that he needed time to himself,

123
00:08:27,725 --> 00:08:30,125
Speaker 2: he wasn't thinking straight, he needed just to get away.

124
00:08:30,965 --> 00:08:33,845
Speaker 2: Then later Teresa said she had gotten text from Shannon

125
00:08:33,925 --> 00:08:36,885
Speaker 2: talking about how he had checked himself into a mental

126
00:08:36,885 --> 00:08:39,845
Speaker 2: health facility. He said he would let them know when

127
00:08:39,885 --> 00:08:43,525
Speaker 2: he was okay. Now, Blake was not buying that these

128
00:08:43,525 --> 00:08:46,045
Speaker 2: text messages came from his brother. To him, it sounded

129
00:08:46,125 --> 00:08:50,165
Speaker 2: completely out of character, especially once he heard about another

130
00:08:50,205 --> 00:08:54,445
Speaker 2: text message. Teresa told law enforcement Shannon had sent her

131
00:08:54,445 --> 00:08:57,765
Speaker 2: a text saying he wanted her and his son to

132
00:08:57,845 --> 00:09:00,485
Speaker 2: have all of the monthly pension payments that he received.

133
00:09:01,485 --> 00:09:04,645
Speaker 2: So it's become clear to me that if we want

134
00:09:04,645 --> 00:09:06,285
Speaker 2: to figure out what's going on on in this case,

135
00:09:06,765 --> 00:09:14,085
Speaker 2: we need to follow the money. Let's go back to

136
00:09:14,165 --> 00:09:18,085
Speaker 2: March eleventh, twenty twenty, Shannon came back to his family

137
00:09:18,125 --> 00:09:21,885
Speaker 2: home at around ten thirty. Teresa told police that she

138
00:09:22,005 --> 00:09:24,365
Speaker 2: and Shannon went to bed that night and that everything

139
00:09:24,405 --> 00:09:29,445
Speaker 2: was normal. The next morning, March twelfth, Shannon was supposed

140
00:09:29,485 --> 00:09:31,365
Speaker 2: to pick up a delivery for the company he was

141
00:09:31,405 --> 00:09:34,165
Speaker 2: working for and take it out of state. But Shannon

142
00:09:34,405 --> 00:09:37,525
Speaker 2: never showed up to make that delivery. And that's when

143
00:09:37,725 --> 00:09:41,525
Speaker 2: another person comes into play, because Shannon's son in law,

144
00:09:41,645 --> 00:09:45,965
Speaker 2: Britney's husband worked for that same delivery company, and Shannon's

145
00:09:45,965 --> 00:09:50,645
Speaker 2: son in law has spoken to Blake. When the son

146
00:09:50,685 --> 00:09:53,085
Speaker 2: in law found out that Shannon did not show up

147
00:09:53,125 --> 00:09:55,965
Speaker 2: to take that scheduled delivery, the son in law ended

148
00:09:56,005 --> 00:10:00,485
Speaker 2: up taking the load himself before he did. According to Blake,

149
00:10:00,565 --> 00:10:03,045
Speaker 2: the son in law had a conversation with Shannon's wife, Teresa.

150
00:10:03,485 --> 00:10:07,085
Speaker 2: He asked if he should report Shannon missing. Shannon's wife

151
00:10:07,125 --> 00:10:11,165
Speaker 2: said she didn't know. Neither the son in law nor

152
00:10:11,325 --> 00:10:15,965
Speaker 2: Teresa reported Shannon missing. So I'm wondering about this because

153
00:10:16,445 --> 00:10:20,765
Speaker 2: what happened there? What did they tell Shannon's boss. I

154
00:10:20,805 --> 00:10:23,245
Speaker 2: am trying to reach out and get in touch with

155
00:10:23,325 --> 00:10:26,605
Speaker 2: people at that company and with Shannon's employer, because we

156
00:10:26,765 --> 00:10:30,245
Speaker 2: really need to understand who called in to say that

157
00:10:30,285 --> 00:10:32,525
Speaker 2: Shannon was not coming to pick up that delivery that day.

158
00:10:33,805 --> 00:10:36,605
Speaker 2: Shannon's son in law also told Blake a few other things.

159
00:10:37,165 --> 00:10:39,845
Speaker 2: He said he saw Shannon's wife a few days after

160
00:10:39,885 --> 00:10:43,405
Speaker 2: Shannon disappeared, and that when he did, Teresa had a

161
00:10:43,445 --> 00:10:46,645
Speaker 2: bandage on her arm. The son in law said they

162
00:10:46,685 --> 00:10:49,165
Speaker 2: discussed the bandage and why she had it, but that

163
00:10:49,285 --> 00:10:52,085
Speaker 2: Teresa couldn't really give an explanation to what had happened

164
00:10:52,085 --> 00:10:56,165
Speaker 2: to her. Shannon's brother in law allegedly told police something

165
00:10:56,165 --> 00:10:59,205
Speaker 2: that I've actually heard from a few different people, something

166
00:10:59,245 --> 00:11:03,445
Speaker 2: along the lines of Shannon being military, being trained, and

167
00:11:03,845 --> 00:11:07,165
Speaker 2: saying that essentially, if he didn't want to be found,

168
00:11:07,205 --> 00:11:10,085
Speaker 2: he wouldn't be found. Blake points out that is a

169
00:11:10,165 --> 00:11:13,605
Speaker 2: ridiculous line of reasoning. He said, it might make sense

170
00:11:13,645 --> 00:11:16,285
Speaker 2: if Shannon was a highly trained special op soldier, if

171
00:11:16,285 --> 00:11:19,565
Speaker 2: he was a Navy seal or Army ranger, but Shannon

172
00:11:19,645 --> 00:11:23,485
Speaker 2: was a retired National Guard veteran, and I agree. I

173
00:11:23,485 --> 00:11:27,285
Speaker 2: think that there's absolutely no evidence that Shannon had any

174
00:11:27,325 --> 00:11:30,405
Speaker 2: intention of walking away from his life. But let's look

175
00:11:30,445 --> 00:11:32,685
Speaker 2: at that a little bit more in depth. First of all,

176
00:11:32,725 --> 00:11:35,445
Speaker 2: I think if he was planning on going rogue, Blake

177
00:11:35,565 --> 00:11:39,005
Speaker 2: is clear Shannon's wife told police that Shannon left the

178
00:11:39,045 --> 00:11:42,605
Speaker 2: house with no clothes, no car, no money, nothing, So

179
00:11:42,725 --> 00:11:45,485
Speaker 2: which was it. Was he this super prepared military man,

180
00:11:45,605 --> 00:11:48,205
Speaker 2: or was he someone who was so unbalanced he would

181
00:11:48,285 --> 00:11:50,685
Speaker 2: walk away with just the clothes on his back and

182
00:11:50,765 --> 00:11:55,285
Speaker 2: later say he's checking into a mental health facility. I

183
00:11:55,285 --> 00:11:57,885
Speaker 2: should say now, there were some other people in and

184
00:11:57,925 --> 00:12:01,125
Speaker 2: around the house on the day after Shannon disappeared, on

185
00:12:01,205 --> 00:12:05,885
Speaker 2: March eleventh, and on March twelfth. On March eleventh, before

186
00:12:05,965 --> 00:12:08,845
Speaker 2: Shannon arrived home for the last time, a friend of

187
00:12:08,885 --> 00:12:11,525
Speaker 2: Shannon's son was at the house. Now, I want to

188
00:12:11,565 --> 00:12:15,405
Speaker 2: be clear, this is taken from electronic data that the

189
00:12:15,485 --> 00:12:19,125
Speaker 2: police have they've shared with Blake. That data apparently shows

190
00:12:19,205 --> 00:12:21,245
Speaker 2: that this friend was not at the house when Shannon

191
00:12:21,325 --> 00:12:23,845
Speaker 2: arrived home, so there's no evidence he knew anything about

192
00:12:23,885 --> 00:12:27,245
Speaker 2: his disappearance. But this person came back to the house

193
00:12:27,285 --> 00:12:32,085
Speaker 2: the following day, March twelfth. It's interesting because that friend's

194
00:12:32,125 --> 00:12:36,965
Speaker 2: mom is also friends with Teresa. Blake believes that at

195
00:12:37,005 --> 00:12:40,205
Speaker 2: some point Teresa, with the help of this friend, allegedly

196
00:12:41,005 --> 00:12:44,965
Speaker 2: took sixteen thousand dollars to the safe at the church

197
00:12:45,005 --> 00:12:48,565
Speaker 2: office at Russellville First Assembly. Now, Blake said this was

198
00:12:48,645 --> 00:12:52,485
Speaker 2: after the police began their investigation. It wasn't until later

199
00:12:52,605 --> 00:12:55,405
Speaker 2: the police found out about Shannon's wife hiding the sixteen

200
00:12:55,405 --> 00:12:59,725
Speaker 2: thousand dollars in the church office safe. By then, police

201
00:12:59,725 --> 00:13:03,405
Speaker 2: had already interviewed her, So where did this money come

202
00:13:03,445 --> 00:13:07,365
Speaker 2: from and why if this happened this way, would Teresa

203
00:13:07,485 --> 00:13:12,085
Speaker 2: allegedly be trying to hide it. Blake was trying to

204
00:13:12,085 --> 00:13:14,325
Speaker 2: get word out. He said he was told that the

205
00:13:14,325 --> 00:13:16,685
Speaker 2: police had hit a wall. He said he was told

206
00:13:16,725 --> 00:13:18,725
Speaker 2: to do whatever he needed to do to spread the

207
00:13:18,765 --> 00:13:20,845
Speaker 2: word about Shannon's story in the community.

208
00:13:21,525 --> 00:13:25,005
Speaker 3: The police, the lead investigator, tells us that they essentially

209
00:13:25,085 --> 00:13:28,205
Speaker 3: hit a wall, and they know who their suspects are,

210
00:13:28,245 --> 00:13:30,485
Speaker 3: and they know what they believe, and they know that

211
00:13:31,365 --> 00:13:34,365
Speaker 3: they've got all this evidence. So they essentially tell me

212
00:13:34,405 --> 00:13:37,485
Speaker 3: they're at a wall, and they give us our blessing

213
00:13:37,565 --> 00:13:40,845
Speaker 3: to us to go out and try to bring awareness

214
00:13:40,845 --> 00:13:44,805
Speaker 3: to the story. So that's exactly what we began to do.

215
00:13:45,765 --> 00:13:49,325
Speaker 2: So in addition to creating the Facebook page Share Shannon's Story,

216
00:13:49,885 --> 00:13:53,885
Speaker 2: Blake also reached out to Shannon's church, but he said

217
00:13:53,885 --> 00:13:56,205
Speaker 2: the response that he got was not what he expected.

218
00:13:56,925 --> 00:14:00,645
Speaker 3: I started the Share shann Story facebook page around late May.

219
00:14:00,845 --> 00:14:03,245
Speaker 3: It starts to build a little bit of momentum, which

220
00:14:03,245 --> 00:14:08,565
Speaker 3: we're extremely grateful for. Everything's working great, and all of

221
00:14:08,605 --> 00:14:13,205
Speaker 3: a sudden, we get some interactions with one of the

222
00:14:13,285 --> 00:14:14,645
Speaker 3: local churches.

223
00:14:15,045 --> 00:14:18,565
Speaker 2: That church was the Russellville First Assembly Church, Shannon and

224
00:14:18,605 --> 00:14:22,565
Speaker 2: his family had been attending for years. Blake had an idea.

225
00:14:23,085 --> 00:14:25,885
Speaker 2: He thought that if he placed an anonymous prayer request

226
00:14:25,925 --> 00:14:28,845
Speaker 2: on the church's website that people would see it. He

227
00:14:28,925 --> 00:14:31,525
Speaker 2: thought it might start something up and get people talking.

228
00:14:32,245 --> 00:14:34,725
Speaker 3: And when we do that in that local church, we

229
00:14:34,845 --> 00:14:38,725
Speaker 3: find out that they are beginning to delete a prayer

230
00:14:38,765 --> 00:14:42,725
Speaker 3: request from a follower of our Facebook page. They're deleting

231
00:14:42,765 --> 00:14:48,445
Speaker 3: other people's Facebook comments on their page, nothing derogatory or salacious.

232
00:14:48,965 --> 00:14:54,205
Speaker 3: As an example, one of the comments was hashtag Shannon Collins,

233
00:14:54,245 --> 00:14:57,645
Speaker 3: hashtag missing better. That's all it was. They begin to

234
00:14:57,645 --> 00:15:01,645
Speaker 3: block comments the prayer request. It's on a Sunday during

235
00:15:01,645 --> 00:15:03,885
Speaker 3: a life sermon. You can look at our page. It

236
00:15:03,965 --> 00:15:07,325
Speaker 3: literally says please read Chaerishannon story, and it asked for

237
00:15:07,405 --> 00:15:11,125
Speaker 3: prayer to our family. They immediately block this user, they

238
00:15:11,165 --> 00:15:14,725
Speaker 3: delete the comment, they kick them out of the live stream,

239
00:15:15,045 --> 00:15:18,045
Speaker 3: and I'm floored. I'm shocked. My brother is a member

240
00:15:18,765 --> 00:15:22,085
Speaker 3: of this church for many many years. His wife and

241
00:15:22,165 --> 00:15:25,485
Speaker 3: kids are members for many years. Why this is happening,

242
00:15:25,565 --> 00:15:26,085
Speaker 3: I don't know.

243
00:15:27,325 --> 00:15:30,005
Speaker 2: So that's when Blake said, all hell broke loose.

244
00:15:30,645 --> 00:15:34,045
Speaker 3: So when that occurs, I make a post in response

245
00:15:34,045 --> 00:15:37,125
Speaker 3: to let the public know what had happened. Well, it's

246
00:15:37,165 --> 00:15:41,125
Speaker 3: not long that all of a sudden, the Pope County

247
00:15:41,165 --> 00:15:45,485
Speaker 3: Sheriff's office calls me and ask me, quote unquote to

248
00:15:45,645 --> 00:15:49,085
Speaker 3: ease off the church and to not be making any

249
00:15:49,165 --> 00:15:52,845
Speaker 3: comments about the church. And I'm absolutely shocked. At this point.

250
00:15:53,445 --> 00:15:56,765
Speaker 3: My thoughts are, why is somebody in the sheriff's department

251
00:15:57,325 --> 00:15:59,725
Speaker 3: asking me to do anything when it comes to a

252
00:15:59,845 --> 00:16:02,645
Speaker 3: church when all I've done is tell the truth. I'm

253
00:16:02,685 --> 00:16:04,925
Speaker 3: not the bad person here. I just I'm telling the

254
00:16:04,925 --> 00:16:08,685
Speaker 3: truth of what happened. And all of a sudden, this

255
00:16:08,845 --> 00:16:11,005
Speaker 3: is a problem. We were given the blessing to do

256
00:16:11,085 --> 00:16:13,205
Speaker 3: whatever we needed to bring attention, and all of a sudden,

257
00:16:13,285 --> 00:16:15,965
Speaker 3: the church gets involved and now they want us to

258
00:16:16,005 --> 00:16:20,085
Speaker 3: not talk about the church. And so again I'm absolutely

259
00:16:20,125 --> 00:16:23,245
Speaker 3: plored when this happens. And so I reach out to

260
00:16:23,325 --> 00:16:26,445
Speaker 3: the local prosecutor's office and have a forty five minute

261
00:16:26,485 --> 00:16:29,565
Speaker 3: phone call with the deputy prosecutor, and I explained that

262
00:16:29,605 --> 00:16:32,605
Speaker 3: I'm extremely concerned. I can only take this as a threat.

263
00:16:33,125 --> 00:16:34,965
Speaker 3: They told us we could do whatever we needed, and

264
00:16:35,005 --> 00:16:40,565
Speaker 3: all of a sudden, now it's the problem.

265
00:16:40,605 --> 00:16:43,845
Speaker 2: Blake was confused. The police had told him explicitly he

266
00:16:43,845 --> 00:16:45,605
Speaker 2: could do whatever it takes to get the word out

267
00:16:45,605 --> 00:16:49,565
Speaker 2: about his brother's disappearance. But now he claims they're saying

268
00:16:49,765 --> 00:16:53,565
Speaker 2: stop looking into the Russell Bilt First Assembly Church. And

269
00:16:53,685 --> 00:16:56,325
Speaker 2: what he thinks is happening is that some people at

270
00:16:56,325 --> 00:16:59,685
Speaker 2: the police department could be connected with people at the church.

271
00:17:00,485 --> 00:17:03,165
Speaker 2: By the way, Blake says that there's also a school

272
00:17:03,205 --> 00:17:06,365
Speaker 2: affiliated with the church. Blake pointed out some members of

273
00:17:06,365 --> 00:17:09,845
Speaker 2: Shannon's family, as well as the local police department, also

274
00:17:09,885 --> 00:17:13,245
Speaker 2: have connections with that school. Of course, this does not

275
00:17:13,365 --> 00:17:17,765
Speaker 2: prove anyone knew anything about Shannon's disappearance, but it caused

276
00:17:17,765 --> 00:17:22,005
Speaker 2: Blake to believe that these connections could potentially compromise some

277
00:17:22,125 --> 00:17:23,965
Speaker 2: members of law enforcement's objectivity.

278
00:17:24,445 --> 00:17:27,365
Speaker 3: And so when that happened, I'm now looking at at

279
00:17:27,365 --> 00:17:31,045
Speaker 3: a bias and an impartiality that seems to be taking

280
00:17:31,125 --> 00:17:35,485
Speaker 3: hold here because it seems that the police can't be

281
00:17:35,485 --> 00:17:37,925
Speaker 3: fair when it comes to this church, and whether they

282
00:17:38,045 --> 00:17:40,285
Speaker 3: like it or not, they are involved. And the reason

283
00:17:40,325 --> 00:17:43,085
Speaker 3: that is is because someone in that church allowed my

284
00:17:43,245 --> 00:17:46,365
Speaker 3: brother's wife try to hide sixteen thousand dollars.

285
00:17:47,885 --> 00:17:50,965
Speaker 2: This is a huge statement from Blake. He thinks that

286
00:17:51,005 --> 00:17:55,645
Speaker 2: potentially Shannon's wife or someone close to her hid money

287
00:17:55,645 --> 00:17:58,765
Speaker 2: inside that church safe and he wants to know why.

288
00:17:58,845 --> 00:18:03,245
Speaker 2: He also mentioned federal investigators looking into Shannon's VA benefits,

289
00:18:03,285 --> 00:18:06,445
Speaker 2: which remember, we're still being deposit it into Shannon's bank

290
00:18:06,485 --> 00:18:10,365
Speaker 2: account for months after he went missing. If there was

291
00:18:10,525 --> 00:18:13,525
Speaker 2: sixteen thousand dollars given to the church in some way,

292
00:18:14,165 --> 00:18:17,205
Speaker 2: that would have been around four months worth of VA benefits.

293
00:18:17,565 --> 00:18:21,005
Speaker 2: So if this is true, if money was taken to

294
00:18:21,045 --> 00:18:24,365
Speaker 2: the church, it does seem incredibly suspicious.

295
00:18:25,965 --> 00:18:29,725
Speaker 3: When he's reported missing, the pastor of the church is

296
00:18:29,765 --> 00:18:33,085
Speaker 3: interviewed by the police. He never once says anything to

297
00:18:33,125 --> 00:18:36,445
Speaker 3: the police about the sixteen thousand dollars, and you think, well,

298
00:18:36,485 --> 00:18:39,165
Speaker 3: maybe he wasn't a way. Well, they interviewed him a

299
00:18:39,205 --> 00:18:42,485
Speaker 3: second time and for some reason, they tell him about

300
00:18:42,485 --> 00:18:45,605
Speaker 3: the money instead of the other way around. When they do,

301
00:18:45,805 --> 00:18:48,965
Speaker 3: he admits that he knows about the money.

302
00:18:49,885 --> 00:18:52,605
Speaker 2: Blake said someone reached out to him and said they

303
00:18:52,685 --> 00:18:56,325
Speaker 2: had spoken to the pastor directly about that money.

304
00:18:56,485 --> 00:18:59,525
Speaker 3: I have had someone reach out to me in a message,

305
00:18:59,525 --> 00:19:02,165
Speaker 3: in a private message. I won't give their name, but

306
00:19:02,365 --> 00:19:05,445
Speaker 3: they told me that money was only in the safe

307
00:19:05,565 --> 00:19:09,645
Speaker 3: for two hours before it was out of the church. Well,

308
00:19:09,725 --> 00:19:12,285
Speaker 3: if that's the case, and I don't know that to

309
00:19:12,365 --> 00:19:15,125
Speaker 3: be true, but if it was the case, then I

310
00:19:15,165 --> 00:19:18,245
Speaker 3: would think that the pastor would have definitely remembered that

311
00:19:18,325 --> 00:19:20,525
Speaker 3: portion that it was out in two hours, and he

312
00:19:20,565 --> 00:19:23,285
Speaker 3: would have told the police about it. But you know,

313
00:19:23,325 --> 00:19:25,565
Speaker 3: of course he said it slipped his mind. So I'm

314
00:19:25,605 --> 00:19:26,725
Speaker 3: not sure what to say about that.

315
00:19:28,125 --> 00:19:30,165
Speaker 2: But are they saying, I mean, did the police tell

316
00:19:30,205 --> 00:19:30,925
Speaker 2: you that?

317
00:19:32,645 --> 00:19:34,325
Speaker 3: Did the police tell you any of this? Are you

318
00:19:34,365 --> 00:19:38,125
Speaker 3: getting this from other people? Well, the part about the

319
00:19:38,125 --> 00:19:40,245
Speaker 3: two hours it was out with the two hours came

320
00:19:40,285 --> 00:19:42,565
Speaker 3: from somebody on a message in the face, so I

321
00:19:42,645 --> 00:19:44,965
Speaker 3: don't know how. I don't know how accurate that is,

322
00:19:45,445 --> 00:19:48,205
Speaker 3: but I was just making the point that somebody obviously

323
00:19:48,205 --> 00:19:50,645
Speaker 3: told them that within the church that it was out

324
00:19:50,685 --> 00:19:52,685
Speaker 3: with the two hours. Well, if that was the case,

325
00:19:52,805 --> 00:19:55,445
Speaker 3: then I think that the pastor would have remembered that.

326
00:19:56,325 --> 00:20:00,005
Speaker 2: Blake said that the woman, the mother of Shannon's son's friend,

327
00:20:00,525 --> 00:20:03,165
Speaker 2: has connections with the church, So.

328
00:20:03,645 --> 00:20:08,285
Speaker 3: I believe the one I'm referring to, the woman who

329
00:20:08,365 --> 00:20:11,645
Speaker 3: helped with the money hide the money. I know that

330
00:20:11,685 --> 00:20:15,285
Speaker 3: I reached out to the church about my issue within

331
00:20:15,405 --> 00:20:18,325
Speaker 3: the leading the prayer request, and when I did, this

332
00:20:18,445 --> 00:20:21,165
Speaker 3: woman is the one who replied and said the pastor

333
00:20:21,205 --> 00:20:22,245
Speaker 3: would like to speak with me.

334
00:20:23,125 --> 00:20:26,525
Speaker 2: So Blake is suggesting three really big things here. That

335
00:20:26,645 --> 00:20:31,085
Speaker 2: Teresa hid sixteen thousand dollars inside that church at some point,

336
00:20:31,485 --> 00:20:34,485
Speaker 2: that the church's pastor lied to police about knowing about

337
00:20:34,485 --> 00:20:38,285
Speaker 2: the money, and the police don't want him Blake to

338
00:20:38,365 --> 00:20:48,005
Speaker 2: keep looking into the church. So I did some research

339
00:20:48,045 --> 00:20:51,125
Speaker 2: on how investigations work when police have nobody and no

340
00:20:51,165 --> 00:20:53,325
Speaker 2: obvious signs of foul play. This is something we deal

341
00:20:53,365 --> 00:20:55,885
Speaker 2: with a lot in this podcast. I went back to

342
00:20:55,925 --> 00:21:00,045
Speaker 2: my old favorite book, Practical Homicide Investigations by Vernon Gidbirth.

343
00:21:00,805 --> 00:21:03,965
Speaker 2: He's a former NYPD detective who wrote the textbook that

344
00:21:04,045 --> 00:21:07,125
Speaker 2: trains a lot of law enforcement the United States. My

345
00:21:07,205 --> 00:21:09,845
Speaker 2: textbook is old and so beaten up at this point

346
00:21:09,885 --> 00:21:13,005
Speaker 2: and super heavy, But even though some of the technology

347
00:21:13,045 --> 00:21:14,685
Speaker 2: may be out of date, I go back to this

348
00:21:14,765 --> 00:21:18,365
Speaker 2: book constantly. It is such a good and comprehensive overview

349
00:21:18,445 --> 00:21:23,245
Speaker 2: on how police investigations really happen. It says, quote, when

350
00:21:23,285 --> 00:21:27,285
Speaker 2: an investigator suspects foul play, the missing person investigation needs

351
00:21:27,285 --> 00:21:31,525
Speaker 2: to focus on capturing the victim's routine activities. Individuals impact

352
00:21:31,565 --> 00:21:35,645
Speaker 2: the world around them through their relationships, electronic footprints, personal

353
00:21:35,645 --> 00:21:41,205
Speaker 2: and professional obligations, financial decisions, and other routine activities. Investigators

354
00:21:41,245 --> 00:21:45,245
Speaker 2: should identify the victim's actions prior to the disappearance relationally.

355
00:21:45,685 --> 00:21:48,845
Speaker 2: This may include individuals the victim recently had contact with,

356
00:21:49,245 --> 00:21:52,285
Speaker 2: the last known sightings of the missing person, latest conversation,

357
00:21:52,565 --> 00:21:58,605
Speaker 2: topics discussed, and the victim's mindset end quote. Basically, he's

358
00:21:58,605 --> 00:22:01,805
Speaker 2: saying detectives need to figure out a person's pattern of life,

359
00:22:01,845 --> 00:22:05,925
Speaker 2: their state of mind, and importantly, what they replace planning

360
00:22:05,965 --> 00:22:09,085
Speaker 2: in the future. We know that Shannon was having issues

361
00:22:09,085 --> 00:22:11,565
Speaker 2: at home. He was telling his family that he planned

362
00:22:11,565 --> 00:22:14,765
Speaker 2: to leave his marriage, but we also know Shannon was

363
00:22:14,805 --> 00:22:18,445
Speaker 2: excited about the future and about his new relationship. Blake

364
00:22:18,485 --> 00:22:21,365
Speaker 2: said that he had basically never seen his brother happier.

365
00:22:22,965 --> 00:22:26,965
Speaker 2: The book also says detectives need to focus on what

366
00:22:27,005 --> 00:22:30,885
Speaker 2: they call proving the negative. Basically, if they can't prove

367
00:22:30,925 --> 00:22:34,445
Speaker 2: what did happen, they need to look at the possibility

368
00:22:34,445 --> 00:22:38,645
Speaker 2: of what didn't happen? What wouldn't this person do. This

369
00:22:38,725 --> 00:22:41,245
Speaker 2: is much easier because there is a lot of evidence

370
00:22:41,725 --> 00:22:45,605
Speaker 2: that Shannon Collins would not and did not disappear off

371
00:22:45,645 --> 00:22:49,205
Speaker 2: the face of the earth voluntarily. So what did happen

372
00:22:49,245 --> 00:22:52,565
Speaker 2: to him? If we can't find a body or physical evidence,

373
00:22:52,965 --> 00:22:55,645
Speaker 2: we need to follow the money. We need to work

374
00:22:55,645 --> 00:22:57,445
Speaker 2: with the facts we have, and that's what Blake has

375
00:22:57,485 --> 00:23:00,645
Speaker 2: been trying to do. Just to be clear, we are

376
00:23:00,685 --> 00:23:03,325
Speaker 2: not suggesting that the pastor or anyone at the church

377
00:23:03,445 --> 00:23:06,685
Speaker 2: is in any way connected to Shannon's disappearance. Blake just

378
00:23:06,725 --> 00:23:09,485
Speaker 2: wants to know if money was put into that church safe,

379
00:23:09,685 --> 00:23:13,405
Speaker 2: why it happened, and under what conditions. Most importantly, why

380
00:23:13,445 --> 00:23:15,445
Speaker 2: the police are trying to shut him down when he

381
00:23:15,525 --> 00:23:19,045
Speaker 2: asked about the church or about this money. Because Shannon's

382
00:23:19,085 --> 00:23:22,485
Speaker 2: money is one of the few concrete leads detectives have,

383
00:23:22,725 --> 00:23:25,245
Speaker 2: So it doesn't make sense to me that they wouldn't

384
00:23:25,245 --> 00:23:26,885
Speaker 2: want to follow every single lead.

385
00:23:27,965 --> 00:23:29,805
Speaker 3: I mean, he was involved in the church and people

386
00:23:29,885 --> 00:23:34,125
Speaker 3: knew him and his wife worked in some capacity. I

387
00:23:34,165 --> 00:23:36,245
Speaker 3: don't know if she was paid. I believe she was

388
00:23:36,365 --> 00:23:39,645
Speaker 3: paid as a job, but she worked at the church

389
00:23:39,685 --> 00:23:42,085
Speaker 3: on a regular basis, whether it was paid or voluntary.

390
00:23:42,205 --> 00:23:44,845
Speaker 3: She was a big part of working there, and so

391
00:23:45,165 --> 00:23:48,245
Speaker 3: was my brother's step daughter, and I believe she worked

392
00:23:48,285 --> 00:23:50,685
Speaker 3: in the daycare. Again, I don't know if it was

393
00:23:50,725 --> 00:23:53,565
Speaker 3: a paid job or it was voluntary. I believe it

394
00:23:53,645 --> 00:23:56,525
Speaker 3: was paid. But the reason that's important is if you

395
00:23:56,605 --> 00:23:59,205
Speaker 3: talk to the police, they'll tell you there's this school

396
00:23:59,245 --> 00:24:02,805
Speaker 3: has no association with the church, and vice versa. But

397
00:24:02,885 --> 00:24:05,965
Speaker 3: that's a little difficult to believe, considering that at some

398
00:24:06,165 --> 00:24:11,005
Speaker 3: point this church tells my brother's wife, stepdaughter, and son

399
00:24:11,085 --> 00:24:13,565
Speaker 3: they are no longer allowed to be at the church,

400
00:24:13,605 --> 00:24:16,125
Speaker 3: and that they are basically kicked out.

401
00:24:16,005 --> 00:24:16,525
Speaker 1: At the church.

402
00:24:18,525 --> 00:24:21,845
Speaker 2: This is interesting because the pastor actually addressed the case

403
00:24:22,005 --> 00:24:25,485
Speaker 2: and the controversy in a recent sermon. Here's an excerpt.

404
00:24:26,405 --> 00:24:29,605
Speaker 1: Some of you might have seen the article that was

405
00:24:31,325 --> 00:24:34,005
Speaker 1: published in the paper. I believe it was this past

406
00:24:34,045 --> 00:24:35,445
Speaker 1: week in the Courier. I don't know how many of

407
00:24:35,485 --> 00:24:39,325
Speaker 1: you guys still get the paper, but I believe I

408
00:24:39,365 --> 00:24:42,645
Speaker 1: need to address some things regarding that article and certainly

409
00:24:42,685 --> 00:24:47,925
Speaker 1: some things that's happened a number of years ago. Many

410
00:24:47,965 --> 00:24:52,565
Speaker 1: of you have heard the story of Shannon Collins. Shannon

411
00:24:52,605 --> 00:24:55,565
Speaker 1: and his wife and his two children attended church here

412
00:24:55,605 --> 00:25:00,445
Speaker 1: at RFA for several years, and in twenty twenty one,

413
00:25:01,245 --> 00:25:05,845
Speaker 1: Shannon went missing. Since late twenty twenty one early twenty

414
00:25:05,925 --> 00:25:10,805
Speaker 1: twenty two, there has been an ongoing investigation into Shannon's disappearance,

415
00:25:11,485 --> 00:25:14,885
Speaker 1: and while Shannon's immediate family no longer attends church here,

416
00:25:14,925 --> 00:25:19,325
Speaker 1: we have continued to pray for them and also to

417
00:25:19,365 --> 00:25:23,125
Speaker 1: pray for Shannon's extended family, his parents and his siblings.

418
00:25:23,885 --> 00:25:26,885
Speaker 1: I can't imagine what they are feeling, what they're going

419
00:25:26,925 --> 00:25:32,885
Speaker 1: through because it's been years now. Russellville First Assembly has

420
00:25:32,965 --> 00:25:37,125
Speaker 1: cooperated and will continue to cooperate with the Pope County

421
00:25:37,165 --> 00:25:41,245
Speaker 1: Sheriff's Office as long as it takes to get answers

422
00:25:41,325 --> 00:25:46,085
Speaker 1: and closure for the Collins family. Throughout the course of

423
00:25:46,125 --> 00:25:49,605
Speaker 1: this investigation, there have been lots of opinions, stories, and

424
00:25:49,645 --> 00:25:52,965
Speaker 1: even narratives that have been talked about around town and

425
00:25:53,045 --> 00:25:57,845
Speaker 1: also on social media. Some of the information is true

426
00:25:58,085 --> 00:26:01,485
Speaker 1: and some of the information has not been true. I

427
00:26:01,525 --> 00:26:06,605
Speaker 1: would encourage everyone to get your information direct from the

428
00:26:06,645 --> 00:26:10,245
Speaker 1: Pope County Sheriff's Office so that the integrity of this

429
00:26:10,365 --> 00:26:14,965
Speaker 1: investigation can be protected. We want Shannon to be home.

430
00:26:17,325 --> 00:26:20,125
Speaker 2: The pastor then goes on to ask the congregation to

431
00:26:20,245 --> 00:26:24,085
Speaker 2: pray for Shannon's extended family, meaning Blake and his parents

432
00:26:24,085 --> 00:26:27,285
Speaker 2: and sister. Now, I don't want to speak for them.

433
00:26:27,725 --> 00:26:31,085
Speaker 2: I'm sure they appreciate those thoughts, but if it were me,

434
00:26:31,445 --> 00:26:35,245
Speaker 2: I would say, save your thoughts and prayers and give

435
00:26:35,245 --> 00:26:39,565
Speaker 2: me some information. I agree that people who have information

436
00:26:39,725 --> 00:26:43,165
Speaker 2: should go to the Pope County Sheriff's Department. But I

437
00:26:43,245 --> 00:26:45,685
Speaker 2: have to say the hairs on the back of my

438
00:26:45,845 --> 00:26:49,205
Speaker 2: neck stand up a little bit when the pastor kind

439
00:26:49,245 --> 00:26:52,125
Speaker 2: of sounds like he's implying that people should only talk

440
00:26:52,165 --> 00:26:55,845
Speaker 2: to police. He says, to protect the integrity of the investigation.

441
00:26:57,005 --> 00:27:00,805
Speaker 2: I hope he's not suggesting that talking to investigative journalists

442
00:27:00,885 --> 00:27:03,645
Speaker 2: is a bad thing, because they have certainly helped solve

443
00:27:03,725 --> 00:27:07,605
Speaker 2: a lot of cases. Listen podcasts have brought a lot

444
00:27:07,605 --> 00:27:11,205
Speaker 2: of injustice to light, including by the way, abuses inside

445
00:27:11,205 --> 00:27:14,965
Speaker 2: certain churches. Not to quote scripture, but I'm pretty sure

446
00:27:15,005 --> 00:27:18,045
Speaker 2: it was Jesus who said the truth would set you free.

447
00:27:19,725 --> 00:27:22,845
Speaker 2: You can clearly hear the pastor say Shannon's family does

448
00:27:22,885 --> 00:27:26,605
Speaker 2: not go to that church anymore, but even the circumstances

449
00:27:26,645 --> 00:27:30,085
Speaker 2: of that are a little unclear. Blake wants to know

450
00:27:30,325 --> 00:27:33,765
Speaker 2: why they no longer attend that church. Did Shannon's disappearance

451
00:27:33,845 --> 00:27:36,405
Speaker 2: have anything to do with them not attending services there anymore.

452
00:27:37,085 --> 00:27:39,965
Speaker 2: To him, the timing seems coincidental.

453
00:27:39,925 --> 00:27:43,085
Speaker 3: This whole thing about I mean, it's like the church

454
00:27:43,125 --> 00:27:45,485
Speaker 3: from the beginning has wanted to just cover this up

455
00:27:45,605 --> 00:27:49,285
Speaker 3: like it never happened. Our goal from the very beginning

456
00:27:49,445 --> 00:27:52,525
Speaker 3: has been to get coverage on this story, for people

457
00:27:52,565 --> 00:27:56,165
Speaker 3: to know the truth, the truth about how it took,

458
00:27:56,525 --> 00:27:59,245
Speaker 3: why it took so long for us to report in missing,

459
00:27:59,285 --> 00:28:01,325
Speaker 3: because of the lies we were told by a family

460
00:28:01,725 --> 00:28:05,285
Speaker 3: who we were supposed to have believe loved my brother,

461
00:28:05,925 --> 00:28:08,525
Speaker 3: and the fact that they've lied to everyone. They've lied

462
00:28:08,565 --> 00:28:10,965
Speaker 3: to the community, they've lied to us, they've lied to

463
00:28:11,005 --> 00:28:15,965
Speaker 3: the police. They continue to lie. And my goal is

464
00:28:16,005 --> 00:28:19,445
Speaker 3: that everyone could just please share this story far and wide.

465
00:28:19,845 --> 00:28:22,525
Speaker 3: I want everyone in this country and beyond to know

466
00:28:22,565 --> 00:28:25,205
Speaker 3: the truth about what happened to my brother. And that

467
00:28:25,765 --> 00:28:28,285
Speaker 3: is where we're at now, and as we continue this journey,

468
00:28:28,285 --> 00:28:30,725
Speaker 3: our goal is to continue to put pressure on the

469
00:28:30,765 --> 00:28:33,805
Speaker 3: people that know the truth, because there are people that

470
00:28:33,925 --> 00:28:36,845
Speaker 3: know what happened and they're refusing to talk. And again

471
00:28:36,885 --> 00:28:39,685
Speaker 3: you're talking about people that are supposed to love my

472
00:28:39,845 --> 00:28:43,725
Speaker 3: brother who refuse to help bring him home, and it

473
00:28:43,805 --> 00:28:47,725
Speaker 3: is beyond comprehension that they are willing to do nothing

474
00:28:48,165 --> 00:28:51,245
Speaker 3: to help my brother. And it's something I never thought

475
00:28:51,285 --> 00:28:53,565
Speaker 3: I would be living. It's a surreal feeling to be

476
00:28:53,605 --> 00:28:56,965
Speaker 3: here talking now, but that's unfortunately where we're at.

477
00:28:58,365 --> 00:29:02,365
Speaker 2: Well, thank you for talking to me, and I really

478
00:29:02,365 --> 00:29:04,605
Speaker 2: think you've done an amazing job of putting together being

479
00:29:04,645 --> 00:29:05,485
Speaker 2: an advocate of your brother.

480
00:29:05,645 --> 00:29:08,405
Speaker 3: Really, I mean like you've done a really great job.

481
00:29:08,685 --> 00:29:12,565
Speaker 3: So I appreciate what we're grateful for to you. We're

482
00:29:12,565 --> 00:29:15,525
Speaker 3: grateful to everyone who is willing to just at least

483
00:29:15,565 --> 00:29:17,685
Speaker 3: pass this story along so people can know the truth.

484
00:29:21,245 --> 00:29:24,845
Speaker 2: We need to talk to people in this church community

485
00:29:24,885 --> 00:29:28,325
Speaker 2: in Russellville First Assembly. Again, this is not about blaming

486
00:29:28,325 --> 00:29:31,245
Speaker 2: anyone in the church or being suspicious, as many people

487
00:29:31,245 --> 00:29:33,685
Speaker 2: who listen to this podcast know, I am a strong

488
00:29:33,765 --> 00:29:36,205
Speaker 2: advocate of law enforcement. I want to help the police

489
00:29:36,205 --> 00:29:38,725
Speaker 2: do their jobs. But when we hit a wall and

490
00:29:38,765 --> 00:29:41,765
Speaker 2: get to a situation where perhaps certain angles are not

491
00:29:41,845 --> 00:29:44,965
Speaker 2: being investigated for whatever reason, I believe it is the

492
00:29:45,005 --> 00:29:49,765
Speaker 2: responsibility of everyone in Shannon's church community, everyone at Russellville

493
00:29:49,765 --> 00:29:53,205
Speaker 2: First Assembly. If you have heard anything, if you've seen

494
00:29:53,245 --> 00:29:57,765
Speaker 2: a Facebook post. Please reach out because, of course Shannon

495
00:29:57,845 --> 00:30:02,005
Speaker 2: Collins is the potential victim here, but the surviving families

496
00:30:02,005 --> 00:30:05,365
Speaker 2: are victims too. They need an advocate here. It should

497
00:30:05,365 --> 00:30:07,805
Speaker 2: be law enforcement, and it should be the church officials.

498
00:30:08,165 --> 00:30:11,445
Speaker 2: But if they're not stepping up, then someone else needs to.

499
00:30:12,045 --> 00:30:15,805
Speaker 2: Someone inside the church, inside the community, who has answers

500
00:30:16,165 --> 00:30:19,485
Speaker 2: needs to reach out and help find out what happened

501
00:30:19,485 --> 00:30:23,805
Speaker 2: to Shannon Collins. I'm Katherine Townsend. This is Helen Gone

502
00:30:23,885 --> 00:30:34,805
Speaker 2: Murder Line. Helen Gone Murder Line is a production of

503
00:30:34,845 --> 00:30:37,925
Speaker 2: School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts. It's written and narrated

504
00:30:37,965 --> 00:30:40,885
Speaker 2: by me Catherine Townsend and produced by Gabby Watts and

505
00:30:40,925 --> 00:30:45,125
Speaker 2: Miranda Hawkins. Music contributed by Ben Salek. Special thanks to

506
00:30:45,165 --> 00:30:48,525
Speaker 2: Amy Tubbs for her research assistance. This episode was sound

507
00:30:48,525 --> 00:30:52,765
Speaker 2: design and mixed but Noah Kamer. Executive producers are Virginia Prescott,

508
00:30:52,885 --> 00:30:56,125
Speaker 2: Brandon Barr, and Else Crowley. Listen to Helen Gone ad

509
00:30:56,285 --> 00:30:59,085
Speaker 2: free by subscribing to the iHeart True Crime Plus channel

510
00:30:59,125 --> 00:31:02,125
Speaker 2: on Apple Podcasts. You can follow the show on Instagram

511
00:31:02,485 --> 00:31:06,085
Speaker 2: at Hell and Gone pod. If you have case you'd

512
00:31:06,125 --> 00:31:07,845
Speaker 2: like me and my team to look into, you can

513
00:31:07,885 --> 00:31:10,125
Speaker 2: reach out to us at our Helen Gone murder Line.

514
00:31:10,205 --> 00:31:13,565
Speaker 2: It's six seven eight seven four four six one four five.

515
00:31:13,965 --> 00:31:17,765
Speaker 2: That's six seven eight seven four four six one four five.

516
00:31:27,285 --> 00:31:28,205
Speaker 2: School of Humans