WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Shannon Lee Collins Part 2 0:00:08.245 --> 0:00:11.925 School of Humans. 0:00:14.765 --> 0:00:18.245 On March eleventh, twenty twenty one, Shannon Lee Collins, a 0:00:18.285 --> 0:00:21.045 forty eight year old veteran, came back from a work 0:00:21.085 --> 0:00:25.485 trip to his home in Pottsville, Arkansas. Shannon lived in 0:00:25.525 --> 0:00:28.005 a house with his wife, Teresa, who had been married 0:00:28.005 --> 0:00:30.645 to for more than twenty years, their son Josh, who 0:00:30.725 --> 0:00:33.845 was in his early twenties, and Shannon's stepdaughter Britney, who 0:00:33.885 --> 0:00:37.525 was about ten years older. I talked to Blake, Shannon's 0:00:37.565 --> 0:00:40.925 younger brother, for the episode last week. Blake has become 0:00:41.045 --> 0:00:44.445 kind of the unofficial family spokesperson. He's put together a 0:00:44.485 --> 0:00:48.725 comprehensive timeline of the events since Shannon went missing. As 0:00:48.765 --> 0:00:51.085 we said last week when we took a look at 0:00:51.085 --> 0:00:55.205 Shannon's timeline, by the time Blake reported Shannon missing in 0:00:55.245 --> 0:00:58.965 November of twenty twenty one, it had been nine months 0:00:58.965 --> 0:01:03.405 since he disappeared. So as we continue our investigation, we're 0:01:03.405 --> 0:01:06.565 going to look at a couple of different things. First, 0:01:06.605 --> 0:01:09.565 what angles are the police investigating and are they making 0:01:09.645 --> 0:01:13.045 any progress in finding out what really happened to Shannon? 0:01:13.325 --> 0:01:17.005 And secondly, what do you do if you suspect foul 0:01:17.045 --> 0:01:19.725 play but there's no body or sign of a struggle. 0:01:20.605 --> 0:01:22.765 What do you do if you're a family member and 0:01:23.045 --> 0:01:26.845 someone you love disappears, when the person seems to have 0:01:26.845 --> 0:01:30.045 been erased from existence? And what is going to happen 0:01:30.125 --> 0:01:33.565 to Shannon's family? Who will not let Shannon go and 0:01:33.605 --> 0:01:38.005 will not stop asking questions? I'm Catherine Townsend. Over the 0:01:38.085 --> 0:01:41.325 past five years of making my true crime podcast, Helen Gone, 0:01:41.885 --> 0:01:44.365 I have learned that there is no such thing as 0:01:44.405 --> 0:01:48.445 a small town where murder never happens. I have received 0:01:48.525 --> 0:01:51.845 hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking 0:01:51.885 --> 0:01:55.285 for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families, 0:01:55.405 --> 0:01:58.405 and their communities. If you have a case you'd like 0:01:58.485 --> 0:02:00.685 me and my team to look into, you can reach 0:02:00.685 --> 0:02:03.205 out to us at our Helen Gone Murder Line at 0:02:03.245 --> 0:02:06.925 six seven eight seven four four six one four five. 0:02:07.485 --> 0:02:11.645 That's six seven eight seven four four six one four five. 0:02:12.725 --> 0:03:07.925 This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Last week we went 0:03:08.125 --> 0:03:11.405 into a lot of detail about the timeline, figuring out 0:03:11.485 --> 0:03:14.765 what we know for sure. Again, this is based on 0:03:14.845 --> 0:03:17.645 information that the police have shared with Blake, Shannon's brother. 0:03:18.525 --> 0:03:22.285 On March eleventh, twenty twenty one, Shannon returned to Arkansas 0:03:22.325 --> 0:03:25.045 from a work trip he had delivered an item to 0:03:25.085 --> 0:03:28.885 the East Coast, but before he came home, he flew 0:03:28.925 --> 0:03:31.765 from the East Coast to Memphis, Tennessee, where he spent 0:03:31.845 --> 0:03:34.885 some time with a woman he had been seeing. Shannon's 0:03:34.885 --> 0:03:38.365 girlfriend lived in Tennessee. Blake said he does not know 0:03:38.405 --> 0:03:41.285 who she is, but police have told him that she 0:03:41.445 --> 0:03:46.325 has cooperated fully with law enforcement. Even though on the surface, 0:03:46.525 --> 0:03:50.285 Blake said that it seemed like Shannon and his wife, Teresa, 0:03:50.365 --> 0:03:53.765 had a good relationship, Shannon had told his family that 0:03:53.805 --> 0:03:57.485 behind the scenes, things had been deteriorating for a long time. 0:03:58.605 --> 0:04:01.445 Shannon had been telling members of his family that he 0:04:01.525 --> 0:04:04.565 and his wife had discussed divorce many times and that 0:04:04.605 --> 0:04:07.125 he planned a divorce Teresa as soon as their son 0:04:07.205 --> 0:04:13.605 graduated from college. Shannon's wife knew about his girlfriend and 0:04:14.165 --> 0:04:17.045 was tracking his every movement the entire time he was 0:04:17.085 --> 0:04:21.965 gone that week. Investigators know from electronic data that Shannon 0:04:22.045 --> 0:04:25.445 returned home to his address in Pottsville, Arkansas, around ten 0:04:25.525 --> 0:04:29.885 thirty PM on the night of March eleventh, twenty twenty one. Now, 0:04:29.925 --> 0:04:32.965 when he arrived home that night, data shows that both 0:04:32.965 --> 0:04:36.125 his wife and his son were in the house. His 0:04:36.205 --> 0:04:39.965 stepdaughter came by the next morning. No one else was 0:04:40.005 --> 0:04:42.645 in the house that night, just Shannon, his wife, and 0:04:42.685 --> 0:04:47.285 their son, and electronic data also shows that Shannon had 0:04:47.325 --> 0:04:50.285 been communicating with his girlfriend, the woman he was seeing 0:04:50.325 --> 0:04:54.525 before he ever entered the house. We also know that 0:04:54.565 --> 0:04:57.285 from what the police have told Blake about these communications 0:04:57.285 --> 0:05:00.805 and statements from this woman, that Shannon was worried about 0:05:00.805 --> 0:05:05.285 going home that night. Blake said that Shannon's girlfriend sent 0:05:05.565 --> 0:05:09.005 him a Facebook message and that she received one back, 0:05:09.405 --> 0:05:13.285 supposedly from Shannon, that just said I'm okay, But Blake 0:05:13.365 --> 0:05:16.005 said he does not believe that this came from his brother. 0:05:17.085 --> 0:05:20.805 This is important to note because Blake said he believes 0:05:21.005 --> 0:05:24.845 that this message came from someone in Shannon's house, someone 0:05:24.965 --> 0:05:28.925 who had access to his Facebook account. Blake explained in 0:05:28.965 --> 0:05:33.005 his timeline that the settings on Shannon's Facebook account appear 0:05:33.085 --> 0:05:37.005 to have been manipulated since his disappearance, and that Shannon's 0:05:37.005 --> 0:05:40.085 friends list had been changed to private. He went on 0:05:40.165 --> 0:05:43.365 to explain that the location where these changes took place 0:05:43.925 --> 0:05:48.245 could be traced back to a specific IP address. Since 0:05:48.365 --> 0:05:51.925 March twelfth, twenty twenty one, police have been unable to 0:05:51.965 --> 0:05:54.605 find one single shred of data that can be linked 0:05:54.605 --> 0:05:59.965 to Shannon any way. There's no surveillance footage, no confirmed 0:06:00.005 --> 0:06:03.445 calls made to any family or friends, no text messages, 0:06:03.485 --> 0:06:07.365 no Facebook posts or messages, no Internet searches on Shannon's 0:06:07.365 --> 0:06:11.045 phone or his computer, no checks written from his bank account, 0:06:11.605 --> 0:06:16.805 no credit card purchases. Blake said Shannon neither put money 0:06:16.845 --> 0:06:19.885 in nor withdrew money from his bank account. He didn't 0:06:19.925 --> 0:06:23.965 transfer any money, and most crucially, Shannon did not contact 0:06:23.965 --> 0:06:27.925 the government about his pension. And Yet, even though Shannon 0:06:28.005 --> 0:06:31.445 apparently could not call his brother, his parents, or his sister, 0:06:32.565 --> 0:06:36.285 someone was allegedly changing the settings on Shannon's Facebook page. 0:06:36.725 --> 0:06:40.725 So if it wasn't Shannon who did that, who could 0:06:40.765 --> 0:06:44.725 have potentially had access to his social media his electronic devices. 0:06:45.845 --> 0:06:48.925 After Blake reported Shannon missing in November of twenty twenty one, 0:06:49.485 --> 0:06:53.085 Blake talked to federal agents. Now at that time, Shannon's 0:06:53.165 --> 0:06:56.205 VA disability and pension payments had been cut off for 0:06:56.285 --> 0:07:00.005 several months. At this point, it's been almost three years 0:07:00.005 --> 0:07:02.965 since he went missing. He would have been owed over 0:07:03.085 --> 0:07:06.845 one hundred thousand dollars in back pay, and yet Shannon 0:07:06.885 --> 0:07:11.045 has never called to reactivate those benefits. In addition to this, 0:07:11.125 --> 0:07:14.805 information from the police Blake has heard about what Shannon's 0:07:14.845 --> 0:07:18.725 wife has told law enforcement. She has allegedly told law 0:07:18.805 --> 0:07:21.525 enforcement that Shannon decided to leave the house with no 0:07:21.685 --> 0:07:24.965 money or belongings, and not in any one of the 0:07:25.005 --> 0:07:28.165 three vehicles they had at home, that he simply walked 0:07:28.165 --> 0:07:31.045 out of the house and walked away on foot. In 0:07:31.125 --> 0:07:35.165 July twenty twenty one, Shannon's stepdaughter told his sister Holly, 0:07:35.325 --> 0:07:38.365 that Shannon was texting from his old phone number. The 0:07:38.445 --> 0:07:41.805 police said there was never a text message sent from 0:07:41.805 --> 0:07:46.005 Shannon's phone after he disappeared. Teresa apparently tried to explain 0:07:46.085 --> 0:07:50.205 this discrepancy. She said that when Shannon left the house, 0:07:50.285 --> 0:07:52.045 he had his phone with him, but she said he 0:07:52.085 --> 0:07:55.325 must have lost it because she told police that Shannon 0:07:55.365 --> 0:07:59.045 had started texting from a new phone number. Teresa claimed 0:07:59.045 --> 0:08:02.805 she'd been receiving calls and texts from this new phone. Now, 0:08:02.805 --> 0:08:06.045 this was a number that Shannon's family had never seen before. 0:08:07.205 --> 0:08:09.245 We talked a little about that last week, but I 0:08:09.285 --> 0:08:13.125 got more details from Blake because apparently, not only did 0:08:13.165 --> 0:08:16.925 Teresa say Shannon's texting from this new number, but she 0:08:17.005 --> 0:08:19.885 said Shannon told her specific things in his text that 0:08:19.925 --> 0:08:24.485 would supposedly answer some of the police's questions. These alleged 0:08:24.485 --> 0:08:27.725 texts from Shannon said that he needed time to himself, 0:08:27.725 --> 0:08:30.125 he wasn't thinking straight, he needed just to get away. 0:08:30.965 --> 0:08:33.845 Then later Teresa said she had gotten text from Shannon 0:08:33.925 --> 0:08:36.885 talking about how he had checked himself into a mental 0:08:36.885 --> 0:08:39.845 health facility. He said he would let them know when 0:08:39.885 --> 0:08:43.525 he was okay. Now, Blake was not buying that these 0:08:43.525 --> 0:08:46.045 text messages came from his brother. To him, it sounded 0:08:46.125 --> 0:08:50.165 completely out of character, especially once he heard about another 0:08:50.205 --> 0:08:54.445 text message. Teresa told law enforcement Shannon had sent her 0:08:54.445 --> 0:08:57.765 a text saying he wanted her and his son to 0:08:57.845 --> 0:09:00.485 have all of the monthly pension payments that he received. 0:09:01.485 --> 0:09:04.645 So it's become clear to me that if we want 0:09:04.645 --> 0:09:06.285 to figure out what's going on on in this case, 0:09:06.765 --> 0:09:14.085 we need to follow the money. Let's go back to 0:09:14.165 --> 0:09:18.085 March eleventh, twenty twenty, Shannon came back to his family 0:09:18.125 --> 0:09:21.885 home at around ten thirty. Teresa told police that she 0:09:22.005 --> 0:09:24.365 and Shannon went to bed that night and that everything 0:09:24.405 --> 0:09:29.445 was normal. The next morning, March twelfth, Shannon was supposed 0:09:29.485 --> 0:09:31.365 to pick up a delivery for the company he was 0:09:31.405 --> 0:09:34.165 working for and take it out of state. But Shannon 0:09:34.405 --> 0:09:37.525 never showed up to make that delivery. And that's when 0:09:37.725 --> 0:09:41.525 another person comes into play, because Shannon's son in law, 0:09:41.645 --> 0:09:45.965 Britney's husband worked for that same delivery company, and Shannon's 0:09:45.965 --> 0:09:50.645 son in law has spoken to Blake. When the son 0:09:50.685 --> 0:09:53.085 in law found out that Shannon did not show up 0:09:53.125 --> 0:09:55.965 to take that scheduled delivery, the son in law ended 0:09:56.005 --> 0:10:00.485 up taking the load himself before he did. According to Blake, 0:10:00.565 --> 0:10:03.045 the son in law had a conversation with Shannon's wife, Teresa. 0:10:03.485 --> 0:10:07.085 He asked if he should report Shannon missing. Shannon's wife 0:10:07.125 --> 0:10:11.165 said she didn't know. Neither the son in law nor 0:10:11.325 --> 0:10:15.965 Teresa reported Shannon missing. So I'm wondering about this because 0:10:16.445 --> 0:10:20.765 what happened there? What did they tell Shannon's boss. I 0:10:20.805 --> 0:10:23.245 am trying to reach out and get in touch with 0:10:23.325 --> 0:10:26.605 people at that company and with Shannon's employer, because we 0:10:26.765 --> 0:10:30.245 really need to understand who called in to say that 0:10:30.285 --> 0:10:32.525 Shannon was not coming to pick up that delivery that day. 0:10:33.805 --> 0:10:36.605 Shannon's son in law also told Blake a few other things. 0:10:37.165 --> 0:10:39.845 He said he saw Shannon's wife a few days after 0:10:39.885 --> 0:10:43.405 Shannon disappeared, and that when he did, Teresa had a 0:10:43.445 --> 0:10:46.645 bandage on her arm. The son in law said they 0:10:46.685 --> 0:10:49.165 discussed the bandage and why she had it, but that 0:10:49.285 --> 0:10:52.085 Teresa couldn't really give an explanation to what had happened 0:10:52.085 --> 0:10:56.165 to her. Shannon's brother in law allegedly told police something 0:10:56.165 --> 0:10:59.205 that I've actually heard from a few different people, something 0:10:59.245 --> 0:11:03.445 along the lines of Shannon being military, being trained, and 0:11:03.845 --> 0:11:07.165 saying that essentially, if he didn't want to be found, 0:11:07.205 --> 0:11:10.085 he wouldn't be found. Blake points out that is a 0:11:10.165 --> 0:11:13.605 ridiculous line of reasoning. He said, it might make sense 0:11:13.645 --> 0:11:16.285 if Shannon was a highly trained special op soldier, if 0:11:16.285 --> 0:11:19.565 he was a Navy seal or Army ranger, but Shannon 0:11:19.645 --> 0:11:23.485 was a retired National Guard veteran, and I agree. I 0:11:23.485 --> 0:11:27.285 think that there's absolutely no evidence that Shannon had any 0:11:27.325 --> 0:11:30.405 intention of walking away from his life. But let's look 0:11:30.445 --> 0:11:32.685 at that a little bit more in depth. First of all, 0:11:32.725 --> 0:11:35.445 I think if he was planning on going rogue, Blake 0:11:35.565 --> 0:11:39.005 is clear Shannon's wife told police that Shannon left the 0:11:39.045 --> 0:11:42.605 house with no clothes, no car, no money, nothing, So 0:11:42.725 --> 0:11:45.485 which was it. Was he this super prepared military man, 0:11:45.605 --> 0:11:48.205 or was he someone who was so unbalanced he would 0:11:48.285 --> 0:11:50.685 walk away with just the clothes on his back and 0:11:50.765 --> 0:11:55.285 later say he's checking into a mental health facility. I 0:11:55.285 --> 0:11:57.885 should say now, there were some other people in and 0:11:57.925 --> 0:12:01.125 around the house on the day after Shannon disappeared, on 0:12:01.205 --> 0:12:05.885 March eleventh, and on March twelfth. On March eleventh, before 0:12:05.965 --> 0:12:08.845 Shannon arrived home for the last time, a friend of 0:12:08.885 --> 0:12:11.525 Shannon's son was at the house. Now, I want to 0:12:11.565 --> 0:12:15.405 be clear, this is taken from electronic data that the 0:12:15.485 --> 0:12:19.125 police have they've shared with Blake. That data apparently shows 0:12:19.205 --> 0:12:21.245 that this friend was not at the house when Shannon 0:12:21.325 --> 0:12:23.845 arrived home, so there's no evidence he knew anything about 0:12:23.885 --> 0:12:27.245 his disappearance. But this person came back to the house 0:12:27.285 --> 0:12:32.085 the following day, March twelfth. It's interesting because that friend's 0:12:32.125 --> 0:12:36.965 mom is also friends with Teresa. Blake believes that at 0:12:37.005 --> 0:12:40.205 some point Teresa, with the help of this friend, allegedly 0:12:41.005 --> 0:12:44.965 took sixteen thousand dollars to the safe at the church 0:12:45.005 --> 0:12:48.565 office at Russellville First Assembly. Now, Blake said this was 0:12:48.645 --> 0:12:52.485 after the police began their investigation. It wasn't until later 0:12:52.605 --> 0:12:55.405 the police found out about Shannon's wife hiding the sixteen 0:12:55.405 --> 0:12:59.725 thousand dollars in the church office safe. By then, police 0:12:59.725 --> 0:13:03.405 had already interviewed her, So where did this money come 0:13:03.445 --> 0:13:07.365 from and why if this happened this way, would Teresa 0:13:07.485 --> 0:13:12.085 allegedly be trying to hide it. Blake was trying to 0:13:12.085 --> 0:13:14.325 get word out. He said he was told that the 0:13:14.325 --> 0:13:16.685 police had hit a wall. He said he was told 0:13:16.725 --> 0:13:18.725 to do whatever he needed to do to spread the 0:13:18.765 --> 0:13:20.845 word about Shannon's story in the community. 0:13:21.525 --> 0:13:25.005 The police, the lead investigator, tells us that they essentially 0:13:25.085 --> 0:13:28.205 hit a wall, and they know who their suspects are, 0:13:28.245 --> 0:13:30.485 and they know what they believe, and they know that 0:13:31.365 --> 0:13:34.365 they've got all this evidence. So they essentially tell me 0:13:34.405 --> 0:13:37.485 they're at a wall, and they give us our blessing 0:13:37.565 --> 0:13:40.845 to us to go out and try to bring awareness 0:13:40.845 --> 0:13:44.805 to the story. So that's exactly what we began to do. 0:13:45.765 --> 0:13:49.325 So in addition to creating the Facebook page Share Shannon's Story, 0:13:49.885 --> 0:13:53.885 Blake also reached out to Shannon's church, but he said 0:13:53.885 --> 0:13:56.205 the response that he got was not what he expected. 0:13:56.925 --> 0:14:00.645 I started the Share shann Story facebook page around late May. 0:14:00.845 --> 0:14:03.245 It starts to build a little bit of momentum, which 0:14:03.245 --> 0:14:08.565 we're extremely grateful for. Everything's working great, and all of 0:14:08.605 --> 0:14:13.205 a sudden, we get some interactions with one of the 0:14:13.285 --> 0:14:14.645 local churches. 0:14:15.045 --> 0:14:18.565 That church was the Russellville First Assembly Church, Shannon and 0:14:18.605 --> 0:14:22.565 his family had been attending for years. Blake had an idea. 0:14:23.085 --> 0:14:25.885 He thought that if he placed an anonymous prayer request 0:14:25.925 --> 0:14:28.845 on the church's website that people would see it. He 0:14:28.925 --> 0:14:31.525 thought it might start something up and get people talking. 0:14:32.245 --> 0:14:34.725 And when we do that in that local church, we 0:14:34.845 --> 0:14:38.725 find out that they are beginning to delete a prayer 0:14:38.765 --> 0:14:42.725 request from a follower of our Facebook page. They're deleting 0:14:42.765 --> 0:14:48.445 other people's Facebook comments on their page, nothing derogatory or salacious. 0:14:48.965 --> 0:14:54.205 As an example, one of the comments was hashtag Shannon Collins, 0:14:54.245 --> 0:14:57.645 hashtag missing better. That's all it was. They begin to 0:14:57.645 --> 0:15:01.645 block comments the prayer request. It's on a Sunday during 0:15:01.645 --> 0:15:03.885 a life sermon. You can look at our page. It 0:15:03.965 --> 0:15:07.325 literally says please read Chaerishannon story, and it asked for 0:15:07.405 --> 0:15:11.125 prayer to our family. They immediately block this user, they 0:15:11.165 --> 0:15:14.725 delete the comment, they kick them out of the live stream, 0:15:15.045 --> 0:15:18.045 and I'm floored. I'm shocked. My brother is a member 0:15:18.765 --> 0:15:22.085 of this church for many many years. His wife and 0:15:22.165 --> 0:15:25.485 kids are members for many years. Why this is happening, 0:15:25.565 --> 0:15:26.085 I don't know. 0:15:27.325 --> 0:15:30.005 So that's when Blake said, all hell broke loose. 0:15:30.645 --> 0:15:34.045 So when that occurs, I make a post in response 0:15:34.045 --> 0:15:37.125 to let the public know what had happened. Well, it's 0:15:37.165 --> 0:15:41.125 not long that all of a sudden, the Pope County 0:15:41.165 --> 0:15:45.485 Sheriff's office calls me and ask me, quote unquote to 0:15:45.645 --> 0:15:49.085 ease off the church and to not be making any 0:15:49.165 --> 0:15:52.845 comments about the church. And I'm absolutely shocked. At this point. 0:15:53.445 --> 0:15:56.765 My thoughts are, why is somebody in the sheriff's department 0:15:57.325 --> 0:15:59.725 asking me to do anything when it comes to a 0:15:59.845 --> 0:16:02.645 church when all I've done is tell the truth. I'm 0:16:02.685 --> 0:16:04.925 not the bad person here. I just I'm telling the 0:16:04.925 --> 0:16:08.685 truth of what happened. And all of a sudden, this 0:16:08.845 --> 0:16:11.005 is a problem. We were given the blessing to do 0:16:11.085 --> 0:16:13.205 whatever we needed to bring attention, and all of a sudden, 0:16:13.285 --> 0:16:15.965 the church gets involved and now they want us to 0:16:16.005 --> 0:16:20.085 not talk about the church. And so again I'm absolutely 0:16:20.125 --> 0:16:23.245 plored when this happens. And so I reach out to 0:16:23.325 --> 0:16:26.445 the local prosecutor's office and have a forty five minute 0:16:26.485 --> 0:16:29.565 phone call with the deputy prosecutor, and I explained that 0:16:29.605 --> 0:16:32.605 I'm extremely concerned. I can only take this as a threat. 0:16:33.125 --> 0:16:34.965 They told us we could do whatever we needed, and 0:16:35.005 --> 0:16:40.565 all of a sudden, now it's the problem. 0:16:40.605 --> 0:16:43.845 Blake was confused. The police had told him explicitly he 0:16:43.845 --> 0:16:45.605 could do whatever it takes to get the word out 0:16:45.605 --> 0:16:49.565 about his brother's disappearance. But now he claims they're saying 0:16:49.765 --> 0:16:53.565 stop looking into the Russell Bilt First Assembly Church. And 0:16:53.685 --> 0:16:56.325 what he thinks is happening is that some people at 0:16:56.325 --> 0:16:59.685 the police department could be connected with people at the church. 0:17:00.485 --> 0:17:03.165 By the way, Blake says that there's also a school 0:17:03.205 --> 0:17:06.365 affiliated with the church. Blake pointed out some members of 0:17:06.365 --> 0:17:09.845 Shannon's family, as well as the local police department, also 0:17:09.885 --> 0:17:13.245 have connections with that school. Of course, this does not 0:17:13.365 --> 0:17:17.765 prove anyone knew anything about Shannon's disappearance, but it caused 0:17:17.765 --> 0:17:22.005 Blake to believe that these connections could potentially compromise some 0:17:22.125 --> 0:17:23.965 members of law enforcement's objectivity. 0:17:24.445 --> 0:17:27.365 And so when that happened, I'm now looking at at 0:17:27.365 --> 0:17:31.045 a bias and an impartiality that seems to be taking 0:17:31.125 --> 0:17:35.485 hold here because it seems that the police can't be 0:17:35.485 --> 0:17:37.925 fair when it comes to this church, and whether they 0:17:38.045 --> 0:17:40.285 like it or not, they are involved. And the reason 0:17:40.325 --> 0:17:43.085 that is is because someone in that church allowed my 0:17:43.245 --> 0:17:46.365 brother's wife try to hide sixteen thousand dollars. 0:17:47.885 --> 0:17:50.965 This is a huge statement from Blake. He thinks that 0:17:51.005 --> 0:17:55.645 potentially Shannon's wife or someone close to her hid money 0:17:55.645 --> 0:17:58.765 inside that church safe and he wants to know why. 0:17:58.845 --> 0:18:03.245 He also mentioned federal investigators looking into Shannon's VA benefits, 0:18:03.285 --> 0:18:06.445 which remember, we're still being deposit it into Shannon's bank 0:18:06.485 --> 0:18:10.365 account for months after he went missing. If there was 0:18:10.525 --> 0:18:13.525 sixteen thousand dollars given to the church in some way, 0:18:14.165 --> 0:18:17.205 that would have been around four months worth of VA benefits. 0:18:17.565 --> 0:18:21.005 So if this is true, if money was taken to 0:18:21.045 --> 0:18:24.365 the church, it does seem incredibly suspicious. 0:18:25.965 --> 0:18:29.725 When he's reported missing, the pastor of the church is 0:18:29.765 --> 0:18:33.085 interviewed by the police. He never once says anything to 0:18:33.125 --> 0:18:36.445 the police about the sixteen thousand dollars, and you think, well, 0:18:36.485 --> 0:18:39.165 maybe he wasn't a way. Well, they interviewed him a 0:18:39.205 --> 0:18:42.485 second time and for some reason, they tell him about 0:18:42.485 --> 0:18:45.605 the money instead of the other way around. When they do, 0:18:45.805 --> 0:18:48.965 he admits that he knows about the money. 0:18:49.885 --> 0:18:52.605 Blake said someone reached out to him and said they 0:18:52.685 --> 0:18:56.325 had spoken to the pastor directly about that money. 0:18:56.485 --> 0:18:59.525 I have had someone reach out to me in a message, 0:18:59.525 --> 0:19:02.165 in a private message. I won't give their name, but 0:19:02.365 --> 0:19:05.445 they told me that money was only in the safe 0:19:05.565 --> 0:19:09.645 for two hours before it was out of the church. Well, 0:19:09.725 --> 0:19:12.285 if that's the case, and I don't know that to 0:19:12.365 --> 0:19:15.125 be true, but if it was the case, then I 0:19:15.165 --> 0:19:18.245 would think that the pastor would have definitely remembered that 0:19:18.325 --> 0:19:20.525 portion that it was out in two hours, and he 0:19:20.565 --> 0:19:23.285 would have told the police about it. But you know, 0:19:23.325 --> 0:19:25.565 of course he said it slipped his mind. So I'm 0:19:25.605 --> 0:19:26.725 not sure what to say about that. 0:19:28.125 --> 0:19:30.165 But are they saying, I mean, did the police tell 0:19:30.205 --> 0:19:30.925 you that? 0:19:32.645 --> 0:19:34.325 Did the police tell you any of this? Are you 0:19:34.365 --> 0:19:38.125 getting this from other people? Well, the part about the 0:19:38.125 --> 0:19:40.245 two hours it was out with the two hours came 0:19:40.285 --> 0:19:42.565 from somebody on a message in the face, so I 0:19:42.645 --> 0:19:44.965 don't know how. I don't know how accurate that is, 0:19:45.445 --> 0:19:48.205 but I was just making the point that somebody obviously 0:19:48.205 --> 0:19:50.645 told them that within the church that it was out 0:19:50.685 --> 0:19:52.685 with the two hours. Well, if that was the case, 0:19:52.805 --> 0:19:55.445 then I think that the pastor would have remembered that. 0:19:56.325 --> 0:20:00.005 Blake said that the woman, the mother of Shannon's son's friend, 0:20:00.525 --> 0:20:03.165 has connections with the church, So. 0:20:03.645 --> 0:20:08.285 I believe the one I'm referring to, the woman who 0:20:08.365 --> 0:20:11.645 helped with the money hide the money. I know that 0:20:11.685 --> 0:20:15.285 I reached out to the church about my issue within 0:20:15.405 --> 0:20:18.325 the leading the prayer request, and when I did, this 0:20:18.445 --> 0:20:21.165 woman is the one who replied and said the pastor 0:20:21.205 --> 0:20:22.245 would like to speak with me. 0:20:23.125 --> 0:20:26.525 So Blake is suggesting three really big things here. That 0:20:26.645 --> 0:20:31.085 Teresa hid sixteen thousand dollars inside that church at some point, 0:20:31.485 --> 0:20:34.485 that the church's pastor lied to police about knowing about 0:20:34.485 --> 0:20:38.285 the money, and the police don't want him Blake to 0:20:38.365 --> 0:20:48.005 keep looking into the church. So I did some research 0:20:48.045 --> 0:20:51.125 on how investigations work when police have nobody and no 0:20:51.165 --> 0:20:53.325 obvious signs of foul play. This is something we deal 0:20:53.365 --> 0:20:55.885 with a lot in this podcast. I went back to 0:20:55.925 --> 0:21:00.045 my old favorite book, Practical Homicide Investigations by Vernon Gidbirth. 0:21:00.805 --> 0:21:03.965 He's a former NYPD detective who wrote the textbook that 0:21:04.045 --> 0:21:07.125 trains a lot of law enforcement the United States. My 0:21:07.205 --> 0:21:09.845 textbook is old and so beaten up at this point 0:21:09.885 --> 0:21:13.005 and super heavy, But even though some of the technology 0:21:13.045 --> 0:21:14.685 may be out of date, I go back to this 0:21:14.765 --> 0:21:18.365 book constantly. It is such a good and comprehensive overview 0:21:18.445 --> 0:21:23.245 on how police investigations really happen. It says, quote, when 0:21:23.285 --> 0:21:27.285 an investigator suspects foul play, the missing person investigation needs 0:21:27.285 --> 0:21:31.525 to focus on capturing the victim's routine activities. Individuals impact 0:21:31.565 --> 0:21:35.645 the world around them through their relationships, electronic footprints, personal 0:21:35.645 --> 0:21:41.205 and professional obligations, financial decisions, and other routine activities. Investigators 0:21:41.245 --> 0:21:45.245 should identify the victim's actions prior to the disappearance relationally. 0:21:45.685 --> 0:21:48.845 This may include individuals the victim recently had contact with, 0:21:49.245 --> 0:21:52.285 the last known sightings of the missing person, latest conversation, 0:21:52.565 --> 0:21:58.605 topics discussed, and the victim's mindset end quote. Basically, he's 0:21:58.605 --> 0:22:01.805 saying detectives need to figure out a person's pattern of life, 0:22:01.845 --> 0:22:05.925 their state of mind, and importantly, what they replace planning 0:22:05.965 --> 0:22:09.085 in the future. We know that Shannon was having issues 0:22:09.085 --> 0:22:11.565 at home. He was telling his family that he planned 0:22:11.565 --> 0:22:14.765 to leave his marriage, but we also know Shannon was 0:22:14.805 --> 0:22:18.445 excited about the future and about his new relationship. Blake 0:22:18.485 --> 0:22:21.365 said that he had basically never seen his brother happier. 0:22:22.965 --> 0:22:26.965 The book also says detectives need to focus on what 0:22:27.005 --> 0:22:30.885 they call proving the negative. Basically, if they can't prove 0:22:30.925 --> 0:22:34.445 what did happen, they need to look at the possibility 0:22:34.445 --> 0:22:38.645 of what didn't happen? What wouldn't this person do. This 0:22:38.725 --> 0:22:41.245 is much easier because there is a lot of evidence 0:22:41.725 --> 0:22:45.605 that Shannon Collins would not and did not disappear off 0:22:45.645 --> 0:22:49.205 the face of the earth voluntarily. So what did happen 0:22:49.245 --> 0:22:52.565 to him? If we can't find a body or physical evidence, 0:22:52.965 --> 0:22:55.645 we need to follow the money. We need to work 0:22:55.645 --> 0:22:57.445 with the facts we have, and that's what Blake has 0:22:57.485 --> 0:23:00.645 been trying to do. Just to be clear, we are 0:23:00.685 --> 0:23:03.325 not suggesting that the pastor or anyone at the church 0:23:03.445 --> 0:23:06.685 is in any way connected to Shannon's disappearance. Blake just 0:23:06.725 --> 0:23:09.485 wants to know if money was put into that church safe, 0:23:09.685 --> 0:23:13.405 why it happened, and under what conditions. Most importantly, why 0:23:13.445 --> 0:23:15.445 the police are trying to shut him down when he 0:23:15.525 --> 0:23:19.045 asked about the church or about this money. Because Shannon's 0:23:19.085 --> 0:23:22.485 money is one of the few concrete leads detectives have, 0:23:22.725 --> 0:23:25.245 So it doesn't make sense to me that they wouldn't 0:23:25.245 --> 0:23:26.885 want to follow every single lead. 0:23:27.965 --> 0:23:29.805 I mean, he was involved in the church and people 0:23:29.885 --> 0:23:34.125 knew him and his wife worked in some capacity. I 0:23:34.165 --> 0:23:36.245 don't know if she was paid. I believe she was 0:23:36.365 --> 0:23:39.645 paid as a job, but she worked at the church 0:23:39.685 --> 0:23:42.085 on a regular basis, whether it was paid or voluntary. 0:23:42.205 --> 0:23:44.845 She was a big part of working there, and so 0:23:45.165 --> 0:23:48.245 was my brother's step daughter, and I believe she worked 0:23:48.285 --> 0:23:50.685 in the daycare. Again, I don't know if it was 0:23:50.725 --> 0:23:53.565 a paid job or it was voluntary. I believe it 0:23:53.645 --> 0:23:56.525 was paid. But the reason that's important is if you 0:23:56.605 --> 0:23:59.205 talk to the police, they'll tell you there's this school 0:23:59.245 --> 0:24:02.805 has no association with the church, and vice versa. But 0:24:02.885 --> 0:24:05.965 that's a little difficult to believe, considering that at some 0:24:06.165 --> 0:24:11.005 point this church tells my brother's wife, stepdaughter, and son 0:24:11.085 --> 0:24:13.565 they are no longer allowed to be at the church, 0:24:13.605 --> 0:24:16.125 and that they are basically kicked out. 0:24:16.005 --> 0:24:16.525