WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Tripp Brazeale 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:51.961 School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.361 case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite 0:00:55.401 --> 0:00:58.761 witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.961 be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights 0:01:03.001 --> 0:01:06.160 from family and community members, their statements should not be 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.961 considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts 0:01:10.041 --> 0:01:14.000 inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.160 presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 0:01:17.961 --> 0:01:20.840 Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply 0:01:21.041 --> 0:01:23.601 that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime 0:01:24.121 --> 0:01:27.121 is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening. 0:01:29.481 --> 0:01:33.840 On Saturday, November two, twenty twenty four, fifteen year old 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:36.761 Trip Brazil headed out of his house in Forest City, 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.481 Arkansas on a four wheeler. Trip grew up and when 0:01:41.161 --> 0:01:43.161 he had been hanging around with his uncle and aunt 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:47.601 that day, His mother, Jennifer Brazil, told us that Trip, 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:49.841 her brother, and her sister in law went to a 0:01:49.881 --> 0:01:52.800 party at a friend's house. They were in the area 0:01:52.841 --> 0:01:56.001 of Saint Francis County Road four O nine, near Forest 0:01:56.041 --> 0:02:00.361 City after dark and into the early morning hours of Sunday, 0:02:00.401 --> 0:02:03.641 November three, They continued to hang out in a part 0:02:03.641 --> 0:02:07.361 of the woods called Crow Creek, riding ATVs, which are 0:02:07.401 --> 0:02:11.400 also called four wheelers. Trips aunt and uncle were on 0:02:11.401 --> 0:02:14.761 one four wheeler, Trip was on the other. One of 0:02:14.761 --> 0:02:18.121 his friends was also there at some point riding another atv. 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.401 Now it's mostly illegal to ride four wheelers on paved 0:02:23.481 --> 0:02:26.800 roads in Arkansas and in many other places, but out 0:02:26.841 --> 0:02:29.281 there in the country it is a common mode of 0:02:29.321 --> 0:02:34.361 transportation for teens. His mother, Jennifer Brazil, told us that 0:02:34.441 --> 0:02:37.241 Trip was homeschooled and also had a job at a 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:37.960 carpet store. 0:02:38.721 --> 0:02:43.561 They love being outside, sweet, respectful kids. He knew how 0:02:43.601 --> 0:02:48.321 to actuards his elders. They had been riding fullers all day, actually, 0:02:48.441 --> 0:02:51.281 his brother and sister. I'm glad that they got to 0:02:51.601 --> 0:02:54.321 send the day with him. Then he went by our 0:02:54.361 --> 0:02:58.161 friend's house, so they were having a party. And if 0:02:58.201 --> 0:03:00.681 it comes back you had alcohol in this system, that's 0:03:00.721 --> 0:03:03.601 not going to shock me. But as far as drugs, no, 0:03:03.881 --> 0:03:07.401 Trip was not a drug user. He told his friends 0:03:07.561 --> 0:03:10.601 to try to stop smoking weeds. Trip was very scared 0:03:10.641 --> 0:03:11.481 of drugs. 0:03:12.081 --> 0:03:14.761 There were police officers near the teens in the woods 0:03:14.801 --> 0:03:18.361 that night. Deputy Tray Bonham and Sergeant David Kenney from 0:03:18.401 --> 0:03:21.521 the Saint Francis County Sheriff's Office had been out there 0:03:21.561 --> 0:03:24.801 responding to a call dealing with a missing eleven year 0:03:24.841 --> 0:03:27.721 old and twelve year old girl and boy from Cross County. 0:03:28.281 --> 0:03:31.001 So Sergeant Kenny and Deputy Bonham got called out to 0:03:31.001 --> 0:03:34.561 an area near Highway three eight because one of the 0:03:34.561 --> 0:03:38.601 missing Cross County kids phones was pinging in that area. 0:03:38.761 --> 0:03:41.721 Deputy Bynham wrote in his report that while they were 0:03:41.761 --> 0:03:45.361 checking out a residence in the woods, they heard ATVs 0:03:45.761 --> 0:03:49.681 driving around erratically. When they finished up and got back 0:03:49.721 --> 0:03:53.641 to their vehicles, Sergeant Kenney went to go find those ATVs. 0:03:54.121 --> 0:03:56.601 He was the first one to make contact with Trip 0:03:56.601 --> 0:04:00.121 and his family members. In his report, he said that 0:04:00.161 --> 0:04:02.641 he was talking to the people who were on one 0:04:02.681 --> 0:04:06.801 of the four wheelers, basically telling everyone to slow down. 0:04:07.121 --> 0:04:10.401 As Deputy Bontam approached, he saw one of the four 0:04:10.401 --> 0:04:13.881 wheelers slow down like it was about to stop, but then, 0:04:14.241 --> 0:04:17.561 he said, the four wheeler took off and passed him 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:20.841 at a high rate of speed. The driver of that 0:04:20.961 --> 0:04:26.041 ATV was Trip Brazil. The police started talking to Trip's 0:04:26.041 --> 0:04:28.721 aunt and uncle and one of Trip's friends. 0:04:29.281 --> 0:04:33.081 Then He was riding with my brother and sister in 0:04:33.161 --> 0:04:36.760 law who her dad is a state trooper, and the 0:04:36.841 --> 0:04:39.721 cop pulled up to the stop sign and said what 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:41.681 are y'all doing? They said, oh, we'll just stop riding. 0:04:42.001 --> 0:04:43.601 Looks a little way y'all need to go. 0:04:45.161 --> 0:04:47.720 Sergeant Kenny was interviewed about this incident. 0:04:48.521 --> 0:04:53.241 There's two four wheelers and four individuals there. They all 0:04:53.281 --> 0:04:57.200 looked to be leaked teen's early twenties. As I got 0:04:57.241 --> 0:05:00.001 out of my truck and walked around in front of 0:05:00.001 --> 0:05:04.001 my vehicle, one of the four wheelers took off going 0:05:04.161 --> 0:05:06.761 south on two eighty four. He went a couple hundred 0:05:06.801 --> 0:05:10.361 yards and stopped, looked over his shoulder. I said, where's 0:05:10.361 --> 0:05:12.921 he going. One of the kids popped up and said, 0:05:12.921 --> 0:05:15.161 we don't know, sir. I said, so he's just going 0:05:15.241 --> 0:05:17.320 to leave y'all here. He said, that's what it looks like. 0:05:17.761 --> 0:05:20.001 Will he come back by? And he was approaching. He 0:05:20.081 --> 0:05:22.001 was slowing down like he was going to stop. 0:05:22.921 --> 0:05:26.080 At that point, Deputy Bonham started his pursuit of the 0:05:26.081 --> 0:05:30.161 four wheeler. He was trying to pull trip over. Sergeant 0:05:30.281 --> 0:05:33.081 Kenny said he just wanted the driver of that ATV 0:05:33.241 --> 0:05:35.841 to slow down. He said. He called out on the 0:05:35.961 --> 0:05:39.281 radio to the driver, telling him to watch the hairpin 0:05:39.441 --> 0:05:44.161 turns on the roadway. Trip didn't stop. Instead, he turned 0:05:44.161 --> 0:05:47.280 onto another road, Highway four O nine, and sped away, 0:05:48.161 --> 0:05:52.481 so Deputy Bottom followed him. This high speed chase went 0:05:52.521 --> 0:05:55.561 on up a hill and back down a hill. Technically 0:05:55.601 --> 0:05:57.801 it was a dirt burm, but that's how the deputies 0:05:57.801 --> 0:06:02.481 described it. And that's when something happened, something that caused 0:06:02.521 --> 0:06:05.761 Trip to abruptly stop and jump off his four wheeler 0:06:05.841 --> 0:06:12.241 at twelve forty two am. This is the bodycam footage 0:06:12.281 --> 0:06:19.481 of that chase. In real time. You can hear the 0:06:19.521 --> 0:06:22.521 deputy yell at Trip, but he'd already gotten off the 0:06:22.521 --> 0:06:27.801 four wheeler and was running. Trip was wearing a camouflage hoodie, 0:06:28.001 --> 0:06:30.721 blue jeans, and boots as he took off through the woods. 0:06:31.601 --> 0:06:34.841 In that bodycam footage, it looks like he jumped over 0:06:34.921 --> 0:06:37.681 a barbed wire fence and took off across a field. 0:06:38.361 --> 0:06:42.081 Trip didn't stop or turned back. He fled into the 0:06:42.121 --> 0:06:48.161 woods and kept on running and then he disappeared. I'm 0:06:48.201 --> 0:06:51.201 Catherine Townsend. Over the past five years of making my 0:06:51.241 --> 0:06:54.561 true crime podcast Helen Gone, I've learned that there is 0:06:54.681 --> 0:06:58.201 no such thing as a small town where murder never happens. 0:06:59.001 --> 0:07:01.921 I've received hundreds of messages from people all around the 0:07:01.961 --> 0:07:05.121 country asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, 0:07:05.481 --> 0:07:09.601 their families, and their communities. If you have a case 0:07:09.641 --> 0:07:11.961 you'd like me and my team to look into, you 0:07:12.001 --> 0:07:14.201 can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder 0:07:14.241 --> 0:07:17.841 Line at six seven eight seven four four six one 0:07:17.881 --> 0:07:21.801 four five. That's six seven eight seven four four six 0:07:21.961 --> 0:07:25.241 one four five, Or you can send us a message 0:07:25.281 --> 0:08:06.681 on Instagram at Helen Gonepod. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. 0:08:13.761 --> 0:08:18.161 In that police bodycam footage, you can see trips abandoned 0:08:18.241 --> 0:08:21.761 yellow and dark gray four wheeler. Deputy Bottom runs up 0:08:21.761 --> 0:08:24.281 to the barber Ware fence, where he stops with his 0:08:24.321 --> 0:08:27.761 gun drawn, but there's no sign of trip. He'd already 0:08:27.801 --> 0:08:31.561 run into the dark woods. So Deputy Bottom goes back 0:08:31.601 --> 0:08:34.401 to his vehicle and gets on the radio. Now some 0:08:34.641 --> 0:08:37.321 parts of this are kind of hard to understand, but 0:08:37.441 --> 0:08:40.160 he's saying that they wrecked and that he had the 0:08:40.201 --> 0:08:42.521 four wheeler he wrecked out. 0:08:42.560 --> 0:08:43.920 I got the fooler. 0:08:44.081 --> 0:08:48.200 I'm good, but we went up, bitch, I said, I'm good. 0:08:48.241 --> 0:08:50.160 When we went up that ditch right there, both of us, 0:08:50.521 --> 0:08:51.241 me and him both. 0:08:52.841 --> 0:08:55.601 The second officer on the scene, Sergeant Kenny, shows up. 0:08:56.001 --> 0:08:57.560 They start talking about what happened. 0:08:57.881 --> 0:08:59.601 There's gonna be a white male on a cam flies 0:08:59.641 --> 0:09:01.841 hoodie and blue jays. Looked like he went off that way. 0:09:02.201 --> 0:09:03.561 Did he roll it or something? 0:09:03.881 --> 0:09:06.800 Hey turned it and jumped off and took off running 0:09:06.841 --> 0:09:07.521 across the field. 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:11.441 At this point, it doesn't seem like they believe that 0:09:11.481 --> 0:09:14.961 this was a super serious situation. The deputy later said 0:09:14.961 --> 0:09:17.041 that he had followed his partner so that he would 0:09:17.081 --> 0:09:20.121 have backup if needed, but at this point they had 0:09:20.161 --> 0:09:21.161 no weapons drawn. 0:09:21.961 --> 0:09:27.841 He had jumped over the fence and we looked called out, hey, 0:09:28.041 --> 0:09:29.001 come back to the road. 0:09:29.641 --> 0:09:31.201 You've been fire a weapon or anything. 0:09:31.881 --> 0:09:32.961 No sir, No sir. 0:09:33.641 --> 0:09:36.521 Later police were able to figure out through examining the 0:09:36.561 --> 0:09:40.161 four wheeler that the connection to the battery was lost somehow. 0:09:40.681 --> 0:09:44.481 There was damage to the hot battery cable. Basically, something 0:09:44.561 --> 0:09:47.721 happened that made the battery die. This was a high 0:09:47.761 --> 0:09:51.841 speed chase, and both the police and trip went over 0:09:51.881 --> 0:09:55.321 a hill, so it might have happened. Then The impact 0:09:55.641 --> 0:09:58.601 was enough that the officers did check for damage on 0:09:58.641 --> 0:10:02.001 his truck, but they said they did not find any 0:10:02.041 --> 0:10:06.161 significant damage. It turned out that after Trip came off 0:10:06.161 --> 0:10:10.121 that four wheeler and ran away, he started making phone calls. 0:10:10.481 --> 0:10:13.601 He called his mother, Jennifer, and was also in touch 0:10:13.641 --> 0:10:17.800 with his father, but at some point his phone died. 0:10:24.481 --> 0:10:27.641 Deputy Bottoms secured the four wheeler and Sergeant Kenny got 0:10:27.681 --> 0:10:30.641 a trailer to take it back to the station. Once 0:10:30.681 --> 0:10:33.161 they got there, they were looking for a VEN number 0:10:33.201 --> 0:10:37.481 on that vehicle. Sergeant Kenny said they couldn't find one. Later, 0:10:37.801 --> 0:10:40.241 he said they figured out that the vehicle had been stolen. 0:10:41.121 --> 0:10:43.921 There is nothing else about that in the reports, so 0:10:44.041 --> 0:10:46.841 I need to say I have no idea if the 0:10:46.881 --> 0:10:51.121 four wheeler was stolen or who allegedly stole it, but 0:10:51.401 --> 0:10:53.961 from the reports, it does not look like that was 0:10:53.961 --> 0:10:58.521 the police priority. They were focused on finding Trip. When 0:10:58.521 --> 0:11:01.481 Deputy Bynum and Sergeant Kenny were trying to pull over Trip, 0:11:02.161 --> 0:11:05.641 they said they didn't know who he was, but they 0:11:05.681 --> 0:11:06.680 didn't know his family. 0:11:07.521 --> 0:11:10.921 This late at night would allowed for the waking folks 0:11:10.921 --> 0:11:13.601 of and I know his dad, I. 0:11:13.601 --> 0:11:16.481 Know his mom, and I know his brother, but I 0:11:16.481 --> 0:11:18.481 wouldn't know him if he walked up and spit on 0:11:18.561 --> 0:11:21.601 it and I don't know if he recognized me, and 0:11:22.161 --> 0:11:24.281 that's why he took off and wanted. 0:11:24.041 --> 0:11:29.080 To be the chasing Deputy Bonum said that another deputy, Deputy, Bradshaw, 0:11:29.401 --> 0:11:32.121 reached out to Tripp's father. This would have been at 0:11:32.161 --> 0:11:36.321 around one am. According to the incident report, Tripp's parents 0:11:36.361 --> 0:11:38.641 said he had still not come home and that they 0:11:38.641 --> 0:11:41.441 were going out to look for him, and according to 0:11:41.481 --> 0:11:45.081 Sergeant Kenney's report, Jennifer was in touch with Trip during 0:11:45.081 --> 0:11:48.001 this time and pleading with her son to come out 0:11:48.041 --> 0:11:51.241 and turn himself in, while at the same time trying 0:11:51.241 --> 0:11:54.361 to calm him down. Both of Tripp's parents were trying 0:11:54.361 --> 0:11:56.320 to reassure him that they were on their way to 0:11:56.361 --> 0:11:59.801 find him. Jennifer said that after Trip was thrown off 0:11:59.801 --> 0:12:01.721 his four wheeler and walked through the woods for a 0:12:01.721 --> 0:12:04.121 period of time, that he called her to come and 0:12:04.161 --> 0:12:08.321 pick him up. So Jennifer and Gil headed out to 0:12:08.401 --> 0:12:10.761 Highway four oh nine to the area where Trip was 0:12:10.841 --> 0:12:15.521 last seen. When they arrived, deputies were still there. Trip 0:12:15.561 --> 0:12:18.641 talked to other people too, and one of his friends, 0:12:18.641 --> 0:12:21.961 who was interviewed by police, said that Trip's location could 0:12:22.001 --> 0:12:26.761 be viewed on Snapchat live. At some point. Sergeant Kenney 0:12:26.801 --> 0:12:29.481 said that he got Trip's phone number. He said he 0:12:29.641 --> 0:12:34.801 sent Trip a text himself, but Trip never responded. He said, quote, 0:12:35.161 --> 0:12:37.521 I only wanted to tell the kids to not drive 0:12:37.561 --> 0:12:41.121 reckless at night. If he had only stopped, then I 0:12:41.161 --> 0:12:43.841 would have just called his dad. His mother showed me 0:12:43.881 --> 0:12:45.521 a text where I was telling her that he was 0:12:45.561 --> 0:12:49.441 a screw up and apologies to both parents. End quote. 0:12:50.401 --> 0:12:53.201 That text was sent at one forty one am, but 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:57.401 a few minutes after that, sometime around two am, Trip's 0:12:57.401 --> 0:13:01.481 phone went dead. Meanwhile, an anonymous phone call was placed 0:13:01.521 --> 0:13:03.081 to the Sheriff's office. 0:13:03.241 --> 0:13:07.201 We got an unknown anonymous phone call, and the phone 0:13:07.201 --> 0:13:10.481 call whoever it was, stated that he was in the woods. 0:13:10.961 --> 0:13:12.881 He was behind the church on Sec. 0:13:12.961 --> 0:13:14.321 Four O nine in that area. 0:13:16.081 --> 0:13:19.241 Deputy Bonhams said that an anonymous caller told him that 0:13:19.321 --> 0:13:22.521 Trip had been driving the four wheeler. He said that 0:13:22.561 --> 0:13:24.920 some deputies went out to that area behind the church 0:13:25.201 --> 0:13:28.881 and looked for Trip, but couldn't find him. Police talked 0:13:28.881 --> 0:13:32.121 to one of Trip's friends. This is from Deputy Tray 0:13:32.121 --> 0:13:35.321 Bonham's body camp. You can hear him talking to the 0:13:35.361 --> 0:13:39.160 friend asking him if he knows anything about Trip's whereabouts. 0:13:39.881 --> 0:13:41.601 All right, man, you've been bored for a while. 0:13:41.721 --> 0:13:42.241 He's up. 0:13:42.721 --> 0:13:43.521 Tell me the truth. 0:13:43.881 --> 0:13:45.281 It's the truth. You know what, Trips. 0:13:45.521 --> 0:13:48.040 I ain't gonna fucking clue what Trip. I've been trying 0:13:48.081 --> 0:13:49.561 to find Trip, my damn hill to him, get. 0:13:49.401 --> 0:13:51.921 The fuck home, not being a dat When I say 0:13:51.961 --> 0:13:55.601 this ranning, it's Raine ran out of his shoes. It's 0:13:55.641 --> 0:13:57.641 fourteen years old, and nobody's singing or hear. 0:13:58.761 --> 0:14:02.681 Trip's friend shows the deputy where Trip's last location. Pinned. 0:14:03.161 --> 0:14:06.201 Trip was on Snapchat and his friend used a live 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:09.361 location video to show the deputy trips last location. 0:14:10.201 --> 0:14:12.841 So look right here, you got where four nine splits. 0:14:12.961 --> 0:14:15.081 That's f C four or nine goes two ways. That's 0:14:15.081 --> 0:14:17.601 where it was three hours ago. I'm sure that's where 0:14:17.601 --> 0:14:19.121 he left. The fool was right there over there and 0:14:19.161 --> 0:14:20.761 took off front of him for at the end of 0:14:20.761 --> 0:14:23.361 this day, in or one of the others. That's fourteen 0:14:23.361 --> 0:14:24.121 minute drive from here. 0:14:24.641 --> 0:14:27.121 My main concern is if he's hurt. 0:14:27.241 --> 0:14:29.481 Yeah, I mean the way y'all said he jumping. 0:14:30.361 --> 0:14:31.321 Ran from the politics. 0:14:31.961 --> 0:14:33.321 I got toldkay when he walked in, it's like a 0:14:33.321 --> 0:14:33.921 little brother to me. 0:14:34.001 --> 0:14:35.761 I got his back like I had my little brother back. 0:14:36.201 --> 0:14:38.721 But in this situation, I tell where my little brother was. 0:14:39.121 --> 0:14:40.001 I have what tripple was. 0:14:40.041 --> 0:14:42.041 I tell you well, I'm heard a bug out there. 0:14:42.321 --> 0:14:43.361 If you hear anything, lemon know. 0:14:46.681 --> 0:14:49.961 Jennifer was also upset that, in her words, that the 0:14:50.001 --> 0:14:52.841 police seemed to be more concerned with securing and taking 0:14:52.881 --> 0:14:56.081 the four wheeler than they were about finding her son. 0:14:57.081 --> 0:14:59.681 I last talked the trip at one and I made 0:14:59.681 --> 0:15:02.001 it to the woods at two o'clock, where his phone 0:15:02.121 --> 0:15:04.881 went dead and the full wheeler was already gone. There 0:15:04.881 --> 0:15:07.961 were no cops out theirs. I hollered, went in the woods, 0:15:08.041 --> 0:15:11.881 hollowed for trip nothing but within that amount of time 0:15:11.921 --> 0:15:14.841 that foll whelller was already gone. They weren't looking for 0:15:15.001 --> 0:15:17.761 my kids. They wanted the full wheeler. He followed his 0:15:17.881 --> 0:15:20.361 vehicle up on the embankment after the trip, where it 0:15:20.361 --> 0:15:23.321 looked like he could I possibly use the vehicle as 0:15:23.321 --> 0:15:28.761 a deadly weapon. Actually called me and said they got 0:15:28.761 --> 0:15:32.401 the full wheeler because he was hiding. Apparently that's what 0:15:32.441 --> 0:15:34.841 it sounded like. And I said, okay, I'm coming to 0:15:34.881 --> 0:15:36.681 get you. He said, well, my phone's about to guy. 0:15:36.721 --> 0:15:39.641 I said, I've got your fans location on all my way. 0:15:39.761 --> 0:15:41.921 She said okay. I said I love you. He said 0:15:41.961 --> 0:15:44.281 love you too. So it wasn't like guy who was 0:15:44.441 --> 0:15:47.041 arguing with him or killing him on the feature foot 0:15:47.081 --> 0:15:49.921 when you get home. It was just coming to get you. 0:15:50.721 --> 0:15:54.681 One I got a weird text message with another County 0:15:54.721 --> 0:15:57.441 Talk who at this time we found out was not 0:15:57.561 --> 0:16:00.881 even on night shift. Pe' dayshift, so why did you 0:16:01.001 --> 0:16:04.401 call my husband's phone at one nine? At the same time, 0:16:04.441 --> 0:16:06.881 I got a weird text on my phone from Trip 0:16:07.721 --> 0:16:11.921 and said they got tripped with then one until ocock 0:16:11.961 --> 0:16:15.241 the foiler was gone. 0:16:15.401 --> 0:16:18.481 Jin and her husband kept searching for Trip throughout the night. 0:16:19.241 --> 0:16:21.841 The police search also went on late into the night 0:16:21.921 --> 0:16:25.801 and into the next day. At four twenty am, Sergeant 0:16:25.921 --> 0:16:28.721 Kenney asked the fire department to send out drones with 0:16:28.841 --> 0:16:34.041 thermal and night vision, but they found no trace of Trip. Later, 0:16:34.481 --> 0:16:37.681 Jen posted on social media that she found that suspicious 0:16:38.241 --> 0:16:40.761 the fact that the drones found no trace of Trip, 0:16:40.881 --> 0:16:42.921 even though he was supposed to have been running through 0:16:42.921 --> 0:16:46.561 the woods. But drones that respond to body heat can 0:16:46.681 --> 0:16:50.521 have lots of obstacles. They don't always work perfectly. They 0:16:50.521 --> 0:16:54.441 can be impeded by trees or outdoor temperature, wind, and 0:16:54.521 --> 0:16:58.721 a lot of other factors. At seven twenty am, the 0:16:58.761 --> 0:17:02.521 East Arkansas Department of Corrections brought in their tracker dogs. 0:17:03.201 --> 0:17:06.440 The dogs were released where Trip had been when he 0:17:06.521 --> 0:17:09.241 fled the Saint but they were unable to get a 0:17:09.281 --> 0:17:11.880 tracking sent on him. Then they were taken to the 0:17:11.921 --> 0:17:15.801 area where Trip's cell phone had last panned. Still no luck. 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:20.521 The Arkansas State Police were called in to assist. So 0:17:20.761 --> 0:17:24.360 now you have the ASP, the Saint Francis County Sheriff's office, 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:29.241 the Game and Fish Commission, and multiple other organizations, plus 0:17:29.481 --> 0:17:33.840 tons of local volunteers. Everyone in that county was looking 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:37.921 for Trip Brazil. Local news crews were talking to Tripp's 0:17:37.921 --> 0:17:41.801 family and word got out fast, both on the news 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:45.001 and on social media, and a lot of people were 0:17:45.041 --> 0:17:48.281 asking how this happened. This was a kid who knew 0:17:48.321 --> 0:17:51.321 the area well, so they couldn't figure out how he 0:17:51.361 --> 0:17:54.880 had gotten lost out there and just disappeared, and why 0:17:54.961 --> 0:17:57.840 with all the people searching for him, he hadn't been found. 0:17:58.761 --> 0:18:01.681 Searchers fanned out all over the area where Trip was missing, 0:18:02.001 --> 0:18:05.041 a part of the woods near Crow Creek. The area 0:18:05.241 --> 0:18:08.041 near where Trip went missing is basically on the edge 0:18:08.041 --> 0:18:11.321 of Crowley's Ridge, which is a continuous range of rolling 0:18:11.401 --> 0:18:15.881 hills that goes from Missouri across eastern Arkansas. The area 0:18:15.961 --> 0:18:18.241 got its name from the first white settler to reach 0:18:18.281 --> 0:18:22.201 the area, Benjamin Crowley. The ridges happened when the Mississippi 0:18:22.281 --> 0:18:24.961 River changed course at one point and kept cutting into 0:18:24.961 --> 0:18:29.161 the terrain, so you have this really unique geographical feature. 0:18:29.601 --> 0:18:32.441 It goes from flat Delta country to an elevation of 0:18:32.441 --> 0:18:36.641 two hundred and fifty feet really quickly. This terrain can 0:18:36.681 --> 0:18:39.521 be pretty unforgiving even for people who know it well, 0:18:40.041 --> 0:18:43.761 and it's very easy to get lost up there. And 0:18:44.001 --> 0:18:47.801 told the local wrig news channel that she thought that 0:18:47.921 --> 0:18:50.281 maybe Trip would walk back to where he believed he 0:18:50.321 --> 0:18:54.001 had left the ATV, and then because the police had 0:18:54.001 --> 0:18:57.121 taken his vehicle, she said maybe he couldn't find it, 0:18:57.681 --> 0:19:00.641 So she reasoned that he may have started walking into 0:19:00.681 --> 0:19:05.521 the woods, gotten disoriented somehow, and gotten lost. His mother 0:19:05.641 --> 0:19:07.801 said that Trip had last been in touch with him 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:10.920 in the early morning hours on Sunday, that Trip was 0:19:10.961 --> 0:19:13.921 talking about the police chasing him, that he was scared, 0:19:14.321 --> 0:19:17.001 and that he wanted his parents to come get him. 0:19:17.441 --> 0:19:20.441 She said she believed that Trip jumped off his ATV 0:19:20.801 --> 0:19:23.600 and over a barb wire fence in order to escape 0:19:23.641 --> 0:19:26.521 the officer who was pursuing him. She was basing that 0:19:26.641 --> 0:19:29.721 on the fact that near that fence they found Trip's 0:19:29.721 --> 0:19:32.681 hat in his shoe. This was just a few feet 0:19:32.761 --> 0:19:35.281 from where he came off as four wheeler and started 0:19:35.401 --> 0:19:39.361 running from police. They found something else on Monday too. 0:19:40.121 --> 0:19:44.521 Searchers found more of Trip's clothes, his other boot, his hoodie, 0:19:44.761 --> 0:19:48.681 his cell phone, and his wallet, and Jennifer said the 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:52.521 way that his clothing was found was odd. His sweatshirt 0:19:52.601 --> 0:19:56.281 was lying on some leaves and his phone, wallet, screwdriver, 0:19:56.481 --> 0:19:59.761 and phone charger were laying on top of the sweatshirt. 0:20:00.041 --> 0:20:04.241 So she wondered, why would Trip have left his stuff 0:20:04.281 --> 0:20:07.600 out there in the dark like that, or could something 0:20:07.681 --> 0:20:10.400 else have happened to him? Did someone else leave the 0:20:10.401 --> 0:20:11.041 stuff out there? 0:20:11.121 --> 0:20:15.201 Later well, Monday morning, we mysteriously find his other boot 0:20:15.561 --> 0:20:19.721 and his hoodie and siphon and wallet. It wasn't their Sunday, 0:20:20.080 --> 0:20:26.361 but it was their Monday some reason. His sweatshirts, phone wallet, screwdriver, 0:20:27.321 --> 0:20:30.120 and phone charger were laying on top of his sweatshirt. 0:20:30.481 --> 0:20:33.840 But then he hundred yards up the other side of 0:20:33.881 --> 0:20:37.360 the ridge he found his boots. I don't understand that, 0:20:37.481 --> 0:20:39.600 because if I'm gonna go ahead and take off my 0:20:39.641 --> 0:20:41.721 sweatshirt that I have, I'm going to take off my 0:20:41.881 --> 0:20:45.321 last boot that I had on. Anyway, I'm not gonna 0:20:45.361 --> 0:20:48.441 go further up and then put my boot there and 0:20:48.441 --> 0:20:52.481 then continue to walk. Because we found his boot and hat, 0:20:53.041 --> 0:20:55.681 and they brought dogs in and the dogs never hit 0:20:55.761 --> 0:20:56.441 on anything. 0:20:57.761 --> 0:21:00.521 So now she was thinking that this was seriously odd. 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:03.641 Why would he start taking off clothes in the middle 0:21:03.641 --> 0:21:07.441 of the night and keep running. And Jennifer said, this 0:21:07.641 --> 0:21:10.441 wasn't the first time that Deputy Bonham had gotten into 0:21:10.441 --> 0:21:13.001 some kind of a confrontation with her son and his 0:21:13.041 --> 0:21:15.841 friends over riding four wheelers in that area. 0:21:16.401 --> 0:21:18.801 Just because Tripp had out Randim on the four wheler before, 0:21:19.121 --> 0:21:22.521 and he told people that he would get him, and 0:21:22.601 --> 0:21:25.121 he made sure that Trip was aware of that that 0:21:25.161 --> 0:21:29.161 he told people. It was supposedly said that this other 0:21:29.241 --> 0:21:32.600 boy he was chasing, he pulled up in their driveway 0:21:32.641 --> 0:21:35.241 one day and Trip his name was mentioned in that 0:21:35.361 --> 0:21:38.161 conversation that if he's seen him again, he would kill him. 0:21:38.881 --> 0:21:42.401 But Deputy Bonham stated in his report that he had 0:21:42.441 --> 0:21:45.120 no idea that the driver who had doubled back and 0:21:45.201 --> 0:21:47.761 passed back by him and turned into a highway four 0:21:47.761 --> 0:21:50.681 O nine was Trip, even when he was close to it. 0:21:51.961 --> 0:21:56.001 On Monday, November fourth, the Arkansas State Police were called 0:21:56.041 --> 0:21:59.601 in to assist. They found Trip's iPhone in the woods. 0:21:59.961 --> 0:22:02.641 It had died, and it was turned over to police 0:22:02.761 --> 0:22:06.680 and taken in for data extraction. Later that afternoon, at 0:22:06.721 --> 0:22:10.281 around four thirty pm, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 0:22:10.281 --> 0:22:13.640 officer saw something north of Benner State forty, near the 0:22:13.641 --> 0:22:18.961 two hundred and forty three point seven mile marker. It 0:22:19.041 --> 0:22:40.041 was Trip's body. He was hanging from a tree at 0:22:40.041 --> 0:22:43.360 around four thirty in the afternoon on Monday, November fourth, 0:22:43.721 --> 0:22:47.161 thirty six hours after fifteen year old Trip Brazil got 0:22:47.201 --> 0:22:49.521 into a high speed chase with a police officer in 0:22:49.561 --> 0:22:53.561 Saint Francis County, Arkansas, his body was found hanging from 0:22:53.601 --> 0:22:57.561 a tree. We filed freedom of information requests and we 0:22:57.561 --> 0:23:00.721 were able to get copies of the incident report, though 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:05.080 parts of it were redacted, probably due to Trip's age. 0:23:05.321 --> 0:23:07.321 I wanted to cover this case because we get a 0:23:07.361 --> 0:23:10.561 lot of calls from parents and from other family members 0:23:10.761 --> 0:23:13.361 who believed that their loved one did not take their 0:23:13.361 --> 0:23:15.840 own life, and that there was some kind of foul 0:23:15.840 --> 0:23:19.721 play not suicide involved. We wanted to see what we 0:23:19.801 --> 0:23:23.481 could do to help Trip's family get answers. At first, 0:23:23.840 --> 0:23:26.561 we wondered if Trip's four wheeler incident could have been 0:23:26.561 --> 0:23:30.561 something else, Maybe the police truck had hit him, or 0:23:30.641 --> 0:23:34.121 there was some kind of automobile accident. There has been 0:23:34.441 --> 0:23:37.201 quite a bit of publicity in recent years about the 0:23:37.281 --> 0:23:41.721 so called pit maneuvers in Arkansas. That's when police try 0:23:41.801 --> 0:23:45.281 to stop a high speed chase by forcing the other 0:23:45.441 --> 0:23:49.241 driver into some kind of a wreck. There have been 0:23:49.321 --> 0:23:52.360 fatalities as a result of some of these maneuvers, so 0:23:52.601 --> 0:23:55.360 we wondered if this could have been a pit maneuver. 0:23:56.281 --> 0:23:59.561 Deputy Bonham was interviewed about the police chase and he 0:23:59.761 --> 0:24:03.401 was asked why he was chasing Trip in the first place. 0:24:04.001 --> 0:24:06.920