Gone | 2

Hey listeners Jessica here. Be sure to check out new episodes of Undetermined every Tuesday for free wherever you get your podcasts. For early and ad free listening, check out Tenderfoot Plus on Apple Podcasts. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals interviewed and participating in the show, and do not represent those

Three five A third District.

Here you.

While Officer Griffin talks to Justin outside, Officer Gantner calls Detective Anthony Lunn from inside her police cruiser and explains the reason for being there.

Okay, so we're at.

Earlier tonight, around ten something, a friend from out of town called and said that she hadn't been able to get a hold of her friend since Monday.

I think she's not answering her phone and all that.

So an officer came out here, I think a leaf few officers came out did a wellness check. Well, when they did the wellness check, the husband says, no, I haven't heard from her either. Her phone's here, her purse's here, her meds are here, everything's here, But I haven't heard from her, and I don't know where she's at. And the friend that called from out of town said that she's afraid that the husband did something to her because they have a history of.

I guess domestic issues.

Now, before we get into the remainder of the bodycam audio, it's important that we addressed the weighty statement made by Maria because there's some context to it. It started about nine months earlier, near the end of twenty twenty. I'll let Maria fill you in.

When they came to stay in my home at Thanksgiving.

My middle son is in.

Competitive cheer and they had a two day competition scheduled for the end of January early February in New Orleans. They were getting packed up ready to leave.

You know.

She was like, I'm so sad.

I don't want to leave. And I was like, I know, I'm going to miss you. And I was like, well, as a competition in New Orleans and it's a two day competition, so maybe we'll just come stay with you. She was like, yeah, of course, And you know, I mean we had just had them in our house for three days. Of course they were going to say yes, you know. So then just a few days before we were supposed to show up and stay at her house, I get this text from her and she says, Hey.

I need to talk to you about this weekend. I'm hiding in the bathroom right now, so Justin doesn't hear me. We've been fighting, like fighting for the past three days about everything. He's threatening to kick me out, put me in jail. He's hit me.

It's bad.

He told me, you guys can't come, or it's going to be worse for me.

Lo.

I'm so sorry. I know it's the last minute, and I feel awful. I don't know what to do. I can recommend somewhere that's reasonable and nice. The Beyond Canal. We say they're a lot, or we used to hell.

I'm scared.

Both the police body came audio and the Edge text thread between Jessica and Maria raise a serious accusation about domestic violence regarding Justin. While I cannot speak to the accuracy of these claims, it's important to understand that Justin has never been charged with any crimes of domestic violence against Jessica.

I mean, it was kind of an upsetting text to get, you know. I mean, she's putting a lot of detail in here, which is unusual. But he's threatened to kick me out with something that he did all the time. So it struck me as very odd because she had never put any kind of details about the relationship and writing like that. Later on that day she called me and she was like, I'm so sorry. You know, maybe we can find a room for you. And I was like, it's cool, I've our I booked something. And I was like,

While Maria may have been shocked at the revelation, she remained fairly casual about it, giving off a certain familiarity with the situation. Turns out, at the time, she had just gotten out of a tumultuous relationship. It's a big reason why she alienated herself and lost touch with Jessica for a few years.

Most of the people in her life didn't know what she was going through, because you know, you don't just tell people all your dirty laundry. So that's why I knew to be patient with her about it. It had to be the time, It had to be the exact right time to go.

Maria waited as patiently as she could, and then seven months later, the morning of Monday, August twelfth, twenty nineteen, just two days before police responded to wellness check. Jessica reached out, so.

I slid the phone open and put it on the speakerphone. I was like hey, she said hey. I said, what's going on? And she was like, I just really need to get out of here? Can you come get me? I was like, well, I can't come right now. I've got to pick up the kids in like two hours. But if you're really ready to go, I could be at your house by ten thirty tomorrow morning, but you got to be ready to get in my car, like no looking back and turning back into a pillar. Assault,

After their call, Maria sent a Facebook message letting her know that she was going to talk to her boyfriend about Jessica staying with them. Jessica then called Maria to let her know she was at a doctor's appointment with Grace and would have to see how things were when she got home. This call was followed by a reply from Jessica to Maria's original Facebook message. It came through at two forty three in the afternoon. It read similar to what she had told Maria over the.

Phone, Okay, just hang on.

I don't know what's going to happen when I get.

Home, and that was the last time I ever spoke to her.

The day Maria had planned to pick up Jessica, August thirteenth, twenty nineteen, came and went without a word from her. Maria thought maybe Jessica had gone home, and she and Justin patched things up, anticipating she'd hear from her at a later time, but instead, the following night, Wednesday, August fourteenth, at nine pm, while Maria and her boyfriend were getting

Is Jess with you? Grace and I are worried? If so, that's fine. We just don't know where she is. And Grace can't handle stress like this right now.

No, she's not.

When was the last time you spoke to her?

About noon today? And she left everything here? Keys, car, id, money?

What about her phone here?

Too?

Fucking weird?

Worried.

She's never done this. I have no idea, checked everything and everyone I know.

Okay, well, I'm sending the police over there.

Okay, you're gonna freak out, Grace.

But if Jonathan came home from work and all my stuff was here and the kids didn't know where I was, he'd already be talking to the police.

I know how to file a missing person's report. Do you think I heard her or something? The police can't do anything until after twenty four hours. She's an adult. I'm checking hospitals in jails now.

About an hour later, just after ten pm.

Called hospitals and both jails, and not any of them called police and missing persons. It's twenty four hours after last scene to file a report, I've got to be missing something.

Of course by now, you know it wouldn't end up taking an additional twenty four hours. In fact, police would respond just minutes later after Maria called in for a wellness check. You heard the audio from this visit, but remember just a couple hours later, around one am on August fifteenth, a second unit would return to the home

When is the last time you saw her, sir? Twelve thirty? Like late noon?

Correct? Around thirty?

Okay? And what was did you guys talk to each other?

Then?

Seated inside her cruiser, Officer Gantner plays liaison, asking Justin some questions while relaying information over the phone to Detective Anthony Lunn, who investigates missing person cases.

I see, so they talked, he said, they talked around twelve thirty. They were talking about bills. They were talking about what they were going to do later, what they were going to have for dinner. And he said that she looked at him and said he looked tired, and he said, I am. So he went and laid down and then he hasn't seen or heard from her since then. Yeah, well, what about there's two other people that live in the house with you all, there's two other people that live in the house with you.

Okay, has your daughter spoken to her? And your dad has not spoken to her, hadn't seen her?

Okay, which is really what it's not dad, they.

Haven't the daughter.

How old is your daughter?

Good?

Fifteen year old daughter? And his elderly father haven't seen her either. You saw her in person, right, yeah, he saw her in person. She was here at the house. So this this so you know, this is actually my neighbor. He lives like three houses a week from me, and he's a very strange.

What's that?

She leans back out of the cruiser to ask justin another question.

You said, you guys haven't had any recent issues, right, No, in the recent issues?

My answers back to schoolship, you know.

Turning back to her phone call, she gets a little more candid with Detective Line.

Here's my concern. He was not even worried about this until her friend.

From out of states and officers over here to look for her to make sure she was okay. Like he's just rolled nonchalant, like, oh, uh, you know, have the officers come to the polk straight side there? My dad and my daughter are sleeping. I don't want to wake them up. But then when we get here, he's like, do you guys need to do this in the car or do you want to come in? You can come look through the house if you want. You know, he's just being like, really weird about it.

Gantner tells one she's been trying to get in touch with Maria to no avail. She then asks her partner, officer Griffin, to look at the house for any visible cameras, but he doesn't see any. Once more, she leans out the window to clarify something with Justin.

Did she mention to you that she was going anywhere work? Does she work?

No?

She long supp Okay, that's all right.

I was trying to figure out. I was trying to figure out.

Yeah, see you has she left like this? People? And it's not common for her to be gone like late at night?

It was not especially since my daughter got out.

Okay, do you have do you have a picture of her, like a current picture? Okay? Can you get that in your please?

She asked Justin if they can come inside to get a photo of Jessica. He graciously invites them in, warning them about his jog. They make their way through the side door by the driveway where Jessica's Range Rover is parked, and step into the disheveled living room.

That's where.

Piles of clothes are mounted on the couch and strewn across the floor just below. Next, the officers make their way to the hallway and turn left, entering the couple's bedroom. Austin Gantner pivots back to the matter at hand, this time crying a little harder.

Okay, so what prompted you to say? Okay, I need to report her missing?

Like around eight o'clock it was starting to get dark.

Okay, what e did you wake up from?

Me?

Now?

From here about four o'clock? She got home at three? Uh kind of what stopped Rick? She Uh, she woke me up with something I had to sign. Okay, okay, She's like, Dad, you're dead at the world. I'm like, yeah, yeah, you.

Were sleeping in here. You were sleeping in here, right yeah, okay, yeah, my.

Daughter's rooms right on the other side.

I said, if you see mom, if you you know what's what's going on?

And she goes, she goes and seen.

I was like, okay, And I know she had mentioned about want her doctors.

It folesome, but there's no RTA to gets falsome. So immediately I thought, we're friends with him. And he's older, he's you know, his sixties, but his son's my age.

And I thought, well, maybe you know she got a ride with him because sometimes he comes into the city.

I called him. No, that didn't happen. Honestly, don't don't unless there's something. When I say, we you see this for homebodies, we don't have much if when.

I say, if there's something that I am absolutely oblivious to.

Does she have family here?

No?

You see from Do she have any like close friends here?

What I was telling you about that was on Facebook? I mean, I'm moren't happy to pull it up wid you.

Has she updated anything on Facebook?

She hasn't logged on, she hasn't changed passwords to anything, to our bank accounts to and she handles all the time.

I mean, she still has power returning on me.

I mean, I like you justin opens the tablet to show the officers her Facebook page and then pulls up a message from Maria that she'd sent to Jessica earlier that day. This should sound familiar to you.

And this is the only thing that threw me was I need to talk to about everything tonight when we get home from practices.

So one of her sons.

And my wife put okay, hang on, but I mean, I get all this on my mom.

The officers get the tablet from Justin and start looking over the messages.

So what is she saying we need to talk about everything? I have no idea.

I mean, the only thing I can think of was is that maybe they were planning on doing something. So I put there. You know, I'm like, would you think I would hurt her or something? You know, I mean, the girl doesn't like me, she never has.

Oh, okay, so this is y'all talking to you.

Yeah, the last conversation that yet, that's me talking to her. And she she lives in Alabama. She lives in like the hood in Alabama. She got like a litter of kids.

And my wife's always been the same year the rescuer.

It's just a man ass man.

Without any prompting, Justin randomly mentions a call he made to his attorney friend.

I just don't understand if I could wrap my brain around it. I think I'd be okay, you understand, but it.

Just doesn't make any freaking sense at all. It's just just sudden it. You know, a good friend of mine's a prominent lawyer here. I called him and I was like, Ralph Wellen is his last name? Like Ralph? He goes, I didn't remember what a reasonable person would believe? Like, okay, you know, he goes, what's not reasonable this?

There's nothing reasonable about this, Like I said, the only thing I can think of it.

But I mean, you guys deal it with domestics.

If somebody was gonna pick up and leave, they'd take their ship right or something.

Mister Justin, we we are not going to And yeah, I could do this and.

Say, well, well if someone did this, were not going to do that, So okay, I'm going to have can you get your ID in? Her ID?

Sirs.

Justin grabs his wallet from his back pocket and hands over his ID. He then walks past their unmade bed to the other side of the bedroom to pick up her wallet from the floor, and again makes mention that all her medications were there as he hands over her ID, which, to clarify, is not a driver's license. It's a Louisiana state ID with her name listed as Jessica Easterly, her

It to them.

As the conversation continues, Justin tells the officers that he has called local hospitals as well as a sheriff's office. Looking for Jessica. Officer Gantner asks once more if there was any arguing or fighting before Jessica went missing, and Justin goes on to tell her that same story regarding the pizza and the nap he took, but this time a slightly differ.

And you said, when you spoke to her around twelve thirty, there were no there was no arguing or anything like that.

She didn't say, hey, I'm gonna go.

She didn't tell me she was leaving it at all. She said, you looked tired us that I am. She had and made some little pizza.

What are you cool damn things?

The little pizza.

Pizza? Yeah, I guess the frozen ones. She went made those. We eight, you know, just kind of in here, and I mean, as far as I know, she was just gonna do some work on the computer and and that was it.

And then Justin tells the officer something he hadn't told them yet.

And she haven't mentioned in that she had been kind of in a depressive cycle.

Mm and kind of couldn't get over it.

I'm like, maybe we spent thirteen thousand, we wiped out our savings account, putting our kid.

I was like maybe just you know, we just need to communicate and talk, and that's one of her things. She keeps everything inside.

Yeah, I don't want to be sexist, but women tend to do that, you know, at least to me put it that way, and they give.

It all to me one time versus where as soon as I'm feeling something, I'm like, we need to talk about this because you know anyway, Oh man, I'm sorry if I'm all like like sketchyt a nervous wreck.

At this point, the officers head back to their vehicle to call in the missing person's report and write up all the information they'd obtained from Justin. Just before getting in, Officer Cantner makes an interesting comment to Officer Griffin.

I've lived here for three years now and I've never seen her, but I see him all the time.

Once inside the vehicle, Gaittner calls for Superior Sergeant James Young.

It's actually my neighbor and they live three houses away from me. Yeah, he's a strange individual.

She takes a few minutes to get her sergeant up to speed on things, and then offers a little bit of insight.

Well, that's what I told Griffin.

I've lived here for three years now, and I see him outside all the time, but I never I have never seen this woman ever. I've always wondered where his wife is because I knew that he was married, but I've never seen her. I mean, to me, it's just like something's not right here. And I don't think that she would just leave her daughter because her daughter just got out of the hospital. Her daughter was in the hospital for three days. He is just explaining himself to death.

This is just all weird to me.

She's all she punched.

And he's just like over explaining everything.

So and it got to the point when he was talking to the friend through Facebook messenger, she just stopped at.

The one thing that.

Was weird is he.

Told the friend I contacted the police.

And the police said that I can't report her missing for twenty four hours, which is bullshit. We would never tell anybody that, And the dispatcher's not or the call taker's not.

Going to tell somebody that.

The whole thing is just like something's not right, because the whole thing is very sketchy, to use his word, and it kind of makes me a little uneasy because he lives three.

Houses away from me. But anyway, let me help him with this.

I just wanted to let you know because it does seem very unusual to me.

His story sounds rehearsed.

As the officers wrap up the call and finish their paperwork, they start a search for any calls or complaints filed from the address, specifically looking for any domestic calls.

Spell her last name.

It s t E.

A story.

Okay, can you put an address in the EPR.

The search doesn't come back with anything, and through our own public records request, it appears as though Jessica had never reached out to law enforcement.

They probably don't call the police when they have issues. A lot of people, don't, you know, well especially Yeah.

The officers exit the vehicle and return to Justin to wrap things up, said, I want.

To walk through the entire house. The dogs still up.

Okay, we have to fill out a missing personal for David with you anytime there's somebody missing, and then this is what we send you.

Justin reads over the report and then signs the affidavit. After doing so, the officers asked for some clarification.

One last time, you did talk to your daughter and asked your daughter if she'd heard from her or actually seen her.

I mean, I'd rather wake up. If you want me to get her, I will.

No, I don't have to wake her up.

It's two lots one morning.

She has to go to school tomorrow.

She does, but no, she and I right before you guys actually shut up.

Right after the first two showed up.

I went in there and asked her, I said, did you see the commotions?

She's like, I don't know what commotion?

Okay. But prior to that, did you ask her if she had seen her mind? Yeah?

Yeah, okay, of course I was like no, And I didn't make a big deal out of it, because it was a big deal.

Just she had you know what I mean.

And you said she just had jeans and a T shirt on. You don't remember, like what color T shirt? Or did she have shoes on? You know what kind of.

Shoes were betting the piece of roles? Okay, I mean that's.

What she had on.

When okay, you know, and I checked, I went on.

He doesn't finish that thought but it's what he said just before that that stood out to Todd me. Earlier, he told officers that he alone went to bed and when he woke up, he found a pizza that Jessica had made in the kitchen, and Jessica was gone. This time, he claims they were in bed together eating pizza rolls. Possibly just a slip up, but still interesting.

Nonetheless, Now being that you lived so close to me, I just want to let you know. If something happens, don't come knocking on my door. All right, call on on one or there's going to be a detective. Contact you, contact the third district, instick to the detective.

But just don't come knocking on my door.

Yeah, okay, I just want to make that player, okay.

The officers leave the house with the report and signed off, a David in hand and start heading back to their cruiser. Justin follows them out and tells the officers the same thing he told the other officers he came out for the wellness check about his aspirations for joining the force.

Here I am looking at JPSOD. I just I'm home too much.

Just my kid even tells like Dad, you know, I'm like, well, I just don't know if I could do the message.

John yell.

Anyway, and I have a really good friends with people. My best friend really is black. Of course Michael loves that. But he I call him and he was like, well, let's go recon see what you do. I'm like, man, I gotta stay here and see what's going on.

But anyway, you know, he just you.

Know a lot of people, and I walk past your house constantly, gone to meet him because he's got I can't say a little.

Bit lesson John.

Eventually, Officer Gantner reels.

Him back in.

He's actually the armor for n cis New Orleans.

Okay, people here them completely Field Strip fifteen.

I'm like, you don't remember that's I member for the report. Okay, thanks, and a detective to other Like.

I mean, if like there's anybody that you can call that I know where she is or you know that's the only thing I can tell you, or if you know where you know a place she might go to or something, if you want to go look, or if you can tell us and we'll go look.

If I'd be more than happy about.

But I mean, like I said, the one place that she goes is to bed she has over miles and she's depressed by polar so you shouldn't have a great.

Right, great right anyway, I know, and then if she, if she contacts you or comes home, let us know, tell nine on one and called.

The district call nine three.

Okay, thanks, all right, and reference that item number when you call. Okay, all right, thank you. Version, that's okay.

I mean, I'm not asking for parental advice. You've master which is on my kid. I mean it's the truth.

Yeah, tell her you had to make a missing person report that you haven't seen her since twelve thirty.

Yeah, I mean, that's your kid.

You can tell her whatever you want, but I mean I would, I would be honest with her.

Yeah anyway, okay, all right, thank you.

Following the visit, Jessica's missing person's bulletin is issued within the in OPD Jessica Renee Easterly five six, one hundred and thirty pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, Celtic TAK two on groin. The missing person report and affidavit reads.

Mister Justin Derning stated his wife, Miss Jessica Easterly, was last seen on Wednesday, August fourteenth, twenty nineteen, at approximately twelve thirty pm. Mister Derning stated that she was last seen wearing a T shirt and jeans. If Miss Jessica Easterly is found, please notify Third District DIIU. Upon arrival, the officers met with a reporting person, mister Justin Derney,

Went to bed.

Mister Justin woke up from sleeping on the same day at approximately three pm to find his wife missing. Mister Derning observed missus Easterly's purse, wallet, phone, and keys left at the residence. Mister Derning did not observe any missing items from their home. The household's only vehicle was still in the driveway. He observed no changes to her social media. Mister Darning stated that his wife suffers from bipolar and depression.

And with that, Detective Anthony Lunn is officially assigned to the case. Six hundred thousand people go missing every year in the US, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Person System known as NAMES. As I write this, in Louisiana there are four hundred and sixteen open missing persons cases, and in New Orleans there are thirty five missing persons in the name of database. Now Jessica had become one

Then the next day I was actually with my girlfriend that lives here, and she was like, so, what's going on with that? And so I was kind of bringing her up to speed on it, and I was like, I don't know what to do. She was like, are you going to feel bad if something terrible has happened

While Maria was not feeling too hopeful about the situation. What's really sad is that at the time, Jessica's family wasn't even aware of her disappearance. Amidst all the chaos, they were never informed Maria wasn't in contact with the family. Back then, it would have required justin or the police saying something that didn't happen, But just two days later they'd learned the news in a rather unconventional way. It was Saturday, August seventeenth, on what would normally be a

I've always talked to my sister on her birthday, but that day I just.

Thought she was out. Then on the eighteenth, when I got home from work, I seen.

Maria.

We have mutual friends.

I seen Maria's post about Jessica missing, and I was like, holy shit. So I of course tried to contact Maria. She was already asleep, and she called me the next morning and told me everything. And then I called my sister and.

I called my.

Parents and they're like, oh, no, she's fine. Maybe they had a fight. She went over to a friend's house.

Maria, still clinging to that last bit of hope, also tried reaching out to Jessica on her birthday.

I was like, she would not let me wonder if she's alive or dead on her birthday, Like by now she would have reached out and let me know, hey, I'm safe, leave me alone. I'm just gonna stay safe for a while. And I've been like, cool, run, Bambi, run, you know you need some money, Like what do you need? But she wouldn't have let me wonder that long.

That Sunday afternoon on August eighteenth, Maria calls NPD multiple times and struggles to get anywhere, talking with person after person. Seemingly no one can tell her anything, and then finally a detective reaches back out to her, she gives him a rundown of what had happened a few days before.

And so they were like, okay, well we'll go over there and we'll check on her. Chances are she's probably home now, and she's just not allowed to talk to you because you're the friend. And if she's in this relationship like you say she is, you're probably just cut off because she tried to leave. So she's probably home now.

Amidst all the frustration and uncertainty, Maria, Audrey, and the rest of Jessica's family did their best to remain steadfast.

I of course, still had that little bit of hope, you know, like maybe she's just she's just somewhere. And then we decided to call the hospitals and stuff, domestic violin shelters, Gel's the corner the morgue, and no one she wasn't there.

Days of confusion turned into a week of sleepless nights. That's when Jessica's family took matters into their own hands. Her sisters, Audrey and Amanda decided it was time to pay a visit to New Orleans, a visit that would end up taking them to the neighborhood of Lakeview, where Jessica was last seen. Their cousin Doug, made the trek with them.

I was talking to Amanda on the phone and she was kind of filling me in about the whole thing with Jessica. I mean, something's not right here. And she had discussed going down to New Orleans talking to Project and talking with the detectives down there. And we went to the detectives to go talk with them, and they weren't. They weren't there, So we had decided to kind of do our own little thing kind of canvas area a little bit, kind of get an idea, kind of get

Let's get a little more familiar with it.

Did you never expect to actually find anything?

You really don't?

Undetermined is a production of Resonate Recordings and Tenderfoot TV in conjunction with Cadence thirteen, written and hosted by me Jessica Nole and produced by Dennis Cooper and Todd McComas, with additional production by Whitney Bozart. Executive producers are Dennis Cooper, Mark Minnery, Jacob Bozart, Donald Albright, and Payne Lindsay. Our senior producer is John Street. Editing, mixing, mastering and sound design by Caleb Melcher, Dayton Cole and Pat kid Glider

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