Melissa Wolfenbarger: Karyn Greer | Part 2

So for me, that weekly chore became something that I looked forward to because again, not only was I on TV, but one thing we did as a family, especially my four sisters and I, we never missed Mary Tyler Moore. So we just loved the idea of being a news anchor. To me, you know, they were so smart, they were informative. I mean, they were celebrities. So today it means so much to me to have you here, Karen. You are that just epitome of what a news anchor should be.

Thank you, Cheryl, You've taught me everything. But I'll take that. But it's true You're smart, you're quick on your feet, You're extremely articulate, you can read and absorb and it's just amazing to watch you work. But I tell people all the time, and I've said it to you privately, as good as you are on TV, you are better privately when that camera is off. The way you truly love and care for people is amazing. So here's what I want the audience today to know about you. You

are the anchor for WSB Channel two Action News in Atlanta. You are a ten time Emmy Award winner. I believe. Is that right? Ten yes and one with you and one with me. You're welcome for that one. I'm sure I had a lot to do with it and not you. You are a legend in Atlanta new circles, and not just the new circles, but your volunteer work, your community outreach. You're a sorority sister, devoted. You're a wife, loving mother, a daughter, a friend. You're part of my Zone seven

and have been for twenty years. You are loyal, you are trusted, honey. You are battle tested. There's no doubt. And when it comes to working scenes, I mean, Karen, I've told people I don't know how many times that when I watched some of these crimes shows and the hummer pulls up and a sexy leg and a stiletto heel comes out, you know that that's just not realistic.

Until I worked with you, and when you came on a live scene with knee high Gucci boots, I thought, well, I can't ever say that again because I've seen somebody work or crime saying looking sexy. I've seen it, so I can't say that anymore. But we worked Melissa Wolfenberger together, and that's what we're here to talk about today. So Karen Greer, welcome to Zone seven. So excited to be a part of Zone seven. Let me fix something here. I had those boots on because I was in between shows.

So I met you in the middle of my shift. That's when I was doing early mornings and came out. We hung out for a couple of hours and I went back to work. So I learned after that to bring other boots. Yes, And I've also seen you do such a quick change that you were live on air doing the news, ran out, did a quick thing with me on seen, ran back, and then the next thing I know, you're walking out in an evening gown. Yeah. I mean you're one of the hardest working people I've

ever met. I don't know that you've ever told any nonprofit no and everybody benefits when you show up. So again, thank you. Well, I'm honored to work on this, Cheryl, because you know, the Wolfenberger the family has been amazing

and her whole disappearance, what happened? How long it's taken to just get any answers and we're still waiting for answers A twenty one year old You know, I look at my children, your children twenty one, twenty two, and to disappear in nineteen ninety eight, where you live with your husband and your two children, and nobody really knew anything. That's just bizarre. It is bizarre. And ask you, now

you've covered this case for a long long time. When you cover a case like this, do you have a method or do you just kind of keep it fluid and as witnesses come up or people want to be interviewed, how do you operate? Try and keep it fluid because as you know, people will, you know, sometimes say I

saw something, I know something. So you don't want to ever discount some of those people who will contact you about your story because we have you, as you know, heard from people who had a tidbit had some information for us. So I just try and keep it open and try and encourage people to be a part of our investigation. Work this with us, because it takes a village to solve some of these Oh, there's no doubt about that. And I think you hit on something really

important that I want to explore. A lot of times people will talk to you when they won't talk to the police. So the Karen Greer that comes into their home every night, they do know you. They are connected to you, they feel like and they see you so much and listen to your point of view and the way you, you know, talk on TV. I think that they trust you. I know that they trust you, and sometimes if they don't trust law enforcement, you have an end where a lot of times the police don't. And

I think that's powerful. I've worked more than thirty years, three decades in this market, and I've worked hard to be a trusted source, someone people feel comfortable talking to, that you weren't afraid of sitting down with me, that you you know, knew that I was going to be fair and honest. So I do love that, and you know, I love the way you've guided me into walking crime scenes. You can't just say this happened, you know in Southwest Atlanta.

Go walk over there, see how this happened, See where the body was found, see where the house was walk it, learn it, be a part of it. And I appreciate you for that. Oh honey, listen, there was no better time in my career than working with you. So when you and I decided we were going to take on Melissa Wolfenberger, I think we did something pretty good in that we brought in a lot of different people at

the same time, which I think was critical. I'm going to tell everybody just a little bit and then I want you to kind of give your opinion of the way we did this. So we got the mama and the sister, the assistant disc attorney, Agrian Love, investigator Stein, Dwayne Thompson who's an expert search away metal detectors, Tray Sergeant who's an expert work in canine searches, and everybody was there so there was no confusion about where something happened,

where something was located, what could possibly, you know, be done. Now, everybody got to be the collectively and get on the same page with can we find additional evidence in the case of Melissa Wolfenberger. But something really incredible happened when

the assistant distric attorney got on scene. What was that care She was amazing. She you know, came in her work attire and walked into that wooded area looking for clues. She got in there, got dirty, and then had a chance. She had a chance to talk to the family, the mother and the sister and told them She's not letting this go. This this is going to be something that she champions because this case is is just unbelievable. Now, let's get real. When Adrian Love stood where the skull

was found and saw its proximity to where the husband worked, what was her reaction flabbergasted? Right, she her face told it all, told it all. She was literally speechless. And what was so fantastic for me in that moment is watching Melissa's mama and sister Norma and Tina because they knew and that just that one moment they had an ally because Adrian Love got mad. She got mad thinking that skull is right here and you could put a golf ball to the front door of where he worked.

I mean, she's gonna do something about that. She is not playing when it comes to this case. And if anybody knows what's going on in Metro Atlanta right now, she's on a big crime case now with some rappers here, young thug and she is part of that team that is prosecuting them. And she is no joke, no joke. How she steps in, how she does her homework, and know that she's not going to let this go. So I love that about her. And she kind of gave us an education that you know, this isn't the end

of this for her. Expect something very soon. So that's what we're waiting on at this point, yep. And you know, when everybody was there together and got to, you know, kind of give their opinion about what should happen next, and where we were watching Dwayne search for the Saul and watching you know, Trace work her dogs, I felt like we stand a really good chance of finding something, of locating something that might push this thing even further

than we've gotten right now. Cheryl, those dogs with Trace, I've never seen anything like it. She got them out there on the scent. They charged into that wooded area charged. I mean they were dragging her. Oh yeah, they were dragging her and they were pulling out things that we were surprised. But they went from the front to the back of those woods looking and we really were thinking

they're gonna find something the way they're digging. And you know, with investigators Steyn there, he got to not only understand that crime scene three sixty that we talked about three sixty one specifically for those that know me, but you know, with he and Adrian and you and the mama and myself all standing there saying, you know, this is going to be something we need to put in our playbook and this is where we go from ground zero to one to two, to three to four, etc. And it

reminded me I grew up with a family that ran a small business in Atlanta and then it became a really incredibly large business. But their daddy, Jean, he would always say, let's have an understanding, so we don't have a misunderstanding. And that is another thing that went through my mind while we were all standing there. There was no doubt out we were all on the same page. The media is a tool for law enforcement on cold cases period. The media can do things law enforcement just

can't do, and one of them is reach a ton of people with one episode of something. I don't care whether it's a story on the nightly news or a documentary or something on social media. Typically, your hometown newspaper or larger news organizations have more followers than the local police department, so again, they can reach people at a larger volume, faster. There's no better way to ask for

the public's help with witnesses with a missing person. Regarding reward money, other types of tips, you have to have the media's help to reach the most people possible to help on cases. People oftentimes will speak to the media when they don't feel comfortable speaking to the police. I've seen it over and over. They know that reporter can't

arrest them. They feel like they know that reporter personally, oftentimes because they see them in their home at night on the TV, whereas that police officer they've never met that person before. The media also has tools of their own, such as archives of past interviews and crime scene footage. This can be a money tree for law enforcement. If you go to your local reporter because you have a good work in relationship, or even if you don't you

want to start one? And you ask them if they would let you see crime scene footage from a crime that occurred twenty five years ago, fifteen years ago. You may see a witness being interviewed that you didn't even know existed. They may have a teacher, or a neighbor or a boyfriend of the victim that's not in your file.

It will also give you the benefit of watching footage so you can see exactly what the crime scene looked like them if it's been built up, if the woods have been cut down, and now there's a building where the crime scene was. Sometimes law enforcement they might have taken a video back then, but maybe they didn't. Maybe it's been lost. Maybe you haven't had time to convert it, so you don't have anything to watch it on. If it's eight millimeter, your local news can help you with that.

I mean, Cheryl, how does something like this happen? Is the biggest question I have in a city like Atlanta. You know, a young woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, goes missing. Later we find parts of her body learned in doing this. There was so much technology that wasn't available back then when this happened, that we knew we had to get them to test some of this. Now, another important aspect you and I have talked a lot about.

We've been on different scenes, Nicole Smith specifically. I remember we had the conversation that at some point you stopped being a news anchor and I stopped being a crime scene investigator, and we're just two mamas. That's the only way you can see these cases is from that point of view, and I think Melissa did that for both of us as well, because you being able to craft a story to compel action not just of police and prosecutors and experts, but the public at large. This was

not an easy sale. It's a family where the parents had been involved in meeting homicides themselves, and now we're asking people to care about what happened to their child in spite of their past. But you did that so expertly, and the love and concern and care that you took for Melissa was so apparent that people understood what happened to her was a separate issue and needed to be

looked at because somebody's walking around free. Somebody is walking free that beheaded and dismembered a young mother of two, And we know Melissa threw no fault of her own. She was born into this family, so she had nothing to do with the sins of her parents. So you know, for what, the cruel way in which she was murdered and dismembered, she didn't deserve it. No one deserves that, and so it was important for us to tell that

story so that people didn't blame her. Didn't you look at her family situation as a why I no one cared. You have to care. I mean, you look at her smile, you look at her innocence, you look at her babies who are not babies now because this has been so long,

and it just breaks your heart. It does. And Carl Patton wrote a letter to the two of us, and in that letter he told us that if he had had any idea what he had done to those other families, he was just young and stupid and he didn't realize how he made them feel and how he destroyed their world. And he told you and I on that letter that ever since Melissa had been murdered, part of what he feels every day is just that remorse and guilt towards

how he destroyed somebody's life. Do you think we'll find the torso. You know, s I worry, It's been so many years. You know, as we know, there was a dog that was pulling back out of the woods, so who knows what animals may have literally been in those woods and disturbing that evidence. I wondered that we may

not ever find that torso. But we found it. We found her skull, we found her head, which I thought was crucial, and the arms and legs, and her arms and legs, and we talked about perhaps testing those bags, finding out where those bags came from. You know, I was unseen two weeks ago, and now is almost the perfect time to search because all the leaves are off

the trees and the brush is way back. You can see openly all kind of rusted machinery and different items that are out there, big items, And you know, I don't know that we don't need to get the search party back together and go back now. I would love that. And we just need to tell people because this case is going to be so captivating to them and important. You know what, don't really don't don't go on social media, don't post what you think you know, don't ask questions.

Just let the professionals handle this. Let the investigators work on this, because we don't want to damage or hurt the integrity of this case. Oh that's a good point, absolutely, And I know you're willing to go back. I know the family's willing to go back to Yeah, and I know Adrian she'd be all about it too. Pick a day before those leaves come back, and you know everything's grown over again because that area was grown over. Sure, how many years are we talking about? Twenty? Oh? Yeah?

And you don't I remember most when the dog started pulling, and I think it's important to let people know the dogs worked independently. She worked them separately. But when that first dog went, Trace was right behind them and she just disappeared into the kud zoo in the woods. It took her all in first. Face first. I think everybody remembers Scott Peterson when he was talking to Diane Sawyer in two thousand and three when he said about his

missing wife Lacy, she was amazing. I think we all were, like, what he just referred to her in past hints? That was so important for law enforcement. If he's referring to her in past hinse he on some level does not believe she's coming home. Why would he not believe that? There are people that have worked in the media that have done unbelievable work on cases. We all know Woodward and Bernstein and what they did when it came to Watergate. Karen Greer, who y'all have heard from, She's put cases

out there that had a positive conclusion. Part of the reason it did because Karen would not let these cases go. She's going to keep them in the spotlight. So cases like Honey Malone, Nicole Smith, and of course Melissa Wolfenberger, she keeps them alive in the public. Have you ever

seen a case like this before in your career three decades here in Atlanta. You know, I worked in Charlson, South Carolina, Champagne, Illinois, never anything to this degree. It's amazing the twists and turns of this case that make it so intricate. But it's gonna get solved. You just trust us. Oh, I trust it, And I know that media is going to be a big part of that, because that's what kept this case alive. This case what't on anybody's radar. Nobody was talking about it, nobody was

doing anything about it. Nobody was mad about it, But enter Karen Graham and that whole thing changed. You and I got a chance to go Nancy Grace and discussed this case live at Crime Con. What was that like for you? Amazing? That room was awesome of people who were like us and care about cold cases, who care about helping get to the bottom of things. They were trying to give us ideas and things we needed to do. It was unbelievable. And I never knew crime true crime.

These kinds of stories meant so much to so many. The audience that really is a part of this are die hearts. They really want to make a difference. Yeah, it was great, But you know, we sat there and you know and Jim Clementi came and sat with us and helped out, and Jared Bradley came and sat with us and helped out. And you just think all of these wonderful people that have come and given us time and information. You and I had a chance to work

with Paul Holes on Nicole's case. Yeah, So all of these people, given the best of themselves, has to me been such an uplifting part of what we do. Because you and I both get asked a lot, how do y'all not burn out? Well, I don't know how you burn out when you're just surrounded by just fantastic, heroic, loving people. I mean, it's kind of an honor to

get to be with them every day. And I love that we had an opportunity to work with law enforcement and this great state to teach them, show them some of the new technology that is available so that they could use it in their arsenal. Yes, and Sergeant Layton, I mean, what an incredible ambassador for the Atlanta Police Department. Him.

I do too, just a spectacular human being. But what I tell you, not only is he capable and willing and just ready to jump in this thing with both feet every chance he gets, but he's also open and willing to hear somebody say, hey, have you tried such and such, or we can maybe help connect you to somebody that can maybe open some doors to some new technology. That's very rare. It's rare. It's rare. Now, I did mention a crime come But for y'all that don't know

what that is. It is the number one true crime event in the world. It lasts a whole weekend, and it is dedicated to anything and all things true crime. People from all walks of life come and you know they don't necessarily have anything in common except true crime. That's the common denominator with everybody. So it could be teachers, plumbers, actors, detectives all in the same room working on the same case at the same time, trying to help a family

get answers. There are experts, survivors, authors, podcasters, and media personalities all in the same place for the same reason, and it is an unbelievable experience. You and I both know Vince Vlasquez, and I remember Vince told me years ago, and for the audience, Vince Velasquez is a retired homicide detective in Atlanta, but he's on a show called atl Homicide.

Wonderful person. But Vince told me once, if anybody contacts him and says, hey, I have an idea for how you can solve a case, he said, my only response should be thank you. And that's all this is. I mean, I tell people all the time, you and I do not have a crystal ball. I wouldn't use it if you gave it to me. And we worked on a case with him that yield it, yield it answers. Oh yes, I mean that case, and we're going to be discussing it at another time. But again, that case was so powerful.

Vince even said, I'm retired, but I will work this case for free till the day I die. Yes, stick around it. See what case that is? People, Oh, please stick around because it's gonna be a good one in the future. But I tell you, you you know, I came over state. Sometimes people have things to say about law enforcement, people have things say about the media, but I can honestly tell you that has never one time been my experience. I have seen extraordinary work from amazing people that only

want to help. And it is not because she and I have partnered on things that did result in winning an Emmy twice being nominated. So once the Volks were just wrong, but anyway, wildly wrong. But you know I have called you night and day before and said, look, I just want to tell you something, but it's got to be off the record. You have never once violated your ethics or our friendship. And you know search of

a story. You have never heard a family. You have never shoved a microphone in somebody's face that was falling apart and having the worst moment of their life. I have only seen integrity and love and compassion, and you know, needing to get the information out, needing to tell the story. I mean, you're going to do your job, but you do it with such grace, and I just there's not enough good things I can say about you. And this

isn't because I've known you a week. I mean I would have said this twenty years ago before we partnered. So all I can say is Atlanta News is better because you're in it. I think the State of George is better because you're in it. And I know these coal cases have a greater opportunity to see a conclusion that is met with law enforcement and having an understanding and the families feeling like they finally have a voice. Well, it really has been an eye opener for me and

I appreciate this opportunity. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I am in the middle of a very noisy newsroom. So if you hear a lot of yelling, just know that we're working to get stories on the air for four or five and six right now, and that's a lot of Cheryl knows what my day is like. It doesn't just it's not just you show up and you

read what's out there. But you know, Cheryl has me to the point where I need to find out myself how some of these stories, how some of these cases, how some of these people are affected in our community. And when she tells me about a case, a story, a family, we need to help get some answers. I'm all on board because I would want someone to do the same thing for me. Karen Greer, thank you so

much for being with us, y'all. I'm going to end Zone seven the way I always do with a quote from somebody from my Zone seven and tonight that comes from Stephanie Biber, true crime reporter for People magazine, and

Stephanie says, always remember these stories belong to the families. All we can do for them and their loved one they've lost is to tell the story. It's for the families. And when the teleprompter keeps rolling, just speak from the heart. I'm Cheryl McCollum, and this is own seventh. Imagine working

with a partner at a crime scene that could smell a dead body under the water, or locate after decades an old clandestine grave. Next week, y'all are going to hear from Tray Sergeant, a canine search and rescue expert, and her partners. Her dogs are unbelievable. They have assisted on numerous searches for missing and murdered people for decades. They have done extraordinary work and have had unbelievable success.

And I cannot wait for y'all to hear about her and more importantly, her canine partners