Disappeared - General Discussion

[Guest]

Lifetime reran this this episode this morning. I think I've seen it three times already and had to watch it again. I swear that creepy boyfriend killed her and their child. Not only his refusal to take a second polygraph (after failing the first) but mostly his, "Oh, I've moved on [from his son's murder]" cinched it for me. What parent of a murdered child says that?!

I was also reading online that Joey herself had posted to a Yahoo group back in the day many details of their personal life, including the multiple protection orders she had taken out against him, his felony drug conviction, and how her child was taken away because Alexis Brolin (the boyfriend) caught his 12-year old son in a sexually compromising position with her 5-year old daughter. I mean, how many more red flags can there be against this guy? Also, the website he was so diligently working on? Never materialized. And I believe all his calls to her after their alleged fight were meant to cover his ass.

The sad thing is, had Joey been a wealthy missing person, I wonder if more resources would have been devoted to solving this case. But, as it goes with the more marginal members of our society, it doesn't seem like anyone cares.

[califred]

I got a bad vibe from him too but her mom not blaming him sort of changed my mind. Now that you've put the rest of it out there it wouldn't shock me that it were him.

[Guest]

I wonder if the mom not blaming him was merely a tactic to keep him close at hand? I don't know. But his dismissive and cold, "I've moved on" haunts me. I can understand (to a point) him moving on from Joey's disappearance. But not caring who killed his infant son? No.

[atlanticslide]

Not just his "I've moved on," but also the fact that he let it go for a couple of days without her answering the door, despite the fact that she was home alone with a brand newborn. She has a month-old baby, they'd just gotten into a fight, and he knew that she could be a bit irrational and immature and whatnot, and he doesn't think maybe he should just go in and make sure that his infant son is doing okay? Especially when their last argument was over the baby's care?

[Enero]

I remember this case. The boyfriend seemed like an ass and I also kind of found him sleazy due to the fact that he would get involve with a woman who obviously wasn't really capable of functioning as an independent adult due to her limited mental capacity.

Anyway, I don't think he killed the baby. I think Joey did, but that it was an accident. The boyfriend might've found out what happened then killed Joey, which would explain why he wasn't hellbent on finding out what happened to his kid because he already knew. But whether he killed Joey, the kid or both, I think someone would've had to help him. Joey's car was found a couple of hundred miles away. If he left the car where it was found, how did he get back home? Someone would've had to give him a ride back, or at the very least he would've had to take some form of public transportation which there would've been a record of. Surely the police checked for all this since they did give him a polygraph and seemed to question if he was involved during their investigation.

This was a really strange case. One I don't think will ever be solved.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Enero

[truthaboutluv]

I actually just watched this episode on Netflix this Saturday and it was definitely an odd case. While I can definitely understand why the boyfriend seems suspicious, I actually didn't think his comment about moving on was that strange only because to me he looked weepy and near tears throughout the episode and even while he was saying he'd moved on. I definitely think he's a sketchy individual and his relationship with Joey was strange largely because Joey herself was odd but I don't know if that means I think he killed her. 

 

But this is definitely a bizarre case. The first oddity was the car being moved and being returned, then moved again. I guess the boyfriend could have been doing it but what was odd to me was none of Joey's neighbors seeing anything and no one having any description of seeing anyone driving the car. Then there was the one neighbor's account of seeing Joey a day after Alexis claimed he last saw her and stating that she was pushing a baby carrier but it didn't seem like baby was in it. I definitely think it's likely one of two things happened. 

 

Joey accidentally killed the baby and went into some kind of trauma state which is why she wasn't answering her phone or the door and was seen pushing an empty baby carrier. And she probably kept driving and coming back, trying to figure out what to do, before finally setting fire to the house with the baby in it. Of course then the question is where is she? The other option of course is that it really was the boyfriend, which then still begs the question of where did he put Joey. I guess there is the off-chance it was some random/unknown individual who came in and killed Joey and the baby.

[Josette]

Quote

20-year old Virginia Tech junior Morgan Harrington promises to meet her father the morning after a Metallica concert. But when she doesn't show up her parents panic. They soon learn that Morgan left her friends during concert and never came back. The only clue left behind is her purse, found in the parking lot-its contents spilled.

As the police begin to investigate Morgan's disappearance eyewitnesses paint a strange picture of her behavior outside the concert venue: they say she was erratic, belligerent and incoherent. Several eyewitnesses claim they saw Morgan in the company of three young men in the early morning hours. Even more bewildering and unnerving to Morgan's parents are the multiple reports of Morgan hitchhiking late at night on a dark road not far from the venue.

Weeks and months go by with lead after lead taking the investigators nowhere…. Until forensics link Morgan's disappearance to a violent crime in another city three hours away.

 

The original episode aired April 18, 2011.  If you recall, Morgan Harrington's remains were found by a farmer on his land in January 2010. 

 

Now, authorities have been able to link Jesse L. Matthew Jr to her through forensic evidence.  He's the man charged with abducting University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. 

 

Roanoke Times article

[auntjess]

Thanks, I'd seen the Graham stories in the Post, but didn't connect the other woman to someone I'd seen on Disappeared.

[margol29]

I, too, have seen this episode many times on Disappeared, This case has really haunted me. The poor baby in the bathtub.

 

My first thoughts were that the boyfriend did not have any thing to do with it but then when the social worker told him that she would have to call the police the next day and that same night the house burnt down is just to fishy for me.

 

My theory is that Joey accidently killed the baby. Maybe she was bathing it and the phone rang or the someone was at the door and she left just for a minute and came back and the baby drowned. It sent her into a panic and she called the boyfriend. He came over the was so PO'd that he struck Joey and she somehow was killed either hit her head or he choked her something like that.

 

He was not sure what to do with her body, but when the social worker said she would call police, he moved her body and set the house on fire.

[auntjess]

I watch the Tara Grinstead episode, can't remember how new is was.
There's new action in the case, http://www.41nbc.com/story/d/story/search-reopens-in-disappearance-of-tara-grinstead/18542/5vCn_yJFt0e8qNT3lv8ogg .
On the other hand, I wouldn't be too surprised if she shows up alive.
Not sure what to believe.

 

[Josette]

Just A Nice Guy : Zebb Quinn: Eighteen-year-old Zebb Quinn has just gotten off his shift at the local Wal-Mart and is driving in his beat up car. An acquaintance of his, Jason, has found a car for sale across town that Zebb has been dreaming to buy. But when Zebb doesn't return his mother's pages on this chilly January night, she begins to worry. Before long, a police investigation begins and some bizarre evidence surfaces leaving family members to wonder if Zebb could be a victim of foul play.

 

Jason Owens (the Jason mentioned above) has been arrested for the murders of a former Food Network Star contestant and her husband. 

[auntjess]

My U-verse guide show that HGTV is showing an episode of Disappeared tomorrow, 5/26, at 5:30 AM.
It is the midwest news anchor one.

[Kat Turner]

While I do admit that Alexis did seem rather suspicious, why had no one really considered the man Joey had spoken to online? It was briefly mentioned that Joey conversed online with a male who was interested in filming pornography with Joey. With Joey's trusting personality and apparent willingness to share personal information, what if the man had managed to keep in contact with/keep track of Joey? What if this mysterious man was behind this? Just a thought.

[mansonlamps]

I always thought the Molly Bish case was one of the saddest and most interesting.  At least they did find her body, but it's so crazy that it all happened so fast and them mom was there only minutes before.  Also, Molly didn't seem like the type of girl who would be easily duped by a stranger.

[califred]

Was that the lifeguard case? It was really sad.

[califred]

There is a new podcast discussing the Maura Murray case, called Missing. I haven't started it yet.

[BigBlueMastiff]

 

There is a new podcast discussing the Maura Murray case, called Missing. I haven't started it yet.

Was that the college student from Boston? That was such a weird case, spooked me.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/maura-murray-cold-case-ten-years-article-1.1607013

 

 

There is a new podcast discussing the Maura Murray case, called Missing. I haven't started it yet.

 

http://mauramurray.blogspot.com/

[CourtneyCourt]

Zebb Quinn has left me dumb founded. It took me awhile to watch all the episodes I recorded and just finished that one today. Now Jason Owens has been arrested for murder of a husband and wife and his property was searched. In suspense with if they will solve the case now.

Edited August 4, 2015 by CourtneyCourt

[Scorpiosunshine]

Robin Putnam's remains have been found:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/man-missing-years-found-dead-nevada-article-1.2342397

(I'm putting this here, even though technically his case was on the “Disappeared” sort-of-reincarnation “Last Seen Alive". I hope this is OK.)

[carolyn]

Now, I am completely suspicious of Alexis for the murder and disappearance of Joey....not their baby son. 1. He failed his polygraph, 2. He could have been navigating Joey's car to and from the house at night, to maintain the appearance that she was still there, but driving his car there during the day to maintain the appearance that he was a concerned fiance and father, 3. I think the baby died July 3, and that's when the neighbor saw Joey pushing the empty stroller, when Joey refused to acknowledge the neighbor. However the baby died, accidentally or intentionally, probably a drowning in the bathtub, I think Alexis found out about it the evening of July 3 and blamed Joey, killed her, removed her from the house, and discarded her somewhere, 4. Joey's car's final location at their previous residence was just too convenient, and there wasn't any evidence to suggest she knew anyone or kept in touch with anyone from there, especially without Internet and cell phone services, 5. Most suspiciously, the health care worker suggests to Alexis to notify the police, then hours later, in the middle of the night, her car is seen @ 3 AM, and the house is on fire at 4 AM.

It is just too much of a coincidence for the fire to have occurred only hours after the health care worker tells Alexis to contact police. I don't buy that he didn't have keys to the house. That's just what he wants everyone to believe during the day. He was probably coming and going at night, strategically leaving her car there or moving it elsewhere to create the appearance she was still alive, active and well. He seems genuinely saddened...by the loss of his baby son. I think the turmoil on the evening of July 3 was over Joey having caused the death of their baby, and Alexis taking justice into his own hands.

I am conflicted about Joey, having diminished mental capacity, not being able to effectively care for all three of her young children at once. Her mother seems to be making light of this, but Alexis admits Joey was suffering from a degree of postpartum depression. In that state, overlapping her slow-developed mentality, I don't think she should have been trusted to care for her newborn. I know this seems cold and harsh, but I can understand how Alexis wouldn't be able to refrain from killing her if she did, indeed, kill their baby. The justice system is just too slow.

[califred]

They just announced during reruns Disapoeared is coming back Mon April 11 at 10 pm

[azshadowwalker]

I saw the ad for it last week. I just hope the show will have the same tone. As long as they don't go the sensationalistic route like so many ID shows.

[walnutqueen]

I saw the ad for it last week. I just hope the show will have the same tone. As long as they don't go the sensationalistic route like so many ID shows.

 

The minute the promo ads start playing opera music and/or showing skimpy lingerie, we'll know they've destroyed our show.

[azshadowwalker]

It looks like they are getting a head start by running old episodes. I saw the Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman episode yesterday (several times, in fact). I hadn't seen the case on Disappeared before. I don't even know where to start with that one. The investigation was so bungled. Seriously, Lauria's dad had to find Dan Freeman's body, because the cops overlooked it. Even the fact that he was able to get into the crime scene was atrocious.

I think it might have been the serial killer who retracted his confession. I think the cops went to Kansas, saw all the mine shafts, and just gave up too soon. But who knows? Horrible story.

[lightbeam]

I have always loved this show, so I am excited it is coming back. The stories have always haunted and intrigued me. I remember many of them. It is seriously the best series on ID (imo) and I was upset that it had "disappeared" from their programming schedule.

Editing to add that not knowing what happened to your loved one is beyond comprehension. The lack of closure would be torture for me. I think that's why this show touches and fascinates people.

Edited March 28, 2016 by lightbeam

[ari333]

What channel is this on? TIA

[formerlyfreedom]

What channel is this on? TIA

 

Investigation Discovery. It's premiering April 11 at 10ET/9CT with new episodes.

[califred]

The two episodes on today are old but I've never seen them, I think perhaps I never saw season one and they didn't end up in the rerun rotation.

[valen]

That Kelly Nash episode really got to me. Googling revealed that the autopsy discovered a gunshot wound to the head. Another article said cause of death was a gunshot wound and subsequent drowning. The speculation is that it was suicide. So incredibly sad.

[bubbls]

I'm excited about this show coming back too. It's my favorite.

[Jordan61]

Re: Jessica Heeringa: her mom complained that the gas station should have had video cameras to protect their employees, but I don't know if it would have helped in this case. Store surveillance usually only covers the inside of the store, and it seems she was abducted from outside in the back.

I was also kind of annoyed by the sister's statement that Zevyn should be raised the way his mother would have wanted; doesn't what his FATHER wants mean anything? Apparently not since he lost custody to her. I'd be interested to hear the circumstances surrounding that decision.

Did they say if the suspect who committed suicide-by-cop (forget his name) had a silver van?

Edited April 12, 2016 by Jordan61

[azshadowwalker]

I am not bothered by that statement at all. In general, no, I don't care what most fathers want. Few of them take part in daily care of a child. If the courts heard the custody case and decided that someone other than the living parent should raise the child, I am willing to bet that there's a damned good reason for that. It's not a move that happens often. In fact, there are cases where courts go to bizarre lengths to keep fathers in their kids' lives, like the convicted child molester who was given sole custody of his six-year-old daughter a year or so back.

Wouldn't be a rare man who couldn't be bothered to grow up enough to put the kid first, and Dakotah's drug dealing charges in 2014, when he still had custody, kind of drive that home. It looks like he lost custody fairly recently, and I'd be willing to bet that his behavior leading to the arrest when he was in the midst of a custody battle played into that. He won the custody battle once,but that changed after the drug bust. Whatever you want to feel about drug laws, everyone knows they exist. If you really give a shit about your kids, you stop using and you sure as hell don't deal. It's the exact reason I quit using 25 years ago, and why I have so little patience for people who don't.

http://www.grandhaventribune.com/frontpage/2014/06/19/Father-of-Jessica-Heeringa-039-s-son-faces-drug-charges

He ended up doing time over the charges. Someone had to have custody while he was locked up and on house arrest.

http://woodtv.com/2014/10/01/heeringas-boyfriend-sentenced-for-drug-charges/

He was arrested in June and pleaded guilty in July to three charges: one count of possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, all as a second-time habitual offender.

Comments under this article indicate that he was also a heroin addict, which is probably why the family was fighting for custody to begin with. In one story, her family said their life together was "volatile" even before Jessica went missing. Other stories have comments indicating that Jessica, too, may have been on heroin. So, the show left a lot out. The thing I question the least, though, is the custody decision. Edited April 13, 2016 by azshadowwalker

[shawny]

I'm not a fan of the new narrator at all.  His narration style changes the tone of the show.

[tobeannounced]

Yeah, I missed the narrator.  I don't remember hearing the gong sound either.  That's an integral part of the show for me - lol.  But I thought it was an interesting story.  I was kind of bummed when I realized near the end that they weren't going to solve it.  Duh...

Edited April 13, 2016 by tobeannounced

[Soobs]

I didn't notice the new narrator until you guys mentioned it. What struck me is how this show will never end as long as there is an endless parade of pervy, middle aged men creeping on and stealing young women. She had a lot of those types around her. It brought me back to my early 20's when I had a lot of service jobs and middle aged men endlessly pestered me while I had to be nice to them. The owner of the convenience store saying they didn't have cameras because theft wasn't a problem had me yelling at the screen.

 

It's heartbreaking that the most the family can hope for is that she's being held against her will somewhere.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Soobs

[azshadowwalker]

I guess the locals think it may have something to do with the backgrounds of Jessica and Dakotah. Bad drug deal by him, snitching by her, or whatever, and someone taking revenge. The show didn't really mention that angle, though.

[Jordan61]

If the courts heard the custody case and decided that someone other than the living parent should raise the child, I am willing to bet that there's a damned good reason for that. It's not a move that happens often.

Agreed, which is why I said I was interested to hear the circumstances surrounding the case, which you found, so thank you for that.

 

I am not bothered by that statement at all. In general, no, I don't care what most fathers want. Few of them take part in daily care of a child.

But I disagree completely with this. Men should have just as much of a say in their child's upbringing as women, regardless of how much day to day care they are able to provide. A father's involvement does not/should not end with impregnation.

[azshadowwalker]

I won't go into it too much, because it's off-topic, but the idea that one "needs" a father is a fairly recent one that has a lot of socially constructed baggage behind it. In Jessica's case, that relationship might have led to backlash caused by her fiance's dealing. I think she's dead, and I think that relationship might be the reason why. In that case, both her and the boy would have been better off without him. They wouldn't be the first woman and child who would be better served by an end to the love affair with the nuclear family, either. It's really unfortunate that so many toxic, dangerous relationships and households are maintained because of this cultural pressure on mothers and their children.

[grumpypanda]

I'm not surprised to hear that Dakota is an addict. I actually commented to my husband while watching this episode that Dakota looked like he was on heroin and he said that Jessica did too in certain pictures.

Anyway, I feel for Jessica's family but it's pretty apparent that they had no idea what she'd been up to. Why would a married man make up a story about having a relationship with a woman that is missing? If anything you would lie about not having a relationship. Maybe it wasn't serious on her end but she was definitely more than friends with that Jesse guy.

Anyway, I miss the old narrator and I hope this new season isn't all about young girls who were most likely kidnapped and murdered. What set Disappeared apart from the other million ID shows was the diverse types of cases featured. I'm not interested in another Paula Zahn show.

Edited April 14, 2016 by grumpypanda

[lightbeam]

I'm not a fan of the new narrator at all. His narration style changes the tone of the show.

Me neither! I miss the opening credits (about how the last days or hours can give you clues or whatever it was) and the stylistic cue of the date and time and gong (as someone mentioned up thread). It lent to the mystery of the disappearance.

This last story reminded me of my time working at a gas station. Years ago, I worked at a gas station for about 6 months after I graduated college and couldn't find a job. I didn't work at night but in retrospect, it wasnt safe (particularly as a young woman) to be working alone with various strangers and strange men walking in and out. I had my share of kooks and uncomfortable interactions with men. Lucky for me, my mom worked nearby and often dropped in to check on me. One time a guy tried to purposefully confuse and rattle me by requesting several different amounts in change, so that I would give him more than what he was giving me. My mom happened to be standing there (who he thought was just another customer) and she was watching him like a hawk. She saved me from giving him too much money from the register. Mom to the rescue!

Edited April 14, 2016 by lightbeam

[shawny]

The new narrator is sounds like he's dispassionately reporting an urgent news story instead of an intimate story about the mysterious disappearance of the person & how it has affected everyone involved from family/friends to law enforcement to suspects.

 

It feels like a different show. I think its the same narrator from Last Seen Alive, which seemed to be the channel's poor attempt to make a show that everyone already liked better by making it pseudo-live & therefore more exciting.  Didn't work in my opinion. 

 

This has always been a show about stories of loss & mystery but the new narrator makes it seem more like one of the shows about hunting predators & leads.  The story telling seems to be lost. 

 

I was looking forward to this show coming back.  I'll give it another shot, but they may have lost me with the new tone.

 

& yes, I also miss the gong & the original background music.

[grumpypanda]

You guys explained exactly what I don't like about the new show. It just feels like all the other shows out there now and nothing special. It's just missing the sense of mystery that it had before.

I wish they would have returned to the original formula because this is essentially a different show. I'll give it a few more episodes though before I give up on it. Sadly I'll be watching alone because Mr. Grumpypanda said he won't be back. He hates the new narrator that much.

[Kitty Redstone]

Was just coming here to complain about the new narrator and different tone and see I'm not alone.  Does anyone know why they made these changes? 

[califred]

I did not like the new narrator either, glad it's not just me

[tobeannounced]

So I usually tape all ID shows and fast-forward through the commercials, but I stopped to watch the commercial for next week's Disappeared while I was watching this week's episode.  It was the old narrator in the commercial.  Have they always used the old narrator in the commercials, or is this a clue that our beloved might be returning?  He was narrating another ID show not too long ago, so he's obviously still around.

[ihavenoidea]

I saw the commercial with the old narrator as well.  I wonder why they just didn't bring him back?

What are the thoughts on Bryce Laspisa?  I felt bad for his parents, but it seemed like they were just hand waving a lot of things.  I don't understand why they didn't come after him after realizing he wasn't moving from the rest stop.  At that point I wouldn't trust him to drive home by himself, especially after the girlfriend was worried enough about him to take his keys.  Maybe he was delaying trying to build up courage to commit suicide?  It sounds like he deliberately drove off the cliff trying to do just that, what happened after who knows.

[azshadowwalker]

Bryce either pulled off to sleep and got car jacked or he killed himself. Either are plausible to me. I do agree about the parents, although I hate to sound like I am judging them. If the girlfriend was that concerned, and she was actually looking him in the eye, she might know what she's talking about. If my kid was taking that long to get home, I would be in the car looking for him. They knew the route he was taking. Why just sit at home while he's acting so odd. I guess it's just how I grew up, but our family didn’t sit at home if someone was very late on a road trip. 

[ihavenoidea]

My mom would leave to come find my brother or myself if we were even an hour late, especially if we were acting that weird.  I mean the mom had the emergency services guy or whoever he was come check on him twice and he's just sitting there!  Go get him.  I know they kept saying they know him and he wouldn't do this or that, but from my experience no matter how close you are to someone there are always things you don't know.  Never say never.

[cynic]

I feel horrible for the parents, but yeah, I think they are in deep denial. I think the most likely explanation is that he was suicidal, especially since he gave away his possessions. Even if he wasn't though, it was clear he was was having serious issues. His parents' refusal to believe that when it was so apparent makes me think that they probably disregarded any more subtle clues that may have happened prior to this.

And while it's easy to second guess things after the fact, I'd like to think that if my child was sitting at a rest stop for nine hours after telling me that he was driving home, I would probably go up and get him. That's not normal behavior.

[phantom]

Man, the Bryce Laspisa episode really bugged me. Why his parents kept insisting he drive himself home every time someone else made contact with him made no sense. They were only a few hours away, why not go get him as soon as they knew he was still at that rest stop hours after the first encounter by the roadside assistance guy? 

You can't insist that this was unusual behavior yet also insist he keep driving solo to his destination. They knew exactly where he was for nearly 12 hours!

It feels like so much was left out - how were his grades? Did he have a police record? Why weren't his roommate, girlfriend, friends or the roadside assistance guy interviewed for the show? What did he and his parents talk about on those many, many phone calls the last day? Why didn't his parents push for an explanation? So many loose ends on this one.

i tend to believe suicide, or less likely, walking away on purpose. If he had s breakdown or amnesia he would have been located as he would not have been able to get very far. But the fact his body hasn't surfaced is very odd.