Crime Junkie - MISSING: Rachel Good

Episode Date: October 16, 2023

When a young mother vanishes from her small town, alarm bells sound immediately. Local police are on the case, but just a few days into the investigation, the woman’s family discovers that she had been having a secret affair with a married police officer. When that officer turns out to be the lead investigator on the case, speculation runs rampant. Her family is sure she was murdered by this officer, and the motive seems clear. So, why after twenty years does her case remain ice cold? October 18th, 2023 is the 20th anniversary of Rachel’s disappearance. If you live in Elkton, VA, please go out and show your support for Rachel and her loved ones at her 20th anniversary vigil on 10/18/23 at 8PM. The exact location will be updated on Facebook. If you have any information about the disappearance of Rachel Good, please call Special Agent Chris Depot of the Virginia State Police at 540-829-7400. You can also leave an anonymous tip on their website: https://coldcase.vsp.virginia.gov/virginia-state-police/case/virginia-state-police-case-04-25446/ Did you know you can listen to this episode ad-free? Join the Fan Club! Visit https://crimejunkieapp.com/library/ to view the current membership options and policies.Source materials for this episode cannot be listed here due to character limitations. For a full list of sources, please visit: https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/missing-rachel-good Don’t miss out on all things Crime Junkie!Instagram: @crimejunkiepodcast | @audiochuckTwitter: @CrimeJunkiePod | @audiochuckTikTok: @crimejunkiepodcastFacebook: /CrimeJunkiePodcast | /audiochuckllcCrime Junkie is hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. Instagram: @ashleyflowers | @britprawatTwitter: @Ash_Flowers | @britprawatTikTok: @ashleyflowerscrimejunkieFacebook: /AshleyFlowers.AF Text Ashley at [phone] to talk all things true crime, get behind the scenes updates, random photos of Chuck, and more! 

Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host Ashley Flowers, and I'm Britt. And the story I have for you today is about a young mother who suddenly vanished one night never to be seen or hurt from again. Hulu's are scarce at first, but her family takes a closer look, and they make a bombshell discovery that changes everything. This is the story of Rachel Good. No parent ever thinks that they'll have to report their child missing. It's one of those things that you just don't even want to think about, one of those things that you can't really prepare for.

I mean, even when your kid gets older and they're not really a kid anymore, that fear never goes away. And you might think that never will happen to you. I mean, I can almost guarantee you that a woman named Brenda Brown probably thought that too. But on Sunday, October 19, 2003, she finds herself standing in the police station of Elk and Virginia, reporting her daughter daughter Rachel Good, missing. She's there because one of Rachel's friends

had reached out to the family that morning worried after Rachel was a no-show for plans that day, which is what Brenda is now telling the officer in front of her with Rachel's grandmother, Lily, right by her side. When's the last time anyone saw her? It's been about like a day at that point. I mean, the last time anyone saw her was

the night before on the 18. Okay. Now, Rachel doesn't live with Brenda at that point. She has her own place. So Brenda kind of had to piece this together, but she figured out that she had been hanging out with some friends in a parking lot of a local fire department, which is like big small town vibes. I don't know. It might sound a little weird for those of you who grew up in places with actual things to do on a Saturday night, but for those of us who didn't, you get like a parking lot and a pizza and just hang. Yeah, or like you're doing it in a field.

1,000%. Anyway, Brenda knows that Rachel hung out there with a few friends until she left sometime around six o'clock. And after that, there was one more sighting of Rachel at this bowling alley in Harrisonburg. But what happened to her after the bowling alley sightings is honestly anyone's guess.

All her mom knows is that Rachel's car is parked at her apartment now in the driveway, but she's nowhere to be seen. So did Rachel make it home or was she not in her car at the fire department and at the bowling alley? Well, according to the police, she was in her own car at the fire department. So somehow they know that,

but no one really knows anything after. Like they're not certain if she drove home and then someone else drove her to the bowling alley or if she drove to the bowling alley herself and then made it home after all of that and her own car and then disappeared. And no one knows for sure because Rachel lived alone. So it's not like anyone would have seen her come home.

Right. And that's if Rachel's plan was even to go straight home. I mean, I'm fairly certain it was because even though she's just 20 years old, Rachel actually has a ton of responsibility on her shoulder. She's got three young children ages three, two, and eight months. Oh my goodness. Plus a fourth on the way. So it makes three young children, ages three, two, and eight months. Oh my goodness.

Plus a fourth on the way. So it makes sense that she wouldn't want to stay out like all hours of the night. She had things to do. And where are the kids? Okay, so she's obviously like a young mom. So what I found out is the grandparents of each of the children helped out quite a bit.

Like actually her eight month old is staying with her mom Brenda. She's now like in tow at the police station, and the two older kids were frequently with their dad's parents, which is where they were on this particular night. But Rachel loved her children. Everyone knows she wouldn't skip out on them,

hence Brenda going right to the police. Like the second she got win, that something could even be slightly wrong. But she's barely even able to get all of this out when she's talking to the officer who takes the report because that's when she notices something really odd. Brenda told our team that this officer, this guy named Adam Williams, this dude is like shaking as he's taking this report. Like I mean, can hardly hold the pen as he's talking to her.

Okay, that's super weird. It feels off to Brenda, but like, she doesn't know this Adam guy. She doesn't know why he's shaking or what he's got going on in his life. Like, all she's focused on is her missing daughter. So she finishes giving him the report. And according to David Reynolds reporting

in the Daily News record, he says like, he's gonna take care of it. So no, she's an adult, she can leave as she wants. No, no, no, no. And honestly, I'm kind of surprised that that wasn't the response. Because one search of Rachel's name in the police system, and they would have seen that just a few months ago, she got into some legal trouble.

She had been indicted for forgery, uttering, and obtaining or attempting to obtain utilities without payment. So, I mean, usually when they see a record like this, like, this is the excuse police need to be like, nah, like, she's bad news, she'll come back. Yeah, but pause for a second.

What the f*** is uttering? I don't know what it was either. I had to look it up. It's basically using counterfeit documents. So, things like forged checks to pay for goods. That's, I've't know what it was either. I had to look it up. It's basically using counterfeit documents. So things like forged checks to like pay for goods. That's, I'd never heard of it, but that's what uttering is. Okay. Good to know. Either way, it's obvious from the charges that Rachel was experiencing some financial distress and feeling the pressure of so much responsibility.

But even so, her mom says she wouldn't just up and leave. And so does Rachel's dad, Carrie, and her friends. They all say that she's working hard to turn things around. Like for instance, she was going to start a new job this same week that she disappeared, and perhaps the most telling she reached a plea agreement on those charges that I just mentioned. So, like, she's not even going to be doing jail time. It's not something she should run from.

It's like it's all taken care of already. Yeah, and she had this chance for a fresh start. So even though it was clear, she had stress in her life, like no doubt. She was working on it, getting it resolved, moving on. Yeah, and disappearing at this point doesn't make much sense. Well, and not to mention, if she was gonna leave on her own, you'd think she'd take her car. Exactly.

Right. So, as far as missing person cases go, Rachel's is off to a pretty solid start, at least from her family's perspective. And they want to try and do everything they can to move things forward quickly, too. So as soon as Brenda, Lily, and the baby leave the police department after giving this report, they actually stop by a grocery store, they gotta get some formula, and then they go straight to Rachel's apartment because they just want to look around for themselves Right and within a few minutes

I mean literally the formula water is like still being warmed in the microwave Officer Adam Williams shows up. He knocks on the door Pokes his head and ask if he can have a look around Brenda says yes, of course like come on in and at first She's like wow this was a fast. We usually hear like the worst of the worst. And she's like, thank goodness they're taking this so seriously. But Brenda says that officer Williams, like, opens a kitchen drawer, sort of like fumbles around in it, then looks around the rest of the apartment pretty quickly. And then he looks inside the glove compartment of her car. So like, he's kind of like poking around, but

he's not like going deep, which not like, can't just can't just sing every single room going through clearing them whatever. Which again, maybe you don't do that this early on, at least he showed up, but whatever this is, it's not super thorough. Now ultimately, it seems like the only thing that appears to be missing, obviously besides Rachel is her cell phone. So how did the apartment look like? Was it orderly? It was stuff like tossed around? Does it look like Rachel had even been there recently? Well, so yes, it looks like she's been there recently because actually Brenda told us that it looked like Rachel had been in the middle of like doing her laundry because the dryer door was open. There's some clothes that are folded and

like stacked on top of it. Still some laundry that were in the washer. But there doesn't seem to be any signs of a struggle, either. Right. And because of that, and because of whatever officer William saw in this kind of scan of the place, he leaves. So he must have not seen anything super concerning. So what do our friends say about the night before? Did officer Williams track them down, see what they had to say?

So I know that they were interviewed, but who did the interviewing and who those friends were that's never been reported on? So I don't exactly know. Okay, so does she have a boyfriend? And does she split like custody of her kids with anybody? You mentioned the grandparent. Right, so I know she's seeing someone or like her dad at the time, no, she's seeing someone.

But he doesn't know his name and her mom Brenda didn't know with any current boyfriend. And by the way, Rachel's dad, Carrie and Brenda had split up when Rachel was super young, so the two aren't really in contact when their daughter goes missing, so that's why like maybe he knows something that she doesn't or whatever. Got it. And as far as Rachel's kids go, I don't get the impression that her relationships with them, like their fathers, were super tumultuous. We talked to Virginia State Police Special Agent Chris DePoi and he said that those

men were interviewed and ruled out. Okay, but even then you said she's pregnant again, so... I did. Do we know who the father of that baby is? They don't. Okay. In fact, Brenda didn't even know her daughter was pregnant until it was revealed after her disappearance.

Oh. Oh. Yeah. And honestly, the first few days after Rachel vanished for her was just like a blur. But I know that the family was anxiously waiting, hoping against hope that she was going to show up, she was going to explain that this was, you know, always like some kind of misunderstanding or at the very least, give them a call and tell them she's all right. And she's not coming back for XYZ reason, whatever. And that call is like the minimum they're hoping for because I mean, you gotta be thinking too, not only are they worried about Rachel, they're also stuck in the position of like caring for her children at the same time, which is like an answering their question.

Right. But she never shows, she never calls and her loved ones are left to deal with just this hole in their lives that they never expected to be there in the first place. But this whole time, kind of like they were in the beginning, they're not just going to sit around and do nothing, which is why a few days after Rachel Vanished, they decided to search her apartment again. And it's a good thing they do, because what they find turns the whole investigation on its head. According to reporting by Pete Delia for the Harrisonburg Daily News Record,

Rachel's grandma Lily comes across some letters. They are love letters between Rachel and Adam Williams. Adam Williams, like officer, Adam Williams took the missing person's report. The one who's virtually apartment. The one who's literally shaking in his boots, taking her missing person's report. What? That guy.

Who, by the way, was assigned to be the lead investigator for her case. Holy, hold on. I have too many questions. I mean, how are we just now, what are you thinking about this? I mean, did her family and friends not know? How is he even on her case? Like huge conflict of interest.

I know, so remember her dad knew she was seeing somebody but didn't know the name. Again, her mom didn't know either. From what I can tell, a few of her friends knew his name. So obviously like, again, in the short time that her mom went to report it, it's like the friend didn't even know she was missing at that point. So somehow, this information didn't get communicated to the police or to her parents. And the thing is,

is like, the reason so few people knew is they were keeping the secret because Officer Williams is of course married. Oh my god, and how long have they been together? It was about three or four months by the time she went missing. And he just decided to not mention any of this when he was put in charge. I was the lead investigator of her case. No.

Or like, when the mom was giving the report, like, hey, I know her, I probably shouldn't be doing this. Like nothing. No, he was just shaking and taking the report and then becoming the lead investigator. Wait, and how far along in her pregnancy was she? Well, according to reporting by Crystal Graham for the Augusta Free Press, Rachel was,

I think it's 10 weeks pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Okay. So, I mean, I know you're gonna ask if it's his. Right. No one knows, but that's the assumption. Right now, right? Like, he's the only one that's... Timing-wise, right. ...who we have. And it's not that's the assumption. Right now, right, like he's the only one. Timing-wise, who we have.

And it's not even just the timing. Once Adam's in the crosshairs of the investigation, I mean, the flood gates open. Rachel's brother comes forward, also named Adam. Don't get confused. Awesome. But he tells reporters that he knows, boyfriend, officer Adam, gave Rachel $1,400 and told her to get an abortion.

Now, I can't find whether Rachel told her brother this or he found out through those letters they found or whatever, but according to him, not only did Rachel not get the abortion, but she spent the money on other things and threatened to tell Adam's wife about the affair. And special agent DePoi confirmed for us that this money exchange for the abortion was in fact true. This isn't like small town gossip. I mean, I just keep coming back to how he was

visibly shaking, taking that initial report. I mean, this guy's search to her apartment was in her car. Like, who knows what he could have gotten rid of or tampered with? Like, my head is spinning. And it's a bombshell that I don't think anyone saw coming. But fortunately, as soon as Brenda starts hearing whispers about this officer having been romantically involved with her missing daughter, she goes straight to the mayor of the town to complain.

And that got the wheels turning because as soon as the police department finds out, Adam is removed from the case, it's handed over to the Virginia State Police, and this is happening like by October 23rd, although there's a little bit of conflicting information about the exact date. And I'm assuming the first thing to do is interview him. I hope so. Agent DePoi told us that Adam, Officer Adam, has been interviewed numerous times, quote unquote, numerous, over the years, though he would not say what Adam's official story was. He wouldn't say if he provided an alibi or not, but back then, when the story is happening,

they're not even calling him a suspect at the time. So did Rachel's friend see Adam with her the night before, like at the fire station hangout area or the bowling alley? So yeah, they did. Oh my god. Deploy told us that Rachel was seen at the bowling alley, with Adam the night she disappeared. And get this, some of her friends thought that Rachel had plans to go camping with Adam later that very night.

No one knows for sure where, but if you drive West from Harrisonburg, Virginia, you pass through a national forest on your way to West Virginia and a lot of people camp out in that national forest. Okay, search the forest. Right, I will help you lead the charge if you want to go on an adventure. Yeah, let's go. So, is Adam still working as a cop during all this? Not for long.

So, less than a month after her disappearance on November 17th, Adam resigns from the Elk and Police Department. Now, for some reason, he's not like out of the department just yet. Like that resignation doesn't take effect until January 16th, 2004, but I don't understand it, but in the interim, he is placed basically on administrative leave. I have to wonder if he had like his service rupturing during that time, like during that kind of interim, or if they'd like tested it to see if it had been discharged. Like, it's right there.

Yeah, I know I'm your best friend, but I knew you were gonna fucking ask that. So I asked Agent DePoi and he said he wasn't certain whether he had it or not, whether it was tested or not. So it's just a big question mark. Yeah, apparently back in the day, some Virginia law enforcement agencies had their officers by their own surface guns, which I didn't know was a thing.

Okay. So he wasn't sure if Elton PD was one of those or not. Right. Now fast forward to December 4th. This is now a month and a half after Rachel first disappeared. A search warrant is issued for Adam's home. Now the contents of the warrant are sealed.

And Brenda told us she didn't know of any evidence that was found during the search. Of course, it's another question. I asked Agent DePoey. Another question he dodged. But whatever is or isn't found clearly isn't enough for an arrest because that doesn't happen. And honestly, I don't even know if it was enough

to call him a suspect because at that point, they're still not doing that. Okay, but is he the only person they're investigating? He is the only person I have ever seen brought up in my research. So we can call them a suspect? Uh, hold your horses. I'm telling you what was happening at the time.

Got it. So over the next few weeks, Rachel's family publicly pleads for her safe return on TV and at police press conferences asking for the public to help into come forward with any information that they have, but either no one does or the information they do get doesn't lead anywhere. In fact, Rachel's case is stagnant for months, until August of 2004, when police announced publicly that Hermissing Persons' case is now being investigated as a homicide. And a month after that, police execute yet another search warrant against Adam. And again, it is sealed. But it seems to be the push the investigators need to get things really moving again. Because according to reporting by Will

Morris for the Harrisonburg Daily News Record, just before the one-year anniversary of Rachel's disappearance, a special grand jury is called to hear evidence. The prosecutor for the state of Virginia, this woman named Marsha Garz, tells reporters that she feels an indictment is, quote, certain. Now she doesn't outright say that they're going for an indictment against Adam. But I think we can say that's what's happening here. Exactly.

And shortly after the grand jury convenes, Adam is called to testify. OK. But as always, these sessions, yeah, close to the public, so we don't get any more information on what he says, what happens, what's presented as evidence, and then days pass, and then weeks pass, and then months pass, and no indictments are handed down. You're kidding, I'm not. The grand jury needs on occasion for over a year without reporting findings or filing charges

Which always learning as a crime junkie. Apparently in Virginia, there are no time limitations on an investigation by a special grand jury Like it depends on the complexities of the case So it seems like there is no definitive end to this. It can just hang out forever. Go on and on. Yeah, prosecutor garished, reiterates to reporter is that it's ongoing, so she has to be tight-lipped. But then she assures the public and Rachel's family that they're doing whatever they can.

Okay, if they have enough evidence and testimony to go an entire year and still be like meeting on this, how can they possibly not have enough to file charges? That's what I'm saying, as far as I can tell, they're not like meeting every day for a year. They're just being reconvened as needed. It would just not how I thought it worked. But like, again, I'm learning every day. And just because there's not like a year, it's just a year since it started.

So like, they're just having continuing like meetings as needed, they're staying close to the investigation, but like as the theme of this case seems to be, none of it actually moves the needle. Like it feels exciting, it feels promising, it feels like we know what happens, like hurry up and wait. Yes, but here's the thing, even though everything that is happening behind these closed doors is secret, that doesn't mean that people aren't letting a couple of things out of the back. One of the very few things that gets leaked comes actually from Rachel's family,

specifically her brother. At some point, he came to learn that before her disappearance, she and Adam were calling each other almost daily. After her disappearance, he never tried to call her again. How does her brother know that though? I mean, I didn't even think her family knew that she was dating anyone. Well, again, I think he learned this after.

My best guess is it's from the phone records, because I know at this point Virginia State police have both hers and Adam's phone records, but the only details that have been released have been through Rachel's family. But whether this came from the records or not, it might have come from another way, because Brenda told us that she thought some of Rachel's friends who were aware of her relationship with Adam also noticed

his call stopping abruptly, but again, it's not like they have her phone, I don't know. Right, but I guess with this information, is there any chance they can get GPS or cell tower data like from their calls at this point? Yes, but it's 2003. So the technology that they're dealing with is way more limited than what we would have today.

So Agent Deploy confirmed that they do have phone records, but surprise, he wouldn't provide any details of that. And eventually Rachel's case just grinds to a halt. I mean, tips never stop coming into police, but they're... kind of off the wall when they do, like someone hearing that her body was put in a woodchipper, and investigators continue to run down even the most bizarre ones. But as the years continue to pass, there is just very little significant progress. And the grand jury doesn't come back

with a decision one way or another? They do end up adjourning, but they adjourn with no decision. Though jurors can be recalled for this case at any moment if new evidence or information comes to life. So what about Adam? I mean, do we know what he's saying? Has he ever made any public statements, denying involvement, anything? Nope. We know he's been interviewed by police, but the context of those conversations have never been revealed.

And by fall of 2010, he has moved out of state, and I'm pretty sure he's gotten divorced too. Yeah, that's right. Now, 2010, the 7th anniversary of Rachel's disappearance is looming closer. And at this point, her family is tired of waiting for investigators to do something. I don't know if they just have circumstantial evidence or if they're worried to prosecute without a body, who knows? But there are steps that Rachel's dad takes to pursue his own justice. And one of those is having her declared legally dead.

According to reporting by Pete Delia for the Harrisonburg Daily News record, this ruling will open the door for a civil suit, which her family can use to try and get some answers. And that's exactly what they do. Her father has her declared legally dead in 2010, and then in October of 2012, an attorney on the behalf of Rachel's estate

files a $5 million wrongful death suit against the town of Elkden the former police chief and former officer Adam Williams So obviously I get Adam, but why Elkden and the police chief? Well, I guess typically when a lawsuit is filed against a town police department The town that oversees the operations of that department is also named in a suit, like it's just like a technical thing. And it seems like Rachel's family, particularly her dad, Carrey, he thinks that the Elkden Pety had knowledge of Rachel's affair with Adam, and if they did, and then they let him lead the investigation anyway, like you're just as responsible as he was for any mishandling that may have happened in those first few days. Now Elkden is such a small town that even though the police sheep denied having any

knowledge of the affair, basically they think that it's super unlikely he actually didn't know anything. Okay, but they didn't know about it. I mean, they're her parents in a small town. They're her parents, but actually her mom lived like an hour away in a different town, and her dad was a trucker who was always on the road, so they were a little bit removed from the situation. But her dad is convinced that the police chief knew about Adam's relationship with Rachel, although, again, the police chief totally denies it.

Now, you know how slow moving corporate proceedings can be, so it's not a huge surprise that this drags on for a while. But eventually, a couple of years later, this suit against the town and the former police chief, those parts are dropped. So it's just Adam. Right, his suit still stands. Now, the damages are dropped from $5,000,000,000,

to just $50,000, because this isn't about the money for Rachel's family. It's about getting answers. Right. Kerry says that he actually doesn't even expect a penny from Adam, even of that $50,000, when this is all over, he just wants to prove that Adam was responsible for her death. Now it takes a couple of years, but a trial finally is set on May 26, 2016.

And to everyone's surprise, Adam just doesn't show up. What? Yeah. According to reporting by Isabel Rosales for WHSV, the attorney for Rachel's estate asked the judge to find him in contempt of court for this, which makes total sense since he's like a no-call no-show. But the judge allows a continuance when Adam submits a letter explaining why he wasn't there, and the biggest reason was for quote-unquote medical reasons, because he says he was in

a car accident, so he wasn't able to make the drive up to Virginia from Louisiana, which let's reason now. And you couldn't call, bro. It was about 2016. I know, it doesn't sit right with me. It doesn't sit right with Rachel's family either, but whatever things are still kind of trucking along, until September 2016, when the attorney for Rachel's estate

ultimately decides to dismiss the case altogether, why? Well, because the team is unable to secure phone records from 2003. According to that same article I just referenced, the original phone records have been destroyed by the phone company, not for any suspicious reasons, just because of the passage of time. Okay, but we know the state police have them. They have them, but they won't hand them over. Even when the family lawyer tried to subpoena them,

according to the Daily News Record, the Virginia State Police filed a motion to squash the subpoena for the records stating, quote, production of the information sought by the plaintiff will require the disclosure of the contents of confidential files related to a criminal investigation. End quote. Okay, but it's been how many years now? I know.

I mean, it doesn't seem like they're any closer to filing charges. What's the harm in releasing this information? And not just for fun, like for an actual court proceeding that could then lead to evidence that would help them with their case. I do see it downside. I hear you. Of course, I asked Agent Deploy about this. He told us that the whole back information is due to the nature of the case still being so active. He says that like the case

isn't just sitting stagnant. They're not at least according to him just like waiting for something to happen. They're still like constantly getting tips tips. I wanna know what's in these. I don't know if releasing them will help us or not will help Rachel's dad or not. Who's like, the thing is, it would help him. I know that because he was counting on those records being part of this civil case. So when he doesn't get those,

his civil case falls apart. That's why they dismiss it. Like his lawyers, if we don't have those phone records, that's a big kind of crux of I think what they were trying to show. And without it, don't bring a case that's gonna end up not getting ruled in your favor.

Yeah. But dropping the case doesn't mean they're done. They just couldn't move forward right then. And on April 24th, 2017, Adam is served again with that wrongful death suit. Now, by law, he has 21 days to respond to the suit, which would land on May 15th. And this is important because according to more reporting by Peter D'Alea, he responds with a motion to dismiss on May 16th.

Uh, that's a day late and 50 grand short, Adam. Yeah, thems the rules. Adam tries to fight it, of course, but the judge rejects whatever reasoning he gives this time. So trial time, actually, the judge hands down what's called a default judgment, which basically finds Adam liable, because he didn't like, he'll defend himself. But Adam's attorney quickly files a motion to have that ruling set aside, and the court does it. So like, this whole civil suit is back to square one. And, Brett, I mean, this is, again,

I told you these things to rag on. The case is still ongoing today. Still awaiting a trial date. Rachel's family is still fighting for answers. And as far as I know, they've never gotten the phone record. So when they refiled, they must have felt like they just, you know, now or never, we need to move forward without it. Or I don't know if they found more stuff that they were going to move forward with,

but the phone records still aren't a part of it. Now we talked to Rachel Dadkary, and he told our team that he's not even angry with Adam. He said that if Adam asks for forgiveness, he thinks he's obligated to forgive him. He is a way better person than I am. Both of us then, because I don't know that I could do that. He has more grace than I think most people would in that situation. And it's amazing how many family members I've talked to

where that's the case. What they want more than vengeance or quote unquote justice or whatever is just answers, right? Like acknowledgement of that. Yeah, right. I'm not gonna fight this battle, but like, at a minimum, can you give me that? And so many of them are willing to forgive.

Her dad's also being really patient, because he did say he'd rather wait for things to be done right than have things be done sloppily and have something messed up. But sadly, as of this recording, every search for Rachel has come up empty. An agent de poise says they've done numerous searches, both ground and water, both in Virginia and West Virginia. Now, the one thing that's changed is as of today, agent de poise is admitting

that atom williams is suspect number one. Yeah, but still, no criminal charges have been filed. So all we're left with are theories and speculation as to where Rachel might be. But her dad carries been open about the theories and tips that his family has gotten, one of which brings a whole new person into the folds of this case. In 2019, Carrey sat down with journalists Chris Slater for his piece titled, My First Murder Investigation for the Ordinary Times. Just a quick side note, this source is from a blog which isn't like the typical format that we would use as a source, but it is done by a journalist and was originally going to be in a local newspaper, which again, ultimately didn't run, but it features like A Sit Down

Interview with Rachel's Dad, so I think it's an important one to include. Anyway, during this interview, Carrie shares that there have been several tips and theories over the years. One in particular, he says, was a rumor that Rachel was in a well in Lake Arrowhead, which for reference is about 45 minutes from Elkton. Now, police even went to the well, checked it out,

but the well has since been covered up, and there was no indication that she was in there, so police just didn't dig it up. But the biggest one he talks about, the one he believes, is that Adam didn't act completely on his own. According to the same article, sometime after Rachel's disappearance, Carrie called Adam's parents in Florida, and he got to talk to Adam's mother, and she mentioned something that rubbed him the wrong way. She mentioned that Adam's father usually visited him there in Elkden about once a year, typically in the spring, like April or May.

But, in 2003, he made a trip there in October after Rachel's disappearance. Like how soon after she disappeared, we're talking days, weeks, Carrie believes that it was in the days following, but that claim has never been corroborated openly by post. So he's thinking Adam called somebody to help with her body? Well, more than that, Carrie tells Chris later, quote, quote, I think that his father orchestrated it all. I feel like Adam said,

Hey, Rachel, let's drive to Florida. So they went to Florida, killed her, and threw her in the swamp with the alligators. And quote, Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, his dad orchestrated the murder? That's what he's saying, that's what he thinks. So why, what's the motive?

I don't know, I mean, I don't know if it was, he knew his son wanted to get rid of her to hide the affair, the pregnancy, and like he called his dad for help, and like that was his dad's solution. And if his dad drove up to Elkton, like why would they go to Florida then? Yeah, that, I don't know, and Carrie didn't give our team an explanation for that either. We actually asked police if that was even plausible, but they're saying no. I got the feeling that they had actually looked into this theory, and for reasons they won't say they've pretty much ruled it out.

I will mention, though, that someone else being involved in Rachel's disappearance isn't totally out of left field. In 2022, so just last year, police announced in an article in the Augusta Free Press that they're interested in speaking to the owner of a red truck that was seen near Rachel's home at about noon on October 19, 2003, which would have been the day after she disappeared. Okay, so did Adam or his dad drive a red truck? I don't know. I'd like to think police checked if there have been any red trucks connected to either of

them, but I can't say for sure. But like, Brenda actually thinks police just got their wires crossed, because she told us that her dad, which would have been Rachel's grandpa, had a red truck back then. So she thinks that that tip was probably just about one of the times they took his red truck to Rachel's apartment after they realized she was missing. Right, and have there been any other tips more recently? Well, we chatted with Agent Deploy back in September, and he did tell us about a moment over the summer when he thought he finally got the call that would break Rachel's case wide open. It was actually from law enforcement in West Virginia calling about a body that had been found in a suitcase near the West Virginia Virginia state line.

At first, they thought it was a young woman, an agent deploy thought this might be Rachel, but further investigation revealed it was actually a young man. So that ended up being like a bust. But tips do continue to come in today, just none that have provided any breakthroughs in finding Rachel. And it's sad because Brenda says she's lost hope that she'll ever get answers as to what happened to her daughter. Rathals' kids are now grown and Brenda knows how proud of them Rachel would be today. I think the most frustrating part of Rachel's case is that everyone agrees that they think they

know who's responsible, and yet in two decades, no arrests have been made. Brenda says that no matter what happens in the case, none of it will bring Rachel back, though. And even though Brenda isn't hopeful about answers, she is hopeful about justice. As she put it, quote, we're only here for a short while. God's justice is gonna be for eternity. Now this week is the 20th anniversary of Rachel's disappearance,

and her family is hosting a vigil on Wednesday, October 18th at 6 p.m. The exact location will be updated on Facebook and we've linked out to the event page in the show notes. So if you live in the Elkden Virginia area, please go out and show your support for Rachel and her loved ones. At the time of her disappearance, Rachel was described as being five foot four inches tall with blonde hair, wearing a yellow t-shirt and blue jeans. She was last seen at the bowling alley in Harrisonburg, Virginia. If you have any information about Rachel Good's disappearance, please call special agent Chris DePoi of the Virginia State Police

at 540-829-7400. You can also leave an anonymous tip on their website on our website, crimejunkipodcast.com. And you can follow us on Instagram at crimejunkipodcast. We'll be back next week with a brand wrap, so. Crime Junkie is an audio check production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve? Time junkie is an audio check production. So, what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?

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