Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Beloved couple go on RV trip of a lifetime, disappear. Bodies found in shallow beach grave. HELP CATCH THE KILLER!

Episode Date: November 6, 2019

A beloved New Hampshire couple dies together while vacationing at a South Texas beach. Family members say James and Michelle Butler were living out their dreams of traveling the country when they were attacked.Police find the Butlers buried on top of each other in a desolate sand dune. A manhunt is currently underway as the killers remain on the loose.Joining Nancy Grace to discuss the case: Julie Rendleman, NY Defense Attorney   David Katz Former DEA, CEO Global Security Group    Bethany Marshall ,Psychoanalyst   Kris Sperry, Retired Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Georgia   Dave Mack, Investigative Reporter for CrimeOnline   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. How many times have you dreamed about clocking out, just leaping off the grid, taking to the road, and never having to check in again? Just you and your family, an RV, and the wide open road. I think about it almost every day. That's exactly what James and Michelle Butler did shortly after their wedding. They leave their beautiful New Hampshire home. They rent it out. They pack up their stuff, and they hit the highway for the adventure of a

lifetime. There's nothing like an RV. I can tell you that myself. Had an awesome trip with my family planning another one, and that's what the Butlers had in mind too, but things didn't work out the way they planned. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. What happened to James and Michelle Butler? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. This is the beach where James and Michelle Butler were last seen. The couple have been traveling the U.S. in an RV since 2018, but in mid-October, they abruptly went silent, and their trailer and RV allegedly crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without them. More than 100 people gathered Sunday night for a vigil in Rumney, New Hampshire, a small town where James and Michelle Butler fell

in love and married in 2015. They did everything together. They loved each other deeply. Deborah Van Loon is James's older sister. She says her brother and Michelle were inseparable. They were always together and smiling and having fun and doing what they loved. James was a retired Navy veteran, and the couple had been on a cross-country road trip in a used RV trailer, taking odd jobs along the way to make ends meet. Deborah says they were likely headed to Florida next to sell Christmas trees. We knew something was wrong because they never missed phone calls. Speaking of going off the grid, that's exactly what these two did.

James and Michelle Butler get married, fall in love, get married, get off the grid, getting an RV and traveling the country. This very happy New Hampshire couple then seemingly disappeared, James and Michelle of Romney, New Hampshire, then reported missing by their family after failing to contact them. What happened to the loved-up couple? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. With me, Julie Rendelman, New York defense attorney. David Katz, former DEA, now CEO of Global Security Group. Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst in L.A.,

former chief medical examiner, Chris Sperry, also with me, Cloyd Steiger, former homicide detective, now author, but to Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Dave, tell me about this couple, James and Michelle Butler, and how they seemingly just drop off the map. Nancy, this couple, phenomenal in that James was a lifelong career Navy man. They met in 2010 and got married in 2015. And about a year and a half ago, James and Michelle decided to just, as you mentioned, just get off the grid. He was managing a Walmart at the time. She was working in an office, and they just walked away. They bought a used travel trailer. They hooked it up to his truck, and they decided to go on a

lifelong adventure. James actually had told his family that he saw the world in the Navy. He had traveled, but he'd never seen his own country. And that's what they set out to do. So they really did hook up the trailer and started traveling. They ended up picking up odd jobs along the way to, you know, pay for places to park the camper and things like that. And they kept, Michelle actually kept a travel log on Facebook of all their adventures and what they were doing. Just an incredible off thethe-grid journey. But very important to point out that while they were kind of off the grid, they maintained close contact with their family via FaceTime and constant cell phone contact. So they were always in contact with

their family back in New Hampshire. Joining me out of Beverly Hills, renowned psychoanalyst, Dr. Bethany Marshall. You can find her at drbethanymarshall.com. Bethany, this idea to just leave your home, sell your house, get out of your condo, get rid of your possessions and get an RV and travel the country. I like it. As a matter of fact, as you well know, David and I took the twins all across the country in an RV about two years ago, all the way through Death Valley, Las Vegas. We started in Tucson, went to Vegas, went to Death Valley, went through the mountains. The Sequoia ended up at the Golden Gate Bridge.

And it was one of the best things ever. Of course, my 88-year-old mother took up two-thirds of the RV. I don't know how that happened. But it was a trip of a lifetime. It's very alluring, Bethany. Why? Nancy, it is alluring because they haven't lived a life of complete responsibility between the two of them they had five children he had done tours of duty they had one grandchild these were two very responsible people they held down jobs they had a very buttoned up life and they loved each other they were attached to each other and they wanted to finally live the American dream and they set out to do it. So this is not a couple who put themselves at risk because they were drug takers or drug runners or engaging in risky behaviors. They were just enjoying their lives and wanting to enhance their relationship together. You know, they really seem to be living out their dream to Cloyd Steiger,

36-year Seattle PD, 22 years homicide, author of Seattle's Forgotten Serial Killer, Gary Jean Grant. Cloyd, again, thank you for being with us. I'm all for packing up and taking off in your RV, but there are a lot of dangers associated with that. As a matter of fact, I just researched it for my book coming out called Don't Be a Victim about danger traveling, including in an RV. It can be dangerous. Why? Well, you never know who you're going to come up against or where you're going to be,

especially if you're doing what they call boondocking where you just park somewhere off the grid and and and stay in your rv without hookups or anybody around in a park and people that do that often do that for several nights in a row and you never know who's around you know what you never do know who's around cloyd steiger to david katz ceo global security group and another thing i learned in an rv is're, no matter what you do, they're not that secure. And, Cloyd, Steiger's right. You don't know who else is in that RV camp. Absolutely correct. I mean, you go to some of these more remote locations where, I mean, anyone would want to park there, enjoy nature, enjoy solitude.

You run across the wrong person. And for whatever reason, be an attractive target. Looking for adventure, James Butler and his wife, Michelle, newly married, they rent out their house in New Hampshire. They buy an RV. They're serious about this. We just rented one. They sold the farm.

They buy an RV and set out for the adventure of a lifetime. They go to New York. They go to Arizona. They camp all around the South Texas coast, but then seemingly they disappear. Did they want to go that far off the grid? We're talking about James Butler and Michelle Butler. Even though they're, quote, off the grid, they stay in touch with their family. To Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, where you can find this and all other breaking crime and justice news. Dave Mack, tell me about their travels and where was the last time that they were spotted? Well, actually, Nancy, you mentioned the travels. They would pick up odd jobs in different parts of the country wherever they

were. Now, when they were actually last seen, it was when they posted pictures of setting up their campsite on the beach at South Padre Island in Texas, just outside of Corpus Christi. They had just arrived there around October the 15th, and they were setting things up, and they'd taken a couple of pictures and posted them online. Now, they had talked to family. They had talked via text and audio, and they had actually set up a phone call to talk to their five-year-old granddaughter on the 17th, and the reason that's important is their granddaughter had just taken up horse riding lessons. And so through their travels, they actually found some boots and some real Western wear to send to their

granddaughter. And they were going to do this big FaceTime so that they could see as she opened the present from grandma and grandpa. And that call didn't happen. Okay I need to shrink right here to Dr. Bethany Marshall joining us out of LA. You can find her at drbethanymarshall.com. The fact that they had set up a FaceTime with their five-year-old granddaughter and all the facts Dave Mack just gave you the details what does that tell you about them and the fact that they seemingly disappear? Well, they're off the grid somewhat, but not completely. They love their family. I keep using the word attachment today, but they're attached. They are not leaving their attachments behind. They're not taking off. They're not running from the law. They're not

doing anything illicit. They are simply enjoying their lives and maintaining contact with their family. And one of the things that strikes me is that their whole life seemingly is in that RV. So this would also make them an attractive target since we don't know where they are, what happened to them. any perpetrator is going to see that they have cash in there, that they have IDs, they have phones, they have clothing. So there, in some ways, they are a moving target. And we know even with people who hike a lot or are long-distance runners, anytime you are on the move in multiple settings, you do risk coming to the attention of bad elements of bad people. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Well, family members tell us that James last posted on Facebook on October 15th with a picture of his wife, Michelle, on the beach saying that they were setting up camp. They were last

heard from the next day and reported missing October 23rd. Right now, police say they need to find the two people spotted in their truck. They're just people that we want to identify and talk to for background in the investigation. If we had, if I could use stereotypes, I think they're probably local to the Corpus Christi area. And investigators in Texas say they are working with the Department of Homeland Security park rangers and have been in contact with Mexican authorities. Meanwhile, family members are working on getting their remains back to New Hampshire. What? Their vehicle is spotted, but it's not them driving it? To Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, what can you tell me about eyewitnesses that see James in a Walmart about 38 miles from where they were last seen? Well, Nancy, that sighting at the Walmart, some 38 miles away, is part of the investigation.

And at the press conference, I was waiting for that to be answered. And the only thing we got from the investigators is that they're sitting on the information because it's an ongoing investigation. They're playing things very, very close to the vest. We've got the couple going missing. Then we've got, you know, we've got witnesses, you know, seeing the camper at their campground, but without the truck. And then we have the picture of the truck towing the trailer. Okay. Very, very confusing. To psychoanalyst, Dr. Bethany Marshall, I've heard eyewitnesses attacked a lot on cross-examination.

Is there a chance the eyewitnesses who spot James without Michelle at a Walmart about 40 miles away could be wrong? Well, here's what I know about eyewitnesses. When there is a lot of national attention to a news story. People go looking for clues. They always want to be the one to call the tip line. They're looking around. And sometimes there's a type of hysteria where they go on the hunt. So it's hard to say if this eyewitness really spotted him without his wife, or if they're simply doing their own surveillance and thought that they spotted him. So in these kinds of cases, I'm never so sure if the eyewitness is that accurate. Well, another thing about the eyewitness named Joanna, she posts, my husband and I stopped to pray for a guy we met at Walmart. He said he

was from New Hampshire and his name was Dennis. He said he lost everything and was needing help with food. He was obviously suffering some kind of memory lapse or PTSD. What do you do in a case like this, Julie Rendleman, New York defense attorney, when you're desperate to find answers and you get tips? I've helped on many, many, well, countless missing persons cases. And when you get a tip that you want so desperately to believe, but then everything indicates the eyewitness was wrong. Well, look, I mean, you always have to take any witness at least seriously initially. But I have to be honest, this witness, while I'm sure she's trying to be helpful, the description she gives of this individual does not match in any way who we she's trying to be helpful. The description she gives of this individual does not match in any way who we know the victim to be. He was, there was no indication

that he was anything like what was described. So you have to kind of question whether or not she just simply has it wrong and move on to another potential clue. A happy newly wedded New Hampshire couple's adventure of a lifetime seemingly ends at a Texas beach. From there, where do you go? David Katz, former DEA CEO, Global Security Group, what do you do next? Well, they're going to be able to at least track the movements of the RV. There's enough license plate tracking technology. It's not going to be that prevalent in that part of the country, but there are going to be points at which you're going to find the vehicle driven past the toll booth or a police car with the technology in it. So at some

point, you'll be able to reverse track the movements of that vehicle from, assuming it was happening in South Padre Island, to the border. So we have a photograph of the border, and we have the ability to track back to at least some extent. And if you're lucky, maybe you track them back to a gas station, to a store. There's a surveillance camera. That's the way this case is going to be made in my judgment. To you, Cloyd Steiger, former homicide detective and author of Seattle's Forgotten Serial Killer, Gary Jean Grant.

Chloe, I've got a question for you. What if the tag's been changed out? I mean, any criminal worth assault is going to know to change out the license tag on the back of the RV. Well, you would think, but they should know that from the border crossing, because they should have had their license plates photographed at the time they... Yeah. I know I go across the border to canada quite regularly and there are cameras everywhere taking pictures and so i assume at the border

they took pictures of the license plate and then they can see what was on that truck and camper when it did well before we get to the border what about tag grabbers can you explain what those are cloyd okay so there are automatic license plate readers that are really becoming bigger and bigger. Like your previous guest said, they're on police cars, there are toll bridges, they're everywhere that photograph your license plate. Cars going by, it'll record every plate. The police car one will record every plate it passes. So you can do a search of that and see, again, where they were. And the other option would be, of course, just to go back to where you know it last was and drive to the border and check every gas station and every store along the way and see if there is that vehicle on the surveillance video and then if there are people that are in it.

To Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, this is the timeline as I understand it. On October 14 14 you've got this newlywed couple checking out of padre bali campground okay i learned that from the uh cops press conference that they held october 15 the next day the last facebook was posted of them setting up on burners beach near corpus christi. Same day, Michelle last speaks to her son. Following day, October 16, their last known text, assuming it was sent by them. Next day, October 17, they miss a very important FaceTime that they had already scheduled with their granddaughter

to see her open a package that they sent from Flower Bluff. October 19, the camper is seen on Burners Beach without the truck. October 21, the RV and the truck are both gone. GPS devices can no longer detect their vehicles. So that means the GPS devices have been removed. So Flower Bluff is actually in Corpus Christi, Texas. So that's not that far away. To Dave Mack, do I have the timeline down correctly? Absolutely. The reason that Flower Bluff is important, Nancy, is as I mentioned a few minutes ago,

the grandparents here were buying specific stuff for their five-year-old granddaughter, and they wanted to see her open the package. It was just going to be one of those sweet moments, and so they had mailed it out from Flower Bluff. They knew exactly when it was going to arrive, and everything was pre-planned ahead of time for this FaceTime call to be made. Take a listen to our friends at Fox. The couple had been camping on Pend Oreille Island just off Corpus Christi last month with their truck and RV trailer in their journey of traveling the U.S. Their bodies were discovered October 27th. The two were in constant contact with their family and friends while they zigzagged the country for the last year. Both were very active on Facebook, posting a travel diary about the places they stopped

along the way, which included New York, Virginia Beach, Tennessee, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and then Texas, where they were last believed to be working as gate guards. That's a common pickup job for RVers who work with security companies to help man the entrances of oil fields, logging traffic, people going in and out. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Investigators say both vehicles were last seen on surveillance video between October 20th and 21st, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The driver was not James or Michelle. Police haven't named a possible suspect. John Matthews is a former Dallas police officer.

He says U.S. authorities will have to work closely with Mexican authorities to get answers. They're going to be looking for bullet casings. They're going to be looking for any evidence they can tie back to the suspect. The couple had five grown children and one grandchild. Over the weekend, it was James Butler's birthday. He would have turned 49 years old. To David Katz, CEO of Global Security Group, how is it that this other couple or these other people were spotted in the Butler's RV? Clearly, they're involved to some extent. We don't know to what extent and what happened to the couple. The reason I think I said earlier that they did not, they did not change the plates is because they found it very,

they found the vehicle, identified the vehicle very quickly at the border crossing. And then it was a simple matter of checking the cameras at the crossing just as he was driving. And we find lo and behold, it's not Mr. Butler. It's someone else. And apparently an unidentified female in the, in the passenger seat. So this couple is now driving the deceased couple's RV crossing into Mexico.

Okay, now I don't know what could be more scary than that, finding out your loved one's vehicle crosses the border and somebody else is driving. There's no sign of them. To Cloyd Steiger, Cloyd is at SOP at the border. Every vehicle gets photographed? Yeah, that's my experience, that they have, you know, photographs that do all the license plates of every vehicle passing.

I've actually used that in cases where I had a suspect vehicle and I could show him going back and forth across the border. So obviously they had to show some kind of documents, probably Ford or stolen documents, to get back into Mexico. And I don't know how firm the Mexican Border Patrol is on that stuff. But that's certainly the first thing you look at. You know, Nancy, to that point, do we know, we don't know, whether the couple, we don't know what happened to their identification. Now, if you look at the individual driving that truck, he seems a lot younger than Mr. Butler.

But if someone is not paying attention and someone hands someone a document in the name of somebody else driving the vehicle, registered that same individual, how closely is that official going to be checking to see whether, in fact, the driver is who the name is on the passport or other identification? That's a really good point. They do have similarities to the real owners, the Butler couple. Take a listen to our friend Stephanie Ramos at ABC. They were very well known in town. The two of them were the family of James and Michelle Butler say they were avid road trippers on a journey to see America and beloved in their hometown of Romney, New Hampshire.

George Bonfiglio met the two after he purchased a store in the town and they worked together hand by side by side. It's just very great outgoing people. Police say on October 15th, the retirees parked their camper on Padre Island in Texas. Six days later, the camper was captured on surveillance at a border crossing in Mexico. The butlers had been on the road since June and were in constant contact with their families, so when they missed a scheduled call, the family reported them missing. We kind of knew that there was something really wrong because there's no way that he would, one, allow somebody else to take the truck and RV, two, take it across to Mexico. We're hoping to find whoever's responsible and get an answer. You know, Julie Rendelman, New York defense attorney, I don't know about you, but you're hearing their family and their longtime neighbors, that was George Manfiglio speaking, stating they would never just hand their RV over to somebody they don't know. I don't even like it when my husband

drives my minivan because the side mirrors are changed, the seats change, it's just not the same. Plus, I don't think he handles it gently enough. You know, Toyotas are very sensitive. Long story short, family says they would never hand over their RV to somebody else. That's what we call behavioral evidence. When you see something out of the ordinary that doesn't fit in, it becomes circumstantial evidence. Absolutely. And keep in mind, this is, again, a couple that was always in touch with their family. You know, even though they wanted to travel a lot, which, by the way, I completely envy. You know, they they were in touch with them and there was absolutely no reason they would have turned their their their vehicle over to someone, let alone have it travel over the Mexican border. So absolutely right. To David Katz, CEO, Global Security Group, what safety precautions

are there at the Mexican border, the U.S.-Mexican border, to figure out who is crossing back and forth? Well, you know, you have the license plate reader technology, you have photographs, you have a large law enforcement presence. But going into Mexico, you're at the behest of the Mexican officials. The other one's checking the entry paperwork. Typically, if you imagine you take a plane, you want to fly to France, you have to show your passport, of course, but you're not going through U.S. border control on the outbound journey. So it's the Mexican side, and the Mexicans, as we have unfortunately found out in many, many cases, are not the best law enforcement presence in the world.

In this case, it's probably a very, very cursory trip. There are many people crossing a high volume. It's just get them through as quickly as possible. And you see a couple driving an RV. The assumption is that they're for touristing, to shop. So they're not going to give them any meaningful level of scrutiny. Take a listen to our friend Meg Oliver. Investigators released this image taken from surveillance video of a male and female driving the butler's truck across the border into Mexico four days after the couple was reported missing. Clayborough County Sheriff Richard Kirkpatrick. Can you describe them? We don't know their names. As you can tell by the picture, it appears that they've got some distinguishing marks to them. Last year, the Butlers left their hometown in

Rumney, New Hampshire to explore the country in an RV. Their journey included recent stops throughout the Southwest. Along the way, they took odd jobs to pay for their dream adventure at a resort in Mesa, Arizona, and the oil fields in Laredo, Texas. He said, I've never seen the United States. Deborah Van Loon is James Butler's sister. She says James and Michelle kept in touch regularly. They were very good at staying in touch with everybody. They were awesome at sharing their daily adventures. You never think it'll be you and then it is and it's hard. I just got off the phone with the district attorney who

says an arrest warrant for the man in that photo could happen as early as tomorrow morning. How do you issue an arrest warrant for somebody whose name you don't know? Now we do know their names. Take a listen to the press conference of the Cleberg County Sheriff's Department. This time an arrest warrant has been issued for felony theft. The individuals that are named are Adam Curtis Williams and Amanda Novere, who are being sought, she's being sought as a person of interest at this time. We believe that Williams to be the driver of the vehicle that belonged to the butlers. And this person is considered armed and dangerous. We ask that people not approach these individuals, but simply that we ask if you have had some contact that you please come forward.

Currently, we believe that these individuals may have undetected. Law enforcement is working with our Mexican authorities to locate the subjects at this time. And we are simply asking help in locating anything, any of these persons of interest if anyone knows them. Again, we just simply ask that if anybody has any information, please contact the Claiborne County Sheriff's Office and at our telephone number, 361-595-8500. Partial remains of a person were seen in a shallow grave. Wildlife, it appears, dug out part of the shallow grave,

which exposed the body. We secured it. We lit up the area. We put officers out there to secure it. And it was almost nighttime. So it wasn't until the next morning we assembled our team. It wasn't until the next morning that we all arrived at daybreak. Several law enforcement agencies, several officers, along with the DPS forensic lab, DPS ranger, and others were out

there to help us. And that's when we started to excavate the site. And then we discovered first the female body and then the male body. The bodies of James and Michelle Butler found there at Padre Island, which brings up a whole host of forensic difficulties. To former chief medical examiner Chris Sperry, so at this point, weeks have passed. In what state do you believe the bodies were found? I would say they would be in moderately advanced decomposition. Down in South Texas and Padre Island, it's going to be very hot. And the sand that they were buried in is also going to be extremely hot every day. So the bodies would be badly decomposed, bloated, unidentifiable just visually. And from the description that the sheriff's deputy gave, it sounded like animals had already gotten into the area where the bodies were buried.

So there's going to be evidence of animal predation as well as well. Insects, maggots, all kinds of different bugs. So it's going to be, it would be very, very difficult, if not impossible, to visually recognize either one of these folks. The couple found in a shallow grave on Padre Island near Corpus Christi, their truck and RV trailer crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without them in it, driven by a man and a woman. Both vehicles sit on surveillance between October 20 and 21, crossing the border. Absolutely, the driver was not James or Michelle. To see the picture of the driver, go to CrimeOnline.com. It's a very clear picture, Dave Mack.

The driver now identified. Dave Mack, Crime Online investigative reporter. What can you tell me about Adam Curtis Williams? Adam Curtis Williams is 33 years old, a convicted felon. He has been known to carry multiple firearms, has actually faced time in prison for that, and he's known to be armed and dangerous. Does he have a record, Dave Mack? You know, Nancy, the arrest record of Adam Curtis Williams is long and distinguished. He was arrested in Utah back in 2010 after a long investigation that led to a drug bust there.

Two pounds of marijuana, more than $3,200 in cash, stolen guns, a thousand hydrocodone pills and drug equipment. He was only 24 at the time. OK, this is where it gets a little confusing between the arrest, the charges, the convictions and probation. OK, he actually was on supervised release. A petition was filed alleging that he violated his supervised release in July of this year, okay? The allegations for August 4th included possession of alcohol, assault or domestic violence, assault by a prisoner, resisting arrest. The court documents noted that he was alleged to have committed rape, forcible sexual abuse, and forcible sodomy in April of 2019. He was supposed to appear Monday in Logan's First District Court, the Standard Examiner reported, but he missed that court appearance. He's also wanted for failing to appear based on charges of aggravated assault

and assault by a prisoner. He didn't appear for that hearing on October the 8th. You know, there's a lot of unknowns in this formula. The man and woman seen on surveillance driving the butler's truck and RV over the border, they are clearly recognizable, especially the man, especially the man. Now, Dave Mack, who's the woman with him? The woman sitting next to him in the front seat of the truck, her name, Amanda Nover. Now, while there is an arrest warrant for Adam Curtis Williams for felony theft, that's not the case with regard to Amanda Nover. She is merely a person of interest.

They want to talk to her. To Dr. Chris Perry, former chief medical examiner, looking at the bodies, although they've been buried in sand, what type of DNA would you be looking for to track back to the killers? When a body's been buried like this in the sand and the body's decomposing, then the likelihood of finding some touch DNA or transfer DNA from a perpetrator is really, really, really slim. Now, the potential still may exist if there's fingernail scrapings, if there's tissue or blood underneath the fingernails of either one of the victims. That possibility is real that you could recover some DNA from that. Although even then, the likelihood is maybe one out of a hundred times.

So, you know, there is a possibility, but it's slim. Yeah, it always looks so much more easy on TV, Chris Berry. This is what else we know. In a series of Facebook posts following the law enforcement presser. One man says he believes he has seen the man in the photo and has contacted the sheriff. He says he's almost certain he saw the man on the beach and spoke to him that this guy was camped on North Beach and had a trailer in a very bad state of disrepair. We also know that Michelle's body was found on top of James's body.

We know that the cell phone was pinging in the area south of Bob Hall Pier near mile marker 26-3 near Padre Bali Park. Now, we're learning so many different things forensically, but during that press conference, cops state that the GPS coordinates were still being worked on. What more do we know? When asked how the butlers died, cops wouldn't comment. We also know that there were three cats in the RV with the butlers.

We don't know what happened to them. The butlers left the Bali RV Park October 15. Right now, the tip line is open. 361-595-8500. Repeat, 361-595-8500. If you have any information on James and Michelle Butler and their death, please contact authorities now. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend.