Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Chase Massner's mom: ‘I just want the truth’

Episode Date: February 1, 2017

The mother of missing Iraqi War veteran Chase Massner worries that Georgia police have run out of leads in the investigation of what happened to her son. Massner was 26 when he vanished from a friend���s home in Kennesaw, Georgia, on March 27, 2014. “I just want the truth,” Stephanie Cadena tells Nancy Grace in Wednesday’s “Crime Stories” podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Missing Iraq War veteran Chase Masner of Cherokee County disappeared on Wednesday. His wife told us she dropped him off at a quick trip in Cobb County, where he works. Masner was honorably discharged in 2011. His family says he was diagnosed as bipolar and treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. This is Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Time has not healed the pain of the family and friends of Chase Masner, the young Iraqi war veteran who disappeared without a trace. Despite some intense searching, few clues have been found. We have a missing veteran.

We have a friend, a son, a father, and our main goal has always been to bring him home, and that emotion will never end until he's brought back home. I don't know if you, like me, have a child, in my case a son and a daughter, that you love more than anything in the world. Do you have a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter, a grandchild that is the world to you? I don't want to imagine, but right now I am imagining what it would be like if one of my children, my son, just disappeared and nobody could tell me where he was or what happened to him or

the circumstances surrounding his disappearance or where I might find him or where I should even start looking. Because that is the position that a wonderful lady is in right now. And we want to help her. And I believe you want to help her too. Thank you for being with us. This is Nancy Grace and Crime Stories. And with me now is a very special guest. It is the mother of Chase Masner, Stephanie Kadena. Stephanie, thank you for being with us.

Thank you. We all know that your son, 26-year-old, then 26-year-old Chase, a proud veteran of the Iraqi war, married with two children, girls, I believe, just vanishes. I can't help but believe, Ms. Kadena, that we're missing part of this story, because the story doesn't make sense to me. And I have found over years and years of prosecuting felonies in court and covering cases that when the story doesn't make sense, you're missing a piece of the puzzle. You can't put the puzzle together because you're missing important pieces of it. Let's start at the beginning. Can you tell us, as best you you can what happened the day Chase went missing?

Chase had come to my home to stay. He had stayed with me for three days. And on Wednesday, March 26th, his wife, Amanda, had picked him up with the intentions of going home and spending a few days at home on his days off work. He had the next two days off work. Why was he staying at your home? Amanda had called me and told me they were having a little bit of difficulty and they needed some space and asked if it would be okay if Chase came and stayed here with me and my husband where he grew up. And absolutely. I mean, I was thrilled to have him here. Of course you were. I was unaware that there was any problems or tension until that moment. How long had he been home from Iraq? At that point, I'm thinking I'm not very good with dates at all,

but at least a year and a half, probably closer to two years. Yeah, I imagine that trouble started brewing as soon as he tried to re-assimilate into civilian life after being in Iraq. Both my son and Amanda are extremely private and proud people. And if they were having difficulties, definitely they kept them to themselves. As a mom and a mother-in-law, I was not aware of any in-depth difficulties that they were having. How old were the girls at that time? Three and six months, six, seven months. Wow. Okay. So Chase had been at your place for two or three days and Amanda comes to bring him home so they can reconcile and get back on track. Yes. Then what happened? There was a lot of tension.

There was arguing between the two of them. In front of you? Yes, and here when she was picking Chase up. Well, what were they arguing about? I'm really not sure. There was just a lot of tension. I don't know the content of their conversation. I actually went out and sat in the car with the girls while Amanda and Chase got his stuff together. They just were very, very frustrated.

I sensed frustration in both of them. And once he had his stuff ready to go. Did they have money problems, Stephanie? Because I'm thinking he comes home from Iraq. He has to find a job. He looks and he looks and he looks and finally gets a job as a cashier at a quick trip. Now on that salary alone, it's going to be hard to support two little girls, especially a newborn with all it takes to take care of a child. So the money tension, which, you know what? That is nothing to be ashamed of.

Most of America is one paycheck away from eviction. Okay? Right. And I've been there many times where you're counting on your next paycheck to get you through to the end of the month to pay your rent and your car payment and everything else. And I've been there. I know it.

So he's trying to support them. He's not a layabout when he can't get the jobs he really wants. He doesn't sit there and whine and sulk and sit on the sofa watching TV. He gets out and gets a job where he can get a job at quick trip, working all kinds of hours to try to support his family. Okay. So they leave, they leave,

right? Yes, they leave. Then what happens? And, um, that's, that's where everything goes completely blank for me.

I didn't speak with either one of them that evening. And the following day, March 27th, I received a message from Amanda letting me know that. Hold on. I got to tell you something. I got to tell you something, Stephanie. I'm so proud of you not butting in you know they're having a problem you know that he they're trying to get it back together get the car in the middle of the road and the last thing they probably need is

the mother-in-law calling to say hey is everything okay I don't know if I would have that restraint. You know, I don't know. I'd be so up in it. But you managed to do the right thing and just leave them alone to work it out. So you didn't hear from them that night. What happened next? I received a message from, I believe it was a text message from Amanda the following day, later in the afternoon, letting me know that Chase did not go home with her. At that moment is when my alarms went off and I began to panic.

Because why? You thought, well, if he didn't go with her, he would have come back here. So where is he? That was my assumption. That was my assumption. So I tried to make a few phone calls, text messages. I got to tell you something. You're making my stomach, my stomach is just hurting right now, imagining you've gone overnight and you have no idea where he is. Okay, what happened? After that message and after I was aware of the fact that

he did not go home with Amanda, then I began to panic and wonder, well, where did he go? Where is he now? If I ever called him or text him, I always, always got a response. And throughout Thursday afternoon and evening, I did not get a response at all to any of my voicemails. Okay, hold on. Right there, right there, that's very, very important because I've had to establish timelines in a criminal case, starting with when a dog barked or some other incident that may mean nothing to other people, but it means something in this particular case. Now, when exactly, as you recall, did you first start trying to reach him? It was late in the afternoon on Thursday, probably after four. Okay, so let's

start the timeline there. And I'm starting it there because while a lot of people may not immediately return a text or call, I have to tell you, the minute I see my mom's number pop up or my husband's number pop up, I pick it up immediately because it could be anything. So you're saying that was his practice. So if he was not picking up or returning a text at 4 o'clock, that was out of character. So let's start the timeline right there. He is missing, in my opinion, unless I hear differently, at 4 o'clock on Thursday. He's gone.

Okay, then what happens? I continue throughout the evening and night to try to reach him. And by Friday morning, I said to my husband, what do I do? Because I didn't want to be crazy and overreact. And my husband is a very stable, middle of the line kind of person. He keeps me grounded.

And he said, we need to report that he's missing. So I did. I called the sheriff and they came to our house. And that was Friday.

A little before. It was mid-morning, I think. You know, just hearing your voice, I just went completely lost in thought because if I talk about or start reliving my fiancé's murder, it's always like it just happened yesterday. It never, that never changes. So we are now, the last time you've seen him was Wednesday night, correct? Correct. So it's now Thursday at 4 o'clock.

You increase the calls and the texts, and when do you report him missing? Friday mid-morning. When I didn't hear anything back throughout the evening and night on Thursday night, I was absolutely positive that he was not able to reach me, not able to respond. Can I just ask a question that's neither here nor there? But why didn't he go home with his wife? Why did she not want him to come home? Or is that what happened? From what I understand, they got into more heated argument as they left.

And just said to hay with it. Okay. Chase requested that Amanda drop him off, and I was told that she dropped him off at Quick Trip, and then I was told that she dropped him off at Brad's house. So it's very, I have no facts from the moment that they left my driveway. I have nothing. Okay, moment that they left my driveway. I have nothing.

Okay, I don't understand this. You can't get her to tell you where she dropped him? She said both places. And she came in the house in the middle of the sheriff being here. And she was flustered and she was flustered, and I was flustered, and I'm still unclear where she dropped him off at. Okay, see, that right there spells trouble to me. What did she tell the police? Did she tell them she dropped him at Quick Trip or at Brad's, the friend?

I'm not quite certain. Well, since that time, have you tried to pin her down? I love Amanda, my daughter-in-law, very much, my granddaughters. And we are, we deal, we're dealing with our loss very differently. She's moved away, protecting her daughters, keeping, being the best mother that she can be, and I praise her for that. and me as a mother um is absolutely my responsibility and my mission and I will breathe my last breath finding out what happened to my son when you say Amanda has moved away are you saying emotionally or does she physically move? Not, I wouldn't say emotionally. She physically has moved. I do have contact with her. I went and spent Thanksgiving with her and the girls, my husband and I. We had a wonderful time. We, we really, we don't have a lot of conversation.

About this. Yeah. About this, because we have chosen to handle it drastically different. Well, you know, that's not that uncommon, Stephanie, because when I still speak to Keith, my fiance's family, we don't relive his murder and what happened that day and what happened at the trial and that his killer is now out on parole. We don't talk about that. It's so painful and I don't know what it would achieve. So people may think that's odd. It's not odd. It's not odd at all. But you know, this may be irrelevant. It may be moot because the friend Brad says that Chase came to his home that night, correct? Wednesday night, after he leaves your spot, your home, he comes there. Is that right?

Yes. So regardless of whether Amanda, the wife, says, I dropped him at Quick Trip or I dropped him at Brad's. For all I know, both things could be true. It could be that she dropped him at quick trip and he went to Brad's. You know, it just, that's frankly, if he says that Chase came there, it's irrelevant

of what Amanda says. Okay, so we can now trace him Wednesday night to Brad's. Now, do you believe that he was at Brad's? Yes. Okay. We've got him at Brad's on Wednesday night. What happens at Brad's? Yes. Okay. We've got him at Brad's on Wednesday night. What happens at Brad's?

Brad, he stays overnight, and the next morning, I think, the next day, Brad sees him go to Quick Trip to work, right? That's not my understanding. Chase did not work the next day. Ah, okay. My understanding is that Brad left his house with Chase's cell phone, which I don't quite understand, but left his house to go deliver a computer, do some sort of work, and he returned chase was gone let me understand something what kind of job did Brad have that he had to leave my understanding he was some sort of self-employed computer technician maybe

he worked on computers but he didn't work for a company. He worked for himself. And we know for a fact that he did make that delivery. I'm sure police have investigated that. I'm not certain that that has been confirmed. Now what was the explanation given to you

as to why the friend Brad took Chase's cell phone with him. There has been no explanation given to me. I want to thank our sponsor today who is helping us make the story of Chase Masner reignite in the hopes of finding him and bringing him home or bringing closure to his mother, bringing answers to his two little girls that do not have their father. That sponsor is SimpliSafe, an award-winning 24-7, 365 home protection named best in the industry. SimpliSafe.com slash Nancy allows you 10% off on a home security system. So many people

think they cannot afford it. This is $14.99 a month plus the discount. Your safety matters to me. My children's safety matters to me. And that is why I'm proud to have Simply Safe as our sponsor. With us is investigative reporter Alan Duke. Alan, it was my understanding that the friend Brad says, look, I don't want you to leave. I don't want you to leave here. That he took the cell phone and said, I'm taking your cell phone so you have to stay. So you'll be here when I get back.

That's my understanding, yes, that he wanted to ensure that his friend was still there when he got back from what he had to do. Okay he couldn't have been gone over two or three hours he gets back and in that amount of time Chase is gone. Now another fact that may seem insignificant but I disagree. Isn't it true, Alan, that at the time, the friend Brad was having roofing work done on his home? And the reason I find that significant is none of the roofers see Chase leave. Yes, there was a roofer who was working on a contract on the roof at the house in the middle of the day who says he did not see Chase leave. And in fact, this roofer posted on social media a few days later when this thing, this case started to hit the media, posted on it. You know, this was the guy, he was at the house I was working on that

day and I didn't see him. He actually posted that, I think it was on Facebook. Well, let me ask, let me go a little bit further. Did the roofer ever see Chase there? I don't believe he did. And also, what I would like to ask Ms. Kadena is this. Was there any indication that Brad tried to wake up your son that morning before he went off to work? Or was Chase asleep? From what I've understood, I've not spoken with Brad directly myself. From what I've understood from the detectives, he did try to wake Chase.

And at some point, I believe Brad communicated with Amanda saying, Chase is not waking up. Does he have to work today? Which I find odd because Brad knows Chase's schedule and Chase works third shift. So, and he also knew that he had the next two days off work. Third shift would be what? Five to 12? Third shift is like 11 to 7, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Okay. Why is it, may I ask that you have not talked to Brad about what happened? In the beginning? Well, first of all, I don't know Brad. This is not a friend of Chase's that he grew up with that was at our house all the time.

I had never heard Brad's name before, and I've never met him. You know, if he was at one of his friends' house that basically grew up in our house, I would have been pounding on the door, of course. I didn't know where Brad lived. I didn't know his last name. I didn't know anything about him at all. And frankly, I still don't. My understanding is that he did try to wake him up. He told him that he had to deliver a computer and that he would be back later and they would have a cookout. And this is information from Detective Twiggs. So he was going to come back to the home that night and have a cookout with Chase? That afternoon, yes. Okay. So what do we know from that point? What do you know of the police theory?

What is their theory, Stephanie? I'm so frustrated that I don't know what their theory is. I have a very good working relationship with Detective Twigs. We meet quite often. I follow up weekly, biweekly with emails. I've had many, many appointments with him at my home, at my office, at his office. with every single time is there hasn't been a crime so we can't we can't basically their hands are tied there's it breaks my heart to say this but there's no body and

they say it's not a crime to walk away and without evidence of any foul play they're basically at a standstill in the investigation. So being gone for this period of time would not suggest to them that there was foul play? It screams to me that there's foul play. But I'm not getting my point across or I don't understand the legal system. I met with Detective Twiggs just last week.

And he's very patient with me, but it is the same conversation pretty much every single time. And Alan, I've been reviewing the facts as we know them. And a few days after chase went missing stephanie asked police to search a dumpster in front of brad's home and they agreed to do so they then went to landfill where the dumpster had been emptied, right? Yes, they searched the wrong dumpster. And my request was to please search the landfill because they did not search the dumpster that was there for the roofers and that was hauled away.

And Major Bowenball assured me that they would do their very best to search the landfill. And I was later contacted by Detective Twiggs that too much time had passed, and the landfill was not searched. So they searched the wrong dumpster and then say it cost too much to search the landfill? Is that what happened? He didn't say that it cost too much. He said that too much time has passed.

In reports I've read, it says the debris was buried so deep in the landfill, officers say it cost close to $1 million to search, and that with nothing suggesting a body had ever been in the dumpster, police say they cannot justify spending the money. Okay. Do you know, Alan, whether the friend Brad has ever taken a polygraph test? I'm not aware of one. Maybe Miss Kadena would know that, but I am not aware of that. Has he? Stephanie? I don't have that knowledge either. I've asked and the answer is I can't answer that question. Well, that doesn't make sense because typically police will say someone volunteers or they were asked to take a polygraph and they won't reveal the results

of the polygraph. But to flat out not even tell you whether they've asked him to take a polygraph, I find that very unusual. I mean, Alan, is it just me? I agree with you, especially Cobb County. They're pretty aggressive, has been my experience. The detective is lead detective Chris Twiggs at 770-499-3931. And I'd be very curious to find out if they had asked the friend Brad to take a polygraph or if they have taken a polygraph and he's passed it so we can move on from that point. And very often people are asked to take a polygraph to rule themselves out.

I always think of Mark Klass, my friend Mark Klass, whose daughter Polly was abducted and she was murdered. The first thing cops did was come to his house and he said, look, you know what? Take my DNA, take my fingerprint. I'll do a polygraph, whatever you want, so you can get off me and move on to find out who took poly. So very often people take a polygraph in order to allow police to go on to the next phase. But if Brad is to be believed, Chase just left for no reason with none of his stuff, without a cell phone, nothing, and has never been seen again. And nobody saw him leave, neither the roofers nor the people in the neighborhood, and he has never been spotted since. That's where we're left?

That's exactly where we're at. Now, according to Sergeant Dana Pierce with Cobb County PD, they told us at Crime Online that this case is very much active. What does that mean? When you speak to them, you spoke to them last week, what are they doing to help find Chase? What active thing are they doing? I asked that exact question to Detective Twiggs

because I met with him after that quote from Dana Pierce. And I was receiving phone calls asking what the new leads or what they were working on. So I asked Detective Twiggs that exact question, and it was nothing new than I had heard for the past year and a half, two years maybe. Trying to locate a person who could verify that Brad did fact, do some type of computer work and wanting to contact a friend of Chase's via phone. I just had some questions for that individual. Nothing new. And I asked him why Dana Pierce said that there was, well, I don't remember exactly what his exact words were, that there were new leads in the case.

Is that what was reported? Just that Pierce states that the case is, quote, very much active and are working behind the scenes with new information, but Pierce declined to divulge those details. Okay, if that is a factual statement, then they're declining to divulge the details to me as well. Okay, that's interesting. then they're declining to divulge the details to me as well. Okay, that's interesting. Did Chase have an ATM or credit cards or a gas card that he used?

He had a debit card, yes. Has it been used at all since he disappeared? No. Was there money in the account for him to get to? My understanding is that his payday was at midnight on Wednesday, which is the day he left here. Was there a direct deposit? Did he have to go pick up his check? Oh, he did not have to pick up a check. It was direct deposited. Correct. Is that money still in his account? I have no knowledge of his and Amanda's banking account. Well, what I'm trying to get at is, did he take that money out of his account? From what I understand from Detective no activity on his debit card. I believe since Wednesday evening, I believe he bought something, a very small purchase at Walgreens, which is across the street from Quick Trip. That was the

last transaction. The reason I ask is if he had withdrawn his money, his paycheck, that would suggest to me that he was just leaving. But if you get a paycheck and it's sitting there in your account and you decide to skip town, you take your money with you. But he didn't. Yeah, if you were voluntary missing, you would. You would wait until that morning and it's posted, and then you go and hit up the ATM or the bank. Why would you walk away without that money? And if money was taken, there should be a photo of the ATM withdrawal.

So there's been no activity on his debit card. When he left, did he have his driver's license with him in his wallet? He did not carry a wallet. He had recently gotten a new cell phone and a new cell phone case. And actually, Wednesday afternoon, he was showing me that he was getting organized, and he had his cell phone case, his cell phone, his debit card and driver's license in the pocket of the case. And it was very simple and easy for him to keep track of those three things. Everything was all in one. Wait a minute. So when the friend Brad kept his cell phone, did he keep his driver's

license and debit card too? I don't know the answer to that question. If he did, I believe it's been given back to Amanda. My recollection is Amanda had his driver's license. So that would mean that he left without a driver's license or a debit card. Why would you do that? I don't believe that he would. Once again, I want to thank our sponsor for making today's podcast on Chase Masner possible. That sponsor, Simply Safe. People every day across our country want a home security system. And I for one can vouch for the fact that you need it. SimpliSafe is an award-winning 24-7, 365 protection. With security professionals watching to instantly call police.

$14.99 a month. It's half of what most companies charge. Go to simplisafe.com slash nancygrace for 10% off their home security system. I'm proud they are our sponsor. Stephanie, what is your wish today? What do you want our listeners to hear and do? I just want the truth. I'm prepared.

Whatever the truth is. I want to find the answers. I want to find out what happened to Chase, and I want to know where he is. Stephanie, do you think he's alive? I do not. Why? Why?

I know my son, as I've heard different comments. He could not pull that off. He's got a very, very sensitive heart. He loves his wife. He loves his wife. He loves his daughters. I know he loves me. He just would not do that. I agree with you.

I don't think he would do that either. For anyone listening that has any information on the disappearance of Chase Masner, please help us. The tip line is 770-499-3931 770-499-3931 Or you can go on

CrimeOnline.com and remain anonymous and send an email or call our toll-free number. Stephanie, thank you for being with us. The search for Chase goes on. Thank you for helping me. Nancy Grace with Crime Stories, signing off. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.