Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Fort Hood Soldier missing. Help us find Vanessa Guillen!
Episode Date: April 30, 2020Vanessa Guillen, a soldier stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, has been missing now for over a week. An extensive search is underway to find her. The 20-year-old was in the parking lot of her barracks at t...he Texas base. All her belongings were found in the armory room where she had been working: her car keys, room key, wallet and ID card. Where is Vanessa Guillen?Joining Nancy Grace: Mayra Guillen - sister Jim Elliott - attorney with Butler Snow, legal counsel for various Georgia municipalities and other governmental entities. Steven Lampley - Former Detective, Author “Outside Your Door” www.stevenlampley.com Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author,"Blood Beneath My Feet" Dr Bethany Marshall - psychoanalyst, Beverly Hills Brandi Chionsini- Katy Times owner, Katy Texas Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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When you hear the words private first class, many people think of a guy in camouflage or fatigues wearing a military hat with a crew cut.
Not true in this case.
The private first class that is missing is Vanessa Gillen,
a 20-year-old beauty, her specialty, 91S,
specialist in small arms and artillery repair.
What happened?
What happened? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
In the last hours, we learned that a beautiful 20-year-old girl is missing. We need your help. Tip line 254-495-7767. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.
Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111, the Triumph Channel. With me,
an all-star panel, Jim Elliott, renowned attorney joining us out of Warner Robins, Georgia.
Lawyer at Butler Snow, butlersnow.com.
Cheryl McCollum, director and founder of the Cold Case Research Institute and crime scene expert.
Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University,
and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon.
Psychoanalyst to the stars, Dr. Bethany Marshall at drbethanymarshall.com.
Joining us from L.A., Brandi Chiancini, Katie Times owner, joining me out of Katie, Texas,
but right now joining me is a very special guest.
This is Vanessa's sister, Myra Gillen, joining us live.
Myra, thank you for being with us.
No, thank you guys.
Thank you a lot for having me.
Myra, I know your family is totally beside themselves.
Correct.
When was the last time you spoke to her? As I recall, it was the morning she disappeared.
To be completely honest with you, the last time that we spoke was on
Tuesday, Tuesday afternoon. Her boyfriend was the one to actually speak to her. We'll hear from her
last Wednesday morning before going into work. When you spoke to her or texted, exchanged,
had an exchange with her, was everything fine? Yes, everything was perfectly fine. She was
happier than ever. We were looking forward into actually, you know, getting her a new car and
whatnot. Like, there was, it was, everything was completely fine. What was she currently driving? As of right now, she owns a 2011 white Jeep Liberty. 2011 white Jeep Liberty. And I know
she just graduated two years ago from Chavez High School, went to boot camp in South Carolina,
and has ended up at Fort Hood in Texas. I want to go straight out now to Brandi Chiancini, Katie Times owner.
Brandi, what do we know about the last time that she was seen?
So she was seen in the parking lot about 1 o'clock last Wednesday.
The parking lot was near her block of headquarters.
Whoa, what parking lot?
Was it outside of her barracks or was it at her HQ? It was outside of her barracks? Or was it at her HQ?
It was outside of her squadron.
It was outside of her HQ.
Okay.
Her regimental engineer squadron?
Yes.
Go ahead.
Yes, it was outside of her regimental squadron.
It was about 1 o'clock in the afternoon.
And her car keys, her barracks room key, her ID card,
and her wallet were found in the armory room where she was working.
Hold on.
I want to back up on what you just said.
Brandi Chiancini with me.
We find, left behind, car keys, the room key to her barracks, her ID card, and her wallet.
I understand that all of those personal items were where she had been working that day in an armory room,
not in her vehicle or where she was standing outside the HQ.
Is that correct, Brandy?
That's correct.
Interesting.
To you, Myra Gillen, this is Vanessa's sister.
She was last seen outside HQ.
All of her personal items, not her cell phone,
were all found where she had been working.
That tells me she left all of those items there
1 o'clock in the afternoon.
She was not heading to her barracks.
She was not heading anywhere where she needed her wallet or her ID.
And she was spotted out in the parking lot.
Is that correct, Myra?
To be honest with you, as of right now,
that's what they're telling us.
Her boyfriend had actually reached out at about, let's say, a little bit before lunchtime, which is, you know, 12 p.m.
That's when he noticed that the message wasn't being delivered.
So I strongly believe...
What do you mean the message wasn't being delivered so i strongly believe what do you mean the message wasn't
being delivered so on his end yeah that's all you know when on an iphone you send a message once the
you know uh the contact receives it it'll say delivered or if the phone is on you know if
everything's okay apparently so apparently not um whenever he did try texting her again, it wouldn't send.
It's like her phone was off already or it was dead.
Is it 12?
Around 12?
Yeah.
And, like, to be completely honest with you, like, when they say 1 p.m.,
it throws me off because, like, I don't understand.
So you think it was more like 12 p.m.
But I've got to understand what you're telling me.
With me is Vanessa's sister.
Guys, this could be a matter of life and death.
This young 20-year-old girl, who is a private first class at Fort Hood,
has seemingly vanished into thin air.
Interesting.
She keeps being described as a missing military member, an army, private first class.
She was not wearing her army outfit.
It's my understanding she was wearing a purple top, excuse me, a black top, a T-shirt,
purple athletic type leggings or athletic pants, and black Nikes.
So if you have that in your head that she's dressed in an army outfit,
that's not what she was wearing according to our reports.
I want to follow up on what you're saying, Myra,
because I'm not sure I understand, and this could be very significant.
The boyfriend sends her a text, I'm assuming, at around lunchtime, the day she disappears, and it, quote, was not delivered.
Was that a problem with his phone?
Because when I get that, I think it's my phone won't send it.
You're saying it was a problem on her iPhone?
Yes, because even myself, when he reached out to me, hey, have you talked to Vanessa?
I'm like, no, but I was, and I'm done with whatever it is that I'm working on. So immediately,
I call, and it goes straight to voicemail. Ah, so immediately, you called, and it goes
straight to voicemail. What time was that? To be completely honest with you, I want to throw in between also 12 and 1
because at this point, like, my call log,
it's a disaster.
It's, you know, I can't even go back
and look after myself as of right now.
Okay, well, hold on, hold on, hold on.
I'm not understanding what you're trying to tell me.
You call her.
He calls you immediately.
You call her between 12 and 1,
the day she's last seen. Is that correct? Correct. And it goes straight to voicemail? Yes. Did you
try to text her, Myra? Yes. What happened when you tried to text her? The messages wouldn't deliver.
Would not deliver. Okay, let's go to Cheryl McCollin,
Director of Cold Case Research Institute.
That's my timeline right there.
I don't know who thinks they saw her at 1 p.m.
standing in a parking lot,
but I'd like to back that up a little bit,
and I'm actually concerned about that sighting
because if her phone was already turned off or had been disabled
between 12 and 1, what was she, you know, let me ask, hold on Cheryl, Brandi Cansini, Katie Times,
when she was spotted in the parking lot that day, what was she doing? They haven't really said what she was doing.
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Guys, we are talking about the disappearance of a private first class.
Vanessa Gillen, just 20 years old.
She just got out of high school two years ago from Chavez High.
All she wanted to do was get in the Army and serve her country.
Boot camp in South Carolina, heads out to Fort Hood in Texas,
and now nobody can find her.
How do you go missing on an Army base?
How does that happen?
With me, special guest, Vanessa's sister, Myra Gillen. Myra, did you or your family use Find My iPhone? But to be honest with you, it said significantly after 24 hours.
There was no location.
We got no info about that.
But they did get on it directly with our phone company.
And that's when they got the record that apparently the last signal was here in Fort Hood at about,
if I'm not mistaken, 5.45 p.m.
I understood that her cell phone pinged in Belton, about 20 miles, 20 minutes from Fort Hood.
What do you know about that, Myra?
So, you know, this is a long process. It starts off
police station. At the MP's police station, that's where they told me that it pinged in Belton.
Then a day later, they tell me, no, that info is incorrect. It was actually here in Fort Hood.
Who am I supposed to believe? Wow. So it either pinged around 5, did you say 5.45 p.m.?
Yes.
At Fort Hood, and that's about five hours after it was disabled.
Correct.
And somebody else told you it pinged 20 minutes away in Belton,
but that's been apparently taken back.
Okay, Cheryl McCollum, Director of Cold Case Research Institute, jump in.
That cell phone is critical.
And to get that timeline perfect, those p teams have got to be narrowed down.
So they've got to do the search warrant.
They've got to see who called her, who texted her,
because she left everything else on her desk except that phone.
So she took that with her.
So did somebody text her and say, say hey meet me in the parking lot
did somebody say hey we're going to go run the trail did somebody say you know we're going to
go into benton to do whatever that's important hold that thought cheryl when you said let's go
run that trail it was lunchtime maybe she was going to work out that's a really good thought
cheryl mccollum because she had on black Nike running
shoes I've been told purple leggings or athletic long pants and a black t-shirt and that should
not have on her uniform right okay okay back to you in her pocket and that sort of stuff her wallet
there was no reason to take that if she was going for a run but a lot of folks will take their phone
for the music and whatnot.
To you, Myra Gillen, your Vanessa's sister, was she a runner? Is that how she worked out?
Yeah. I'm sorry. Yeah, she loved to run and the gym.
She loved to run in the gym or and the gym?
Yeah, she pretty much loved to run and she loved to do weights in the gym.
Did she run in the gym or did she run outside?
No, she did.
Yeah, she did track.
It was outside.
Good.
Good to know.
Good to know.
That's significant.
Justice Scott Morgan, Professor of Forensic, Jacksonville State University.
Help me out.
I got to tell you, Nancy, I'm a former soldier.
And Fort Hood, right now, in the current state of affairs that we're in right now, this post is essentially locked down.
I want to know who had access to her.
Was there electronic access to get in and off of the post?
I've heard that intimated at least at some point in time at one of the checkpoints to get in.
Because, you know, saving that, I have to think that there would be CCTV, there would be an electronic footprint relative to access.
There would be something to indicate that she had left the post with somebody, was in another vehicle with somebody.
If not, I'd have to begin to believe that she would have to be on post there. And the way they have this thing locked down right now,
we think that Army CID,
who is their criminal investigation division,
would be looking at all of this information.
I'd just like to ask one question.
I've heard about the boyfriend.
He was mentioned a few moments ago.
Is he currently on active duty and stationed at Fort Hood?
What about it, Myra? Tell me about the boyfriend.
No, actually, we come from Houston, Texas.
He resides over there as well.
To be completely honest with you, he never, ever, ever came to visit her here in Fort Hood.
She would always come back every weekend to us.
She probably didn't even know where the base was at and none of that.
They've been together for the past four or five years.
It's something that's really affecting him right now,
like to the point where he can't even talk.
It's something that he just can't believe he can accept it.
No, he's not in the military.
So, Myra, let me understand.
She went home every weekend to see her family, you,
and the rest of her family, and him, the longtime love.
How far is Fort Hood from home?
I did about a three-hour, 30-minute drive.
Three hours and 30 minutes?
Yes.
Okay.
So, what day of the week was this to Brandi Chiancini, Katie Times?
What's the actual date she goes missing and the day of the week?
So she goes missing on Wednesday.
That would be April 22nd.
April 22nd. April 22nd. Now we know the timeline has been refined around 12 because already the cell phone was not taking messages on her iPhone.
Okay, Dr. Bethany, we've learned a lot.
We know she's a runner.
She may have been exercising that day.
She didn't have on her uniform.
The timeline is wrong.
We know the boyfriend sounds to me is out of the running to be involved with this.
Three and a half hours away, we would have a digital footprint on him.
Most likely, if he had come, they got in a spat and everything went sideways.
And based on what Myra Gillen is telling me, I don't see it as of right now.
Did you hear what Joe Scott Morgan said about the base?
I'm with you, Morgan.
Dr. Bethany Marshall, conflicting information.
First, the phone was pinged at Belton, 20 minutes away.
Then, uh-oh, that was wrong.
She's getting this from somebody there on at Fort Hood no it was last
it was last spotted known to be on the base at around 5 45 in the afternoon did she ever even
leave the base Nancy I am so concerned about the shroud of secrecy over this case. You and this panel are having, and Myra's sister, Myra, Myra's sister
is having to investigate and tack down the timeline. And Joe Scott Morgan is letting us
know that probably she didn't get off the base unless somebody would have seen her because of
all the tight surveillance. So why the lack of details? Why the lack of a timeline? Who is conducting an investigation about this? Why are not just run away. She was loyal to her family.
She went home every weekend. She had a boyfriend. Her family was in contact with her. Who were her
friends? Who last saw her there? Who was she working with in the armory? How did people feel
about her? Did she have a stalker? Was somebody interested in her? Did she have somebody? There
are a lot of
men on that base. I mean, fewer women, she's gorgeous. I just have been looking at the photo
gallery of her. Was somebody preoccupied with her? I think that is going to be a treasure trove of
information is the human component. She did not vanish off the face of the earth by herself.
Someone did something to her.
Who is that person?
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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Guys, we are talking about the disappearance of a gorgeous young private first class in the Army
missing from Fort Hood near Houston, Texas.
Vanessa Gillen with me in All-Star Panel as well as her sister, Myra.
Myra, have you ever been to Fort Hood?
Yes, I've been here, I want to say about twice now.
Okay. When you went in, did you have to go through a security
gate? Did you pass the security guard? Yes. Visitor center. Did they look in the car to see who's in
the car? Who's getting on base? Yes. Apparently, they do check every single person that's in the
vehicle. Background check. They did my fingers. They took my picture. They pretty much did
everything. So could somebody tell me,
Joe Scott, let me pick on you for a moment, how she got off the base and nobody noticed?
I don't know. If you are, and bear with me here, if you are a service member, okay,
and you have a DOD sticker, which is Department of Defense sticker on your car, and you have ID,
I think that it would be possible to get off of the
base without them inspecting your vehicle.
But wouldn't they see you unless she was in the car trunk?
They would see you.
Wouldn't they see you if there's surveillance?
My concern is that she may have been obscured in a car.
That's my big fear here.
That's my fear, too, or else she's somewhere on that on fort hood and they
haven't found her i mean step one get the scent dogs absolutely massive nancy okay i hear you i
know it's massive um but you know what if you started in that parking lot where she was reportedly
last seen with a scent dog cheryl mccollum That scent dogs could track Lacey Peterson, who was, I think, either in a car trunk or
inside the back of a boat and covered up with a tarp from her place or Scott Peterson's
work from that location, I believe her home on Covina, all the way to San Francisco Bay.
That's a 45-minute trek.
The dogs followed all the way to San Francisco Bay. That's a 45-minute trek. The dogs followed all the way.
They stopped at the water.
Do we know whether dogs have been brought in?
I don't know, but that's what I was going to say.
There's no proof she got off that base.
They need to start in that parking lot where she was last visibly seen,
and they need to work those dogs immediately.
Not only is Fort Hood massive, there's tons of wooded areas, like deep wood. So they need to work those dogs immediately. Not only is Fort Hood massive, there's tons of wooded areas, like deep
wood. So they need to work those dogs immediately. Yes. The dogs could still pick up a scent. Don't
you agree, Cheryl? There's no question, Nancy. They would be able to do that with ease, actually.
So again, wherever that trail would lead them is going to tell you whether or not she is still on
that base or if she was transported in a vehicle. I believe she was. I mean, a lot of times you see dogs stop
at water. Correct. I have had dogs, in my personal experience, go into the water, okay, when they are
on a trail. To Jim Elliott, our renowned attorney joining us from Butler Snow in Warner Robins,
you can find him at butlersnow.com. Jim Elliott, the reason I'm asking
about the boyfriend, look,
I don't have a dog in the fight,
but I do know statistically
you look at the boyfriend, the ex, the
lover, the husband,
that's what you look at first.
Do you agree, Jim Elliott?
That is no casting, no aspersion
on him at all. In fact,
he's, to me, sounds like he has absolutely nothing
to do with this at all but still that's where you start certainly that's where you start you
started to close the people closest to the um alleged victim and you go out from there so
that's a perfectly logical place for law enforcement to begin guys we are talking about the disappearance
of a gorgeous young girl she's just 20 years old old, two years out of Chavez High School.
Take a listen to our friends at KWTX, the news anchor.
Listen.
20-year-old private first class to Vanessa Gillian's keys, ID card, and wallet
were later found in the armory room where she had been working earlier that day.
Please, if you have any information on small, it don't matter.
Please call the police.
We've been printing pictures of her. We've been posting on small businesses, gas stations. We're trying our best.
She was last seen wearing a black t-shirt. She is 5 feet 2 inches tall, 126 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Fort Hood nicknamed, quote, the great place.
The only post in the U.S. capable of stationing and training two armored division.
While you are hearing how vast it is, it's a 214,968-acre installation.
The rolling semi-arid terrain ideal for multifaceted training and testing of military units and troops. The reason I wanted
you to hear that particular sound from KWTX is because you hear the boyfriend, Juan Cruz, speaking.
You know what, Dr. Bethany Marshall? I never say never, but this guy is out begging, not with a lot of fake tears that we see in many cases or the fake crying and no tears.
He's out putting up posters.
He's out begging for help.
He has he's where the rubber meets the road.
He is out there looking.
I'm very tempted to just totally rule him out right now and focus on who is at Fort Hood.
What do you make of his demeanor?
Let's just put it,
just deal with it right now so we can move on to what we think really happened.
Well, I think we should rule him out. The only small thing that I was puzzling about was when
Myra said that he'd never been to Fort Hood. And if he's insisting to everybody that he never went
to Fort Hood, I would kind of want to know why is he putting that out there. But if we can rule that out as a suspicious statement, he is the poster boy,
poster child for looking for a missing person. He's crying. He seems sincere. He's putting out
an effort. I think somebody else on that base had some kind of preoccupation with her. And I think
that that is really where we're going to
get all of our clues and our information. You asked, Jim, about why do we look at the closest
people like the boyfriend? It's because it's in these most intimate relationships, as I always say,
that rage, resentment, envy, jealousy emerge. And yet Vanessa's sister, Myra, is talking about this
relationship as if it's very positive like
they're friends so if there was a domestic violence component I would think that that
would have come out already I agree Myra Gillen this is Vanessa's sister do you know where the
boyfriend Juan Cruz was at the time Vanessa goes missing he was at work in Houston we were
in Houston at work so that's 172 miles away, correct?
Yes.
Okay.
She knows him to be at work at the time she goes missing.
Right now, we have more information about a development in the case.
Take a listen to our friends at Fox 44, Adam Hooper.
Search is still underway for missing 20-year-old Fort Hood soldier,
and the Army's Criminal Investigation Division is offering a reward of up to $15,000,
leading to her whereabouts.
Fort Hood officials say 20-year-old Private first-class Vanessa Gillen is 5'2", 126 pounds.
They say she hasn't been seen since Wednesday when someone spotted her in the parking lot of her barracks.
Her keys, I.D., and wallet were found where she'd been working earlier that day.
Officials say an extensive search is underway. To Vanessa's sister, Myra Gillen. Myra, did she typically work in her Army uniform? See, that's another thing that took me offhand. Apparently,
if you're wearing your black t-shirt that says Army in front, then it should be fine. So the
fact that she had on purple athletic leggings, we're told. Do you know if they were leggings or were they some other kind of pants?
If I do recall, that's the only pair.
So they were, yeah, workout leggings for sure.
Leggings.
Okay.
Like tights.
So she could wear that to work.
I'm just trying to figure out if she changed from her uniform into that,
then I would know she was probably working out.
That's why I'm asking.
I'm not conducting a fashion review. But you're telling me she, as long as she had on her army t-shirt,
she could wear that to work. According to them. Yes. That's what, what I was told. What do you
mean? According to who? To the army personnel. They told you that? Yes. When did they tell you
that? That was when we could see initially when I got here, uh, I went into the base and I talked to her sergeant, first command, like all these different people that it was hard for me to memorize all their titles and names.
Apparently, they told me that it was fine if she was wearing that one army shirt to work. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Guys, we are talking about the disappearance of a gorgeous young girl,
a private first class for Specialty 91F,
specialist in small arms artillery repair,
goes to work, speaks to her family that morning via texting,
texting back and forth with
the boyfriend. Around 12 o'clock, those texts stopped being delivered. Now, what we are learning
through her sister joining us, Myra Gillen, is that she, the sister, was told the phone was
pinged on base that day around 5 p.m. To Brandi Cansini joining me from the KD Times. What more do we know
Brandi? Well we don't really know a lot. Generally when these kind of situations happen especially
on an army base the army is the one that handles the investigation. So it really yeah it just
it really what? Well it just you know the information that we get really is dictated on what they choose to release.
To Myra Gillen, this is Vanessa's sister.
Myra, what more do you recall of what they told you when you went looking for your sister?
We've learned from you that her phone pinged at Fort Hood around 5 o'clock.
Myra, do you believe that after she was spotted by somebody around 1 p.m.,
but you think it was earlier, in the parking lot,
did she ever return to her office or where she worked?
See, honestly, what I find super disturbing is that if somebody found her stuff
inside the armory room, why didn't they just leave it there? When I went the next day in the morning
and I told them I want to look into her room, I want to see where her car is, I want to see
everything, where she worked, what building is next to it, everything.
I went.
I looked at her stuff.
Her stuff was in her wallet.
Who moved her stuff from the armory room to her wallet?
I don't know.
What do you mean her stuff was moved to her wallet?
Wouldn't she have had her ID in her wallet?
Apparently, from what I know, my sister would not take her wallet into her room.
She would probably take her ID, which she needs. She would probably take her credit debit card if
she were to get hungry and step out to buy something to eat. But her full wallet, I hardly
know what she couldn't have. It was a hip, it was, I forgot the exact name for those wallets,
but it's something that she would wear around her waist,
which I hardly doubt you're going to be able to work with something like that.
Oh, okay, see, this changes things for me.
So when you go back to find what you're calling her wallet,
most people think of a very thin container that you can slide in a pocket.
You're saying it's really big.
Oh, no.
And she would not have gone out with that.
She would have gone with maybe her driver's license or military ID and a credit card and her cell phone.
Would you agree with that, Myra?
Yes.
Okay.
That's significant also you're saying that
when you went back to look at her stuff it had been moved from where to where so if they did
find her stuff in the armory room the arms room i'm sorry that's the correct term arms room arms
room where all the uh artillery small arms and, was that she physically repaired?
Yes.
So she's not sitting at a desk, correct?
No.
She's like in a mechanics workshop?
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
That changes things.
And who worked around her and didn't notice she didn't come back to work?
Apparently, for the arms room, it doesn't go as far as just about two, three people and being there at a time from what I've been learning for this past week.
So technically somebody had to be in charge of her.
Whoever that person was, was either super careless, doesn't know how to do their job or is hiding something.
Because why didn't you say something when you noticed that, like, let's say five hours have already
passed and she hasn't been back? What time does she get off of work each day, Myra? To be honest
with you, that's another thing that throws me off. Due to this whole quarantine thing, her hours
had changed. And she was barely about to tell us because I recall her telling me,
oh, they changed my hours for work. She didn't give me the hours though she just said i have to
work this morning and she didn't tell me at what time she would she were to exit you know but
there's only so much you can do because because of quarantine like you're not going to have long
work hours was she still going to the workshop was she still going to the workshop yes so she
went that morning you know that for a fact yes she actually no one ever
reported what she that morning she had actually snapchatted a photo where she was working to her
boyfriend to let him know like hey i'm working um that's something that i know she was there she was
working that morning she snapchatted bf at from work and no one ever reported that she didn't come back to work to work nobody seemed to
notice Myra no I waited I was being patient I was like you know what there's no signal in the room
as soon as she's out she's gonna reach back everything's okay but when I saw that clock
strike nine and I have no answer from her that's when I started getting worried Myra
Jackie's waving a sign at me.
Are you telling me she would not have taken her wallet out of her home?
No.
She used that wallet for the sole purpose of whenever we would head out,
it was more like an accessory for her to use.
I understand.
Okay.
When you spoke with authorities or her superiors or people there at Fort Hood, what did they tell you?
To be completely honest with you, they kept me in the shadows.
They apparently had meetings, but I was kept out of them.
Obviously, I'm not going to go in there demanding to a military person because according to them.
Well, I understand all that, but what did they say? What information do you have?
They could hardly tell me anything. They were just apologizing. Oh, I'm sorry this is happening.
We're going to help you find her. But no concrete information as to who saw her last,
stuff like that.
They didn't tell me.
But they did tell you that her phone pinged on base around 5 or 5.45?
Around 5.45.
5.45 that day, her phone is still on base.
Then they couldn't find her phone?
Did they go to the location of the ping?
Like somebody had previously said they only release up to so much information.
They didn't tell me exactly where.
They just told me Fort Hood and the time.
That's it.
Do you have any idea who saw her out in that parking lot?
I have no idea.
Do you have any idea where she was going?
No.
Had she mentioned to you any friend that she hung out with there at Fort Hood, a co-worker?
Apparently, the three co-workers that she did have in the base, of course, Mel,
they pretty much stated that they loved Vanessa like a sister.
Was that who she would normally hang out with?
Yes.
Did she have a friend girl that she hung out with?
She had a previous roommate who was pregnant. They got along. She got moved out, of course, because
of the baby. So she recently just had a new roommate that she told me she didn't really talk
to. So a female, I don't believe so right now. A female, correct? A female roommate? Yes. Okay, you know, Joe Scott, what is going on?
You're in the military, have been in the military.
Don't they have surveillance at the security guard where you have to go in and out?
That's another thing.
They said to me that there's no cameras there.
Well, got the answer to that.
Is there anything else you can remember, Myra, that they may have said to you? The last update that I got was on Sunday that they were going to search right there in the base with search docs and whatnot.
After that, I haven't heard what the outcome was.
As in this past Sunday?
Okay, so that was this past Sunday.
Have you asked what happened?
No. The last time I went
into that base, it was once again to get questions, more questions, and more questions. Well, she
answered the question to you, Joe Scott Morgan. There's not surveillance at the security guard
post going in and out. I find that very, very difficult to believe, but that's what they told the sister. The tip line, 254-495-7767. Repeat, 254-495-7767. We wait as justice unfolds.
Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend.
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