Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - HEAR IT! Mom describes search for son Dylan, who goes missing during court-ordered visit with dad. Mark Redwine on trial now.

Episode Date: July 11, 2021

Mark Redwine is on trial for the death of his 13-year-old son. Dylan Redwine disappeared in 2013 soon after arriving at his father's Colorado home for a court-ordered visit the teen did not want to make. Mark Redwine's arrest was not a surprise to the boy's mother Elaine Hall. Listen as she describes to Nancy Grace what happened when her son went missing. Hear about the text message she received from her ex, telling her that Dylan is gone; how Elaine Hall had to be the one to file a missing person's report. and how Mark Redwine sat at home while searches were being conducted.Joining Nancy Grace today: Elaine Hall - Dylan's mother Sheryl McCollum - Forensic Expert, Founder: Cold Case Investigative Research Institute in Atlanta, GA, ColdCaseCrimes.org, @ColdCaseTips Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The 13-year-old Monument Boy disappeared while on a court-ordered visit to his father's house over the Thanksgiving holiday 2012. I didn't lose Dylan. Then why is he gone? That's a question we all have to ask, but nobody's got the answer. No, you have to ask that question. You had him.

Where is he? Dylan's remains were found several months after he disappeared, just about 10 miles from his father's home. Mark Redwine had long been considered a person of interest in this case, but he suggested his ex-wife Elaine had something to do with it.

I have suspicions that Elaine could be involved in this. Mark Redwine is in custody and will face charges in the death of his son, Dylan. Dylan's blood was found in multiple locations of Mark Redwine's living room. Some say this is a shocker, but others say this has been a long time coming. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace dylan did not want to go visit his dad he did not want to go but you know what? Cooler heads prevailed, and he went to go visit his dad. Now, he went to spend the night, and the following morning, dad gets up to go run errands, you know, laundry and so forth.

Comes back, Dylan, his little boy, is gone. He thinks he's gone skateboarding or hanging out with his friends up and down the street. Finally, he says his son is missing and a search like no other ensues. I am referring to a beautiful, beautiful little boy, Dylan Redwine. Dylan was not missing. Dylan was murdered. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. And today with me is a woman I respect deeply and have thought of, have prayed for, for so long. Dylan's mother, Elaine Hall, is with me. Also with me, my friend and colleague, director of the Cold Case Institute, Cheryl McCollum. Elaine, do you remember the moment that you learned Dylan was missing? Yeah, it's probably one of the most relived moments in my head of all time.

What happened? Well, Dylan went on a plane ride to his father's house on Sunday. And the next day at 4.30, around 4.30, Mark texted me and asked me if I'd seen Dylan. And I said no. And he said, well, you know, he didn't know where he was. So I got in my car and we drove to Durango, which is about six hours away from where we're living. And I called the sheriff and filed a missing persons report for Dylan because his dad had not done that. Okay, I don't understand this, okay, because I can't even imagine what would go through my mind if my child is supposed to be somewhere and that person calls and said, hey, have

you seen Lucy? What? She's with you. So what did you think when you got the text? Have you seen Dylan? Well, obviously I was very concerned because, you know, Dylan was not the kind of kid who would just wander off or, you know, leave without at least letting me or his brother Corey know. We were very close to him. And so when Mark had indicated that he had not heard from Dylan and I had not heard from Dylan. I was very, very, obviously very upset and concerned about, you know, where's my baby?

Where is he? And he was 13 years old and he had his own phone. So, you know, he knew enough to call us if he felt, you know, that he was in danger or anything. I'm just trying to take this in. Dylan did not want to go to visit his dad that weekend. Why? Dylan and his dad had just grown apart. Mark never really exercised his visitation rights.

And so, you know, he didn't see Dylan that often. And, you know, quite honestly, I don't think that Mark knew Dylan anymore. I think that, you know, they had spent so much time apart that they, their relationship was strained because, you know, they just didn't spend a lot of time together. And the time that they did spend together was, you know, sitting in Mark's house up in the mountains. And, you know, that was not fun for Dylan. Dylan was 13. He didn't want to just sit around and watch his father drink all day. So, you know, I just think that Mark really had no clue who Dylan was at this point in his life. Did Dylan ask you not to go?

Yes, he did. He asked me many times. As a matter of fact, he was supposed to fly out of Colorado Springs on Saturday and the plane had malfunctioned. So he couldn't fly out. And he said, mom, maybe that's a sign that I shouldn't go. And, you know, unfortunately I put him on the plane on Sunday and that was the last time I saw my son. You know, it's funny that you say that, Elaine. Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Institute. I remember my dad had been feeling bad, but that had happened so many times because he was a heart patient, as you know. And I had arranged to take the children ice skating up at Rockefeller Center. And he had been in the hospital to get

fluid from around his heart. I remember I called my mom from the airport and I said, mom, are you sure he's stable? Is he okay? Can we be gone for 48 hours? And she said, yes, this is like every other time go. And right before we got on the plane, I said, David, I don't think we should go. I think I just, he goes, you've been through this. You've gone round and round. We're getting on the plane. We've got one foot on the plane. Go ahead go we got on i got to new york i got us all unpacked the children bathed in their pjs i got a call from my mom that they're putting my dad on life support and i spoke to him very briefly on the phone i packed us up we got on a plane turned right around we got to the hospital at 5 a.m but he never could speak to me again

and you know that feeling you look back on it elaine and it's like the universe is trying to tell you something but how were we to know how were you to know elaine yeah you just don't you don't when you just have to trust you know know, that everything would be okay. When you got that text, did you call Mark? No, I didn't. I immediately started calling Dylan's phone, and then I immediately called all my friends in the area. Quite honestly, Mark never tells the truth. And when Dylan was missing, I didn't think he was going to be very helpful. I mean, obviously, he didn't know where Dylan was, and he hadn't contacted the sheriff's department at that point. So I started contacting all the people that I knew so that they could actually go out and look for him.

Because, you know, Mark certainly wasn't doing anything to find him. And he didn't the whole time that Dylan was missing. So I just took it upon myself and just found other avenues to try and resolve this. What was Mark's story as to where Dylan went? How did the evening progress? Well, we finally got to the Bayfield, which is about an hour, 45 minutes away from where Mark lives. And I immediately went into the sheriff's office. It was like one o'clock in the morning. And then the next day, I went to the search and rescue and then dealt with investigators who were, you know, worthless. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Everyone with me is Dylan Redwine's mother who has never given up in the search for the truth about where was her son, Dylan Redwine. Absolutely beautiful. If you could see his little face right now. He has blue eyes, right? Yes. And kind of a brown, blondish, more blonde than brown hair. And the sweetest smile, the sweetest smile.

He has a smile like my son, John Davids. And I'm just imagining you, you get to town and where do you, where do you even start? I remember asking the same question of Natalie Holloway's mother, fly down to Aruba, you touch down, what do you do? I mean, you don't know where your baby is. What do you do first? I mean, when you walked in to the search office, what did you do, Elaine? Well, you know, we sat there for a couple of days because they were convinced that Dylan was running through the mountains.

And, you know, I was convinced that Dylan was running through the mountains. And, you know, I was convinced that that was not true. You sat there for a couple of days and they said it was running through the mountains. Why would they think that about a little boy? Because there was a jogger that was running through the mountains and, you know, they, they kept thinking that Dylan was a runaway and that he was running away from his dad. Oh no. You know know, I knew all along that that was not true, because if that was the case, he would have called us. Oh. You know, he wouldn't just run through the mountains without letting me or Corey know. And Corey and I both knew that.

And Corey is Dylan's half-brother. Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Institute, right there. That was the first big mistake. Right there. It's a first big mistake right there. It's a huge mistake, Nancy. But here's the other thing. Let's go back even further. She gets notified that her child is missing through a text message. What? He doesn't call her? He doesn't call 911 himself? to me, is the biggest flag right there, that he has guilty knowledge of what happened to that child right off the bat.

Elaine, of course, does the right thing. She immediately goes to that place where she believes her baby was still there, possibly in the mountains, possibly somewhere. But here's the most important thing, Nancy. She knew. She knew something was terribly wrong, and she did not wait one minute. I admire her for that. Oh, yes.

Don't you know it, Cheryl? She got in that car, and she put the pedal to the metal and got on the scene and started working. I mean, how frustrating was it, Elaine Hall, when they're telling you, authorities are saying, oh, he's a runaway. Chillax. And you're saying kept telling him that that was not the case. And, you know, we basically played that game for about a week until I finally convinced him that, you know, this is not, Dylan is not a runaway. And then we were fortunate enough to get a new investigator that actually cared and would do something. But I have never been so angry and infuriated at law enforcement in my entire life. And I seriously thought I was going to, you know, I thought I was just going to punch somebody because no one was listening to us.

Very frustrating. Then what happened? Well, and then, you know, basically we just started combing the area. We just started driving up the mountains, start, you know, doing whatever we can. We did ground searches, organized a community who was, you know, wonderful in this case because people showed up in mass. You know, and this was around Thanksgiving. So a lot of people missed Thanksgiving holiday with their family to come search for Dylan. What about his cell phone?

You mentioned he had his cell phone. Yeah. Did they find the cell phone? No, we still have never found his cell phone or his backpack. Did they ping it? Well, yeah, they did, but it was off, and it didn't. I was going to buy him a new phone for Christmas that year with the GPS. This phone did not have the GPS or, you know, that capability. It was an

older phone. But the whole time we're searching, Mark is sitting in his, you know, easy chair. And I knew something was really wrong at that point. You know, why aren't you searching for your son? What do you mean? Did you see him sitting in his easy chair? Yes, he's sitting in his easy chair while everybody else is searching for his son. Did you say anything to him? Not really. I mean, you know, I said a lot to him as far as, you know, where is my son? But Mark basically cut communication with me very early on and would not engage or talk to me at all.

Did they search his house then for blood or evidence, anything? Yes, they did. The FBI went in there and they did. They searched his house pretty thoroughly. But there have been many searches on his house throughout the whole process. What, if anything, did they... And I just think the investigators in the very beginning were just, they were worthless. It was just not working.

What did they find when they searched his home? I'm not sure specifically what they found. I know that, you know, there were blood traces. They took out parts of his floor. They took his couch. They took a washing machine. They, you know, I'm not 100% sure everything. You know, eventually they impounded his truck

um elaine let me ask you a question when did you finally return back to your home we returned back probably right before christmas so we were in durango about a month living in a garage of a friend of ours. Oh, my stars. Living in a garage, going out every day trying to find your baby, just like wandering. I can just imagine Cheryl McCollum just wandering the streets calling. I mean, the police weren't really helping. They didn't believe he was gone. They thought he was a runaway. The dad's propped up having a beer on the easy chair.

And there's the mom just wandering, looking for her son. It's overwhelming to me to even imagine that. It is overwhelming, Nancy. And during this time when he's pushed, he's making these statements that people need to stop playing Nancy through. He's telling the media people need to get the focus off of him and on to Dylan. Well, every single time he says things like that, that again should be a red flag to law enforcement. Why in the world would he want the focus off of him or anybody else?

Any focus is good focus. Remember Elizabeth's heart when the police wanted DNA from her dad and all his brothers? They were more than willing to do that. He wouldn't take a polygraph. It reminds me of Mark Klaas when his daughter went missing. He practically laid on the courthouse steps saying, take my DNA, do whatever you want so you can get past me and look for my daughter. Amen. And, you know, when somebody says, I don't know why Nancy Grace is trying to find my son.

She needs to leave it alone. I mean, right there, that's a big red flag. Okay. Here's my question for him. I don't know why the hell you're not. You had strangers searching that mountain for your child. You've got his mama living in a garage begging for somebody to help, demanding the police do something. And again, you're back with a cold one?

That's insane. But he did make one statement, Nancy. He said, Dylan, in my prayers with you, and I love you very much. He was the light of my life and he meant everything to me. That man used half tenths when that child was still missing. I do not know what more law enforcement could have needed to know he had knowledge of where that child was and what happened to him. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Cheryl McCollum, an arrest-affected homicide.

What happened, Cheryl? Well, Nancy, they were seeing cadaver dogs, as you know, and those dogs hit inside the house at the washing machine. The clothes that the father was wearing the day Dylan was missing

hit the back of his truck. So law enforcement has been putting together these pieces of this puzzle and, you know, where the remains are Wait, let me understand

this. Cadaver dogs trying know, where the remains were found. Wait, let me understand this. Cadaver dogs trying to hit on the smell of decomposing tissue. Correct. Picked up the scent in various locations in Mark Redwine's home. Correct. On the clothes that he wore the night Dylan went missing. Not only that, in the bed, Redwine's pickup truck. And inside the home.

And that corresponded with the blood evidence they found. It was on the sofa, under the rug, on the love seat. So again, those dogs obviously couldn't have known that. The dog handler couldn't have known that. But it lined up beautifully. Well, another thing, Cheryl, is that a year before that, investigators say Dylan's half-brother told them Mark Redwine had mentioned, this is Dylan's own father, had mentioned Dylan had died of blunt force injuries. Elaine, did you know about that i did not yes a year before he had told nancy there's another thing what the skull when it was recovered had injury consistent with a knife wound perimortal which means that injury was done near or at death.

It did not have time to even begin to heal. So again, why would the father say something before he would have ever had knowledge of it that again came true? You know, Elaine, what were you thinking? What went through your mind in the weeks and the days when you got back home? What were you thinking what went through your mind in the weeks and the days when you got back home what were you thinking i mean to go into your home and no dylan is there no dylan to take the school no dylan to pick up what was going through your mind you know you just you just exist you know they're the only thing going through my mind was finding my son. You just learn to exist.

I don't know. You just learn to live. I can't even speak about what was going through my mind because I think I was just so numb to the whole situation that, you know, it was so unreal that this is actually happening to my baby. And so we just, you know, we just kept going up to Durango and kept doing what we can as far as searches and, you know, just doing everything we could think of to try and get someone to help us so that we could, you know, find my son. When did you discover that a portion of Dylan's remains had been found? In June of 2013.

My mother had passed away in May of 2013, and we organized a huge search in June, and it was at that time that law enforcement found partial remains and that they could positively identify that it was Dylan. Do you remember when you got that call? Well, we were actually there in that area, and the investigator asked us about a shoe they had found, and it was Dylan's. And so, you know, we kind of had an inkling that, you know, we're going to find Dylan. And he was not going to be alive. So, you know, it was just a total breakdown.

It was a meltdown. But, you know, as horrific as it is, it was like, you know, at least we found him. And he's not just, you know, lost anymore. At least we know. You know, it's the most horrific experience ever. Ever. After he found the first remains, then Dylan's skull was found in a different location. Is that right? Yeah, it was about a mile and a half away from where the original remains were located. When you think about it, and of course, motive does not matter. The state doesn't have to prove motive. We don't have to go into Mark Redwine's head and figure out what was he thinking. You can't. What do you think went wrong, Elaine?

What, you know, Dylan was 13, almost 14 years old, and he was, you know, he was finding his voice in the world. And I think that he was, you know, at a point where he was you know he was finding his voice in the world and I think that he was you know at a point where he was confronting his father about many bad choices that Mark had made regarding the kids and I think Mark had a tendency to always lash out at Dylan about me and Corey and I think Dylan just got tired of it and so Dylan stood up for himself and unfortunately Mark doesn't have the sense or the you you know, maternal instinct that most of us have, you know, that he would actually listen to Dylan. You know, he I'm sure he became explosive and and, you know, reacted. You know, I've thought about what may have happened to Dylan so many times.

And, you know, since you and I first met, so to speak, and I just have a feeling that he didn't want to be there. He didn't want to leave you. He did not want to be there for the holiday. He wanted to come home. He did not want to be with his father. His father really didn't care about having him there. I think it was just to get back at you. And he said something like, I want to go home. I don't want to sit here. I want to go back to mom's. Yeah, I agree. And I imagine an explosion occurred and Dylan was dead. That's the kindest scenario that I could imagine had happened.

Yeah. When did you learn they finally, finally charged Mark Redwine? We found out about one thirty in the morning on. Let's see, I guess it would have been Saturday evening from the 22nd of July in the early, early morning. I was notified that an arrest had been made in Washington. Cheryl, one thing I don't understand is why he's only charged with second-degree homicide. Why? His past statements are going to come back to haunt him.

He told people before the remains were ever found that they're going to have to find the skull to determine cause of death. Well, again, he had knowledge of what happened to this child, which to me shows premeditation. When that child makes his last text message at 937 at night, and then the next morning by 645, when his friend is texting him, there's no response. Something's already happened. But he doesn't notify anyone until 4 o'clock in the afternoon by text message. He didn't even call the police himself. Everything at that point was a cover-up.

Now, this is where good police work has come in because some of the blood was found under a rug. And this has happened after his home had been remodeled because of a fire. And the great thing is those investigators asked him, has Dylan ever been to Holland in your house where he would have bled? And he said, no, of course not. So they already took care of him. There should have been no blood from that child all over creation. And there was.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I want to go back to Elaine, Dylan's mom. Elaine, people often say to me things like, well, it's been X, you know, you can fill in the blank, number of years. Why can't you get over it? Why can't you move on? They don't get it, Elaine. They don't get it. Well, it's probably because they've never suffered such a horrific loss before. I think that people are very naive to the situation and you know they can't put you

can't put yourself in anyone's shoes when it comes to you know the murder of your child um but i've heard that many times and you know even my boss at the time was very you know at first they were very empathetic but over time it just you know their even my boss at the time was very, you know, at first they were very empathetic. But over time, it just, you know, their patience were worn thin. And I was not going to give up until, you know, there was some type of resolution for Dylan. When you say their patience wore thin, what happened? I was just missing a lot of work, obviously, and it just came to the point where I felt that it was best for me to not be employed there anymore because I just couldn't deal with the innocuous comments. And, you know, at one point, you know, they were wondering why I was still doing searches for my son when we knew he was dead.

Wait, did they actually say that? Yeah, in not so many words, yes, they did. What did you say back? I, you know, I just, I basically said, you know, it's very important for me to, you know, find all of my son's remains. So I have, you know, something of him. And it was shortly thereafter that I left that place of employment. Do you, have you ever felt like Dylan has tried to communicate with you? I think in many respects he has. Maybe not directly to me, but I think many of the things that have occurred over the last couple years, Dylan had a hand in it. You know, it's like he's a chess master and he's controlling

everything because there have been some pretty major developments and some pretty major changes that have occurred that have kind of pushed this case along. And I think Dylan was instrumental in that. And when you say he had a hand in it, give me an example. Well, you know, finding the skull that was, you know, that was pretty major. That's actually what, you know, kind of sparked, you know, the fire again and law enforcement. How was it? You know, it was a couple of hikers. There were hikers that were hiking and they called law enforcement and said, you know, we think we found a human skull. And, you know, it was Dylan's.

When you, Elaine, talk about Dylan now, and you talk about his remains, or you talk about his skull, what effect does that have on you? I mean, after our program is over and you go about your business, does talking about it bring it all back? Does it make it worse? Does it have any effect at all? Or are you just numb? I think it's, you know, I think being numb is a part of it. But, you know, it's unfortunately also a part of our lives, and we've just had to come to terms with it.

I mean, I can't bring Dylan back. I wish I could. I would do anything to do that. But, you know, we still have to keep going, and we still have to keep fighting for him because he lost his voice, and so we have to be his voice. You know, it's the most horrific thing that we've ever experienced, and, you know, I don't think it's going to get any better anytime soon. And so, you know, we just have to keep on plugging on. I know that, you know, Dylan wants us to have, you know, closure and a resolution to this.

Not that we'll ever have closure because he will still be dead. But, you know, we have to be strong and just keep fighting for him. You know, Elaine Hall, you've just spoken to my heart and inspired me all over again to keep trying. Elaine, I've been thinking of you so much as these developments have happened so rapidly, and please know so many people think of you and hope for you and pray for you,

and Dylan as well. And I want to thank you for speaking with me today. Thank you, Nancy. I appreciate that. This is an iHeart Podcast.