Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Missing Chase Massner: A Mother's Plea

Episode Date: January 31, 2017

U.S. Army veteran Chase Massner was 26 when he vanished without a trace from a friend's home in Kennesaw, Georgia, on March 27, 2014. Nancy Grace re-examines the mystery after an emotional plea for help from Chase's mom. Calls from friends and family have flooded Nancy's "Crime Stories" hotline asking for Grace to look at the three-year-old case. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. 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.

This is Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I personally serve in the United States Army with Chase Master. Went missing from Kennesaw, Georgia. We want him located located and we want the truth to come out. Three years this veteran has been missing. Please, please do a follow-up on that and dig deeper and see if we can't bring him home. You know, the saying, no soldier left behind. Well, this soldier has been left behind. Hello, Nancy. My name is Stephanie Kadena. I'm Jesus' mom, and my question is very simple and to the point.

What happened to my son, and where is my son? Do any of you listening have children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren? Imagine your son disappearing, vanishing into thin air. And nobody knows where he is. I've got a son and a daughter. They're nine right now. But no matter how old they grow to be, they will always be my boy and girl. So you can only imagine how much it broke my heart to hear the plea of a mother, another mother like myself,

begging us, me, you, you, to help her find her son. And I am talking about Chase Masner. Hello, everyone. Nancy Grace here with Crime Stories. The story I'm telling you today is ongoing. First of all, I want you to hear what Chase's mother, Stephanie, said to me last night. Hello, Nancy. My name is Stephanie Kadena. I'm Chase's mom, and my question is very simple and to the point. What happened to my son, And where is my son? Chase Masner, a military veteran, a husband, a father himself to two little girls, just vanishes into thin air March 27. Nobody seems to know where he is.

No one has ever heard from him. We have no indication that he's dead or alive. He was last seen around Kennesaw, Georgia, and he had been at a friend's home that evening. Chase's mother says, quote, I never imagined it would be my last hug, the last kiss on my cheek I had to pause just hearing her words she says I never imagined it would be my last goodbye to my son when he left our house March 26 it just reminds me so much of how often I have played over in my mind. The last time I saw my fiancé, Keith, before he was murdered, it was early, early on a Monday morning.

It seems like it was yesterday. And he had been visiting with me and my mom and dad and my family at our home. And he got up super early. He didn't want to go back Sunday night. He wanted to stay, even though it meant he had to get up at about 3 o'clock in the morning and take off to get to work on time. And the last thing I remember was him driving away and holding his arm out, waving goodbye, tooting the horn, and I remember closing my eyes and thinking, oh, it's bad luck to see someone until they're out of

sight. That was the last time I saw Keith, and I remember it like it was this morning. And when I hear Chase's mother say, I had never imagined it would be my last hug, the last kiss on my cheek, my last goodbye to my son, it just kills me to even say those words. But that is the hell that this woman and Chase's entire family has been living through. A worst nightmare has come true for this mom.

His closest friends and family say he would never be gone like this without checking in. He would never leave his two little girls without even saying goodbye. With me is investigative reporter Alan Duke. You know, the night he disappeared, he was very morose. He felt down on his luck. He was having arguments with his wife, Amanda, and they weren't getting along. He went to his friend Brad's home. That's where everything goes sideways. What do we

know at that point? Chase Masner is who we are talking about. A handsome young man with two little girls and a wife whose family is carrying the torch and is asking us, me, you, to help find her son. What do we know, Alan? We know that he told his wife he needed to go over someplace else to Brad's house. Brad invited him over to stay at his house in Kennesaw because he needed some space. He needed some time because, as you said, there had been some discord at home. So he went over there and he spent the night. We know that Chase

stays at his friend Brad Clement's home that evening. But that is where everything goes murky because Brad gets up and goes to work and he had Chase's cell phone with him. So Brad gets back to the home, gives Chase's cell phone back, and then went to either start a barbecue or talk to some roofers who are working on his home. But in that time, Chase disappears, walks away. No one seems to have seen Chase leave, including Brandon, the friend, or the owner of Duck Roofing, who was there working at the home. So no bad light should be cast on the friend because Brad Clements was there with Chase. The roofers came. They saw Chase. He was alive and well at that time. And then he seemingly disappears.

It's a suburban subdivision filled with lovely homes, cul-de-sac. It would have taken him at least five minutes to walk down the street and get out of the neighborhood because it's about a half a mile and you have to wind around to get there. Now, did he walk away? Did somebody come pick him up? Neighbors say there were no unknown vehicles that they saw pull up to Brad's home. There's no suicide note. There's no suggestion he ever wanted to commit suicide.

All we know is that his phone was cut off and he goes missing. And another thing, Alan Duke, you can't blame the spouse. That's usually where every investigation starts with with a spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend, because the wife was home with the two girls, and he was at the friend's house. So what more do we know? What about the search? Well, there was for a long time. This man has a lot of people who care about him, and a lot of people who knew him or didn't know him

came out for a massive search. You know that whole area? You and I are both familiar with the area around Cobb County in Kennesaw. It's very beautiful, rolling hills, a lot of trees, pine trees, and very wooded, a lot of hiking trails. They searched, they searched, and they searched with no sign of chase. Well, I know that not only did friends, families, and friends, family, and volunteers like you just said search several times, they also brought in professionals.

They brought in people that were a national group to come and help find him. It wasn't just a bunch of amateurs. They brought in professionals to help find Chase. They went throughout the area. They brought in the guardian angels who rolled into metro Atlanta to help look. There was a four-day search. The location's urban and rural. They looked through areas mapped out that they shared with each other. There were several areas of interest, nothing. And that was just one of several searches. They went to dumpsters, they went through his home. They looked all around commercial areas, nothing, nothing at all. I'm a veteran. I fortunately never had to serve in a war zone as Chase did. But I do know that when you come back into civilian life, it's not so easy because when

you were in that uniform, you had this identity, you had this mission, you had this team. I don't even want to call it PTSD, which is the common phrase, post-traumatic stress syndrome. Whether it's that or not, everybody, no matter what you experienced when you were in the military, you miss that. And it's missing and that structure is not there anymore. And so there is some adjustment and maybe some depression that is very natural because you don't know what your future is. When you're in the Army, you know what your future is. You know what you're doing and you have a purpose. But when you come back and you can't find anything but, let's say, a job overnight as the clerk at a convenience store, that can be depressing. Now, are you intimating that Chase committed suicide? No, I am not.

I'm just saying that that could explain. I was just wondering where that train of thought, that let me just say rambling train of thought was leading. So that's just what, a stairway to nowhere? No, you hear people talk about, oh, well, he was suffering from having been in Iraq and everything. I was trying to put a little context into that because even if no matter what you saw in Iraq or wherever, that transition to civilian life can be difficult. No, I'm not suggesting that that he did himself in as a result of all of that.

I'm just saying that could explain why people are saying, well, he wasn't so happy that day or that week. Okay, so I'm trying to shed light on, I'm trying to go through forensics and evidence to determine what happened to Chase Masner. Now, what you've just told me is about a painful re-entry into society after seeing action in the Iraqi war. Okay, I get it, and I get that as background, and that may explain some of his problems he was having with his wife, which is not uncommon. My dad was in the military. A lot of vets come home, and it's hard to settle into regular civilian life. I know even from prosecuting violent crimes for so many years, when I would go anywhere else, say I was at a cocktail party or a dinner, if people weren't talking about violent crime, I'm just not interested. And frankly, same way still.

I mean, it's in your blood. So it may have been hard for him to re-enter into domestic life. However, that has no bearing on his disappearance. That we know of. That's actually a good point, that we know of, because if, Alan, nobody saw him walking away and nobody saw a car coming up to Brad's home, obviously nobody saw him committing suicide or buying a gun or buying a length of rope or buying pills to kill himself. Nothing like that. The point is, there's no clue.

I know this. He was last seen wearing his red quick trip sweatshirt he had on khaki pants. He's tall. He's six foot two. He weighs around 175 pounds with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He has a couple of tattoos. The name Masner is across his back shoulder blades, and he has an angel on his right forearm.

Take a listen to another call Alan and I received. Hi, my name is Teresa Stevenson, and I personally serve in the United States Army with Chase Master, who went missing from Kennesaw, Georgia. And I am also part of the group that is trying to get his story put out there and located. We want him located and we want the truth to come out. So I'm just helping with that battle. Thanks. You know, Alan, before I go back into Chase Masner, I just want to thank our sponsor again, SimpliSafe, because thousands of people every day want a home alarm system for their own safety, for their children's safety, their elderly parents' safety, but they think they cannot afford it. But you can with SimpliSafe. As a matter of fact, if you go to their website, go to simplysafe.com slash Nancy to get 10% off. It's already just $14.99 a month to ensure your home's safety. I mean, Alan, I can't

tell you how many cases I covered, how many cases I tried and prosecuted where I thought, why didn't they have a home alarm system? And I know it's an economic issue for a lot of people, but with Simply Safe now, that is not an issue when it comes to your children's safety. SimplySafe.com slash Nancy for that 10% off. I want to get back to the disappearance of Chase Masner. Listen to what his mom said. Hello, Nancy. My name is Stephanie Kadena.

I'm Chase's mom, and my question is very simple and to the point what happened to my son and where is my son there is a facebook group justice from chase masner it's got over a thousand members tammy chiles is the administrator and she wrote when a loved one passes away a family gains a type of closure by a funeral or a memorial well you know what she's right chase's family never had that they still to this day don't know what happened now police say do they not alan that they're still working on the case yes sergeant Sergeant with Cobb County Police assured Crime Online very recently that it is an active case that they are currently still investigating. Now, they say that they are, I'm talking about Cobb County Police, they say they are working

behind the scenes with new information, but will not divulge the details. And I completely understand that. Just because it's in a police file does not mean the media gets to know about it. The media always acts so offended when police won't give them the details. You know what? It's none of their business. It could totally ruin an investigation. But it's now been quite some time since Chase disappeared. I want to give you a tip line.

Cobb County Crimes Against Persons Unit, the lead detective is Chris Twiggs. And Twiggs' number is 770-499-3931. 770-499-3931. And you can always reach us, CrimeOnline.com, at 909-492-7463. 909-49-CRIME. 909-492-7463. So what's the state of it now, Alan? Where does it stand now?

It's an ongoing investigation, and we know very few clues. And all that is happening now is people are very frustrated, wanting something to happen. As you said, the Cobb County police may know something that they're not telling the news media. Let's expect that they do. They're investigating. But as far as what we know in the media, what is out in the public is nothing. You know, it's even gone to the point where psychics have been weighing in on Chase's disappearance. But I know this. I know that his mom is continuing the search. His wife,

Amanda, is continuing the search. 26-year-old Chase Masner, a veteran of the Iraqi war, vanished in metro Atlanta. Now, police are now calling it a suspicious missing person. At first, they would not label it that way. They weren't sure whether he walked off on his own or not, but they are definitely upgrading it to suspicious missing person. To get police to do that is no small thing, Alan Duke. Yeah, we've dealt with that, haven't we? They also say, police say, that he was last seen at his job at a quick trip in Kennesaw, Georgia, but a friend says he left from his home, and we've talked about Brad. I just don't know what more there is bearing on this. Have there been any sightings?

I'm not aware of any verified sightings of him. No, it's without a trace. Not a single one. Vanished. I know dumpsters were searched, landfills were searched. It's a lot different when you're looking for a missing person versus a homicide. But here, we don't even know which one it is, missing or homicide. There's also a reward right now.

It's $2,500. I just wonder what detectives can do at this point. Are they re-interviewing witnesses? What are they doing? Nancy, I don't know the answer to that because they're not telling us. They're not talking to the media, telling us what they are doing other than that they are doing. Do you think that's because they don't want us to know or is it because they're not really doing anything? I have actually a fair amount of faith in the Cobb County police.

When I was living in Atlanta, I dealt with them as a journalist and as a civilian. And I can tell you that they're pretty aggressive. I don't mean that they're not doing anything because they're sitting around eating Cheetos. They're not. They're not doing that. They're not doing anything because they don't know what else to do. They've run out of leads. That's what I'm talking about. I guess as an investigator, you end up chasing the same leads over and over and going in circles. And what do you do then? Nancy, what could happen?

I mean, if he was there that day and is not there anymore, he's somewhere one way or the other. I think of these things and I don't want to suggest anything other than you come to Los Angeles. There are hundreds of thousands of people basically living off the grid, if you will, just here in Los Angeles County. And by off the grid, I mean, they're living in tents under the bridges or wherever. Who are these people? Are they the missing we've been looking for? Are these people we talk about who are missing among them? What is going on? This Chase was a substantial young man. And so I really don't expect that he would be among them. But where is he? Pause one moment. With us today, our sponsor, Simply Safe. We've gotten this for

a lady in our neighborhood, Miss Shirley, a recent widow. She did not have an alarm system and she's had some scary incidents just recently. There have been some break-ins in our neighborhood. I think about her being there alone without an alarm. My mom has an alarm. We have an alarm. But we got Simply Safe from Miss Shirley. Even I'm sleeping better, much less, you know, her. You get 10% off, everybody. SimplypliSafe.com slash Nancy. You just can't be safe enough. That's what I think. The reward has been up to $5,000.

The tip line, 770-499-3931, or at CrimeOnline.com, 909-492-7463. If the words of Chase's mother reach you and touch you the way they did me, please help us bring Chase home. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.