Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Missing young vet mother, beloved spouse speak out

Episode Date: December 28, 2017

Iraq War vet Chase Massner was missing for 3 years, but his mom, wife and young daughters got some answers in 2017. Crime Stories focused on Massner's case in 15 shows, including a dramatic interview with the man who is now jailed and facing charges relating to Chase's death. Nancy Grace updates the story with reporter Daniel Wilkerson. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. She dropped him off at a quick trip in Cobb Town. His family says he was last seen at a friend's house in Kennesaw three years ago. It's like he vanished from that home, not to be seen or heard from again. Despite some intense searching, few clues have been found. We have absolutely no answers at all. Police are trying to determine if remains found in a backyard of those of an Army veteran who has been missing now for three years. This is the home where three years ago, 26-year-old Chase Masner was last seen. The search continues for a man wanted in connection with the disappearance and now death of a young Cobb County father and veteran. That was the last person to see Masner alive and

he is now charged with concealing a death. You have to question why somebody would make the decision all of a sudden to run. Imagine your son. you have raised the apple of your eye. You pour all of your love, all of your hopes, all of your dreams into him. You watch him grow up and become a man. You watch him fall in love and marry and have children and then be sent away to Iraq to fight for his country and make it back safe and sound only to go missing. Drop off the face of the earth, totally off the map, off the grid. A son that calls you two and three times a day and texts you routinely, you never hear from him again. He drives out of your driveway one afternoon, and then another word is never heard.

No doorbell, no knock at the door, no text, no phone call. Nothing. His birthday passes, your birthday passes, Mother's Day, Christmas. They all pass by, and not a word. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories, and I'm talking about Iraqi war hero Chase Masner.

Joining me right now is a special guest, Channel 46 WCBS, Daniel Wilkerson. Daniel, I really don't think his mom is ever going to get over this. Oh, no, this is her only child. And even though I think she was married when they had him, they divorced. And she lived with Chase by, you know, just her and Chase for years. And when I went into their house, she gave Chase the master bedroom. That's how close they were. Daniel, do you remember the first time we met with Chase's mom?

Oh, man, it wasn't a dry eye. I opened that door and she had all of those photo albums of him laying out. I'm like, oh, dear Lord in heaven. Take a listen to this. Stephanie Kadena is with me right now. Also with me is Daniel Wilkerson from CBS 46, who has also been on the story, along with Alan Duke and our staff, Lee and others from Crime Online. Well, you're all here now, and I wish you were here with us. We're all gathered around a table. We're all sifting through bits and pieces of evidence,

trying to make some sense, heads or tails, of where is Chase Master. You know, we have gone round and round and round, like a dog chasing its tail. And then when you catch it, you still don't have anything. Can you take me back to the day that chase went missing what happened chase was at our house he was staying with us for a few days and spoke with amanda his wife on the phone now hold on he's married with two little girls at this time yes Yes. Two little little

girls but he and a man he's just come out of active duty. He's coming home and he's having problems assimilating back into the regular civilian world. Okay a lot of people can identify with that. When I came out of prosecuting crimes I had a hard time assimilating with regular people. So I can barely imagine what he was going through. So he's fighting with Amanda and he came to stay at your house for a few days. Correct. All right. Okay. Then what? He had been with us for three days and he had the next two days off work and Amanda had asked him to go back to their house for those two days. And she came to pick him up from the house, and they were arguing.

Already? At the pickup? Before, even on the phone, before the pickup. Why? Over what? You know, I don't... Was it money? I didn't know they were having problems until Amanda asked me if Chase could come and spend some time at our house so they could have space. Okay, so he finally lands a job at Quick Trip.

Yes, I know you don't grow up as a little boy thinking, hey, one day I want to be a clerk at Quick Trip. I get it. But he was having a hard time. So landing that job and going to it on a regular basis and assimilating was kind of a triumph, right? Yes. Okay, so they leave together. Where were the babies, the girls?

In the car. Okay, then what happens? And what day is that? March 26th. 3-26, all right. Then what happens? And what time of the day was that? It was in the evening, early evening.

I'm thinking 6-30-ish. In the evening? Yes. Okay. He leaves. When did you hear from him next? Never. That was evening? Yes. Okay. He leaves. When did you hear from him next? Never. That was it?

That was it. When he left, what do you remember about him leaving? What little thing do you remember? He was just so frustrated. That's the only word I can come up with is frustrated it was he was very irritated agitated and just about what does this could be important what do you think he was agitated about whatever was going on in their marriage was it that that or was it just life in general or the argument he was having with Amanda?

I really think it was just what was going on between he and Amanda. Okay. Well, they've all been there. So he leaves around 6.30 that evening, 3.26, March 26, and you never saw him again? Never. And you never spoke to him again? No. And you never spoke to him again? No.

Did you ever text with him again? No. I texted him, but I didn't get any response. That's significant. When did you text him? Not until the next day. Is that normal for him to have gone the whole night without texting or anything? Well, yes, because, like I told you before, i just assumed they went home yeah and were

working things out so i didn't try to call him or text him that night the next day yeah the last thing a married couple needs is the mother-in-law butting in okay had he already had supper here with you no No. So he left and for all you knew, the girls, they went out to dinner or went home and you just assume no news is good news. Right. Okay. So next day, what happens? Next day, I got up, just proceeded as a normal day and I got a text from Amanda later in the afternoon. Did you text him that day? Not until after I heard from Amanda. Okay what did she say? She said I just wanted to let you know that Chase did not come home with me last night. I mean really they couldn't just hold it together for five or six hours until they fell asleep.

So something went bad there. Did she tell you what? No, she didn't give me any details, but she told me that she took Chase to Brad's house. Between 8 and 9, the night of 3.26, she took him to Brad's. So they made it for about three hours? Yes. Got into an argument. She took him to Brad's. So they made it for about three hours. Yes. Got into an argument. She took him to Brad's. Do you believe she took him to Brad's? I do. I have no reason not to believe that she did. Because Brad says he was there.

Right. So you texted him at what time that day? 327. Well, as soon as I found out that Chase was not with Amanda, as soon as I got that text, I started calling his phone and texting. And what time would that have been? After 4. Okay, so at 4 p.m., you start texting and calling. Correct. Since Thursday, March 27, at 3.37 p.m. Hi, baby. Will you please give me a call? I'm assuming that you're just sleeping, which is totally okay,

but I need to know that you're all right. I love you. End of message. Did the phone go straight to voicemail, or did it ring? I just wonder if his phone was already out of commission. I wonder was he killed that night

and everything else was a lie that's what i'm wondering i don't think it went straight to voicemail i can't i can't remember for sure would you have expected to hear from him before four o'clock no but after you texted him and called him which you've expected to hear from him yes immediately or a few hours later? Within five, ten minutes. Yep. That was your relationship? Yes. Okay. I'm going to go to Daniel.

Daniel, does what she's saying so far jive with your knowledge of the facts? It does. The only thing that is a little off from Brad Clement, the friend who last saw Chase, he says that he picked Chase up from QT, but you're saying that Amanda says she dropped Chase off at Brad's house. Actually, when I called and reported Chase missing and Amanda came into the middle of the report, she actually said both things, that she took Chase to Brad's house and that she dropped Chase off at Quick Trip. That could have been true for all I know.

She took him to Brad's house and he wasn't there and then dropped him at Quick Trip or whatever. It could very well be that way. The fact is, Brad says they met at Quick Trip. Yes. And she says she left him with Brad. And we know, we believe anyway, that he was with Brad from that point on. Yes.

So Quick Trip or House. How far did he live from Quick Trip anyway? Two minutes. Okay. So we know that he was with Brad that night. Yes. By 10 o'clock he was with Brad. Yes.

And you never saw or heard from him after that. That was the last time anyone but Brad saw him that we know of. Yes. By 10 o'clock, he was with Brad. Yes. And you never saw or heard from him after that. That was the last time anyone but Brad saw him that we know of. Yes. Okay. At Brad's house, he was having roofing done. Is that correct? Yes. And did any of the roofers ever see him there alive?

I don't know. Do you know, Daniel? No. I talked to or spoke with the owner of the roofing company, and he says they never saw Chase. Would they have? Was he in a bedroom asleep the whole time or what? According to Brad, yes, he was in a bedroom sleep. And never came out of the bedroom? According to the roofer, no.

Now, were the roofers in the home or outside the home? They were outside the home primarily. They had a barbecue. Brad had a barbecue and at some point... Were the roofers? Yes. I mean, why not just cut them a check? Why would you give them a barbecue? Brad says that he invited them in for a barbecue, and while there, the roofers say Brad gave them a tour of Brad's home. Including the bedroom? They went all over, according to... Well, did they see? Did they see, Chase?

No, they didn't. I'm not even going to ask why would he give the roofers a tour of his home, but that's significant. If he gave them a tour of his home, but that's significant. If he gave them a tour of his home, then you would have expected him to go in that bedroom. Did the roofer say he went in the bedrooms? I don't know specifically where they went. He just said that Brad gave them a tour of the home, and the roofer said that he thought that was odd.

Well, I agree with that. Okay, so at that time, we have no reason to know that Chase is dead or alive or asleep in the bedroom or gone. No. So the last time anyone can corroborate him being alive is that night

around 9.30. Yes. Now, if you take Brad's testimony, you know, he saw him, but as far as anyone more than Brad, no. That and a dollar won't even buy me a gallon of gas, okay? So let's just move from we know he's alive around 10 o'clock that night. If we've got him alive at that time, who's the police authority, Cobb?

Cobb County. Cobb County PD. What are they saying about surveillance video at Quick Trip? I mean, you might as well be in NASA or a Vegas casino because Quick Trip is tricked out with surveillance typically. So what about that? Cobb hasn't said anything to me. They've said more to Stephanie, right? Yes, and I don't believe they have any surveillance.

Have they tried to get it or just dropped the ball? I don't believe they have any surveillance. Have they tried to get it or just dropped the ball? I don't believe they tried to get it, no. Now, we don't know for sure that Cobb didn't pull it. We don't know for sure, but the first several weeks, they were not actively investigating because, in their words, it's not a crime to be missing. If he wanted to walk away, it's not a crime. Okay, let's talk about that.

Had he ever in his life gone this long without texting you or calling you, ever? Never. And you know what I say, if you don't know a horse, look at his track record. So what somebody has done in the past, they're likely to do again. If he had gone his whole life texting you and calling you every what, day, other day, what? All the time. Then why would he quit that day? Right.

And say, to H-E-L-L with my mother. See, I don't believe that. I don't either. What are they telling you that they have done? I know you begged them to search a dumpster in the neighborhood that was full of roofing materials, correct? And they searched the wrong dumpster. You know what?

We're back at square one, Stephanie, because we have to talk to Brad. That's the missing link here. Now, we know he has refused a polygraph and then stated again he will take a polygraph. I'm going looking for him. Okay? Okay. Armed with nothing but my iPhone.

And I am going to find him. And I'm going to ask him what happened. I'm going to see what story he's going to tell me, and we'll take it from there. But I want to know from you, as we sit here together right now, what are your thoughts? I just want to know the truth.

I want to know what happened to Chase. Do you believe Chase is still alive? I do not. Now, are you saying that with your heart and your head, or...? Yes. I don't believe he's alive. Can you think of a reason that anyone would have wanted him dead? Not a single reason. Do his daughters ever ask where is daddy? The oldest one does. And what do people tell the daughters? I've been told that Chase's grandparents, grandfather specifically, has talked to Sydney and told her that her daddy's in heaven.

Have any of these players come to speak to you? The friend, the computer people, Brad, the quick trip people, the renters down the street, everyone that would possibly have seen him after you did. Has anybody come forward to tell you anything? No. Why?

I don't know. It's like everybody's backing away from this. They don't want to touch it with a 10-foot pole. And I find that very disturbing. I do too. What's your message today to anyone that knows anything about chases we're about? Get it off your chest. Tell us the truth.

And let us have peace. Would you be willing to forego a prosecution in exchange for knowing what happened to Chase? Absolutely. I'm not trying to get revenge or get anyone in trouble. I'm just trying to find justice for Chase. See, I don't think that I could ever live with knowing that someone killed him. I don't think I could exchange justice for truth. I'm not sure about that.

I've got to think this thing through. Is it worth just knowing what happened to forego a prosecution of whoever is responsible? I don't know the answer to that. I've never had to face that question myself. I've had to ask other people that question. I've lived the

last three years not knowing. And every single day is just hell. You know what, I don't know what's going to happen, but I know this, we're going to try. Because I can't stand seeing you cry like this. And if it were, God forbid, my own child, I couldn't live with myself either. With me is Chase Masner's mother, Stephanie, and we are on a search for the truth. I want to take this moment and thank our partner for making our program possible today. It's Super Beats. Well, if you're like me, you don't spend a whole lot of time

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for you, plus free shipping. Now there's a deal. Go to nancysbeats.com or call 800-516-0683. I'm all about increasing my energy and I love Supra Beats. And I want to thank Super Beats for being with us today and being our partner. We looked and we looked and we searched, and we found Brad Clements. We found him. I beat on his door. He opened the door, and he let me in.

I want you to hear what he said when I questioned him, grilling him over an hour and a half about the disappearance of Chase Masner. I'm trying to figure out, especially after I met Chase's mother yesterday, that about broke my heart. I mean, it's been all this time. She still doesn't even know what happened. She thinks Chase is dead. Do you think he's dead? I don't know. I mean, I hope that he's not. But, really, I don't know. Like, I've you know, I've wondered about it. And, you know, the last time that I was

with him, like, I hardly knew them, really. Like, I met him maybe three or four times. I mean, see, the thing is, like, I hardly knew them. Like, They were good friends, semi-good friends with my friend Alan, who lived in the house with me.

I had to make him leave because he wouldn't pay me rent. I also caught him cross-dressing and he thought I was going to tell all our friends that he was dressing up like a girl and stuff. And so he told Amanda and them that I shot heroin into Chase and killed him and put this all in their head just to get me in trouble.

Why would you use up heroin on somebody else? And it's not somebody that I don't even know. You know, I mean, why would you do something where there's, that's another thing. It's like, I just don't know. Why would you take somebody that you hardly know and then get them high with heroin where you know people overdose all the time? And it's like. Okay.

What do you think Chase was on? I don't really think he was on much other than pot and alcohol that night. I mean, that's. I'm glad to hear that. Yeah. I mean, you know, he was trying to get more. Like, and I gave him some cash. I gave him $60.

What was he into? He was trying to get the Roxy's. Coat, crap, or. The 30 milligram Roxy pills. That was what everybody was taking. Alan was giving him those sometimes because Alan would take those. And so he assumed that I could get them because Alan could get them. And, you know, I brought him and, you know, I was in a motorcycle wreck and I was on those at one point.

And, you know, so I took him to my, like, that's one of the main reasons I picked him up, just to kind of talk to him that night and be like, you know, dude, you don't want that shit. Like, I was in a motorcycle wreck, man. Coming off of those pills is terrible, you know. I mean, I figured I could just, you know, hang out with him and, you know. If you didn't really know him that well, why did you let him come to your place? I mean, because he'd been over there before. Okay. Like, I mean, he worked at the quit trip right down the street from my house, so.

So what do you think, just take me through what happened that, he goes missing I mean it's really not that much like it's like everybody says I like changed my story and all this stuff but it's like that was like what I did that day you know I mean that wasn't really anything to do with chase it was like you know I ran a bunch of errands what I was doing you know most time when I was fixing up my house like he was there that night and then you know basically left sometime between when i was coming back from uh the store to when i started cooking like i mean he had to have like i mean that that's the only logical thing right so you go on i think it was march the 26 ish to pick

him up at quick trip and it was at night around 1030 or 10 okay all right you pick him up and bring him to your place directly or do y'all drive around no it's good right I mean it was right down the street okay so you didn't drive around to hit to score and nothing like that you got straight home all right so you go home what does he do I mean we just sit there and start talking we're actually I had a bunch of stuff that I was building a computer with, so I had him help me carry a bunch of stuff in, and then I started building the computer that I was, actually not this one, but a different one.

And I had, you know, we just sat there and kind of just talked, because we had talked, you know, two or three nights ago about the same thing. What? About him and Amanda fighting and all this stuff. What did they fight about? I mean, it was like money and stuff like that because she wasn't working. And, uh, you know, he didn't really talk too much about it, but I just told him, you know, that, you know, he was a lucky guy and, you know, he's got two beautiful kids, got a beautiful wife. Like,

I don't know, you know, it's okay. What most people want, you know, in life is to be, you know, fulfilled with those two things. Why was he not happy with that? Was it money problems? Dope? What was it? I think it was more or less money problems. I mean, because, like I said, I really didn't know him that well.

This was so long ago that we actually talked about this. And it was mainly me talking, you know, other than him, you know, just sitting there listening. And, you know, he said that he was, like, telling Amanda he was going to run off and, like, sleep in the woods and all this stuff. What? Yeah, you didn't hear that? Uh, no. Yeah, that's been another big thing.

Like... Go off and sleep in the woods? Yeah. Why? I wonder if he tried to do that and died. I mean, I figured they would have found him by then. I mean, let me just. Go off and sleep in the woods.

Okay. Did you hear him say that? Yeah. He said it, you know, a couple times. And I was like, I always thought it was BS. Because who wants to go sleep in the woods? Yeah, exactly. And I mean, he has friends, you know.

And it's like. So that night, y'all stay up late talking about Amanda and you're working on the computer. Okay, then what happens? Is he? I mean, he pretty much just, you know, I think he'd been up for like a couple of days, like tired. Like, I mean, you could tell he was barely hanging on and just passed out on my bed. And like, I just continued to kind of, you know, work on stuff. And, you know, it was, gosh, I think, you know, it was, uh, gosh, I think, you know, the roofers got there at like 6 AM or something like that. Yeah. They always do that.

And, uh, started really early. And, um, you know, so I was just, you know, continuing to get on with stuff for my, my day. And, uh, you know, I thought it'd be a good idea that, uh, I have, you know, Amanda come over and just kind of have like a cookout thing. thing. Because, you know, I knew Brandon and them and the roofers. And, like, I like to cook and stuff. And I know it's kind of odd to have a cookout. But, like, it was, you know. Fun. Yeah, it was something.

Okay, so, anyway, she didn't come over. No, she didn't come over. And you tried to get him to call Amanda and invite her over to kind of, like, make the piece. Right. Did he do it? No, not that I know of. And, I mean, that's why I tried to talk to her on his phone of like make the peace. Right. Did he do it? No, not that I know of. And I mean, that's why I tried to talk to her on his phone because I didn't have her number. Like, and that's why I had his phone in the first place was to call her and ask her mainly if he

needed to be at work that day because I didn't know. And he, you know, had to be at work at nights most of the time. So, and then what happened? And then I kind of just went all my day like I mean I just went and did you know stuff I normally do I went to Lowe's um I had to drop a laptop off that I'd fix for somebody what did you need at Lowe's I mean I was fixing my house up so I can't tell you exactly what it was I mean just so you go to Lowe's you go to the grocery store first I went to go drop this laptop off that was down um off of um gosh it's my friend ricky's house which was like downtown pretty much he's over you're going about your day you're doing your thing and um you take the computer to ricky who lives he lives um pretty much downtown i mean

downtown atlanta yeah and you were all the way up here? In Kennesaw, right. And I told him he wanted to come with me. That's 40 minutes and 40 minutes at least. Yeah. It's probably more like three hours or something like that. Yeah, by the time you get there, 40 minutes. In there, 30 minutes.

Back, 40 minutes at best. Right. Okay, so you leave him where? He was upstairs. I mean, at this point, I mean, yeah, he was just asleep because, you know, this was probably like 8 o'clock, you know, that I was talking about. 8 a.m. Yeah.

All right. So you do all that. So he'd been asleep for like five hours probably. Not even. Maybe four, I'd say. Four or five. That's what I always say. Nothing good happens after midnight.

I mean, you always get in arguments. You know, everything goes sideways at midnight yeah okay so yeah because I don't want to get any I don't want to lose any of this because I'm piecing it all together and make a timeline all right so you go at 8 9 10 30 you get back what's he doing sleeping same exact thing door open closed doors open at this point because he's still in my room. Your room? Yeah, and this is when I got him up. And I mean, I basically woke him up and was like, you know, come with me, come on,

I'm gonna have a cookout, you know, call Amanda. And I dropped all the plans on him. Cause I was like, man, I figured he'd be up by now, you know, ready to go and rolling. And got him up and then I, you know, got to put him in the other bedroom because I was gonna work on some stuff in my room at this point.

And so I had like a four bedroom house. So yeah, up in Kennesaw. It was beautiful. bedroom because I was gonna work on some stuff in my room at this point and I had like a four bedroom house so yeah up again so you and it was a you know I was like you know there's no point let him sleep in my room continue when I got crap I got to do and you know I was kind of like irritated at this point because I was like you know wondering to be up so we get stuff kind of rolling but you know he was you know also you know had could tell he hadn't been sleeping for a couple days. And, you know, had been fighting or whatnot. So he went in the other bedroom.

Mm-hmm. Door opened shut. Door opened. So later that day, you gave the roofers a tour of your home. Was he there? See, I didn't really give them a tour of my home because they'd been there before. They told me that you gave them a tour of your home. That you showed them around your house. I mean, I like that would probably be at like four o'clock or

something four or five o'clock i mean i didn't really think that later in the day yeah but so you come by you get back 10 30 11 ish you move them from your bedroom to the other bedroom he crashes door open and you do what i start going and getting you know i have to that's that point i'll go is this a weekday or i think it's a weekday yeah oh yeah amanda wasn't working so she could come over probably i mean i that's that's what i thought you know i didn't think she was doing taking care of kids like and uh i kind of wanted to you know squash this you know fighting thing if it was what it was see remember i give chase 60 bucks too I thought I gave him 60 bucks and I before he asked me for money and I told him you know yeah you know I'll give you this but I got 60 bucks he had in his

pocket the whole time I'm pretty sure I mean I don't think he left and came back where I was you know gone that I know of you know okay so you get back try to wake him up he goes in the other room then you start doing what i after that that's at that point i go to to public's and lowe's and that's when um um i went and grabbed i forget what it was i need to grab it at uh lowe's but um i grabbed all the stuff to cook with at public's and um that's when uh I came back basically started up the grill and it was probably you know one two o'clock at this point and um you know after I started the grill I like set the backyard like I had a bunch of coals that pretty much one some blew out of the yard and like I mean

roof was literally had to get off the house because it was like so smoky from the fire that I just started in the back the pine straw yeah and because there's nobody behind me in Kennesaw, it was like all woods back there. And basically after that, that's when I went and tried to, you know, get Chase up and was like, man, did you see the fire in the backyard? Because the bedroom he was in was directly by the back. I mean, you could see that fire like, you know, plain as day, you know, and that's when I realized he wasn't there anymore. And what time was that? I want to say it was like two or three o'clock. When you came back

from Publix, was he there? I didn't check. Were the bedrooms upstairs? Yeah. So you leave for Publix at what time? It's probably 12-ish or something like that. And he was there. You get back from Publix. You don't go up there. The pine straw catches on fire. And you go up there at what time? About? I want to see. It was like between like 1 or 2 o'clock.

It had been like maybe 1 hour or something like that. Not even that long. Like before the last time I... Maybe 1.30 or something like that. For you to leave him, go to Lowe's, go to Publix, get back, start a fire, put the fire out, and go up there. It's probably more like 2 o'clock. And he was gone. And he was gone. And like, he had taken his bag and

everything that he had. Like, he had a little bag and then he had his, he left his two little bottles of beer in the closet. But other than that. How big was the bag? It was like a backpack. Was it a backpack? Yeah, it was a backpack. So he glazed with his backpack and 60 bucks.

You said you helped him take his bags to the other room though, right? Yeah, it was that backpack. It was just a backpack? That backpack and like a, you know, grocery bag of two bottles of beer or something like that. So. Did you see it coming that he was leaving? Yeah, he did that every time. Like he would just disappear every time.

Every time that he was over at my house, he would always, every time he was leaving, he would just disappear. And man, it always took him up. Like, so that was his MO. So I wasn't too worried, you know. How many times had he been over and disappeared? Two or three.

I mean, each time he'd been in my house, he always just left because I was always like trying to get him to do something or like, you know, something like a cookout or just, I feel like something that he didn't want to do, you know. He was know all about like just kind of getting stoned at that point and you know like i said i wasn't really smoking so it was uh i mean it was kind of on yeah I would say yeah like what like I mean like she was mad at Chase and it was just like you know um basically uh I'm still now um you know anything goes like you know you just have like that eye

connection thing and it's just like you know you can tell when Like, you know, you just have, like, the eye connection thing, and it's just, like, you know, you can tell when people are... Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Is this another man thing where he thinks, oh, she's so into me, and she's, like, so not? No. I wouldn't say that. So you really think she was hitting on you? I mean, not, like, hitting on me, like, grabbing my ass or anything,

but, like, I mean, she was, like, you know, feeling it out, at least out at least like i mean she called me and told me to come over there to bring her some pot for like you know just some bizarre reason like you know it was just kind of you think she's trying to get back at chase you know i hope so like that was that was kind of what i was because otherwise that means it yeah, yeah, okay I mean okay back to the day all right so around you think two o'clock you notice He's not gone and his backpack is gone Now earlier that day you had taken his cell phone with you why? Because I mean I think I just really had it with me But I really wanted him to stay and you know wait for him to manage to come over

Because I knew he always left like that was his MO you know he'd always leave so if I had a cell phone he wasn't gonna leave right away and but that was like early in the morning when I thought that a man and then we come over and before I you know move him out of the bedroom and because I really wanted to talk to him again you know to make sure that you know nothing crazy was gonna happen but you know so would the roofers have you know, nothing crazy was going to happen. But, you know, fair enough. So would the roofers have been in a position to see him leave? They should have.

Like, that's what I thought. You know, that's why I assumed they just saw him leave. Because, I mean, they were working there. The house had a steep, um, see, at this point, when it was really smoky, they had to get down off the roof there. Because that's, you know, and that's why I assumed, you know, that Chase had heard them running around or whatever. I don't even know how he was sleeping with all that noise. Like, I mean.

I've been told that you had a big black bag of stuff you threw away in a dumpster. What was it? A big black bag. Probably ceiling tiles, all kinds of crap. I mean, I was completely redoing the house. I mean, the whole dumpster thing is kind of ridiculous to me because I had all my neighbors throw stuff in it. Like, I mean, it was just like... Why do you think everybody's pointing the finger at you? Because I'm the person that nobody knows. And I'm just like that odd piece of the plane.

The last one to see him and all that. And his disappearance doesn't make sense, but in a way it does. If he kept telling people he was gonna leave and go live in the woods. Are you sure about that? Yeah, that was, I mean, that's well known too. I'm pretty sure.

He said that. I think his mom knows that. How badly do you think he and Amanda were fighting? I mean, bad enough to where she would just throw him out of the car. Like, randomly. Because they wouldn't fight in front of the kids and stuff. And, um, you know, that was a...

Do you think he would actually leave his children? I, you know, wouldn't have thought that, you know, but, I mean... And I could see somebody leaving their wife if they fought all the time, but the children, that's the thing. That's where I don't buy him going into the woods because I don't think he would have left those children. I mean, I don't think that he would have left for a significant period of time, but definitely a short period of time.

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has been on the case from the very, very beginning. Daniel reporting from CBS 46 News. So after nearly three years of trying to find her son with volunteers that call themselves Team Chase on the case, along with us, along with you, Daniel. After begging police to bring dogs out to the house where he was last seen with his buddy, Brad Clements, they finally do it. And what do they find, Daniel Wilkerson? They find human remains. The dogs hit on human remains. We first took the dogs into the house, the basement. They didn't find anything after looking throughout the house. Came out, turned to the left, right behind the back door up under a deck. The first dog sat on a place and then they went and got another dog and that dog sat in the

same area. and I tell you we were all just blown away amazing amazing with me is Daniel Wilkerson news reporter with CBS 46 news in Atlanta who's been on the case from the very beginning Daniel you saw Brad Clements in court and it just takes me back to the time that you and I were banging on his door and he opens up and I sat on his bed for, I guess, what, three hours? He kept trying to make up excuses to get away, like I need to take a shower. And I'm like, I'll just sit here. I'm fine. And he seemed like such a laid-back guy.

What's the status on his so-called best friend's case right now? Well, he's been indicted, Nancy. We are waiting to see if there's a way that if he makes a deal, he will be able to tell the story what happened that night. Of course, that's what the family is waiting for. Of course, at this point, you know, he's only been charged with hiding the body. And so because they couldn't get a cause of death, we don't know, you know, how it all went down. And so that's what we're waiting on right now. And some seem to think that he will try to strike a deal. And as you know, the time for hiding a body is nothing like it is for other charges like murder. Well, I think they should take it to trial and let a jury decide what happened.

I mean, because if it were an innocent cause of death, COD, why would you lie? I mean, come on, Daniel, if you had a heart attack and killed over right now, God forbid, trust me, I would not drag your body to the backyard and bury it under a slab and then pour a slab of cement over it. Sure. And yeah, and a lot of the evidence, Nancy, is gone because it took so long to find him. So there's, you know, trying to find evidence in the ground to link it with, you know, what could have been in the house at the time is it would probably be nearly impossible. Well, let me ask you this. Why did it take three years to bring cadaver dogs to the location where this Iraqi war vet was last seen alive? What,

three years? And I asked that question of the district attorney the other day, and I said, hey, what do you think about the job that the police department did? And he seemed to think they had done a great job. And I said, well, wouldn't simple police work have brought dogs to that backyard? And you remember, Nancy, it was a shallow grave. So you would think if they had done that, maybe even a month after he went missing, those dogs would have hit then. But instead, this family had to wait, what, more than three years to only find him in the very backyard of the home where he was last seen. Did they give you an answer why they waited three years to send out dogs? Because that destroyed the evidence. The body's decomposed.

You're right. And when I asked the district attorney the other day whether or not they had taken dogs back, he acted like he didn't know. So, you know, that's something I'll be digging into. I'm sure you will, because simple police work would have found Chase. Man, or even bring in volunteer dogs. I mean, anything, just anything. And let me ask you this. You think there's a deal in the works? I don't like that at all. When I spoke with the district attorney, he didn't indicate. But just speaking with the investigators, I think that they will try to give Brad a deal. I really do. And one of the things you may understand is better. The district attorney says that when it comes to, you know, trying to get a story out of him, he didn't know whether that was best simply because a person, I guess, just trying to get a deal could just come up with something. So who knows if we'll even get the truth from Brad Clement. Well, I can tell you this right now.

We've spent so much time with him. Of course you're not going to get the truth out of him. He's never going to tell the truth. So why bother cutting a deal for a lie? It's going to be a lie. Okay? I mean, should I believe him or my lying eyes? Chase Masner was at his home. He disappeared. Brad Clements conducted a

very intricate cover-up and held up the lie for three years, continued feeding the lie with more lies. He buried the body in a shallow grave. He then covered it with a slab of cement and has a deck on top of it. You don't do that when it's an accidental or natural cause of death. Bam. Some people would argue, oh, well, they were both doing drugs and he didn't want to get found out. Well, get yourself clean and sober and then call and say, my buddy has OD'd. If you have an accidental or natural cause of death, you don't drag the body to the backyard and bury it in the dark of night. That's not how that goes down, Daniel. Yeah. And the thing I keep thinking about,

Nancy, looking at that autopsy, looking at the way that police say and the medical examiner says Brad prepared the body before he buried it. What does that mean? There were details. His arms and hands were bound. His feet were bound. He was wrapped up. And so from the autopsy, it happened and when you put them in the ground, I mean, it's just crazy to think that a person who is not a mortician or, you know, who deals with dead bodies could spend that much time with a dead body. You know, Daniel Wilkerson, after all that family, all those friends have been through, his wife, Amanda, the children are left without a dad. Those little girls, and they're going to cut a deal?

Oh, no, no, no. This thing needs to be taken to trial and prosecuted like there ain't no tomorrow. Uh-uh. Nothing is going to do but hard jail time for the death of this young son, father, husband, and Iraqi war vet. That is the very least we can do. Now, if a jury wants to let him go, that's on them. But it would be a cold day in HEWL before I would let this thing go on a cheap plea. The very thought of Brad Clements tying up Chase's body so he could bury it in the dirt

in the backyard. N-O, Daniel, no. You were there when he met with Chase's mother. Oh, when I look back on that, it just makes me sick. Describe it. We had been at the hotel with Brad Clement, and we knew we had to get him to the mother, to Chase's mother, you know, because we didn't want him to wiggle away from us. So, as you know, we all got in the car. We went to my station, and Stephanie met Brad Clement for the first time.

And she was just shaking, if you'll recall. Don't you remember the way he lied to her and she hugged him and was trying to get the truth out of him? And it was very awkward. And even sitting there, even sitting there, Nancy, he, you know, I'd heard his story about six or seven times, an account of what happened that night from him. And even sitting there, he added details that he had not told me. And so I had some questions and you did too, just by the account that he gave Chase's mother, you know, her, her first question to him was, did he say anything about me? Yeah. The whole, all this time, these three years, she thought that she, she was carrying some kind of guilt that was he angry with me? Is it my fault that he,

you know, did this or what happened to him? Did I have any role in it? And, you know, of course she did. I've never seen a more loving mom than her. I want to thank our partner making our program possible. It's 1-800-DENTIST. You know, I can't tell you how much it means to me that I've been able to take care of my children, not only going to the doctor, but the dentist, because John David just got his braces off. And he's got this beautiful smile. Lucy got hers off about two months ago. Beautiful smile. And I am so proud because that's the first thing people look at you and they see your smile. That's what I always look at.

People's eyes and teeth is the first thing I look at. I can't help it. I want them to go through life with this gorgeous smile and feeling confident, not smiling or holding something up over their face because they have crickety teeth. And that's why I want to thank 1-800-DENTIST. They set you up with an appointment with an awesome dentist, 1-800-DENTIST. They match you with a local dentist in your area that suits all your specific dental needs. Now for a dentist, for instance, with the latest technology, CEREC, C-E-R-E-C, CEREC, dentists can create a

high-quality crown in one single office visit. No more multiple trips, no more spending gaps of time with gaps in your teeth. With the dentist you find using 1-800-DENTIST, you get the care you need before the year is over. Don't worry about replacing a temporary crown you got back in December with a permanent one in January. Usher in the new year with a beautiful smile. Learn about CEREC, C-E-R-E-C, and book an appointment today by visiting 1-800-DENTIST.COM slash CEREC, 1-800-DENTIST.COM slash C-E-R-E-C. 1-800-DENIS. Thank you not only for helping people get that beautiful smile that I have worked so hard to give my twins, but for being our partner here today. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

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