Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Mom and 3 Tots Vanish, Dad "Not Concerned"

Episode Date: September 21, 2023

Lauren Cook and her children were last seen on September 5. An investigation was launched after Cook missed a scheduled appearance in the Franklin County Juvenile and Domestic Relations court.   According to deputies, the  husband says his family is safe, but he has not communicated with them.    Investigators added that they’re unsure whether she may have left after a dispute with her husband. Police have no records of domestic violence between the couple or any calls for help to their residence. Lauren and the children could be in a blue 2013 Chrysler van with Virginia a license plate. Few other details are known publicly. There has been no activity on Cook’s bank or cell phone accounts since September 7, and the last known phone ping was in Lexington. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Fran Longwell- Former Deputy State’s Attorney, Former Assistant State’s Attorney (Prince George’s County, MD) specializing in child abuse, sex offenses and homicides  Caryn L. Stark- Psychologist, renowned TV and Radio trauma expert and consultant, www.carynstark.com, Instagram: carynpsych, FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice Michael G. Harris- (Louisa, VA)-Owner/Senior Investigator of Blackfeather Investigations LLC, Fmr.  VA State Police Special Agent, www.blackfeatherinvestigations.com, FB: Blackfeather Investigations LLC  Mike Hadsell- President and Founder of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, PRSAR.org  Alexis Tereszcuk – CrimeOnline.com Investigative Reporter, Writer/Fact Checker, Lead Stories dot Com, Twitter: @swimmie2009  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. How does a mom and all of her children just disappear, vanish, drive off in the minivan and they're just never seen again. And why is the husband slash father saying he's quote, not concerned about his missing wife and children? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Where is she? Where is Lauren Cook? Where is seven-year-old Benjamin? Where is five-year-old Hannah?

Where is two-year-old Elijah? How and why did they just drop off the grid, off the map, seemingly poof? Take a listen to our friends at WDBJ. We are starting tonight with breaking news. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in locating a missing woman as well as her children. Lauren Cook and her children were last seen on September 5th in Franklin County. Since then, communication efforts with Lauren have been unsuccessful. According to officials, communication efforts since then have been

unsuccessful. Officials ask if you know the whereabouts of Lauren Cook and her children, seven-year-old Benjamin, five-year-old Hannah, and two-year-old Elijah, you're asked to contact the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. And guys, that tip line is 540-483-3000. Repeat, 540-483-3000. It's very unusual. We hear about missing children or a missing mom or a missing person every day. I hear that 10 times a day. But a whole family and apparently the sheriff agrees. Take a listen to our friends at WSET.

The sheriff's office tells me that this case is unusual. They say that families don't often go missing when both parents have custody of the children. Take a look at your screens. This is 30-year-old Lauren Cook and her children, seven-year-old Benjamin, five-year-old Hannah, and two-year-old Elijah. The sheriff's office started this investigation this week after family expressed concern. They said Cook missed a meeting with a family member. No one has been able to contact Cook since September 4th. Okay, wait, that just told me a lot. A family member expressing concern. Not the husband, but a family member.

That tells me the husband knows something that makes him, quote, not concerned, but the rest of the family doesn't know what that is. Nobody is named a suspect. Nobody is named a person of interest. We don't know where they are. We don't know if they're dead or alive. There hasn't been a body found, nothing like that. But it's extremely bizarre that a whole family just disappears. What more do we know? Take a listen again to WSET. Lauren Cook and her three children have been missing since September 4th. Well, tonight, Lauren's husband, Jordan Cook, is releasing a statement on the whereabouts of his family.

It reads in part, contrary to what has been reported, my wife and children are not missing. I have no reason to be concerned about their safety or well-being. I have heard from my wife, and I'm sure she and my children are doing well. We ask that our family's privacy be respected at this time. Okay, wait. Why does the privacy need to be respected, yet nothing is wrong? Joining me in All-Star panel to make sense of what we know right now, listen to me, Alexis Tereschuk, longtime colleague and friend, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Alexis, I'm not saying that the husband, dad had anything to do with this. I just want to be clear on that.

But when somebody goes missing, wife a lover a girlfriend children the first place you look statistically is at the male figure it could be the husband it could be the lover it could be the ex it could be the handyman that's who you look at first. And, you know, I've gotten a lot of grief in the past on this very thing, but the fact is, and, you know, hold on, Fran Longwell, first to you, former deputy state's attorney out of Calvert County, former assistant state's attorney in Prince George's County, specializing in crimes just like this. Of course, wait, wait. Disappearance is just like this and more. Fran, statistically, that's where you look first. If you want to find the people and you want to find out if they're safe, you look to the male

figure first. Then once he's cleared, move on and move on quickly. Don't dwell on him. Move, move, move, move and find the people. That's true. And we saw that in the Chris Watts case in 2018 when the wife Shannon and the two little girls were missing and they kept watching the husband and he actually is the one who killed them. But in this case, the thing that boggles my mind

is she was supposed to go to the juvenile court, not her and the husband, just her. He missed a court date, then she had the second one. Is it possible that someone reported her as being an abuser of one of the children and the husband and her, maybe that's their way of parenting, they decided she'd leave and take the kids somewhere? I mean, they could be using burner phones and being in contact with each other every day nobody's going to know and that's and the comments that i saw i think it was on the facebook um from people saying that the the child child protective services in that county was not very good that they would leave people

leave kids with the abuser and and that kind of sets off some bells for me. Hey, you know what though, Fran Longwell, I like your thinking. We don't know enough to know if any of your thinking is right or wrong, but your investigative mind is right on track. And when you say defects, Department of Family and Children's Services, also known as CPS, Child Protective Services in different places, that can be said across the country. Let me use a legal phrase you may or may not be familiar with, Fran Longwell. I don't know if they taught you this in your law school, but they suck. DFAX and CPS are the worst.

The worst. Children die under their watch all the time. Guys, you just heard Fran Longwell, who is an incredible prosecutor, former prosecutor, describing what she thinks may be happening. But I want you to take a listen. You just heard Fran Longwell mention Shanann and her two little children, Celeste and Bella. Take a listen to our friends at Nicole Atkinson knew something was wrong when her best friend Shanann Watts didn't turn up for a doctor's appointment. She immediately called police. I can't get a hold of her. I've called, I've texted her's in the garage, her shoes she wears every single day are right in the front door. The police body cam video shows Chris Watts arriving home.

Imagine his surprise at finding cops already at his house. He had just disposed of the bodies of his wife and children in an oil storage facility where he worked. I just want them to come back. And if they're not safe right now, that's what's tearing me apart. Because if they are safe, they're coming back. But if they're not, this has got to stop. Somebody has to come forward.

Just come back. If somebody has her, just please bring her back. I need to see everybody. I need to see everybody again. This house is not complete without anybody here. Please bring her back. If somebody anybody here. Please bring her back. If somebody has her, please bring her back. If you're out there, just come back. That's why we're worried. Nobody is claiming this father, husband, dad has anything to do

with the family just vanishing. But that's what is always said. There you hear Chris Watts, who has been found guilty and his wife and children's murder is saying, Hey, come back home. When he knows full well, he just disposed of their bodies. So again, husband, not a person of interest, not a suspect. I can't stress that enough. And there's many reasons I say that. But all avenues must be investigated. Back to Alexis Tereschuk joining us, investigative reporter, CrimeOnline.com. Tell me what you know about this family. I've learned a lot about them. They seemingly live off the grid to a certain extent.

What do you know? Well, they live in Franklin County, Virginia, which is kind of southwest Virginia. It's far from the capital. It's far from any of the big cities in North Carolina. It's kind of in the lower middle of the state, a fairly rural area, only about 50,000 people live in this county. And so there are three of them. She is 30 years old and has these three children, seven, five, and two, and they have been under her care this whole time. Now, here's the thing. She was required to appear in court on September 5th. She had a court date and it was actually a juvenile court and she was supposed to appear and she did not. So it was rescheduled. It's called Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. So they transferred, they continued it to September 13th, just a week

later to give her another week. Maybe, you know, one of the kids was sick or she couldn't make it that day. She did not appear that day. Again, this is juvenile court. This isn't for her. This isn't, we don't know what it is because the juvenile court records are sealed, but this is something to do with a juvenile. And she has these three very young children. And so they started an investigation and they tried to find her. She's missing. They want her to be in court. The judge wants her to be there. She needs to be there. And the police have gotten involved. They say she is not here. Interesting. Interesting. We don't know what it is because it's juvenile. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. crime stories with nancy grace what more do we know take a listen to our friend dave mack lauren cook was born in texas moved to

north carolina at age five and was there until she moved to utah to attend college she married jordan cook and they moved to oregon for a few years before moving back to Utah where Lauren Cook began offering doula services in Provo. A doula is a person who provides emotional and physical support to a woman before, during, and after pregnancy. Lauren and Jordan Cook run a non-profit that is dedicated to helping people get medicine and food. The Cooks believe good food is medicine and in using herbs to heal everything else. They believe good food is medicine and using herbs to heal everything else. Hey, you know what?

Holistic healing. Not throwing a stone at that, but listen to more. Lauren and Jordan Cook have three children, seven-year-old Benjamin, five-year-old Hannah, and two-year-old Elijah, and they all live together in Franklin County, Virginia. A couple of years ago, Lauren Cook posted on her Lavender Doula blog that they don't own a TV and don't watch television. At that time, Cook said she and her husband

loved homesteading and thought they might do that again on property they own in Oregon. Lauren Cook said her favorite hobby at the time was cooking, saying, quote, I love making healthy and delicious food. I love anything that has to do with being in nature. Okay. Joining me, Karen Stark, renowned psychologist, TV, radio trauma expert, consultant at KarenStark.com. That's Karen with a C. Karen, they seem like they're off the grid. Now, I don't care who's on or off the grid.

I guess you could have said that about my parents because we lived in rural Bibb County. We picked our food on Saturday out of neighboring fields. But this is a little more off the grid. That is neither here nor there for me, except that people can be isolated. Women and children can be isolated if they're living off the grid. Not only that, Nancy, but remember when we just went over what the husband said, I found that part. We asked that our family's privacy be respected at this time. It's so strange because that's usually something that people say when there's a tragedy, when there's something terrible going on, respect our privacy, like

they're grieving. And I thought that him making that statement was very, very odd. So also the fact that he knows that the police are looking for his family and he's kind of saying, well, I know that they're OK and this isn't really a problem. So leave us alone. That why would he do that? There's something very suspicious to me anyway about the husband, even though he's not a suspect. Another issue she liked, homesteading, according to Dave Mack at CrimeOnline.com, which is, how should I put this, a lifestyle of sorts. It's self-sufficiency, living off the land, herbal medicine, not relying on society or societal conveniences to live. Now, what does that mean?

What does that mean for the three children who are very, very young? Now, again, Alexis Tereschuk has just told us she had a juvenile court date. Alexis, let me ask you a lightning series of questions. You do understand that a so-called lightning round means yes, no. Yeah. Okay. Don't shrill off. Okay?

Alexis Tereschuk, we know there was a juvenile court hearing. Yes, no. Yes. When was the court hearing? September 5th. And she last seen September 4th with the children, correct? Correct. The day before the court hearing.

That's not a coincidence. That is not a coincidence right there. She's before the court hearing. That's not a coincidence. That is not a coincidence right there. She's got a court hearing. It's been reset and now she doesn't show. She takes the children with her. Now Fran Longwell jump in. She. Who is this? It's Alexis still. Alexis, did we not say yes? No. But I want to tell you where she said she was because so she lives in Virginia. She said on the fourth scene with the children on the fifth, she said she was in New York visiting family. So she hightailed it. According to her, hightailed it out of town the day of the court case. Now, thank you for violating the lightning round sanctity. Fran Longwell, a juvenile court hearing, and I'm sure this has really driven you

crazy because it did me as a felony prosecutor in superior court. Everything is kept secret to quote, protect the child, including if that child is now, let's say 17 years old, charged with murder. And guess what? When he is a juvenile at age 14, he had a voluntary manslaughter. He had a rape. He had a sodomy. He had an armed robbery. Yeah. We never know anything about it because the child is quote protected, right? You can't get those. Sometimes I've actually gotten the files during the trial. And of course, when you get something during the trial, you can't use it because you haven't given it to the other side as part of discovery. So you're sitting there with all this knowledge about what a POS, a defendant is, but you can't do anything with it. So I don't

suspect that here, Fran, let me be clear. That was just an example of how secretive juvenile proceedings are. Alexis is the father. was he part of the juvenile proceeding? Was he supposed to be there? It does not appear so. It just appears that it was her. Yes, no. No. Girl, yes, no.

No. Okay. Fran Longwell. Listen, Alexis, I have X amount of minutes to get all of this information out to everybody. Fran Longwell, if the father was not supposed to be there, that tells me a lot. It tells me a lot. What does it tell you? And it tells me that she's probably the person that they're looking at. And I truly believe it had something to do with some type of abuse to those children. And he's protected. Now, wait a minute. If it was something she was doing, that would have been in superior court.

If there was some kind of child abuse, what? Well, no, not necessarily. If it's a child protective service case, it would go to the juvenile court first. Not in my world. If it's abuse or neglect. No, no. If it's charged as criminal abuse, if it's charged criminally, yes, she goes to the superior court or the, you know, the circuit court. But if it's the child protective services reviewing this, like maybe they reviewed her before, or maybe they had other reports about her, it would go to the juvenile court at that point because she's not charged criminally, but they're investigating the possibility and it could be anything it could be nothing or it could be something as simple as

a teacher thinks the child is malnourished because they're only feeding it holistic food that they grow in their backyard it could be anything we don't know that what Nancy. What? Nancy. What? Is this Karen Stark? Yes. It could be medical. It could be that they're not getting proper medicine for something. According to the authorities. But according to mom and dad, maybe they are. Maybe they're trying to heal them for whatever imaginary ailment. Holistically. Yes.

Correct. With the green stuff they're growing in the backyard. So we're not casting guilt on anyone right now. We're trying to figure out where these people are. Why am I so agitated in my world when a mom and children go missing? It never turns out in a good way. That's why I'm so agitated. I mean, come on.

Michael G. Harris, own your senior investigator, Black Feather Investigations, former Virginia State Police special agent. Find him at blackfeatherinvestigations.com. Do you agree with me? Are you with me on this? When a mom and children disappear into the air, that's a problem it's very concerning and especially since the husband has made the statements that he has i'm also concerned about the last statement that he made regarding needing privacy for his family during this time that's generally something someone said yeah you picked up that with karen stark yeah ahead. The fact that they live off the grid, I'm wondering if there's any anti-authoritarianism.

Oh, no, I hadn't even thought of that. Now, thank you for adding to my nightmare. Go ahead. Okay. You know, in Virginia, juvenile courts deal with custody, support, visitation, abuse, neglect, or criminal cases involving a family member that is accused of a crime against a child. So it could be a variety of things. Are you worried? But what I'm most concerned about, one I'm most concerned about is that there are so many people out here who are

missing that these resources could be directed to. And if we're wasting our time, then, you know, I'd like to know, you know, if the father is saying that it's nothing to be concerned about, give us some verification, give us, give the police a phone number. Exactly. Put him in contact. Exactly. Michael G. Harris, he's saying, hey, I'm not worried. OK, share with me why you're not worried. Share. Forget about me and us. Share with authorities so they're not worried. Guys, take a listen now to our 12 WSLS. The search for Lauren Cook, two year old Elijah, five year old Hannah and seven year old Benjamin Cook continues. Their last known location uncertain.

It was presumed that she may have been in New York at some point, but then she may have still been back in Franklin County and then she may have been in another area of the state. But we don't have any for sure information about where she was last. That makes no sense. Last in New York, but hey, maybe she's in Franklin County. Maybe she's in another area of the state. Alright, that's a problem. Mike Hadsell, president and founder of Peace River Canine Search and Rescue

is prsar.org peaceriversearchandrescue.org Mike, you have launched searches with less concerning facts than this before. What do you make of this? Well, it's a bit confusing.

There's some very concerning facts here that cause urgency for us. One, she supposedly was in New York. The next known sighting supposedly was in Illinois on the 14th. So she's heading westbound. We haven't had a cell phone ping since the 7th. She's had no activity on her bank accounts. She's a mother with three kids and a blue van, which is basically a parade. It should be very easy to see that, rest areas, hotels, and the fact that nobody has seen her or spotted her or put eyes on her is really concerning

and really raises the level of urgency on this because we really need to find out where she is. And speaking of that ping, my thinking exactly. Take a listen to our friend Amy Cockrum. Maybe one of the biggest pieces of evidence in this case is Lauren Cook's cell phone. Authorities say it last pinged around September 7th in Lexington, Virginia. Deputies say there's been no activity on her bank account either. The kids are now listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website. It says they were last seen with their mother and may be traveling in a blue 2013 Chrysler van with Virginia tax.

Deputies say Cook is married and lives with her husband who shares custody of the kids. He's upset, as any parent would be, of where my children at. Okay, yet he also says, quote, I'm not concerned, according to reports. So is he upset? Why does he need privacy? Or is he, quote, not concerned? And has he heard from them? He seems to suggest he has heard

from them, but if he has heard from them, why are we not getting that information? Why do we think she went to New York? Was there a sighting in New York? You just heard an expert say indications where she was in Illinois. She's driving a blue van. And according to an expert, specifically Mike Hadsell from Peace River Canine Search and Rescue, that's like a parade. Should be easy to spot. Also, as Jackie here in the studio pointed out, very practically correct. How's she paying for gas? No bank activity, no cell phone activity. So to you, Alexis Teresich, I'm very curious, why do we think that she may be in New York and why would she be in New York? Well, the police have said that she missed her court date on September 5th because she said

she was in New York visiting family. She did not say she had a job or it was an emergency. She was just visiting family. And they spoke with her on either the 5th or the 6th. They spoke with family members. And then, so they moved the court date on September 13th. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Who spoke with what family members? Law enforcement spoke with family members. And that's when the missing report was made because they were saying there were no contact with her since the 5th or the 6th when she said she was in New York visiting family. Now, there is no, they have not said there's any proof that she was in New York visiting family. That's just what the police have said she has said. And this may have come from family members that have spoken with her,

but people are very concerned. She has disappeared with the children. She was supposed to appear in court. She did not do that, but didn't just say, oh, I'm visiting family. I'm out of town. It was supposed to be the following week. And then she's completely off the grid, literally. But why no pinging?

Is that correct? Alexis, when was the last ping on her phone? The police have said the last ping on her phone was on the 7th in Litchfield. I'm sorry, in Lexington. Lexington, Kentucky? Lexington, Virginia? Lexington what? I believe it was Lexington, Virginia. And then they said that was the last ping on her phone. And then on the 14th, she was confirmed to be in Illinois. So that's in Litchfield, Illinois. So I looked this up.

That is an 11-hour drive, 11-and-a-half-hour drive. It is almost 800 miles away from Virginia to Illinois. I'm very curious how in the world they have spotted her, pinpointed her being in Illinois. That's 11 hours drive from the ping in Lexington, Virginia. Guys, take a listen to our cut 22 from the independent. A Virginia mother and her three children who have not been seen for more than two weeks were believed to have been in Illinois not long after she missed a court date, but authorities say they have been unable to pin her down. Lauren Cook, 30, and her children, Benjamin, seven, Hannah, five, and Elijah, two, have been missing since September 5th, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, who asked the public for help in locating the family on September 13th.

Authorities said investigators were able to track the mother and children down in Litchfield, Illinois, but were unable to make contact to check on their well-being. To clear Lauren and her children from being missing persons, a law enforcement agency must make in-person contact with them in order to confirm that they are okay and not under duress. Until then, they will remain in local and national databases as missing, the sheriff's office said in a statement. Okay, what does that mean? Let me go to Michael G. Harris, owner of Black Feather Investigations. What does that mean? Did they speak to her? Was there a sighting? Because the phone hasn't pinged again at all. I'm wondering if they got a hit off of the license plate reader or whether or not they're using some sort of telematics from the vehicle. If she has a navigation system, they could possibly backdoor into her vehicle that way. Interesting. And to you, Mike Hadsell, Peace River Canine Search and Rescue, why are they saying they believe she was in Illinois?

Well, that information came from the sheriff of Franklin County, Virginia. So apparently at some point, the law enforcement received this information. She was confirmed to be in Illinois on the 14th. So that's all they said. We don't know who or what or where or how that confirmation came. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Lauren Elizabeth Cook, age 30, last seen with her three children at the family's funeral home, Southwest Virginia. End of August, she spoke apparently with her mother September 5. We also know that she has been placed on the missing roster. So why is she on the missing

roster if she's not missing? That tells me a lot. Fran Longwell, what's your interpretation? I truly believe that she's basically because of this, you know, herbal stuff and living off the grid. I really think they're trying to protect that lifestyle. And the government was looking into that lifestyle, whether the women and children were malnourished or the children had been abused, whatever. And I think that's where the whole thing started. And that's why she didn't go to court. Guys, we're just trying to cobble together the pieces of the puzzle that we have to make sense of where is this woman and her three children.

Police say a Virginia mom and her three children are missing. That's what police say. But her husband says he's not concerned. Okay, take a listen to our cut seven WSLS. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office has released new information about a missing mother and her three children. We're told the Sheriff's Office started a missing persons investigation because the mother, Lauren Cook, did not show up for scheduled appearance in the Franklin County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on September 13th. Deputies say this court date had been originally scheduled for September 5th. It's very interesting to me that they are not,

authorities are not canceling the missing person's alert. Okay, take a listen to our cut eight WSLS. Investigators talked with family members who have not been in contact with Cook and the kids since September 6th, when Cook told them that she would be visiting family in New York. Deputies say on September 14th, five days ago, investigators confirmed that Cook and her children were in Litchfield, Illinois. They say in order for them to cancel a missing persons alert, a law enforcement agency must make in-person contact with them in order to confirm that they're okay. Okay, right there. Alexis Terusha, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. That just answered a lot. They haven't spoken to her.

They're placing her in Illinois in some other way, but not by speaking to her. And from what we've been told, it's not a ping on her phone. So what is it? Was her car spotted? Is she caught on surveillance cam? Because typically if that were true, that would be released. Like if she's going in a 7-Eleven. Remember Brian Koberger, when the search was on for what happened to the four University of Idaho students, a clerk clerk and I'm calling them generically 7-eleven it could have been a quick trip it could have been anything right there

at the corner and it's very quiet and isolated that that's there especially with all the snow a clerk goes through days and days of surveillance video on her own and spots the white Elantra belonging to Brian Koberger zipping by at like 3, 3.30 in the morning at the time of the murders. Generally, I haven't seen the video yet, the timestamp on it, but generally speaking. So is that what they saw? Has somebody seen the van? Or as I think Michael G. Harris said earlier, did a tag grabber grab her license somewhere? But bottom line, they did not speak to her. Exactly.

They have not. They have confirmed that they were in Illinois, but they have not spoken to her. And in fact, they need to see her in person. It's not enough to just talk to her on the phone, maybe use, you know, her family members to help us. They have to see her in person and they have been unable to do that. All it would take would be just, you know, they come to the house, they see you, you can have the kids out in the yard and they can see that everybody's okay. But this is, they are unable to do so. Meaning that Lauren has obviously not come forward and said, I am here. I am totally

fine. We're on a vacation because it's, you know, the best fall foliage that we can see in Illinois right now. And this is what's important for my kids. She has not done that. They want to see her in person. What about school? What about school? Fran Longwell joining us, former deputy state's attorney, Karen Stark, Michael Harris, Mike Hadsall. Jump in when you have an idea. And I know you are having ideas. Fran Longwell, what about them missing school? Nobody's even commented on that. Maybe that's why. Maybe it's something as simple as, hey, they've had too many absences. What's going on? Why aren't you getting them to school? Yeah, they talked about homeschooling the kids. You know what?

Let's clarify. Alexis Torres, crimeonline.com. We have found out nothing about homeschooling, although I understand the line of reasoning that if they're into holistic living and they want to live out in the country and they want a homestead, that would logically suggest they're homeschooled, but we don't have any indication they are, which makes me think they're not. And Fran Longwell, if they're missing school consistently, that would be a reason for them to be dragged into juvenile court, as it should be. That's true. That would be a reason to bring them in. It could be something that simple. Okay, I want to circle back with what we know.

Mike Hadsill joining us, president, founder, Peace River Canine Search and Rescue. Authorities, for whatever reason, are not taking them off the missing person roster. They're still there. They're still asking for the public's help. Piece this together for me. You have searched and rescued hundreds and hundreds of people, children. What do you make of this? Well, it's obvious that no one from law enforcement has made contact with her yet,

and that's why she's still on the list, either in Illinois or New York. We have not had a law enforcement officer interview her. So she's going to stay on the list until somebody in authority can have a chance to talk to her. She appears to be experienced living off-grid. The fact that we have not seen her or those kids anywhere tells me that she's something either has happened to her or she's purposefully living off grid somewhere. And at this point, the best we can do is just keep her face in this story out there and hope somebody will see her walking out of the store or do something. When you're packing three kids around,

it's not easy to hide things because kids have needs and you got to take care of them. So it would seem to me that she's going to be seen fairly soon, I would hope anyway. The husband, again, Jordan Cook says, contrary to what's been reported, my wife and children are not quote missing. I have no reason to be concerned about their safety or well-being. I've heard from my wife. I'm sure she and my children are doing well. We ask our family's privacy be respected at this time. Okay, if you want privacy and you want authorities and media, including me, to leave you alone, then show us where she is. Let law enforcement make contact with her. It's very, very disturbing to me, Michael Harris.

No pings on her cell phone, no bank activity. How's that van running? Are they pushing it? I mean, none of this is fitting together. I'd be curious as well, what's the father do for a living? How much money was in the bank account? How much money did she pull on, what was it, the 5th? It's the last time that there was any activity on the, I'm sorry, the 7th, and last time there was any activity in the banking account. I'm looking at a picture of

Benjamin, and I don't know whose house he's in, but that looks like a fairly high-end kitchen. The picture of Lauren, the background in the van, the van, it's not much there, but the van seems clean. It just, it doesn't look like the kids are unhealthy in these photographs. But, you know, that's not telling long-term. Karen Stark joining us, a psychologist joining us out of Manhattan today. Listen to this, Karen. The husband is saying everything's okay. However, her other family, her other loved ones have unsuccessfully tried to contact her and have finally turned to police for help. That's inconsistent. It's inconsistent and it's a concern to me. And I think it is to you as well, Nancy, because why is he making that statement? And it's pretty

simple. It's just to show that she's alive. And the police are saying that they are not taking her off that list until they get to see her, not if they hear from her on the phone. That's suspicious to me. It's like someone will have her, will force her to make a phone call. They're not going to believe that. They actually need to have eyes on her. So something is wrong. She's missing. The fact that he's like being so blasé about it, like, you know, leave us alone. We're okay. I know they're okay. But the police don't agree, and that's the concern. Guys, you may think, well, they're fine.

The husband says they're fine. He's heard from them. Maybe you're right, and I hope you're right, but I have visions of other families just disappearing, and it never turned out well. Take a listen to our cut, 21 NBC. Friends and family of 19-year-old Suzanne Streeter and 18-year-old Stacey McCall say it's not like them to just leave and not tell anyone where they're going. She calls and lets me know where she's going to be. She's never missed work.

She's a very conscientious young woman. We're questioning everybody at this time, friends, relatives, anyone that has the information, anyone that may have seen them last, neighbors. We've done neighborhood canvas. We're just checking every week at this time. And more from NBC. This is Suzanne Streeter's mom, Cheryl Lovett. She's also missing. Last seen at her daughter's graduation ceremony at Hammond Student Center on Saturday. She lived in this house on East Delmar in Springfield. That's where police found the three missing women's cars. Authorities say there was no sign of a struggle. In fact, the front door was unlocked. The TV was on.

Their clothes were still there. Their purses and personal items untouched. Still unsolved. A mom and the two girls gone. I don't want this mom and these three children to disappear into thin air and we never know what happened. Are they dead? Are they alive? Are they missing? Are they off the grid?

Why isn't the one child who's school age, seven years old, in school? Why does the dad say they're fine? I heard from them. Leave us alone. But the rest of the family or other family members, call police. If you know or think you know anything about Lauren Cook, Benjamin, Hannah, or Elijah, please call 540-483-3000. Goodbye, friend.