Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Son Vanishes Without a Trace, Mom DISTRAUGHT: WHERE'S RICKY?

Episode Date: June 23, 2023

The search for Ricky Griffis began two days after his last contact with his mother. When Alice Mabe texted her 46-year-old son, asking if he was coming home that night, he said "no." He didn’t come home the next night either. And then he didn’t show up for work.   Griffis was seen leaving an acquaintance’s place of business on July 5th. Several texts were exchanged with the acquaintance. The next day his car was found near the Coopersville strip mines. That morning, Griffis sent his family a strange text around 9 a.m. It said he was stuck in the woods, but Griffis’ cell phone was found in the vehicle, along with his wallet. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Cheyanne Carney - Sister of Ricky Griffis Wendy Patrick - California Prosecutor, Author of "Why Bad Looks Good" and "Red Flags," and Host of "Today with Dr Wendy" on KCBQ in San Diego; Twitter: @WendyPatrickPHD Dr. Lisa Long - Forensic Psychologist and Owner of Dr. Long and Associates; Instagram: @dr.lisalong, Facebook: DrLisaLong/  Brian Fitzgibbons - VP Operations at USPA Nationwide Security; Instagram: @uspa_nationwide_security; Kingsman Philanthropic's 2022 rescue missions of women and children in Ukraine; Iraq War Veteran Toney Wade - Commander, Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team; Facebook.com/CajunCoastSAR Phil Pendleton - News Reporter and Multimedia Journalist for WKYT (CBS News affiliate based in Lexington, KY); Twitter: @philtvnews, Facebook: Phil Pendleton WKYT  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. A Southern Kentucky family is desperate to find their missing son, their brother. Where is Ricky Griffiths? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Station and SiriusXM 111. As I mentioned, a beloved son, a loving brother, seemingly vanishes into thin air. That's physically impossible. This guy did not just disappear. He's somewhere, and somebody knows where he is. First of all, take a listen to our friends at WKYT.

Ricky Griffiths was last seen here in the Burnside area of Pulaski County, but then no sign of him. His family did receive some strange text messages from his phone. They questioned whether he actually sent those. And then his phone, his car, and his wallet were all found in a remote area of Wayne County. Since that point, nothing but a lot of questions of what exactly happened to him. I've learned a lot about Burnside, Kentucky since I first heard about Ricky's disappearance. It reminds me so much of the little community, the Rutland community, south of Macon, Georgia, in the center of the state where I was born. Very small, tight-knit, makes it very difficult for me to believe somebody doesn't know where is Ricky. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now in Ricky's disappearance.

But first, I'm going to go to a special guest joining us. With us, Cheyenne Carney. This is Ricky's sister. Cheyenne, thank you for being with us. Thank you, Nancy. Cheyenne, by all accounts, Ricky is just beloved. You know how in every family there's the technical legal term, jackass, that nobody wants over for Thanksgiving, that you're like, oh, no, it's so-and-so calling that person.

That couldn't be further from who Ricky is. Everyone, he's the kind of guy that he walks into a room, everybody wants to talk to him. That's what I've learned about Ricky. Do you remember when you realized you hadn't heard from him? He was gone. Yes, Nancy. Whenever my mom called me the morning that we realized that it had been over 24 hours, that we had spoke with him.

And she had kind of mentioned that she was worried about him she threw that out there because she knew that we are very we are very connected we do talk often and then I realized well I haven't either now wait a minute I want to talk to you about what you just said you suddenly realized wait a minute I haven't talked to him either had it been 24 hours since you talked to him 48 hours 72 how many days or hours had passed and you hadn't talked to your brother well with me um my brother knew my work schedule and then he knows that when i operate on business time i operate on business time so i he knew i was working because i work as i work with the travel and nursing agency i'm also a first responder. So on my time, you know, he don't really,

unless if I need help with my children is, you know, are the boys good or whatnot? Yeah, a quick hello or text. What about with your mom? With my parents? Yes, with my parents. At that time, he was living with them in between his ex-girlfriend. You know, like he would go back home. He always kept his stuff at home. He always showered at our house or at their house. So whenever they realized that flag, that they had only talked to him at that one point, they knew something was wrong. That's why they reached out to me and have you talked to him at that one point they knew something was wrong that's why they reached out to me and have you talked to him when i tried to reach out to him i couldn't get a hold of him

so that's when i started breaking into his of his at&t account because like i have access to that like i said me and my brother were very close um he always gave me gave me account permissions um i and even if he didn't i always knew his passwords because we always shared our stuff in case anything like this ever come about so i was able to get into there and the moment my mother had the worry in her voice that she thought something was wrong. I was at work about four hours from their hometown and I told my supervisor I'm going to get on here and I'm getting, like I stopped my rounds. I turned over everything I was supposed to do on my job to another nurse, another at that facility.

And they all understood. And I started digging. We got into his account. We started finding the paper trail of the phone numbers. And when his phone was last used, the last call, the last text, I started contacting these people myself. And I'm saying this is, by the time I could do all of that, it was probably about three o'clock in the morning.

And then I ended up calling my mom and saying, as soon as seven o'clock comes, you go and file a missing persons report because the numbers that I was searching, I was also doing my own private searches and seeing the types of folks that were on these calls. You know, it's really interesting to me. Guys, you are hearing the sister of Ricky Griffiths. And when it hit her, her wait something is way wrong you know it's interesting to me and I want to go out to Brian Fitzgibbons joining us along with an all-star panel VP of operations at USPA nationwide security Brian I have

you know interviewed literally thousands of crime victims and their families. And it's really interesting to me, and I don't have a scientific explanation for it. There's a difference when you say, hey, have you talked to so-and-so? And the mom says no, and that's okay. And then there are those moments where the sister says, hey, have you talked to my brother? Or, hey, have you talked to your brother? And the response is no. And suddenly they get an innate feeling. As you just heard Cheyenne Carney say, she dropped what she was doing, handed her duties over to a nurse, and got to a phone, broke into her brother's,

of course, she had the passwords, AT&T access to start tracing, wait, where has he been? Who has he been calling? There's something that I can't describe that, you know, instinctively something is wrong. Well, Nancy, he was a family man. I mean, he like he was very respectful, like to our to our parents. When he was not coming home, he would tell them when, you know, I'm going to go run around. I might be back later. I might not, you know, stuff like that. He was very, very open and honest. Well, yeah, yeah. And so him not getting back with your mom was very unusual. Brian Fitzgibbons, have you noticed that over the course of your investigations, that there's just some instinctive feeling that something is wrong as opposed to every other time when there's not anything wrong?

Absolutely, Nancy. And when the family has that intuition, it's one of those powerful things that as an investigator can't be dismissed, that you can't overlook that fact. And I say fact, because as you mentioned, you know, thousands of interviews and a lot of years doing this, that that's not every time that a family member has that gut feeling and follows that intuition that immediately something's wrong. And, you know, unfortunately, what we have here is that local law enforcement did dismiss that and missed some opportunities to process a crime scene quickly and react to some of the data points that the family was sharing with them. You know, Wendy Patrick, I want to follow up on what Brian Fitzgibbons just said.

With me is Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor, author of Why Bad Looks So Good, and the book Red Flags, both on Amazon. She's the host of Today with Dr. Wendy on KCBQ. Wendy Patrick, thanks for being with us. I would never put it that way in front of a jury, and I'll tell you why. Because while the jurors may agree with what we're saying, and I think that they would, the defense would have a field day arguing, oh, so it was just a hunch? You want us to accept that you had a hunch? The reality is, Wendy Patrick, I spoke to, I can't even count how many moms, dads, sisters, and brothers that had a hunch, and they were right.

Yeah, that's exactly right. And so, you know, one way that you and I probably have dealt with this in trial is you can elicit this evidence about the hunch, the intuition, the instinct, but then the basis for it, you know, the basis, the foundation for why something struck a chord. I mean, you just heard it from Cheyenne. His parents' home was his home base. He kept his clothes there. He had planned to be gone. He would have said something. That explains why she heard what she did in her mother's voice when she called. That instinct, that gut feeling, that intuition wasn't just a hunch. It was based on facts and growing up with this young man. So that I think is one of the things that every juror can relate to.

Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. Please join us now on Fox Nation for a brand new investigation, Parallels of Evil, the Bundy and Idaho Killings. In this gripping special investigation, we bring together an incredible panel of guests who analyze disturbing similarities of evil between these horrible crimes. We speak with two female Ted Bundy survivors, Karen Pryor and Cheryl Thomas, who described their life before and after they were victims of Ted Bundy. We also speak with the renowned private investigator Bill Warner, who worked in the cases, and Ted Bundy's defense attorney, John Henry Brown. We travel to Moscow, Idaho, to speak with Washington State University students and interview neighbors of Brian Koberger. One neighbor shares exclusive insights about the suspect in the Idaho killings, Brian Koberger. Don't miss Parallels of Evil,

the Bundy and Idaho Killings, streaming now exclusively on Fox Nation. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. With me, you know him well, the commander of the Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team, Tony Wade is joining us. Tony, how many times have you gone out on a search for a body or a living person based on routine evidence. And when I say routine, I don't mean, oh, that's just routine. I mean evidence of someone's routine. For instance, Tony, if I was not here in this studio to start this program with you guys on time ready to go Jackie here would know I had to be in the hospital something horrible must have happened

because that's my routine to be there on time at work or if I'm not there to put the twins to bed at night everybody knows something's very wrong it's evidence of routine you know Nancy we work thousands of cases like that every year just one no different than a lot of the other cases we worked. We do know something happened. It's out of character for Ricky to just disappear like this. You know, I've interviewed hundreds of people with this case, and everybody has the same agreement that he never missed work. He was always early. He always stayed late.

You know, the family has somebody you can count on. Someone knew something was wrong. And we were happy to get involved to to try and find answers. And we have brought a lot of heat, a lot of attention, shook up a lot of people. And we have a lot of answers now that we didn't have before. But this case is so familiar to the thousands of cases that we work every year. And it's the family and the friends know at the beginning, this is wrong. I don't have any evidence. I don't have blood.

I don't have fingerprints. I don't have a murder weapon lying in the bedroom or in the front yard. But I can tell you something is very wrong. Guys, take a listen to our friends at WYMT. This family is about at their wit's end with many questions on what exactly took place. They believe something happened last week, possibly Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of last week, sometime around the 4th. That's about the last time they received communication from him i'm very convinced that there's there's a foul play going on i'm very convinced that there are people who know what

has happened to my brother cheyenne carney says her brother ricky griffiths was last seen on fourth but in the days after that he did make some strange phone calls talking about being stuck in the mud or being stuck on a mountain. His car was later found in a lot of mud in the Coopersville area. His phone was found there too but no sign of him. I always find it very problematic when someone leaves their phone behind. Dr. Lisa Long joining me, well-known forensic psychologist, owner of Dr. Long and Associates. And you can find Dr. Lisa at drlisalong.com. Dr. Lisa Long, thank you for being with us. You know what? To disattach a cell phone, I started to use my twins who were 15 as an example, but basically anybody. I heard a doctor recommending to patients if they want a good night's sleep,

don't be on your phone an hour ahead of time before you go to bed. And they went berserk. Then one of the women went, wait a minute, I always go to the bathroom before I go to bed. What do you mean? I don't have the phone when I'm on the commode. I can't look things up. And the doctor went, that's right. People are attached to their phone. I find it very problematic when we find a phone left behind. I don't think anybody would willingly do that. That is a good question. I also do want to touch back on Cheyenne and her mom having that gut feeling. You know, even from a psychological standpoint, we have bodily cues with our muscle tone, our heart rate, even our endocrine activity to be able to make rapid decisions about how to navigate what's happening around us when we are

having those gut feelings. Those are often considered somatic markers, and we've got to pay attention to those gut instincts. It's an evolutionary strategy that helps us make very fast decisions. Just like Cheyenne indicated, you know, she called her mom and then they contacted law enforcement. Those gut feelings are very important things to pay attention to with everything going on around us. When you said that you can even identify those gut feelings through the endocrine activity, in other words, the release of hormones through your blood and glands. Yes, yes, absolutely.

I mean, you can tell a difference even with just paying attention to how your breathing pattern is. Everything has changed. In all your senses, you can feel when something's not right. Exactly. Exactly. Guys, join me right now

who's been on the case from the very, very beginning. It's Phil Pendleton, investigative reporter, multimedia journalist for WKYT. Phil, thank you for being with us. Phil, I was just thinking about this area, Burnside, Burnside, Kentucky. What's the population now? When I looked up the population investigating this case, it was under a thousand. Yes, it's a very small community right there on Lake Cumberland, a very popular tourist destination, very beautiful area of Kentucky. Burnside actually named for

General Ambrose Burnside, which was famous for the Civil War, was in the Battle of Bull Run and some of Kentucky's battles as well. It's just a gorgeous area. And to have something like this, a tragedy, it's just so heartbreaking for this family and I feel for them. And sadly, I've interviewed just so many families with missing loved ones. I can't tell you how many stories of missing persons that I have done, not just in that area of Kentucky, but all over the area of Kentucky that I cover. It's just it's very unfortunate. Tell me about the area. Is it mountainous? Is it horse country with big green pastures?

Is it very wooded? Why can can you tell me about the area? Well, it's very wooded. And it's it's it's like I said, you know, the Lake Cumberland there and Lake Cumberland was formed, I believe, in the 1940s, 1950s from the Cumberland River. It's the terrain is very rugged, very hilly, rolling hills. It's not like the pasture land of horse farms that you would see in central Kentucky. So it is very, and there's a lot of forest land, a lot of places, I would say, to hide something or maybe someone. It's very difficult to get in and out of there. I remember my first time as a young person traveling in that area,

trying to get around Burnside. And you're basically, you know, the lake is everywhere. And trying to get to certain places, you're constantly driving over bridges and going through, you know, hilly terrain, curvy roadways, that kind of thing. Guys, you're hearing our friend Phil Pendleton on the case from the very beginning. Now take a listen to our friends at CrimeOnline.com. The search for Ricky Griffiths began two days after his last contact with his mother, when Alice Mabe texted with her son asking if he was coming home that night.

He said no, but then he didn't come home the next night either. Then he didn't show up for work. Family members and those who know Griffiths say he is polite and respectful. He loves to collect tools and fix things, a life that seems to mirror his routine of jeans and tennis shoes. Wow, that's telling me a lot about your brother, Cheyenne Carney. When I start investigating a case, I typically start with finding out about the victim. What can you tell me about your brother?

He's described as a jeans and tennis shoes kind of guy. He collects tools and he fixes things. Tell me about him. Well, another thing that will bring us back to the coopersville community where his car was found when we when we did investigate and we did do some searches now um this is this isn't cajun coast searches this is this is not using a cadaver dog but ricky was also a chain smoker my whole life ricky was a smoker um and and with me out there on foot um the the very as soon as they found the car there was no cigarette butts anywhere in a walking distance from where we found his car

there's no way not and there's no way that ricky would have left his phone and and water with it being in the summer in that area which that area he is very familiar with he would never be lost or stuck um because we grew up in that area that his car was was found in right um there was no there was no cigarette butts around um nothing it was almost like whoever placed that car there the seat was not where he would have had the seat at so i was taking these observations the seat is not placed properly there's no cigarette butts here um i'm looking around there is no trace of Ricky. And then they had, they did, we did have dogs. We did at nightfall.

By the time we could get help in to search that area or whatnot, the dogs did smell a scent. They did smell that scent. But it was whoever was in the car. They went up to the mountain to get some self-darned service, couldn't find any, and they went back to the road. The dogs stopped where the scent stopped. The dogs did, the ones that could smell who was in that vehicle. But there was no evidence of ricky being out there so you believe cheyenne that the dogs were hitting on the scent of the person who left the car there which you believe is not your brother based on the lack of any cigarette butts in the area and the seat was

moved yeah yes i mean that but that that's my gut that's my, with me doing, I'm pretty good at, I'm pretty good at hounding things out myself. I mean, Ricky always said I was the nosiest human he'd ever, he'd ever come across. I'm nosier than our mother. He even, I mean, he's even, he's even said I had a motor mouth. Question for you regarding your brother. He's over six feet tall. And really, it reminds me of another case. Wendy Patrick with me, California prosecutor and author of Tara Grinstead, who I remember when her mother showed me her home. I've said it a million times.

Her home looked like a little jewel box. Everything was perfectly designed in there by her and decorated. Nothing was out of place except a string of pearls, as I recall, had been broken and had rolled across the floor, which what lady is not going to gather up the pearls off a pearl necklace? And two, in her car, she was a neatnik. Her car always smelled brand new. It was perfect. You know those people that have a perfect interior of their car? Her car was covered in mud. It parked in the carport. And her driver's seat was way back. And she was a tiny, small-boned, tiny woman, Tara Grinstead. And in this case, Ricky's over six feet tall. And the seat is in the wrong place for him to have been driving.

That means something to me, Wendy Patrick. Absolutely. You know, Cheyenne is a great detective because this exactly is the type of thing that investigators can go on. It's evidence of an intruder, foul play, that it wasn't Ricky driving that car. You know, the lack of cigarette butts, that is a very perceptive observation. The leaving of the water at the end of summer, the moving of the seat. You know, when she first started explaining it, I thought, well, you know, sometimes crime scenes are staged, but this appears to be the opposite.

This appears to be some good evidence that it wasn't Ricky in his own car. Take a listen again to Dave Mack at Crime Online. Ricky Griffiths was seen leaving an acquaintance place of business on July 5th. Several text messages were exchanged with the acquaintance. The next day, his car was found near the Coopersville strip mines. That morning, Griffith sent his family a strange text message around 9 a.m. It said he was stuck in the woods, but Griffith's cell phone was found in the vehicle along with his wallet.

Very curious, and it brings to mind the Gabby Petito case. Remember when Brian Laundrie, after he murdered Gabby out in a dispersed camping area out west, he then brings her van, drives her, leaves her body there, drives her van, uses her credit cards to cross the country back home to Florida to mommy and daddy, sending garbled, odd texts to her family along the way to pretend to make it appear that she was still alive. His big screw up was he referred to Gabby's father, grandfather, by his name. That would be like me calling, instead of my grandmother calling her mama, I would say, hi, Lucy Minerva, Fullwood, Stokes, Hartley.

That would just never happen. And so only someone that knows Ricky would realize there's something wrong with the message. Before I go off on that tangent, I want to find out about the last time, Cheyenne Carney, that your brother Ricky had used his ATM or his credit cards? I did his activity. We do know that he stopped at an ATM. We do know the bank that he stopped at in that location. Our leads have indicated us that not only did he stop at one location, he might have possibly stopped at another location. I believe he pulled 100 out.

I believe he went on to the next location. There's a possibility he went into the store. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're saying there's a possibility. Are you telling me the cops haven't pulled the video surveillance or the ATM photo grab? I'm telling you that absolutely. And they're saying that they pulled them but we don't have no factual evidence that they pulled them with all the the

gross negligence that the police have done with not processing his car i'm sitting back on the hill waiting for them to pull the car out of the terrain. Not a detective. Search the car or take it seriously. Do I believe that they pulled it? Yeah, they might have pulled it, but it would have been seven, eight months later. Cheyenne Carney, do you believe it was your brother that took the money out of the ATMs just before his disappearance? Yes, no. The first couple times, yes.

Okay. How many times was money taken out? Did he withdraw money before his disappearance? Yes, no. The first couple times, yes. Okay, how many times was money taken out? Did he withdraw money on his ATM? Just a number. Not a clue. We cannot get nothing else. How many do you think? Two times. Cheyenne Conway, why do you believe five people were with him at the time he withdrew money? Video surveillance. Video surveillance from where? The gas station that he was at. Gotcha. Guys, I want you to take a listen to our friends at CrimeOnline.com. Did a mystery note emerge? After Griffith's car was found, a note was uncovered inside. Written on the back of a receipt from the Cove Bar and Grill in Somerset, Kentucky.

It said, quote, Thank you for the thought and deed. It was excessive, but deeply appreciated, unquote. The family confirmed that Griffiths went to the restaurant for lunch. The owner, manager and server said the note had been written by a regular customer after Griffiths had paid for a meal for the man and his wife. So let me understand. The owner, manager and server at the restaurant said the note was written by a customer

because your brother paid for their meal. Is that right, Cheyenne? Yes, that is right. Okay, so was that the day he goes missing? That was the morning or the afternoon before. And Nancy, he was a wonderful man. He said that Ricky was one of the most kind. He said that his energy his smile everything

he was surprised that Ricky had paid for every pay for pay for their meals but my brother is the type of person that would pinpoint certain folks out and he would do very kind things for them that that's the type of man that Ricky was Cheyenne what did your brother do for a living he was a Mr. Fix-It um he mostly worked construction his entire life um my father has taught him how to run cable how to dig holes I mean my father has taught him a lot of very handyman work and then Ricky with his with his drive and motivation and he sees like other people and help ricky ricky was a first responder at heart he just never knew it that's why i always told him he had a story to tell Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Guys, now claims are emerging that local law enforcement ignored the family when they report Ricky missing. And ultimately, an out-of-state agency comes in to search for Ricky. Take a listen to our Cut 15 from WKYT. Cajun Coast Search and Rescue responded to a call for help. Tony Way came up with his canine holder to help out. His crew has been instrumental in searches and recovery operations all over the United States, and they assisted with the search for Savannah Spurlock in 2019. They put it on Facebook, I think, yesterday that Kentucky always holds a special place in my heart.

I think this is my fourth trip up here. Every time we come, we handle two or three cases each time. You know, we've had some luck up here, you know, make some recoveries. You know, the people of Kentucky, they've always been so kind to me. And joining me right now is the commander of the Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team, Tony Wade. Tony, how did you get pulled in on Ricky's disappearance? You know, this has been a tough case for us, you know, just the terrain itself. We have zero, and when I tell you zero,

help from law enforcement in the area. I actually, I've been here a little over a week on this case and actually talked to the sheriff in Wayne County yesterday for the first time. So the case has been difficult to us. We've been getting leads from the police department, we're going all family, and I have personally spoke to some of the individuals involved in the case that are suspects and questioned them. And it's just, it's difficult because we're having to not only do the searches and some very extreme terrains, but we're having to do all the investigative work ourselves as well. So this case has been really tough. And even more so because it has become personal to me because the family is with me every day. Cheyenne has been with me

since day one on every search. I'm grateful to have my teammate Shelly King with me that has been extraordinary in helping with the case. It's just been a really tough case, Nancy. I'm very surprised the local authorities are not there helping you. What would this be, Wayne County? Wayne County, Pulaski County. You know, and the funny thing is we have a sheriff from McCreary County that his county is not even involved in the case, but he is calling and checking on us every day, offering us help.

The only law enforcement that we've had any success with and his county is not even involved in the case um you know we did have kentucky state police detectives out with us yesterday uh we found something and felt it needed to be checked out uh they sent three detectives to help us and unfortunately they can't take the case uh until we can find the body because it's already an open investigation by another another agency. Tony, how did you get involved? Who called you? Well, actually, I have a very good friend of mine that has helped me with multiple searches

here in Kentucky. Ricky worked for him. He reached out to me to get involved in the case, and then I was tagged in one of Cheyenne's Facebook posts. So I reached out to Cheyenne, and the family asked me to come. Let me ask you, what can you tell me about the canine searches? The fact that a canine picked up on a scent in the car, followed it up the mountainside to try to, I guess, get a cell tower connection

and then back down to the road. Do you believe that the canine was onto Ricky's scent or the driver of the vehicle? Well, you know, that's something that we just don't know for sure. From my professional experience, when we're going to try and scent someone like that, well, we start at the driver's seat. We get a scent out of the driver's seat and then we allow the dog to follow that scent. I think the dog was tracking whoever it was that was driving the car, whether that be Ricky or somebody else. Unfortunately, the dogs can't tell us who they're tracking. We just know they're tracking.

The dog did pick up a scent from the driver's seat and followed it up to the top of the ridge and then back down to the road where it looked like somebody had picked them up. So we just don't know who it was guys take a listen to our cut 11 our friends at wkyt the wayne county sheriff's office is investigating but she says an out-of-state search crew has agreed to look for him and other missing kentuckians she says that is outstanding welcome news that she feels very good about i They read her post, and our post, hers, touched their heart, and they're ready to gather up their stuff and come look for Ricky. The Wayne County Sheriff says they are planning to have another search in the area where his car was found. He says they have conducted a lot of investigations on this including four polygraph tests but still nothing but more questions on what happened to this man so let me understand

phil pendleton is with us from wkyt four polygraph tests have been conducted do you believe phil that those polys were taken from the people that showed up in surveillance video as being in the car with Ricky? That's a good question. We asked the sheriff that, you know, several times about like who he didn't tell us who they were, what names of the people that were given the polygraph test. But on several occasions, the Wayne County Sheriff did tell me that they had done a number of these polygraph lie detector tests. And it's just, from him, it sounded like that that didn't give them any more clear answers, that it actually caused more questions to be asked. That's according to what he told me. Cheyenne Carney is with me. This is Ricky's sister. Cheyenne, we have learned that there are allegations that local LA law enforcement did not take Ricky's disappearance seriously.

What happened? What happened? Absolutely nothing. Everything that had happened, I did. There was no processing of the car. They looked at it as a joke. They left the car unattended for over 48 hours. No sheriff or detective ever actually went down in the terrain to where the car was,

even though there were 40 ATVs that they could get there. There was no, no, no one took a ride even on the back of anything to process the car or to tape it off what is the jurisdiction Cheyenne is that Wayne County where his car was found yes yes the jurisdiction um where the car is what the car the car was found is Wayne County can I ask you why why did they have they told you why they're not doing anything to find your brother? Your guess is as good as mine, because like they sit back on the hill and then whenever they came to my home, my mother's home and my mother and my father, they said, well, why did nobody go to the car? Not the first sheriff. No one went to the car why did you want he and in front of 11 and two minors

he said publicly he had a 70 000 vehicle that he did not want to get scratched up or dirty phil pendleton is this true he has not told that to me who is is the sheriff of Wayne County, Kentucky? That would be Tim Catron. How do you spell that last name? I'm not understanding it. C-A-T-R-O-N. How long has he been in office? I believe this is his second or third term.

I'm trying to figure out why they would not have anyone go search the scene or follow up on these leads. Or maybe they're doing things we don't know about. The contact number for the Wayne County Sheriff is 606-348-5416. Repeat, 606-348-5416. If you're interested in answers as to why this case is languishing and why an out-of-state search team had to come do all the work regarding bringing in canines, looking at the car, following the scent, and so much more. To Cheyenne Carney, this is Ricky's sister. You say that you know more now than you did before to what are you referring the leads that Tony has received the leads that we've received since since now since you Nancy since you I and I hate to even we had to apply that pressure because

the law enforcement here was not applying any pressure there was a lie detector test nancy we have a video of we have we have someone admitting to killing my brother we have people that he admitted that to to come forth and they're just brushed under the rug. It had to take us to reach out to you before we got a response. And what was the response? I'm very curious. Just answering the phone. We've not had nobody answer the phone. You know what? That is embarrassing to Brian Fitzgibbon's VP Operation USPA Nationwide Security. When I hear that law enforcement won't even pick up the phone, that's like a kick in the teeth. It's absolutely despicable.

There has to be some accountability here for the contamination of the crime scene in the first instance with the vehicle being pulled out of the woods the way that it was. The second thing is, you know, I'd advise the family to make sure that they get records of everything that's been submitted to law enforcement thus far. It's absolutely despicable the way that this case has been handled. You know, when you go into law enforcement, you do it because you want to.

You're never going to make a lot of money, and I can tell you that myself. But you do it because you believe in helping other people. And when you lose the desire to help other people, you need to quit and go somewhere and sit behind a desk and do that. I'm very concerned about what I'm hearing about the lack of energy put into this case. The tip line to help Cheyenne and her family find her brother, 318-732-1261. I'm giving you the number for the Cajun Coast Search and Rescue Team. 318-732-1261. Please help us find answers.

Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.