Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Washington State Mom Mikayla VANISHES After Frantic 911 Call

Episode Date: August 3, 2023

A frantic call to 911 is the last connection anyone has to missing mother, Mikayla Standridge. The 25-year-old reportedly can be heard screaming for help on the call before the connection is lost. Standridge was last reportedly seen running out of a house in Concrete, Washington early in the morning. Mardi Martone, Standridge's aunt, joins Crime Stories today for more on the investigation.     Joining Nancy Grace Today: Mardi Martone -  Aunt of the victim Irv Miller- Criminal Defense Attorney: The Miller Firm, Legal Analyst: CBS2 Chicago WBBM-TV and Legal Technical Advisor to “THE GOOD WIFE” and “THE GOOD FIGHT”: CBS Productions Caryn Stark – Psychologist- Trauma and Crime Expert; Twitter: @carnpsych Jason Jensen – Private Investigator (Jensen Private Investigations), Cold Case Expert (Salt Lake City, UT), and Co-founder: “Cold Case Coalition;” Investigations; Twitter: @JasonJPI, Facebook/Instagram: “Jensen Investigations” Mike Hadsell - President and Founder of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue, PRSAR.org    Nicole Partin - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter; Twitter: @nicolepartin (Naples, FL)  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A gorgeous 25-year-old Michaela goes missing. A chilling final message from her. Does it supply any clues left behind? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, take a listen to this.

Michaela, if you see this and you're out there, we just want you to know that you are loved very, very much. It's been almost a week since anyone has seen or heard from 25-year-old Michaela Standren. This is just a horrible nightmare our family's going through. You don't think that this is going to happen to your family and then when it does it's it's a nightmare. Now friends and family are taking it upon themselves to search for her combing the area she was last seen in even handing out these flyers with their own personal numbers on them. You're hearing our friends at KIRO and the voice of Michaela's aunt Marty Martone. Miss Martone thank you for being with us. When did you first suspect something was wrong?

The day that she went missing, April 21st. Was she supposed to see you? Did she not text you or call you as you expected? What happened? My brother got a hold of me, and he said that his daughter was missing, and that she was supposed to call him. He was supposed to go pick her up from the house she was at. And he didn't hear from her. In addition to a very disturbing message, there is also a 911 call.

Guys, take a listen now to our friends at Fox 13. The Skagit County Sheriff's Office wants your help finding a missing woman. This is 25-year-old Michaela Standridge. Detectives say that someone called 911 from her phone on April 21st and dispatch heard a woman scream and ask for help. Her phone was found near the Skagit River, but Standridge was nowhere to be found. Deputies searched the area using boats, drones, even a helicopter, but they haven't been able

to find her. If you know anything that might help, or if you see Michaela, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers or submit a tip through the P3 Tips app. Guys, that tip number is 360-416-1911. Repeat, 360-416-1911.

Straight out to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Nicole Parton. 9-1-1. Repeat, 360-416-1911. Straight out to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Nicole Parton. Nicole, what happened on April 21? So the 9-1-1 call comes in and the dispatcher can hear screaming in the background and they can hear Michaela screaming for help, screaming for help. Once that dispatcher is connected, that call immediately goes dead. That's it. Communication is lost. Now, we know that we're being told that someone inside the home said that Michaela was screaming.

There's also a neighbor that said they heard screaming, her crying for help. Someone in the home said she ran out barefooted, screaming for help. And then that call comes in to 911, disconnected, and that's it. That's very odd to me. Joining me, high-profile lawyer Irv Miller with the Miller Firm, legal analyst, CBS2, WBB, MTV, and legal advisor to The Good Wife and The Good

Fight. Irv Miller, thank you for being with us. That sounds like a lot of evidence. And I mean, people hear her screaming. Someone saw enough to say that she ran out of the home and she was screaming. We know she called 911. It's really hard for me to get my head around why this woman hasn't been found. Well, this is more than a missing person case based on all the information you just provided. There's something nefarious going on that happened to this young lady. And I think it's incumbent upon the police department involved to be a little bit more transparent uh i don't know

if they've released that uh the copy or recording of that 911 tape but certainly it should be released uh to let the public uh actually know what's going on because i think what the ant in this case and bringing this case to the public's attention is outstanding investigative work that should have been done by the local police department, not by her. Jason Jensen joining us, Salt Lake City, Utah, private investigator, owner of Jensen Private Investigations and the co-founder of Cold Case Coalition. Jason, thank you for being with us. When a 911 call is made, isn't it true that there is caller ID on the other end and that that call can also be pinged and traced? Oh, absolutely. They know exactly the IP location where that call was placed. So for them to be checking in the vicinity of the home makes sense because they're realizing that was her last known location.

Can I tell you something, Jason Jensen? The other night, you know, my twins are now 15. So we, John David, my son, wanted to practice drive at night. So out we went at about a quarter of nine. So we drove all through the neighborhood and he said, let's cross the highway and drive over to the church. So I said, okay. It's right there beside him. We crossed over and we went to the parking lot of the church and we're driving around and lo and behold, right there in the back parking lot of the church and we're driving around and lo and behold right there in the back parking lot where the big Boy Scout camper van is parked there was a guy

of course I got his description hunched down in the driver's seat of what appeared to be a gray silver Tacoma at 930 at night hiding behind a Boy Scout camper van. So when you drove by the church, you couldn't see him. Well, of course I call 911. This is what I'm circuitously working up to a point, Jason. Within about five minutes, I got a call back on my cell phone.

They said, why were you suspicious? I said, I know. I've never seen that car in that parking lot before. The guy was hunched down in his car seat like he didn't want me to see him. And he's parked about a foot away from a Boy Scout camper. That's not normal. Why is he in our church parking lot? Anyway, they said, can you give us a description because we're looking for a white male right now in that area. Anyway, my point is, you darn tootin', they've got your phone number, even if you punch star six seven and try to block it, and they will find you. And I don't understand why when this woman calls 911 from this area, why they didn't go immediately

to the area help me Jason yeah it's bewildering because according to what reports have claimed is that she was literally yelling for 911 help me help me help me so she's obviously in distress she knows she is so something's afoot okay Okay, how would that happen though, Irv Miller? How would they actually go about getting her location? They obviously had her phone number and did nothing. Oh, the technology that the police departments have these days is just amazing. I'm not sure how advanced this particular department is that received this 911 call. Every department that I've either been associated with or having subpoenaed their records for a case, they managed to have unbelievable information as far as the actual towers that the phone calls are connected to, the phone is connected to. And I can't explain why this police department didn't do the type of work that they were supposed to do. When a 911 call comes in, I know they prioritize the various cases that come in.

There's a difference between, you know, a call on a shoplifting case and a woman screaming for help. And to me, that's priority number one. I guess everybody on this panel has heard the name Kitty Genovese. A woman was stabbed multiple times, screaming and begging for help when people were looking out their windows, just watching her get murdered. That was in 1964. And the so-called bystander effect has been a point of discussion ever since. What liability, if any, do the people have that stand by and watch, much less the ones that video record everything that's happening? Nicole Parton joining us, investigative reporter with CrimeOnline.com. You said that people observed her running out, screaming, and nobody did a thing?

That's right, Nancy. So her boyfriend in the home where she was last seen, his story is that he saw her run out. He heard her screaming. Yet, to my knowledge, he made no 911 call himself. He admits that he didn't go out to see what the screaming was or if she was okay. He didn't follow up on that. But there is that witness who says, yes, I saw her leave the home. And yes, I did hear screaming outside. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Guys, this is just a woman that, you know, we can't find that she's, quote, run off with her boyfriend. I'll never get over Drew Peterson saying that over and over and over about his wife, Stacey, his fourth wife, Stacey. She's dead. He killed her. But he kept saying, oh, she just left. She left behind her children, her car, her clothes. She just ran off with her knee boyfriend. There is no knee boyfriend. He killed her. This woman ran from the home this she's a girl as far as I'm concerned she's 25 years old and she's beautiful she's got the bluest blue eyes I have ever seen she's gorgeous she didn't just run off with a new boyfriend. Foul play has befallen her. Again, the tip line is 360-416-1911.

Now take a listen to our friend Jake Chapman. Her aunt tells us she'd been staying in this neighborhood recently and was trying to call for help last Friday. But sadly, that call never went through. The Skagit County Sheriff's Office confirming that information as they continue their search deputies showing us where they've been looking the past week hoping to find anything that can lead to Michaela even though this has been a tough time for the family you know it may seem like we're not understanding what they're doing is

it not you know we don't think it's happening fast enough but this is our kid that's missing okay we keep hearing the call didn't go through, the call didn't go through. The call did go through. She started screaming into the phone to 911. Now, why nothing was done with that, I don't know. But that call did go through. I'm following up on what you just heard from Jake Chapman at Cairo 7. Mike Hatzell is with us,

president and founder of Peace River Canine Search and Rescue. You can find him at prsarpaceriversearchandcaninerescue.org. Mike, thank you for being with us. Sure. I find it very curious that the family is having to go out and search for Michaela. I don't understand what's happening with law enforcement in this area of concrete Washington. But the family is out and even handing out flyers with their personal names on the flyers. What should be happening in the search right now? What should LA law enforcement be doing?

Well, speaking from my experience, generally when a call like this comes in, we are dispatched within three to four hours after that call comes in. There's going to be an initial deputy that goes out there. He's going to make the call. Then they're going to start calling resources in, and we're all going to be out in the river, the woods, everything within three to four hours after that call comes in. I do not understand why it took so long to get SAR teams. I think it was three days before the actual search and rescue teams got out there. Now, in the state of Washington, they are excellent SAR teams there. I mean, they have some of the best in the country in that state.

And why they're not out there, I don't know why they're not out there. Law enforcement appears to have dropped the ball on this one. I mean, they really do. But it happens, especially in some of these smaller law enforcement agencies. The report comes in. It gets put on the missing person detective's desk. He's not back in until Monday morning, so nothing happens until Monday morning. And so it should have been, those areas should have been combed within three to four hours after the call came in.

We also know that upon her running from the home, screaming, calling 911, witnesses heard a car scratch off, leading authorities to believe she may have been in the car, which completely alters the search. Joining us again, Michaela's Aunt Marty Martone. Again, Ms. Martone, thank you for being with us. How long did it take authorities to start looking for her? Well, first off, Michaela's now 26. She had a birthday on June 19th. And first off, when she made the 911 call, authorities knew Michaela and they knew her boyfriend very well. They knew that she was staying in that house. And when they, when the, after the 911 call, they went out and they did search the area of the 911 call,

just up and down the road right there, but they didn't go knock on the door. And that, to me, is, that's heartbreaking right there, because if they would have went and knocked on that door and asked if Michaela was okay, they may have found her right there um because they knew and they just left the area and after we called 9-1-1 that evening uh they said that she she'll probably come back don't worry about it it's only been 12 hours um a deputy was, you know, a couple deputies went out, kind of just looked around, and we told them we were going to knock on doors, and, you know, they said we could do that. They went and knocked on a couple doors. A detective was assigned Monday. She went missing Friday. A detective was

assigned Monday. A small search and rescue team, not the actual SAR team, just a small foot team was assigned on Tuesday. And they just kind of looked around. And I believe her phone was found two or three days after that. So like Wednesday or Thursday, her phone was found and it was down by the river. It was in some bushes and it was in an area that we had already searched. We had already been all along the banks of the river. That was the first place that family searched was all along the river. A matter of fact, it was where we did the KIRO interview. We were standing right there where

they found the blanket. There was a blanket there and her phone we were already there that phone was planted there i guarantee that phone was planted there i put my life on it and um we we searched all along that area and then um two weeks after michaela went missing the family hired our own search dog team the family did and we searched all along the riverbanks up along the boyfriend's property and we didn't find anything and then three weeks after michaela went missing that's when the sheriff's office finally deployed the actual SARS team with the dogs um quads boats all of that um they did have like that before that they put some boats in the river they had a helicopter up after that's after they found her phone after they found her phone which was probably uh with within five to seven days after she went missing. That's when they put the boats in the water and a helicopter and a couple of them walked around.

That's when they, there was nothing done Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Monday, there was a couple of detectives assigned. And we were told that if we went up there, we'd be impeding an investigation. I've been threatened with charges. You were actually threatened with being charged with impeding? Yeah, I've been threatened with impeding an investigation. I've been threatened with burglary because I've knocked on people's doors

and said, hey, you know, Michaela could be hiding in an outshed or a trailer or even why would she be hiding in a shed oh she she was running she was running screaming trying to get away from somebody we know but still be in a shed not now but this was like the the first couple days she could be hiding um it was a very violent situation that she was in she was that night she was calling for a ride to get out of that house. She was trying to get out of that house. That's what was going on. And that's why she was afraid. She was afraid of something.

The phone call that she made to her dad at 2.30 in the morning, this was going on from 2.30 in the morning on. She was trying to call for a ride home. Her brother's car was broke down um she called her dad and he said that he was going to get up and get ready for work and come get her um another thing that hasn't been mentioned much is after the 9-1-1 phone call about it was 13 minutes or 17 minutes later she made another phone call she made that phone call to her dad. And he was in the shower getting ready for work and he didn't get the phone call.

So there was another phone call made after 911. What did she say to her dad? He didn't answer the phone. He was in the shower. Did she leave a message? No, she just made a phone call. Her phone made a phone call. We're not even sure if it was her, but her phone made a phone call. So after 911, the phone wasn't dead. It was, it was, we don't know if it was her. Her phone made a phone call. So after 911, the phone wasn't dead. It was, we don't know if it was taken from her and stopped or what. But on his phone log, we've all seen it, and the police have seen it too. So about 15 minutes after 911, she made another phone call to her dad. And the boyfriend has three different stories. She went running out of the house barefoot

and he he let her go and then the second story is he ran out after her and here's a car taking off and now there's another story that he supposedly saw a silver car take off so that's you know there's a lot of stories coming from there. It's never good when someone changes their story. Irvin Miller, would you agree with that? You're a veteran trial lawyer. It's one thing if you embellish or add to your story upon questioning, but when you actually change the facts, your original facts, that's not good. That's not good, And that's why law enforcement

would consider witness testimony as the least powerful testimony there could be. I prefer forensic testimony. I prefer expert testimony. I prefer cell phone videos, recordings, 911 recordings, but witnesses lie. And other types of evidence, you don't have to worry about credibility issues like you have to do with a witness. Certainly the boyfriend in this case, I think his credibility is probably down to zero at this point in time. Well, the first time he changed his story, actually, the first time he reportedly did nothing, when she ran from the home screaming and calling 911. He lost all credibility right there. But then when he changed his story the first time, no, completely incredible.

Karen Stark is joining me, renowned psychologist out of the Manhattan jurisdiction. You can find her at KarenStark.com. Karen with a C. Karen, how many times have you and I heard that police first reaction when a woman goes missing is she'll be back? And they don't just do that. They do that all the time with missing kids. Don't worry, they'll be back. The thing that you mentioned before about the boyfriend is what's most disturbing to me because he's changed his story so many times. And supposedly she was fighting with him.

And that was the reason that she left. So there's something up there that there's something nefarious, it seems to me, and not credible about him. And I just wonder what was really going on between the two of them. And what was it that he witnessed? This is such a bizarre story and so unfair to the family. Another issue is, of course, no one has been charged. No one has been named a POI, person of interest. Another issue to Nicole Parton joining us, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, is a very disturbing post that McKayla made just days before she seemingly vanished into thin air after screaming into the phone to 911. That post says something to the effect, if I ever go missing, just know I didn't leave. What can you tell me, Nicole Parton, about this post? Absolutely.

So she had posted that on her social media, and those were the exact words. If I ever go missing, I didn't leave. I think it's also important to note, Nancy, Michaela is a mother. I'm a mother. You're a mother. We just don't leave our children. Michaela has a beautiful two I'm a mother. You're a mother. We just don't leave our children. Michaela has a beautiful two-year-old child. She's not just going to run away and leave this child that she adores.

That message, it's as though she was telling the world, if I ever go missing, I didn't just leave. It's very haunting at this point. Well, it also goes without saying that no one within that home reported her missing. No one followed up on the 911 call. And left behind is a three-year-old little boy that you're talking about, Nicole Parton, a three-year-old tot boy that she would never have left behind. Nicole, also, can you tell me about Concrete, Washington? What do we know about it? One of the most disturbing things that I found about this area is I was shocked to see just how much human trafficking is happening in this very

small area of concrete washington to the point that this small town has detectives that just work these human trafficking cases and i believe one of those detectives has been assigned to this case um also in that area, without going into too much detail that we can't discuss, in that community, in that area where she went missing, detectives have in prior times honed in because there have been cases of human trafficking out of that very community where she went missing. Concrete is in north central Skagit County in Washington. Its population is 705. Not 705,000.

Not 705,000. 705 people in concrete. OK, let that soak in. That greatly reduces a potential suspect pool. Would you agree, Jason Jensen? Oh, yes. That's a very small, finite number to work with. I mean, it's almost reminiscent of one of the first DNA cases in England where they were able to test the entire community because there's such a small population. Here,

I'm sure law enforcement is very familiar with who are the good people, who are the criminals, and they can definitely start from a smaller group and work wider, tearing down different suspects. What I find interesting about this post, about if something happens to me, it really is reminiscent to the Susan Cox Powell case that I worked on, where clearly, as we all know, Josh Powell, her husband had something to do with it, that the number one reason why a woman goes missing or is in distress is usually from domestic violence. Somebody that she's familiar with, a family member, a boyfriend, husband, things of that nature those are typically

the first people that law enforcement needs to rule out i'm just thinking about the human traffic angle the aspect that nicole parton brought up as a matter of fact the county is so concerned about human trafficking and the numbers there that the Skagit County Coalition Against Trafficking Turning Off the Red Light has been formed. Now, you've got the human trafficking problem that is for some reason heavily, heavily evident there in Concrete, Washington, but you also have this bizarre post. If anything happens to me, I didn't leave. Marty Martone is with us.

This is Michaela's aunt. Ms. Martone, what did that mean? Michaela knew about, she talked about human trafficking to myself and her mother. Ms. Martone, when you say she discussed human trafficking, was she afraid of being human trafficked? She was afraid. She was afraid. She had spoke to her brother about all the missing girls, and she actually wanted to help find missing girls. That was one of her goals, actually. She wanted to help people. We told her that her brother told her that it was dangerous and that she asked him to take her up there and to help look for missing girls.

He didn't want her to do that. Of course, the reality is, Jason Jensen, that once someone is kidnapped and put into sex trafficking, they're gone. They're typically taken from the area. Would you agree with that? Oh, yes, 100%. I would agree with that. The biggest problem, the piece of this puzzle that throws me into the different direction is the fact that her cell phone was found near her residence in a bush that seems to be staged there. And if she's being trafficked, why go back to the scene of her last known location? It seems to be too convenient to find the phone near the house. And thrown in a bush, in my mind, indicating that she had somehow ended up in that river. Guys, the search did commence, maybe too late. Take a listen to our friends at KIR07.R.O. 7, Jake Chapman.

Police have wrapped up their search efforts for the day, but they plan to be back out here tomorrow. But they've combed this entire area we're standing in right now. They've even taken their search to the Skagit River, which is right over my shoulder here. They've had boats going up and down. They've even taken their search to the skies with drones, and they had a helicopter fly over here just this afternoon. But right now, family and friends who've traveled near and far to search for Michaela say they're going to be out here for as long as it takes. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Back to you, Mike Hadsell, President and Founder of Peace River Canine Search and Rescue.

It sounds like they did get into the search, but was it too late? She goes missing on Friday, and it's Tuesday before they really get in motion. Well, at that stage, they're going to run two different types of dogs. They're going to run the live find dogs and the cadaver dogs, both. They should be, anyway. And then they're going to have the grid teams out checking the wooded areas, looking for anything that they can. And I agree with the other gentleman that the cell phone is staged.

That's pretty common that they go back and drop something like that. Who is they? Well, the criminal elements. And I'll offer my theory that crime is dumb. And a lot of times they do things that they don't seem to make sense. But to them, it does. And, you know, trying to indicate that she's somehow in the river. But that river is it moves, but it's fairly shallow. It wouldn't be hard to find her remains if they were in there. So she's somehow in the river. But that river, it moves, but it's fairly shallow.

It wouldn't be hard to find her remains if they were in there. So she's not in the river. Would you agree, Mike Hadsell, she's not in the river? If the river is, in fact, shallow, they would have found her by now. Yes, I would agree with that. And I also think, as far as I can tell, no one's ever searched the boyfriend's home. That is one of my questions. Was the home ever searched the boyfriend's home. That is one of my questions. Was the home ever searched?

Because we know this woman, 25 years old, now 26, is just before her 26th birthday, missing since she ran out of that house and called 911 only for her phone line to suddenly go dead, rendering local cops unable to find her, according to them. What do you know, Nicole Parton? Was the home ever searched? The home was not searched. And even when the search dogs came out, a gentleman in the home refused to allow those to come in.

The detective did not pursue searching inside the home early on when that 911 call was made or even after the fact. Irv Miller, that is complete incompetence. They should have gone to the home with a search warrant. Obviously, they didn't have consent to search, which would require an absent search warrant. And a search warrant should be done quickly because once it, as time progresses, any information that could lead to probable cause becomes stale and you're not going to get a search warrant so uh that should

have been done asap as you've said but the reality is it's not too late irv knowing what we know i mean you can still get a search warrant oh absolutely you can still get a search warrant now has evidence been destroyed if there was was any, probably. But I've learned, we've all learned that it's very, very hard to get rid of certain evidence. And I'm referring specifically to blood evidence. That's very true. And I've actually participated in searches of apartments with forensic teams from the Chicago Police Department that the apartment looked pristine to the naked eye. But there's certain ways that forensic teams have ways to determine if there had been blood there, if there had been any type of efforts to remove the blood from the scene. Even using bleach

doesn't necessarily totally eliminate the law enforcement abilities to look at. You need something more like muriatic acid. Bleach doesn't cut it. Something He needs something more like muriatic acid. Bleach doesn't cut it. Something like a black swan muriatic acid does the trick. Marty Martone joining me. This is Michaela's aunt. Was that home ever searched? Yeah, they did.

They did do a search on the boyfriend's residence. It was later on. It wasn't immediate. I don't know exactly what they took out of there, but they did go in there after, I know it was at least a week. The day that we all showed up there, though, the boyfriend had an ex-girlfriend in the home

who is a professional house cleaner, which was really odd to us. A professional house cleaner in the home who is a professional house cleaner, which was really odd to us. A professional house cleaner in the home. Yeah. Okay, what we know, Michaela Standridge, beautiful blue eyes, is about 100 pounds, a tiny little slip of a girl and leaving behind this now 26 year old mom is a three-year-old little boy this is eerily reminiscent of the case of michelle russ take a listen our cut seven wmar michelle russ disappeared on the day of what was supposed to be her son's third birthday party her husband told police she left their hailthorpe home to go to the store that morning disappeared on the day of what was supposed to be her son's third birthday party. Her husband

told police she left their Hale Thorpe home to go to the store that morning. Later that day, Michelle's 1998 green Dodge Caravan was found along a street by Hillcrest Park in nearby Lansdowne. The key actually was in the driver's side door broken off inside of that caravan when it was found. Neighbors in the area were questioned about anything that they may have seen and unfortunately nobody saw anything relating to how that van got there. And more. As far as what happened to the 24-year-old missing mom after that, Baltimore County Police Corporal Donna Carter explains why detectives believe Michelle fell victim to foul play. Her credit cards were never used. There was no ATM activity. Her checking

account never had checks written against it. So foul play was assumed. Also, she was diabetic and she was a devoted mother. So it just doesn't make sense. That case of Michelle never found. It goes on and on and on. Here's another victim. Take a listen to Hour Cut 13 WRCB. She had so many dreams. She wanted to be a marine biologist and she got detoured. I think the answers will come out on the people that's involved. We just don't understand exactly what happened, you know, just where it went wrong. Keaslin was last known to be at the Flying J truck stop in Resaca, Georgia. That's where police found her car.

Inside were her keys, her book bag, and her wallet, but she was nowhere to be found. Keaslin Roberts to this day not found. And what about Gretchen Fleming? Take a listen to our Cut 15 WCHS. The Parkersburg Police Department is asking for your help in finding 27-year-old Gretchen Fleming of Vienna. Detectives say she was last seen the night of December 3rd and 4th, but relatives didn't realize she was gone quickly and did not report it until this week. Police located her purse and phone, amping up concern. Detectives have worked around the clock since then to cultivate information,

and the public has really stepped up in regard to tips. And, of course, Gene Johnson coming from a small area much like concrete Washington where the neighbors say nothing like that ever happens here. Take a listen to our Cut 19, our friends at KRQE. People just don't go missing like that around here. They've spent months searching all around Lincoln County, looking for any clues to tell the hundreds of volunteers what may have happened to Jean Johnson. I mean, I think it just kind of shook everybody up a little bit.

Like, who would do this, and what did they do, and where is she? It just makes no sense. Leading the search, Johnson's daughter, Heidi. I'm looking for a needle and a haystack, but I can't stop looking for her. To Marty Martone, this is Michaela Standridge's aunt. Marty, do you believe Michaela is still alive? I'm hoping and praying that she is with everything that I've got.

That's what we're really hoping for. Have you spoken to the boyfriend? I haven't spoken to him in over a month. Last time I spoke to him, he told me that I need to get my sources straight. I was asking who someone was, and it wasn't a good conversation. He told me that he wanted to talk to me personally one-on-one. We haven't had that conversation yet. I told him that he was responsible.

He was supposed to take care of my niece. And for someone to hear someone who he supposedly loves yell, help, help, help, and go running off into the night and not call 911 or not go after her, that makes him guilty in my eyes. At this juncture, no one has been named a person of interest. No one has been charged. The search for Mikaela Standridge goes on while her little boy waits for mommy to come home. The tip line in this case is 360-416-1911. Repeat 360-416-1911.

Goodbye friend.