Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Young mom-to-be vanishes just before her very first sonogram. Where is Kassanndra?

Episode Date: September 2, 2020

Friends and family of 33-year-old Kassanndra Cantrell are extremely worried. The mom-to-be hasn't been seen in days and she missed her first sonogram appointment for her pregnancy. Her phone last pinged in Point Defiance Park, but her mom says that's not a location Cantrell is in normally. Cantrell was last seen via Ring doorbell camera video, leaving her home in her car. That car was found abandoned near the Tacoma Dome.Joining Nancy Grace today: Kathleen Murphy - North Carolina, Family Attorney, www.ncdomesticlaw.com Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta Ga www.angelaarnoldmd.com Investigator James Shelnutt - 27 years Atlanta Metro Major Case detective, SWAT Officer, Attorney www.shelnuttlawfirm.com Nicole Partin - Crime Online Investigative Reporter TIP LINE - Pierce County Sheriff's department - [phone] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The desperate search goes on for a missing 33-year-old mom-to-be who misses her very first sonogram? That doesn't sound right to me. 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 our friends at Q13 Fox. It was the ultimate red flag when Cassandra Cantrell failed to show up to her ultrasound earlier this week, something she'd so been looking forward to, something they say she would never willingly miss, leading them to their worst fear that something is terribly wrong. This is not normal. She wouldn't just vanish. I just need her back. that something is terribly wrong. This is not normal.

She wouldn't just vanish. I just need her back. It's been an agonizing three days since Marie Smith last saw her daughter, 33-year-old Cassandra Cantrell. It was early Tuesday morning. Marie was heading out for work. We just said, you know, she said, have a good day at work.

I said, thank you. And she said, day at work. And I said, thank you. And she said, I love you. And I said, love you. And that was the last. About an hour later at 845 a.m., a security camera caught her driving away in her white Mazda sedan from her and her mother's Parkland home. The only plans her mother knew she had that day was at some point to go grocery shopping. I don't think that's where she was going when she left.

Where is 33-year-old mom-to-be Cassandra Cantrell headed to her very first sonogram? Is it a coincidence or no? I can remember my very first sonogram right now. It was in a doctor's office in Midtown Manhattan. I will never forget it. And because the twins were so high risk, I never missed a sonogram, ever. Straight out to Dr. Angela Arnold, psychiatrist joining me out of Atlanta. I can remember when the sonogram happened where they couldn't find baby B.

That was Lucy. Unnamed, unnamed. And the horrible, horrible depression I went into thinking I had lost one of the twins. And then the joy, you know, a month later when baby B turned up again, who had been hiding behind baby A, that would have been John David. I mean, I remember every bit of it. And it's very unusual to me that she missed her sonogram. What do these mean to a mom-to-be? Well, Nancy, as you just said, as soon as someone gets pregnant, they put all of their hopes and dreams on this unborn child. They're thinking about, am I going to name this child? Where's it going to go

to college? All your hopes and dreams are put on this baby. So no, women do not miss their first sonogram, their first ability to actually see that little baby growing inside of them. They are not going to miss that first sonogram. The sonogram means everything. It makes it so much more real. This might even be before she's even felt the baby move, but she actually gets to visualize the baby that is growing inside of her. And, you know, I remember I was very high risk with twins at my age, and I wasn't thinking about college. I was thinking about keeping them alive till the next day, because we had so many dangerous, you know, near misses during the pregnancy, which turned out to be life threatening in the end of it. So every day I was so anxious to get that sonogram to know they were okay. Joining me is an all-star panel to figure out what was going through the mind of Cassandra Cantrell when she

goes missing en route to her first sonogram. With me, Kathleen Murphy out of North Carolina, family law attorney. You can find her at ncdomesticlaw.com. And let me tell you, they call it family law. That makes it sound so sweet and pristine and pure. It's anything but. We're now psychiatrists joining us out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, Dr. Angela Arnold. And just so you know, one of her expertise is the psychology and the psychiatry of pregnant women. So I went to her first. James Shelnut, 27 years, Metro major case, including SWAT, now lawyer at ShelnutLawFirm.com. But first, to CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, Nicole Parton. I need to know everything you know, Nicole. But take me very slowly, A to Z, about the day that Cassandra Cantrell, 33-year-old mom to be,

goes missing en route to her very first sonogram. Who, what, where, why, when? Tell me. What we know first is that her mother cassandra's mother marie smith now cassandra lived with her mother and her mother's husband marie smith the mother says she was leaving for work she woke cassandra up to tell her bye they exchanged some funny from funny back and forth conversation they told each other that they loved each other and marie left for work now the only plans that Cassandra had for the day that her mother was aware of was going to the grocery store. Unfortunately at the end of the day she hadn't

made it to the grocery store. She didn't come back home. We do know that about an hour after Marie left for work Cassandra was seen pulling out of the driveway on the neighbor's ring doorbell. Okay, back it up, back it up, back it up. With me, Nicole Parton, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. I didn't want to interrupt you because every word you were saying in my mind was critical. Last seen by her own mother. What's the mom's name? The mom's name is Marie Smith. Marie Smith. Last seen by her own mother. She lives with, we believe, victim of Cassandra Cantrell, lives with mom Marie Smith and Marie Smith's husband. I noticed you did not say Cassandra's father. Why? That's correct. That is not her father, but that is

her stepfather, Marie's husband. Interesting. When were those two married? They've been married for several years. And it's my understanding from all information we've received that Marie's husband and Cassandra had a very good relationship. Okay. All right. You know where I was going on that, Nicole Parton, but, but, but I don't know that. So let me understand. Was the stepfather home when Cassandra went, was still at home? Was he still there? He was not. He was already gone for the day. Okay. All right. In my mind, that, that really helps me exclude him for the moment. So she's there alone. Marie Smith, the mom, sees her last. But beyond that, isn't it true that she was, was she spotted on Ring doorbell or was that later on? She was. About an hour after her mother left,

the neighbor's Ring doorbell spots Cassandra's white Mazda leaving the driveway. Take a listen to our friend Olivia LaVoie at Q13 Fox. Her mother says Cassandra was about three months pregnant. The father is a friend and though unexpected for Cassandra, it was the most welcomed surprise. When she found out, she was thrilled because she wasn't sure that she'd, you know, have a chance to have a baby. And so she was really excited. She already picked out names. Law enforcement is calling Cassandra's disappearance suspicious.

They're not sure if she ever ended up going to the store Tuesday. They say since she disappeared, there's been no activity on her bank account or cell phone. And I'd just like my baby to come home with me so she can have her baby. That's all. If you have any information on this case, you're urged to contact the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. And if you think you see Cassandra or her car, you're asked to call 911. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we are discussing the disappearance of a three-month pregnant mom-to-be,

Cassandra Cantrell. She disappears just before her very first sonogram. You were hearing our friend at Q13 Fox describing how Cassandra had already picked out a name, was looking at names for the baby, was thrilled, and I found this very, very important. I'll explain why later. To psychiatrists, Dr. Angela Arnold, joining us from the Atlanta jurisdiction. Her specialty is psychiatry, psychology of pregnant moms. Dr. Angela, it seems to me, did you hear that comment, kind of an offhand comment, quote, she was so happy she was, quote, not sure she'd have a chance to have a baby. Did you hear that? Because maybe I'm projecting, Dr. Angela, but I felt the same way. I could not believe after all the time I had fought crime and put off marriage, put off a family, I could have a baby, much less twins. And that made it so sacrosanct. I couldn't do anything to jeopardize those twins in my stomach. And it seems to me that's the same way Cassandra Cantrell felt.

Oh, yes. She was very, very happy. Even though this was an unplanned pregnancy, it sounds like she was over the moon about it. So we know that she was very happy about this pregnancy. She has no intention of getting rid of this pregnancy. She's looking forward to this pregnancy. She is very happy about this. To you, Kathleen Murphy, North Carolina family law attorney

at ncdomesticlaw.com. Kathleen, that also gives me a glimpse into her behavior. This does not sound like a mom that is going to engage in risky behavior. She's so happy. She's so ecstatic. This is an unexpected blessing. She is not going to go out and do anything extreme like drink, have drugs, smoke, skydive, crime areas. Nothing that could affect this child. Do you see where I'm going with this line of thought, Kathleen?

I do, and I'll add to that, Nancy. In fact, when she had, she was a very intentional young woman, and she was going to go to the grocery store that day, and she made those plans. The grocery store that she was going to was an all-natural, organic type of store. So she was absolutely protecting her baby. Just thinking back, thinking back on the fact that she didn't make it. Is that correct,

Nicole Parton, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter? She never made it to the grocery store or did she? I mean, I don't have any surveillance video, but I don't know if the organic grocery store had surveillance video. For all I know know they're opposed to the video waves i don't know was there video at that organic grocery store we're being told that they did scan all video surveillance that was available and to our knowledge she did not make it to the grocery store her debit card was not used and there was no surveillance whatsoever that shows her entering or leaving that grocery store. Okay, so she never made it in. So we've got a timeline right here. James Shelnut joining me, 27 years Metro Major case, now lawyer.

We've got her leaving that morning on video. So we have a time. What time was that, Nicole Parton, that she spotted leaving? 8.45 a.m. We know she never made it to the grocery store. Hey, Nicole Parton, is there any surveillance video of her in the parking lot of the grocery store? Not that we're aware of. We're being told that there was nothing else, no other sightings of her.

Now, they're canvassing the neighborhood, asking anyone, check your surveillance, check your ring doorbells, check your security cameras. But at this point, the only time they actually saw her on any surveillance footage that they're releasing to us is that neighbor's ring doorbell when she left at 845. And could you tell me what, where is this exactly? I know it's Pierce County, but what neighborhood would we expect to find the video? That's in Parkland, Washington, a suburb of Tacoma. Parkland, Washington, just outside of Tacoma. So that tells me, James Shelnut, she was taken that morning between leaving the house and getting to that organic grocery. Yeah, I mean, that's certainly what it sounds like. You know how important a timeline is in an investigation of a missing persons case. If you take a look at her electronic footprint, you're going to want to take a look at the last time that that phone was used.

Was it pinged off a tower to give you some indication as to the last time the phone transmitted a message or signal? Were her credit cards or debit cards used in any other location other than where she went to. The electronic footprint in this particular case and a lot of others like it starts to become very important when a person veers off course from where they intended to go. Guys, the tip line 253-798-7530. Repeat, 253-798-7530. And you can go to crimeonline.com and you can see her picture. I'm trying to tell you maybe who she looks like. Does she look a little bit like Lisa Loeb to me with the glasses? A little bit like hair, beautiful brunette hair, neatly pulled back. I'm looking at a photo of her with it in a loose, kind of a messy ponytail.

She's wearing, looks like diamond studs in her ears. And now I'm looking at her with her hair down. It's just past her shoulders from what I can tell. And she looks to have blue eyes. To me, one eye looks darker than the other eye, a little bit darker. You know how Jackie, Maddie McCann has the dark stripe down one eye. It's very memorable. In most of these pictures, it looks to me like one eye is a little bit deeper blue than the other eye. I don't know if you noticed that, Nicole Parton. Anyway, long story short, go to CrimeOnline.com and look at her picture. She's really pretty. Speaking of, very, very on point, James Shelnut.

Speaking of a digital footprint, let's take a listen to our friends at KIR07 News. This is Marie Smith. Listen. Her clothes and a lot of her accessories were in my bathroom, so it looked like she'd gotten ready to go somewhere. And because she had taken all that effort, I figured it was the doctor's appointment and not just to go grocery shopping. She just would have put her hair in a ponytail and gone, you know. So when she didn't come home that evening, Tuesday evening, I wasn't really worried about it.

She was supposed to meet her friend. When she wasn't there in the morning, I texted her and said, you know, it would have been nice if you'd called or texted and said you were going to stay the night, you know. At Ronnie's, what do you want for dinner? And then I went to work. it would have been nice if you'd called or texted and said you were going to stay the night, you know, at Ronnie's, what do you want for dinner, you know, and then I went to work. When I got home and she still wasn't there, I started calling the people that I knew and said, hey, did she, you know, come over there, and they were like, no. So I tried calling her, and it went straight to voicemail. My daughter doesn't turn off her phone. Her daughter doesn't turn off her phone.

Very important. I never turn off my phone because I actually don't want to take the two seconds it takes to hold the phone and turn it off. I keep just recharging it. So how did this woman go missing? And, you know, to Dr. Angela Arnold, at this point in a pregnancy, anything can go wrong. You know, she's in her first trimester. And isn't that typically when you lose the baby?

Oh, God forbid that not happen. But isn't that typically when you miscarry in the first trimester? Yes. And, you know, the fact that she was almost three months pregnant means that she had gotten past that danger zone. And the pregnancy was likely going to stick. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about a beautiful young girl, about three months pregnant, just vanishes seemingly into thin air just before her very first sonogram. And you know, all you moms and moms to be out there, you just don't disappear just before your first sonogram.

You get that sonogram. She was going to an organic grocery store that morning. She never showed up. We checked about video in the grocery store. Nothing. No show up. No nothing. And then we hear from the mom, her mother, Marie Smith, that she never turned off her

phone. That's her practice. And you know what? That's very important. Kathleen Murphy, a family lawyer out of North Carolina, we hear about routine behavior. I don't mean routine behavior evidence. I don't mean that it's you bringing in evidence every day as a routine. It's evidence of your routine. So if one morning I just didn't show up in the studio, Jackie here and Brett over there would know something was way wrong. Way wrong. If I didn't take my twins to school in the morning and I just wasn't there in the morning, everybody would know something was wrong.

Because I never, ever miss that. It's like clockwork. When she, when her phone seemingly has been turned off, her mother, Marie, knows something is wrong. You know what? Behavioral evidence. Kathleen, you can literally set your clock by it. Not only that, Nancy, but her intentionality as a person, which is what her mother has talked about. This was a planner. This was somebody who stuck to a routine. This was somebody who called and checked in. This was somebody who you could count on to do the same things over and over again. And she was not a willy-nilly, flighty type of person who went from hither and yon to make any plans for her day.

She let everybody know what she was doing. You know, James Shelnut. And the fact that she went silent. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But I agree with you. James Shelnut, 27 years Metro Major case, now lawyer. Let's talk about what you were saying about cell phone data.

We know it's not her routine to turn off her cell phone, but it sounds like it's going straight to voicemail and it's been turned off. That says to me she didn't do it. Somebody did not want that cell phone pinged because isn't it true? If you cut your cell phone off, it can't be pinged. Yes, somebody did

not want the cell phone evidence discovered. It is possible that the battery could have died after the last time it was pinged. I know, but it does happen. It is possible. But I do believe that most of the time that the phone is either destroyed, the phone is turned off to prevent that evidence from being discovered. And once you discover where that last ping is at, that gives the detectives at least a place to go. They're going to want to go canvas this place, look at gas stations, look at other places where a person

may stop off for a minute, show this lady's picture, show Cassandra's picture to people, and possibly, and in the worst case scenario, possibly look for evidence as to where she might be. Let me ask you this. Isn't it true that cops can do a data dump? What I mean by that is, you know, I believe we saw it. Many people found out about it for the first time in the Missy Beavers investigation where the mom goes to the church and to do a gladiator aerobics exercise class. She was the leader of the class at like four o'clock in the morning. And they did a data dump of cell phone. What I mean by that, if we can ping where Cassandra Cantrell's phone was last that we know of, couldn't we data dump all the cell phones that were in use at that time it went dead in that area? Is that possible? James Shelnut. The answer is yes, you can do a data dump.

As a matter of fact, it lays it out really nicely for you. You can actually convert it to an Excel spreadsheet, and it lays out tons of details that are very helpful in an investigation like this. I'm really surprised it's not used more often. It may be exhaustive of man hours. I don't know that. But when minutes count for a mom and a baby, I think it might be worth it. Nicole Parton, what do you know about the ping? We have the last ping information from detectives.

And her phone was last pinged at a place called 10 miles from her home. Are you saying Defiance? Yes, ma'am. Point Defiance Park. And it's a mile from her home? 10 miles. 10? That's very odd.

This park has a marina, kayaks, a dog park, walking trails. It's a very busy place. Some of the places are very out in the open, like the dog park walking trails it's a very busy place some of the places are very out in the open like the dog park the marina and aquarium but then there's some wooded areas there's some walking trails there as well Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, I want to get back to our search for Cassandra Cantrell. And we were talking about the phone pinging as Nicole Parton tells us 10 miles away from Cassandra's home at Defiance Park. Was she actually there or was her phone left there? Nicole Parton, has her phone been found?

Her phone has not been found that detectives at least aren't releasing that information to us. Guys, then another big break in the case. Let's listen to our friend Kevin McCarty at KIRO7 News. And this is the neighborhood that woman's car was found abandoned near the Tacoma Dome and not too far from an overpass on Interstate 705. Right now, investigators say they have no clues, so they're hoping the public can say something that will help them find out what happened.

Cassandra Cantrell hasn't been seen for nearly a week. Her family says the 33-year- old was scheduled for an ultrasound August 25th after recently finding out she was pregnant. And I had accidentally woke her up and she told me to have a good day at work. And we did our funny voices. She goes, love you. And I'm like, love you. And that's it. She never showed up for the meeting with her best friend who was going with her and never showed up for the appointment. Cantrell's mother says when she heard her daughter's car had been found near the Tacoma Dome

almost four days later, she knew something was wrong. What I hope, worst case scenario, is that maybe she was carjacked and she's just hurt somewhere. You know, Dr. Angela Arnold, hearing that mother, Marie Smith, crying, did you hear her earlier saying she had left a message, hey, you could have told me if you were going to spend the night with your friend and P.S. what do you want for supper tonight? Do you notice how now she's blaming herself for, you know,

kind of jokingly fussing at her grown daughter for being gone overnight and trying to normalize it in her own psyche by going, hey, what do you want for supper tonight? Because, you know, the twins and I, yes, what do you want for supper tonight? Because, you know, that's the twins and I, yes, I know it's crazy, but on the way to school in the morning, I say, hey, what do you want for supper? And we all talk about this and that and blah, blah, blah. So in a way, it's kind of like a comfort zone you go to, hey, what do you want for supper? You're planning for something that night, like nothing is wrong.

Did you hear that? Exactly. And as far as the mother was concerned, nothing was wrong. So we all have to assume that Cassandra and her family were very happy about this pregnancy. Everybody was very happy about this pregnancy. And no one had a thought in their head that anything was wrong. They were just going about their normal routine. I'm going to circle back to you about how everybody's going about their normal routine and your life changes literally in an instant. Take a listen to our friend Omar Lewis, Q13 Fox. 33-year-old Cassandra Cantrell was last seen in

a neighbor's ring video footage leaving her Parkland neighborhood last Tuesday morning. Family members, they're not sure where she was headed at that point, but they have not seen her since. Friday evening, though, that's when Cassandra's white Mazda was found near the Tacoma Dome with no one inside. Family members say this is suspicious because she does not frequent that area. So since then, search crews have scoured Point Defiance Park as well for evidence, but so far they have found no trace of Cassandra. You know, if you think about stadiums, domes, that's a heavily populated area. She wasn't going to the Tacoma Dome that morning. She was going to an organic grocery store three months pregnant and getting ready for her very first sonogram.

Take a listen to the Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer. This is suspicious because everybody we've talked to, whether it be family or friends, have let us know that this is way out of character for her. She lived at home with her parents and so everybody that was around her said there's a problem here and when that happens of course we got on it right away. We're able to find the car and when we found the car abandoned you know that's another suspicious activity when the car is somewhere where it shouldn't have been and shows up overnight and she's nowhere to be found. So we're working this case. Unfortunately, this is a tough word for the family and everybody to hear,

but we're working this case as if it's a homicide. And so we're not doing anything that we wouldn't do on a regular case that would be considered a homicide. And it's sad and it's unfortunate, but that's the way we're doing it. And hopefully, you know, we get surprised and something's different. But at this point, we're going to continue to work it that way. Jay, Michelle, not 27 years, met you in a major case, now a defense lawyer. They need to be working two parallel investigations, one as if it were a homicide and one as if it were a kidnapped missing person. Don't you think? Yes, no. Absolutely. Yes.

But would that really be a different investigation? Is it really any different or is it all semantics? You know what? There are a lot of overlaps. You know, you're going to want to certainly talk to the same people. You're going to want to certainly look for the same information. Are there a little bit of deviations? Sure. But the bottom line, whether it's a missing persons case or whether or not you're looking at it as a possible homicide case, you're going to want to start doing some of the same basic things. You're going to want to learn as much about Cassandra as possible.

What was her behavior? What was her mindset leading up to the time that she became missing? For Pete's sake, she's drinking hot, steamed coconut milk. She's pregnant. She's living at home with her mother. Come on, man. It's not like she's drinking hot, steamed coconut milk. She's pregnant. She's living at home with her mother. Come on, man. It's not like she's Party Girl Casey Anthony on a stripper pole. Guys, let's hear more of the Pierce County Sheriff's Detective, please.

Have you found a body? At this point, we have not found her. She is still missing under highly suspicious circumstances. We're continuing to do multiple searches. We have other searches going on right now as we speak in different parts of the county. We plan on continuing to do these searches for a couple reasons. A process of elimination to make sure that we did them to follow up on all the evidence we have. And also, if there's any other evidence there,

we can take that into consideration and use it to continue the investigation moving forward. Why is the FBI involved? The FBI is involved strictly as an assistant. They are not part of the investigative team. The FBI is here because they have equipment and they have basically one of the best forensic teams in the country.

So we need that for this particular case. We called the FBI, let them know what we have, and they've graciously allowed us to use their resources and people that can do a lot to a scene to find out if something various happened here or if it's something we need to take a look at further. Okay, back to you, James Shelnut. And, okay, I'm sorry I, you know, came down on you. I don't want your wife to email me again and say how mean I am to you.

Okay, so please tell her I apologize because now I need you again. I don't know that I buy that. Why is the FBI involved? Oh, we're just using their equipment. Uh-uh, the FBI doesn't just swoop in willy-nilly. Yeah, it isn't like you call and say, hey, if you guys aren't busy, could you shoot over here and give us a hand? There's a reason that they're saying that. Yeah, like they call the FBI and go, hey, what's she doing?

Can you come over? Exactly. It just doesn't happen that way. Guys, I want you to know, guys, another development. Take a listen to Ed Troy, Pierce County Sheriff. Listen. At this point, we do have a person that we want to either eliminate and clear or name him as a suspect. There were some things that led up to this that we haven't released yet that put us here. We're obviously here, you know, not for any, you know, there's a reason why we're here.

A judge signed a search warrant. We're here and we're going to process this house and we're going to continue to work this case forward. And we're going to continue to work anybody that could be named as a suspect. But we do, we do have a suspect that we want to take a look at and to do a deeper dive into to see what involvement. To Nicole Parton, crimeonline.com. I assume that we're talking about the ex-boyfriend. They served a search warrant on his house. That's correct, Nancy. Detective Troy I assume that we're talking about the ex-boyfriend. They served a search warrant on his house. That's correct, Nancy. Detective Troyer said that the SWAT team actually entered with force, with flashbacks, in what the detective called a dynamic entry

to present this search warrant on the ex-boyfriend's home located on South K Street. I have one question for you. Is he the bio-dad of the unborn baby? Speculations are saying that he is. Her family is saying that he is not. If you have information about this beautiful young mom-to-be, Cassandra Kentrell, please call 253-798-7530. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace Crime Story signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.