Crime Weekly - S3 Ep377: Update in the Disappearance of Hailey Buzbee

Episode Date: February 4, 2026

Authorities believe 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee, who vanished on January 5 after meeting a 39-year-old man through online gaming, is deceased following an investigation involving local police and the FBI. Investigators arrested the suspect, Tyler Thomas, in Ohio. Try our coffee! - www.CriminalCoffeeCo.comBecome a Patreon member -- > https://www.patreon.com/CrimeWeeklyShop for your Crime Weekly gear here --> https://crimeweeklypodcast.com/shopYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrimeWeeklyPodcastWebsite: CrimeWeeklyPodcast.comInstagram: @CrimeWeeklyPodTwitter: @CrimeWeeklyPodFacebook: @CrimeWeeklyPod

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please contact Connix Ontario at 1866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Hey everyone. Welcome back to Crime Weekly News. I'm Derek Levasser. And I'm Stephanie Harlow. And today we're going to be talking about a story that a lot of you have suggested both on the comment section on YouTube and the DMs on the crime weekly Instagram page. And we were going to cover it.

And then as we were talking about covering it, there was a major update in the case. So for anybody who doesn't know this story already, 17-year-old Haley Busby of Fisher's Indiana has been missing since early January. She was last seen at her home on the night of January 5th and was initially classified as a runaway after police believed she left voluntarily. But as the investigation progressed, her status was upgraded to endangered and law enforcement confirmed she did not act alone. This weekend, Fisher's police and the FBI held a press conference announcing they now believed Haley is deceased and that the case has shifted from a missing person's investigation to a recovery mission. A 39-year-old man from Ohio has been arrested in charge with most of the case. multiple felonies related to the case, though no murder charges have been filed at this time. And we're going to talk about this.

Stephanie's going to give you a rundown of what we know so far. But yes, as I was just saying, we were going to come on here and do like a be on the lookout for Haley. And then literally, as Stephanie was researching the case, she said, oh, my God, there's a new update. Now we have to change what we discuss here because this is a whole different ballgame now. Yeah. And I think it's important to discuss this, even though it doesn't look like it's gone well for Haley. It doesn't look like Haley's going to end well. Nope. Yeah, it doesn't look like Haley's going to come home. And that's just absolutely devastating. She's 17 years old. Her family is just absolutely

crushed. But this is a very important thing to talk about right now as far as how we can apply it to our own lives because it looks like Haley met her abductor on an online site. And that led me to wonder, is there some sort of site out there that's directing people or these young girls, these young kids to go to these sites, to talk to people. I'm not sure. But either way, Haley Busby, she's 17, she lives in Fisher's Indiana. She was last seen at home on Monday, January 5th, 2026. She was believed to have left the house of her own free will between 10 p.m. and the early hours of the next morning. Now, her father said, listen, we as a family, we don't have the resources for her to run away on her own. So they believed she had help in running away. And then the family

right off the bat was worried someone outside of Haley's social circles had used social media to influence or lure her away in some way, shape, or form. Like Derek said, she was originally classified as a runaway because she left the home voluntarily. She was then upgraded to endangered based on information gathered during the investigation. And at that time, law enforcement confirmed they believed that she did not act alone. She didn't leave her home. Maybe she did of her own free will, but it was not on her own. She had help in leaving the home. So this Sunday afternoon, so this is yesterday. We're filming this on Monday the second. The Fisher's Police Department held a press conference with the FBI, and they said that sadly they believed Haley was no longer alive.

The investigation had turned into a recovery mission, and 39-year-old Tyler Thomas of Columbus, Ohio was taken into custody Saturday. He was charged with one count of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, which is basically creating and producing at CSAM material. And that's a level two felony because it involves a minor. And then one count of tampering with evidence, altering, destroying, concealing, et cetera, which is level three felony. So how the police eventually identified Tyler as a suspect, because they spoke to him within days of Haley going missing, they found or saw somehow, probably on some sort of maybe doorbell camera or surveillance camera, they saw an unknown vehicle that had been in the neighborhood the night Haley disappeared.

And based on this vehicle, Tyler Thomas was identified as a suspect. He told the police that he picked Haley up, so he acknowledged picking her up from her home. But then he said he dropped her off on the side of the road in Western Ohio. And law enforcement later found and verified that this claim was not true based on evidence. So at that point, they conducted a search of his home and the vehicle that he had used to pick up Haley, and they found evidence that Haley had been at Thomas's home as well as at a short-term rental property. And during the search, they recovered multiple digital devices belonging to Tyler Thomas. They analyzed these devices and they uncovered videos of Haley that were sexual in nature. So that's where the, you know, making the material charge comes in.

and then they found out that Thomas made attempts to cover up this video by deleting it. And so that's where the, you know, covering up concealing evidence charge comes in. Police now say that they believe that Haley was killed within just a few days of being picked up by Thomas. He has not been charged with murder at this time. And I believe you can correct me if I'm wrong. It's probably because they have not found her body yet. Now, I did see one article randomly saying that they, they did find her body, but, and it looked like it was from a legitimate source, but as it turns out,

that was the only article I saw that said that. And so I'm believing that they either had their information wrong or I'm not sure what happened with that. But yeah, it doesn't look as if they have found her body yet. And so they are, do you think that they're probably waiting to recover her remains before charging him with murder? Yeah, that's exactly what's going on here. They, nobody arrests when it comes to murder are very difficult and it's kind of a last resort if they decide to go that route. So there's really no rush at this point. They've identified him. They've charged him.

He's in custody. He's not going anywhere. So there's no reason to get your, you know, to get in front of your skis. They would like to find her to confirm that unfortunately she's no longer with us because there's still a hope, maybe very off chance that she's out there somewhere right now. and she's being, you know, held against her will, maybe in some secure area where if they can work with this person right now, they might be able to find her and hopefully she's still alive. But we recently covered that case where you had Melody Buzzard,

and law enforcement had found her and really didn't say anything. They were doing the back leg work to make sure that it was, in fact, her. That was a different scenario where DNA had to be considered and they had to do some, because of decomposition, they had to make sure that it was the right person. Here, I don't think you would have that, but that's exactly the reason. They know they have the right guy.

They're just trying to go slowly. And by deeming her dead, by charging him with murder, you're basically saying, yeah, we know that she's no longer alive. Even though they're saying that they believe that's the case, there's still that outside hope that they're wrong and that she might be found, you know, maybe in poor condition, but still with us. So it's an unfortunate set of circumstances when you think about it.

I actually just recently, not to get too far off the path, but I think it relates. Have you ever heard of the Amy Mahalovic case? Yes, I have. Okay. That is, so I just covered it on detective perspective. If you have not heard of that case, whether you have children or not, go watch that episode. I did an extensive episode on it, and that case is absolutely frightening. Quick little story.

You definitely have to go listen or watch it. but basically Amy, who was 10 years old, was at this, you know, she's at school and she was supposed to come home. And she ended up going to this like outlet down the street. And to not give everything away right now, because it's this crazy story, essentially this man had started calling her at home because he learned her, his, her mother's schedule. And he basically said, hey, I know your mom. I'm her boss. And we're trying to get her a gift because she's getting a purpose. motion. So don't tell her. Lie to her and let her know that you're home and your home safe,

but we're going to go out and get her a gift. So she eventually believes it, meets this man, and here's the worst part. She actually calls her mom to check in to let her know that she's okay, lying to her mom, letting her know she's at home. And at that moment, she was already with the offender. And the even scarier part about it is that this man had soft targeted multiple girls at the school, calling them, talking to them, trying the same tactics, and unfortunately it worked with Amy before them. And this guy is still on the loose. They don't know who he is. There's so much to it. There's a guest book that disappeared where he was targeting girls at a certain learning center. Again, if you haven't heard it,

Amy Mahalovic, we might cover it eventually, but it's on detective perspective right now. And I bring it up because there are different cases, but as parents were just constantly battling that thing we can't see, whether it's, you know, Roblox or or just online forums. These sick monsters, they're everywhere. They will use any platform, any situation to find someone who's vulnerable. They'll start soft. And then if they see an opening, they'll exploit it. And all we can really do is have these difficult conversations with our kids.

And by no means are we experts on it, right? You've got to take your own approach that you, that you're comfortable with. but my approach, and I mentioned this in the Amy Mahalovic episode with Tenley has been a little different. She wanted to get picked up from school from her friend and her friend's nanny, who is in their 30s. This nanny may be an amazing person. They may be the perfect individual. I don't know them. No.

I don't know who they frequent. I don't know who they're around. I don't know what they're into. I don't know what their intentions are. I don't know if they're going to see Tenly and Tenly's going to. to be someone that they find a track. I don't know. I don't even want to go there.

And so Tenley was upset with me because I was available that day. And I said, here's a compromise. I'll pick you up. I'll bring you to the mall. You can go do that shopping for your play. I won't stand next to you guys, but I'll be at the mall. And if there's an issue, you can send us, send me your secret emoji and we'll be good. And I'll confine you.

I can track you and I can get to you if there's a problem. He was upset about it. And then I actually brought up Amy's story. Because she's like, why? You don't trust me anywhere. I was like, no, no, no. I do trust you. I don't trust anybody else.

And then we had a difficult conversation where I'm not going to lie to you guys. I put a little fear in her. She was crying because I started telling her about some of the stories that you and I have covered. And what the results were. And candidly, I told us straight up, hey, you know where they find these people? Because Amy, by the way, was found dead. And the way they're found, it ain't pleasant.

You know, I don't want to sugarcoat it for her or you guys. It's not a peaceful death. It's torture. And traumatic and you're scared. Yes. And so she's sitting there crying. And I say that because my approach, which maybe I'm wrong, is to instill a little fear in her. To have her have a little sense of anxiety because I do think in today's society, it's a balance and you don't want to make them scared of everything.

But they can't go out there with this complacency that everyone's good in the world. because unfortunately, that's not what we live in. I agree. And unfortunately, this is not rare, right? No. It's according to law enforcement and child safety advocates, there are hundreds of thousands of online predators active daily who specifically seek out minors through social media,

games, chat rooms, and other digital platforms. And children between 12 and 15 are especially vulnerable to grooming or manipulation by adults pretending to be peers online over half of victims of online sexual exploitation fall within that age range of 12 to 15. And listen, what can you do? That's exactly what Derek said. You have to start with the conversation. And some people are going to say, okay, well, I'm going to have my kids keep their devices

and use their devices in common areas where I can monitor them. Good luck, okay? Because they'll figure out a way to sneak it or do this or do that. you can try to know the platforms and the apps that your child is using. You can try privacy settings and parental controls to limit exposure to strangers. Once again, good luck. These kids are wicked smart when it comes to technology far smarter than I am. What you have to do is you have to build trust with your child and you have to have that conversation. And like Derek said, unfortunately, instill a little fear. I went through it with my oldest daughter who's not a teenager anymore.

She's in her 20s, but she was a teenager at one point. And even when then 10, 8 years, ago, this was still an issue at that point. Amy's case was 1989. Exactly. We had to have conversations. This is not new. And she was mad at me and she hated me. And at one point she said that taking away her phone felt like I was ending her life

because she was dramatic. But she's appreciative of it now. Now I'm dealing with a 14-year-old teenage boy who is also at risk for certain things like exploitation and blackmail and things like that. There's these whole, I see videos about it all the time. There's these whole groups and agencies out there. that are working to, you know, approach a teenage boy on social media, pretend to be a girl of the same age, ask for certain explicit pictures.

And then when they have those pictures, start blackmailing this kid, hey, we're going to show this to your school, your friends, your parents. If you don't do this, this or this. And then by that time, the kid's way too afraid and afraid they're going to get in trouble, afraid that they're going to be exposed, that they'll usually just go along with whatever this person says. So, yes, it's an uncomfortable conversation to have, but you got to get used to it, you have kids in this day and age, uncomfortable conversations are going to be the norm.

And if it keeps them safe, then it's what we have to do. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's it's a, it's a balance by no means being on a true crime podcast or former detective are we experts where parents just like you navigating it just like you and every child is different. Only you know your kid and you have to customize a plan that works for you. and I always tend to be more conservative in my approach,

but at the same time, I want to do enough where, God forbid, I'm faced with a horrific situation like a lot of families out there are. I know I've done my best. It's still not going to make me feel any better, but at least I've done what I can because you don't want to ruin that relationship

for something that could potentially happen. So it's all about finding that balance for you. And, you know, with Tenley, I know our relationship, she knows my background, and what I have to deal with. So I think there's a little bit more trust there. And you just have to hope that you've instilled those values in them.

And if they are approached with a situation like that, whether it's someone like this, some predator or drugs or anything else like that, you've talked to them openly where they'll make the right decision. Or show them this. Have Derek. Have Derek and tell them about this. Yeah, I'll try. Papa Derek. Come over see Papa Derek. That's his experience.

And he's been a police officer, a detective. He's been undercover. he's, you know, doing the true crime thing now with that experience. And so maybe his experience and the things that he's gone through and seen throughout his career will convince your kids that he kind of knows what he's talking about. And it's not just mom and dad being dramatic or exaggerating. There are real dangers out there. Your parents do have real fears. And we all have to kind of work together to make sure that every kid stays safe if possible.

Definitely develop a secretive system. that's something that I think works tremendously well and it can be applied to multiple situations and by that I mean a code word, a secret emoji, something where if someone contacts you or contacts your kid and states that they're friends with you or family members of yours, your child can simply ask that and know that if this person is who they say they are, my mom and dad would have told them this because this is something we've established And you don't tell that secret word or emoji to anyone. And tell your kid that they can't tell.

Not a single person. Not their friends, nobody. It's very, very sacred. There's four people in my life. Stephanie doesn't even know it. There's four people in my life that know, you should, that know the secret emoji that we have between the four of us. And that's it. And that's it. And that way I know that gets sent to me or someone tells me about it, I know it's legitimate.

I really should know it, Derek, because publicly, you, I am known to be affiliated with you and your kids know me. And so if somebody calls and says, oh, hey, Stephanie, you know, your dad's co-host. Like, she said that your dad's in trouble and she wants you to come here. Well, I'm not going to send you the secret emoji. Don't send it to me. You'll tell me when we see each other at prime time. I'm not going to be, if I get lost.

Oh, you're saying reverse if I'm the one that gets kidnapped. I'm saying if they're telling them, oh, hey, you have to come here with me because Stephanie's got your dad and he's not in a good place or he's injured. You got to come with me. Stephanie sent me. And then if they're like, What's the, you know. Well, here's what I can tell you.

If I get kidnapped or someone who comes after me, there's one of two things that happened. Either that person's dead or I'm dead. So you don't have to worry about the secret emoji. All right. That's the facts. I'm telling you right now. I'm going to apply the same thing I tell you guys. I ain't going to no secondary location.

It may mean my life, but I stand by what I tell you. I practice what I preach. Either I'm no longer here or this person is no longer here. It's one of the other. Yeah, it's unfortunate. We have to worry about this secret code word, secret emojis, make our kids stressed out. and make them fearful of the world out there, but they do have to be a little fearful of the world out there.

And to bring this back to Haley, we're going to have it up on the screen right now. Haley, again, was 17 years old. She's approximately 5 foot 3 inches tall. She was last seen in Enclave at the Vermillion neighborhood. There is a phone number here for the Fisher's Police Department. If you have any information about this case, you can call 911 or the non-emergency line at 317-773-1-1-2.

8-2. Obviously, if there's a major update in this case, we will let you guys know. Any final words from you, Stephanie Harlow? No, or just our thoughts are with Haley's family. They are going through the worst thing they will ever go through right now. So they need your support, your thoughts. And like I said, just practice this with your kids. Yes, don't wait until it happens. Don't wait until it happens. Guys, that's going to do it for us. We will be back later this week with Elizabeth Smart Part 1. Until then, everyone stay safe out there.

We'll see you soon. And oh, by the way, go pads. Go, pants. Bye. Bye.