Every Town - Iraq War Veteran Chase Massners Mysterious Disappearance - Canton, GA

Episode Date: April 7, 2023

In his young life, 26-year old Chase Massner had achieved the simple but meaningful things he had always hoped for. One of his life goals was to enlist in the United States Army, and he accomplished that, serving his country from 2008 until 2015. Chase also married the woman of his dreams, Amanda, and they built a family with their two beautiful girls in Canton, Georgia. But the path we tread on in life isn’t always straight and smooth. When Chase’s family faced some turmoil stemming from financial woes, it put a strain on his marriage. He wanted some space and after that, Chase disappeared under mysterious circumstances.💥 Watch On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/scarymysteries🎧 Our Other Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235579💀 Follow Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries 💀 Follow Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg👁 Follow Our TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald💥 Follow Our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial🗣 Business Inquiries: [e-mail] Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine, because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between. With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime.

Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every town has a dark side. In his young life, 26-year-old Chase Mazner and achieved the simple but meaningful things he'd always hope for. One of his goals was to enlist in the United States Army, and he accomplished that, serving his country from 2008 until 2015.

Chase also married the woman of his dreams, Amanda. They built a family with their two beautiful girls in Canton, Georgia. But the path we tread on in life isn't always. straight and smooth. When Chase's family faced some turmoil stemming from financial woes, they put a strain on his marriage. He wanted some space, and after that, Chase disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Hi, I'm Andovich Gerald, and thanks so much for tuning into this episode of Everytown.

As an Iraqi war veteran, Chase Mazner, thought he had encountered his fierces battles abroad, but it was when he got home that the real fight for him began. This is a web of strange occurrences that leads us down a dark path in today's episode. Let's head on down to Georgia and hear about what exactly happened to Iraq war veteran, Chase Mazner. Corbyn Mazner and Stephanie Kedna were barely out of their late teens when they tied the knot. The 20 years old they became parents to Chase, who was born on September 4th, 19th, The family then moved to a town located about 30 miles north of Atlanta. His dad, Corbin, worked as a truck driver while Mom Stephanie was employed with a family-owned

auto repair company. Marrying at a young age, though, affected their union in Corbin and Stephanie soon went their separate ways with Chase growing closer to his mom throughout it all. In 2006, he graduated from Woodstock High School and set his sights in joining the U.S. Army. He would get sent halfway across the world to serve a year in Iraq. And for his efforts, valor, and patriotism, it earned him the Iraqi Service Ribbon Award, as well as a global war on terrorism service medal,

which recognizes military service members who have supported operations in the war on terror. In 2011, when Chase returned home to the small southern town of Kennesaw, Georgia, he was then suffering from the effects of PTSD. It was around this time that he dated and eventually married, Christine Amanda Chatham. Most friends and family just called her Amanda, though. Struggling with his depression and bipolar disorder, Chase sought medical help to treat his issues, and eventually he was honorably discharged in 2015.

With his wife and two daughters, they then relocated to Canton, Georgia, but as the family was embarking on this new beginning in life, Chase's battle with his mental health issues became palpable. and it took a toll on his relationship with Amanda. He was tormented by his own demons, which were compounded by marital squabbles and financial constraints. But as to how these issues led to his disappearance in March of 2014 is still not fully clear.

Amanda said that her husband had struggled returning to civilian life. She witnessed some tough times and said, since he got back, he's had ups and downs while struggling with his mental stability. Mom Stephanie disclosed. In the army, Chase's position was diesel mechanic in the military police unit. Transitioning into civilian life, I think it was difficult for him to find that type of position. So he was forced to take other types of jobs that he wasn't passionate about. Financially supporting his family became difficult for Chase.

The war veteran later sought assistance from the local Veterans Affairs office, and he found ways to make ends meet. But the pressure is mounted when his father Corbyn moved in with Chase and Amanda after he lost his job. Chase took on random work wherever he could find it, and eventually got hired as the night manager of a quick-trip convenience store. The job required Chase to work overnight. With two young girls at home plus his dad, the strain was at an all-time high.

In March of 2014, Chase and Amanda were having more frequent arguments and during these emotionally trying times, Chase would turn to his mother for comfort and advice, as well as ask her to help mediate. In some instances, this meant staying at his mom's place for a night or two, and this is what happened on March 22, 2014. After four days of cooling off, he was now ready to return to his family, and on March 26th, Amanda, together with their daughters,

who were excited to see their dad again, picked up Chase at Stephanie's house. After saying their goodbyes, Stephanie never thought it would be the last day she would see her beloved son again. But you see, the Chase family never made it back home together. And this is where an intriguing twist in our story comes up. And it involves one unexpected character. On the way home, Chase and Amanda couldn't contain themselves from arguing again.

It got so bad that, according to Amanda, Chase threatened to punch the dash, jump out of the car, and run into the woods. In her own words, Amanda said, He wants to walk away, but obviously I'm not going to let him just walk away. So to cool off, she decided to drop Chase off at the quick trip where he worked the night shift. Chase angrily grabbed his belonging, slammed the door, and told his wife he was spending the night with his friend, Brad Clement, whose house was on Farm Brook Trail just about a mile from work.

Brad grew up in the Atlanta area and worked for Team Mobile as well as doing computer repairs. After Amanda dropped off Chase, he picked his buddy up at a nearby Arby's. The two then spent a big chunk of the night discussing Chase's marital problems and just hanging out while Brad was finishing up work on a client's computer. The next morning, on March 27, Brad intended to deliver his client's computer and to do some errands, including going to the grocery store. He was having a barbecue later that day and wanted to invite Chase and his family to help bridge the gap and then patching things up. He figured with people around, it would be harder for them to fight, so maybe they could

actually make some headway. So he told Chase to hang out at his house and just chill out in order to prevent Chase from leaving. Brad took his cell phone and case, which doubled as a wallet when he left that morning. But according to Brad, when he returned home, Chase was nowhere to be found. No wallet, no phone, no car, no note. So where'd he go? Brad texted Amanda, where he told her that the two men stayed up late talking,

that Chase was still sleeping when he left that morning. It wasn't immediately a worrisome situation, but after more than 24 hours it passed without hearing anything from Chase, Amanda and her mother-in-law naturally grew concerned. Stephanie called the Cobb County Police Department to report her son was missing, but cop said that since Chase had left on his own accord, there was no reason to suspect anything was amiss. Still though, they agreed to a brief walkthrough of Brad's home, but inside, nothing seemed suspicious.

Their investigation focused on the premise that Chase had disappeared willingly, considering Brad's story and what Chase was dealing with at the time. For the lack of the urgency from the cops frustrated Amanda and Stephanie, so they deployed troops of their own. The two most important women in Chase's life launched a feverish search with more than 100 volunteers, where they blanketed the town with flyers, held vigils, set up a Facebook group called Team Chase with updates on their search, and raised a $5,000 reward for any information leading to Chase's whereabouts. Sadly, despite such efforts, Amanda faced her share of scrutiny, especially on the internet because of the conflicting statement she made

about the last time she was with Chase on Wednesday, March 26th. In the days after her husband's disappearance, Amanda supposedly gave confusion, using accounts about where exactly she had dropped Chase off that day after that series spat on their way home. Chase's mother recalled hearing from Amanda that she had dropped him off at the quick trip he worked at. However, she also recalled hearing in another instance that Amanda had dropped him off directly at Brad's home. Even more disappointing was when Brad himself joined the fray in scrutinizing Amanda. When he alleged that she went to him on March 28th, a day after Chase's disappearance. He said that his friend's wife wasn't only looking for weed but was also hitting on

him. He mentioned that Amanda flirted with him as her way of getting even because she was mad at chase for running away. Moreover, Brad also contended that Amanda's mother was growing weed and that she was somehow involved in that operation but gave no real details. However, these allegations were never dignified by Amanda who was very much in front of the case, pleading with everything and everyone to help bring about some results in the weeks after her husband went missing. Over time, though, she would go on to become reclusive and eventually refused to speak to anyone. After six agonizing months, there was still no trace of Chase at all. The authorities now realize that Chase Legley didn't disappear on his own,

and so they officially opened an investigation into his disappearance. Hope to learn more about Brad Clement's final movement, since he was the last person with Chase, Former Cobb County Police Department Detective Chris Twiggs went to his home. Brad told Detective Twiggs a similar story that he had relayed to Amanda and said, I was cooking and went to go wake him up. When I got done, he wasn't there. And pretty much since then, no one's seen him. Brad declined to take a polygraph test saying his emotions were all over the place.

However, he did agree to speak with police. He claimed innocence about his friend's sudden disappearance, and reason that if he were guilty in any way, and he would have left town too. He said, I've been here in Atlanta, like I haven't tried to disappear. He continued to explain that the night Chase slept over,

they stayed up all night talking about his chaotic marriage. I was in no way part of anything, other than just trying to help him work something out with his wife, he added. The next morning, Brad said he ran errands while Chase slept, when he returned, his friend was gone. That's when he also called Chase's cell phone, leaving a message. Hey man, what's up? Where did you go, dude? I just got back from having to run down to town. The roofing guy said you left like two hours ago or something, I think.

They just left out of here, but call me, man. Let me know what's going on. See ya. He also asked the guys working on his roof if they had seen Chase and they were just like, who according to brad but his story was a tall tale as it was disputed by the roofing contractor brandon duck who said nobody that was working for me or that was with me ever saw him referring to chase in response brad said i mean i just assumed they had seen him leave like i don't see how they wouldn't have but no one in brad's neighborhood recalled seeing chase leaving the house either Stephanie was now convinced her son was killed by Brad and even theorized that he disposed of Chase's body and a dumpster in his front yard.

But Brad said it was impossible for him to do so since Chase was a big guy standing six foot two. Over police later discovered the dumpster that they had examined that a local landfill had been the wrong one. It was too costly to remedy. The dumpster had already been dumped into a local landfill, and they've openly admitted to Chase's family that the cost of going to be back to search the area where the dumpster was disposed of would be upwards of seven digits. Brad Clement was never an official suspect by the police, even though the story of this mysterious

dumpster and his ever-changing alibi made him a prime suspect in the public's eye. He struggled with the backlash he received, so he eventually moved out of his house in Kennesaw, Georgia, months after Chase's disappearance. With no leads, the investigation reached a dead end after three years. That's when it was turned, a Cobb County District Attorney Cold Case Investigator, Guy Watkins, who quickly realized that one area that hadn't been searched was the backyard of Brad's former house in Kennesaw. After knowing that Brad had sold the house, authorities gained permission from the new owners to search it, and thanks to man's best friend, cadaver dogs, they alerted the possible scent of human remains.

On August 1, 2017, the K-9 unit sniffed out areas of Bradford. former home that police initially overlooked three years ago, and it was the first time that they had searched it with dogs. Nothing was detected by the two canines inside the house, but then they reached the backyard where the dogs both reacted to the same area. K9 unit dog Draco frantically sniffed around and then sat down. K9 zeroed in on something buried under the dirt. With a warrant to dig that up,

the investigators then unearthed at a chilling discovery. under a slab of concrete on the spot where Draco was sitting where human remains wrapped in a black tarp with packing tape around the person's chest and legs. Chase's mother received a phone call from the investigators and she understood what it meant. So it was time to find Brad, an elite investigator, located him at his mother's home.

When he was told that they found a body, Brad freaked out and made a frantic call to CBS 46, insisting that he'd been framed. Weeks after, the body was officially identified as Chase Masners. Stephanie had always thought Brad had something to do with it, but it never crossed her mind that Chase was actually buried in the backyard. Brad then tried to flee, so the U.S. Marshals and the fugitive unit joined forces

in a multi-agency manhunt. After six days, he was tracked down our local supermarket in the Cobb County just a few miles from his mother's house, so he hadn't gotten too far. The tip came from a U-Haul company because Brad had rented a unit from them but didn't return it on time. Put your arms in the air!

You're under arrest. He was then apprehended as he came out of the supermarket. A camera caught Brad lying on the ground and the pouring rain next to the U-Haul he was reportedly living in, barefoot, and with hands cuffed behind his back. He was then hauled off to jail in charge with concealing a body.

The autopsy results weren't able to determine the actual cause and manner of how Chase died due to the body's state of decomposition. And it stated that evidence of lethal trauma was not identified in the accessible soft tissue or skeletal remains. It also contained a shocking revelation. Chase had both morphine and methamphetamine as well as a medication for bipolar disorder in his system at the time of his death. The report then attributed the morphine and Chase's system to the fact that he had a medication for bipolar disorder in his system to the fact that he had a medication for bipolar disorder in his system in his system. a known history of heroin abuse. Cobb County DA Cold Case investigator, Guy Watkins, theorized that Chase probably overdosed on the night of March 26th.

Brad panicked and then decided to dispose of his friend's body in his own backyard. On December 17, 2018, 33-year-old Brad Clement eventually pleaded guilty and ultimately entered an Alford plea to one count of concealing the death of another and making a false statement. Cobb Superior Court judge Stephen Schuster sentenced him then to 15 years with eight years to serve in prison and the rest on probation and he imposed a $1,000 fine. Before he was led from the courtroom, Brad spoke to Mazner's family, simply saying, I'm very sorry for your loss. Perhaps the tragic fate of Chase had the most traumatic impact on his mother, the person he was closest to, and his refuge during the most trying tribulations in his life.

Stephanie wrote in her son's obituary. Chase will be remembered for his silly antics that always made his loved ones laugh as well as his caring and generous demeanor. He never met a stranger and was always willing to help someone in need. He was known to light up a room with a smile. Chase was a free spirit and brought joy to everyone he crossed paths with. He was known to light up a room with.

courageous and will never be forgotten. So that's going to do it, guys, for this week's episode of Everytown. Hope you enjoyed it. And please do tune in next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories, because who knows? Maybe your town will be next.