In episode 3, we dive into the day that Stacey vanished and the witness accounts of what may have been her final moments.
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(soft music)
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- At around 4 a.m. on Sunday, March 22nd, 1998,
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at the Governor Square Department Complex in Columbus, Ohio,
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a neighbor is woken by loud banging
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and the terrifying sound of a woman screaming.
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(soft music)
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(up-tempo music)
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(up-tempo music)
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(up-tempo music)
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This is episode three.
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The disappearance.
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The neighbor realizes the sound is coming
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from Stacey Colbert's apartment.
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What happens next will shock you and infuriate you.
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The neighbor does nothing.
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Despite having his ear to the floor to get a closer listen,
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which is what he eventually tells detectives,
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he doesn't call the police or go check and see
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if Stacey is okay during that time.
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The neighbor does eventually go and knock on Stacey's door
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to check in, but not until 2 p.m. that afternoon.
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10 hours after he initially hears her screams.
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He notices Stacey's cat sitting outside her door,
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but of course, there was no answer.
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This should have been a huge red flag
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that something was wrong.
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Stacey loved her cat boots
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and would never let him outside
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because she lived by a busy main road.
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There was so much speculation surrounding Stacey's neighbor
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and why he wouldn't contact the police
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when he initially heard the loud banging and Stacey screaming.
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Some speculate he feared getting involved
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maybe due to his own run-ins with the law.
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Others speculate that maybe he had something
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to do with Stacey's disappearance
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and that's why he never notified the police.
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But again, this is all speculation.
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Unfortunately, that neighbor is now deceased
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and cannot provide those answers.
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However, the police did interview him on several occasions
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and he was cleared as a potential suspect.
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This is a large piece of the puzzle in this case
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and not only is it an important piece,
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but it's also one that I really struggle to comprehend.
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How do you witness something like that and stay stagnant?
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You know a young woman lives alone in that apartment
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and you witnessed what may have been her final screams.
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The what if's continue to haunt me
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as I know they haunt Stacey's friends and family.
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What if the neighbor called the police
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or even went to check on Stacey right away?
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Would the outcome have been different?
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Would she still be here today?
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Unfortunately, we'll never know the answers
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to those burning questions.
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Another day goes by
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and it isn't until that Monday, March 23rd, 1998
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that Stacey's sister Danielle calls her at 9 p.m.
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You see, the Academy Awards were on
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and the movie Titanic was nominated for quite a few awards.
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Titanic was a favorite of Stacey and Danielle's.
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Danielle took Stacey to see it for her 23rd birthday,
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so it was special.
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When Danielle got Stacey's voicemail,
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she didn't think too much of it.
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Back in 1998, no one had cell phones like we do now.
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You called people on landlines and left voicemails
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to get in touch with them if they didn't answer.
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Danielle knew Stacey had a work trip that week
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and assumed she was away
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and would get back to her when she returned home.
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Unfortunately, that would never happen.
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The next day on Tuesday, March 24th, 1998,
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Danielle receives a call from AEP
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stating that Stacey has not been to work Monday or Tuesday.
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Danielle immediately knew something was very wrong.
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On Tuesday when I got home from work
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is when I got the voicemail from her work.
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And as soon as I received it,
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I knew that it was bad.
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Because she would never,
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she's not the kind of person who would miss work.
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She was probably one of the hardest workers
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that I'd ever met in my life.
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She had incredible work ethic.
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She was very driven.
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And she wanted to do things right.
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She always wanted to do things right
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and 110% over what anyone would expect her to do.
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And so she wanted to get to work before everybody else.
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She's probably one of the last people to leave work
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and go above and beyond there.
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So we got that call.
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I got off of work.
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It was probably around 4:30 or 5 o'clock.
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Shortly after the call,
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Danielle notifies her parents of what's going on
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and tells them that she's going to drive over
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to Stacey's apartment.
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I called my parents and I said,
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I'm going over to Stacey's apartment.
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I think something's really, really wrong.
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So I went over, at that point,
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I even debated calling the police before I went over there
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because I just couldn't imagine a world
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in which she wouldn't go to work.
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And so I jumped in my car and zoomed down to her apartment,
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which again was only 2.1 miles door to door.
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So I got to her apartment and her car was there.
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Her door was slightly open.
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And I don't remember when I saw it,
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but there was a poster of somebody with her cat,
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like it was a missing cat flyer that was out.
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And I didn't happen to notice it at the time,
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but it was up at that point.
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And I went into the apartment.
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This is small, little apartment.
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You know, I go in and, you know,
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I see her contacts are there.
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I see her wallet's there.
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I see, you know, all of her credit cards are cars there.
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I see her purse there.
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I see things like food and milk on the counter.
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I see the refrigerator door is open.
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I see cabinets that are open.
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And, you know, I see blankets and her room is a little bit messy
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with clothes and things on the floor.
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I knew there was a problem.
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I called the police.
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They came over and this is Tuesday.
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And I don't believe I left her a place until probably
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one or two o'clock in the morning.
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The initial street cops came over and did a run through
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over the house.
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Even from that first night, I was speaking
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to the detectives in charge of like rape and I think I
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talked to even the homicide guys that night and telling,
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you know, what I knew.
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I called my uncle
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He came over and he brought his son, he's a fireman.
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And they, after looking at the apartment,
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they definitely suspected it wasn't just run away or things
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like that.
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They, they suspected foul play right away.
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As Danielle mentioned, police immediately suspected foul play
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after investigating the condition of Stacey's apartment.
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So let's review the facts and the evidence presented here.
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Stacey's car is found in the parking lot of the complex.
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All of Stacey's personal belongings are still in the apartment,
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including her purse, wallet, and car keys.
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Her front door was slightly open and there
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was a boot print on the inside of the door.
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Her refrigerator was open and the box of half
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uneaten breadsticks was on the counter along with a gallon of milk.
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There was also a strong smell of bleach present in the apartment.
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All the evidence told a story, a very disturbing story.
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But Stacey was still nowhere to be found.
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As the search for Stacey continued, her family, friends,
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and colleagues went to massive lengths to spread the word
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and focus on bringing her home.
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While detectives on her case continued
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to investigate and track down any leads they came across.
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AEP was also very active in the search
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and even put up a $10 reward for information
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leading to the location of Stacey.
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Little did everyone know this was only
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the beginning of what would be a six-year-long search.
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And the details of the investigation
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would leave everyone in a tailspin.
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In the next episode, we dive into the aftermath
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of Stacey's disappearance and discover new leads.
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Episode four, The Vigil, is available right now.
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Make sure to follow us on social media at Unseen Truth Podcast
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and visit UnseenTruthPodcast.com for more case information.
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(gentle music)
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(Piano music)
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