The Truth Comes Out...Finally

There's a new development in the decades old missing person case of Alisa Roberson. She was the teen that went missing after walking to her friend's home near Kyburger Elementary School in Ramsa's Pass. The Ramsas Pass Police Department says they will be releasing the files of the investigation to the family under an agreement. Made by the City of Armsa's Pass and the family. The rule of an agreement stated if no new evidence was found in a geo forensic investigation at the home where Lisa lived during her disappearance, the files would be released. The geo forensic investigation was conducted and completed in February. For years, the Roberson family has been waiting, waiting for answers, waiting for clarity, waiting for something official after everything they had been told, Because back in twenty sixteen, during a search on the property, they were told something that would change everything. They were told human remains had been found, that samples were being collected, that test would be done, that answers were coming. But those answers never came, no results, no confirmation, no follow up, just silence. And now nearly a decade later, we finally have something. Hey, everyone and Welcome to a bonus episode of The Unseen Truth Season four, the disappearance of Alisa Roberson. I'm your host, Jen Rivera. I want to sit down with you for a minute because we have a really important update in Elsa's case. This wasn't included in the original season because at the time, it wasn't official yet. It was something that was still in the works and we had already wrapped the storyline where things stood at that point, but we knew there was more coming, and honestly, the timing of this couldn't have been more aligned, because you just heard a Lisa's story, You heard what her family has been through, you heard the speculation, the rumors and the accusations that have followed them for years, and where we left off was still in that place of not knowing, not knowing what was actually found, not knowing what was real and what wasn't. But now we do. So let's walk through this together because I want to make sure this is really clear, and I want you to understand why this is such a big deal, not just in terms of the investigation, but for Elisa's family, because this isn't just an update, This is a shift, This is a moment the family has been waiting for for years, and for everyone who listened to the season, you already know why this matters so much. We know Elisa left her house the evening of August sixth, nineteen eighty nine. We know she was seen. Jennifer saw her, other neighbors saw her. She was walking in the direction of Keyburger Elementary, just like she had said she was going to do, and nothing about that interaction raised any red flags at the time. She wasn't scared, she wasn't in distress. There was nothing that made anyone think something had happened inside that home. So early on, there was no reason to look at her family. That came much later, And that's important to say out loud because I think over the years that peace has gotten lost and everything else that's been said. Now, we've talked about Bob Green throughout the season, but there's something I want to expand on here because it adds more context, and honestly, it matters when you're looking at the bigger picture. Bob wasn't just some guy in the area. He was Debby's father and lived close. He owned multiple properties in that area, and one of those properties was not far from where Alisa was last seen walking that evening, not across town, not far removed close enough that it should have mattered. And according to what's been said over the years, Bob was there that day working cutting grass on that property. So when you think about where Alisa was last seen and where Bob was, there's overlap there and that's not something that was heavily emphasized early on. And then when you layer in who Bob Green was, it becomes even more concerning because, again, if you listen to the season, you already know this. Bob was a known offender. There were allegations involving children. His own daughter, Debbie, had at one point stated that he had molested her. Now, according to Linda Thompson, that statement was later recanted, but it was made and she wasn't the only one. There were other individuals who had come forward over time and said similar things. So when you look at all of that together, his proximity, his history, his behavior, there was a reason he was considered a person of interest. But somewhere along the way that focus shifted. And this is where things get complicated because, according to the Roberson family, and based on everything that's been shared, That shift didn't come from new physical evidence. It came from accusations, from statements, from fingers being pointed, and over time, that attention that had been on Bob Green started turning toward the family, toward Marina, toward the people who from the very beginning had been searching for answers. And that shift is what ultimately led us to twenty sixteen, because that's when everything changed for the family. That's when, for the first time, after all those years, they weren't just being questioned, they were being accused. I have so much guilt for not protecting my mom when she needed me the most, and they were turning on her too. And then they started, you know, they my mom took the polygraph. I came and picked her up, and then they stopped me. Before I could even get to my mom and come pick her up, they stopped me in the parking lot and Captain Rhodes and ranger to Tony de Luna stopped me out in the parking lot and they said to me, your mom failed the polygraph. She failed the polygraph. She did something to Alisa, she she killed her. And you know what happened, Ruby, You know what happened. You were there, you witnessed it. You're probably blocking it. You need to just come. You're the one that holds the key to solving this crime, and you're gonna you just can't. You're gonna have to do it. Ruby. This is on you. And I'm crying and I'm upset, and I'm saying, what are you talking about? Like I was, I was there, and I will I will stand by it again and again and again. I was there. I was there when Alisa was home, I was there when she left the home. I was there when my mom was there, and I'm gonna stand by it, and I'm gonna stand by it till I'm blue in the face. There was never any altercation between my mom and Alisa. There was never a fight. They weren't even fighting. Alisa just came home and then her friend called and asked if she could go back out. My mom said no, and then my her friend said, well, can I'll meet you halfway and my dad will drop you off. And my mom said, Okay, then that'll work, and that was it. Alisa was out the door. And so I'm trying to tell them I was there, that didn't happen, and it's they they wouldn't listen to me. They wouldn't care, They wouldn't listen, They didn't even care. They had it in their mind, they knew what happened, and the only way to do it is to get me. They were All they were doing was you have to confess, Ruby, and you have to tell what you know. And it was so traumatic. Ruby has talked about how traumatic that period was for her family. She has talked about how she felt pressure, how she felt like investigators were trying to get her to say something that wasn't true, how her mother was being accused of hurting Elisa. And when you understand that Alisa had been seen leaving the house, that multiple people saw her walking, that there was no evidence from the beginning pointing to something happening inside the home, you can understand why this was so devastating for the family. This wasn't just questioning. This placed a target on their back. And once that target was there, it didn't just go away. Because in twenty sixteen the property was searched, not in nineteen eighty nine, not when A Lisa disappeared, but decades later. And I want to pause here for a second because this part is important. This wasn't a situation where the home had been treated as a crime scene from the beginning. It wasn't so the idea that something had happened inside the house didn't come from the original investigation. It came years later after narratives started shifting. So in twenty sixteen, law enforcement, along with Texas Equisearch, conducted a search on that property. Now we know that the introduction to Texas Equisearch was initiated by Linda Thompson, who was always supportive of the family and always believed that Bob Green was responsible for Lisa's disappearance, and from everything Ruby has shared, that experience was extremely traumatic for the family. It wasn't handled with care, it wasn't handled with sensitivity, and at that point, the family is already dealing with something unimaginable. They're already carrying the pain of Lisa being missing for decades, and now instead of being treated like a family still searching for their loved one, they're being treated like suspects. But what happened next is what stayed with them because during that search they were told something, something that at the time felt like it was going to change everything. Within days of the search, Captain Kyle Rhodes. Either he called me or I called him, but he told me that they found what they believed to be human remains in this home. After they excavated, we found what we believed to be human remains. We're going to be sending these soil samples to be tested, and within days, we're going to be making an arrest. Within days, is what he told me. And I want you to really think about that. You've been waiting for answers for years, you've been searching, you've been trying to get someone, anyone to listen, and then suddenly you're told they found remains, You're told samples are being sent for testing, you're told arrests could happen within days. At that point, what are you supposed to think, especially when you're being looked at as the suspect. But then nothing, no results, no confirmation, and no filellow up, no explanation of what was actually found or if anything was found at all. And that didn't last a few days, that didn't last a few weeks, that lasted years, And during that time, Ruby has talked about trying to get answers, trying to follow up, trying to understand what actually happened after that search and getting nothing, no returned calls, no clear communication, no closure on something that at one point felt so definitive. So for years the family was left sitting with that, with what they had been told, without anything to confirm it, without anything to explain it. And with that came everything else, the speculation, the rumors, the accusations, the idea that somehow the answers were tied to that property and by extension, to them. And that is why this moment matters so much, because now we're not relying on what someone said in the moment, we're not relying on a c that was never followed up on. We finally have something official. So fast forward to where we are now. After everything the family has gone through, they kept pushing for answers, for transparency, for access to information that honestly they should have had years ago, and that led to something new, a new step in this case, one that involved outside oversight. So in twenty twenty five, at the request of the family, the Aransas Pass Police Department contacted the Texas Attorney General's Missing Persons Cold Case Unit to receive and investigate the case. After reviewing it, the Attorney General's office suggested a geo forensic investigation at the family's old home where Lisa lived at the time of her disappearance. And this part is important because this was not the same as twenty sixteen. This wasn't informal, this wasn't unclear. It was structured, it was document and it was done with oversight. The investigation was conducted and completed in February of twenty twenty six and when it was completed, the result was clear. Nothing was found, no human remains, no new evidence. And that's important because it means that whatever was said back in twenty sixteen did not result in any confirmed findings. And this is where things start to shift in a very real way, because this investigation wasn't just about going back out there and searching again. There was something tied to it, something the family had been fighting for for a long time. Access access to the case files, access to information that up until this point they had not been able to get. And as part of this process, there was an agreement put in place. In the official statement, it's referred to as a Rule eleven agreement, a form agreement between the City of Aransas Pass and the family approved by a judge, and the terms were very clear. If this new investigation was conducted and if no new evidence was found, then the law enforcement files would be released to the family. I finally realized that the only way I'm going to get them to give answers and to show some accountabilities. Number one, I need to get a lawyer. We need to get a family attorney that's going to represent us in helping us. And we need those case files because we were flying blind here. We don't know anything, and we need those case files. Enough is enough, you know, it's been almost forty years. And then on top of that, also they needed accountability. There needed to be some oversight from another agency, a third party law enforcement agency to come in and see what's going on. And that's how we got the Attorney General's Office involved the cold case Missing Person's Unit. I was writing letters, making phone calls. They told me, we can't get involved unless they invite us in. They have to request our assistants. And I just kept writing told them the case, told them everything they're saying that Elisa's remains are. We need help, we need help, and they just kept saying, we can't do anything unless they invite us in and so because we pushed so much the police department and just blasted everything. I mean, sometimes you have to shame them and embarrass them and call them out to get some kind of response back. And I think finally when that happened, that's when they requested the assistance of the Attorney General's office. When you're doing things in a vacuum and you're allowed to do the same things over and over again, and nobody's questioning you, nobody's scrutinizing you, nobody's you're just allowed to do whatever you've been doing for however long. When an oversight comes in, you get a little embarrassed, you get a little scared, and you get a little we better do things right. And shortly after that happened, before the case files were finally handed over, Captain Rhodes left, he retired and she Blanched went to another police police department. So within months of that happening, both of them were gone. And it's like that wasn't a coincidence. In my mind, they knew they were going to be feeling the pressure of this when it came back. Case files were handed over in December of twenty twenty four, the Attorney General's office. They talked to us at the very beginning. They were very friendly. Mindy Motford very friendly, was talking to me saying, we'll reach out to you when we get the case files and were able to review them. And then the moment she found out there was a well, she stopped responding to my tech, to my emails and I kept emailing, and finally she sent a response back saying that it's come to their attention that there's current litigation with the Ooransa's past police department, and because of that, they're not going to content. They're not going to continue talking to me. That everything needs to go through my attorney. So she shut it down and I asked her, I said, you know I emailed and I said, I don't understand. I said, this litigation is between us and the Ohransa's past police department. The Attorney General's Office has nothing to do with this. I said, you still have a responsibility to talk to the family and witnesses if you're going to be doing an investigation like we're the family, and they refused. So for months and months, even my attorney tried reaching out to her. She gave me her number. He never got a hold of her, he could never connect with her. So I feel very upset that I feel it's a win. And then there's ten steps back. We do good, we do a great thing, a big thing, and then ten steps back and again again and then ten steps back. And so I feel like this was a good thing because now we're having some oversight. But I'm still frustrated because in my mind, what does an investigation or your review mean if you refuse to talk to the family members, to witnesses, or to our family invents instigator, what good is your review? In my mind? It took over a year for them to finally say, as part of this agreement between our attorney, the Ebransis Pass Police Department, and the Attorney generals, it took a whole year for them to finally say, look, we're going to hand you the case files, but we're going to search this area one more time and if we find nothing, we're going to give you those case files and their entirety. But if we find something, then we're gonna you will not get the case files and you need to drop the lawsuit. So that's how this arrangement went, this legal agreement and the people who were going to come in and do the search was the state, the Attorney General's office. They had a geo forensic team, was going to cost fifteen thousand dollars and they were going to pay half, and the Aransas Pass had the City of Aransas Pass had to come up with the other half. And so that's the only reason why we finally after ten years, were able to get a second and a second excavation, dig survey, whatever you want to call it, to this property, because there was there was no way, and we're the ones that pushed it, our family was nobody else. The police department didn't give they'd excuse my language, they didn't give a shit. They would have still been sitting on it like it's been had I not rattled the cage, had we not done what we were doing, it would just they would just be happy doing what they were doing for the last ten years. It's our family that's pushed for hands down, it's our family that pushed for this to happen, because until and unless that property is search and cleared, we can't move forward because we're stuck under this cloud of suspicion, and we need to be we need, we need it to be ended and to be cleared so that we can move forward, get the case files and and get this. We're over it. We're just over it. We're over being accused, We're over being total. We're guilty of murder. And that's a big deal because this wasn't just about the search anymore. This was about finally getting access to everything that had been documented over the years, everything that had been held back, everything that could potentially answer questions that have been sitting unanswered for decades. So the investigation happens in February of twenty twenty six. It's completed, the results are known, nothing was found, and at that point the condition of that agreement had been met. But even then the family was still waiting, waiting for it to be made official, waiting for the statement by the Aransas Pass Police Department, waiting for confirmation that this was actually going to happen. And if you've been following along, especially through Ruby's updates, you know that wasn't immediate. This wasn't something that happened overnight. They were waiting and waiting until now now we finally have that confirmation. We have an official statement from the Aransas Pass Police Department, and I want to read that to you now exactly as it was released regarding cold case missing person investigation Alisa Roberson in twenty twenty five, at the request from family members for an outside agency to take the lead on the nineteen eighty nine disappearance of Alisa Roberson, the Aransas Pass Police Department contacted the Texas Attorney General OAG Missing Persons Cold Case Unit. They agreed to receive and investigate the case. After review, the OAG suggested a geo forensic investigation to be completed at the residence Elisa resided at the day of her disappearance, as this type of investigation would not interfere with the integrity of any structures on the property for reference. The family of Elisa Roberson filed a civil lawsuit to obtain law enforcement records, including the police investigation into the case. As part of a Rule eleven agreement between the City of Aransas Pass and the family and agreed to by the judge in the case, a geo forensic investigation would be completed, and if no new evidence was obtained, the law enforcement files would be released to the family. The Aransas Pass Police Department funded the expenditure for the investigation to proceed, and in February twenty twenty six the investigation was conducted and completed. Both the Office of the Attorney General and Aransas Pass Police detectives were on site during this investigation. The results did not provide any new evidence in this case. Therefore, by the rule eleven agreement, the police department will be releasing the files to the family as agreed. There will be no further updates as this is still an open investigation. David Perkins, Chief of Police, Aransas Pass Police Department, So take a second and sit with that, because this is the first time in decades there is something official on record confirming what was and what wasn't found, no new evidence, and a commitment to release the case files to the family. And I want to talk about why this matters, not just from an investigative standpoint, but for the family because what happened in twenty sixteen did more than create confusion, It placed a target on the family's back. And that's the reality of it. For years, they've had to live with that, with the speculation, with the accusations, with people believing that somehow the answers were inside that home, that they were responsible, that Marina was responsible, that Ruby knew something, that the family was hiding something. And now that changes because this is an opinion. This isn't rumor, this isn't something someone said behind the scenes. This is an official statement saying the results did not provide any new evidence, and that is such an important piece of this case now because it removes something that never should have been placed on them in the first place. Now, to be clear, this does not mean the case is over, not even close, because now we move into the next phase of this case, and that is the release of the files. And I want to be really real with you here. We don't know what those files are going to contain. We don't know how much information is actually going to be in them. We don't know what's been documented and what hasn't. We don't know what may be missing and what may be redacted. And Ruby has talked about that too, that as much as this is a big moment, they also have to be careful not to assume these files will answer everything. So I think that's going to be a gold mine when we finally get those files so that we can see we may be disappointed, and that's something that we've been told be prepared, that there may not be as much as you expect because a lot of these departments will lose files. We were told that some of those files were rodents had gotten into them, some things were so I want to be prepared, but I also am excited for what might be in there that might be what helps us put things together. And that's important to say out loud, because while this is a big moment, there are still a lot of unknowns. These files could answer questions, they could fill in gaps, they could give the families something they've been searching for, or they could raise even more questions. Or they could come back heavily redacted with very little new information at all. And that is the reality of cases like this, especially cases that have been open for decades. But regardless of what those files contain, this is still a win because for the first time in a long time, there is movement, there's accountability, there's something on record that correct what has been said in the past, and for a family that has spent decades fighting to be heard, that matters because imagine being in their position. Imagine your loved one disappears, Imagine spending years trying to find them. Imagine reliving that pain over and over again, every anniversary, every birthday, every holiday, every time another lead comes in, every time another person says they know something, and then imagine that, instead of being supported, your family becomes the focus. Imagine being told there were remains. Imagine being told arrests were coming. Imagine waiting for years and years and never getting a clear answer about what was actually found. And then imagine that same claim, that same search becomes part of the reason people believe you know more than you do. That is not just frustrating, that is damaging. It changes how people see you. It changes how people talk about you and how the case is discussed. And in a missing person's case, public perception matters because when people believe the family did it, they stop looking elsewhere, They stop asking other questions, they stop paying attention to other possibilities. And that is why this statement matters. It does not solve Alisa's case, it doesn't bring her home, it doesn't erase what the family has been through, but it does shift the narrative. It takes the target off the family's back, a target that should have never been placed there to begin with, and now the focus can move forward back to Elisa, back to the question that has mattered from the very beginning, what happened to her after she left that house, because that is where this case started, not inside the home, not buried beneath the property, but somewhere along that short walk between the people who saw her and the place she was supposed to be. That is where Elisa vanished, and that is where the questions still remain. So what happens next, Well, now the family waits. They wait for the files, files they have been trying to access for years, and when those files come in, there may be more to share. There may be more questions, There may be new leads. There may be names, reports, statements, or investigative details that the family has never seen before. Or there may not be, but either way, this is the next phase. Ruby is not going to stop. This family is not going to stop. They are going to keep pushing, They're going to keep advocating, they're going to keep fighting for Elisa, and we're going to keep following this. There will likely be more bonus episodes as things continue to unfold, because this case is still moving, and I think that is important because when we released this season, the goal was to tell Elisa's story, to show what her family has carried, and to give you enough context to understand why this development matters so much. And now that this statement has been released, you can feel the weight of it. You understand why this matters. You understand why this is not just a procedural update. This is personal, This is emotional. This is decades of waiting, decades of being questioned, decades of trying to get access to information, and finally we have movement. So this is where we are. The files are expected to be released to the family, and the family is still fighting for Elisa, because this story isn't over in many ways, it may just be beginning, and when those files are released, will be here to uncover what comes next. Today we got a big surprise when we got home. We had an envelope, a FedEx envelope waiting at our doorstep Alisa robertson files thumb drive four twenty three, twenty twenty six. It's a date on it, but we just got it. There's the case files. We got it. The Unseen Truth is a Reignited Media production, hosted, edited, and produced by me John Rivera. A special thank you to Reignited media's own Sam Cole and Rose George for their support in scheduling and conducting the interviews that made the season possible.