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listening destination [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
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anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website midnight approached on Thanksgiving Eve
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November 23rd 2016 penny meek was up waiting for her son Tom Brown who was due home any moment hours earlier
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Tom had gone out to meet up with France the 18 year old had a strict midnight curfew and was rarely late if he was he
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always got in touch to let his mother know so far she'd heard nothing TACA Brown Tom's older brother was home from
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Oklahoma State University for Thanksgiving earlier that night Tucker caught his younger brother as he
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was leaving wanting to spend some quality time Tucker suggested they should watch a
00:02:24
movie together later that night Tom happily agreed midnight ticked by and if there was no sign of Tom at 12:03 a.m.
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Tucker sent his brother a text asking where he was Tom didn't reply Tucker and Penny sent on several more text messages
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trying to locate him but still they received a no response this was unusual Tom always responded the texts
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at 12:23 a.m. penny tried to call Tom but her call went straight to voicemail his phone was off
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Penny's concern grew though Tom could be a joker into goofball he wasn't the type to pull a prank like
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this he was a well-behaved son far from rebellious or disrespectful Tom preferred playing video games with
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friends than going to wild parties it was strikingly had a character for him to miss curfew and not be in touch
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penny feared Tom had been in a car accident getting into separate cars to cover more
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ground penny and Tucker went searching for Tom's red colored 2009 Dodge Durango SUV the pair turned down the suburban
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streets of their small North Texan town of Canadian population just over two and
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a half thousand people the quaint country style homes were dark and quiet families had settled in ahead of the
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following day's festivities the Main Street was equally still in silent penny and Tucker combed the entire town
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checking local haunts and hangouts yet there was no sign of Tom or his car though Canadian has more wealth and
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bustle than other townships in the semi-arid Panhandle region of Texas it was still incredibly small and
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close-knit the layout of the land is deeply engrained within the residents who live there
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there's no way tom was lost penny returned home to start making calls she rang Robin the mother of Caleb King
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Tom had gone out that night to meet with Caleb and another friend Christian Webb
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all three were longtime friends from Canadian high school Christian was now a freshman at Oklahoma State University
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and locked Tom's older brother Tucker she was back home in Canadians for Thanksgiving break with Christian in
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town the group decided to perform an old ritual go for a late night drive to catch up and listen to music
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penny was surprised to discover Caleb was home and in bed Caleb explained the trio had called it a
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night just after 11 p.m. and then they went their separate ways Caleb had no idea where Tom went after
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this encounter but insisted he was fine when they parted company penny then caught the other person out with Tom
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that night Christian web Christian thought it was strange Tom wasn't home she considered he may have stayed out to
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drive around town by himself or that he may have gotten a flat tire and was stuck somewhere
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both Caleb and Christian went out to help search for Tom but they had no luck either
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Tom had vanished [Music] [Music] at 2:00 a.m. penny contacted the Hemphill County
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Sheriff's Department to report her son missing Hempel County had elected a new sheriff just two months earlier
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Nathan Lewis was a young and inexperienced sheriff but he was raised in Canadian he knew the town there
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hadn't been a violent crime there for over 15 years calls from parents his kids missed
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curfew were not unusual in each case they'd show up alive and well so when sheriff Lewis heard tom bryan
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hadn't come home it was quick to assume tom just lost track of time or was pushing boundaries to him the least
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likely scenario was foul play tom was described as well-liked and popular someone with many friends from different
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circles Caleb King knew Tom as a funny guy with a positive vibe who ain't a please he couldn't think of a single
00:07:10
person who didn't like him Tom had twice been elected class president and he had just placed the
00:07:17
tenth in the state for public speaking up until a month before his disappearance he played for the Wildcats
00:07:24
Canadian high school's football team with him they'd won two state championships which was a big deal
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in Texas high school football is more like a religion kids can shoulder the weight of the
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community's expectations to his family tom was just a regular kid he loved at WWE wrestling and idolized
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Tom Brady the New England Patriots quarterback at six feet tall and 195 pounds Tom appeared big enough to hold
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his own in a fire but he was far from the type to seek violence he had no interest in drugs or dangerous
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activities there was no secret double life so when Tom didn't come home his family couldn't shake the feeling that
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something was seriously wrong [Music] the last known sighting of tom was by his friends Caleb King and Christian
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Webb on the night of his disappearance November 23rd they confirmed Tom arrived to their made-up point the parking lot
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of Canadian middle school parking lot security footage filmed Tom arriving in his SUV Caleb and Christian turned up in
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their own cars after greeting one another they all got into Christians car she drove with Tom riding shotgun in the
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front seat Caleb was in the back both Caleb and Christian later stated they were all in good spirits Tom chose
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the music American folk band The Avett Brothers they drove around town then headed north towards the old wagon
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bridge a near kilometer long footbridge over the Canadian River after parking at
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the southern end they walked across together it was a call to fall night tom was hunched up in his black windbreaker
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emblazoned on the left of his chest were the orange letters of the Oklahoma State
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College football team the Cowboys shortly after 11:00 p.m. the trio decided to call it a night
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Canadian middle school security cameras filmed Christians car pulling into the parking lot Caleb and Tom climbed out
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and returned to their own vehicles the three made plans to meet up again the next night before they went their
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separate ways Tom cheerfully told his friends I'll see you tomorrow security footage confirmed
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no one had entered or tampered with Tom's car whilst that was in the school parking lot
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caleb and christian maintained it was an uneventful night out tom didn't seem anxious upset or distracted
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he's eagerness to see them again implied he didn't plan on going anywhere anytime
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soon security footage showed tom leaving the middle school car park alone in his
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vehicle at 11:26 p.m. as Thanksgiving celebrations kicked off the following morning Tom Brown was still missing
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wanting to survey a greater area Christian Webb and her father Trey took the search to where in Trey's helicopter
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they swept over the Canadian River and its surrounding valleys then they flew further outwards over the panhandles
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trademark dry empty plains a land of tumbleweeds rusted windmills and a mechanical pump
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Jack's drawing oil from the cracked earth Tom's car would be easily spotted out there but they didn't find it Tom's
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SUV wasn't in the town center or stranded along u.s. highway route 60 or 83 there were no sightings along the
00:11:01
train tracks on the western edge of town Christian and her father then flew 14 miles east and circled Lake Marvin the
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63 acre lake was a popular area for camping picnicking fishing hiking and hunting Tom sometimes visited the lake
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with friends but they failed to find his car there razor they flew back towards town over the baseball fields and Road I
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agree on some Canadians eastern edge then something called Christians are below on a dirt dead-end trail
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surrounded by brush and Bracken Christian spotted a familiar red SUV a dark thought immediately crossed her
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mind Christian knew Tom had a somber side he hid from others at times he had trouble
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picturing the future and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel had he driven to this isolated area to
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take his own life Christian became distraught trade turned to the helicopter so his daughter
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wouldn't see inside the vehicle and carefully maneuvered to give himself a clearer view through the windshield to
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his relief car was empty the web´s notified Hemphill county sheriff's department of their discovery Tom's car
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was unlocked with a window rolled halfway down his car keys cellphone wallet and backpack which held a school
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issued laptop were all missing there were no visible tracks leading to or from the car police conducted a
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rudimentary search of the vehicle on the inside driver's door handle they found blood tests later confirmed that was
00:12:47
Tom's sheriff Lewis described the blood stained quote the blood had looked like you swiped your hand on the door from a
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small cup it was not substantial it was not spatter or droppings or anything indicative of an assault on the floor of
00:13:06
Toms vehicle they found a 25 caliber shell casing small and easy to conceal a 25 caliber gun is sometimes called a
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pocket pistol although not very powerful that can still cause fatal injuries the
00:13:21
shell was a - of projectile meaning it had been fired Tom didn't own a gun and had no interest in them some friends of
00:13:30
his were gonna be us which is an unusual in rural Texas but none owned a gun of that type that
00:13:36
anyone knew of a receipt for a full tank of gas was also found this correlated with transaction records from Penny's
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debit card at 11:28 p.m. the night of Tom's disappearance Penny's card was used at the front coil gas station
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Tom often used his mother's debit card to buy fuel from there frong coil is located on 2nd Street less than five
00:14:01
minutes from his home Penny's card hadn't been used since this transaction franck oil was a self-service gas
00:14:10
station no staff were on duty security cameras were set up but none were working at the time footage from a
00:14:20
neighboring business captured tomat franck oil furthermore someone driving past witnessed tom filling up his car
00:14:27
but didn't see anyone else around it was around a five minute one and a half mile drive northeast from
00:14:35
franck oil to where Tom's car was later found however four and a half gallons of
00:14:40
fuel had been used this meant in the hours between Tom filling up the tank into the discovery of his car it was
00:14:48
driven around 40 to 45 miles sheriff Lewis called Tom's family to report his SUV had been filmed it was on a secluded
00:15:01
dirt trail leading to the water treatment facility on the town's northeast in French there was an
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isolated spot that not everyone in town was familiar with according to Tom's family they didn't
00:15:13
believe he had ever been there before near Tom's car was a small incline leading to the rear of the Oasis Cove
00:15:20
residential apartments which were about 500 yards or 450 meters away although there was no evidence yet to prove it
00:15:31
sheriff Lewis said he was treating the case as suicide this only confused Tom's family they'd seen no signs of suicidal
00:15:41
thought or action in Tom's behavior in the past although he could be deep and retrospective he looked forward with
00:15:48
purpose tom was excited for theater rehearsals graduation the following year and
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planned - funnily sporting passion and public speaking skills into a career in sports journalism Tom had also organized
00:16:02
to see Caleb and Christian again Thanksgiving 9:00 when Tom's family looked back at his behavior leading up
00:16:08
to his disappearance there were no overt or subtle signs he was contemplating an
00:16:13
end Tom did have personal struggles there his parents divorced when he was 8 years
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old and only recently Tom had spoken candidly about the divorce to friends admitting his religious faith was shaken
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as a result when Tom was 16 years old he had a run-in with local law enforcement
00:16:34
one night tom was downtown with two friends when they were approached by a deputy he accused the group of trying to
00:16:42
break into a building on Main Street the boy strongly denied the accusation this
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was the first and only time Tom had an encounter with police he was told to call his mother but Tom refused stating
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he hadn't done anything and didn't know what he was supposed to say tom was ordered into the deputy's car he
00:17:03
complied but nothing ever came of this accusation and Tom was free to go according to Tom's mother penny the
00:17:12
deputy who dealt with Tom and his friends that night was Nathan Lewis prior to his appointment as sheriff for
00:17:18
him Hill County then only a month before his disappearance Tom quit the high school football team
00:17:26
despite being seen as a dedicated and talented player the coach replaced him as a starter Tom was new our reserve
00:17:34
training almost every day sometimes twice a day to spend the games on the bench he quickly lost interest it was a
00:17:43
difficult week when Tom quit the people were understanding there was no lingering animosity over his decision
00:17:51
only ten days before his disappearance Tom and his girlfriend sage Pennington broke up sage was a freshman at West
00:17:59
Texas A&M University in Canyon two hours away from Canadian the reason for the split is unknown but according to Tom's
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mother it was amicable the pair remained friends and they still messaged each other
00:18:14
saij was back home in canadian for the thanksgiving break records show tom sent her a text message around 11:30 p.m. the
00:18:22
night of his disappearance what was said is not publicly known but according to those who've read it it was a casual how
00:18:30
are you doing type message sage responded the text was delivered but Tom never replied the Texas Parks and
00:18:42
Wildlife Department supplied tracking dogs to investigate Tom's car scanning a radius almost half a mile around it the
00:18:50
dogs failed to pick up a scent they followed a trail leading East from Tom's car but it didn't go far
00:18:56
ending it some nearby brush the next day the second set of highly trained and experienced tracking dogs were sent from
00:19:04
the nearby city of Amarillo these dogs picked up a scent in Tom's car leading handle is nearly a mile east before
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reaching the Canadian River there was along the marshy banks of the shallow and slow moving waters where they lost
00:19:19
the scent it was inconclusive whether the dogs were following Tom scent specifically or someone else who may
00:19:26
have been in the vehicle tipster law enforcement led to the search for Tom extending to neighboring towns and
00:19:35
counties Tom's social media accounts bank and cell phone records were checked for
00:19:40
activity none had been accessed since his disappearance his cell phone was still often going to voicemail although
00:19:49
they were able to trace the last known location of Tom's phone before it was turned off shortly after midnight
00:19:55
November 24th Tom's phone emitted a ping indicating it was at the Wildcats football stadium the stadium is near the
00:20:03
southeastern border of town just over a mile from franck oil where Tom was last seen filling up no motive has been
00:20:11
established for Tom to have gone to the stadium at this time with this knowledge
00:20:16
law enforcement pieced together Tom's last movements at 11:26 p.m. tom was captured on footage leading the Canadian
00:20:25
middle school carpark alone he went directly to Franck oil to purchase a tank of gas at 11:28 p.m.
00:20:33
shortly after midnight his phone pinged indicating it was at the Wildcats football stadium
00:20:40
soon after this final ping Tom's phone was switched off shortly after daybreak his car was located on the dirt trail
00:20:49
near the water treatment facility the sequence of events only became more difficult to decipher when law
00:20:57
enforcement began collating the town's security footage the night of Tom's disappearance a camera on the corner of
00:21:04
2nd Street and main caught a red SUV quickly passed by around 1:30 a.m. the car matched Tom's this sighting occurred
00:21:13
close to 90 minutes after that final phone ping at the football stadium nine minutes later tucker brown's car
00:21:21
appeared on the same camera this was during the time he was out searching for Tom Tucker didn't know he was following
00:21:28
his brother's SUV just minutes behind and of the two cars never crossed paths Tom's car reappeared on security footage
00:21:38
at 524 am traveling north on 2nd Street for the next 20 minutes the vehicle seemed to be driving directionless all
00:21:46
over town at times that appeared to be heading towards tom's house but turned away when it got close eventually the
00:21:54
SUV headed northeast towards the water treatment facility footage captured the vehicle driving past the Hemphill County
00:22:02
Recreation Complex on 6th Street the car then moved off camera continuing east onto an isolated dirt track towards the
00:22:09
water treatment facility where it was later found abandoned no footage was clear enough to identify the SUV's
00:22:18
driver or to determine if there was more than one occupant nevertheless sheriff Lewis felt confident tom was driving
00:22:26
alone it didn't make sense to him that someone who had harmed Tom would then get into
00:22:33
his car and to drive all over town in the following days sheriff Lewis enlisted other law enforcement agencies
00:22:42
fire departments and local townspeople to help find Tom Brown the area where Tom's vehicle was discovered the nearby
00:22:50
water treatment facility enter the Canadian River were scoured on foot horseback ATVs Rovers and helicopters
00:22:58
the search radius expanded 50 minutes drive out from Canadian Lake Marvin surface was scanned by boat sonar
00:23:07
equipment didn't detect anything in the water's depths or on the shore these sonar results were enough for law
00:23:13
enforcement to eliminate Lake Marvin as a location of interest sheriff Lewis stated quote they cleared the entire
00:23:21
Lake Marvin perimeter and also in the water Thomas Brown is not at Lake Marvin 100% the lake wasn't dredged and divers
00:23:32
were never called in to conduct a search a specialist horseback search-and-rescue
00:23:38
team were called in from nearby Randall County they were experienced trekking the Canadian River for Missing Persons
00:23:45
two years earlier the 24 year old woman and her six year old niece vanished along the river lost horseback riding
00:23:52
Randall County's team were called in and located the pair deceased in the water for two days they meticulously searched
00:24:00
the river for Tom Brown they found no sign of him and were confident to report Tom was not in the Canadian River or
00:24:07
surrounding area the old sewer ponds of the water treatment facility posed a health and safety risk to divers they
00:24:16
had to be flushed before anyone could enter the effluent was placed in two new ponds once this process was complete the
00:24:24
odd ponds were searched but nothing was found the Canadian community rallied to support Tom's family with food cards and
00:24:34
flowers porch lights were left on prayer vigils were held and word spread to neighboring towns local business student
00:24:43
Odom offered five thousand dollars for information leading to the rescue or recovery of Tom Brown the Thanksgiving
00:24:51
break was now over Christian Webb had to recommend Studies at Oklahoma State University as Shay and Caleb King were
00:24:59
the last known witnesses to have contact with Tom before he disappeared she found it odd law enforcement had not
00:25:05
asked to question them or take statements Christian called the Sheriff's Department herself and offered
00:25:12
to talk with them before she left him desperately seeking answers Tom Browns family hired a private investigator from
00:25:22
the firm Cline investigations and consulting who specialized in missing persons cases private investigator
00:25:29
Philip Kline was open to all possibilities in the case at one point he even considered human trafficking and
00:25:35
made inquiries in other states but with no leads there he brought his focus back to Canadian
00:25:42
Klein had experts re-examined photographs of the blood stain in Tom's car they concluded it was deeper venous
00:25:50
blood Kline remained elusive about what that meant exactly however he put forth the possibility Tom may have been
00:25:57
wounded protecting himself from an assault by the third week of the investigation
00:26:06
sheriff Lewis publicly stated law enforcement had exhausted every resource they had in their search for Tom Brown
00:26:12
he told the Canadian record quote all evidence we have found indicates to us that he disappeared on his own when
00:26:23
asked why tom filled his car with gas only to abandon sheriff Lewis explained Tom must have gotten gas out of habit
00:26:29
not reason he was asked why Tom's vehicle was captured on footage driving back and forth throughout town instead
00:26:36
of just leaving the sheriff replied Tom mayor being indecisive unsure if he wanted to run away perhaps he toyed with
00:26:44
the thought of going home to say a final goodbye to his family the sheriff bolstered the runaway theory
00:26:50
by stating they'd found supporting evidence in Tom's bedroom on the home computer and in text messages sent to
00:26:56
friends Lewis didn't reveal what the evidence was but his interpretation was that Tom didn't want to being Canadian
00:27:04
sheriff Lewis quote there's things I don't want to release to the public because it's an ongoing investigation
00:27:11
and for the privacy of the family people don't need to know these things but I can tell you for sure the things we
00:27:19
found a clues that tell us he left on his own we've put him under a microscope and we've learned a lot about the young
00:27:26
men Tom made a conscious decision to leave home with law enforcement remaining tight-lipped the town was left
00:27:35
to speculate did Tom break the law did he fear being charged with a crime is that why he was refusing to return home
00:27:45
chief deputy Brandt Clapp remarked quote there are no criminal charges pending against him he is 18 he can leave maybe
00:27:55
he might have chosen a little bit wiser way to do it but he is not committed a crime and as far as we can tell no one
00:28:02
has committed a crime against him later penny found out law enforcement were asking her son's friends about his
00:28:10
sexuality sheriff Lewis maintained although he was under the strong impression tom was a
00:28:17
runaway the case would remain open until a conclusion was reached Tom Brown had been missing for three weeks at this
00:28:24
point during that time his cell phone hadn't been turned back on or used and his bank account hadn't been touched
00:28:43
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ship station make ship happen private investigator Philip Klein considered several scenarios maybe Tom
00:31:42
was taken against his will were agreed to travel with another party not sensing any danger
00:31:48
Klein issued a plea to ranch hands and oil field employees to keep a lookout for anything unusual he also gave a
00:31:55
message to Tom's fellow students at Canadian Tire if you know something say something
00:32:02
Tom's mum penny also appealed to her son's school mates quote if you know something please speak up if you know
00:32:12
something and you're trying to cover up something you have done it's all forgivable I just want to know where he
00:32:19
is and to get him to come home so that we can do whatever is best for him it was two months after Tom's
00:32:27
disappearance January 27th 2017 when a worker was checking oil wells and Lawrence on Lake Marvin Road the worker
00:32:36
noticed some trash behind a tree on the other side of a barbed-wire fence but as
00:32:41
it got closer he realized that wasn't rubbish there was a backpack the Sheriff's Department was notified the
00:32:51
backpack belonged to Tom gray on a laptop he used for school was inside grooves had formed in the ground
00:32:59
underneath the back and the water pooled around it it was wet inside and out papers inside were almost moldy it
00:33:07
looked as though the bag had been there for some time the laptop was water damaged it took time the technicians
00:33:14
were able to extract its data the laptop revealed no clues though all that contained was Tom schoolwork a search of
00:33:24
the area where the backpack was found resulted in no new evidence for sheriff Lewis the discovery of Tom's
00:33:31
backpack supported his theory Tom left the town voluntarily he believed Tom dumped his belongings and just walked
00:33:38
away a vigil was held for tom at canadian high school his schoolmates were given shiny pebbles engraved with
00:33:48
the message just make it home on one side and the Tom's name on the other by now the town of Canadian was covered
00:33:55
with posters and banners for Tom by March 2017 the reward for information increased to twenty thousand dollars as
00:34:04
his investigation progressed private investigator Philip Kline was becoming less convinced about the runaway theory
00:34:12
he told the Canadian record quote we do believe we have established some possible suspects in the city regarding
00:34:19
some possible nefarious activities we are exploring those but at this time we have completely vetted the opportunities
00:34:27
for Thomas to run we just don't see it based on the evidence of this toll climb then made another appeal to students of
00:34:36
Canadian higher quote if you know something you need to say something you could be charged with the crime for
00:34:44
withholding information even if you are innocent and you just heard something at
00:34:48
high school call us we won't report you we won't tell anybody you called us you will remain anonymous by late March 2017
00:35:01
private investigator Philip client released an official statement at read after four months of investigation we
00:35:10
believe the following based upon interviews and physical evidence one we believe Thomas Brown did not wilfully
00:35:17
leave Canadian Texas or plan his disappearance - we believe foul play was involved in Thomas's disappearance three
00:35:26
we believe there is a strong possibility a person or persons injured Thomas on the night of his disappearance
00:35:33
the purpose of our release at this time is we believe there is a person or persons at Canadian high school with
00:35:40
direct knowledge of the circumstance surrounding his disappearance we again say to the students of Canadian
00:35:46
high school if you know something say something Thomas and his parents deserve this
00:35:55
sheriff Lewis was quick to issue a reply to client statement speaking publicly Lewis maintained law enforcement always
00:36:04
perceived the Tom Brown case as a criminal investigation sheriff Lewis added quote at this time for the sake of
00:36:13
maintaining the integrity of our investigation we are not prepared to release the nature of any possible
00:36:18
criminal charges we are investigating [Music] in early April 2017 Christian Webb was
00:36:27
at Oklahoma State preparing for my exams around 2:00 this time she noticed the vehicle had begun to follow her as she
00:36:35
walked out of class one day she was confronted by campus police they escorted her to a room where a Texas
00:36:42
Ranger and an FBI agent were waiting they wanted to talk about Tom Brown Christian was asked to hand over her
00:36:51
mobile phone she complied and two they downloaded the contents she was then given a sheet of paper with
00:36:58
a list of questions to answer she complied then she was asked to recall the moments leading up to Tom's
00:37:05
disappearance they accused her of knowing where Tom was Christian felt they were playing mind games trying to
00:37:14
confuse her the questioning continued for four hours they finished by asking if she would take part in a lie-detector
00:37:22
test when Christian agreed they let her go Caleb King was enrolling for college at Texas A&M when he received a phone
00:37:32
call from him PL County Sheriff's Department Caleb returned to Canadian at their
00:37:37
request upon arrival he too was questioned at length by a Texas Ranger and an FBI agent their questions focused
00:37:47
on text messages Caleb had sent in these messages Caleb asked friends if anyone knew the
00:37:53
pin code to access Tom's cell phone these messages caught the interest of law enforcement because Tom's cell phone
00:38:01
had been missing since his disappearance caleb explained he sent those messages at the request of Tom's mother penny
00:38:09
penny had texted his own mother Robin asking if Caleb knew the code Caleb didn't know the code so he asked his
00:38:18
friends if they knew it interviewing officers didn't believe Caleb he offered to take a lie detector test but they
00:38:26
didn't take him up on it after hours of questioning Caleb called his mother she still had
00:38:33
Penny's text from months ago asking if anyone knew Tom's pincode Caleb showed the officers the text proving his story
00:38:43
penny stated she was asking around for Toms pincode at that time on behalf of the Sheriff's Department they asked her
00:38:51
if she knew the code she didn't so she started asking Tom's friends if they knew it that's not fully
00:38:59
understood why the Sheriff's Department were asking for Tom's ping code which by
00:39:03
all reports was still missing Caleb and Christian have been viewed by some with suspicion and speculation both the from
00:39:13
well-respected families Caleb's father is a Republican state senator representing rural Texas rumors
00:39:20
of a cover-up spread online the both Christian and Caleb have complied with investigators requests every step of the
00:39:27
way and have been officially cleared from any involvement in Tom Browns disappearance in mid-april
00:39:37
2017 private investigator Philip Klein organized the cadaver dogs to search points of interest in Canadian although
00:39:45
the exact details of this search were not released to the public Klein reiterated his belief Tom was most
00:39:51
likely deceased either a victim of accidental death or homicide Klein told the Canadian record quote we
00:40:01
feel like this trip closed a lot of doors for us we feel like we can now concentrate on certain suspects certain
00:40:08
individuals Klein strongly believed ancestor Tom's disappearance would be found at Lake Marvin
00:40:15
he told Amarillo globe news quote we think the car was out there that it was driven back and someone through his
00:40:24
backpack yard we do not believe he disappeared we believe he is deceased and had happened at Lake Marvin we
00:40:32
believe Lake Marvin has not been 100% checked and rechecked Lake Marvin was no longer a location of interest for law
00:40:42
enforcement sheriff Lewis still hadn't put divers in the lake but reiterated the lake and its perimeter were
00:40:48
extensively searched by ground air and sonar private investigator client who also
00:40:54
believed the area Tom's vehicle was abandoned was significant it was secluded but only a 500 yard or 450
00:41:03
meter walk to the oasis Cove apartments Kline believes it's possible a suspect either lived or took refuge there
00:41:12
Tom's backpack was locked up in evidence by law enforcement this meant Klein was unable to view it
00:41:18
nevertheless he wasn't convinced Tom dumped the backpack off like Marvin rode he believed it was tossed there by a
00:41:25
suspect getting rid of evidence the Hemphill County Sheriff's Department were quick to argue points made by Kline
00:41:34
they released a statement to address what Klein was saying quote at this time the sheriff's office has no evidence to
00:41:42
support the following assertions one the car was driven by someone other than Tom
00:41:48
Brown at any time during the Neue to the driver of Tom's red Dodge Durango walked
00:41:54
into the residential area on the north side of the city 3 the backpack recovered by the Sheriff's Department
00:42:01
was planted as a diversion for Tom Brown was assaulted and/or killed intentionally or accidentally 5 Tom's
00:42:11
body was dumped in or around Hemphill County the statement further read several issues of discrepancy exists in
00:42:21
the layout of the timeline as proposed by Kline investigations the Sheriff's Office has not released this due to the
00:42:28
sensitive nature of the information we will not at this time divulge any other information concerning the timeline of
00:42:34
the events of November 23rd and 24th this is based on our desire to maintain the integrity of our investigation and
00:42:42
effectively pursue prosecution should a suspect be developed Tom Brian remains a missing person and
00:42:48
the Hemphill County Sheriff's Department has classified this a missing person investigation from the beginning that is
00:42:55
not to say criminal activity has been ruled out or ignored in fact this investigation has been
00:43:01
pursued from the initiation as the possible result of a criminal act we will continue to investigate the
00:43:08
disappearance of Tom Brown with a primary goal of discovering Tom's whereabouts we will however go about
00:43:15
this task with the responsibility of conducting this investigation in such a manner that if suspects are developed
00:43:21
successful prosecution will be ensured by May 2017 the reward for information rose to $40,000 on July 18th hopes of a
00:43:36
breakthrough came when a realtor rented a house in Canadian and saw what they believed were extensive bloodstains on
00:43:42
the carpet they immediately contacted the Sheriff's Department the suspicious markings were
00:43:49
investigated and extensive forensic testing was done but all tests came back in negative it wasn't blood
00:43:58
Tom Brown's family called a press conference nearing the eight-month anniversary of his disappearance his
00:44:04
mother penny make elder brother taka stepfather Chris make and biological father Kelly Brown were in attendance as
00:44:12
was sheriff Nathan Lewis penny raised concern over the fact that Tom's car was returned to her promptly after discovery
00:44:21
no thorough forensic examination was done initially sheriff Lewis acknowledged this was a mistake
00:44:29
he emphasized no one anticipated the investigation would go in the direction at hurt at first they believed Tom would
00:44:36
be found quickly when he wasn't police retrieved the car to conduct a more comprehensive examination sheriff Lewis
00:44:45
declined to answer questions regarding the 25 caliber shell casing found in Tom's car or the discovery of Tom's
00:44:52
backpack he confirmed Lake Marvin had not been dredged and Davis still had not searched the water again he defended his
00:45:01
decision on the matter claiming the sonar examination was enough when asked if he still believed tom was a runaway
00:45:08
Lewis responded quote right now we have no evidence to say that anything else has happened no evidence to show that a
00:45:17
crime has been committed at this point he is missing penny concluded the conference she
00:45:25
expressed gratitude to the Facebook group mums for Tom who promoted the ongoing search for her son she then
00:45:33
finished with once again we're pleading with the public or anyone who might have
00:45:38
some shred of information which could lead to a break in the case I know this is every parent's nightmare and that we
00:45:46
are not alone but we do know what my son Thomas forgot please do not forget my son over these
00:45:56
months I have continued to text Thomas that I love him and that I miss him and I will never give up trying to find him
00:46:04
these messages have gone unanswered about praying for answers we are confident someone knows more information
00:46:13
or have heard rumors please help us no lead is too vague or insignificant the smallest piece of information may help
00:46:22
you may contact any of the following with information the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Texas a
00:46:30
missing persons Clearing House at Texas DPS the Texas Rangers the Hill County Sheriff's Office and Kline
00:46:37
investigations thank you by August 2017 private investigator Philip Kline said he was treating the
00:46:49
case as a homicide although he didn't necessarily think it was a premeditated slain he believed it possible that Tom
00:46:56
had run into friends or enemies and was killed accidentally claun conducted further interviews with
00:47:03
people around town clarifying statements that had discrepancies he revealed there
00:47:09
were three young persons of interest who was focusing on he would not name them quote I'm 100% sure somebody in Canadian
00:47:19
knows I'm 95% sure a young person was involved in this they made too many mistakes
00:47:25
we're coming we found are those mistakes the person out there and I'm pretty sure
00:47:31
they're listening if you just did something you thought was a joke or lost your anger for a couple of minutes you
00:47:38
need to come forward Cline sprayed the interior of Toms vehicle with luminol to determine if there were further traces
00:47:46
of blood inside Klein didn't reveal the results of this test simply saying the investigation was ongoing Klein then
00:47:56
appealed to anyone who was in downtown Canadian on the morning of Tom's disappearance specifically he appealed
00:48:03
to the driver of a dark brown a Ford 250 pickup truck believed to be driven by a
00:48:08
Caucasian male several witnesses spotted this vehicle driving around Canadian shortly after Tom's disappearance
00:48:16
furthermore Klein made an appeal for volunteers to assist him with a search earlier he conducted his own smaller
00:48:24
scale search around a lake Marvin Road where Tom's backpack was discovered climbed found items of clothing the
00:48:32
shirt and a pair of socks that he believed could have been Tom's on October 14th 2017 five hundred
00:48:42
volunteers offered to help conduct a larger scale search of Lake Marvin Road Klein selected 135 people to help him
00:48:51
over 30 bags of potential evidence were collected Hemphill County Sheriff's Department were present and assisted
00:49:00
to everyone's surprise a major discovery was made within the first five minutes of the search it was an iPhone 6s
00:49:10
excitement peeked that was the same model as Tom's but hope had belonged to Tom faded almost immediately the phone
00:49:22
was in excellent condition undamaged with no dirt in the port's it didn't look to have been in the brush long
00:49:29
there was dirt on the phone itself been attending law enforcement were of the opinion had looked as though someone had
00:49:36
smeared it on the phone the phone was sent to the lab for testing the water sensor in the device was not activated
00:49:43
this men had had not been exposed to rain since the time of Tom's disappearance almost a year prior to the
00:49:51
phone being found Hemphill County had received thirteen point eight five inches of rain the phone was given to
00:49:59
the FBI for further processing there have been no updates regarding the phone it has not been publicly confirmed if it
00:50:06
belonged to Tom Moore naught also found at during the search was a black zippered case for a pistol it was empty
00:50:15
the case could have held a 25 caliber pistol matching the casing found in Toms vehicle however the pistol itself was
00:50:23
not located frustrated by a lack of progress Tom's family hired attorney Rosana Aubrey oh she filed an open
00:50:35
records request with Hemphill County Sheriff's Department abraão believed that by releasing information on the
00:50:41
case and might compel a witness to come forward penny meek stated I know more about the
00:50:48
Las Vegas shooter or the church shooter than my own son's case that is kind of frustrating because I am the mum private
00:50:57
investigator Phillip client filed his own open records request he wanted access to police radio communications
00:51:05
dispatch logs and denotes by officers from the night of and the morning after Tom's disappearance
00:51:12
County Attorney called Miller objected to opening the records claiming it could compromise future criminal prosecution
00:51:19
he was tasked with marking which parts of the files could be exempt from disclosure on December 20th 2017 Miller
00:51:29
failed to complete this task in the allotted time in light of this the Assistant Attorney General concluded all
00:51:35
the information must be released however sheriff Nathan Lewis appealed this decision claiming releasing the
00:51:43
documents would compromise the ongoing investigation the sheriff understood the desire for
00:51:48
knowledge but not at the risk of impeding his investigation Penney organized the petition to open the files
00:51:57
had received eight thousand signatures in five days in response sheriff Lewis formally asked
00:52:04
the Texas Attorney General's Office to take charge of the investigation his request was sent on January 26th 2018
00:52:13
Lewis stated I don't know how much more they are going to be able to do that hasn't been done Lewis maintained other
00:52:23
avenues were still being pursued this included a court order request to perform a tower dump of cellphone towers
00:52:30
in Canadian around the time Tom disappeared this could reveal who was out that night and where they were the
00:52:39
Texas Attorney General's Office took over the case in the early months of 2018 the Hemphill County Sheriff's
00:52:45
Department and private investigator Philip Kline handed them all their current findings Kline is continuing
00:52:52
with his own investigation on behalf of Tom's family everyone in Canadian has their own theory as to what happened to
00:53:01
Tom Brown on Thanksgiving Eve November 23rd 2016 the case is rife with speculation misinformation and
00:53:10
unanswered questions private investigator Philip Kline quote all cases have their own fingerprints on
00:53:19
them this is a highly unusual case it's a small town everyone knows everyone when told of rumors circulating on
00:53:30
social media that officials in Canadian were paid off to keep secrets Klein stated I will go as far to say
00:53:38
that is an exaggeration but I will say that we are exploring some angles that are off the beaten path Tom's family
00:53:48
believed without a doubt he met with foul play and his ordeal began just after he arrived at the front coil gas
00:53:55
station the case remains open a map detailing all the locations of interest in Tom Brian's disappearance is
00:54:05
available to view on the case file website and in the show notes for this episode on May 20th 2017 Tom's classic
00:54:16
Canadian high school graduated the seniors sat together in alphabetical order the seat reserved for Tom Brown
00:54:24
was left empty when his name was announced he should have risen and received his diploma instead the crowd
00:54:34
held a moment of silence [Music] you [Music]