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00:00What was your experience with the police officers that showed up?
00:04They had pinged her phone. It was out of state and it was in Missouri.
00:08Wow. How the hell was her phone in Missouri?
00:11Why is, yeah, why is her phone in a different state?
00:14Was it located?
00:15It was found the next morning on the side of, I believe it was like an on-ramp or an
00:21off-ramp.
00:22Does your mother know anybody in Missouri?
00:26No one.
00:27Was there any part of you that was thinking your mother could have possibly just walked away?
00:36Absolutely not.
00:38I think something went very bad and it may have cost her her life.
00:48I was born in Chicago. I grew up in Chicago.
00:53This is my city.
00:55I spent 20 years as a Chicago PD missing persons detective.
01:02But when I retired, the work never stopped.
01:06This job never leaves you.
01:10And my mission now is to return to the cases that others left behind.
01:17And find that one clue that can finally break the case.
01:28Most missing persons cases are solved within a few hours, but others can drag on for years.
01:37And when the missing is an adult, the answers can be even harder to find.
01:43On September 25th, 2019, 53-year-old Erika Thompson mysteriously vanished from Brookfield, Illinois.
01:55The light outside of Erika Thompson's home is still on, but she hasn't been seen or heard from in weeks.
02:03Leaving behind a trail of cryptic messages.
02:07He received a text and it read, it's me time, it's time for me.
02:13Tumultuous relationships.
02:15She did not pick the greatest men.
02:17I like the bad boy type of thing.
02:20And disturbing clues.
02:21I look down and there's a bracelet.
02:24What condition was the bracelet in?
02:26It was broken.
02:28Now, six years later, her family seems no closer to finding answers.
02:35I don't know where she is.
02:37The hardest part of all this is we can't find her.
02:39And the questions swirl.
02:42Was she running away to start a new life?
02:45I am off to do some huge soul searching to see if I have one and where I put it.
02:52Or had something from her past come back to haunt her.
02:56He got arrested for domestic battery and Erika was the victim.
03:00I think something went very bad and it may have cost her her life.
03:11In 2021, the Cook County Sheriff's Office set up a missing persons unit to look at cases in the greater
03:18Chicago area that had stalled.
03:22Erika's case was one that had recently popped up on their list.
03:26You know, when a child goes missing, everybody's looking.
03:30When an adult goes missing, it's a totally different story.
03:34Days can get past you before anyone notices that this might actually be a missing persons case.
03:42Erika lived in Brookfield, a small suburb just southwest of Chicago.
03:48Today, I'm meeting with Erika's son, Michael.
03:52I'm going to get Michael's point of view as to what happened to his mother.
03:56And I also want to know what was going on in her life leading up to her disappearance.
04:07So, Michael, it's been six years. I know you have a lot of questions.
04:13Tell me about the last time you spoke with your mother.
04:17So, the last time I talked to my mom was through texts throughout the day of September 24th of 2019.
04:28I was texting her for a couple days about some packages that I had being delivered over there.
04:34But by October 1st, I hadn't heard from her for several days and she was not responding to any of
04:40my text messages.
04:41And that was unusual?
04:43Very.
04:45So, me and my girlfriend at the time ended up going over there the next day.
04:49Did you notice anything unusual?
04:52Yes.
04:53Her car wasn't there to begin with, which already gave me a bad feeling.
04:57And then the back door, the sign glass door was open.
05:01The central AC unit is directly next to the door outside and it was running at full strength.
05:08And that was very unusual.
05:10Because she would never do both at the same time.
05:12She was very big on saving money.
05:14It wouldn't make any sense.
05:16And you go into the house.
05:21It was very bizarre.
05:23The kitchen table takes up a lot of space in the room.
05:27Yeah.
05:27So, it's usually pushed up against the wall.
05:29And it was strewn out into like the middle of the floor on a diagonal angle.
05:33What was your next move?
05:36I started dialing her boss.
05:40He said she had not been at work for a couple days.
05:42Was she typically the type that would go to work every single day?
05:49Yes.
05:50And her boss did mention to me, he received a text from my mother one of the days that she
05:58did not show up for work.
05:59Yeah.
06:00And it read something strange.
06:03Something like, it's me time, it's time for me.
06:08It wasn't articulate.
06:10Didn't make sense.
06:13What was your mother's state of mind at the time of her disappearance?
06:18She was doing a lot of self-reflecting.
06:21She had broken up with a boyfriend, I believe in April.
06:25Okay.
06:26Was that difficult for her?
06:28Yeah.
06:29She was depressed and she was upset with herself.
06:33Okay.
06:34Her relationship with him had caused a lot of whips between herself and her sister, herself and her mother, me
06:45and her.
06:46So you've mentioned the ex-boyfriend. What was going on in her life with him?
06:53Chet.
06:55She had met him at a local bar.
06:58How long had she known Chet?
07:00It's been a couple of years. I'm not entirely sure the full length.
07:03Did they have a good relationship?
07:05No.
07:06Why do you say that?
07:08From an outside perspective, it seemed like there was a lot of narcissism and manipulation.
07:13I think anything he does would be to serve himself and with the intention of caring for my mom.
07:22My mom would isolate herself. I think he was responsible for that.
07:27Do you think your mom realized what he was doing?
07:31Yes.
07:32I think it took her a while, but she had broken up with him and she was picking back up
07:40on the relationship with me and the rest of the family and stuff.
07:44After Chet, did she get involved with anyone else?
07:49No, no. He was the last one.
07:52Okay. So you contacted work. What did you do next?
07:55I decided to go to some of the local places I know she would stop in at to ask around
08:02if anyone had seen her recently, but they hadn't seen her in a while.
08:07Okay.
08:10At around 6.30 p.m. on October 1st, Michael called the Brookfield PD and filed an official missing persons
08:18case for his mother.
08:21What was your experience with the police officers that showed up?
08:24The detective wasn't overly concerned.
08:29I think that the police had to entertain the idea that she could have just up and left on her
08:35own.
08:36And then within a couple hours, I got a call back.
08:41They had pinged her phone. It was out of state and it was in Missouri.
08:46Wow.
08:48So, what are you telling the police at this point?
08:52That she's missing.
08:53Yeah, how the hell is her phone in Missouri?
08:55Yeah, why is her phone in a different state?
08:58Was it located? Or did it just...
09:00It was located the next morning. It was found on the side of... off of a highway. I believe it
09:08was like an on-ramp or an off-ramp.
09:12And if I do remember correctly, one of the detectives told me that it was in a bag.
09:19Does your mother know anybody in Missouri?
09:24No one.
09:25She had no reason to be in Missouri?
09:29No.
09:32Was there any part of you that was thinking your mother could have possibly just walked away?
09:40Absolutely not. I think something went very bad and it may have cost her her life.
09:54This is a really strange case.
09:57Erica vanishes. The house is left open. Her car is missing. And her phone is in Missouri.
10:08Was she taken? Or could she have walked away on her own?
10:13I want to know more about this boyfriend.
10:17I want to know more about what was going on in her life.
10:22People keep secrets. And sometimes you need to dig deep to find the truth.
10:35In the days after Erica's son Michael reported her missing, a Brookfield PD canine team found no trace of remains
10:46in her home.
10:47The dogs tracked Erica sent to her driveway, where her car was usually parked.
10:55But from there, the trail went cold.
11:00Begging the question, did Erica leave on her own? Or was she with someone else?
11:07Michael believes someone is responsible for her disappearance.
11:11But I know all too well that families often jump to the worst conclusions.
11:17Because they cannot imagine a loved one simply walking away.
11:26Michael just sent me this email that Erica sent to her sister Dana just six days before she went missing.
11:35And it says,
11:38Slowly over the past few months, I have looked at myself trying to figure who I am, what I have
11:44become.
11:46Somewhere in time, I broke. I do understand I have caused great resentment.
11:52Somewhere something happened, and I have quit being human.
11:56I do not feel joy or happiness. Not sure when, if I ever did.
12:02I hope you find the best in yourselves. You deserve far better from life.
12:07I am off to do some huge soul searching to see if I have one and where I put it.
12:16This is truly her breaking inside. She was in a lot of pain.
12:23Reading this, you gotta ask, what was her mindset at the time?
12:27Could she have run away? Could she have harmed herself?
12:33Erica's disappearance devastated her family.
12:37Especially her mother Bonnie.
12:39Who has not left her home or received visitors in the past six years.
12:46She's never spoken with police or the media.
12:50But she and her partner Velma have agreed to a phone call to tell me more about her daughter.
12:57reader Find out her reticulac.
13:03Hi.
13:05Is this Bonnie?
13:06Yes, this is Bonnie.
13:07Hi, Bonnie. This is Pamela.
13:09I appreciate you taking my call.
13:12I know that you knew Erica better than anybody.
13:16And I just want to get a clear understanding of what Erica was like.
13:23Erica was very talkative.
13:25She was very smart.
13:27She was very kind and sweet to a fault to some extent, you know.
13:32She would help people all the time.
13:36What can you tell me about the last exchange that you had with Erica?
13:43We were texting on the 25th of September, 2019.
13:49And I think we stopped texting about 10.30 that night.
13:53At 10.30 p.m.?
13:55Yes, that's accurate.
13:57So how was Erica mentally when you guys were communicating before she disappeared?
14:06I'm Bonnie's partner, Selma.
14:08Can I see something?
14:09Yes, of course.
14:11I've known Erica for 21 years.
14:13She was self-reflecting about, you know, about some things that happened to her in the past with some men.
14:19And she was wanting to change and be better.
14:22But she was fine on the 25th.
14:24She sounded fine.
14:25So at this point in September, she and Chet were apart.
14:30The relationship was over?
14:32Yes.
14:33What was that like for her?
14:35It wasn't easy.
14:38What was he like?
14:40I got a bad vibe about him when I met him.
14:42I didn't like him.
14:44He wasn't, like, personable at all.
14:47And then we had Googled him and found out he had been in and out of jail.
14:52He had set his ex-wife's apartment on fire.
14:57The whole apartment building went up and flames.
15:00At the time, luckily, nobody was in there.
15:03And he went to jail for that?
15:06Yeah.
15:06Yeah.
15:07And then he got out on parole from it.
15:09And then Erica met him in 2017.
15:12She knew this.
15:13And she was still dating him?
15:15She was giving him the promises out.
15:17Oh, yeah.
15:18People change.
15:21And where was Chet when Erica disappeared?
15:25We heard that Chet was in Texas when Erica went missing.
15:30Okay.
15:31Was there a guy before Chet?
15:34Yes.
15:35What was his name?
15:36Brad.
15:37Brad.
15:38What can you tell me about Brad?
15:40He did tell us that he was a bit controlling.
15:43Brad was controlling.
15:44Yeah, because she told me that he got her grump all the time.
15:51At one point, it was her birthday, and I went over there.
15:54And then she was out of her mind.
15:56She couldn't even hold her head up.
15:58I've never seen her like that, ever.
16:02I just know there are women that are always needing a guy.
16:10That is, I think, Erica.
16:17Speaking with Bonnie and Velma, it seems like Erica was the kind of person who would get
16:23involved with the wrong men.
16:25And if there's one thing that I've learned, the kind of men who prey on women like Erica
16:30can be more dangerous than family could ever imagine.
16:37I'm going to meet my former partner, Joe Strzok.
16:41While I've been doing interviews, Joe's been pulling records on Chet and Brad.
16:47He also has a report from a contact at CPD about security footage of Erica's car driving around town
16:55the morning after her family last heard from her.
17:01So basically, I got one report that discusses her car.
17:06And it basically says that they got video of it from the 26th of September.
17:14It says that at approximately 725, they see the dark-colored Nissan Juke, which is her car.
17:21The scene stopping at the stop sign located on Westbound Monroe at Maple Street in Brookfield.
17:27Wow.
17:28The last time she spoke with her mom was September 25th at night.
17:36And they observed a male, white subject, wearing a white button-down collar shirt with a black
17:42object protruding in his pocket.
17:44So a man's driving her car.
17:46Correct.
17:47She's not.
17:47A female is not driving the...
17:50No.
17:50I sent the videos to this tech guy at CPD, who was able to clear up the video some, but
17:58not enough to make any kind of positive ID.
18:03Okay.
18:04What other reports were you able to come across?
18:07Well, I have criminal histories on Chet and one of her older ex-boyfriends, Brad.
18:13Now, Chet's the guy that was...
18:14He was a truck driver.
18:15I mean, he's a violent guy.
18:17He's a registered sex offender.
18:19When he was in his 20s, he home-invaded some woman, raped her.
18:23Wow.
18:24And then in 2010, he was charged with setting his ex-wife's house on fire.
18:30He's not a good guy.
18:31No.
18:32So what do we know about Brad?
18:34Brad had two domestic violence arrests.
18:412013, he got arrested for domestic battery.
18:44Erica was the victim.
18:46He was drinking a lot, and he attacked her.
18:50And then in 2015, he had another domestic battery with Erica as the victim.
18:55But then she didn't show up in court.
18:57So it got tossed.
18:57So it got tossed, yeah.
18:58That is interesting, because her mom did say that she didn't know Brad to be abusive.
19:07But this girl evidently didn't tell her mom about the two domestic batteries.
19:12Yeah.
19:13She apparently doesn't pick her significant others too well.
19:16No, she doesn't.
19:21Two allegations of domestic abuse with Brad, a registered sex offender and convicted arsonist,
19:28and Chet.
19:29And now, we have an unknown male driving her car after she was last heard from.
19:36At this point, you've got to ask yourself, who else could have entered Erica's life?
19:42Could there be a man more dangerous than her two previous boyfriends?
19:55The year after Erica Thompson's mysterious disappearance, news reports revealed that Brookfield
20:03police detectives had filed 115 reports on her case and followed numerous leads.
20:11But they've never confirmed that a suspect has been interviewed.
20:16They've also made no mention of either of Erica's ex-boyfriends, or that an unknown male
20:23had been seen driving her car.
20:26So what's in these 115 reports?
20:30Who were they looking at, and why?
20:34I'm going to meet with Erica's sister, Dana, who had first-hand interactions with both of
20:41these guys.
20:44She and Erica had been estranged for years, but had reconnected right before Erica's disappearance.
20:57Dana, I had an opportunity to look at this email that Erica wrote to you.
21:03She's apologizing profusely for bad behaviors, and she was trying to regroup, trying to find
21:12herself.
21:12And I wanted to ask, I know that she sent this to you, and was there a reply that you
21:19had?
21:20Yes, I replied.
21:21So, would you like to share?
21:23I don't even know if I can read it.
21:25Would you like for me to?
21:29So this is your reply, Erica, I love you.
21:34I want so much for you to get better.
21:36I'm wishing for nothing but healing, hopeful thoughts for you.
21:40You've put up with so much crap from the exes and worked so hard to get where you are.
21:46You're so smart, beautiful, intelligent.
21:49It would be a good time for some healing.
21:51No one can fix you but you.
21:53You've got this.
21:54And that's really beautiful.
21:57The good thing about this is that you were able to send this to her before she disappeared.
22:03She replied.
22:05But that is the last email I received from her.
22:08It's clear that your sister Erica surrounded herself with some sketchy, you know, questionable fellas.
22:17Yeah.
22:17But before we get ahead of ourselves here, before, before Chet, there was Brad.
22:25Now, what was Brad like in her life?
22:30Brad was very outgoing, energetic, you know.
22:36We had a Fourth of July at her house.
22:43He was fun.
22:44He was nice to get along with.
22:47But after a while, their relationship ended up rocky.
22:53Did you know that he was abusive to her?
22:55There were a couple of instances where she had told me that he choked her or had his hands around
23:04her neck during an argument.
23:06Because apparently at two separate instances, he was arrested.
23:10I wasn't aware of it.
23:12I wasn't aware of it.
23:12She never told me that police were called to her house.
23:17So when did they break up, her and Brad?
23:19Her and Brad?
23:20That probably was 2015.
23:22So do you think that around 2019, he could have been around and been involved with her being a missing
23:28person?
23:29No.
23:30No.
23:31He wasn't around.
23:33I did look on Facebook and found that he was in New Jersey, and he had been for several years
23:39before this.
23:42What can you tell me about her most recent boyfriend, Chet?
23:45She met him at the bar.
23:47She met him in like 2017, right?
23:50Yes.
23:50Somewhere between May and July.
23:53I have video of me in her backyard with her, and she was on the phone the whole time with
23:58him.
24:04And then we learned about his background, arson, sex offenders registry.
24:10Mm-hmm.
24:11And she was trying to convince us that he deserved a second chance.
24:17So eventually they broke up.
24:20How did that unfold?
24:22It may have been around April or May, maybe May, that she had gotten him out of the house.
24:28In 2019?
24:29Yeah.
24:30Was that the end of it?
24:31I didn't think so.
24:33He may have been out of the house, but he would still come back.
24:36He would still come around.
24:38For what?
24:39For laundry or a shower, because he was supposedly living in his truck.
24:45So he was trying to like, hang on to every little thread he could.
24:51Yeah.
24:52She gave him an ultimatum, because he was on a sex offender registry and needed to register.
25:03Registered sex offenders are required to keep their addresses current with law enforcement.
25:10At the time of Erica's disappearance, Chet was registered at her home.
25:17She was going to file paperwork for evictions.
25:20And he knew she was serious.
25:22Yes.
25:23And she would have been adamant about it, and that would have ticked him off, I imagine.
25:31Do you think that she was afraid of him?
25:34Yeah.
25:34She had cameras set up around her house, in her driveway, the front door, and the backyard
25:42that monitored the perimeter of her house, pretty much.
25:47But after she went missing, we found out that her camera footage was deleted.
25:54It was not there.
25:56Somebody had to have manually gotten rid of it.
25:59What were you thinking at that point?
26:00I thought immediately that it was Chet.
26:08While it sounded like Chet was out of Erica's life, it's clear he was not.
26:15And if there was an ultimatum, that's the kind of thing that could set off someone with
26:21a history of violence.
26:24But if Chet was out of town, who was driving Erica's car?
26:29Well, could Chet be responsible for her disappearance?
26:41At first, it wasn't clear how much Erica's ex-boyfriend, Chet, was still in her life.
26:48But we've since learned he was very much still in the picture.
26:54So the big question for me is, where was Chet when she disappeared?
27:01We have an unknown male driving her car.
27:04But we've also learned from Erica's mom that Chet was allegedly in Texas at the time she
27:12was reported missing.
27:13But we have not been able to confirm that.
27:17We've reached out to Brookfield PD, but they've turned us down for an interview.
27:23But they are reviewing our request to access the case files.
27:28So what did police know?
27:30Were they looking at Chet or someone else?
27:34Dana told me her cousin Scott was in touch with law enforcement and even did some of his
27:40own investigating and found information that he thought could be valuable.
27:49So how did you get involved with the police?
27:51Dana gave me the lead detective's information.
27:55We spoke on the phone for about 45 minutes.
27:58Did the police ever give you any idea of what they were focusing on?
28:05He said they were looking at it as a kidnapping.
28:08A kidnapping?
28:09Did he tell you why?
28:10He didn't expound on why.
28:12I didn't ask questions.
28:14I was shocked when he said kidnapping.
28:18But it made sense.
28:20And then I found an article.
28:23It says Hayworth, a police chase involving a kidnapping suspect from Chicago, ended peacefully
28:30late Friday.
28:31The driver tried to elude the police.
28:34He went off-road and he got stuck in a ditch near Route 51.
28:38It's about two hours and 15 minutes away from here.
28:41It says he was inside the truck for several hours.
28:45The SWAT finally forced their way into the truck, smashing a window, and they filled it
28:49with pepper spray.
28:51And he gave up.
28:53And what date is this?
28:54October 4th.
29:05I do have a friend that works for that Illinois tollway, and he knew that I was having this
29:11issue with my cousin.
29:12He took this snapshot of a truck that came in through the pound close to where he works.
29:19I believe that's Chet's truck.
29:22And this truck was involved in this high-speed chase.
29:26Did the detective ever give you any information on that day?
29:30No, actually none.
29:33There was nothing for about two years until they finally told us that they found her car.
29:43What did they tell you?
29:44They told us they found it down in central Illinois in Ten Mile Creek.
29:49But do not release it.
29:51Don't tell anybody.
29:52Don't tell the media.
29:53Don't tell your friends.
29:54And then there was no more communication until we had a meeting at the Brookfield Police Department
29:59in August of 22.
30:00Mm-hmm.
30:02And that's when they told us that they hit a brick wall, quote, unquote.
30:07You haven't tried to reach out and talk to them?
30:10No, and I was extremely disappointed.
30:13But we understood.
30:15And there hasn't been too many updates ever since.
30:21From talking with Erica's family, one thing is clear.
30:25Brookfield PD kept this investigation locked down.
30:30They shared little with the family and even less with the public.
30:35I can understand why.
30:38One wrong detail slipping out can derail an entire investigation.
30:46But now, for the first time, Brookfield PD is opening their files.
30:51And after weeks of waiting, we finally have the police reports in hand.
30:57It's a massive 400-page document.
31:01It's redacted, but it's obvious investigators were focused on one main person.
31:09He's a truck driver and registered sex offender.
31:12It appears they're talking about Chet.
31:20According to this document, on the day that Erica was reported missing, which was October 1st in 2019,
31:28Chet does have a conversation with the police.
31:31It looks like they have a brief call, and then they have a more detailed conversation the next day.
31:38On October 2nd?
31:39Yeah.
31:41He stated that he was in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
31:45And he's telling the detectives the last time he spoke to Erica was on the 28th of September.
31:52Through a text message saying, hey, asshole, I'm behind you.
31:57They asked him where he was when the message was sent.
32:00And his response was, now get this, he was in Missouri between Springfield and Joplin.
32:09So the officers asked him, well, why would she be right behind you?
32:14And he stated that she had been talking to him about going to Missouri to buy meth.
32:20Meth, which is total bullshit.
32:25And according to this police report, the GPS shows that on 28th September 2019, he was at the Walmart in
32:34Springfield, Missouri.
32:36He is seen walking into the Walmart by himself.
32:49Then it goes on to say Erica's cell phone was found inside of a Walmart bag on the side of
32:56the road.
32:56That really wouldn't mean much normally.
32:59But if you throw in the fact that he just went to a Walmart and he bought liquor there, so
33:03he had a Walmart bag.
33:05And it's in the same town where her phone was found.
33:07Right.
33:09And then three days after, she's reported missing.
33:14They spot that truck leaving the gas station.
33:18That's when that whole chase thing happened.
33:20Yes, right here.
33:21According to the reports, the truck was thoroughly searched, but there's no indication if police found any evidence of Erica
33:31having been in that truck.
33:34According to court reports, Chet was convicted on weapons charges.
33:39He was sentenced to six years in prison and was paroled in 2023.
33:45But there is no mention of charges related to Erica Thompson.
33:53The question for me now is, where was Chet when Erica disappeared?
33:59And that's precisely what I'm going to ask him.
34:10When I began investigating Erica Thompson's disappearance, the possibility that she simply walked away from her life or harmed herself
34:21was very real.
34:22But the more I learned about Erica, the clearer it became that she was a woman at a crossroads that
34:32had chosen a new path.
34:36A path with its own risk.
34:39Because it's when a woman severed ties with a volatile man that life is most dangerous.
34:47And while Erica has supposedly broken up with Chet months before she vanished, it wasn't until allegedly she threw him
34:55out for good that things appeared to take a truly dark turn.
35:03Every registered sex offender must keep their current address on file.
35:10Chet is currently out on parole and registered at a large halfway house.
35:15It's right up the road here.
35:19Gaining access to this building is doable, but getting Chet to speak is a whole different challenge.
35:27There it is right there.
35:31He drives either a black Harley or an orange pickup truck.
35:36Would that happen to be it?
35:37That would probably be it right there.
35:39It's an old bike too, yeah.
35:40So he's probably here.
35:48Hello, how are you?
35:50Good, how are you?
35:50Great.
35:59We just visited Chet's halfway house.
36:02They knew him.
36:03They knew him.
36:03They knew who we were looking for.
36:05One guy said, oh, let me go knock on his room door.
36:08They said he usually answers it for him, but he did not.
36:14I'm sure he doesn't want to talk to us.
36:16I did leave my name and number.
36:18I'm not going to give up.
36:20I want to talk to Chet.
36:25There's a point in every case when you feel that you're out of moves.
36:29You need that one thing that could push a case forward.
36:34If you keep working those relationships, those connections, and if you shake the tree long
36:41enough, something is going to fall out.
36:43And today, we've got that something.
36:47Hey, Joe.
36:49Yeah.
36:49You know the report that you got from CPD about Erica's car being driven by someone else the morning after
36:56she was last heard from?
36:59Yeah, her Nissan Juke or something?
37:02Yes.
37:03Well, Brookfield PD just released some surveillance video from that morning.
37:08What does it show?
37:09There are two videos here.
37:11So in the first video, you can see at 7.25 a.m., Erica's Nissan Juke is seen on video
37:18cameras driving on the street near her home.
37:21That's the video that's CPD enhanced, right?
37:24Yes.
37:25And you can actually see inside the vehicle, there's a white male.
37:30And I wonder if this is Chet.
37:34You have the report in front of you?
37:36Because I think there was a description of Chet from his court appearance on the 25th.
37:41I do have that.
37:43Right here, too.
37:44It says, at 10.05, redacted, the scene entering through the main doors of the courthouse.
37:50He's observed he's wearing a white button-down, short-sleeved collar shirt.
37:54It appears he's got a black cell phone in his chest pocket.
37:58It looks like he's got on a white shirt with something black in his pocket here.
38:03Yeah, this guy fits Chet's description from the day before when he was in court.
38:09So basically, we have a video of Chet driving the car.
38:12And there's a second car here as well.
38:15A white Dodge Stratus right behind it.
38:20There's also a second video here from the gas station.
38:25Now, in that video, I can see the white Dodge Stratus.
38:30It arrives at about 8 o'clock a.m.
38:34And it looks like Chet is getting out.
38:36There's a guy in a black sweatshirt.
38:38He looks like he's been waiting there for Chet.
38:52Yes, and they all end up together in the Dodge Stratus.
39:00Not enough to identify them, but yes.
39:03There are two people who eventually get out.
39:06The driver is a female wearing a purple hooded sweatshirt.
39:12And there's a guy wearing a black t-shirt who gets out on the passenger side.
39:21So, after watching this video, it's very probable that this is Chet in her car.
39:30And there is no sign of Erica anywhere.
39:33Right, and that's the last time I shoot a car until a year later when it's in some creek down
39:39in central Illinois.
39:44This video is shocking to me.
39:47And it's a game changer.
39:50It appears that Chet is driving Erica's car at the time of her disappearance.
39:57And there's two other individuals here who may have information about this case.
40:05For years, this family had suspicions.
40:09But now they have facts.
40:12Fact one.
40:13We have video of a man we believe to be Chet in Erica's car the morning after she vanished.
40:23Fact two.
40:25According to police reports, Chet was in Springfield, Missouri, when Erica's phone was left on the side of a road.
40:33Fact three.
40:36Chet was making purchases in a Missouri Walmart just before Erica's phone was found in a Walmart bag just a
40:45few miles away.
40:47I have to commend the Brookfield PD.
40:51From what I see, they left no stone unturned in this case.
40:56But they still need help.
41:00I believe this new information is the shot in the arm that this case needs.
41:05Someone knows who these individuals with Chet are on the morning of the 26th.
41:13Someone knows about Chet's activities between September 25th and October 4th.
41:22And finally, someone knows where Erica Thompson is.
41:34We'll see you next time.
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