Q&A 10.15.18
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Hi, Payne. Listener from Houston here. So we learned in the Tara case how powerful the cadaver dogs can be. It seems to me that they could be a huge asset in potentially finding a body in the Crystal case. So my question for you is whether or not cadaver dogs have been involved already in the investigation, and if not, what's keeping them from being involved? Thanks so much. Here's a clip from Chris Halsney who can help answer that question.

I mean the Sheriff's Department, they had dogs, searchers, helicopters when they went searching for her initially and didn't find anything. I think they were looking for somebody out there who was alive though, right? They're not hunting for a body at that point. They're searching for her in case she's walked off or camping or injured or you know she's fallen off a cliff and it's something obvious. That's what they're looking for. They're not looking for something hidden.

Hey, my name's Cassie, and I have a couple of questions. My first question is, during today's podcast, like, we listened about Calvin and the other two guys, the new suspects, and my first question is, like, how did they come into the picture? Like, nothing was said about how they were. I mean, I understand why they're suspects, because they've been talked to, and they said things that, you know, made them sound like suspects, but

Like, how did anybody know to question them? Like, how did they come into the picture? The simple answer to this is that this is just a group of friends here in Crestone. Even though Crestone is very small, believe it or not, not everyone knows each other, nor does everyone hang out together. Now, Crystal may not have been personal friends with all these individuals.

But at one time or another, all these people hung out in the same general crowd. This is essentially a group of friends that at some point Crystal was hanging out with. And they're all currently talking about what may have happened to her. Some of these people have been persons of interest in the eyes of law enforcement. And for whatever reason, they all seem to have something to say about what may have happened to her. And on top of that, there's a lot of finger pointing going on between everybody in the group.

Hey, Payne. This is Christian from Boston. I just had a question towards the – I believe it was the end of this past episode when you guys were doing the summary. You mentioned that –

Crystal's disappearance and you categorized it as now a murder. So I was wondering if that was a purpose and if you have new information that's leading to leading you to state now that it's no longer a disappearance, it's actually a murder. Love the show. Appreciate y'all. Appreciate all you guys are doing. Thanks so much.

I mean, I think the general consensus with the family, the friends, law enforcement, both local law enforcement and the CBI, is that this is likely not just a missing persons case anymore, that there is some foul play involved here.

The bottom line is it's very unlikely that Crystal walked away on her own. And she would never do that to her family or to her daughter. So the question is, well, where is she? And if we can't find her after people have been looking for several years, it means that somebody hid whatever happened. Somebody purposely tried to cover their tracks. Whatever happened, I feel like that this is going to be a murder case.

Hello, this is Danielle from New Jersey. Thank you so much for all the work that you're doing on this podcast. It's really great. Crest Zone seems to be an area that's really off the grid. A lot of kind of hippie, spiritual types of people versus the last podcast where I feel like

people would be more inclined to listen to podcasts and be more connected. So do you find that to be difficult? The people in Crestone, are they kind of off the grid? Are they listening to the podcast? Are they in tune to what's going on? So thank you so much and look forward to the rest of the podcast. Even though Crestone is very off the grid and there's poor cell service, they do have internet and they do have phones.

We found that it seems like a majority of the people who live in Crestone are aware of the podcast and in some way, shape or form, do listen or have heard enough about it to be up to speed on what's being talked about in Crystal's case. And overall, we think most of the people in Crestone genuinely do care about

finding out what happened to Crystal and putting this thing to rest. Hi, this is Alyssa from Kansas City. Just wondering why it took so long for the report for a missing person to be filed because it wasn't filed until the end of the month when she might have been missing anywhere from the 12th to the 20th. I'm just wondering why there's such that long gap. I understand her landlord was the one who filed the report, but nobody else.

thought it was weird that she was missing in the sense that they felt the need to report it um yeah curious if my question will be answered awesome show hope you guys figure it out and thanks bye

Well, her friends and family were certainly concerned after just a few days of not hearing from her. But to be honest, the police just weren't that concerned early on as if this could be a homicide case. They just thought that, you know, Crystal would turn back up in a few days. And, you know, you can't entirely blame them for that because statistically that does happen a lot. Some

Someone goes missing and they show right back up. Remember, this is an area where a lot of people pass in and out. People go hiking, camping, walking. It's kind of off the grid and outdoorsy. So for those reasons, I don't think a missing person would immediately alarm law enforcement as much as it might somewhere else, a more urban area where it's just simply harder to go off grid. And at the time, there was no signs of foul play and there was tons of different stories that were coming in really fast that were contradicting each other and only

only over the past couple of years has everyone been able to sort through it all and determine the real timeline here. But I think initially, the police just thought she had left somewhere and was coming back. But after a couple of weeks, they realized that that was likely no longer the case. Save on Cox Internet when you add Cox Mobile and get fiber-powered internet at home and unbeatable 5G reliability on the go. So whether you're playing a game at home... Yes, cool! ...or attending one live...

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Hey, Payton Meredith. This is Jared calling. Long-time listener, first-time caller, and you've done an amazing job with Season 2. I'm loving it so far. But I had a couple questions. Do you think it might be any way possible that the attack that Crystal's boyfriend, well, I guess ex-boyfriend, the father of her child, you know, that attack that happened on him could be any way relational to her disappearance?

because I believe it was Landon, that's what we're calling him, stated that Catfish has hired people before to steal from them and beat them up and things of that nature. Do you think it could have been where they went after him first in order to show her a lesson or something? And then since something didn't work, they might have done something, unfortunately, to her. And also, Payne, do you ever get nervous when you interview or go to reach out to these kind of people, these people that could potentially be

a murder? Does it not like scare you at all or is it off-putting or do you take precautions of any way? Again, thank you guys. Season two has been great and I look forward to the next episode. Hey Jared, both are really good questions. Personally, I do not think that what happened to Eli in Denver is in any way, shape or form related to Crystal's disappearance. Now the timing is definitely strange and it's an awful thing that happened to him. I've seen the pictures of his face. He was definitely,

beaten pretty badly by some strangers and just an awful thing that happened. But I think it was just a freak occurrence. And the timing is strange, but I believe it has nothing to do with Crystal's disappearance. And to answer your question about do I get nervous? Sometimes I do. But I think that I have to put blinders on for a lot of this stuff. If I think too much about the elements of danger, it's too hard to stay focused. So a

So a lot of times I just kind of go into tunnel vision with this and really try to get to the answers that way. There's been times where I've been nervous, but you can't really dwell on that too much. So I think that I usually block it out by just continuing to focus on the bigger goal and surrounding myself with good people and just being cautious in general. Hey, this is Christy from Woodstock, Georgia.

So I've been listening and there's been a lot of talk about the messages and the phone call logs from Kristen's old phone. But what about her new phone, the phone that she had when she went missing? Do we know anything about where that phone is? Do we know any of the last person she called or the last person she text messaged with? Just a question. It seems like a big gap in the story. Love the show. Thanks.

Since the beginning, Crystal's phone has been a huge mystery to us as we've dug into this case. Actually, in the next episode, we have a big portion of it spent just tracing back what exactly may have happened to Crystal's phone, her most recent phone that was in her apartment. Information on that phone, like who she was texting last or who she was calling last,

is all very vital information if you're trying to figure out what happened to her. The last person she spoke to, that's stuff that we need to know. There's been a lot of mystery surrounding this particular phone, and it's too much to go into right now, but we spent the past several months trying to trace exactly what's going on here, and we think that we're pretty close to figuring it out. And in episode eight, we're going to spend a lot of time talking about this particular phone. We now believe that it is in the possession of the CBI and is being treated as evidence. Hi,

Hi, Payne and the rest of the UAV crew. This is Kimberly from Cincinnati. My question is in regards to the Crestone boyfriend. It mentions that he knew that Crystal was held against her will but didn't say anything to the police. I was wondering if you had an explanation for that. I know if my significant other told me that they were essentially kidnapped and raped, I would go straight to the police.

not trying to victim blame at all, but that just was really concerning for me. Thanks for everything you do. I think a lot of people in Crestone are used to dealing with things themselves. As we've heard before, people here quote-unquote police themselves.

It's a mentality unlike we see in a bigger city. If you couple that with the fact that the sheriff's department is at least 45 minutes away. So I think just because of that reason in general, a lot of people try to handle things themselves here. And maybe that's what happened with the Crestone boyfriend in this story. Hi guys, my name is Catherine. I'm calling from Denver. I have a very big lingering question from the past few episodes.

And I was just hoping what the follow-up was on Catfish's neighbors, him in the rain in the dark, standing next to his car with a body-sized bag on the ground and a shovel. I have lots of other questions, but that's my main one. So I'm hoping you guys can go over that. And I look forward to the newest episode. And thank you again for bringing attention to her case. Bye.

Personally, I've been very interested in this gold van story since the first time that I heard it. The message that was read in one of the previous episodes was actually a direct message that was sent from the person who saw this to one of the officers at the local sheriff's department. Since then, I have finally gotten in touch with that person and we've spoke more about it and I have some more details about what he remembers seeing, which I will be sharing in the next episode, as well as some other strange stories that have to do with gold vans around the Crestone area.

Hi, Payne. This is Allison Day. I'm from Austin, Texas. I'm really impressed with how far you've come in this case so quickly. My question is about Catfish and his physical capabilities. I feel like we've heard some conflicting reports about that. On one hand, we got that damning report from that couple saying that they saw him carrying around a large body-sized bag.

And then on the other hand, you've got him saying he's so physically incapable he can't even clean his own house and needs Crystal to help him. It doesn't really seem like both could be true. If he's even unable to clean his own house, you know, I don't think he'd be able to haul around a body-sized bag.

And if he was doing that, then did he really need Crystal? Was that just kind of a story for why she was there? Thanks for taking my question and thanks for being my favorite podcast. To my knowledge, Catfish has never claimed that he's physically incapable of cleaning his own house.

I think he just doesn't want to clean his own house. I think it's important to note that this particular person does have money in comparison to other residents of Crestone or to the people that have been hanging out with him in the past. He has a lot more money. So I think in some ways, people cleaning his house, which is just a little side job for people. He has the money to pay them. They need a job. And so they're cleaning his house. I think it has nothing to do with his physical capabilities of cleaning it himself.

Hi, I just wanted to hear more about the issue about the Sheriff's Department and some of the maybe prestigious people that live in that area. There were some inferences and some direct statements made by some people in the podcast that there was meth labs in the area and it was reported and the Sheriff's Department would ignore it.

or nothing would be done about it. And then I know that Catfish has some connections to some prestigious people in Crestone who have to do with the spiritual centers. So I'm just wondering what's the connection here and maybe is that why this missing case has not been solved over the past two years or things haven't been pursued like they should? Thank you.

I feel like for a lot of people, the first thing they go to in their head is conspiracy, conspiracy. I'm the kind of person who likes to take a beat, and I usually don't believe in all the conspiracy theories out there. I don't think there's anything...

crazy going on here. I think for one, the sheriff's department as a whole is without a doubt, extremely undermanned and understaffed, and there's not much money going around there. And so I think with how large the area is, it's extremely difficult to stay on everything all the time. And if you're investigating a crime, which may take weeks, months or years, you're always going to be pulled to the side with what's going on that day.

There could be a car crash on the road that day, and that takes precedence over everything else. And when there's only just a handful of officers out there, it's very hard to manage all this stuff.

Now, I don't think anyone's purposely ignoring the citizens of Crestone and their concerns or if they're reporting a meth lab or a crime. If anything, it should be chalked up to just incompetence. I don't think there's some big conspiracy going on here where people are covering things up. I think that sometimes when mistakes are made, if the faults are not admitted and you do start covering that up, then it starts to look like something else. And maybe there's been a little bit of that going on. I think until we know all the facts, it's hard to determine that.

But I think they don't have the means and the manpower to always handle bigger out-of-control issues like the prevalence of meth labs and drug dealers. I think there may be some kind of downplaying or mishandling going on, but I definitely don't think it's conspiring.

Hey guys, my name is Clay, listening to you guys from Los Lunes, New Mexico, and just want to say hello to the podcast. I've been season one and I'm finally caught up with season two. But my question is to you guys, or just a thought, do you think that maybe this Brian guy is looking more like a scapegoat in a way? Like to me, I feel like he hasn't done anything and that maybe...

this catfish guy and some of the other ones are maybe trying to put the blame on him, make enough stuff about him just for the fact that he has history with Crystal as far as wrecking the car and stuff. So anyways, that was my thought. I like your way of thinking there. We've heard catfish say that he has proof that Brian killed Crystal and that in some way, shape or form, he confessed to him through a Facebook message. Is Brian a scapegoat? I don't know.

I don't know. We've heard the accusation from Catfish. Now we should hear what Brian has to say about it. But to me, one thing is for sure. The fact that Catfish has this message to begin with, to me, completely narrows the suspect list. Either it's true, it's real, and Brian confessed, or if it's something else and this message is not from Brian...

then we have a completely different story here. Hi Payne, this is Mariah in Utah. My question is in regards to that phone call where the woman seemed to interrupt the conversation. I know there was a big explanation and you said you didn't know who that was, but do you have any details further or any thoughts on that? Do you think it's because of

how Crestone is known for being very spiritual and psychic and kind of just strange things happening. Thanks. So the lady that you hear come into the phone call with Landon towards the end and says some weird stuff like, Payne, come meet your creator.

I think I do know who this person is. I believe that he's part of this religious group there, a very small one. I don't know too much about it, but they believe in some interesting things. And I think that I was receiving an invitation to join them. And apparently I am one of them. Hi, my name is Leslie. I'm a listener in Reno, Nevada. My question right now is about Brian. I'm wondering why his last name continues to be censored.

It seems like if there's a public record of Crystal filing a small claim suit that his last name would be public knowledge. So I'm wondering what the reasoning behind that is. I love the podcast and I'm totally enjoying season two. Thanks very much. Bye-bye. To be honest, we really don't have to censor anyone's name in this story. All the people's names that you hear censored have just been out of personal choice or

by myself and the team here because some of these details in the case are extremely sensitive and we don't know all the facts and we're trying to sort through it. So as a courtesy to these people, we are censoring their names. Even though there are public records on some of these individuals that may be for crimes they've committed or whatever else, we have chosen to take the stance of censoring at least their last names.

Hi Payne, this is Bridget from River Falls, Wisconsin. I've been a fan of your podcast since they first started. Love them. My question is what are the odds given the landscape of Crestone that if she was dumped into a mine she is able to be located? Will the body ever be located or is this going to always be a murder case without a body? Love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks.

I think given the difficult terrain here, finding Crystal's body is going to be a huge task. On the other hand, I think that if we can find Crystal's body, getting a conviction, a murder conviction, or any sort of serious progress in the case, in that sense, it'll be a lot easier.

But if you look at the history, there's been plenty of cases, even murder convictions, where they didn't have a body. I think either way, we're looking for evidence here. But I think finding Crystal's body is very important. But in the end, I think there can still be justice without finding her. Hey, Payne. My name is Nick. I'm calling from London, Ontario, Canada. I've been listening to both your podcasts, both seasons, and I love them both. I think it's great, the work that you're doing. The

The question I have, and it kind of relates to both seasons, is I just can't understand how you can get to the bottom of things and how you can do the investigations that you're doing with the crew that you have, but the people who are in charge in the state and the people who should be doing this and representing the people of that state and county, they can't come up with the same information that you are.

Can you speak to that a little bit for us? I'd really appreciate it. Hey, Nick, I appreciate your question. I think most of the time, law enforcement officials aren't given the luxury of being able to work on a single case every single day. And I think with a case like Crystal's being so remote, so far out there with very little police presence to begin with, it's extremely hard for any agency to solve this case.

That's one of the smallest bureaus in the whole country. They don't have the luxury of doing this every single day and chasing down every lead. They get bits and pieces every now and then. They work on it when they can, but there's always another case, something going on. Even the CBI, for instance, I believe there's only around 30 officers or so for the whole state and...

Colorado is huge. The terrain itself, it takes hours to get between different cities. And so, so much time is spent even just traveling around in the state of Colorado. I don't think that we're better than anybody else. It's nothing like that. I think that most law enforcement officers would probably wish they could spend as much time as we're spending on a case. The difference is here at Up and Vanish, we have the time and the means to focus on just one case. And I'm sure if other investigative agencies out there in the world...

had that same luxury, then they'd be solving a lot of cases. Hey, Payne and team. I have a question about the CBI. I was wondering, since you guys have been sort of kicking the hornet's nest, so to speak, if they have gotten in touch with you or if you have heard any more from any law enforcement regarding the case. Really enjoying the series. Thank you so much. And looking forward to the next episode. Take care.

To answer your question, I have been in touch with the CBI, and both the Sheriff's Department and the CBI are actively investigating this case as well. Hey, Up and Vanished team, this is Luke from Chicago. Absolutely love the music this season, and there's one particular music cue that sounds like the beginning of Slippery, the Migos track, which I think is super cool because you guys are from Atlanta, so it seems like a nod, but not sure if that was on purpose. Keep doing what you're doing, and I cannot wait for this case to get solved. Thank you.

Hey, Luke. Thanks for calling in. I'm glad that you're a fan of the music because I also am a fan of the music. Makeup and Vanity Set is the artist who produces all the music for Up and Vanished Season 2. It's funny that you think that one of his cues sounds like Slippery by the Migos. I don't know if that was intentional, but let's see how close they are. I think I know which one you're talking about. Hey, dude. We were just answering some Q&A questions. They thought that one of the cues was a nod to the Migos song Slippery.

as I would love to see. And it may have been, you know, I did not write that cue with that song in mind. But we love that there is a person out in the world that believes that. And I go for it. That's amazing. Do you think that rap music does influence your cues sometimes? Yeah, definitely with this one because we were dealing with as like an environment which has kind of had influences from that world. Yeah, that totally makes sense. I mean...

Oh, and our team also really enjoyed this comment. And another question off subject, has Maurice, has he ever been offered like to be a voice double for George W. Bush? Because he kind of sounds like him. All right. Thanks, guys. Bye. Hey, guys. Thanks for listening. Be sure to tune in next Monday, October 22nd for episode eight. Thanks. See you soon. Bye.