Jeremy Lawrence
57:25 Share

you

With a Spark Cash Plus card from Capital One, you earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase. Plus, no preset spending limit helps your purchasing power adapt to meet your business needs. Jorge Gaviria, founder of Masienda, reinvests his 2% cash back to help grow the business with new products. What could the Spark Cash Plus card from Capital One do for your business? Capital One, what's in your wallet? Find out more at CapitalOne.com slash Spark Cash Plus. Terms and conditions apply.

Creating really great retail experiences is tough, especially with multiple stores, teams of staff, fulfillment centers, separate workflows. It's a lot. But with Shopify Point of Sale, you can do it all without complexity. And let's face it, acquiring new customers is expensive.

With Shopify POS, you can keep shoppers coming back with personalized experiences and first-party data that give marketing teams a competitive edge. In fact, it's proven, based on a report from EY, businesses on Shopify POS see real results. Like 22% better total cost of ownership and benefits, equivalent to an 8.9% uplift in sales on average relative to the markets that surveyed.

Want more? Check out at shopify.com slash wondery, all lowercase, and learn how to create the best retail experiences without complexity. Shopify.com slash wondery.

I think at first there was some issues with gossip and stuff. Even myself, I had to take a break from social media. But I believe that they're doing everything they can, but it's just hard with no answers. And I feel a lot of anxiety and fear. Am I in danger or am I completely off base? Obviously my brain keeps trying to make sense of it in a situation that doesn't make any sense.

On August 20th, 2023, 39-year-old Jeremy Lawrence visited his girlfriend and newborn daughter at St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, Minnesota. After spending time with them, he left the hospital around 5:30 p.m., planning to ride his ATV roughly 70 miles to his parents' home in Mountain Iron, Minnesota. About an hour later, around 6:30 p.m., he was seen on surveillance footage,

After 7pm, his mother Debbie began to worry. She had expected him to return by then. So she began calling Jeremy's phone.

At 7:26 p.m., Debbie received a text message from Jeremy. It read, "What's up?" Minutes later, Jeremy was spotted on surveillance footage once again. At 7:34 p.m., Jeremy replied to Debbie. He said, "Not close. When do you think I left?" Then, at 7:49 p.m., he texted again, "I'll call in a little while."

However, the promised call never came. And as the hours passed without any word from her son, Debbie's concern deepened. Starting around 9 p.m., Debbie placed several more calls to her son, but there was no answer. She tried to reassure herself, thinking he might not be able to hear her calls over the noise of the ATV.

Around 10:00 p.m., Jeremy finally picked up the phone. His brief and unsettling response, "Stop calling," was followed by him abruptly ending the call. That was the last time Debbie would hear from her son. Jeremy's phone soon powered down or died. And by the following morning, Jeremy still had not made it to his parents' home, prompting Debbie to report her son missing. In the months that followed, questions about Jeremy's personal life and relationships emerged.

leaving those closest to him searching for answers about what may have been happening in his life leading up to his disappearance. As of now, nearly 18 months later, his family and friends continue their search, holding on to hope that Jeremy will one day be found. I'm Marissa, and from Wondery, this is episode 474 of The Vanished, Jeremy Lawrence's story.

Jerry and Debbie Lawrence raised three sons in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, with Jeremy being their middle child. From an early age, Jeremy stood out for his natural athleticism. His mother Debbie recalled that Jeremy's love for sports and physical activity was apparent from an early age. Much of his youth was spent at the local YMCA, where he honed his athletic skills and made many friends.

I have three boys. He's my middle son. Jeremy was always a pretty social kid, even in elementary school. He was very athletic, although his favorite sport was basketball, and he did excel on that. But he ran cross-country. He was a letterman. He lettered in ninth grade and loved to golf and kind of took that into his adult life. High school, he was just one of those active, social kids in high school and did his dating, went to proms.

Kind of the usual. He was well-liked. Then he did try a little college, but ended up not finishing. And he ended up working for a landscape and snow removal company, which he eventually took over and had his own business.

Later in life, Jeremy was in a long-term relationship with a woman. And while they never married, they had two children together. Debbie explained that there were periods of instability in Jeremy and his partner's lives, which ultimately led Debbie and her husband to seek custody of their children.

How that happened is he was with the kid's mother for about eight years. They both lived with us when both the kids were born. She was never legally married to her. I worked for child protection, so I got child protection involved in Duluth. And then Jeremy wasn't in a position to go for custody at that time. So he supported us going for custody of the kids. Mom never did come back into the picture.

Jeremy went into treatment and we took custody. And the plan was that when he got on his feet, he would eventually take the kids and take custody back. So that's what we were working for.

Debbie believes that Jeremy's struggles with substance use began after he was prescribed medication for ADHD and migraines during his teenage years. She feels this was a turning point that set him on a difficult path toward addiction. However, after Debbie and Jerry gained custody of the children, they witnessed a transformation in Jeremy. Living with his parents provided the stability and support he desperately needed, and Jeremy flourished in his role as a father.

Despite the challenges, Jeremy stepped up in countless ways, proving to be the dedicated hands-on dad that his kids needed.

He did the normal, bothered things. He taught the kids how to ride bikes. And we took family vacations together. So it was Jeremy and the kids and then my husband and I, places like Wisconsin Dells. We went to Florida one year. We went to Hawaii. And so he'd always be the one with the kids. He was probably the major caretaker, but we put the roof over their head and made sure they had food.

Later, Jeremy began a relationship with a woman named Bethany. We also spoke with Bethany, and she shared that their relationship had a rocky start, but over time, they built a stronger connection and eventually welcomed a daughter together.

Jay and I met about eight years ago. We were actually both using at the time, and we just sort of fell in love, and then I ended up getting sober. And then about maybe six months after we met, I got pregnant with our daughter, Violet, and then he was sober. After that, we were just pretty quiet and both sober for a while, and

I've been sober for eight years. He has had some relapses and struggles during that time, but there was quite a few years where he was sober. Given that Jeremy had two children from a previous relationship who lived with his parents, their living situation was unconventional. Bethany explained that while Jeremy stayed with his parents to help care for the kids, she lived about 15 miles away.

He lived with his parents because they have custody of his first two children from his previous relationship. So that was kind of how our situation had been for the last, well, seven years before he vanished. We've always lived apart. I heard from him every day pretty much, but I didn't see him every day because he was working all

He had a landscaping business and he did plowing and stuff in the winter.

In the months leading up to Jeremy's disappearance, he and Bethany were eagerly anticipating the arrival of their second daughter. While they were excited, Bethany's pregnancy wasn't without its challenges. She was hospitalized in Duluth for an extended period of time, about 70 miles from Jeremy's parents' home in Mountain Iron. Despite the distance, Jeremy made a point to visit as often as he could, providing her with the support she needed during this difficult and uncertain time.

I was in the hospital for a month before because I had severe preeclampsia. I was hospitalized at 30 weeks. And he was there nearly every day to visit me and check on me and going back and forth to his parents. And really worried. I was really sick.

Debbie did what she could to help Jeremy make the 70-mile trip to Duluth when needed. However, when Bethany went into labor, Debbie was attending a high school reunion and couldn't make it back in time to give her son a ride. Determined not to miss the birth of his daughter, Jeremy hopped on an ATV and headed to St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth on his own.

The minute Bethany went into the hospital, Jeremy was there, and he always had trouble getting to Duluth. So I drove him a couple times, dropped him off so he could spend time because Bethany must have been in the hospital maybe a month or more before the baby was born. He was going there quite often. He was excited for the child to be born. And then the night she went into labor then, I was at a class reunion and he called me and said he was going to Duluth. And I said, hey, if you can wait.

About an hour, I'll be home. I'll give you a ride. And he said, I'm already halfway there on that APV. So that's why he took off on that. And then he was there till the baby was born on the 19th. Then he was going to come home on the 20th. And that's when he never made it home. And I had been in contact with him all that day, text messages and phone calls, most of the day on the 20th.

Jeremy left St. Mary's Medical Center around 5.30 p.m. on August 20th, heading back toward his parents' home on the ATV. A local resident reported seeing Jeremy on Rice Lake Road in northern Duluth around 6 p.m. Then around 6.30 p.m., he was captured on surveillance video at a quick trip on Highway 4, or Rice Lake Road.

Knowing that Jeremy was on his way home, Debbie started calling him because she expected him to have arrived by then. After several unanswered calls, she received a text message from Jeremy at 7.26 p.m. The message simply read, What's up? Debbie replied, explaining that she was wondering where he was and that she thought he would have made it there by now. At 7.30 p.m., Jeremy was seen on video at Island Lake.

At 7.34 p.m., he texted Debbie back, saying, Not close. When do you think I left? Then at 7.49 p.m., he sent another message. It read, I'll call in a little while. But the call never came.

By 9 p.m., Debbie was really starting to worry. She called Jeremy multiple times, but he didn't answer. She reasoned with herself. Maybe he couldn't hear her calls over the sound of the ATV engine. At 10 p.m., Jeremy finally picked up one of Debbie's calls. But his response was short and concerning. He said, This exchange left Debbie feeling uneasy.

She had no idea what was happening with her son or whether he might be in trouble. As the night wore on, her anxiety grew, and she continued to wonder what had gone wrong. Debbie told us more about her interactions with Jeremy on August 20th.

He said he just wants to come home. He said that he needed some gas money to come home. And so I sent them some gas money. And somebody did report seeing him at 6 o'clock coming out of Duluth on Rice Lake Road. Now, there was no picture of him, but it described him to a T, you know, black helmet. They were surprised he was on Rice Lake Road, which turns into Highway 4. And so that's why they noticed him. They said it was unusual for somebody to be coming down the road out of Duluth.

on an ATV. And then he was seen on video at the Quick Trip, which was where I assumed he probably went to buy the gas then. And then he was headed down Highway 4 and stopped at Island Lake. And he sent me a text message there too, but I think he was talking to other people because he said to me, I can't talk right now because my phone's blowing up.

Then he sent me a text, I'll call you in a bit. That was 7.30 at night on the 20th. He was seen on video at 7.30. So I assume he probably went into that parking lot or something by Island Lake. I think there's a little restaurant. I'm not too familiar with the area. Maybe to pick up their Wi-Fi, send some text messages. Then I don't know what he did after that. All I know is I waited till about nine o'clock. I hadn't heard anything. Somewhere between nine, 9.30, I started calling him. Again,

I kept calling and calling because I thought, well, maybe he's not hearing the phone ringing over the sound of the ATV. And then all of a sudden, he picked up the phone real quickly and said, stop calling and hung up before I even got a chance to say anything. And so I just assumed, well, he must be with somebody. And I wasn't really worried at that time because then when he picked up the phone, I said, okay, so he's still somewhere, but he must be with somebody and interrupting something. So I waited.

Debbie's worry grew throughout the night, though she continued holding on to the hope that she would wake up to find Jeremy had safely made it home. But when morning came and he still wasn't there, she knew it was time to report her son missing.

It wasn't unusual sometimes for his phone to have died. And so I thought, okay, he'll be back in the morning. When I woke up in the morning and he still wasn't there, then I knew something was wrong.

And that's when I called the police. So the morning of the 21st. But I thought at first that he must have had some accident. They started investigating, but they didn't start searching. And I think they thought he was with some other people that were gone. But then those people, I don't know, they must have shown up. And then they started looking. That's the impression I had gotten. And as a mother, I was hoping that to be true.

Although it would be unusual, I said, well, maybe he just doesn't have any place to charge his phone. For Bethany, August 20th is a blur. She had just endured a difficult pregnancy and a tough delivery. But Jeremy had been there by her side. Then, without warning, he was gone.

At first, Bethany didn't think much of it. She assumed he had gone to his parents' house. And Debbie, wanting to protect Bethany while she recovered and cared for their newborn, didn't immediately share her concerns. But when the police called, panic set in. It was then that Bethany realized that something was seriously wrong.

He was there throughout the day and then he left that night. He disappeared. I hadn't heard from him, but that wasn't concerning to me because I just knew he was going to go home and I would talk to him later. He had told his mom he was heading home and she messaged me later, maybe 9 or 10, and he wasn't back. And I was like, no, I haven't heard from him yet.

I had hemorrhaged pretty badly after I gave birth, so I was still kind of recovering. Our baby was in the NICU, so I was kind of preoccupied. Debbie hadn't actually told me, so I just assumed everything was fine until I got a phone call from the Duluth police. The next day, the 21st, they told me that she'd reported him and they were looking for him and had I heard from him.

I just started panicking. I was like, he's going to come back. He's going to be fine. And then it just kept going on and on and on. Jeremy's phone either powered down or died sometime around 11 p.m. the night he disappeared. Debbie explained that law enforcement has traced the last known location of his phone based on its final ping. But she remains uncertain about exactly where this area was.

Bethany explained what she's been told about that last phone ping.

From what I understand, they did ping it and it was pinged on Rice Lake Road, kind of where the last sighting was. They said they searched the area. They didn't find the phone or anything. They haven't released any locations of the last ping.

Jeremy's route the night he disappeared was a long one, 70 miles, making it a vast area to cover in the search. Early on, there was concern that he might have been involved in an ATV accident. In response, ATV groups joined the search efforts, hoping to find any trace of Jeremy or his ATV out there in the wilderness.

ATV groups have gone out and searched and told me, you know, we went up and down the trails, told me he's not on the trails or we can't find him. He's not on the trails. And here's what's so hard for me because I don't know trails. I've said to people looked on Highway 7 and Highway 4 and where it crosses the road. I've gotten yes, yes, yes on all that. But if there's any trails that go off, I don't know.

I don't know what they are. I don't know what to ask. I mean, I've asked law enforcement and I know that the county rescue squad has searched for him now. I know people have even said, is there a map that we could get an idea of what areas have been searched in that? But different groups have gone out and I just, I don't know how to get that information.

And that's what's made it so hard for me because even when I've gone looking, all I know is my husband and I went up Highway 4 and Highway 7 and we tried to look to see if there was any way that we saw that he might have gone off. But we don't know the trails.

Bethany explained that it was completely normal for Jeremy to travel on the ATV. He knew the area inside and out, and she didn't believe an accident or getting lost was likely. Given his familiarity with the terrain, she couldn't shake the feeling that something else may have happened.

He had taken that route so many times. He knew what he was doing. So I just can't imagine that if it were an accident, he wouldn't have been found right away. He used it at night and it was late. So I just don't see him actually going on those trails. He would have just stayed on the highway. When it first happened, a lot of ATV groups had volunteered to look for him and they had

searched 60 miles of trail or something. It was a lot. And they had told his mom, he is not on the trails. We've gone over every passable trail that we can get to. He's not out there.

The St. Louis County Rescue Squad conducted an extensive search of the woods north of Island Lake. Over 1,000 miles have been covered across roads and trails, but they found no trace of Jeremy or the ATV. This has led those who knew Jeremy to wonder if this was more than an ATV accident, and if something far more sinister may have happened to Jeremy Lawrence.

This message is sponsored by Greenlight. As your kids get older, some things about parenting get easier, while others don't, like having that conversation about money. The fact is, kids won't really know how to manage their money until they're actually in charge of it. That's where Greenlight can help.

Greenlight is a debit card and money app made for families. Parents can send money to their kids and keep an eye on their kids' spending and saving, while kids and teens build money confidence and lifelong financial literacy skills. With the Greenlight app, kids learn to save, invest, and spend wisely, thanks to games that teach money skills in a fun, accessible way. The Greenlight app also includes a chores feature, where you can set up one-time or recurring chores, customized to your family's needs,

and reward kids with allowance for a job well done. I've been using Greenlight with my teenagers for years, and we use the chores feature a lot. I've found that it helps to teach my kids to connect hard work with financial independence. Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at greenlight.com slash vanished. That's greenlight.com slash vanished to get started. greenlight.com slash vanished.

Who doesn't love the good things in life? Even though I enjoy a little luxury, it doesn't mean I can always afford it. Until I discovered Quince. Quince is my go-to for luxury essentials at affordable prices. Quince offers a range of high-quality items at prices within reach, like 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters from $50.

Washable silk tops and dresses, organic cotton sweaters, and 14 karat gold jewelry. The best part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80 percent less than similar brands. I've gotten so many items from Quince. I recently got one of their leather jackets, and it's become my go-to when I leave home.

It's so stylish and the quality is amazing. Get yourself the luxury you deserve with Quince. Go to quince.com slash vanished for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. That's q-u-i-n-c-e dot com slash vanished to get free shipping and 365-day returns. quince.com slash vanished

The mystery of Jeremy's disappearance has caused his loved ones to re-evaluate his life and wonder what, if anything, they missed. What was really going on beneath the surface? Since Jeremy and Bethany didn't live together, he was able to keep parts of his life hidden from her. She was, in a sense, kept at arm's length. He only shared what he wanted her to know, leaving out the rest.

We all thought, even recently, I wasn't aware that he was using. I suspected, but he didn't seem like it to me. But he was making some strange decisions and disappearing, and it was really difficult. He was working, I thought, but after he disappeared, I found out that he was not. A lot of that had not been truthful. Our relationship wasn't

always great. And when he was using, I didn't trust him. But recently, I had such hope. But I mean, it's just been really difficult learning some of the things I've learned

Debbie said she noticed a change in her son a year or so leading up to his disappearance. He had once been a devoted father, but recently he began spending more time with friends. It was a shift that seemed to come in waves. Sometimes he would pull away, and other times he would reconnect, but the pattern was difficult to ignore.

Well, maybe about two years ago he left, but then he came back and lived with us from October of 22 until June of 23. And then he went off with friends again. So, I mean, he was really a good father for a while then that last year or so. Even though he still called every single day, he wasn't there every day like he had been. But he called the kids every day or else he called me.

A couple of months before Jeremy went missing, Debbie can recall that he began spending a lot of time with a couple of friends, often staying at their place in a nearby town.

After June of 23, he was living in Chisholm someplace with this other guy, and I never really knew where it was. He always kept our address on his driver's license, and he got his mail here, and this is where he grew up and kept his address at. But he came here a couple times a week at least. But that's why I don't know who this other man was that they lived with, but I know he would help Jeremy survive.

fixed vehicles and that's when his if something broke down on his business and he bought one of Jeremy's trucks and it was these three people and maybe there was even more only three that I know of he always referred to his friends as you know my buddy I'm going to stop over my buddy's house he's going to help me fix his tire I never really knew who his friends were I mean of course in high school and you know when he's younger I did but then for the last I don't know how many years

When he first went missing, I did start digging and talking and did get a lot of names. And I contacted a lot of people myself. Of course, they didn't tell me anything. And then we had a private investigator involved for a while. I had given him all those names that I had, too. And I don't know, it didn't really lead to anything more than what we had already suspected.

Jeremy had a tendency to keep things from both Debbie and Bethany. Whether he was trying to protect them from something, or simply assume they wouldn't approve, it's unclear. But one thing Bethany is certain of is that his secrecy has made the search for answers far more complicated.

Neither of us know any of his friends, really anybody, because he wouldn't tell us who these people are. We would just accept it. He's always been kind of a more private person, and I just didn't think much of it. Then now that he's missing, people think it's weird that we don't know the people he knows, but we just don't. He could tell his mom he's working, tell me he's working, and then nobody would be wise about where he was.

He would tell Debbie one thing and then me another. A lot of times we'd spend on completely separate pages because we'd hold different information. That made me think, yes, he was using again because he was doing those kinds of things. And I know that he wouldn't want me or his mom to know that he was doing any of that.

As the months went by with few leads in the search for Jeremy, Debbie began to question whether it was truly her son who had answered the phone that night and said, Stop calling. Doubts began to creep in, and she wondered if someone else had been on the other end of that call.

At the time, I had no doubt it was him. I mean, I said, okay, that's him. And he has done that to me before when he's been busy or something. Sometimes he'll pick up the phone real quick and he'll say, I'll call you back or something like that. That's why I figured he was with somebody because that's what he would do if he was with somebody. I'll call you back, but not so abruptly. Usually it's just, I'll call you back. But this was so quick. Stopped calling and hung up. It did sound like him. At the time, I didn't think it wasn't him.

As time passes, you start thinking, you know, I wish you could hear that voice again. I believed it was him. Debbie finds herself replaying the words her son spoke to her during their final conversations over and over, desperately hoping they'll offer some hidden clue about what really happened to him.

It still seemed odd to me. He made one comment, I just want to get home. I want to get away from these people. That was in the afternoon of the 20th. It wasn't during the evening. He made several comments about, you know, I just want to come home. Can you help me come home? And then that's when I sent him. And I didn't send him a lot of money, probably $25. That's what he said he needed, $25 to get home. So it sounded like he was going to try to just shoot down Highway 4. Then he could head across the highway and then...

continue to head towards Mount Nairn where we live. I don't know why he would go off. His comments even, you know, I just want to come home. I want to come home and see the kids. I just don't know why all of a sudden he would decide to take a trail. And he'd made that trip at least three other times during the summer. So I don't know why he'd go a different way. But that's the mystery of it. Did something happen? Did somebody ask him to stop by or stop here? You know, what happened that he maybe took a different route?

I thought, well, maybe he thought he wasn't supposed to be on the road and he went off the road because somebody saw a cop car or something. I mean, I just keep thinking of reasons why he would have gone a different direction. But I believe he was going to take his usual road, which I never asked him where that was. I mean, I knew he went down Highway 4, but he got there and he got back. And I didn't ever say, how exactly did you go? I wish I had, but, you know, he's 39 years old.

When Bethany looked at the surveillance footage of Jeremy, something immediately caught her attention. He was wearing entirely different clothes than he had on earlier, and one of the still images struck her as eerily resembling a woman.

So he was leaving Duluth and going up Bryce Lake Road, which turns into Highway 4, which Island Lake is on. And he was seen at a quick trip on that road. We've never seen the video or a picture from that. And then seen again on surveillance at the Island Lake Resort. There's pictures of him from early in the day and then at Island Lake, but...

A lot of people have pointed out that the person in the Island Lake video doesn't look like him. It doesn't look like him to me. The video at Island Lake, he's wearing different clothes than he was wearing earlier in the day, shorts and different shoes where you see the top of his feet, which I don't know why he would wear something like that for...

a trip that's pretty rural, you know, at night. And the clothes in that video I don't recognize, but it's kind of grainy.

And the videos from earlier in the day, they have from some apartments in West Dillard. He's wearing jeans and a t-shirt, sneakers, and that's not what it appears in the other picture. I can't really tell who it would be at all, but they just look smaller to me, but it's a still shot. The picture of him at the apartments earlier that day, you can see it's him, how he's sitting, even from that still.

So the other one, I could tell the first one's him. I mean, I had kind of come to the conclusion that that isn't him in the second picture because somebody pointed it out. And I guess I had never thought of it when I saw the pictures for the first time until someone said that. I just took it at the word that it's him. When I really looked at it, I was like, oh, no. I don't know. It kind of almost looks like a woman to me.

Her knees up, her toes pointed. No way that's him. Just the way the arms are. It is very strange. I just feel it should look more like him. It's not that drastically different. That was my first thought when someone pointed it out. I was like, oh my gosh, it does. It looks like a girl. Debbie said she asked the police about it and they were kind of, oh, well, I mean, we don't know that it's him. So I'm assuming they don't have this person with them.

in a way where they can definitively say it's him. When would you change his clothes and why? I don't understand. For a trip back north at night, he wouldn't. He was always complaining about bugs and why would he be wearing sandals? I know one time he was wearing sneakers soaking wet because he did not want to go barefoot. He's like, I can't.

Bethany wasn't the only one who thought a woman appeared to be on the ATV in one of the stills from the surveillance footage the evening Jeremy vanished. Members of the online community, also searching for Jeremy, pointed this out to Debbie as well.

I thought it was strange that he had pants on in the afternoon and in that picture to come home at night, he had shorts on. And I had posted that picture. There were many comments about that doesn't look like him. That looks like a female. Different people kind of speculating things. And I have always questioned, is that him? The very first picture I saw of him, you know, a number of hours earlier, he had a flat tire. And I know he had also was telling me he

I had to go get some help to get that flat tire fixed. At that time, the way his body was on the ATV and his jeans, there was no doubt in my mind that was him. But I can't say that about that second picture I've seen at the island lake either. There is a picture of him at the quick trip, but I don't have that one. So I don't know, comparing that one, did that look like him? But supposedly that was about the same time I got that text. So then that makes it even more strange.

Because I did get a text. It's about 7.30, and that's when they claimed that picture was. And he said, I'll call you in a bit. That's when I got that. Why would he be in pants in the middle of the day? And there could be a reason, but why? That just seemed odd to me also.

Millions of Americans are seeing the benefits of medications like Ozempic and Zepbound, but many of them are overpaying by thousands of dollars a year. These GLP-1 medications used for diabetes, weight loss, and more may not be covered by your insurance, but GoodRx can help.

GoodRx is free and easy to use. Just search for any prescription on the GoodRx website or app. Get your coupon and show it to the pharmacist. Check GoodRx and see how you could save an average of $235 each month on GLP-1s at pharmacies near you, including Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Albertsons, Kroger, and many more. Remember, GoodRx works whether you have insurance or not. And even if you have insurance, GoodRx could beat your copay price.

GoodRx has saved me so much money. I've found that GoodRx often beats my copay prices. For savings on GLP-1 medications or any other prescriptions, check GoodRx. Go to GoodRx.com slash GLP. That's GoodRx.com slash GLP.

We all take supplements, or at least we know we should. But why are so many supplement companies charging ridiculous prices for products that really aren't that special? That's why I want to introduce you to LiveGood, a brand that's turning the supplement industry on its head. LiveGood believes that everyone deserves access to high-quality supplements without the insane markups. They offer premium products formulated by an industry-leading team of natural health experts. And they cut out the middleman to sell them at the lowest prices anywhere.

I recently got my hands on their sleep patches, and I chose them because sometimes I have a difficult time falling asleep at night. Since I started them, I've noticed that I've been sleeping more restfully. It's been a game changer for me. Ready to make the switch and start saving? We'll make it even easier for you. Use our link and you can save an additional 10% off your first order.

on top of the already lowest prices. Just go to livegood.com slash vanish to get 10% off your first order. That's livegood.com slash vanished. Don't miss out on this opportunity to invest in your health without overspending.

At the time of his disappearance, Jeremy and Bethany were in a relationship, but there was someone else in Jeremy's life as well. The full nature of their relationship remains a mystery to this day. Bethany explained that this woman had contacted her online several times over the years, and some of their exchanges left her feeling unsettled. Although August 20th is a bit hazy for Bethany, there are certain things Jeremy said to her that day that she'll never forget.

She wishes now that she had asked him more about what he meant, but with Jeremy gone, those answers may be lost forever.

There was this woman who had been harassing me nonstop throughout the last couple of years who was a friend of his from before. Debbie didn't know I was pregnant until later on because he didn't want her to know. He said he wanted to get his life together. This woman just kept telling her that I was pregnant. And Debbie's like, so? Why do you keep saying that to me? And she was just weird about it. It was just strange.

When I had announced my pregnancy on Facebook, her harassment really went through the roof. And then I had to lock my Facebook down because I realized every time she started it up again was when I posted the bump picture or something. So I just stopped. I don't want to be in danger. I don't want to put myself or my other daughter in danger.

When I went into the hospital, it was really unexpected. After I went into the hospital, she was just crazy blowing me up with all this stuff. After the fact, I feel like she was upset because she couldn't get to me. She was making fake Facebooks to contact me and

pretending to be Jeremy. When I was in the hospital with preeclampsia, saying that he hated me and stuff like that, when he was with me, sometimes she would message me and harass me while he was with me, pretending to be with him or pretending to be him. And he would be like, well, just call the cops. They'll tell her to stop. So I would. And they called her and asked her to stop. And then they called me back. Yeah, she said she'll stop. For

For a period of time, yes. And sometimes Debbie would have to ask her to stop. And from what I understand, they were friends. They would hang out at times. And before that, I didn't really think much of it. She was always pretty straightforward with me, I thought.

He would say that she had wanted a relationship with him before we had even met and it wasn't something and he felt like he had led her on at points. But could somebody behave this way if somebody wasn't giving them breadcrumbs?

So I don't know, but he was very convincing to me. What makes me more inclined to believe him is because some of the messages she would find my family and message them, long paragraphs, just nonsense about me. One of the messages she had sent me from a Facebook she made in his name

She was calling me stupid and that my baby is stupid and that I'm so stupid to be pregnant by me again, pretending that she's him.

how I'm just this loser and how he's going to prove the other girls the woman he loves. Even if any of that's true, that's not the way to go about it. I feel kind of foolish after, but I'm not mad at him or anything. I just want to know what happened. But he had shared with me and my sister the day our second daughter was born.

He thought that a baby being born would cause this woman to be pushed over the edge for his words. He disappeared the next day. And he used those words verbatim because I had said, I'm afraid she's going to hurt me or the baby. And he said, I won't let that happen. Not, oh, she won't do that. That's what makes me very fearful for him that something happened to him. Because even if it is all true, I still think it's very unstable behavior.

I feel like glossing over this woman's behavior is a disservice because of what he said right before he disappeared. They had met through drugs. After he disappeared, I found out about some illegal issues he had had with this gal and her car and there was drugs and stuff. And I did not know any of this was going on before he disappeared.

actually a case that happened in June of 2022. He was in a car accident in this woman's car. It was very, very upsetting. I kind of went through the case things and she's the only witness against him on the prosecution's witness list who wasn't law enforcement. He had for it at the end of September, the month after he vanished. She was the only witness I thought

Well, that makes sense to me why he would keep being friends with her and keep being kind to her if she's a witness against him. He had made comments before that I didn't understand about how she would threaten him that she was going to make sure he went to prison. And I was like, for what? How? Like, I don't know. I don't know. Now that comment makes sense to me. What I can tell from her posts online and stuff, she claims they were in a relationship for a

a long time, but he denied it. And I don't know. I don't believe it. I really don't know. That's, I guess, has been really hard is all these unanswered questions that I can't ask him. Had she been harboring this for so long? And, you know, the continued friendship made her think something. Debbie had met this other woman and spoke with Jeremy about their relationship. Jeremy told his mother that they were just friends and there was no romantic involvement between them.

He did have this other woman friend. She always made it sound like it was more, but he didn't make it sound that there was more going on between them. I mean, and he was dead serious. And she knew about Bethany, so I don't really know. That whole situation is very odd. When he went to see Bethany, I think she got angry. There

There was a time I went and told her, I said, just leave Bethany alone. You need to just leave her alone because she's feeling harassed. And she had told me she was going to leave her alone. It didn't sound like that happened. And I've talked with her. She sounds like the grieving girlfriend, really upset. But she doesn't contact me often. I know that they've talked with her. I don't know if she saw him any time around that he went missing. I don't know if they saw each other. I

I just know that they had been arguing. Bethany told me this. She said that even before she had the baby, and this was probably a month or more, she would tell Bethany that her and Jeremy were getting married and sent Bethany a marriage license application or something, which she sent to me. And then I looked and I said, you can find that right online.

And then she had told Bethany something about they were going to go on this cruise together. And all I could say to Bethany, that's just not true. I don't see why if Jeremy wanted to marry her that he wouldn't mention that. He did start talking about Bethany. And I just can't explain what was going on in her mind and what she was doing. And I don't know if she met up with him, but I don't know if he ever considered them even a couple.

She did tell me during Bethany's pregnancy that she was upset that he was seeing Bethany. I kind of stayed out of that. If she saw him as a boyfriend, I mean, I would leave if something like that was going on and he wasn't hiding it. I hear from her every, well,

Well, there's been a couple months that have gone by, and then all of a sudden I'll hear something. And now I heard from her again when we were getting to the year anniversary, and she was telling me about how much she missed him and how she's having a real hard time. Through her sister, Bethany heard a story from investigators suggesting that Jeremy had planned to meet this other woman the night he disappeared. However, Bethany remains uncertain whether that was the truth or just another piece of speculation.

At the beginning, my sister told me the police told her that she told them she met up with him that night and they decided to end their relationship amicably. She was saying she met up with him that night.

night the night before he was reported missing my sister only told me this because we were under the impression he was not missing he was just not found yet she's like I'm telling you this so that you don't get upset but I think he's with this girl and I was like what oh my gosh I was just shocked but then later on I never heard anything about that again but I think that's so strange that's never been discussed again and I don't know if they're not telling us because they

if they know something or if it was just she made it up. I'm fearful and I feel a lot of anxiety and fear. Am I in danger or am I completely off base? Debbie repeatedly reflects on every conversation she had with Jeremy, searching for any subtle clues he may have left behind, like breadcrumbs that could lead her back to her son.

He never told me that he was afraid of anyone. One time, spring of 23, he came home and he said that, no, sorry I'm late, but I'd gotten in a fight with this biker guy. Didn't tell me who he was and he seemed okay and that's all he said. So I have no idea who that person could have been. He just made this comment one time, not to me, but he said, if you ever need to look for me, look on the trails too.

house. And I said, well, would he have any reason to want to hurt him? Well, then she kind of said, oh, no, no, they were friends. They were friends. But I'm thinking, why would he make that comment? There was this one woman that the private investigator told me. He said this at one of our community groups that there was this one woman that he had talked to, and she made a comment to him that he's a piece of shit and he got what he deserved.

Bethany said that since Jeremy vanished, she's been uncovering more and more. And it's caused her to question everything she thought she knew, right down to the ATV he was driving when he disappeared, which is still missing today.

He had told me previously he never used names or anything. He would just say, oh, I'm in Mackinac. And I don't know who he knows there. And that's kind of off Highway 4, but way more north. And I just have these bits and pieces of what the investigators have told Debbie or told me from the beginning, because after it was kind of established that he was actually missing, we

We didn't hear much. When he first disappeared, it was kind of assumed they said he was running. We were like, he didn't do anything wrong. I don't understand. And the investigator told me, well, he kind of did. He got four-wheelers reported stolen. And I was like, oh my gosh, I didn't know that. So that was another shocking thing.

But, I mean, I didn't think he stole it. I didn't understand any of that. I still don't. He said it was a buddy's. He was using...

Jeremy's disappearance has forced Bethany to question not only her relationship with him, but also his connection with the other woman. With Jeremy gone, all she has to go on are the things this woman has said, and it's been deeply hurtful. Still, Bethany strives to stay strong for her daughters, even as she wrestles with the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to their father.

Really, the only thing I know of is what was going on with that gal. And in my gut, I feel like it has something to do with that. And I feel really sad and guilty about it. But because of our baby, because of my pregnancy, this happened. And it just makes me really sad and upset. All of that

while you're grieving all this stuff without knowing what happened and on top of that in postpartum it's been

truly awful. Initially, I would be inclined to just believe someone, but when you're being messaged when the person's right with you and she's pretending to be him to scare me, that's just really strange behavior. After he vanished, she kept on going and she said a bunch of stuff about she was pregnant and his baby. She said a bunch of mean things to me. I

I was in the group and she would just message me. Oh, have you heard from anyone since you're claiming to be his girlfriend? And I would never answer her ever. She would message me all the time and I just never replied. Very strange things. I am not claiming. And that was all during time I wasn't on social media. She was making these posts about them. Nobody would like that. I can't imagine any woman would be like, oh yeah, that's fine if some other.

other women posting there together and he's not there to defend himself and defend me that that it's not true you know something it's another like layer to the trauma

We just kind of try to ignore her. I would get really worked up about it. I want her to stop. It's embarrassing and people would get so mad at me. Any woman would feel very upset if their significant other went missing and someone was saying this. Why do I have to be the bigger person? It was just really, really difficult. I was going to get a harassment order against this woman, but she hadn't messaged me and

a couple of weeks and I was like, well, they're not going to do anything, especially if it's she's stopped now. Even if any of it were true, he would hate that this person is putting this all in the public personal business put out like that. And he's not here to refute it. He told my sister and I, I mean, he basically said it. This woman's going to freak out because of the baby being born. And then he disappeared. If she's

If she was jealous of my pregnancy or wanted to be with him or whatever, that could really add to it. I was helping this girl getting stuff for her apartment. She was staying in the homeless shelter. She told me she heard about my story in the news and stuff. Another girl at the shelter was like, oh yeah, yeah, I know her. I know his baby mom. I know his girlfriend. Her name's ***.

The gal I was helping was like, no, her name's Bethany. And she was like, no, no, I met her. She said she had two babies with him and their baby was in the NICU when he disappeared. And the girl's name is...

So she was saying that she had two babies with him and her baby is in the go. That's not okay. That's strange to do because it's not true and can easily be disproven. Why would someone say that? And that's what frightened me. Those are my children she's talking about. I hope that police are looking into it.

We reached out to this other woman hoping to speak with her about her relationship with Jeremy and also about his disappearance. She responded, I apologize for the delay in my response. I just found your messages in my spam folder. Thank you for reaching out and offering me an interview to share my perspective on Jeremy's life. However, I still struggle with his absence and the personal challenges we faced.

so I must respectfully decline. This topic is very personal to me and a real day-to-day struggle, especially considering where we were in our relationship at the time of his disappearance. My heart has been left with a consistent ache. I hope you understand. Thank you for thinking of me.

Bethany struggles to come to terms with what may have happened to the father of her children, especially right after the birth of their second daughter. When we spoke to her in July, her baby was about to turn one. What should have been a joyous milestone is instead overshadowed by the absence of Jeremy, leaving a hole in their lives that can't be filled.

I can't imagine him just abandoning his entire life. He was very sweet and caring and he loved his children. He would always contact at least his mom. Even if he was trying to avoid me, he would contact his mom. Three weeks and it'll be a year. Our daughter will be a year old and our eldest is turning seven. But I just go back and forth and I think anything's possible. There

There were just so many things going on that I found out before and during my pregnancy and stuff. Well, this is all crazy. And sometimes I think, what if he just had like a mental health thing and, you know, went off? But I don't know. I've never known him to struggle that way. So it's just, it's all really confusing to me. And like the one person I want to ask all these questions to isn't here.

I want him to be found. I want answers. And, you know, I would be so grateful if he decided he was going to be using and just wanted to disappear. Because then that means there's hope for him to get better. The last time Debbie ever heard from him, he picked up and he was like, stop calling. And he hung up on her. People have said, are you sure it was him? And now she's questioning. But thanks back to the time when it happened, she was like, I believed it was him at the time.

But now I question everything. And then he never picked up again and his phone died, I think, around 11 or midnight. And she shared with me that she thought, was he with somebody? Didn't want her calling because he was doing something? Or was he upset that his phone was buzzing and going off? And then the ATV never being found. Any of his belongings?

nothing and he had a bunch of stuff on the ATV even if it was an accident or even if he ended up in water or something I mean something

Debbie feels the investigation has stalled out for far too long, leaving her frustrated and searching for answers on her own. Since Jeremy's disappearance, his father has passed away without ever knowing what happened to his son. In a desperate bid for information, Jeremy's family has offered a reward, hoping someone will finally come forward with the truth.

When I talk with law enforcement, they say it's still an active investigation. They're still getting leads. They're still working on it. I made a comment, I'm afraid it's going to go cold. They said, "It's not going to go cold." But I know because it's an active investigation, they can't give me a lot of information. They don't have his phone. His phone also hasn't been phoned. They did subpoena his phone records, but that's all I know. They haven't given me any more information.

And I put some money on a cash card just to see if he would notice it and use it. And he never did. He didn't use any cards, any bank cards, any cash cards. I worry that somebody hurt him. So we started at $3,000. And the last thing I had posted was $5,000. But my husband just died a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about going up to $10,000, but we haven't done anything about it. Then he passed. Because even with the $3,000...

I had gotten some odd Facebook messages telling me they knew where he was and if I'd send them the money, they would... And I was saying, well, that's not how it works. We need to find him first.

We filed a public records request and reached out to both the Duluth Police Department and the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office for interviews. In return, we received only a single page from each agency. The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office stated that they assisted the Duluth Police Department with follow-up on Jeremy's case, while the Duluth Police Department released only the initial missing persons report that Debbie filed on August 21, 2023.

When we asked for an interview, the public information officer from the Duluth Police Department directed us to contact St. Louis County, but despite our attempts, they never responded to our inquiries. So what happened to Jeremy Lawrence after he left the hospital on August 20, 2023? We know that Jeremy was spotted along his route. Someone in the northern section of town reported seeing him around 6 p.m. Around 6.30, surveillance footage shows him stopping at a quick trip.

After this time, communications between Jeremy and his mother Debbie began. She had been calling him and finally received a response at 7:26 p.m. when he texted, "What's up?" Debbie replied, expressing concern that she thought he'd be home by then, and asked where he was. Minutes later, at 7:30 p.m., Jeremy was yet again seen on surveillance footage, this time at Island Lake.

He was in a parking lot on the ATV. But something about this footage raised questions. Some believe the person on the ATV looks like a woman.

Earlier in the day, Jeremy had been captured on a camera, wearing jeans and sneakers. In the footage from later that evening, the person on the ATV is wearing shorts and what appears to be maybe sandals. This discrepancy has led loved ones to wonder if this was truly Jeremy, or if it was someone else driving the ATV. At 7.34 p.m., Jeremy responded to his mother with another text, "'Not close. When do you think I left?'

15 minutes later, he sent a follow-up message, "I'll call in a little while." But Jeremy never called. By 9:00 p.m., Debbie was really starting to worry, and she began trying to reach Jeremy several times. Jeremy finally answered the phone around 10:00 p.m., but all he said was, "Stop calling," before abruptly hanging up. That was the last time Debbie ever heard from her son. Sometime around 11:00 p.m., Jeremy's phone either died or powered down.

The phone and ATV disappeared along with Jeremy and have never been recovered. The next day, Debbie reported Jeremy missing. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement confirmed that Jeremy's phone had last pinged along his route to his parents' home. But despite extensive searches conducted by both law enforcement and volunteer ATV groups, they never found a single trace of Jeremy or the ATV.

In the aftermath, another woman became a focal point. She claimed that she had been in a romantic relationship with Jeremy, though it's unclear if they were actually a couple. This woman has a history of unsettling communications with Bethany, Jeremy's girlfriend and the mother of his two younger children.

Bethany had just given birth to their second daughter when Jeremy went missing. Could this woman have played a role in what happened to Jeremy? Some have wondered if jealousy over the new baby could have been part of this, especially given the timing of Jeremy's disappearance so soon after Bethany had given birth to their second daughter. Or could it have been someone else in Jeremy's life that his family never knew about?

Jeremy seemed to keep many aspects of his life separate, and he didn't share much about his friends or associates with either Bethany or Debbie, leaving them in the dark about certain relationships. Initially, there was concern that Jeremy had been involved in an ATV accident on his way back to his parents' home. But with no sign of the ATV, those initial fears have grown into questions about foul play.

Jeremy's family continues to hold out hope that someone will come forward with information. To that end, they've offered up a reward, hoping that it will prompt someone to speak up and finally shed light on what happened to Jeremy. Since Jeremy vanished, his father has passed away without answers, and his four children are growing up without their father. No one knows what happened to Jeremy, except perhaps someone out there who knows more than they've let on.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Jeremy Lawrence, please call the Duluth Police Department at 218-730-5400.

He always worried about me. I don't even think he'd not contact me because if he knew I was upset, if I sent him a text saying, you know, where are you? I'm worried about you. You know, the minute I put something on, I'm really worried about you. I'd get something. I'm fine. You know, I'm fine. Mom will call you later or something like that. And then he'd call me later. That's why I said either the kids or myself had contact with him every day.

I could not handle it. I was losing my mind. It was postpartum. I was crying constantly all the time. I couldn't stop. I felt like I was going crazy. I felt like I couldn't do anything. I'm not going to leave the hospital, but I need to do something. Where is he? I just think of things like we hadn't named our daughter yet. He doesn't even know her name. You know, I named her after he disappeared because I had to. They need a name.

That brings us to the end of episode 474. I'd like to thank Debbie and Bethany for speaking with us. If you have a missing loved one that you'd like to have featured on the show, there's a case submission form at thevanishedpodcast.com. If you'd like to join in on the discussion, there's a page and discussion group on Facebook. You can also find us on Instagram. If you like our show, please give us a five-star rating and review. You can also support the show by contributing on Patreon, where you can get early and ad-free episodes.

Be sure to tune in next week. We'll be covering a case from Michigan. Thanks for listening.

If you like The Vanished, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com/survey. At 24, I lost my narrative, or rather it was stolen from me. And the Monica Lewinsky that my friends and family knew was usurped by false narratives, callous jokes, and politics.

I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. So I think listeners can expect me to be chatting with folks, both recognizable and unrecognizable names, about the way that people have navigated roads to triumph. My hope is that people will finish an episode of reclaiming and feel like

They filled their tank up. They connected with the people that I'm talking to and leave with maybe some nuggets that help them feel a little more hopeful. Follow Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to episodes everywhere on February 18th