May 30, 2017
They say that hindsight is 20/20. In 2017, it’s tempting to
look back at how this case was handled (or mishandled according to
many), and start hurling rocks. But context is
everything.
I try to put myself in law enforcement’s shoes in 1996. There
were no email logs to check. No cell phone towers to triangulate.
Hell, Cindy didn’t even have a working phone at the house. This
leaves eyewitness accounts as the crux of the evidence available in
this case.
And while many cases have been solved because of eyewitness
testimony, it is the lease favorite means of law enforcement and
prosecutors to bring about justice.
And in listening to this podcast, you can see why. From the
way the house was found to the legion of possible motives, every
theory from witnesses spawns new questions, not answers.
Many people I have talked to have stated that police dropped
the ball. And with the case remaining unsolved for almost 21 years,
that statement gets very little criticism. If law enforcement
didn't mess this thing up, it would’ve been solved long ago,
right?
In the ten year period between 2001 and 2011, Milan had a
total of five homicides. From 1976 to 1995, it had twelve. Milan,
Tn is a far cry from the ground zero of violent crime. I don’t
think the television show, The First 48, is going to set up camp
there anytime soon. Unfortunately, the way to get better at solving
abductions and homicides is to have a lot of practice. So on one
hand, the residents of Milan can be thankful that they live in a
relatively safe area. On the other, when something like the
disappearance of Cayce McDaniel happens, the local police can
easily find themselves in uncharted territory.
This episode is going to try to piece together the timeline of
those early days after Cayce’s disappearance. It’s time to look at
the information that we have on this case, and see at how it was
handled by law enforcement: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
I’m Brandon Barnett. And this is Searching For Ghosts
It is apparent from the news articles in those early days of
Cayce’s disappearance that there was much confusion about how to
classify this case. Remember this from last episode? Sound Clip
“Hybrid abduction/runaway."
An August 21, 1996 article of The Jackson Sun had a sub-title
that read : QUOTE “Authorities are beginning to suspect the Milan
teenager was kidnapped.” UNQUOTE
The article goes on to say that the department was seeking
assistance from the TBI and the television show “America’s Most
Wanted”, as well as contacting local media outlets to circulate
Cayce’s photo and description.
The article also states that QUOTE: “After searching the
McDaniel home and finding none of Cayce’s personal belongings
missing, investigators started treating the case as an abduction.
They searched the residence for fingerprints Tuesday.”
UNQUOTE
This was four days into the investigation.
This is what receives so much criticism from the people that I
talk to about this case. Sound clip: “Cathy/Dawn"
One month later, in the Sept. 15, 1996 edition of The Jackson
Sun, Cindy’s boyfriend Steve was quoted with a similar complaint.
QUOTE
“Police did not come to the
house until a week after Cayce disappeared,” Steve says. Then, the
police wanted to know why the scene wasn’t just the way it was a
week earlier—why stuff had been moved. I asked where they’d been
when they were needed.”UNQUOTE"
While it wasn’t a week
later, his point is noted.
But it should also be noted that Cayce wasn’t reported missing
until around 2pm on Saturday, August 17th, some twelve hours later
after Cindy came home and found the house with the door open. So,
the possible crime scene theoretically could’ve been tainted in
that twelve hour period. But twelve hours is still much better than
3 1/2 to 4 days. It appears that the time lag in treating the house
as a crime scene goes back to initially looking at the case as a
runaway situation.
This same article has Cindy being critical of law enforcement.
QUOTE”
Cindy, too, is bitter about
the police not helping any faster. She believes the wait to get the
TBI and the FBI involved lost valuable
time.” UNQUOTE
According to reports in the media, It was announced four days
in that the TBI had been contacted, and the FBI on day five.
Ten days after Cayce was reported missing, the composite
sketch mentioned in Ep.2 was released to the media. Also, the FBI
pulled out of the investigation because there was no evidence that
she had been transported across state lines.
Cayce’s story was aired on “America’s Most Wanted” on August
31st, just two weeks after she was officially reported missing.
That’s pretty impressive, in my opinion, to get this on the
national radar.
After the America’s Most Wanted airing, a tip of a reported
sighting came in reporting that Cayce was seen hitchhiking with an
older man in Hayti, MO. Hayti is just across the Mississippi River
from Dyersburg, TN, where Cayce had reportedly been seen at a local
Walmart. There are no reports that the FBI re-entered the case
after these sightings, which should’ve met the crossing state lines
burden if the tips were deemed credible.
In the next couple of months, investigators released to the
media that they had questioned a Carroll County teen, and were
looking into a rape suspect in Nashville that matched the composite
sketch. Both of these leads were fruitless.
In the September 15, 1996 edition of the Jackson Sun, the term
runaway is again the term used for what happened to Cayce, not
abduction.
QUOTE: "
Lieutenant Jerry Hartsfield of the Milan PD says there have
been runaways in Milan before, but Cayce is the first one who
hasn’t been located quickly. “It really bothers me that all the
people at the church said she seemed just fine the night of the
party. I think she ran. Maybe she left with somebody she knew,
somebody she felt comfortable with and then couldn’t get
back.”UNQUOTE
Just from looking
at available news reports, it appears that once the
abduction word was being floated around, that’s when real movement
started to happen. But it appears that the runaway theory was still
there as well.
It was four days in before
terms like “foul play” and “abduction” were
being used in the media. It is also important to note that local
media was not as quick to report on this case. The first news
report about Cayce in The Jackson Sun that I can find is August
19th, 1996—two days after she was reported missing. It could be
that they weren’t contacted by law enforcement, but there
is another possibility. President Clinton was in West Tennessee at
this time, campaigning for his second term in office. One thing
that hasn’t changed in two decades is how politics can make us lose
sight of everyday life.
When looking at the timeline, it’s unfair to say that law
enforcement were completely incompetent, especially after those
first few days. But when dealing with an abduction and possible
murder, those first few days are the most crucial.
And if initially classifying this as a runaway is what has
thrown this case off from the beginning, you would think that law
enforcement would have spent a lot of their time going through
Cayce’s belongings for some sort of indication that she was
planning on running away.
Remember the interview I did with Dawn who helped bring
Valorie the search and rescue dog to town? She also had this to
say:
Soundclip: Dawn: Cleaning out Cayce’s school locker
In my opinion, going through a fourteen year old’s school
locker is the 1996 equivalent of searching email or web site
history. In 1996, If you want to know what a teenage girl is
thinking, check the notes she writes and receives to classmates.
Look at the doodles on her notebook covers. To be fair, I know that
police do have possession of Cayce’s diary.
For me personally, my biggest complaint is how police have
decided to not cooperate in any way with this podcast. The message
I received from the mayor’s office that they didn’t want any media
involvement was heard LOUD AND CLEAR. And I get it…to some
extent.
But this is the 21st Century. The role that podcasts have
recently played in bringing justice is undeniable. Whether it’s the
wrongfully accused in Adnan Sayed to a cold missing persons case in
Tara Grinstead, law enforcement in this country and others are
using the podcast as an investigative tool.
One of my favorite podcasts is from The Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation and David Ridgen. It’s called Someone Knows Something.
Here’s a clip from Season 2.
Law Enforcement agrees to sit down with David, and even though
they remain relatively tight lipped, David still comes away with
more info than he had when he walked in.
Soundclip: SKS
Naively, this is how I thought it was going to be with
Searching For Ghosts. And to be frank: it’s the way it should
be.
So I wanted this episode to be an objective look at how police
have handled this case. There is no need in just pointing fingers
and assigning blame. That isn’t the purpose of this. But law
enforcement does need to be held under the microscope to see if
there is anything that they missed that help in solving this
case.
I’m sure you remember reference of a possible telephone call
made from Cayce that night at the church. I couldn’t get that out
of my head once I heard that. But what are you going to do? You
need a court order to get those records. I’ve heard that police
never looked into this but that this podcast had caused them to
investigate this now. I wish that I could say that hearing that
made me rest easier. But it didn’t.
But in investigating this case and talking to various people,
the phone call was brought up almost in passing from a friend of
Cayce’s at the time. She agreed to talk to me on the record, but
requested her name not be used.
Soundclip: Phone call/friend
This is why it is so important to go through this thing
slowly, and try to look at everything, especially from the night in
question. This might’ve not been a pick-up call from Cayce, this
could’ve simply been a call to get permission to stay the night
with a friend. But if this were never investigated, how do we know?
Since Cindy didn’t have a working phone at the house, who did Cayce
call? How many calls did she make? If law enforcement never looked
into this, what else was missed?