June 13, 2024 • 44 mins
In the wee hours of September 11, 1991, Earl and Carrie Lawson were awoken by an urgent phone call from a woman claiming to be a nurse who said Earl’s father was hospitalized and might not make it through the night. The couple threw on clothes and rushed out the door, only to be stopped by a masked man as they were getting in their Ford Explorer. He bound Earl with duct tape, then forced 25 year-old Carrie into the Explorer and raced off into the darkness. Their families were shocked to discover this was a kidnapping for ransom. It seemed like something you only saw in movies…but it was very real and they were terrified for Carrie. **Part 1 of 2.
Hosted and produced by Erica Kelley
Researched and written by Erica Kelley & Andrea Marshbank
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma Radio
Edited & Mixed by Brandon Schexnayder & Erica Kelley
Suggested by: Nocturnal Druid, Reagan Williams and Amanda
Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/carrie-lawson
This episode is brought to you by:
Hosted and produced by Erica Kelley
Researched and written by Erica Kelley & Andrea Marshbank
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma Radio
Edited & Mixed by Brandon Schexnayder & Erica Kelley
Suggested by: Nocturnal Druid, Reagan Williams and Amanda
Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/carrie-lawson
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Southern for a true crime covers casesthat are not suitable for young listeners,
and there may also be some explicitlanguage used. Listener discretion is advised.
Jasper, Alabama, is a charminglittle city nestled in the foothills of the
Appalachian Mountains. Incorporated in eighteen eightyseven, Jasper is the seat of Walker
(00:29):
County, with a population that hashovered around fourteen thousand. The town doesn't
seem to have changed that much inthe last thirty or so years. It's
a tight knit community where folks waveat each other at stop signs, bring
baked goods over to new neighbors,and wrap their grieving friends in hugs,
prayers, and casseroles. No smalltown is complete without tree lined streets and
(00:51):
a picturesque town square, and Jasper'shistoric square almost looks frozen in time.
Imagine store signs with loopy cursive writingand red brick facades. There's even an
old timmy rotary street clock. Jasperstill has a drive in restaurant that opened
in nineteen fifty called the Frosty Mug, where you can get the best cheeseburger
in town, as well as milkshakesand banana splits. You may also have
(01:15):
heard an urban legend that Walker Countyis the place to go to hire a
hitman in the South. And whilethat is as silly as it sounds,
there is undoubtedly real world problems causedby the opioid epidemic in the foothills of
Appalachia. And yeah, there mightbe meth and trailer parks, but there
are also many low key blue bloodswho have lived and prospered in Jasper for
(01:38):
generations. Famed actress to Lula Bankheadwas from a rich political family with an
a state called Sunset in Jasper innineteen ninety one. The Lawsons were a
prominent family in Jasper, so eventhough a kidnapping for ransom seemed like something
straight out of a bad nineties thriller, the family was targeted. Fortunately,
(02:00):
the mystery lingers to this day.Where is Carrie Lawson? Welcome to episode
two eighteen, The Kidnapping of CarrieLawson. Carolyn Elizabeth Smith Lawson was born
on April twenty second, nineteen sixtysix, to David and Harriet Smith in
(02:23):
Cleveland, Tennessee. She went byCarrie. Her little sister, Margaret,
was only eighteen months younger than her, So the girls grew up close,
and, as Carrie later wrote ina letter to her parents, they had
the best time growing up. Carrie'sfamily was very rich. In nineteen fifty
(02:44):
six, her father, David,graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree
in textile engineering. In nineteen sixtyone, David Smith married Harriet Hill,
and not long after he founded acompany called Permna Color Ink in Cleveland,
Tennessee. While you may not haveheard of Permana Color, you've probably seen
(03:07):
their work. They pioneered the processfor stone washing blue jeans, and that
process is exactly what it sounds like. They put pumice, stones and blue
jeans in an industrial washing machine andvoila. Genes that would normally be a
bright, solid blue now look moreworn and faded. Insta vintage, and
(03:28):
people loved them, especially in thenineteen seventies. Carrie's father, David was
instrumental in creating the process for stonewashing blue jeans, and as president of
Permana Color, David became a wealthyindustrialist. While we don't know his exact
net worth, reporters estimated that itwas in the millions. Keep in mind,
(03:50):
even one million back in the seventiesand eighties would have been somewhere between
two point five and eight million today, So the Smith family was well off
to say the least, and theywere also well respected by the Cleveland community.
Carrie's parents were known for their philanthropyand volunteer work, and they were
(04:11):
both active leaders at Saint Luke's EpiscopalChurch. Carrie was also well respected and
liked. Her sister, Margaret,explained that everyone was drawn to Carrie.
She had an innate kindness that peoplewere just drawn to. Carrie graduated from
Cleveland High School in nineteen eighty four. Then she got her bachelor's degree in
(04:31):
communications from Alabama's Auburn University before graduatingfrom the University of Alabama School of Law
in the spring of nineteen ninety one. By that time, Carrie had been
married for a year to another UAlaw student named Earl Lawson. Earl Howard
Lawson Junior was born in May nineteensixty five to Earl and Farah Lawson in
(04:57):
Jasper, Alabama. Earle was aonly child. His family, much like
Carrie's, was also well to do. His mother owned a real estate company
and Earl Senior owned an auto partsstore. The Lawsons were described as fixtures
of the Jasper community. They werewell off, though not ostentatious, and
(05:18):
lived in a nice area of town, and they regularly attended the North Side
Baptist Church. The mayor of Jasper, Penn Woods, told the Birmingham Post,
Harold, everybody knows the family,and everybody likes them. Earl Junior
graduated from Walker High School now knownas Jasper High in nineteen eighty three,
(05:42):
before attending college and law school.Then, on March tenth, nineteen ninety,
twenty four year old Earl married twentytwo year old Carrie Smith. After
that, Earl began his law careerat an esteemed Jasper law firm. Senator
Bob Wilson, who served fourteen termsin the House of Representatives, held from
that Jasper firm. Earl and Carey'smarriage looked like something out of a story
(06:08):
book. They were bright, youngand in love, both embarking on successful
careers in the law. Great familiesto support them, not just in wealthy
pedigrees, but loving, supportive parentsand siblings. It's no wonder Earl and
Carrie counseled high school students at theirchosen church. First United Methodist. They
(06:31):
probably seemed like they were living mostpeople's ideal future. Earl and Carrie built
a two story brick home in NorthJasper. The house was located on a
cul de sac in an exclusive subdivisionknown as Heritage Hills. Two twenty somethings
straight out of law school building theirown home is impressive, though I'm sure
(06:55):
they could have had some help fromtheir folks. Carrie had taken the Bar
exam in nineteen ninety one after graduation, and while she was awaiting her Bar
exam results, she secured a jobat a Jasper law firm. This firm
was located just a few blocks awayfrom Earl's practice, and later on in
(07:15):
nineteen ninety one, Carrie's results fromthe Bar exam arrived in the mail.
She had passed after years of hardwork. She would have been ready to
become an accredited lawyer in her firm, but by the time that exciting letter
arrived in the mail, Carrie waslong gone. I'm going to pause now
(07:39):
for a short commercial break. OnTuesday, September tenth, nineteen ninety one,
Carrie and Earle got ready for bedand drifted off to sleep as usual,
but in the wee hours of themorning. The phone rang Aman was
(08:00):
on the line. She said shewas a nurse at the Walker Regional Medical
Center. Her tone was urgent.According to her, Earle's dad was really
sick, so sick that he mightnot make it through the night. She
said Carrie and Earle needed to getto the Walker hospital right away. Earle's
father had had a few medical scaresrecently. While the phone call was a
(08:24):
surprise, it wasn't exactly shocking thatsomething serious had happened to Earle Senior.
Frantic, Carrie and Earle leapt outof bed and made themselves decent. Carrie
threw on her glasses, a redT shirt, khaki shorts, white socks,
and rebuck sneakers. Earl and Carriedrove a nineteen ninety one Beijian blue
(08:46):
Eddie Bauer Addition Ford Explorer. Itwas parked in their carport. They climbed
inside the suv to head to thehospital, but before Earle could turn the
key in the ignition, a mansuddenly appeared next to the vehicle. He
was white and was five foot eleveninches tall with a medium build. He
(09:07):
was wearing a mask, He hada gun, and he ordered the couple
out of the explorer. Earle immediatelyrealized that his father wasn't sick. It
had been a ruse to lure himand carry out of the house. In
the moment, Earle was beside himself. It felt surreal, he later told
(09:28):
al dot com. I couldn't believewe felt for this. Earle explained that
he initially thought he and his wifewere getting robbed and nothing more. The
assailant forced Earle to the ground,and then he made Carrie bind Earl with
duct tape. Then he forced Carrieback into the suv, and the masked
(09:48):
man drove the Ford Exploer off intothe night, with twenty five year old
Carrie Lawson in the passenger seat.Now it was clear this wasn't a robbery.
Carrie had been kidnapped. This shookEarle to his core. Jasper just
wasn't the kind of town where youhad to worry about kidnapping or any violent
(10:09):
crime for that matter. Earle latertold Ale dot com back in nineteen ninety
one, nobody got kidnapped. I'dnever heard of a car jacking. There
weren't a lot of murders in Jasper. Having somebody kidnapped was the last thing
you could ever think of. AfterCarrie was abducted, Earle managed to escape
(10:30):
his duct tape bindings, but ofcourse his keys were in the ignition of
the explorer, so Earle had tokick in his back door and called his
dad and then called nine one one. Then he called Carrie's parents. I
can't imagine what it was like tohave to tell them what happened. They
had just seen Carrie a little overa week before on Labor Day, and
(10:52):
now she was missing. Earle wouldrecall that this phone call to Harriet and
David Smith was one of the hardestthings he'd had to do in his life.
After hearing the news, Carrie's parentsvisited their priest before making the three
hour journey from Cleveland, Tennessee,to Jasper, Alabama. Carrie's father and
(11:13):
other Smith family members notified Carrie's sister, Margaret, of her sister's abduction.
At the time, Margaret was inCincinnati on a business trip. Upon hearing
the news, she felt like thisdidn't make any sense, like she was
in a movie, not real life. Her uncle, who lived in Nebraska,
flew his plane to Cincinnati. Fromthere, he took Margaret to Jasper.
(11:39):
Margaret told a journalist, I fullyexpected when we got down there they
would have found her and it wouldbe over. But sadly she was wrong.
From the jump, the FBI tookcontrol of Carrie's case. I imagine
local cops called them in quickly becauseof the ransom. It was just so
(12:01):
unusual. Nobody had heard about kidnappingfor ransom in Jasper, Alabama, or
even in Walker County. The federalagents set up their headquarters at Earl and
Carey's home, and they waited forthe inevitable, the kidnapper's phone call demanding
a ransom for Carrie's safe return.According to the Birmingham Post Harold's interviews with
(12:24):
Carrie's family, a man telephoned Earlat around eight pm on the same day
Carrey was abducted. They assumed ithad to be the same masked man who
had kidnapped Carrie. The caller demandedthat Earl have his father deliver three hundred
thousand dollars to a drop off location. That's almost seven hundred thousand and today's
(12:46):
money. The abductor wanted the moneyleft in Coleman, Alabama. It's about
forty five miles northeast of Jasper.The FBI said it would be best to
comply with the kidnappers demands, andEarl agreed. He later said to reporters,
I was convinced as soon as wegot him the money, we were
going to get carried back and nailthis bastard. I had every hope in
(13:11):
the world there was going to bea good ending to this. So his
father, Earl Senior, brought threehundred thousand dollars in cash to Coleman.
But when he arrived at the dropoff site, five police cars were nearby.
That was completely unplanned. Local lawenforcement just happened to be in the
(13:31):
area. The FBI had failed towarn them to stay away. The Coleman
officers didn't know anything about the kidnapping. I hate to go ahead and start
criticizing the FBI, but you mightas well get used to it. Their
involvement in this case will be verycontroversial. But notifying local law enforcement of
(13:54):
a ransom drop seems like it wouldbe in the ABC's of the Kidnapping Handbook,
But in fact, very few partiesofficially knew about the kidnapping. Newspapers
and TV stations had been asked tokeep any mention of it under wraps,
though why or how they would havelearned of it is beyond me. Unless
(14:15):
the cops leaked it, the FBIwas concerned it would compromise the investigation.
So it makes sense why these Colemanofficers were in the wrong place at the
wrong time. They didn't know anybetter, but the kidnapper didn't know that.
All he saw were police cruisers floodinghis drop off location, and upon
(14:35):
seeing the authorities everywhere, the kidnappercalled the whole thing off. This is
the first of several unfortunate events surroundingCarrie's kidnapping, events that many believed the
FBI could have taken steps to avoid. Later, when there were so many
what ifs in this case, youhad to wonder how might one phone call
(14:58):
from the FBI to the Coleman authoritiessaying, Hey, make sure y'all aren't
in this area might have changed theoutcome of this case. I'm going to
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a free gift with your order today. Between the late hours of Wednesday the
eleventh and the early morning hours ofThursday the twelfth, Earl and Carrie's family
demanded that the kidnapper let them talkto Carrie. They wanted to confirm that
(17:56):
she was still alive and the kidnapperhe did allow Carrie to speak briefly with
her husband on the phone, andshe also spoke with her mother in law.
During these phone calls, Carrie expressedthat she feared for her life.
She told Earle that he needed togo to the home of one of his
law partners to await the kidnapper's nextphone call. Before letting Earle go to
(18:21):
his law partner's house, federal agentsinsisted that he wear a wire. It
then took the FBI thirty minutes toprepare Earl with that wire. In those
thirty minutes, Earle missed six callsfrom Carrie. Thirty minutes might not sound
like a big deal, but itis when a kidnapper tells you to get
(18:41):
to a certain place right away toexpect a call. That was strike two
for the Feds. Later on Thursday, the kidnapper called Earl once more he
wanted to attempt the ransom drop again. This time it was set for three
thirty am on Friday, September thirteenth. Earl was to leave the cash at
(19:02):
a payphone near a gas station onthe western edge of Jasper. To prepare,
the FBI put a directional beeper onEarl. They put a second directional
beeper in the bag containing the threehundred thousand. The idea here was that
federal agents could track the beepers tofollow both Earl and the bag of money.
(19:23):
That way, if Earl was abductedto they could find him. Unfortunately,
both beepers were transmitting on the sameradio frequency, which means that when
Earle delivered the cash and left thescene, the federal agents were only able
to track Earle, not the bagof money, and consequently not the kidnapper.
(19:47):
This would be mistake number three forthe FBI. Okay, well,
you might be thinking that surely theFBI planted a few agents to watch the
kidnapper pick up the money. RightTHEBI I knew exactly where the kidnapper was
going to be and approximately when hewould be there. Surely they could do
something with that information. Well,heard the Birmingham Post Harold. The FBI
(20:11):
did assign several agents to watch theransom money get picked up, but these
agents were actually late to the drop, and the money was already gone when
they arrived. Late to a mothertruck and ransom drop. The Feds are
now zero to four and we're notdone yet. Despite these blunders, Earle
was optimistic that Carrie would be homesafe and sound soon enough. He told
(20:37):
al dot Com. I guess thatI was overly hopeful that the minute I
got back to my house, theword was going to be that he released
her and we'd find her. Butthat call just never came. Earle,
his family, and Carrie's family waitedpatiently at Earl's kitchen table, but the
phone never rang, and Carrie's familywasn't able to listen to Carrie's previous phone
(21:03):
calls she had made to Earle andher mother in law. The SBI was
supposed to be recording them, butthere was an unexpected malfunction. Somehow the
audio tapes were corrupted. The Smithswould never hear Carrie's last words, which
seemed to be the last straw forthe family. Because the morning after the
(21:25):
money drop off, at about ninethirty am, Carrie's family held a news
conference. They held nothing back explainingtheir daughter's abduction. They insisted that they
followed all the kidnappers' demands, andthey made a public plea for the kidnapper
to release Carrie. This press conferencewas the catalyst that allowed newspapers and other
(21:48):
media outlets to begin reporting on Carrie'scase. The cat was out of the
bag, but Jasper, being asmall town, news travel fast. The
news about Carrie Lawson had spread likewildfire. By the time the papers hit
the printers, nearly every Jasper residentwas aware that Carrie Lawson had been kidnapped
(22:08):
for ransom. Folks even knew thatthe ransom amount was between three hundred and
four hundred thousand dollars. A pharmacistnamed Sharon at since Discount Pharmacy, with
no known connection to the Lawsons orSmith's or reason to have insider knowledge on
this case, told the Birmingham PostHarold when it was finally reported in the
(22:30):
news, they didn't tell me anythingI didn't already know. It's not much
of an exaggeration to say that everysingle person in Jasper was following Carrie's kidnapping.
The mayor of Jasper pen Woods toldthe Birmingham Post Harold, I don't
go anywhere now, the store orrestaurant anywhere that this isn't the first thing
that people mention, and al dotcom described Carrie Lawson as the most talked
(22:56):
about missing person in Alabama history.Sharon at the pharmacy also said they had
a television set on the counter.She told the Birmingham Post Harold that all
the customers would gather around the TVwhen anything about Carrie came on. Even
local broadcasts were interrupted for live updatesand press conferences. Anything and everything about
(23:19):
Carrie was breaking news, but nomedia outlet would report the one sentence that
everyone wanted to hear that Carrie Lawsonhad been found. Instead, the kidnapper
had the money he had Carrie,and there were no more communications, nothing
to say that she would be released. So the search for Carrie and her
(23:42):
kidnapper continued. Carrie's family and friendsflocked to Jasper to help look for her.
Her parents set up shop and alocal Best Western motel. Her sister,
Margaret, stayed in the guest roomat Earl and Carey's home for a
while. Margaret told a reporter thatshe would watch Carrie's driveway from her bedroom
(24:03):
window. She expected that eventually Carriewould walk up that driveway, but days
passed and Carrie never came home.I'm going to pause now to hear a
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(26:44):
for the FBI and other investigating authorities. Detectives worked around the clock trying to
find her. A local police chieftold the Birmingham Post Herald that officers were
on the phones twenty four hours aday to collect leads from the public.
Meanwhile, the FBI was in closecontact with Earl and the rest of Carrey's
(27:06):
family. Federal agents made sure thatCarrie's family had realistic expectations. Earle later
told al dot com, They're prettydirect on what you can expect. On
day one, they told us thestatistical probabilities of someone being found alive and
well, and then on day twothey told you again. You didn't want
(27:30):
to hear it, but you appreciatedit. A few days after Carrie's kidnapping,
investigators searched an abandoned house. Itwas near the location where Earle had
dropped off the ransom money. Insidethis house, authorities found feminine hygiene products.
Those were sent to the FBI headquartersin Washington, d C. For
(27:52):
forensic testing. FBI Agent in chargeAlan P. Whittaker told the Birmingham Post
Old that determining if Carrie had beenin that house would be important to narrow
down the investigation. He said thatgives us a point to focus some of
our energy and thought processes. Rightnow. We have literally a million places
(28:15):
to go. By September fifteenth,nineteen ninety one, five days after Carrie's
kidnapping, few clues had been found. It appears that the feminine hygiene products
from the abandoned house hadn't panned out. No one knew where Carrie was,
No one knew where her kidnapper was. Even carl and Carrey stolen Ford Explorer,
(28:36):
had seemingly vanished into thin air.That Sunday, the Smith family gave
another press conference at Jasper City Hall. Carrie's father, David told the crowds,
pardon my appearance, I've kicked throughhalf of the buildings that are vacant
and Jasper. I'd like for allof you to start kicking a few looking
for Carrie. Also, David askedanyone within information about Kerrie's location to call
(29:02):
the Jasper Police or the FBI Birminghamoffice to help incentivize the search for Carrie.
The Smith family also announced a onehundred thousand dollars reward that's about two
hundred and twenty seven thousand today.But even before David's call to action,
hundreds of Jasper residents were already searchingfor Carrie. They had scoured empty buildings,
(29:26):
farms, and stripmonds. In fact, so many people had been looking
for Carrie that the FBI had torein them in. At this press conference,
FBI agent Whittaker reminded the public thatthey weren't allowed to trespass, even
in the name of finding Carrie.Following this, searchers began wearing yellow ribbons
(29:48):
to help identify themselves for law enforcement. But the issues with over zealous searchers
must have persisted, because within theweek, FBI agent Roy Long was but
in charge of advising the volunteers.His job was to make sure that they
operated within the law Mayor Penwoods saidJasper citizens prided themselves on their helping nature.
(30:12):
He told the Birmingham Post, Harold, I think it could be a
clerk in a store that nobody's heardof, and folks around here would be
just as concerned. Were just usedto doing for ourselves, and when folks
are in trouble, we all help. That's just the way we were brought
up. Many Jasper residents held onto the hope that Carrie would be found
(30:33):
safe and well. Some told thepapers that they thought she was tied up
somewhere, that the kidnapper had merelyabandoned her After the successful money exchange,
it was simply a matter of findingher. But Monday passed with no notable
progress in the investigation, then Tuesdaystill nothing. At this point, Agent
(30:56):
Whittaker told the Birmingham Post Harold realistic. Time is not our ally. Whittaker
knew that with every passing day thechances of finding Carrie alive were dwindling quickly.
As you know from any given TVcrime show or podcast, the first
forty eight hours are crucial. Theodds of finding someone alive dropped seriously each
(31:18):
passing day. On Wednesday, Septembereighteenth. It was one week after Carrie
had been taken. On that day, Alabama Governor Guy Hunt offered the National
Guard services to help search for Carrie. His office said that they could furnish
the FBI with needed resources, butFBI agent Whittaker turned them down. Whittaker
(31:42):
told the Birmingham Post Harold that hehadn't identified a mission for the National Guard,
but he would consider the offer asthe investigation continued. In my head,
find Carrie Lawson is a pretty damngood mission. I understand in that
coordinating multiple agencies is probably complicated,but once you're a week in and have
(32:06):
had a failed ransom drop, whynot use every resource? And to be
blunt, it's not like the NationalGuard, or for that matter, so
many local agencies usually jump to helpwith missing persons. There are thousands of
missing persons in this country with onlyone sheriff's department or police agency looking for
(32:30):
them, while their families are beggingfor help. And don't get me started
on the media. To be fair, a kidnapping for ransom is much more
dramatic than usual missing persons cases.But to be blunt, again, the
carry loss and investigation benefited from missingwhite woman syndrome. It's why newspapers,
(32:52):
radio stations in the local TV newswere breathlessly reporting every move. It's why
the governor was publicly pledged assistance.Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful
so many people outside of her smallcommunity cared, and a radio station wound
up being very crucial in this case. I just feel sad for the families
(33:15):
of missing people who beg for attentionfrom the media and don't get it anyway.
In Carrie's case, the authorities wereobviously fairly certain that she had only
been kidnapped for financial reasons. Shecame from money, married into money,
and was on her way to beingwealthy herself, so she had been targeted.
(33:37):
According to Earle, the kidnapper basicallysaid as much in one of their
conversations. However, investigators covered theirbases by checking out people who may have
wanted revenge on Carrie or her family, namely business people who had disputes with
Carrie's textile tycoon father, or anyonewho may have had an issue with her
(34:00):
lawyer husband. It was generally acceptedthat Carrie didn't have any enemies herself.
Her father told the papers. Idon't suppose she ever met a soul she
didn't like or have compassion for.I'm going to pause now for a final
commercial break. On Thursday, Septembernineteenth, the Birmingham Post Harold reported that
(34:29):
officers found evidence pertinent to Carrie's investigation. However, the FBI would not disclose
what the evidence was. They justsaid it was valuable and located near a
road in the vicinity of the ransomdrop off location. That same day,
the FBI also announced a ten thousanddollars reward for information leading to the location
(34:51):
of Carrie and Darl's vehicle. Theytold the public essentially, when you find
it, don't touch it, becausethey wanted to preserve as much evidence as
possible. In the state of Alabama, there were nearly two hundred Beige and
Blue nineteen ninety one Ford explorers withUniversity of Alabama tags, and honestly,
(35:13):
the authorities might have received false leadson nearly all of them, but they
encouraged people to keep calling, eventhough they might not have seen the correct
SUV. Investigators were particularly interested intips from hunters. Dove hunting season had
just begun, so hundreds of outdoorsmenwere coming to the area. The FBI
(35:34):
knew that the dense Alabama woods whereall the hunters were headed, would be
an ideal place to dump an unwantedFord Explorer. Within three days of the
ten thousand dollars reward being announced,Carrie and Earl's Fort Explorer was found.
On Saturday, September twenty first.Two people discovered it in the Bankhead National
(35:54):
Forest. The suv was near theBlack Pond in Winston County. Authorities examined
the vehicle thoroughly for evidence, butthere were no reports that anything significant was
discovered. On Tuesday, the rewardfor information leading to Carrie's whereabouts was raised
from one hundred thousand to four hundredthousand that's close to a million dollars today.
(36:20):
This massive reward was made possible dueto donations from Carrie's friends and family
in Alabama and Tennessee. All thewhile, thousands of missing persons flywers with
Carrie's photo continued to be passed out. Carrie and Earl's church organized and fed
countless search parties, as did bothEarl and Carrie's alma mater, the University
(36:44):
of Alabama School of Law. Earl'sparents' Church North Side Baptists also contributed.
So far, Carrie had been missingfor ten days, but many staunchly believed
that she would be found. Shehad to be somewhere, and it seemed
like the entire state of Alabama wason the lookout for her. On Wednesday,
(37:07):
September twenty fifth, Carrie had beenmissing for two weeks. It was
at this point that a gas stationemployee came forward. His name was Chris
Weldon, and he spoke to theBirmingham Post Herald. Chris explained to journalists
that two FBI agents had recently visitedhis workplace at the Northwood Lake Chevron near
(37:29):
Tuscaloosa. It's approximately seventy five minutesor about sixty miles south of Jasper.
According to Chris, the officers werelooking into the paythone outside the chevron.
Apparently, Carrie had used that paythoneto call someone at three fifteen am on
September twelfth, That was almost twentyfour hours after her abduction. This was
(37:53):
probably one of those calls where Carriewas allowed to briefly speak to Earle and
her mother in law. When theFBI agents came to Chris's chevron, they
wanted to know if Carrie had beenrecorded on an outdoor surveillance camera. When
Chris spoke to the paper, hewasn't sure if she had been. In
(38:14):
the same article detailing Chris's interview,the paper reported that Carrie made a phone
call from a payphone at the NorthwoodShopping Center on US Highway eighty two.
She supposedly made a third phone callsomewhere near there as well. The FBI
did not confirm any of this informationpublicly, but I imagine the Birmingham Post
(38:37):
Harold was pretty confident Chris and theother sources were credible or else It's doubtful
they would have published the information.But considering the appetite for any news on
Carrie Lawson, you never know.Side note Andrea scoured the Internet and YouTube
for the audio recordings but could notfind them. All descriptions of the we
(39:00):
have end quote from came from theBirmingham Post Herald. As a result of
these payphone locations, volunteers began searchingthe Newport area near Tuscaloosa extensively. These
searches were not sanctioned by law enforcement, but law enforcement was still in the
case. FBI Director William Sessions saidhis agency was putting forth tremendous effort and
(39:24):
using considerable resources to find Carrie.Finally, on Saturday, September twenty eighth,
there was a break in the investigation. Law enforcement had recovered three audio
recordings. These recordings were of thekidnapper using payphones to call Earl on September
eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth.In them, you can hear a man
(39:49):
with the North Alabama accent speak.According to the FBI dialect experts, this
accident was common for the area nearJasper. They believed the man and was
likely a local. He had probablybeen born and raised in Jasper's Walker County
or an adjacent one. In thefirst recorded phone call, the kidnapper said,
(40:10):
Earle, you got the money,all right? Go up to sixty
nine Highway to Coleman. You listening. Go to exit three oho eight on
the Interstate Highway, take the InterstateNorth. Check into the Day's Inn and
I'll call you there. You shouldbe there in an hour and fifteen minutes.
I'll call you then bye. Thisis when that critical mistake happened.
(40:32):
When local Caleman police happened to bein the area during the money drop off
and the next audio snippet, thekidnapper was clearly upset. He said,
listen, Earle, you screwed mearound tonight. If you want to see
this woman alive again, you're goingto get your acts straight. You jacked
me around all night. I'm goingto jack you around for a while.
(40:54):
Understand. You got the police withyou, and you got everybody else with
you. Tomorrow today you get ridof everybody. Your mother, the police,
everybody. Your wife is about tohave a nervous breakdown. The kidnapper
also up to the ransom amount byone hundred thousand because he was so angry
about being ran around all night long, as he put it. Then,
(41:17):
early in the morning on September thirteenth, the kidnapper called Earl to give the
directions to the final drop off location. He said, in clear terms,
if there's any problems and I don'tshow back up to get your wife released,
they're going to leave her and she'lldie. While the kidnapper is clearly
(41:37):
referring to one or more accomplices,to this day, it is unclear who
exactly he is talking about, or, of course, this could have just
been a ruse to imply more peoplewere involved. He did have at least
one accomplice that will get to injust a bit, but they would prove
to be no help in finding Carrie. That Saturday, law enforcement gave the
(42:01):
general public access to all of theseaudios. They were played on TV news
channels and radio stations repeatedly. TheFBI was hoping someone, anyone, would
be able to identify the kidnapper byhis voice. After the audios were released,
more than one hundred people called authoritieswith suggestions of who it might be,
(42:24):
and someone called who was certain theyknew who it was. That's how
the FBI began looking into a fortynine year old man from right there in
Jasper. A random caller to aradio station recognized his voice. Southern Fried
(42:45):
True Crime is hosted and produced byme Erica Kelly Folks. The rest of
Carrey's story will be out this weekend. I am sorry. I hadn't planned
on making it a two parter,but this episode was ballooning into well over
an hour and a half, butplease tune into part two. Not only
is the rest of Carrie's story unbelievable, but you know me, I've got
(43:07):
so much to say about it.This case was researched and written by me
and Andrea Marshbank. As usual,any editorial comments and opinions are my own.
Southern Fred's original music is by RobHarrison of Gamma Radio and the original
graphic art is by Cooley Horner.Today's episode was edited and mixed by Brendan
schock Snyder of Southern Gothic and EricaKelly. If you have any case suggestions,
(43:29):
please go to my website, Southernfredruecrimedot com and click on the listener
suggestion tap, or email SFTC Researchat gmail dot com. This is the
best way for me to get thoselittle known cases. Y'all always send me.
Please remember that I do not acceptsuggestions on social media private messages,
but please come join our Facebook group, Southern Friud True Crime Fans Discussion Group,
(43:51):
where we swap recipes, worship DollyParton, and share means. We
do, of course discuss true crime, not just Southern Friud, but all
kinds, but it is still verymuch a Southern lifestyle group. Our group
is a safe and fun corner ofFacebook, and by god, we mean
it when we see no shit asis allowed. It's not just a motto,
it's how we run the group.If you enjoyed today's show, don't
forget to subscribe, and please tella friend or rate and review. I'm
(44:14):
on all large platforms like iTunes,Iheartspotify, Amazon, Audible, and YouTube.
Until next time, thanks so muchfor listening. Y'all, take care,
Southern for a true crime covers casesthat are not suitable for young listeners,
and there may also be some explicitlanguage used. Listener discretion is advised.
Jasper, Alabama, is a charminglittle city nestled in the foothills of the
Appalachian Mountains. Incorporated in eighteen eightyseven, Jasper is the seat of Walker
(00:29):
County, with a population that hashovered around fourteen thousand. The town doesn't
seem to have changed that much inthe last thirty or so years. It's
a tight knit community where folks waveat each other at stop signs, bring
baked goods over to new neighbors,and wrap their grieving friends in hugs,
prayers, and casseroles. No smalltown is complete without tree lined streets and
(00:51):
a picturesque town square, and Jasper'shistoric square almost looks frozen in time.
Imagine store signs with loopy cursive writingand red brick facades. There's even an
old timmy rotary street clock. Jasperstill has a drive in restaurant that opened
in nineteen fifty called the Frosty Mug, where you can get the best cheeseburger
in town, as well as milkshakesand banana splits. You may also have
(01:15):
heard an urban legend that Walker Countyis the place to go to hire a
hitman in the South. And whilethat is as silly as it sounds,
there is undoubtedly real world problems causedby the opioid epidemic in the foothills of
Appalachia. And yeah, there mightbe meth and trailer parks, but there
are also many low key blue bloodswho have lived and prospered in Jasper for
(01:38):
generations. Famed actress to Lula Bankheadwas from a rich political family with an
a state called Sunset in Jasper innineteen ninety one. The Lawsons were a
prominent family in Jasper, so eventhough a kidnapping for ransom seemed like something
straight out of a bad nineties thriller, the family was targeted. Fortunately,
(02:00):
the mystery lingers to this day.Where is Carrie Lawson? Welcome to episode
two eighteen, The Kidnapping of CarrieLawson. Carolyn Elizabeth Smith Lawson was born
on April twenty second, nineteen sixtysix, to David and Harriet Smith in
(02:23):
Cleveland, Tennessee. She went byCarrie. Her little sister, Margaret,
was only eighteen months younger than her, So the girls grew up close,
and, as Carrie later wrote ina letter to her parents, they had
the best time growing up. Carrie'sfamily was very rich. In nineteen fifty
(02:44):
six, her father, David,graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree
in textile engineering. In nineteen sixtyone, David Smith married Harriet Hill,
and not long after he founded acompany called Permna Color Ink in Cleveland,
Tennessee. While you may not haveheard of Permana Color, you've probably seen
(03:07):
their work. They pioneered the processfor stone washing blue jeans, and that
process is exactly what it sounds like. They put pumice, stones and blue
jeans in an industrial washing machine andvoila. Genes that would normally be a
bright, solid blue now look moreworn and faded. Insta vintage, and
(03:28):
people loved them, especially in thenineteen seventies. Carrie's father, David was
instrumental in creating the process for stonewashing blue jeans, and as president of
Permana Color, David became a wealthyindustrialist. While we don't know his exact
net worth, reporters estimated that itwas in the millions. Keep in mind,
(03:50):
even one million back in the seventiesand eighties would have been somewhere between
two point five and eight million today, So the Smith family was well off
to say the least, and theywere also well respected by the Cleveland community.
Carrie's parents were known for their philanthropyand volunteer work, and they were
(04:11):
both active leaders at Saint Luke's EpiscopalChurch. Carrie was also well respected and
liked. Her sister, Margaret,explained that everyone was drawn to Carrie.
She had an innate kindness that peoplewere just drawn to. Carrie graduated from
Cleveland High School in nineteen eighty four. Then she got her bachelor's degree in
(04:31):
communications from Alabama's Auburn University before graduatingfrom the University of Alabama School of Law
in the spring of nineteen ninety one. By that time, Carrie had been
married for a year to another UAlaw student named Earl Lawson. Earl Howard
Lawson Junior was born in May nineteensixty five to Earl and Farah Lawson in
(04:57):
Jasper, Alabama. Earle was aonly child. His family, much like
Carrie's, was also well to do. His mother owned a real estate company
and Earl Senior owned an auto partsstore. The Lawsons were described as fixtures
of the Jasper community. They werewell off, though not ostentatious, and
(05:18):
lived in a nice area of town, and they regularly attended the North Side
Baptist Church. The mayor of Jasper, Penn Woods, told the Birmingham Post,
Harold, everybody knows the family,and everybody likes them. Earl Junior
graduated from Walker High School now knownas Jasper High in nineteen eighty three,
(05:42):
before attending college and law school.Then, on March tenth, nineteen ninety,
twenty four year old Earl married twentytwo year old Carrie Smith. After
that, Earl began his law careerat an esteemed Jasper law firm. Senator
Bob Wilson, who served fourteen termsin the House of Representatives, held from
that Jasper firm. Earl and Carey'smarriage looked like something out of a story
(06:08):
book. They were bright, youngand in love, both embarking on successful
careers in the law. Great familiesto support them, not just in wealthy
pedigrees, but loving, supportive parentsand siblings. It's no wonder Earl and
Carrie counseled high school students at theirchosen church. First United Methodist. They
(06:31):
probably seemed like they were living mostpeople's ideal future. Earl and Carrie built
a two story brick home in NorthJasper. The house was located on a
cul de sac in an exclusive subdivisionknown as Heritage Hills. Two twenty somethings
straight out of law school building theirown home is impressive, though I'm sure
(06:55):
they could have had some help fromtheir folks. Carrie had taken the Bar
exam in nineteen ninety one after graduation, and while she was awaiting her Bar
exam results, she secured a jobat a Jasper law firm. This firm
was located just a few blocks awayfrom Earl's practice, and later on in
(07:15):
nineteen ninety one, Carrie's results fromthe Bar exam arrived in the mail.
She had passed after years of hardwork. She would have been ready to
become an accredited lawyer in her firm, but by the time that exciting letter
arrived in the mail, Carrie waslong gone. I'm going to pause now
(07:39):
for a short commercial break. OnTuesday, September tenth, nineteen ninety one,
Carrie and Earle got ready for bedand drifted off to sleep as usual,
but in the wee hours of themorning. The phone rang Aman was
(08:00):
on the line. She said shewas a nurse at the Walker Regional Medical
Center. Her tone was urgent.According to her, Earle's dad was really
sick, so sick that he mightnot make it through the night. She
said Carrie and Earle needed to getto the Walker hospital right away. Earle's
father had had a few medical scaresrecently. While the phone call was a
(08:24):
surprise, it wasn't exactly shocking thatsomething serious had happened to Earle Senior.
Frantic, Carrie and Earle leapt outof bed and made themselves decent. Carrie
threw on her glasses, a redT shirt, khaki shorts, white socks,
and rebuck sneakers. Earl and Carriedrove a nineteen ninety one Beijian blue
(08:46):
Eddie Bauer Addition Ford Explorer. Itwas parked in their carport. They climbed
inside the suv to head to thehospital, but before Earle could turn the
key in the ignition, a mansuddenly appeared next to the vehicle. He
was white and was five foot eleveninches tall with a medium build. He
(09:07):
was wearing a mask, He hada gun, and he ordered the couple
out of the explorer. Earle immediatelyrealized that his father wasn't sick. It
had been a ruse to lure himand carry out of the house. In
the moment, Earle was beside himself. It felt surreal, he later told
(09:28):
al dot com. I couldn't believewe felt for this. Earle explained that
he initially thought he and his wifewere getting robbed and nothing more. The
assailant forced Earle to the ground,and then he made Carrie bind Earl with
duct tape. Then he forced Carrieback into the suv, and the masked
(09:48):
man drove the Ford Exploer off intothe night, with twenty five year old
Carrie Lawson in the passenger seat.Now it was clear this wasn't a robbery.
Carrie had been kidnapped. This shookEarle to his core. Jasper just
wasn't the kind of town where youhad to worry about kidnapping or any violent
(10:09):
crime for that matter. Earle latertold Ale dot com back in nineteen ninety
one, nobody got kidnapped. I'dnever heard of a car jacking. There
weren't a lot of murders in Jasper. Having somebody kidnapped was the last thing
you could ever think of. AfterCarrie was abducted, Earle managed to escape
(10:30):
his duct tape bindings, but ofcourse his keys were in the ignition of
the explorer, so Earle had tokick in his back door and called his
dad and then called nine one one. Then he called Carrie's parents. I
can't imagine what it was like tohave to tell them what happened. They
had just seen Carrie a little overa week before on Labor Day, and
(10:52):
now she was missing. Earle wouldrecall that this phone call to Harriet and
David Smith was one of the hardestthings he'd had to do in his life.
After hearing the news, Carrie's parentsvisited their priest before making the three
hour journey from Cleveland, Tennessee,to Jasper, Alabama. Carrie's father and
(11:13):
other Smith family members notified Carrie's sister, Margaret, of her sister's abduction.
At the time, Margaret was inCincinnati on a business trip. Upon hearing
the news, she felt like thisdidn't make any sense, like she was
in a movie, not real life. Her uncle, who lived in Nebraska,
flew his plane to Cincinnati. Fromthere, he took Margaret to Jasper.
(11:39):
Margaret told a journalist, I fullyexpected when we got down there they
would have found her and it wouldbe over. But sadly she was wrong.
From the jump, the FBI tookcontrol of Carrie's case. I imagine
local cops called them in quickly becauseof the ransom. It was just so
(12:01):
unusual. Nobody had heard about kidnappingfor ransom in Jasper, Alabama, or
even in Walker County. The federalagents set up their headquarters at Earl and
Carey's home, and they waited forthe inevitable, the kidnapper's phone call demanding
a ransom for Carrie's safe return.According to the Birmingham Post Harold's interviews with
(12:24):
Carrie's family, a man telephoned Earlat around eight pm on the same day
Carrey was abducted. They assumed ithad to be the same masked man who
had kidnapped Carrie. The caller demandedthat Earl have his father deliver three hundred
thousand dollars to a drop off location. That's almost seven hundred thousand and today's
(12:46):
money. The abductor wanted the moneyleft in Coleman, Alabama. It's about
forty five miles northeast of Jasper.The FBI said it would be best to
comply with the kidnappers demands, andEarl agreed. He later said to reporters,
I was convinced as soon as wegot him the money, we were
going to get carried back and nailthis bastard. I had every hope in
(13:11):
the world there was going to bea good ending to this. So his
father, Earl Senior, brought threehundred thousand dollars in cash to Coleman.
But when he arrived at the dropoff site, five police cars were nearby.
That was completely unplanned. Local lawenforcement just happened to be in the
(13:31):
area. The FBI had failed towarn them to stay away. The Coleman
officers didn't know anything about the kidnapping. I hate to go ahead and start
criticizing the FBI, but you mightas well get used to it. Their
involvement in this case will be verycontroversial. But notifying local law enforcement of
(13:54):
a ransom drop seems like it wouldbe in the ABC's of the Kidnapping Handbook,
But in fact, very few partiesofficially knew about the kidnapping. Newspapers
and TV stations had been asked tokeep any mention of it under wraps,
though why or how they would havelearned of it is beyond me. Unless
(14:15):
the cops leaked it, the FBIwas concerned it would compromise the investigation.
So it makes sense why these Colemanofficers were in the wrong place at the
wrong time. They didn't know anybetter, but the kidnapper didn't know that.
All he saw were police cruisers floodinghis drop off location, and upon
(14:35):
seeing the authorities everywhere, the kidnappercalled the whole thing off. This is
the first of several unfortunate events surroundingCarrie's kidnapping, events that many believed the
FBI could have taken steps to avoid. Later, when there were so many
what ifs in this case, youhad to wonder how might one phone call
(14:58):
from the FBI to the Coleman authoritiessaying, Hey, make sure y'all aren't
in this area might have changed theoutcome of this case. I'm going to
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a free gift with your order today. Between the late hours of Wednesday the
eleventh and the early morning hours ofThursday the twelfth, Earl and Carrie's family
demanded that the kidnapper let them talkto Carrie. They wanted to confirm that
(17:56):
she was still alive and the kidnapperhe did allow Carrie to speak briefly with
her husband on the phone, andshe also spoke with her mother in law.
During these phone calls, Carrie expressedthat she feared for her life.
She told Earle that he needed togo to the home of one of his
law partners to await the kidnapper's nextphone call. Before letting Earle go to
(18:21):
his law partner's house, federal agentsinsisted that he wear a wire. It
then took the FBI thirty minutes toprepare Earl with that wire. In those
thirty minutes, Earle missed six callsfrom Carrie. Thirty minutes might not sound
like a big deal, but itis when a kidnapper tells you to get
(18:41):
to a certain place right away toexpect a call. That was strike two
for the Feds. Later on Thursday, the kidnapper called Earl once more he
wanted to attempt the ransom drop again. This time it was set for three
thirty am on Friday, September thirteenth. Earl was to leave the cash at
(19:02):
a payphone near a gas station onthe western edge of Jasper. To prepare,
the FBI put a directional beeper onEarl. They put a second directional
beeper in the bag containing the threehundred thousand. The idea here was that
federal agents could track the beepers tofollow both Earl and the bag of money.
(19:23):
That way, if Earl was abductedto they could find him. Unfortunately,
both beepers were transmitting on the sameradio frequency, which means that when
Earle delivered the cash and left thescene, the federal agents were only able
to track Earle, not the bagof money, and consequently not the kidnapper.
(19:47):
This would be mistake number three forthe FBI. Okay, well,
you might be thinking that surely theFBI planted a few agents to watch the
kidnapper pick up the money. RightTHEBI I knew exactly where the kidnapper was
going to be and approximately when hewould be there. Surely they could do
something with that information. Well,heard the Birmingham Post Harold. The FBI
(20:11):
did assign several agents to watch theransom money get picked up, but these
agents were actually late to the drop, and the money was already gone when
they arrived. Late to a mothertruck and ransom drop. The Feds are
now zero to four and we're notdone yet. Despite these blunders, Earle
was optimistic that Carrie would be homesafe and sound soon enough. He told
(20:37):
al dot Com. I guess thatI was overly hopeful that the minute I
got back to my house, theword was going to be that he released
her and we'd find her. Butthat call just never came. Earle,
his family, and Carrie's family waitedpatiently at Earl's kitchen table, but the
phone never rang, and Carrie's familywasn't able to listen to Carrie's previous phone
(21:03):
calls she had made to Earle andher mother in law. The SBI was
supposed to be recording them, butthere was an unexpected malfunction. Somehow the
audio tapes were corrupted. The Smithswould never hear Carrie's last words, which
seemed to be the last straw forthe family. Because the morning after the
(21:25):
money drop off, at about ninethirty am, Carrie's family held a news
conference. They held nothing back explainingtheir daughter's abduction. They insisted that they
followed all the kidnappers' demands, andthey made a public plea for the kidnapper
to release Carrie. This press conferencewas the catalyst that allowed newspapers and other
(21:48):
media outlets to begin reporting on Carrie'scase. The cat was out of the
bag, but Jasper, being asmall town, news travel fast. The
news about Carrie Lawson had spread likewildfire. By the time the papers hit
the printers, nearly every Jasper residentwas aware that Carrie Lawson had been kidnapped
(22:08):
for ransom. Folks even knew thatthe ransom amount was between three hundred and
four hundred thousand dollars. A pharmacistnamed Sharon at since Discount Pharmacy, with
no known connection to the Lawsons orSmith's or reason to have insider knowledge on
this case, told the Birmingham PostHarold when it was finally reported in the
(22:30):
news, they didn't tell me anythingI didn't already know. It's not much
of an exaggeration to say that everysingle person in Jasper was following Carrie's kidnapping.
The mayor of Jasper pen Woods toldthe Birmingham Post Harold, I don't
go anywhere now, the store orrestaurant anywhere that this isn't the first thing
that people mention, and al dotcom described Carrie Lawson as the most talked
(22:56):
about missing person in Alabama history.Sharon at the pharmacy also said they had
a television set on the counter.She told the Birmingham Post Harold that all
the customers would gather around the TVwhen anything about Carrie came on. Even
local broadcasts were interrupted for live updatesand press conferences. Anything and everything about
(23:19):
Carrie was breaking news, but nomedia outlet would report the one sentence that
everyone wanted to hear that Carrie Lawsonhad been found. Instead, the kidnapper
had the money he had Carrie,and there were no more communications, nothing
to say that she would be released. So the search for Carrie and her
(23:42):
kidnapper continued. Carrie's family and friendsflocked to Jasper to help look for her.
Her parents set up shop and alocal Best Western motel. Her sister,
Margaret, stayed in the guest roomat Earl and Carey's home for a
while. Margaret told a reporter thatshe would watch Carrie's driveway from her bedroom
(24:03):
window. She expected that eventually Carriewould walk up that driveway, but days
passed and Carrie never came home.I'm going to pause now to hear a
word from our sponsors. This showis sponsored by Betterhelp. A great philosopher
(24:25):
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five day returns Quins dot com slashsftc. Carrie's kidnapping was a top priority
(26:44):
for the FBI and other investigating authorities. Detectives worked around the clock trying to
find her. A local police chieftold the Birmingham Post Herald that officers were
on the phones twenty four hours aday to collect leads from the public.
Meanwhile, the FBI was in closecontact with Earl and the rest of Carrey's
(27:06):
family. Federal agents made sure thatCarrie's family had realistic expectations. Earle later
told al dot com, They're prettydirect on what you can expect. On
day one, they told us thestatistical probabilities of someone being found alive and
well, and then on day twothey told you again. You didn't want
(27:30):
to hear it, but you appreciatedit. A few days after Carrie's kidnapping,
investigators searched an abandoned house. Itwas near the location where Earle had
dropped off the ransom money. Insidethis house, authorities found feminine hygiene products.
Those were sent to the FBI headquartersin Washington, d C. For
(27:52):
forensic testing. FBI Agent in chargeAlan P. Whittaker told the Birmingham Post
Old that determining if Carrie had beenin that house would be important to narrow
down the investigation. He said thatgives us a point to focus some of
our energy and thought processes. Rightnow. We have literally a million places
(28:15):
to go. By September fifteenth,nineteen ninety one, five days after Carrie's
kidnapping, few clues had been found. It appears that the feminine hygiene products
from the abandoned house hadn't panned out. No one knew where Carrie was,
No one knew where her kidnapper was. Even carl and Carrey stolen Ford Explorer,
(28:36):
had seemingly vanished into thin air.That Sunday, the Smith family gave
another press conference at Jasper City Hall. Carrie's father, David told the crowds,
pardon my appearance, I've kicked throughhalf of the buildings that are vacant
and Jasper. I'd like for allof you to start kicking a few looking
for Carrie. Also, David askedanyone within information about Kerrie's location to call
(29:02):
the Jasper Police or the FBI Birminghamoffice to help incentivize the search for Carrie.
The Smith family also announced a onehundred thousand dollars reward that's about two
hundred and twenty seven thousand today.But even before David's call to action,
hundreds of Jasper residents were already searchingfor Carrie. They had scoured empty buildings,
(29:26):
farms, and stripmonds. In fact, so many people had been looking
for Carrie that the FBI had torein them in. At this press conference,
FBI agent Whittaker reminded the public thatthey weren't allowed to trespass, even
in the name of finding Carrie.Following this, searchers began wearing yellow ribbons
(29:48):
to help identify themselves for law enforcement. But the issues with over zealous searchers
must have persisted, because within theweek, FBI agent Roy Long was but
in charge of advising the volunteers.His job was to make sure that they
operated within the law Mayor Penwoods saidJasper citizens prided themselves on their helping nature.
(30:12):
He told the Birmingham Post, Harold, I think it could be a
clerk in a store that nobody's heardof, and folks around here would be
just as concerned. Were just usedto doing for ourselves, and when folks
are in trouble, we all help. That's just the way we were brought
up. Many Jasper residents held onto the hope that Carrie would be found
(30:33):
safe and well. Some told thepapers that they thought she was tied up
somewhere, that the kidnapper had merelyabandoned her After the successful money exchange,
it was simply a matter of findingher. But Monday passed with no notable
progress in the investigation, then Tuesdaystill nothing. At this point, Agent
(30:56):
Whittaker told the Birmingham Post Harold realistic. Time is not our ally. Whittaker
knew that with every passing day thechances of finding Carrie alive were dwindling quickly.
As you know from any given TVcrime show or podcast, the first
forty eight hours are crucial. Theodds of finding someone alive dropped seriously each
(31:18):
passing day. On Wednesday, Septembereighteenth. It was one week after Carrie
had been taken. On that day, Alabama Governor Guy Hunt offered the National
Guard services to help search for Carrie. His office said that they could furnish
the FBI with needed resources, butFBI agent Whittaker turned them down. Whittaker
(31:42):
told the Birmingham Post Harold that hehadn't identified a mission for the National Guard,
but he would consider the offer asthe investigation continued. In my head,
find Carrie Lawson is a pretty damngood mission. I understand in that
coordinating multiple agencies is probably complicated,but once you're a week in and have
(32:06):
had a failed ransom drop, whynot use every resource? And to be
blunt, it's not like the NationalGuard, or for that matter, so
many local agencies usually jump to helpwith missing persons. There are thousands of
missing persons in this country with onlyone sheriff's department or police agency looking for
(32:30):
them, while their families are beggingfor help. And don't get me started
on the media. To be fair, a kidnapping for ransom is much more
dramatic than usual missing persons cases.But to be blunt, again, the
carry loss and investigation benefited from missingwhite woman syndrome. It's why newspapers,
(32:52):
radio stations in the local TV newswere breathlessly reporting every move. It's why
the governor was publicly pledged assistance.Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful
so many people outside of her smallcommunity cared, and a radio station wound
up being very crucial in this case. I just feel sad for the families
(33:15):
of missing people who beg for attentionfrom the media and don't get it anyway.
In Carrie's case, the authorities wereobviously fairly certain that she had only
been kidnapped for financial reasons. Shecame from money, married into money,
and was on her way to beingwealthy herself, so she had been targeted.
(33:37):
According to Earle, the kidnapper basicallysaid as much in one of their
conversations. However, investigators covered theirbases by checking out people who may have
wanted revenge on Carrie or her family, namely business people who had disputes with
Carrie's textile tycoon father, or anyonewho may have had an issue with her
(34:00):
lawyer husband. It was generally acceptedthat Carrie didn't have any enemies herself.
Her father told the papers. Idon't suppose she ever met a soul she
didn't like or have compassion for.I'm going to pause now for a final
commercial break. On Thursday, Septembernineteenth, the Birmingham Post Harold reported that
(34:29):
officers found evidence pertinent to Carrie's investigation. However, the FBI would not disclose
what the evidence was. They justsaid it was valuable and located near a
road in the vicinity of the ransomdrop off location. That same day,
the FBI also announced a ten thousanddollars reward for information leading to the location
(34:51):
of Carrie and Darl's vehicle. Theytold the public essentially, when you find
it, don't touch it, becausethey wanted to preserve as much evidence as
possible. In the state of Alabama, there were nearly two hundred Beige and
Blue nineteen ninety one Ford explorers withUniversity of Alabama tags, and honestly,
(35:13):
the authorities might have received false leadson nearly all of them, but they
encouraged people to keep calling, eventhough they might not have seen the correct
SUV. Investigators were particularly interested intips from hunters. Dove hunting season had
just begun, so hundreds of outdoorsmenwere coming to the area. The FBI
(35:34):
knew that the dense Alabama woods whereall the hunters were headed, would be
an ideal place to dump an unwantedFord Explorer. Within three days of the
ten thousand dollars reward being announced,Carrie and Earl's Fort Explorer was found.
On Saturday, September twenty first.Two people discovered it in the Bankhead National
(35:54):
Forest. The suv was near theBlack Pond in Winston County. Authorities examined
the vehicle thoroughly for evidence, butthere were no reports that anything significant was
discovered. On Tuesday, the rewardfor information leading to Carrie's whereabouts was raised
from one hundred thousand to four hundredthousand that's close to a million dollars today.
(36:20):
This massive reward was made possible dueto donations from Carrie's friends and family
in Alabama and Tennessee. All thewhile, thousands of missing persons flywers with
Carrie's photo continued to be passed out. Carrie and Earl's church organized and fed
countless search parties, as did bothEarl and Carrie's alma mater, the University
(36:44):
of Alabama School of Law. Earl'sparents' Church North Side Baptists also contributed.
So far, Carrie had been missingfor ten days, but many staunchly believed
that she would be found. Shehad to be somewhere, and it seemed
like the entire state of Alabama wason the lookout for her. On Wednesday,
(37:07):
September twenty fifth, Carrie had beenmissing for two weeks. It was
at this point that a gas stationemployee came forward. His name was Chris
Weldon, and he spoke to theBirmingham Post Herald. Chris explained to journalists
that two FBI agents had recently visitedhis workplace at the Northwood Lake Chevron near
(37:29):
Tuscaloosa. It's approximately seventy five minutesor about sixty miles south of Jasper.
According to Chris, the officers werelooking into the paythone outside the chevron.
Apparently, Carrie had used that paythoneto call someone at three fifteen am on
September twelfth, That was almost twentyfour hours after her abduction. This was
(37:53):
probably one of those calls where Carriewas allowed to briefly speak to Earle and
her mother in law. When theFBI agents came to Chris's chevron, they
wanted to know if Carrie had beenrecorded on an outdoor surveillance camera. When
Chris spoke to the paper, hewasn't sure if she had been. In
(38:14):
the same article detailing Chris's interview,the paper reported that Carrie made a phone
call from a payphone at the NorthwoodShopping Center on US Highway eighty two.
She supposedly made a third phone callsomewhere near there as well. The FBI
did not confirm any of this informationpublicly, but I imagine the Birmingham Post
(38:37):
Harold was pretty confident Chris and theother sources were credible or else It's doubtful
they would have published the information.But considering the appetite for any news on
Carrie Lawson, you never know.Side note Andrea scoured the Internet and YouTube
for the audio recordings but could notfind them. All descriptions of the we
(39:00):
have end quote from came from theBirmingham Post Herald. As a result of
these payphone locations, volunteers began searchingthe Newport area near Tuscaloosa extensively. These
searches were not sanctioned by law enforcement, but law enforcement was still in the
case. FBI Director William Sessions saidhis agency was putting forth tremendous effort and
(39:24):
using considerable resources to find Carrie.Finally, on Saturday, September twenty eighth,
there was a break in the investigation. Law enforcement had recovered three audio
recordings. These recordings were of thekidnapper using payphones to call Earl on September
eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth.In them, you can hear a man
(39:49):
with the North Alabama accent speak.According to the FBI dialect experts, this
accident was common for the area nearJasper. They believed the man and was
likely a local. He had probablybeen born and raised in Jasper's Walker County
or an adjacent one. In thefirst recorded phone call, the kidnapper said,
(40:10):
Earle, you got the money,all right? Go up to sixty
nine Highway to Coleman. You listening. Go to exit three oho eight on
the Interstate Highway, take the InterstateNorth. Check into the Day's Inn and
I'll call you there. You shouldbe there in an hour and fifteen minutes.
I'll call you then bye. Thisis when that critical mistake happened.
(40:32):
When local Caleman police happened to bein the area during the money drop off
and the next audio snippet, thekidnapper was clearly upset. He said,
listen, Earle, you screwed mearound tonight. If you want to see
this woman alive again, you're goingto get your acts straight. You jacked
me around all night. I'm goingto jack you around for a while.
(40:54):
Understand. You got the police withyou, and you got everybody else with
you. Tomorrow today you get ridof everybody. Your mother, the police,
everybody. Your wife is about tohave a nervous breakdown. The kidnapper
also up to the ransom amount byone hundred thousand because he was so angry
about being ran around all night long, as he put it. Then,
(41:17):
early in the morning on September thirteenth, the kidnapper called Earl to give the
directions to the final drop off location. He said, in clear terms,
if there's any problems and I don'tshow back up to get your wife released,
they're going to leave her and she'lldie. While the kidnapper is clearly
(41:37):
referring to one or more accomplices,to this day, it is unclear who
exactly he is talking about, or, of course, this could have just
been a ruse to imply more peoplewere involved. He did have at least
one accomplice that will get to injust a bit, but they would prove
to be no help in finding Carrie. That Saturday, law enforcement gave the
(42:01):
general public access to all of theseaudios. They were played on TV news
channels and radio stations repeatedly. TheFBI was hoping someone, anyone, would
be able to identify the kidnapper byhis voice. After the audios were released,
more than one hundred people called authoritieswith suggestions of who it might be,
(42:24):
and someone called who was certain theyknew who it was. That's how
the FBI began looking into a fortynine year old man from right there in
Jasper. A random caller to aradio station recognized his voice. Southern Fried
(42:45):
True Crime is hosted and produced byme Erica Kelly Folks. The rest of
Carrey's story will be out this weekend. I am sorry. I hadn't planned
on making it a two parter,but this episode was ballooning into well over
an hour and a half, butplease tune into part two. Not only
is the rest of Carrie's story unbelievable, but you know me, I've got
(43:07):
so much to say about it.This case was researched and written by me
and Andrea Marshbank. As usual,any editorial comments and opinions are my own.
Southern Fred's original music is by RobHarrison of Gamma Radio and the original
graphic art is by Cooley Horner.Today's episode was edited and mixed by Brendan
schock Snyder of Southern Gothic and EricaKelly. If you have any case suggestions,
(43:29):
please go to my website, Southernfredruecrimedot com and click on the listener
suggestion tap, or email SFTC Researchat gmail dot com. This is the
best way for me to get thoselittle known cases. Y'all always send me.
Please remember that I do not acceptsuggestions on social media private messages,
but please come join our Facebook group, Southern Friud True Crime Fans Discussion Group,
(43:51):
where we swap recipes, worship DollyParton, and share means. We
do, of course discuss true crime, not just Southern Friud, but all
kinds, but it is still verymuch a Southern lifestyle group. Our group
is a safe and fun corner ofFacebook, and by god, we mean
it when we see no shit asis allowed. It's not just a motto,
it's how we run the group.If you enjoyed today's show, don't
forget to subscribe, and please tella friend or rate and review. I'm
(44:14):
on all large platforms like iTunes,Iheartspotify, Amazon, Audible, and YouTube.
Until next time, thanks so muchfor listening. Y'all, take care,
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