September 1, 2025 • 29 mins
On a cold night in February 2013, 30-year-old Maegan Hembree left her home in Smyer, Texas, and set out for Lubbock. She never arrived. Days later, her red Saturn turned up at a Lubbock apartment complex — but Maegan was nowhere to be found. The man last seen with her, Michael Todd Ramsey, was eventually sentenced to 80 years in prison on unrelated charges. He remains a person of interest in Maegan’s disappearance but has never been charged. Over the years, Maegan’s family has held vigils, organized searches, and begged Ramsey to come forward. Investigators found a drop of blood in her car, but not enough evidence to prosecute. Eleven years later, Maegan’s family is still waiting for answers.
If you have information about the disappearance of Maegan Hembree, contact the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office at 806-775-1494 or Crime Line at 806-741-1000. Callers can remain anonymous, and a reward of up to $10,000 is available.
Sources: The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal archives, KCBD & EverythingLubbock.com reports, Dateline NBC, Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, Hockley County Sheriff’s Office
#MaeganHembree #JusticeForMaeganHembree #FindMaegan #Lubbock #Smyer #MissingPersons #ColdCase #TexasCrime #PodcastCommunity #CrimeJunkie #ColdCaseFiles #CrimePodcast #JusticeMatters #DoYouKnowSomething #CrimeAwareness
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.
If you have information about the disappearance of Maegan Hembree, contact the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office at 806-775-1494 or Crime Line at 806-741-1000. Callers can remain anonymous, and a reward of up to $10,000 is available.
Sources: The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal archives, KCBD & EverythingLubbock.com reports, Dateline NBC, Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, Hockley County Sheriff’s Office
#MaeganHembree #JusticeForMaeganHembree #FindMaegan #Lubbock #Smyer #MissingPersons #ColdCase #TexasCrime #PodcastCommunity #CrimeJunkie #ColdCaseFiles #CrimePodcast #JusticeMatters #DoYouKnowSomething #CrimeAwareness
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Gone Call podcasts may contain violent or graphic subject matter.
Listener discretion is advised. In the Texas High Plains, winter
nights carry a kind of weight. The flatlands stretch out
in every direction, endless short grass prairies, long stretches of highway,
(00:21):
small towns clinging to the edges of Lubbock's reach darkness.
On one such evening in twenty thirteen, a thirty year
old woman left her home in the tiny town of Smyre.
She was heading to Lubbock to see a friend, but
she never made it. Later, her car would be found,
(00:42):
her phone used only one more time that night, vanished,
and the man last seen with the woman had driven
her car after she disappeared. From the beginning, investigators believed
he knew more than he admitted, and so did the
woman's family. Twelve years later, those beliefs have not changed.
(01:14):
You're listening to Gone Cold, Texas True Crime. I'm vincent
and this is the disappearance of Megan Jane Anne Hembury.
On February twenty sixth, twenty thirteen, thirty year old Meghan
Hembury left her Smier, Texas home at around six thirty pm.
(01:38):
It was bitterly cold and snowing. On the way to
her car, she left a trail of breath. Megan climbed
into her red Tudor nineteen ninety nine Saturn and turned
the key in the ignition. Her destination a friend's house
in Lubbock. It was a relatively quick trip. The drive
was thirty minutes, tops she never arrived. It wasn't like
(02:03):
her family quickly grew concerned. Megan was reported missing. Cell
records were subpoenaed and showed that Megan's phone pinged for
a while after she drove off. That night, it showed
she left smire, but then it stopped. One call was
placed from her phone before it went dark. Within days,
(02:25):
the family's fears began to take shape. On March first,
twenty thirteen, just three days after she vanished, it was
reported investigators discovered her red Saturn in the parking lot
of an apartment complex in West Lubbock. By March eleventh,
twenty thirteen, there was still no sign, no trace of Megan.
(02:48):
The case had moved well past urgent. The Texas Rangers
joined the investigation. Hackley County Sheriff R. C. Creek confirmed
investigator's work working leads and tracking down every possible angle.
Megan's description went out everywhere. Four feet eleven inches tall,
(03:09):
about one hundred and twenty pounds, brown hair, last scene
in either pajamas or blue jeans, a gray hoodie with
a purple Jimmy Hendrick's design, and black tennis shoes. She
had tattoos the Houston Astro's logo on the back of
her neck, a butterfly on her right shoulder, a biohazard
(03:29):
symbol on her ankle, and a Christian fish on her foot.
Her saturn was distinct as it bore New Mexico license plates,
a detail investigators believed might give them the edge on
tips if only someone had noticed. Within days of her disappearance,
Megan's case profile was posted to Texas ECU Search, and
(03:52):
searchers and volunteers poured time and resources into the hunt.
In early April, her family and friends launched a Facebook page,
Help Find Megan Hembry. They posted photos, updates, and please
for information, hoping to spread her face and description as
far as possible. Months dragged on with no resolution. Then
(04:17):
in the summer of twenty thirteen, investigators finally confirmed what
they had suspected. In mid August, the Lubbock County Sheriff's
office officially named Michael Todd Ramsey, then forty eight years old,
as a person of interest in Megan's disappearance. Ramsey, from Mesquite,
(04:38):
had been arrested that June on a warrant for unrelated
charges burglary, attempting to take a weapon, and with those
violation of parole. He was being held in the Lubbock
County Detention Center. It wasn't Ramsey's criminal history necessarily that
peauked police interest, though it surely added a layer of suspicion.
(05:02):
It's extensive, after all, with several arrests in Dallas and
Kaufman Counties. Authorities, though mostly tight lipped, announced he was
last seen with Megan the night she vanished, and he
had been in her saturn. At a press conference, Lubbock
County Sheriff Kelly Rowe explained that his department was taking
(05:25):
over the missing person's case from Hockley County. My conversation
with the sheriff this week was first and foremost an
offer to assist, he said, adding their consensus over there
is that anything that did occur occurred in Lubbock County.
We've got the resources, and we've already been working with
them on some of the details. He didn't mince words
(05:49):
about Ramsey. Roe said investigators had approached him, but he
wasn't willing to cooperate. If Ramsey had information about Megan's
disapp appearents and no involvement, then he should come forward
and tell what he knows, the sheriff urged. Rowe also
confirmed investigators had located Megan's Saturn, but details including where, when,
(06:15):
and in what condition were withheld. The sheriff explained that
they were still trying to piece together a complete picture
of Megan's life before she went missing, isolating details, he said,
and following up on leads. He avoided answering the question
of how Megan and Ramsey knew each other, but as
(06:36):
they fought for answers, the missing woman's family filled in
at least one gap later. Her mother, Robbie, said she
believed Megan met Ramsey through friends and only several months
before she vanished. On August thirty first, twenty thirteen, a
family member posted on Facebook, Yes, this is the guy
(06:58):
who was last seen with her and driving my grandma's
car without her in it or at least not visibly.
We have at least that evidence. It would be some
time before investigators placed Ramsey in Megan's car. They usually
opted to say they simply found the vehicle. The heartbreak
(07:19):
deepened in October when Megan's little boy turned six. Megan's
sister posted, he misses her so much. My heart aches
for him. My mom and brother went to see him
so he knows he is very loved and missed. Thank you.
The family was now living in the brutal in between
(07:40):
no Magan, no answers, and a growing sense that the
man who might know the truth wasn't going to speak.
On December thirteenth, twenty thirteen, investigators spoke again. Lieutenant Brian
Taylor of the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office said they had
a very strong theory, and he made it clear their
(08:04):
focus was on Ramsey. I would like people to focus
on him, Taylor said bluntly. The lieutenant confirmed that investigators
knew Megan and Ramsey had been in a relationship, though
it hadn't been long term. Ramsey remained locked up on
unrelated charges, still refusing to cooperate, and Megan's family remained
(08:28):
in limbo. By the end of twenty thirteen, all they
knew was this. Magan had left Smyer on February twenty sixth,
heading for Lubbock. She never arrived, her car was found,
her phone was gone, and the man last seen with
her was behind bars but silent. The Hembry family entered
(08:51):
a new year the way they had ended the last one, waiting, praying,
and pleading for someone, anyone, to come forward. But the
silence would stretch on, and what followed in the years
ahead would test their patience and their hope for justice.
(09:20):
By the time the year turned to twenty fourteen, Megan
Hembry had been gone nearly a year. Her family was
still organizing, still posting on social media, still pressing investigators
for answers, but the investigation itself was stalled by one
unmovable obstacle. Michael Todd Ramsey, the last person Megan was
(09:44):
known to be with, wasn't talking. On April first, twenty fourteen,
court documents show that Ramsey had pleaded guilty to a
burglary of a building. In exchange for his plea, he
received two hundred days in jail time served a charge
of failure to identify as a fugitive was dismissed. He
(10:07):
should have been released that week, but on April fourth,
an additional charge of fraud was added. That filing came
just three days after he should have walked out of custody.
Ramsey's attorneys argued the new charge was unfair, saying had
either the attorneys for the defendant or the defendant himself
(10:28):
been aware that the charge was forthcoming, a guilty plea
would not have been entered. On April first, twenty fourteen,
they filed a writ of habeas corpus, the principle that
protects against unlawful detention, and on May first, a judge
granted a hearing by May twenty eighth, twenty fourteen. After
(10:50):
that hearing, Ramsey walked free, but freedom didn't last long.
He was still a wanted man for multiple parole violations
and still a person of interest in Megan's disappearance. Investigators
kept him in their sights. Court records also show investigators
(11:11):
made a point of telling Ramsey's attorney, Sarah M. Gunter,
that they were investigating him in connection with Megan's case.
They told her they had a solid case against her
client and wished to speak with him, but Ramsey even
then gave them nothing. By early twenty fifteen, the family
(11:34):
was still living without answers. On February twenty fourth of
that year, Megan's mother, Robbie, spoke to the press. She
admitted the search had shifted from rescue to recovery, but
she remarked that the family didn't want to give up.
They wanted resolution. They needed to find Megan. A candlelight
(11:56):
vigil was announced for the evening of February twenty six, six,
the second anniversary of Megan's disappearance. It would be held
on the lawn of the Lubbock County Courthouse. Robbie said,
if we don't do things like this, it's going to
be forgotten, just turn into a cold case. For her,
keeping Megan's name alive was as important as finding answers.
(12:21):
Michael Todd Ramsey remained at the center of the case.
Lubbock County Sheriff's Sergeant Bo Roberts commented, investigators believe Ramsey
knows what happened to Megan. The man himself had admitted
to being with Megan the night she vanished, but he
insisted he didn't know what happened afterward, and by February
(12:44):
twenty fifteen. He wasn't just uncooperative, he was gone. Investigators
said Ramsey was now missing. He'd last been seen around
Mesquite in October twenty fourteen. He was supposed to report
to a parole officer in East Texas, but he never did.
(13:05):
To law enforcement, it was just another sign of a
man with something to hide. On February twenty sixth, twenty fifteen, family,
friends and community members gathered in the cold outside the courthouse.
Snowflakes fell, echoing the conditions on the night Megan vanished
(13:27):
two years earlier. Her mother told the crowd she went
missing on a night just like tonight. It was cold,
it was snowing, and every time it gets cold and
snowy in the weather, you can't help but wonder where
she's at and is she okay. More than a dozen
people stood with candles, including parents of missing children. Among
(13:51):
the attendees was Ray Ciphers, who had been with the
Hockley County Sheriff's office when Megan first went missing. He
told reporters he still followed the case even though it
had passed to Lubbock. Megan's still out there. Cipher said,
there is no justice. The story must be kept alive
(14:11):
until Megan is brought home, until the case goes before
a jury. He admitted the case weight on him, but
remarked that it was the family who needed answers. Outside
the courthouse, vigilgoers wiped away tears. Robbie explained her choice
of location. I wanted to hold the vigil outside the
(14:32):
courthouse to symbolize that it's time for justice. It feels
every bit the two years. Every day has been hard.
It just doesn't get easier, it gets harder. I think
it was probably more of a shock the first year,
like in a fog or something, but the second year
has been more discouraging. After the vigil, investigators again appealed
(14:58):
to the public. They admitted they were focusing on Ramsey's
activities at the time of Megan's disappearance, but needed help
filling in the blanks. The Sheriff's office continued to press
the public to call in tips, not just about Megan,
but also about Ramsey. Because the Lubbock County District Attorney
(15:19):
was insistent that a body be found before charges were filed,
they needed more information about their suspects movements. Although they
refused to refer to Ramsey as such, even if they
wanted to speak with the man himself, they couldn't find him,
but by October in a way, he found them. On
(15:42):
April fourth, twenty fifteen, Kaufman County Constable Mickey Henson tried
to stop a white Chevy van with a headlight out.
The driver, however, refused to pull over. This led to
a pursuit, and after both the van and the constable's
ruser drove through high water, both vehicles stalled out. The
(16:04):
van's driver fled on foot. Officers soon arrived at the scene,
but after a search of the area, were unable to
find the man. In the abandoned van, officers found zero
point two two grams of methanthhetamine, along with military records,
a social Security card, love letters, and pictures. The somewhat
(16:29):
lengthy investigation revealed that Ramsey, then fifty, was a wanted
parole violator who had assumed the identity of Wayne Michael Horton,
a deceased military veteran. He used variations like Michael Todd
or Mike, even conducting a year long relationship under the
(16:50):
false identity. Ramsey was arrested in October twenty fifteen and
indicted for evading with a motor vehicle and possession of
a controlled substance. Though he was taken into custody without incident,
it took the cooperation of the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office,
the US Marshall's Office, and the Canton Police Department's canine
(17:14):
unit to find and capture him. Finally, he was back
in police custody. Investigators in Lubbock were thrilled, but their
suspect still wasn't talking, despite vigils, press conferences and appeals
to the public. Despite Ramsey's latest arrest, twenty fifteen ended
(17:36):
like the two years before. It no Magan, no crime scene,
no body, and still no answers from the one man
believed to hold the key. By then, the Hembry family
had marked two birthdays for Megan's son without his mother.
They had held two anniversary vigils. They had lived through
(18:00):
two years of silence from the man investigators believed knew
more than he ever admitted. By early twenty sixteen, the
investigation had momentum in one direction, keeping Michael Todd Ramsey
in view, if not for Megan, then for other crimes.
National attention took shape as Dateline. NBC highlighted the case
(18:23):
in an online article on March twenty seventh, twenty sixteen,
centering on the voices of Megan's parents and the persistent
hope that legal pressure might force Ramsey to cooperate. Megan's father,
Jerry Hembury, put it plainly, kids are the common denominator
in a family. It's a gut wrenching feeling when you
(18:45):
think it's possible something has gone wrong. Investigators reiterated the
timeline megan thirty last scene on February twenty sixth, the
twenty thirteen, driving the red two door Saturn from Smyer
to Lubbock and never arriving. Ramsey admitted to being with her,
was found with her car days later, was questioned multiple times,
(19:10):
but was never charged in her disappearance. The piece noted
dog teams had conducted multiple searches, most recently the past December.
Jerry framed the family's faith as forward motion. When you
can't do any more, you have to keep moving forward.
(19:40):
On December twelfth, twenty sixteen, a billboard went up in
the Mesquite area featuring Megan Henbry's photo beside Ramsey's, identifying
him as the last person seen with her. A town
hall at the Maggie Treyho Supercenter in Lubbock, intended for
coming Unity Center discussions, turned into a forum for parents
(20:03):
of missing Lubbock children. They pressed city leadership about engagement,
policy and momentum. Other missing Lubbokites highlighted that night included
Zoe Campos, Joey Gonzales, Jennifer Wilkerson, and Dane Lee Hubbard.
The call to action was community wide, report problems, press
(20:27):
for reviews, and keep cases visible other than showing up
at city council meetings and asking questions. One family member said,
there's nothing much parents and loved ones can do. At
the end of the day, These folks just wanted to
know that the police were doing all they could to
find their missing relatives. Magan Hembry's case went quiet in
(20:52):
the media, but when Michael Todd Ramsey's name once again
hit the news, her name came along with it. In
September twenty eighteen, Ramsey's legal exposure crystallized far from Lubbock,
more than four hundred miles away in Van Zant County.
He was finally convicted and sentenced for possession of methanthetamines
(21:15):
and evading arrest. Ramsey was given twenty four months on
the possession charge and eighty years for evading. While he
wasn't in trouble for anything having to do with the
Megan Hembry case, investigators in Lubbock hoped that prison time
might finally yield cooperation. It didn't. Ramsey still wasn't talking,
(21:39):
and Megan remained missing. The six year mark. In February
twenty nineteen, distilled the Lubbock case status, officials reaffirmed Ramsey
as the last person seen with Megan driving at home.
Once again. They said he was found with Megan's vehicle
(22:00):
three days after she vanished, and a year later with
her cell phone sim card, something they hadn't yet disclosed.
Investigators had also discovered a small drop of blood in
her car, but not enough to charge Ramsey. Apparently, they
stressed that there was still no crime scene. In November
(22:23):
twenty nineteen, authorities conducted a large scale search in northwest
Lubbock tied to the case, approximately two hundred acres of
open land around fiftieth Street and Milwaukee Avenue, spanning from
the six thousand block of Upland East toward Milwaukee. Multiple
(22:44):
human remains detection canines were deployed through a joint Metro
unit operation. The Lubbock County Sheriff's Office clarified this was
the fifth follow up search since February twenty sixth, twenty thirteen,
based on proximity to the last known location, not on
new evidentiary information. It functioned as a follow up exercise
(23:09):
after prior searches yielded no results. This sweep again rendered nothing.
In the same period, a reward was increased. Kirbian Wade
Law Offices added five thousand dollars to crime line's original amount,
bringing the total to ten thousand dollars. With callers able
(23:30):
to remain anonymous, authorities again urged the public to help
bring closure. Another year past, February twenty sixth, twenty twenty
marked seven years since Megan drove away from Smyer and vanished.
A Lubbock Avalanche Journal article stated that investigators with the
(23:52):
Lubbock County Sheriff's Office and the Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit
had exhausted all leads and were hoping someone would come
forward with new information. Someone knows something. The message hadn't changed,
but the plea had hardened, media again went silent. As
(24:14):
September twenty twenty two approached, the story took on a
painful new angle. This was the year Megan would have
turned forty. Her father, Jerry, told KCBDTV that the family
would never stop searching, but needed more support from the
Lubbock County Sheriff's office. The family still gathered every year
(24:36):
at one of Megan's favorite restaurants and left an empty
seat for her, but Michael Todd Ramsey occupied their minds.
He's going to be in prison for a long time,
but we need to know where she is, Jerry said
of Ramsey. He added that investigators told him they believed
Ramsey knows what happened and needs to confess. Even the
(25:00):
Sheriff's office statement remained the same, No new leads had
them at a standstill. Jerry's resolve did not waver. As
long as I'm living and as long as I'm breathing,
and we haven't found her yet, We're going to keep
looking and we're going to keep calling. The tenth anniversary
(25:21):
in February twenty twenty three brought the community back together
at a candlelight vigil hosted by First Assembly of god,
a video of Megan played. She could be heard singing
and tears were visible across the room. Lead pastor Tom
Lakey told the gathering that the candlelight represented both hope
(25:42):
and Megan's light in ten years of darkness. The family
again asked for prayers and support, still hoping for justice
for Megan. Then a couple months later, the family underwent
another profound loss. Jerry Hembry, Megan's father and the family's
(26:03):
public face in the search, died from pancreatic cancer. In
a post shared by Megan's sister Jill, the family wrote
that Jerry had likely been suffering in silence for at
least a year, and by the time of the diagnosis
on March thirty first, it was already stage four. He
(26:23):
died on April tenth, twenty twenty three. Jerry chose to
donate his body to medical and cancer research at Texas
Tech University. Jill called him a kind, selfless man who
would be deeply missed. Investigator Bo Roberts attended Jerry's memorial
(26:43):
and shared a tribute that doubled as a window into
a decade of dogged advocacy. He described trying to keep
emotional distance on cases a method to try keeping him
objective until June twenty thirteen, when he met Jerry. That
distance didn't hold. He said, Jerry didn't fit that. Bill
(27:06):
Roberts detailed the man's relentless, informed, respectful pressure questions, ideas, research,
involvement at every turn, fueled by love for his family,
and a drive that could not be measured. I was
blessed to have Jerry Hembry as a friend, Roberts wrote,
(27:27):
I will certainly miss my friend moving forward, but I
believe with all my heart that his pain was relieved
and his efforts were rewarded as he was reunited with Magan.
February twenty ninth, twenty twenty four, marked eleven years since
anyone saw or heard from Megan Hembry. Her mother, Robbie
(27:49):
told Everything Lubbock, the anniversaries remain a gut punch. She
was discouraged that the case had gone on so long
without resolution. Robbie said she still thinks of Megan every day,
replaying the last moments watching her daughter walk out the door,
and how you don't realize it will be the last time.
(28:11):
When they become adults, Robbie remarked, you can no longer
protect them from everything she had written. Ramsey in prison,
pleading for information, He did not respond. The Sheriff's office
stated that while investigators and detectives have searched every tip
and thread, the investigation is now largely in the public's hands.
(28:35):
Someone out there may hold the detail that breaks the case.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Megan
Jane Anne Hembry, please call the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office
at eight zero six seven seven five one four nine four.
(28:55):
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call the
crime Line at eight zero six seven four one one thousand.
You may be eligible for a large cash reward for
your information. If you'd like to join gon Cold's mission
to shine a light on unsolved homicides and missing persons cases,
(29:17):
get the show at free and have access to bonus content.
You can at Patreon dot com slash Gone Cold podcast.
You can also support the show by leaving a five
star rating and written review on Apple Podcasts or wherever
else you listen. However you choose to support Gone Cold,
we appreciate you. Thanks for listening, y'all,
Gone Call podcasts may contain violent or graphic subject matter.
Listener discretion is advised. In the Texas High Plains, winter
nights carry a kind of weight. The flatlands stretch out
in every direction, endless short grass prairies, long stretches of highway,
(00:21):
small towns clinging to the edges of Lubbock's reach darkness.
On one such evening in twenty thirteen, a thirty year
old woman left her home in the tiny town of Smyre.
She was heading to Lubbock to see a friend, but
she never made it. Later, her car would be found,
(00:42):
her phone used only one more time that night, vanished,
and the man last seen with the woman had driven
her car after she disappeared. From the beginning, investigators believed
he knew more than he admitted, and so did the
woman's family. Twelve years later, those beliefs have not changed.
(01:14):
You're listening to Gone Cold, Texas True Crime. I'm vincent
and this is the disappearance of Megan Jane Anne Hembury.
On February twenty sixth, twenty thirteen, thirty year old Meghan
Hembury left her Smier, Texas home at around six thirty pm.
(01:38):
It was bitterly cold and snowing. On the way to
her car, she left a trail of breath. Megan climbed
into her red Tudor nineteen ninety nine Saturn and turned
the key in the ignition. Her destination a friend's house
in Lubbock. It was a relatively quick trip. The drive
was thirty minutes, tops she never arrived. It wasn't like
(02:03):
her family quickly grew concerned. Megan was reported missing. Cell
records were subpoenaed and showed that Megan's phone pinged for
a while after she drove off. That night, it showed
she left smire, but then it stopped. One call was
placed from her phone before it went dark. Within days,
(02:25):
the family's fears began to take shape. On March first,
twenty thirteen, just three days after she vanished, it was
reported investigators discovered her red Saturn in the parking lot
of an apartment complex in West Lubbock. By March eleventh,
twenty thirteen, there was still no sign, no trace of Megan.
(02:48):
The case had moved well past urgent. The Texas Rangers
joined the investigation. Hackley County Sheriff R. C. Creek confirmed
investigator's work working leads and tracking down every possible angle.
Megan's description went out everywhere. Four feet eleven inches tall,
(03:09):
about one hundred and twenty pounds, brown hair, last scene
in either pajamas or blue jeans, a gray hoodie with
a purple Jimmy Hendrick's design, and black tennis shoes. She
had tattoos the Houston Astro's logo on the back of
her neck, a butterfly on her right shoulder, a biohazard
(03:29):
symbol on her ankle, and a Christian fish on her foot.
Her saturn was distinct as it bore New Mexico license plates,
a detail investigators believed might give them the edge on
tips if only someone had noticed. Within days of her disappearance,
Megan's case profile was posted to Texas ECU Search, and
(03:52):
searchers and volunteers poured time and resources into the hunt.
In early April, her family and friends launched a Facebook page,
Help Find Megan Hembry. They posted photos, updates, and please
for information, hoping to spread her face and description as
far as possible. Months dragged on with no resolution. Then
(04:17):
in the summer of twenty thirteen, investigators finally confirmed what
they had suspected. In mid August, the Lubbock County Sheriff's
office officially named Michael Todd Ramsey, then forty eight years old,
as a person of interest in Megan's disappearance. Ramsey, from Mesquite,
(04:38):
had been arrested that June on a warrant for unrelated
charges burglary, attempting to take a weapon, and with those
violation of parole. He was being held in the Lubbock
County Detention Center. It wasn't Ramsey's criminal history necessarily that
peauked police interest, though it surely added a layer of suspicion.
(05:02):
It's extensive, after all, with several arrests in Dallas and
Kaufman Counties. Authorities, though mostly tight lipped, announced he was
last seen with Megan the night she vanished, and he
had been in her saturn. At a press conference, Lubbock
County Sheriff Kelly Rowe explained that his department was taking
(05:25):
over the missing person's case from Hockley County. My conversation
with the sheriff this week was first and foremost an
offer to assist, he said, adding their consensus over there
is that anything that did occur occurred in Lubbock County.
We've got the resources, and we've already been working with
them on some of the details. He didn't mince words
(05:49):
about Ramsey. Roe said investigators had approached him, but he
wasn't willing to cooperate. If Ramsey had information about Megan's
disapp appearents and no involvement, then he should come forward
and tell what he knows, the sheriff urged. Rowe also
confirmed investigators had located Megan's Saturn, but details including where, when,
(06:15):
and in what condition were withheld. The sheriff explained that
they were still trying to piece together a complete picture
of Megan's life before she went missing, isolating details, he said,
and following up on leads. He avoided answering the question
of how Megan and Ramsey knew each other, but as
(06:36):
they fought for answers, the missing woman's family filled in
at least one gap later. Her mother, Robbie, said she
believed Megan met Ramsey through friends and only several months
before she vanished. On August thirty first, twenty thirteen, a
family member posted on Facebook, Yes, this is the guy
(06:58):
who was last seen with her and driving my grandma's
car without her in it or at least not visibly.
We have at least that evidence. It would be some
time before investigators placed Ramsey in Megan's car. They usually
opted to say they simply found the vehicle. The heartbreak
(07:19):
deepened in October when Megan's little boy turned six. Megan's
sister posted, he misses her so much. My heart aches
for him. My mom and brother went to see him
so he knows he is very loved and missed. Thank you.
The family was now living in the brutal in between
(07:40):
no Magan, no answers, and a growing sense that the
man who might know the truth wasn't going to speak.
On December thirteenth, twenty thirteen, investigators spoke again. Lieutenant Brian
Taylor of the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office said they had
a very strong theory, and he made it clear their
(08:04):
focus was on Ramsey. I would like people to focus
on him, Taylor said bluntly. The lieutenant confirmed that investigators
knew Megan and Ramsey had been in a relationship, though
it hadn't been long term. Ramsey remained locked up on
unrelated charges, still refusing to cooperate, and Megan's family remained
(08:28):
in limbo. By the end of twenty thirteen, all they
knew was this. Magan had left Smyer on February twenty sixth,
heading for Lubbock. She never arrived, her car was found,
her phone was gone, and the man last seen with
her was behind bars but silent. The Hembry family entered
(08:51):
a new year the way they had ended the last one, waiting, praying,
and pleading for someone, anyone, to come forward. But the
silence would stretch on, and what followed in the years
ahead would test their patience and their hope for justice.
(09:20):
By the time the year turned to twenty fourteen, Megan
Hembry had been gone nearly a year. Her family was
still organizing, still posting on social media, still pressing investigators
for answers, but the investigation itself was stalled by one
unmovable obstacle. Michael Todd Ramsey, the last person Megan was
(09:44):
known to be with, wasn't talking. On April first, twenty fourteen,
court documents show that Ramsey had pleaded guilty to a
burglary of a building. In exchange for his plea, he
received two hundred days in jail time served a charge
of failure to identify as a fugitive was dismissed. He
(10:07):
should have been released that week, but on April fourth,
an additional charge of fraud was added. That filing came
just three days after he should have walked out of custody.
Ramsey's attorneys argued the new charge was unfair, saying had
either the attorneys for the defendant or the defendant himself
(10:28):
been aware that the charge was forthcoming, a guilty plea
would not have been entered. On April first, twenty fourteen,
they filed a writ of habeas corpus, the principle that
protects against unlawful detention, and on May first, a judge
granted a hearing by May twenty eighth, twenty fourteen. After
(10:50):
that hearing, Ramsey walked free, but freedom didn't last long.
He was still a wanted man for multiple parole violations
and still a person of interest in Megan's disappearance. Investigators
kept him in their sights. Court records also show investigators
(11:11):
made a point of telling Ramsey's attorney, Sarah M. Gunter,
that they were investigating him in connection with Megan's case.
They told her they had a solid case against her
client and wished to speak with him, but Ramsey even
then gave them nothing. By early twenty fifteen, the family
(11:34):
was still living without answers. On February twenty fourth of
that year, Megan's mother, Robbie, spoke to the press. She
admitted the search had shifted from rescue to recovery, but
she remarked that the family didn't want to give up.
They wanted resolution. They needed to find Megan. A candlelight
(11:56):
vigil was announced for the evening of February twenty six, six,
the second anniversary of Megan's disappearance. It would be held
on the lawn of the Lubbock County Courthouse. Robbie said,
if we don't do things like this, it's going to
be forgotten, just turn into a cold case. For her,
keeping Megan's name alive was as important as finding answers.
(12:21):
Michael Todd Ramsey remained at the center of the case.
Lubbock County Sheriff's Sergeant Bo Roberts commented, investigators believe Ramsey
knows what happened to Megan. The man himself had admitted
to being with Megan the night she vanished, but he
insisted he didn't know what happened afterward, and by February
(12:44):
twenty fifteen. He wasn't just uncooperative, he was gone. Investigators
said Ramsey was now missing. He'd last been seen around
Mesquite in October twenty fourteen. He was supposed to report
to a parole officer in East Texas, but he never did.
(13:05):
To law enforcement, it was just another sign of a
man with something to hide. On February twenty sixth, twenty fifteen, family,
friends and community members gathered in the cold outside the courthouse.
Snowflakes fell, echoing the conditions on the night Megan vanished
(13:27):
two years earlier. Her mother told the crowd she went
missing on a night just like tonight. It was cold,
it was snowing, and every time it gets cold and
snowy in the weather, you can't help but wonder where
she's at and is she okay. More than a dozen
people stood with candles, including parents of missing children. Among
(13:51):
the attendees was Ray Ciphers, who had been with the
Hockley County Sheriff's office when Megan first went missing. He
told reporters he still followed the case even though it
had passed to Lubbock. Megan's still out there. Cipher said,
there is no justice. The story must be kept alive
(14:11):
until Megan is brought home, until the case goes before
a jury. He admitted the case weight on him, but
remarked that it was the family who needed answers. Outside
the courthouse, vigilgoers wiped away tears. Robbie explained her choice
of location. I wanted to hold the vigil outside the
(14:32):
courthouse to symbolize that it's time for justice. It feels
every bit the two years. Every day has been hard.
It just doesn't get easier, it gets harder. I think
it was probably more of a shock the first year,
like in a fog or something, but the second year
has been more discouraging. After the vigil, investigators again appealed
(14:58):
to the public. They admitted they were focusing on Ramsey's
activities at the time of Megan's disappearance, but needed help
filling in the blanks. The Sheriff's office continued to press
the public to call in tips, not just about Megan,
but also about Ramsey. Because the Lubbock County District Attorney
(15:19):
was insistent that a body be found before charges were filed,
they needed more information about their suspects movements. Although they
refused to refer to Ramsey as such, even if they
wanted to speak with the man himself, they couldn't find him,
but by October in a way, he found them. On
(15:42):
April fourth, twenty fifteen, Kaufman County Constable Mickey Henson tried
to stop a white Chevy van with a headlight out.
The driver, however, refused to pull over. This led to
a pursuit, and after both the van and the constable's
ruser drove through high water, both vehicles stalled out. The
(16:04):
van's driver fled on foot. Officers soon arrived at the scene,
but after a search of the area, were unable to
find the man. In the abandoned van, officers found zero
point two two grams of methanthhetamine, along with military records,
a social Security card, love letters, and pictures. The somewhat
(16:29):
lengthy investigation revealed that Ramsey, then fifty, was a wanted
parole violator who had assumed the identity of Wayne Michael Horton,
a deceased military veteran. He used variations like Michael Todd
or Mike, even conducting a year long relationship under the
(16:50):
false identity. Ramsey was arrested in October twenty fifteen and
indicted for evading with a motor vehicle and possession of
a controlled substance. Though he was taken into custody without incident,
it took the cooperation of the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office,
the US Marshall's Office, and the Canton Police Department's canine
(17:14):
unit to find and capture him. Finally, he was back
in police custody. Investigators in Lubbock were thrilled, but their
suspect still wasn't talking, despite vigils, press conferences and appeals
to the public. Despite Ramsey's latest arrest, twenty fifteen ended
(17:36):
like the two years before. It no Magan, no crime scene,
no body, and still no answers from the one man
believed to hold the key. By then, the Hembry family
had marked two birthdays for Megan's son without his mother.
They had held two anniversary vigils. They had lived through
(18:00):
two years of silence from the man investigators believed knew
more than he ever admitted. By early twenty sixteen, the
investigation had momentum in one direction, keeping Michael Todd Ramsey
in view, if not for Megan, then for other crimes.
National attention took shape as Dateline. NBC highlighted the case
(18:23):
in an online article on March twenty seventh, twenty sixteen,
centering on the voices of Megan's parents and the persistent
hope that legal pressure might force Ramsey to cooperate. Megan's father,
Jerry Hembury, put it plainly, kids are the common denominator
in a family. It's a gut wrenching feeling when you
(18:45):
think it's possible something has gone wrong. Investigators reiterated the
timeline megan thirty last scene on February twenty sixth, the
twenty thirteen, driving the red two door Saturn from Smyer
to Lubbock and never arriving. Ramsey admitted to being with her,
was found with her car days later, was questioned multiple times,
(19:10):
but was never charged in her disappearance. The piece noted
dog teams had conducted multiple searches, most recently the past December.
Jerry framed the family's faith as forward motion. When you
can't do any more, you have to keep moving forward.
(19:40):
On December twelfth, twenty sixteen, a billboard went up in
the Mesquite area featuring Megan Henbry's photo beside Ramsey's, identifying
him as the last person seen with her. A town
hall at the Maggie Treyho Supercenter in Lubbock, intended for
coming Unity Center discussions, turned into a forum for parents
(20:03):
of missing Lubbock children. They pressed city leadership about engagement,
policy and momentum. Other missing Lubbokites highlighted that night included
Zoe Campos, Joey Gonzales, Jennifer Wilkerson, and Dane Lee Hubbard.
The call to action was community wide, report problems, press
(20:27):
for reviews, and keep cases visible other than showing up
at city council meetings and asking questions. One family member said,
there's nothing much parents and loved ones can do. At
the end of the day, These folks just wanted to
know that the police were doing all they could to
find their missing relatives. Magan Hembry's case went quiet in
(20:52):
the media, but when Michael Todd Ramsey's name once again
hit the news, her name came along with it. In
September twenty eighteen, Ramsey's legal exposure crystallized far from Lubbock,
more than four hundred miles away in Van Zant County.
He was finally convicted and sentenced for possession of methanthetamines
(21:15):
and evading arrest. Ramsey was given twenty four months on
the possession charge and eighty years for evading. While he
wasn't in trouble for anything having to do with the
Megan Hembry case, investigators in Lubbock hoped that prison time
might finally yield cooperation. It didn't. Ramsey still wasn't talking,
(21:39):
and Megan remained missing. The six year mark. In February
twenty nineteen, distilled the Lubbock case status, officials reaffirmed Ramsey
as the last person seen with Megan driving at home.
Once again. They said he was found with Megan's vehicle
(22:00):
three days after she vanished, and a year later with
her cell phone sim card, something they hadn't yet disclosed.
Investigators had also discovered a small drop of blood in
her car, but not enough to charge Ramsey. Apparently, they
stressed that there was still no crime scene. In November
(22:23):
twenty nineteen, authorities conducted a large scale search in northwest
Lubbock tied to the case, approximately two hundred acres of
open land around fiftieth Street and Milwaukee Avenue, spanning from
the six thousand block of Upland East toward Milwaukee. Multiple
(22:44):
human remains detection canines were deployed through a joint Metro
unit operation. The Lubbock County Sheriff's Office clarified this was
the fifth follow up search since February twenty sixth, twenty thirteen,
based on proximity to the last known location, not on
new evidentiary information. It functioned as a follow up exercise
(23:09):
after prior searches yielded no results. This sweep again rendered nothing.
In the same period, a reward was increased. Kirbian Wade
Law Offices added five thousand dollars to crime line's original amount,
bringing the total to ten thousand dollars. With callers able
(23:30):
to remain anonymous, authorities again urged the public to help
bring closure. Another year past, February twenty sixth, twenty twenty
marked seven years since Megan drove away from Smyer and vanished.
A Lubbock Avalanche Journal article stated that investigators with the
(23:52):
Lubbock County Sheriff's Office and the Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit
had exhausted all leads and were hoping someone would come
forward with new information. Someone knows something. The message hadn't changed,
but the plea had hardened, media again went silent. As
(24:14):
September twenty twenty two approached, the story took on a
painful new angle. This was the year Megan would have
turned forty. Her father, Jerry, told KCBDTV that the family
would never stop searching, but needed more support from the
Lubbock County Sheriff's office. The family still gathered every year
(24:36):
at one of Megan's favorite restaurants and left an empty
seat for her, but Michael Todd Ramsey occupied their minds.
He's going to be in prison for a long time,
but we need to know where she is, Jerry said
of Ramsey. He added that investigators told him they believed
Ramsey knows what happened and needs to confess. Even the
(25:00):
Sheriff's office statement remained the same, No new leads had
them at a standstill. Jerry's resolve did not waver. As
long as I'm living and as long as I'm breathing,
and we haven't found her yet, We're going to keep
looking and we're going to keep calling. The tenth anniversary
(25:21):
in February twenty twenty three brought the community back together
at a candlelight vigil hosted by First Assembly of god,
a video of Megan played. She could be heard singing
and tears were visible across the room. Lead pastor Tom
Lakey told the gathering that the candlelight represented both hope
(25:42):
and Megan's light in ten years of darkness. The family
again asked for prayers and support, still hoping for justice
for Megan. Then a couple months later, the family underwent
another profound loss. Jerry Hembry, Megan's father and the family's
(26:03):
public face in the search, died from pancreatic cancer. In
a post shared by Megan's sister Jill, the family wrote
that Jerry had likely been suffering in silence for at
least a year, and by the time of the diagnosis
on March thirty first, it was already stage four. He
(26:23):
died on April tenth, twenty twenty three. Jerry chose to
donate his body to medical and cancer research at Texas
Tech University. Jill called him a kind, selfless man who
would be deeply missed. Investigator Bo Roberts attended Jerry's memorial
(26:43):
and shared a tribute that doubled as a window into
a decade of dogged advocacy. He described trying to keep
emotional distance on cases a method to try keeping him
objective until June twenty thirteen, when he met Jerry. That
distance didn't hold. He said, Jerry didn't fit that. Bill
(27:06):
Roberts detailed the man's relentless, informed, respectful pressure questions, ideas, research,
involvement at every turn, fueled by love for his family,
and a drive that could not be measured. I was
blessed to have Jerry Hembry as a friend, Roberts wrote,
(27:27):
I will certainly miss my friend moving forward, but I
believe with all my heart that his pain was relieved
and his efforts were rewarded as he was reunited with Magan.
February twenty ninth, twenty twenty four, marked eleven years since
anyone saw or heard from Megan Hembry. Her mother, Robbie
(27:49):
told Everything Lubbock, the anniversaries remain a gut punch. She
was discouraged that the case had gone on so long
without resolution. Robbie said she still thinks of Megan every day,
replaying the last moments watching her daughter walk out the door,
and how you don't realize it will be the last time.
(28:11):
When they become adults, Robbie remarked, you can no longer
protect them from everything she had written. Ramsey in prison,
pleading for information, He did not respond. The Sheriff's office
stated that while investigators and detectives have searched every tip
and thread, the investigation is now largely in the public's hands.
(28:35):
Someone out there may hold the detail that breaks the case.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Megan
Jane Anne Hembry, please call the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office
at eight zero six seven seven five one four nine four.
(28:55):
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call the
crime Line at eight zero six seven four one one thousand.
You may be eligible for a large cash reward for
your information. If you'd like to join gon Cold's mission
to shine a light on unsolved homicides and missing persons cases,
(29:17):
get the show at free and have access to bonus content.
You can at Patreon dot com slash Gone Cold podcast.
You can also support the show by leaving a five
star rating and written review on Apple Podcasts or wherever
else you listen. However you choose to support Gone Cold,
we appreciate you. Thanks for listening, y'all,
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