October 22, 2025 • 30 mins
It’s 5:15 p.m. on March 4th, 2001. A 911 call is made from the Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Tennessee. A father reports his daughter missing - an 11-year-old who went inside to shop, but never came back. He says he fell asleep in his van while she was gone.
That father was Larry Markowski
That daughter was Bethany Markowski
View relevant photos for this episode here:
https://missinginhushtown.com/blog/chapter-1-pt-2
Learn More:
Visit BethanyMarkowski.com to learn more about Bethany’s case
Explore episode notes, photos, and related case information at MissingInHushTown.com.
Missing in Hush Town Season 2 is executive produced in partnership by Fire Eyes Media LLC’s Jules Thorp and Jen Rivera and MomCast Productions’ Rachel Holloway and Heather Northcraft. The script is written by Jules Thorp and edited by Heather Northcraft, project lead is Rachel Holloway, and master editing and audio production is done by Jen Rivera. Jules Thorp is your host.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-in-hush-town--6404892/support.
That father was Larry Markowski
That daughter was Bethany Markowski
View relevant photos for this episode here:
https://missinginhushtown.com/blog/chapter-1-pt-2
Learn More:
Visit BethanyMarkowski.com to learn more about Bethany’s case
Explore episode notes, photos, and related case information at MissingInHushTown.com.
Missing in Hush Town Season 2 is executive produced in partnership by Fire Eyes Media LLC’s Jules Thorp and Jen Rivera and MomCast Productions’ Rachel Holloway and Heather Northcraft. The script is written by Jules Thorp and edited by Heather Northcraft, project lead is Rachel Holloway, and master editing and audio production is done by Jen Rivera. Jules Thorp is your host.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-in-hush-town--6404892/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Around five fifteen pm on the evening of March fourth,
two thousand and one, a nine to one one call
is made to the Jackson Police Department by a mall
security officer. The officer is standing beside a father who
cannot locate his daughter. According to the father, he sent
his daughter into the mall around three o'clock. He proceeds
to tell the security officer that he took a nap
(00:21):
in his van in the mall parking lot and send
his eleven year old daughter into the Old Hickory Mall
in Jackson, Tennessee on her own. But when he awoke
from his nap, he realized that his daughter had not
yet returned, and he then alleges he went into the
shopping mall to search for her. It would not be
until the recommendation of the mall security officer, because the
mall would soon close, that the father, Larry Markowski, would
(00:44):
finally report his daughter, Bethany Leanne Markowski, as missing. This
is missing in Hutchtown Season two. Bethany Markowski, Chapter one,
Part two, The Night of March fourth. I'm your host, Jules, Hey, guys,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I was actually on duty on March fourth of two
thousand and one, and got the call to twenty twenty
one North Highland, which is ARMA in reference to a
missing child. We arrived on the scene. Actually I was
the first on the scene. I want to add this
because I think it's imperative for people to understand when
(01:57):
they listen to this podcast. First of all, all make
sure before you cast judgment on us officers that arrived there,
you put yourselves in our situation.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Former Jackson Police Department patrol officer Tommy Saparula replays the
night of March four, two thousand and one as the
first responding officer on scene after Bethany is reported missing.
The following accounts are his and his alone and do
not reflect those of the Jackson Police Department or Jackson
State Community College. The other voice on the interview is
producer Rachel Holloway. Mister Saparulo recalls Larry's demeanor that evening,
(02:34):
there was no.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Sense of urgency in body language of let's get in here,
we got to find her. I mean, my daughter's missing.
Holy cow, there was none of that.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
According to the first missing poster for Bethany Markowski from
the Jackson Police Department, Jackson p d lists two thirty
p m. March four as the last time Larry saw Bethany.
It's important to note that the exact time Larry recalls
Bethany going into the all changes a few times, and
same when he wakes up from his nap. The times
(03:04):
very anywhere from three point thirty three forty five four
o'clock all the way to four thirty. Over the decades,
the majority of criticism for the Jackson Police Department has
been surrounding Larry's van. Why didn't they search Larry's van?
That evening, mister Separulo addresses this head on.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
The question has been asked to me of like, why
y'all go searches vehicle? We didn't have reason to go
search his vehicle, right, I mean, for the amendments still
applies with unreasonable search and caizure. And at that point, yeah,
his actions were like not that of a normal person
(03:46):
when people but we had zero probable calls to start
searching vehicles and that type of stuff. So I don't
want people to think, you know, why didn't y'all go
search his vehicle? And blah bla blah. There was no
real I mean, her being missing, abducted, whatever, by him.
(04:08):
Was never the initial thoughts.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
He continues to explain, was he.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Acting strange, Yes, but I'd never been in I never
dealt with him before. Maybe he was just a calm person.
I would be beside myself if my children were missing.
Maybe I should say panic mode. Maybe that's a good
word to look at, because I feel like I would
have been, even though I'd been in some high stressful
situations as a police officer. I think if it would
have been my children, I'd have been in panic mode.
(04:36):
But he just didn't seem that way. And that was
what was so unusual about it. But just the legal
side of it, our hands were like tied, like okay,
because we as officers still we had to be sympathetic
because what if it was true, What if she did
go in and was in there two hours and somebody
(04:57):
she wouldn't be the first chilt that was subducted in
the United States? Now, had that happened in our mall before. No.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
He makes a great point, one that he truly hopes
the biggest critics of the responding officers will hear. He
does tell us Bethany's case has forever stayed with him. Now,
according to mister Separulo before long that evening, multiple officers
have now arrived at the mall and Old Hickory Mall
had four wings to it, and back in two thousand
and one, malls were still very popular, so every store
(05:29):
was rented, every store was full, so that means there's
a lot of ground to cover. They immediately do a
foot search, ask about the cameras, and then take Larry
to the Satellite Field office, which was already at the
Jackson Mall. Old Hickory Mall had given the police Department
this little satellite office as a police to conduct interviews,
do paperwork, et cetera. When asked if that office in
(05:51):
the mall had any cameras, mister Separulo reported no. Very quickly,
the Jackson Pde calls in the Criminal Investigation Division known
as the CIA. It's the CID that takes lead of
operations and search efforts, being the ones to review all
the security mall footage. The mall footage is one of
the single most important pieces of information, and back then
(06:14):
it was older technology. Someone had to manually insert the
VHS tape into the recorder. By the end of the day,
someone would have to rewind the tape to the beginning
and put it back in pending no reason to keep
the footage. The same tape would then be recorded over
and over and over again, and thankfully, the Criminal Investigation
(06:34):
Division looked at the footage of exits and entrances, and
that's how we know this. Bethany Leanne Markowski, eleven years
old on March fourth, two thousand and one, was never
seen entering the mall, walking through the mall, or exiting
the mall.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
RD people because I kind of kept in contact with
them a pretty good bid And I'll tell you something
I lifting here after a while that I still asked
one of our CID people about and their response, but
they assured me that not one time was she seen
on any video going inside that mom.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Former Officer sat Parulo's official involvement as a Jackson Police
officer in the disappearance of eleven year old Bethany Markowski
would not extend beyond filing the missing person report and
putting out the bee on the lookout the bolow for
Bethany that very evening. Once the CID stepped in, the
patrol officers then step aside and continue their responsibilities. Rachel
(07:38):
asked him if he believed Bethany was out there, still alive,
living her life.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I do. I do. And the reason that I believe
this is I think, knowing Johnny, I think that if
she knew in her heart that Bethany was gone, you
and I would not be having this conversation right now.
(08:06):
And I put myself in a in apparent situation. It's
such it's such a tough question. I mean, it really
really is, because like one of you is like, how
in the world could you hide somebody.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
For this long?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
It's apparent that mister Saparillo's heart is genuine and he
was truly distraught over this missing little girl.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
I'm part of this to be the first person there
and just to tell myself, like, hey, you did your job,
but it's still hard to swallow that was there something
else I could have done that she would be married
and have kids and be enjoy in her family.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
To pick back up with our timeline five forty three
to be exact, Larry Markowski turns his phone back on
forty three minutes after he was supposed to meet Aunt
Laurie at the Waverly exit. Meanwhile, at the Waverley meeting point,
an hour away, Aunt Laurie and her husband are waiting
for Larry to pull up any moment with Bethany. At
(09:20):
about four fifty pm, and anxious Johnny calls Aunt Laurie
to check in. Still no Larry. Aunt Laurie encourages Johnny
to give him a few minutes, as he wasn't actually
late yet, and so Johnny takes a few breaths and
puts the phone back down. Five o'clock PM on the
dot comes and goes, the exact time Bethany was scheduled
(09:42):
to be back in Johnny's custody. You'll recall that Johnny
was not able to pick Bethany up herself per the
court order of protection that she had filed against Larry,
so Johnny is in Nashville, approximately two to three hours away.
Aunt Laurie books at the time. Just after five pm,
(10:03):
she calls Larry herself. The phone doesn't even ring before
it sent straight to voicemail. She tries again, the same result.
Voicemail is his phone off. Aunt Laurie now has to
update Johnny and fuel Johnnie's wor's fears. Could Larry be
taking Bethany and running?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Aunt Laurie, I can't tell you how many times. I call,
I know somebody knows Jeck's police partner. They know somebody
knows because they pulled my phone records. But I called
over and over and over, and then calling talking to
Johnny and back and forth, is he there yet? Is
he no? It was real stressful for like forty three
minutes or something like that, and then finally he answers
(10:41):
the last time, which was I think five point forty
three or something like that, and I said, Larry, I said,
where are you? He said, I'm looking for Bethany. I
can't find her. I let her go on the mall
with her little friend Hillary. She wanted to go to
Claire's and I can't find her. I said, what do
you mean you can't find her? And he was like, well,
I let her. He said the whole thing again, and
(11:02):
I said, I said, well should we come there? And
he said no? And I just sat there and I said, well,
I'm gonna call Johnny and I hung up for talking
to him. And I called her and I said, who's Hillary?
And she said she's this little girl that she knew
when we lived in wherever.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
They hang up and Johnny works to find Hillary's mother's number.
She is able to contact her, and they tell Johnny, yes,
they did see Larry, but it was just as the
mall was closing, and according to Hillary and her mother,
they helped Larry look for Bethany for a bit, but
they never actually saw Bethany at the mall that day. Remember,
(11:42):
Larry would not have his phone on until forty three
minutes after he was supposed to have dropped Bethany off
in Waverley. It's also important to remember that Larry saw
Hillary and her mother in the mall before he turned
his phone on and answered Aunt Laurie's call, and according
(12:04):
to Aunt Laurie, Larry repeated twice twice that Bethany went
into the mall with her little friend Hilary. Hillary and
her mother also reported that Larry seemed off, his hair
was dyed dark, and he was wearing sunglasses inside the mall.
Without waiting for any further direction or instructions, Aunt Laurie
(12:26):
and her husband hop in the car and immediately begin
the hour plus drive to the Old Hickory Mall. Johnny
is immediately informed that Bethany is not to be found anywhere,
and so she begins a treacherous multi hour drive east
from Nashville to Jackson with her friend Diane driving the car.
While Johnny is on the way, she calls her lawyer's secretary,
(12:47):
a woman named Darlene. Darlene answers a frantic Johnny on
the phone, and it turns out Darlene, who worked for
lawyer mister Bradbury, was near the mall on a dinner
date with her husband. Darlene gets Larry Mary's cell phone
number from Johnny and she calls him herself. The following
is a written statement from miss Arlene to the Jackson
Police Department. It's dated March sixth, two thousand and one.
(13:10):
Producer Jan Rivera reads it for us.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
On March fourth, two thousand and one, my husband and
I were eating dinner at Chili's in Jackson, Tennessee, when
at approximately five fifty two pm, my cell phone rang
and it was missus Johnny Markowski, a client of mister
James H. Bradberry, of which I am his legal secretary.
Missus Markowski was very upset and proceeded to cry and
(13:33):
tell me that mister Markowski had called her and said
that their daughter Bethany was missing. I tried to calm
her and have her explain what was happening. She proceeded
to tell me that he, mister Markowski, was at the
mall in Jackson and said that they had laid down
to take a nap and when he woke up, she
wasn't there. I asked missus Markowski what his mister Markowski's
(13:55):
cell phone number was, and she gave it to me.
I called him immediately to see if we could help.
I asked what happened. He told me that she was
meeting a friend Hillary, and that they were going to
Clare's to shop for a hair something. He just didn't
know what happened, and that when he woke from his nap,
she wasn't there. I called missus Markowski again and told
(14:16):
her what he told me. She proceeded to give the
little girl Hilary's phone number and mother's name. When my
husband and I arrived at the mall in front of J. C. Penny,
the police were there and I asked again what happened.
He then said he did not tell me that she
was meetin anyone, and that everyone was just trying to
twist things around. All of this time, mister Markowski seemed
(14:38):
to be very composed. No crying, shouting, frantic behavior, just
a little confused at his story or reasoning for sleepin
in the parking lot of the mall. He said that
she was wearing a green sweatshirt and then told another
officer it was a green shirt. He was asked about
her friends there in Jackson and said that he didn't know.
She probably had. Several asked him about his mother or
(15:01):
other relatives she might have called. He said he didn't
know his own mother's phone number or address. He had
said that he had been in Little Rock the night
before and driven back late that night. Never gave a
reason for being in Jackson, said he had laid down
to take a nap around one point thirty. I called
the number of a preacher friend of his and Little
Rock and got an answering machine. I stated for someone
(15:23):
at that number to call the Jackson Police Department concerning
a Larry Markowski. No other information was left on their
machine by me. The name and address was mister Wayne
Harold Roberts, fifty five Fallen Creek, North, Little Rock, Arkansas.
I got this information from the long distance operator Missus.
Markowski's sister and brother in law were to have met
(15:45):
mister Markowski at Waverley, Tennessee at five PM. They arrived
in Jackson, and mister Markowski did not react at all,
either upset or angry. He just stood there, smoking and
no reaction. Missus Markowski was en route from now Nashville
where she now lives by this time, and is calling
some of us constantly. She tried every friend and relative
(16:06):
she could think of, no results. By the late hours,
mister Markowski's mother and sister came to Jackson. Again, no
reaction until they arrived, and then all he would say
was that they're trying to twist my story. The mother
came over to myself, sister in law Laurie, and two
police officers and didn't ask any questions concerning Bethany, but
(16:26):
yelled that you don't have to cop an attitude. The
officers advised her they did not want any trouble. We
stayed at the scene until around ten forty five PM
and the mother, Missus Markowski, arrived from Nashville. The police
then took all parties to the station for further questioning.
Some numbers in address that were given to me that
night were a neighbor, Fred Perry Morton Roade Gleason, mister
(16:49):
Markowski's mother, Shadesbridge Road, Greenfield. If I can be of
any further assistance, don't hesitate to call with kindest regards,
Darlene Dunny.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
That makes it three times now that Larry has relayed
that Bethany went into the mall with her little friend Hillary.
Twice he said it to Aunt Laurie on the phone,
and once to Johnny's employer Darlene when she called him
on the phone as well. But then why would Larry
deny that he ever said this. Once Darlene arrives, Aunt
(17:23):
Laurie was questioned about what Larry also told her when
she arrives, and when Larry claimed that Aunt Laurie was
making it up, he never said anything about a girl
named Hillary. Well, here's Laurie's account pulling up to the
mall after Darlene already gave her statement to the police.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
And so when we pulled up, I got out of
the car and the police officer came up to me
and he said who are you? And I said, I'm
Johnny's sister, Bethany's mother, And I said I'm I'm supposed
to meet them, and White related to pick her up
and I said, and he said, well, what did what
did he tell you? I said, he told me she
(18:01):
went into the mall with her little friend Hillary to
go to Clare's or something like that. And he just
looked at me. And then Darlene came over and I said,
And Darlene had stuff written down on a piece of paper,
and I said, what did he tell you, Darley? And
she showed me her paper went into the mall with
her little friend Hillary. She had the same story. And
neither one of us know who Hillary is or ever
(18:23):
heard that end. So the police officer said to me,
he said, his story has changed at least five times
since we've been standing here. And I'm like, because I
was like, what is he saying? And he is like,
he's not saying He's saying that you guys are lying
that He did not say that she went into the
mall with her little friend Hillary. And I'm like, we
don't know who Hillary is. We never heard that name.
(18:43):
You know, how could we both come up with this
little girl's name. I hadn't talked to her.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Brandon Barnett hosted the twenty seventeen podcast Searching for Ghosts,
which covered Bythany's disappearance, interviewed Hillary. Hillary has since passed
away sadly, but Hillary was adamant at the time that
she saw Bethany in the mall. In fact, she tells
searching for Ghosts that she even helped Larry and the
security guard look for Bethany for quite a while. And
(19:08):
now we find that Larry's mother, Jannita Markowski Ward, and
Larry's sister Lori Holt, have arrived at the Old Hickory Mall.
Here's Larry's niece. She's Lori Holt's daughter. Her name is
Sarah Lynn, and she is Bethany's cousin, and she's recalling
the moment her mother learned that Bethany was missing on
March fourth, two thousand and one.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
I remember me and my Si, Sure, we're listening to
Aaron Carter. We were in the liver room, listened to him.
And I remember I always got to see Bethany around
my birthday. So I wasn't thinking about Bethany at the time,
but I just knew like I would eventually get to
see her. But I remember hearing my mother's scream, I
(19:50):
gotta go, Bethany's missing. I gotta go. And I remember
her being very scared, and I remember my dad being like,
I don't know what happened.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Something's going on.
Speaker 5 (20:00):
I remember wanting to go with my parent and she
was like, no, you can't go, you got to stay here.
But I remember her it was very quick. It was
got to go.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Some of there wrong.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
Bethany's missing, and.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
She was out the door. Laurie would drive to her mother, Juanita,
to pick her up, and the two of them would
then arrive at the Old Hickory Mall. Now it's unclear
who called Lorie Holt. Was it Larry or was Juanita
the one who was called first and then asked Laurie
to get her and take her to the mall. Janita
Markowski Ward, Larry's mother, had nine children, daughters Luri and Lisa,
(20:35):
and sons Johnny, Larry, Steve, Warrene, Tim, Billy, and Robert. Yes,
that was nine children, and it was obvious to all
of the cousins in the family that Juanita was the
closest to Bethany. Bethany was Juanita's favorite grandchild. Jannita would
often watch Bethany at her home while Larry and Johnny
were on the road with his eighteen wheeler. In fact,
(20:56):
Bethany even had her own room at the home, so
it is understandable that grandmother Juanita would be shaken up
with the news of her granddaughter missing. However, according to
Johnny's sister, Aunt Laurie, when Larry's sister and his mother
arrive at the mall that evening, they are chaotic and abrasive,
(21:17):
so much so that the law enforcement on the scene
tells Aunt Laurie when Bethany's mother arrives, she cannot be
behaving in the same manner or she'll be arrested. Here's
Aunt Laurie, and you may catch. Laurie referred to Larry
Markowski as Spawn, as in Spawn of Satan. That's their
nickname for him, as there was also Aunt Laurie's ex
(21:40):
husband there who was also named Larry, and over the
years that nickname has stuck to differentiate which Larry they
were referring to. And since this is coming from them,
this is their story, their experience, we're going to leave
it in during direct interviews.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Before Johnny got there, Spawn's sister and showed up and
his mother is just like, throw mama from the train, mom.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Throw Mama from the Train was an award winning nineteen
eighty seven comedy about an overbearing and abusive mother of
an adult son.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
She's just ran and raving and what are you do
to my son? And bah and and the police is like, listen,
this ain't whatever county you came from. We will arrest you.
So she piped down a little bit. And then when
Johnny finally got there, they'd warned Johnny before she even
opened her mouth, because they'd then been dealing with his mom,
saying don't get rowdy, don't get up, stay calm, or
(22:38):
we will arrest you. And so she didn't say anything.
She just, you know, asked a lot of questions.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
I spoke with Larry's sister, Lorie Holt on the phone
for a few hours. During our lengthy conversation, she shared
many stories about their upbringing and her transparent struggle with
whether or not it was the right thing to come
onto a podcast and quote unquote discuss the past. She
made it very clear that she was a Christian woman
now and she felt she was to forgive and move
(23:06):
forward and not bring up past mistakes of others. I
suggested that she talked to her pastor at her church,
for his opinion and guidance on whether this was ethical
in helping us search for Buthany Markowski, her niece, and
she would get back to me. But after that Sunday
came and went, she never did reply to my follow
up texts or my call, so I had her answer.
(23:29):
She was not going to come on and record for
the podcast. However, she did have a lot to say
about that evening Bethany went missing. According to Laurie, she
felt it was absolutely untrue that her and her mother
Juanita were acting out, being difficult or being confrontational at
the Old Hickory Mall when they arrived on March fourth,
(23:49):
two thousand and one. She adamantly refuted that piece of information. Now,
when Johnny arrives with her friend Diane, whom had given
her a ride from Nashville. They they are then ushered
down to the police station and the questioning begins. We
can assume that they began questioning Larry first, since he
was the last one to see Bethany alive. Per his statement,
(24:10):
and get this, during his interview, Larry falls asleep. Yes,
you heard me correctly. He falls asleep multiple times. Actually
law enforcement has to wake him up quite a few times.
While Larry was being interviewed. The women were in an
awaiting area with TVs, snack machines, and they're trying to
(24:32):
think of every detail they can to give police to
maybe help find Bethany. A police officer walks through the
room and tells Laurie.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
You know by hearing you, guys are wide awake, either
praying or crying or talking away. He said, I've had
to wake him up at least three times for him
to talk about his daughter.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
It was already established through Larry. Now established, not confirmed
that he took a nap in his van and send
Bethany into the mall. But listen to what he says
on the local television WBBJ news segment in two thousand
and one.
Speaker 6 (25:09):
We took a nap in the van and she got
up one and go in the mall. And she went in, supposedly,
and I fell back sleep for a while and woke
up and went and looked forward. I made a mistake
of going to them all. I shouldn't have done that.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
A few things about this audio clip. Larry says we
took a nap in the van. However, in previous statements
it was him who took a nap in the van
with Bethany walking into the mall on her own. Now
did you catch that? He says, supposedly she walks into
the mall supposedly. Does this not indicate that he is
(25:46):
then admitting he did not actually watch his eleven year
old daughter safely enter the shopping mall alone. And yes,
his voice does crack. You may have caught that. But
it does sound like emotion, doesn't it. He's staring at
the ground while he talks, and he doesn't meet the
reporter's eyes once. But it's this line, this one line
(26:08):
we haven't seen Larry open up publicly about since it's
the line where he says, quote, I made a mistake.
I shouldn't have done that end quote. I think we
all agree with you on that one, mister Markowski. Some
speculators believe Larry is admitting to making a mistake, but
not the mistake of letting Bethany go into the mall.
(26:29):
Could the mistake have been made before he even arrived
at the Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Tennessee, on March fourth,
two thousand and one. Could that be where the emotion
is from of course this is speculative, but as producers
we decided to look into every nook and cranny in
this case. Could the emotion be real but perhaps not
(26:52):
in the right context, or could this truly be a
remorseful father. Listen to what Larry said in a follow
up interview with w BBJ in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
I picked her up on Friday, went to Arkansas and
the whole time was there. We was up all night,
we visited and everything else. We came back to my
house in Gleason Well. She wanted to go back to
the mall and Jackson to go to Clare's and the Gamer.
So we got to mall. I think there's about one
thirty two o'clock in the a halfnon so I stretched
(27:26):
out on the back seat of the van. It wasn't
about thirty minutes later. I went in. I couldn't find her.
I went out to the mall. I look foreverywhere. I
believe somebody hazard and I believe she's gonna come home.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Just like J. C.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
Dugard, I follow stuff. I don't care how they smear me.
All I care about is my doughter. I love my
daughter with all my heart.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
And now we find ourselves at the Jackson Police Department again,
and within the next few days Johnny and Larry will
consent to take light detector tests, but only one will pass.
Put a pin in that you, guys. We will be
returning to this in Part three. Johnny, her sister and
Laurie and her friend Diane all stay at a hotel
(28:08):
in Jackson the day's following Bethany's disappearance. March fifth, two
thousand and four, the morning after Bethany goes missing, finds
the women at Kinko's printing the moment the doors open
and they have flyers printed with Bethany's face and contact information.
And it's wonderful because the Kinko's graciously donated every flyer
to Johnny to help find Bethany. The women recall how
(28:31):
they put a flyer on every windshield in that mall
parking lot, but the mall itself it would not allow
them to put flyers up inside. The women would stay
almost a week, but without any leads, there was not
much Johnny could do except call the detectives every thirty
minutes and ask if there had been a lead yet,
have you found my girl? Do you have any tips?
(28:51):
What can you tell me? While Johnny is frantically searching
for Bethany, telling every person she crosses paths with about her,
desperately pleading for anyone who was willing to look at
the flyer and hope they recognize her. Baby Johnny's cell
phone rings it's Darlene, Johnny's lawyer secretary, who was at
(29:13):
the mall on March fourth. Aunt Laurie replays what Darlene said.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Hey, I went over to the courthouse this morning when
it opened at nine, and I told we were sitting
there and I was getting some paper signed or giving
them something. She said, and I was like, hey, do
you hear about Bethany Markowski? And they were like, no,
what happened? And she was explaining to him what happened
the night before and they were like, that's weird because
(29:39):
her father, he was just in here paying his child's support.
And she said he was real pissy because he shoved
the check at me and said, I hope the bitch
chokes on it.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
Missing in Hushtown season two is executive produced in partnership
by fire Eyes Media LLCs Jules Thorpe and Johen Rivera,
as well as mom Cast Productions, Rachel Holloway and Heather Northcraft.
The script is written by Jules Thorpe and edited by
Heather Northcraft. Project lead is Rachel Holloway and Master Editing
and audio production is done by John Rivera Jewels. Thorpe
(30:30):
is your host Fire Eyes Media.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Mom has weird raising voices while raising kids
Around five fifteen pm on the evening of March fourth,
two thousand and one, a nine to one one call
is made to the Jackson Police Department by a mall
security officer. The officer is standing beside a father who
cannot locate his daughter. According to the father, he sent
his daughter into the mall around three o'clock. He proceeds
to tell the security officer that he took a nap
(00:21):
in his van in the mall parking lot and send
his eleven year old daughter into the Old Hickory Mall
in Jackson, Tennessee on her own. But when he awoke
from his nap, he realized that his daughter had not
yet returned, and he then alleges he went into the
shopping mall to search for her. It would not be
until the recommendation of the mall security officer, because the
mall would soon close, that the father, Larry Markowski, would
(00:44):
finally report his daughter, Bethany Leanne Markowski, as missing. This
is missing in Hutchtown Season two. Bethany Markowski, Chapter one,
Part two, The Night of March fourth. I'm your host, Jules, Hey, guys,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I was actually on duty on March fourth of two
thousand and one, and got the call to twenty twenty
one North Highland, which is ARMA in reference to a
missing child. We arrived on the scene. Actually I was
the first on the scene. I want to add this
because I think it's imperative for people to understand when
(01:57):
they listen to this podcast. First of all, all make
sure before you cast judgment on us officers that arrived there,
you put yourselves in our situation.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Former Jackson Police Department patrol officer Tommy Saparula replays the
night of March four, two thousand and one as the
first responding officer on scene after Bethany is reported missing.
The following accounts are his and his alone and do
not reflect those of the Jackson Police Department or Jackson
State Community College. The other voice on the interview is
producer Rachel Holloway. Mister Saparulo recalls Larry's demeanor that evening,
(02:34):
there was no.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Sense of urgency in body language of let's get in here,
we got to find her. I mean, my daughter's missing.
Holy cow, there was none of that.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
According to the first missing poster for Bethany Markowski from
the Jackson Police Department, Jackson p d lists two thirty
p m. March four as the last time Larry saw Bethany.
It's important to note that the exact time Larry recalls
Bethany going into the all changes a few times, and
same when he wakes up from his nap. The times
(03:04):
very anywhere from three point thirty three forty five four
o'clock all the way to four thirty. Over the decades,
the majority of criticism for the Jackson Police Department has
been surrounding Larry's van. Why didn't they search Larry's van?
That evening, mister Separulo addresses this head on.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
The question has been asked to me of like, why
y'all go searches vehicle? We didn't have reason to go
search his vehicle, right, I mean, for the amendments still
applies with unreasonable search and caizure. And at that point, yeah,
his actions were like not that of a normal person
(03:46):
when people but we had zero probable calls to start
searching vehicles and that type of stuff. So I don't
want people to think, you know, why didn't y'all go
search his vehicle? And blah bla blah. There was no
real I mean, her being missing, abducted, whatever, by him.
(04:08):
Was never the initial thoughts.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
He continues to explain, was he.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Acting strange, Yes, but I'd never been in I never
dealt with him before. Maybe he was just a calm person.
I would be beside myself if my children were missing.
Maybe I should say panic mode. Maybe that's a good
word to look at, because I feel like I would
have been, even though I'd been in some high stressful
situations as a police officer. I think if it would
have been my children, I'd have been in panic mode.
(04:36):
But he just didn't seem that way. And that was
what was so unusual about it. But just the legal
side of it, our hands were like tied, like okay,
because we as officers still we had to be sympathetic
because what if it was true, What if she did
go in and was in there two hours and somebody
(04:57):
she wouldn't be the first chilt that was subducted in
the United States? Now, had that happened in our mall before. No.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
He makes a great point, one that he truly hopes
the biggest critics of the responding officers will hear. He
does tell us Bethany's case has forever stayed with him. Now,
according to mister Separulo before long that evening, multiple officers
have now arrived at the mall and Old Hickory Mall
had four wings to it, and back in two thousand
and one, malls were still very popular, so every store
(05:29):
was rented, every store was full, so that means there's
a lot of ground to cover. They immediately do a
foot search, ask about the cameras, and then take Larry
to the Satellite Field office, which was already at the
Jackson Mall. Old Hickory Mall had given the police Department
this little satellite office as a police to conduct interviews,
do paperwork, et cetera. When asked if that office in
(05:51):
the mall had any cameras, mister Separulo reported no. Very quickly,
the Jackson Pde calls in the Criminal Investigation Division known
as the CIA. It's the CID that takes lead of
operations and search efforts, being the ones to review all
the security mall footage. The mall footage is one of
the single most important pieces of information, and back then
(06:14):
it was older technology. Someone had to manually insert the
VHS tape into the recorder. By the end of the day,
someone would have to rewind the tape to the beginning
and put it back in pending no reason to keep
the footage. The same tape would then be recorded over
and over and over again, and thankfully, the Criminal Investigation
(06:34):
Division looked at the footage of exits and entrances, and
that's how we know this. Bethany Leanne Markowski, eleven years
old on March fourth, two thousand and one, was never
seen entering the mall, walking through the mall, or exiting
the mall.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
RD people because I kind of kept in contact with
them a pretty good bid And I'll tell you something
I lifting here after a while that I still asked
one of our CID people about and their response, but
they assured me that not one time was she seen
on any video going inside that mom.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Former Officer sat Parulo's official involvement as a Jackson Police
officer in the disappearance of eleven year old Bethany Markowski
would not extend beyond filing the missing person report and
putting out the bee on the lookout the bolow for
Bethany that very evening. Once the CID stepped in, the
patrol officers then step aside and continue their responsibilities. Rachel
(07:38):
asked him if he believed Bethany was out there, still alive,
living her life.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I do. I do. And the reason that I believe
this is I think, knowing Johnny, I think that if
she knew in her heart that Bethany was gone, you
and I would not be having this conversation right now.
(08:06):
And I put myself in a in apparent situation. It's
such it's such a tough question. I mean, it really
really is, because like one of you is like, how
in the world could you hide somebody.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
For this long?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
It's apparent that mister Saparillo's heart is genuine and he
was truly distraught over this missing little girl.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
I'm part of this to be the first person there
and just to tell myself, like, hey, you did your job,
but it's still hard to swallow that was there something
else I could have done that she would be married
and have kids and be enjoy in her family.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
To pick back up with our timeline five forty three
to be exact, Larry Markowski turns his phone back on
forty three minutes after he was supposed to meet Aunt
Laurie at the Waverly exit. Meanwhile, at the Waverley meeting point,
an hour away, Aunt Laurie and her husband are waiting
for Larry to pull up any moment with Bethany. At
(09:20):
about four fifty pm, and anxious Johnny calls Aunt Laurie
to check in. Still no Larry. Aunt Laurie encourages Johnny
to give him a few minutes, as he wasn't actually
late yet, and so Johnny takes a few breaths and
puts the phone back down. Five o'clock PM on the
dot comes and goes, the exact time Bethany was scheduled
(09:42):
to be back in Johnny's custody. You'll recall that Johnny
was not able to pick Bethany up herself per the
court order of protection that she had filed against Larry,
so Johnny is in Nashville, approximately two to three hours away.
Aunt Laurie books at the time. Just after five pm,
(10:03):
she calls Larry herself. The phone doesn't even ring before
it sent straight to voicemail. She tries again, the same result.
Voicemail is his phone off. Aunt Laurie now has to
update Johnny and fuel Johnnie's wor's fears. Could Larry be
taking Bethany and running?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Aunt Laurie, I can't tell you how many times. I call,
I know somebody knows Jeck's police partner. They know somebody
knows because they pulled my phone records. But I called
over and over and over, and then calling talking to
Johnny and back and forth, is he there yet? Is
he no? It was real stressful for like forty three
minutes or something like that, and then finally he answers
(10:41):
the last time, which was I think five point forty
three or something like that, and I said, Larry, I said,
where are you? He said, I'm looking for Bethany. I
can't find her. I let her go on the mall
with her little friend Hillary. She wanted to go to
Claire's and I can't find her. I said, what do
you mean you can't find her? And he was like, well,
I let her. He said the whole thing again, and
(11:02):
I said, I said, well should we come there? And
he said no? And I just sat there and I said, well,
I'm gonna call Johnny and I hung up for talking
to him. And I called her and I said, who's Hillary?
And she said she's this little girl that she knew
when we lived in wherever.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
They hang up and Johnny works to find Hillary's mother's number.
She is able to contact her, and they tell Johnny, yes,
they did see Larry, but it was just as the
mall was closing, and according to Hillary and her mother,
they helped Larry look for Bethany for a bit, but
they never actually saw Bethany at the mall that day. Remember,
(11:42):
Larry would not have his phone on until forty three
minutes after he was supposed to have dropped Bethany off
in Waverley. It's also important to remember that Larry saw
Hillary and her mother in the mall before he turned
his phone on and answered Aunt Laurie's call, and according
(12:04):
to Aunt Laurie, Larry repeated twice twice that Bethany went
into the mall with her little friend Hilary. Hillary and
her mother also reported that Larry seemed off, his hair
was dyed dark, and he was wearing sunglasses inside the mall.
Without waiting for any further direction or instructions, Aunt Laurie
(12:26):
and her husband hop in the car and immediately begin
the hour plus drive to the Old Hickory Mall. Johnny
is immediately informed that Bethany is not to be found anywhere,
and so she begins a treacherous multi hour drive east
from Nashville to Jackson with her friend Diane driving the car.
While Johnny is on the way, she calls her lawyer's secretary,
(12:47):
a woman named Darlene. Darlene answers a frantic Johnny on
the phone, and it turns out Darlene, who worked for
lawyer mister Bradbury, was near the mall on a dinner
date with her husband. Darlene gets Larry Mary's cell phone
number from Johnny and she calls him herself. The following
is a written statement from miss Arlene to the Jackson
Police Department. It's dated March sixth, two thousand and one.
(13:10):
Producer Jan Rivera reads it for us.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
On March fourth, two thousand and one, my husband and
I were eating dinner at Chili's in Jackson, Tennessee, when
at approximately five fifty two pm, my cell phone rang
and it was missus Johnny Markowski, a client of mister
James H. Bradberry, of which I am his legal secretary.
Missus Markowski was very upset and proceeded to cry and
(13:33):
tell me that mister Markowski had called her and said
that their daughter Bethany was missing. I tried to calm
her and have her explain what was happening. She proceeded
to tell me that he, mister Markowski, was at the
mall in Jackson and said that they had laid down
to take a nap and when he woke up, she
wasn't there. I asked missus Markowski what his mister Markowski's
(13:55):
cell phone number was, and she gave it to me.
I called him immediately to see if we could help.
I asked what happened. He told me that she was
meeting a friend Hillary, and that they were going to
Clare's to shop for a hair something. He just didn't
know what happened, and that when he woke from his nap,
she wasn't there. I called missus Markowski again and told
(14:16):
her what he told me. She proceeded to give the
little girl Hilary's phone number and mother's name. When my
husband and I arrived at the mall in front of J. C. Penny,
the police were there and I asked again what happened.
He then said he did not tell me that she
was meetin anyone, and that everyone was just trying to
twist things around. All of this time, mister Markowski seemed
(14:38):
to be very composed. No crying, shouting, frantic behavior, just
a little confused at his story or reasoning for sleepin
in the parking lot of the mall. He said that
she was wearing a green sweatshirt and then told another
officer it was a green shirt. He was asked about
her friends there in Jackson and said that he didn't know.
She probably had. Several asked him about his mother or
(15:01):
other relatives she might have called. He said he didn't
know his own mother's phone number or address. He had
said that he had been in Little Rock the night
before and driven back late that night. Never gave a
reason for being in Jackson, said he had laid down
to take a nap around one point thirty. I called
the number of a preacher friend of his and Little
Rock and got an answering machine. I stated for someone
(15:23):
at that number to call the Jackson Police Department concerning
a Larry Markowski. No other information was left on their
machine by me. The name and address was mister Wayne
Harold Roberts, fifty five Fallen Creek, North, Little Rock, Arkansas.
I got this information from the long distance operator Missus.
Markowski's sister and brother in law were to have met
(15:45):
mister Markowski at Waverley, Tennessee at five PM. They arrived
in Jackson, and mister Markowski did not react at all,
either upset or angry. He just stood there, smoking and
no reaction. Missus Markowski was en route from now Nashville
where she now lives by this time, and is calling
some of us constantly. She tried every friend and relative
(16:06):
she could think of, no results. By the late hours,
mister Markowski's mother and sister came to Jackson. Again, no
reaction until they arrived, and then all he would say
was that they're trying to twist my story. The mother
came over to myself, sister in law Laurie, and two
police officers and didn't ask any questions concerning Bethany, but
(16:26):
yelled that you don't have to cop an attitude. The
officers advised her they did not want any trouble. We
stayed at the scene until around ten forty five PM
and the mother, Missus Markowski, arrived from Nashville. The police
then took all parties to the station for further questioning.
Some numbers in address that were given to me that
night were a neighbor, Fred Perry Morton Roade Gleason, mister
(16:49):
Markowski's mother, Shadesbridge Road, Greenfield. If I can be of
any further assistance, don't hesitate to call with kindest regards,
Darlene Dunny.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
That makes it three times now that Larry has relayed
that Bethany went into the mall with her little friend Hillary.
Twice he said it to Aunt Laurie on the phone,
and once to Johnny's employer Darlene when she called him
on the phone as well. But then why would Larry
deny that he ever said this. Once Darlene arrives, Aunt
(17:23):
Laurie was questioned about what Larry also told her when
she arrives, and when Larry claimed that Aunt Laurie was
making it up, he never said anything about a girl
named Hillary. Well, here's Laurie's account pulling up to the
mall after Darlene already gave her statement to the police.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
And so when we pulled up, I got out of
the car and the police officer came up to me
and he said who are you? And I said, I'm
Johnny's sister, Bethany's mother, And I said I'm I'm supposed
to meet them, and White related to pick her up
and I said, and he said, well, what did what
did he tell you? I said, he told me she
(18:01):
went into the mall with her little friend Hillary to
go to Clare's or something like that. And he just
looked at me. And then Darlene came over and I said,
And Darlene had stuff written down on a piece of paper,
and I said, what did he tell you, Darley? And
she showed me her paper went into the mall with
her little friend Hillary. She had the same story. And
neither one of us know who Hillary is or ever
(18:23):
heard that end. So the police officer said to me,
he said, his story has changed at least five times
since we've been standing here. And I'm like, because I
was like, what is he saying? And he is like,
he's not saying He's saying that you guys are lying
that He did not say that she went into the
mall with her little friend Hillary. And I'm like, we
don't know who Hillary is. We never heard that name.
(18:43):
You know, how could we both come up with this
little girl's name. I hadn't talked to her.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Brandon Barnett hosted the twenty seventeen podcast Searching for Ghosts,
which covered Bythany's disappearance, interviewed Hillary. Hillary has since passed
away sadly, but Hillary was adamant at the time that
she saw Bethany in the mall. In fact, she tells
searching for Ghosts that she even helped Larry and the
security guard look for Bethany for quite a while. And
(19:08):
now we find that Larry's mother, Jannita Markowski Ward, and
Larry's sister Lori Holt, have arrived at the Old Hickory Mall.
Here's Larry's niece. She's Lori Holt's daughter. Her name is
Sarah Lynn, and she is Bethany's cousin, and she's recalling
the moment her mother learned that Bethany was missing on
March fourth, two thousand and one.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
I remember me and my Si, Sure, we're listening to
Aaron Carter. We were in the liver room, listened to him.
And I remember I always got to see Bethany around
my birthday. So I wasn't thinking about Bethany at the time,
but I just knew like I would eventually get to
see her. But I remember hearing my mother's scream, I
(19:50):
gotta go, Bethany's missing. I gotta go. And I remember
her being very scared, and I remember my dad being like,
I don't know what happened.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Something's going on.
Speaker 5 (20:00):
I remember wanting to go with my parent and she
was like, no, you can't go, you got to stay here.
But I remember her it was very quick. It was
got to go.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Some of there wrong.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
Bethany's missing, and.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
She was out the door. Laurie would drive to her mother, Juanita,
to pick her up, and the two of them would
then arrive at the Old Hickory Mall. Now it's unclear
who called Lorie Holt. Was it Larry or was Juanita
the one who was called first and then asked Laurie
to get her and take her to the mall. Janita
Markowski Ward, Larry's mother, had nine children, daughters Luri and Lisa,
(20:35):
and sons Johnny, Larry, Steve, Warrene, Tim, Billy, and Robert. Yes,
that was nine children, and it was obvious to all
of the cousins in the family that Juanita was the
closest to Bethany. Bethany was Juanita's favorite grandchild. Jannita would
often watch Bethany at her home while Larry and Johnny
were on the road with his eighteen wheeler. In fact,
(20:56):
Bethany even had her own room at the home, so
it is understandable that grandmother Juanita would be shaken up
with the news of her granddaughter missing. However, according to
Johnny's sister, Aunt Laurie, when Larry's sister and his mother
arrive at the mall that evening, they are chaotic and abrasive,
(21:17):
so much so that the law enforcement on the scene
tells Aunt Laurie when Bethany's mother arrives, she cannot be
behaving in the same manner or she'll be arrested. Here's
Aunt Laurie, and you may catch. Laurie referred to Larry
Markowski as Spawn, as in Spawn of Satan. That's their
nickname for him, as there was also Aunt Laurie's ex
(21:40):
husband there who was also named Larry, and over the
years that nickname has stuck to differentiate which Larry they
were referring to. And since this is coming from them,
this is their story, their experience, we're going to leave
it in during direct interviews.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Before Johnny got there, Spawn's sister and showed up and
his mother is just like, throw mama from the train, mom.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
Throw Mama from the Train was an award winning nineteen
eighty seven comedy about an overbearing and abusive mother of
an adult son.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
She's just ran and raving and what are you do
to my son? And bah and and the police is like, listen,
this ain't whatever county you came from. We will arrest you.
So she piped down a little bit. And then when
Johnny finally got there, they'd warned Johnny before she even
opened her mouth, because they'd then been dealing with his mom,
saying don't get rowdy, don't get up, stay calm, or
(22:38):
we will arrest you. And so she didn't say anything.
She just, you know, asked a lot of questions.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
I spoke with Larry's sister, Lorie Holt on the phone
for a few hours. During our lengthy conversation, she shared
many stories about their upbringing and her transparent struggle with
whether or not it was the right thing to come
onto a podcast and quote unquote discuss the past. She
made it very clear that she was a Christian woman
now and she felt she was to forgive and move
(23:06):
forward and not bring up past mistakes of others. I
suggested that she talked to her pastor at her church,
for his opinion and guidance on whether this was ethical
in helping us search for Buthany Markowski, her niece, and
she would get back to me. But after that Sunday
came and went, she never did reply to my follow
up texts or my call, so I had her answer.
(23:29):
She was not going to come on and record for
the podcast. However, she did have a lot to say
about that evening Bethany went missing. According to Laurie, she
felt it was absolutely untrue that her and her mother
Juanita were acting out, being difficult or being confrontational at
the Old Hickory Mall when they arrived on March fourth,
(23:49):
two thousand and one. She adamantly refuted that piece of information. Now,
when Johnny arrives with her friend Diane, whom had given
her a ride from Nashville. They they are then ushered
down to the police station and the questioning begins. We
can assume that they began questioning Larry first, since he
was the last one to see Bethany alive. Per his statement,
(24:10):
and get this, during his interview, Larry falls asleep. Yes,
you heard me correctly. He falls asleep multiple times. Actually
law enforcement has to wake him up quite a few times.
While Larry was being interviewed. The women were in an
awaiting area with TVs, snack machines, and they're trying to
(24:32):
think of every detail they can to give police to
maybe help find Bethany. A police officer walks through the
room and tells Laurie.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
You know by hearing you, guys are wide awake, either
praying or crying or talking away. He said, I've had
to wake him up at least three times for him
to talk about his daughter.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
It was already established through Larry. Now established, not confirmed
that he took a nap in his van and send
Bethany into the mall. But listen to what he says
on the local television WBBJ news segment in two thousand
and one.
Speaker 6 (25:09):
We took a nap in the van and she got
up one and go in the mall. And she went in, supposedly,
and I fell back sleep for a while and woke
up and went and looked forward. I made a mistake
of going to them all. I shouldn't have done that.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
A few things about this audio clip. Larry says we
took a nap in the van. However, in previous statements
it was him who took a nap in the van
with Bethany walking into the mall on her own. Now
did you catch that? He says, supposedly she walks into
the mall supposedly. Does this not indicate that he is
(25:46):
then admitting he did not actually watch his eleven year
old daughter safely enter the shopping mall alone. And yes,
his voice does crack. You may have caught that. But
it does sound like emotion, doesn't it. He's staring at
the ground while he talks, and he doesn't meet the
reporter's eyes once. But it's this line, this one line
(26:08):
we haven't seen Larry open up publicly about since it's
the line where he says, quote, I made a mistake.
I shouldn't have done that end quote. I think we
all agree with you on that one, mister Markowski. Some
speculators believe Larry is admitting to making a mistake, but
not the mistake of letting Bethany go into the mall.
(26:29):
Could the mistake have been made before he even arrived
at the Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Tennessee, on March fourth,
two thousand and one. Could that be where the emotion
is from of course this is speculative, but as producers
we decided to look into every nook and cranny in
this case. Could the emotion be real but perhaps not
(26:52):
in the right context, or could this truly be a
remorseful father. Listen to what Larry said in a follow
up interview with w BBJ in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
I picked her up on Friday, went to Arkansas and
the whole time was there. We was up all night,
we visited and everything else. We came back to my
house in Gleason Well. She wanted to go back to
the mall and Jackson to go to Clare's and the Gamer.
So we got to mall. I think there's about one
thirty two o'clock in the a halfnon so I stretched
(27:26):
out on the back seat of the van. It wasn't
about thirty minutes later. I went in. I couldn't find her.
I went out to the mall. I look foreverywhere. I
believe somebody hazard and I believe she's gonna come home.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Just like J. C.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
Dugard, I follow stuff. I don't care how they smear me.
All I care about is my doughter. I love my
daughter with all my heart.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
And now we find ourselves at the Jackson Police Department again,
and within the next few days Johnny and Larry will
consent to take light detector tests, but only one will pass.
Put a pin in that you, guys. We will be
returning to this in Part three. Johnny, her sister and
Laurie and her friend Diane all stay at a hotel
(28:08):
in Jackson the day's following Bethany's disappearance. March fifth, two
thousand and four, the morning after Bethany goes missing, finds
the women at Kinko's printing the moment the doors open
and they have flyers printed with Bethany's face and contact information.
And it's wonderful because the Kinko's graciously donated every flyer
to Johnny to help find Bethany. The women recall how
(28:31):
they put a flyer on every windshield in that mall
parking lot, but the mall itself it would not allow
them to put flyers up inside. The women would stay
almost a week, but without any leads, there was not
much Johnny could do except call the detectives every thirty
minutes and ask if there had been a lead yet,
have you found my girl? Do you have any tips?
(28:51):
What can you tell me? While Johnny is frantically searching
for Bethany, telling every person she crosses paths with about her,
desperately pleading for anyone who was willing to look at
the flyer and hope they recognize her. Baby Johnny's cell
phone rings it's Darlene, Johnny's lawyer secretary, who was at
(29:13):
the mall on March fourth. Aunt Laurie replays what Darlene said.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Hey, I went over to the courthouse this morning when
it opened at nine, and I told we were sitting
there and I was getting some paper signed or giving
them something. She said, and I was like, hey, do
you hear about Bethany Markowski? And they were like, no,
what happened? And she was explaining to him what happened
the night before and they were like, that's weird because
(29:39):
her father, he was just in here paying his child's support.
And she said he was real pissy because he shoved
the check at me and said, I hope the bitch
chokes on it.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
Missing in Hushtown season two is executive produced in partnership
by fire Eyes Media LLCs Jules Thorpe and Johen Rivera,
as well as mom Cast Productions, Rachel Holloway and Heather Northcraft.
The script is written by Jules Thorpe and edited by
Heather Northcraft. Project lead is Rachel Holloway and Master Editing
and audio production is done by John Rivera Jewels. Thorpe
(30:30):
is your host Fire Eyes Media.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Mom has weird raising voices while raising kids
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