August 3, 2025 • 24 mins
In the quiet, pre-dawn hours of a Kentucky summer morning, a cell phone screen lights up. It's a text from 18-year-old Brookelyn Farthing, and it's short and chilling: “I’m scared.” A few moments later, another message follows: “Please hurry.” Then, about an hour later, a final, bewildering text comes through that completely contradicts the fear from before. It just says, “Never mind.” After that message, Brookelyn Farthing was gone. She vanished from a remote house, leaving behind her purse, her shoes, and a fire that investigators would later call suspicious. Her story is a tangled mess of confusing timelines, questionable stories, and a family's decade-long search for answers that just won't come.
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Music: Hard to Beat (OCAAT Theme) and Investigations Inc by Artist Musical Logos
Sources:
Official Sources
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-crime-at-a-time--4661577/support.
We thank you for your support! Become a member of our Patreon for just $1.99. Click HERE to join.
Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only. This channel is not affiliated with any law enforcement entity nor any court system.
Music: Hard to Beat (OCAAT Theme) and Investigations Inc by Artist Musical Logos
Sources:
Official Sources
- Kentucky State Police – Missing Persons Database
➤ https://kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov/missing-persons- Brookelyn’s case is officially listed with details and case number.
- Contact info for tips.
- NamUs (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System)
➤ https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/24013- Federal case file with identifiers, dental/DNA info, and last known circumstance
- Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky)
➤ Article Example:
“Berea family continues search for Brookelyn Farthing years after disappearance”
➤ https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/article44532894.html - WKYT News (CBS Lexington Affiliate)
➤ https://www.wkyt.com- Coverage on yearly anniversaries, interviews with family.
- Example Search: "Brookelyn Farthing disappearance"
- WLEX 18 News (NBC Affiliate – Lexington)
➤ https://www.lex18.com- Featured local reports and video news packages.
- The Charley Project – Brookelyn Farthing
➤ http://charleyproject.org/case/brookelyn-shae-farthing- In-depth case write-up with timeline and media links.
- Justice for Brookelyn Facebook Page (run by family)
➤ https://www.facebook.com/justiceforbrookelynfarthing- Updates, tips, anniversaries, memorials, and comments from the public.
- Disappeared – Investigation Discovery (Season 9, Episode: “The Last Summer”)
➤ https://www.investigationdiscovery.com- Aired August 2016.
- Includes interviews with family, investigators, and re-enactments.
- True Crime Podcast
- Unsolved Mystery
- Cold Case Files
- Real Crime Story
- Missing Persons Case
- Brookelyn Farthing
- Brookelyn Shae Farthing
- Brookelyn Farthing Missing
- Brookelyn Farthing Disappearance
- Brookelyn Farthing Case
- Missing Woman Kentucky
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the quiet pre dawn hours of a Kentucky summer morning,
a cell phone screen lights up. It's a text from
eighteen year old Brooklyn Farthing, and it's short and chilling.
I'm scared. A few moments later, another message follows please hurry.
Then about an hour later, a final bewildering text comes
through that completely contradicts the fear from before. It just
(00:23):
says never mind. After that message, Brooklyn Farthing was gone.
She vanished from a remote house, leaving behind her purse,
her shoes, and a fire that investigators would later call suspicious.
Her story is a tangled mess of confusing timelines, questionable stories,
and a family's decade.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Long search for answers that just won't come.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Hi, and welcome to One Crime at a Time. I
am Shannon, and today we are covering the disappearance of
Brooklyn Farthing. Before we get into it, I just want
to remind you that you can reach out to us
at one Crime Pod on all of the social platforms,
and if you like what we do here, you can
join our Patreon for just one dollar and ninety nine
cents per month. Speaking of Patreon, I want to take
(01:15):
a moment to thank our newest Patreon members Neville Grant
and Rana Daywood. Thank you so much. Your support is
greatly appreciated. If you want to help out the show
for free, you can always support us by giving us
a like and review. All links will be in the
description for this episode.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Now on with our.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Story before she became the focus of a haunting mystery.
Brooklyn Shay Farthing, or just Brooke to her friends and family,
was a young woman just starting her life. Born on
August twenty sixth, nineteen ninety four, she was eighteen and
had just graduated from Madison Southern High School in Berea, Kentucky.
(01:54):
People who knew her describe her as spunky, outspoken, and
incredibly loving. It was a social butterfly who could light
up a room. Brooke called herself a girly girl who
loved doing her hair and makeup and was thinking about
cosmetology school. But she was just as comfortable outdoors, often
wearing her favorite pink and camouflage combo. Brooke was all
(02:15):
about her family. She was especially tight with her older
sister Tasha and her younger sister Page. The day before
she disappeared June twenty first, twenty thirteen, was a totally
normal day of family and celebration. It was her grandfather's
seventieth birthday, so everyone got together for him. That same day,
(02:35):
Brooke and Page both took their driver's tests. Brooke passed,
which became a running joke all day, and her dad
celebrated by giving her his forward pickup truck. It was
a day full of laughs, milestones, and the promise of
a happy, normal weekend. She'd even made plans with friends
to go to a car show in Somerset the next day.
(02:57):
Nothing about her suggested she was unhappy or trying to
get away. She was grounded, had a loving family all
around her, and was making plans for the future. Her mother,
Shelby Walker, later talked about the simple moments they shared,
the ordinary chats that are now painful, precious memories. She'd
bake brownies and we'd sit and talk on my bed.
(03:19):
Her mom said, those were the good days that I'm
missing so much. When you picture this vibrant, loved, and
full of life young women, it makes what happened next
feel even more impossible.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
She wasn't a runaway.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
She was a girl who in just a few hours,
was ripped from her life. Leaving behind a silence that
has now stretched over a decade. The night of Friday,
June twenty first, twenty thirteen started out like any other
summer night for a teenager in rural Kentucky. Brooke went
to a house party in Maria with her sister, Page
and their cousin. It was a relaxed, casual get together.
(03:55):
Page said, Brooke was in great spirits. She had even
brought an overnight bag, planning to stay at a girlfriend's
house after the party. Around eight o'clock pm, Page and
their cousin decided to head home. Brooke, though, decided to
stay since she had her plans all set that one
small decision would end up changing everything. Later that evening,
(04:15):
Brook's plan fell apart. Apparently she got into a disagreement
with the friend she was supposed to stay with. The
friend reportedly bailed to spend the night with her boyfriend,
leaving Brook stranded without a place to sleep or a ride.
Stuck at the party after her sister had left, Brooke
had to figure out how to get home. It was
late and she didn't have many options. Witnesses saw her
(04:39):
except a ride from two young men. The driver was
an acquaintance named Joshua Hensley, who apparently knew her ex boyfriend,
With another guy in the car, they didn't go straight home.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
They took a detour to a rural.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Spot on Floyd Branch Road, supposedly so Hensley could check
on some horses he looked after. After that stop, Hensley
dropped the other guy off at his house. Now it
was just Joshua Hensley and Brooklyn Farthing. Instead of taking
her home to Beria, Hensley drove her to his place,
a house on Villancourt in a remote area east of town.
(05:14):
This house would be the last place anyone ever saw
Brooklyn alive. It was a foreclosed property Hensley was staying at,
and this detail is critical. The utilities had been shut
off for weeks. There was no electricity and no running water.
As the night turned into the early morning of Saturday,
June twenty second, Brooks started to realize she.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Was in a bad spot.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
The texts she sent paint a pretty scary picture of
her last known hours. Around four o'clock a m. Brook
texted her sister Page asking for a ride home, but
Page was underage and didn't have her license yet, so
she couldn't come get her Their cousin, who could have driven,
had been drinking and wasn't able to drive. Page had
(05:56):
to tell her sister she was stuck with no luck there.
Brook's next call was to her ex boyfriend. He was
working a night shift and told her he'd pick her
up on his way home from work, but that wouldn't
be until around seven o'clock am. That meant a three
hour wait alone in a dark, remote house with a
man she barely knew. It was during this time that
(06:17):
her messages took a dark turn. At four twenty six
a m. A series of frantic texts went from her
phone to her ex boyfriend. The first one read I'm scared.
Then came the please, please hurry and just hurry. These
are not the words of someone who feels safe. It's
a digital cry for help. For an hour, there was nothing.
(06:38):
Her ex boyfriend, still at work, couldn't do anything but
wait for his shift to end. Then, at five thirty am,
one final baffling text was sent from Brook's phone. It
completely contradicted the terrified messages.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
From an hour before.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
It read something like never mind, I'm okay, I'm going
to a party in Rockcastle, countyr X probably confused by
the sudden change, texted back to ask who she was with.
He never got an answer, figuring she'd found another ride
and was safe, he just went home after work alone.
That was the last message ever sent from Brooklyn Farthing's phone.
(07:17):
That sudden switch from I'm scared to never mind has
been a huge red flag for her family and for
investigators ever since. The timeline continues with the story from
the only other person there, Joshua Hensley. According to what
he told police and the Farthing family, he left the
house sometime early that morning to go check on his horses, again,
(07:38):
leaving brook by herself on the couch smoking a cigarette.
Around seven o'clock am, right about the time her ex
boyfriend would have shown up. Hensley says he came back
to the house. He told police he got there and
found the house was on fire. Specifically, the couch where
he said he'd last seen brook was in flames. He
called nine to one one When firefighters got there, the
(08:00):
fire was mostly in the living room, The couch was
almost gone, and the fire had burned a hole straight
through the floor, but Brooklyn was gone. Inside the house
and on the porch were her personal things, her overnight bag,
her purse, and her cowboy boots were all left behind,
items her family says she never would have left willingly.
(08:21):
The only things missing were Brooklyn herself, the clothes she
was wearing, a gray.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Fought Ey shirt and light blue.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Jeanne shortz, and her cell phone. Later that day, when
Brooke didn't show up for the car show and wasn't
answering her phone, her family's worried turned to full blown panic.
Her phone got over one thousand calls in the first
twenty four hours from desperate family and friends. Her sister
Tasha actually got a hold of Joshua Hensley, his story
(08:49):
wasn't straight. In one call, he supposedly told Tasha that
Brooke got a ride from someone else. In another, he
claimed he heard her mention a party in Rockcastle County,
just like that final text. He also told Tasha that
he was scared and that the fire must have started
from the cigarette brook was smoking.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Within hours, a young woman.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
With solid plans and a close family had vanished, leaving
behind a scene damaged by fire and a digital trail
that ended.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
In a huge question mark.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
On June twenty third, twenty thirteen, with Brooklyn still missing,
her mother officially filed a missing person's report with the
Kentucky State Police. The investigation kicked off immediately, and authorities
saw all the red flags. This wasn't a case of
a teenager running away. The situation pointed to something much darker.
(09:40):
From the very beginning, investigators treated the case as suspicious,
believing foul play was highly likely. The first place they
focused on, was, of course, the house on Dylan Court.
The fire that Joshua Hensley reported was a huge point
of concern. The house had no electricity, which ruled out
any kind of electrical fees. Pensley's story about a drop
(10:02):
cigarette just seemed too convenient, especially because the fire destroyed
the main spot where Brooklyn was last seen. Fire is
a great way to get rid of forensic evidence, things
like DNA fibers or any signs of a struggle. The
fire consumed the very couch where he claimed she was sitting,
wiping out a critical part of a potential crime scene.
(10:24):
When Brooklyn's family went to the house to look for her,
they found her purse and her beloved cowboy boots sitting
on the front porch. Seeing those items confirmed their worst fears.
Brooke cared about her appearance and would never have gone anywhere,
especially not to some party without her shoes and her purse.
The only things gone were Brooke and her phone, which
(10:45):
strongly suggests she did not leave on her own. The
search for Brooklyn started with an intensity that matched how
serious the situation was. Hundreds of volunteers from the community
joined police to search the rugged Kentucky landscape. Over the
next few weeks, they covered more than sixteen thousand acres
across three counties. They brought in cadaver dogs to go
(11:08):
through the woods and fields around the Dylan court House.
Divers searched nearby lakes and ponds, hoping not to find her.
But despite all that work, they found nothing, no sign
of Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Her clothes, or her cell phone.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
By July twenty thirteen, with no new leads, the massive
ground searches were called off. A key part of the
investigation was her cell phone activity after that last text
at five thirty a m. On June twenty second, The
phone stayed on for a few days, but no one
answered any calls. On June twenty fifth, three days after
(11:43):
she vanished, her phone pinged a cell tower one last time.
The tower was in Blue Lick, Kentucky, about a ten
minute drive from the house. After that, the phone was
either shut off or destroyed. It was one last piece
of data, but without the phone itself, it was another
dead end. Police started interviewing people right away, and at
(12:04):
the top of their list was Joshua Hensley. While the
details of his police interviews haven't been made public, his
story has been picked apart by everyone. His account that
he left an eighteen year old girl he barely knew
alone in his secluded, dark house in the middle of
the night, only to come back and find her gone
and the couch on fire has always been met with
(12:25):
a lot of skepticism.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
His timeline left.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
A window of opportunity wide open, and his explanation for
the fire seemed to conveniently get rid of the most
important evidence. Despite all the suspicion pointed at him, Joshua
Hensley has never been officially named a suspect or a
person of interest by the Kentucky State Police. No charges
have ever been filed against him related to Brooklyn's disappearance.
(12:50):
This has been incredibly frustrating for the Farthing family, who
feel like the one person who knows what happened has
never been held accountable. Years later, in August of twenty twenty,
Joshua Hensley's name was back.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
In the news.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
He was arrested and later convicted on unrelated federal charges
for possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to prison.
While these are horrible crimes, police have never said there's
a link to Brooklyn's case, but for brooks family, it
only deepened their suspicions about what kind of person he
was and what he might have been capable of. Back
(13:26):
into one III, the investigation is still open and active today.
The Kentucky State Police say they continue to follow up
on tips and periodically review the case file, hoping to
find something they missed, But without a body, a confession,
or the physical evidence that likely went up in smoke,
the case is stuck. It's a puzzle with too many
(13:47):
missing pieces, leaving investigators with strong suspicions but not enough
hard evidence to make an arrest. When a case goes unsolved, theories.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Start to fill the void.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
For Brooklyn Farthing, those theories all circle back to the
strange circumstances of her last few hours and the man
she was with. Police have kept things close to the
vest but the public has pretty much made up its
mind based on what we do know. The biggest theory
and the one most people believe, is that something bad
happened to Brooklyn at the hands of Joshua Hensley.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
He's never been named an.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Official suspect, but the circumstantial evidence is pretty heavy. He
was the last person to see her. He took her
to his isolated, foreclosed house. Her last text show she
was scared while she was with him, and of course,
a suspicious fire just happened to break out right where
she was last seen at the same time she disappeared.
(14:42):
Let's break down why this theory makes sense. First, the
text messages at four twenty six a m. Brooks sends
a clear signal of distress. I'm scared. That's not a
message from someone who is feeling fine. It's a plea
for help. For that to be followed an hour later
by a capt asal never mind, I'm okay is just bizarre.
(15:03):
Her family and investigators have said they don't believe Brooks
sent that last text. The common belief is that someone
else sent it, someone who had her phone and wanted
to buy time to stop her ex boyfriend from showing
up at am. If he had arrived and found a
fire or a crime scene, the alarm would have gone
off right away. The part about a party in Rockcastle
(15:24):
County sounds like a quick lie to send people looking
in the wrong place. Second, the fire, we've established it
was suspicious. With no power in the house, the chances
of an accidental fire are slim to none. Hensley's story
about a drop cigarette just doesn't sit right with many people,
especially given the timing. The fire started on the couch,
(15:46):
the one place where evidence of a struggle or assault
would most likely be. It basically cleaned the most important
part of the crime scene. The fire isn't just a
weird coincidence. It feels like an active part if the
crime itself, an act of covering something up. Third, her
stuff being left behind. A young woman about to go
(16:07):
to a party doesn't leave her shoes and her purse.
Brooklyn's family has been firm on this. She was known
for being put together, and the idea that she would
walk out of the house barefoot into the Kentucky countryside
without her essentials is just unbelievable to them. This suggests
she didn't leave that house on her own terms and Finally,
(16:27):
Hensley's own story. It's been reported as inconsistent and his
actions are questionable. Leaving an eighteen year old girl he
barely knew alone in his house is weird enough, but
doing it when she had already said she wanted to
leave raises even more questions. His whole story has been
seen by Brooks family as a flimsy cover for a
much darker truth, and his later conviction on serious, unrelated
(16:51):
charges in twenty twenty has only solidified the public's view
of him as a dangerous person. A second, less likely
theory is that Brooklyn was taken by someone other than
Joshua Hensley. This theory suggests that either someone else came
to the house while Hensley was gone, or that Hensley
is telling the truth and Brooke left on her own
only to get picked up by someone on the road.
(17:14):
This theory tries to explain the situation without pointing the
finger at Hensley. Maybe Brooke got tired of waiting for
her ex and decided to start walking for help. If so,
maybe a predator saw her on the road and grabbed her.
But this theory has some major holes. It doesn't explain
the suspicious fire back at the house.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
If she was.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Taken from the road, the fire becomes a totally unrelated
bizarco incidence. It also doesn't explain that last text message.
Why would a random kidnapper bother sending a text from
her phone to throw her ex boyfriend off It seems
way more likely that the person who sent the text
was the person who was already with her.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
At the house.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Plus, the idea of her walking away barefoot leaving her
purse behind still highly unlikely.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
So while abduction by a stranger.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Is always a possibility, the evidence in Brook's case points
much more strongly towards someone she was already with. This
is a theory that always has to be considered, but
in Brooklyn's case, it's the least believable and has been
dismissed by her family and police. This theory suggests that
Brooke chose to walk away from her life and start
(18:24):
over somewhere else. There's basically zero evidence to support this.
She had just passed her driver's test and gotten a
truck from her dad. She was close to her family
and had just been at her grandfather's birthday party. She
had plans with friends for the very next day. People
who choose to disappear usually make some preparations. They take money, clothes,
(18:46):
and personal items. Brooklyn left everything, most importantly her last
known emotionless fear. The text time Scared is the exact
opposite of a planned departure. It's a cry for help
from a bad situation, not a life she wanted to leave.
The idea that she just walked away contradicts everything we
know about her, her plans, and her final messages. Dot
(19:09):
In the end, all roads lead back to Dylancourt. Every
theory has to deal with the undeniable facts, the scared texts,
the stuff left behind, the suspicious fire, and the baffling
final message. While no one has been charged, the weight
of it all has created a strong consensus, at least
in the public eye. The mystery isn't so much if
(19:31):
something terrible happened, but how it happened and why.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Justice is still out of reach.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
More than a decade after Brooklyn Farthing vanished, her case
is still officially unsolved, but it's definitely not a cold case.
The investigation is still considered open by the Kentucky State Police.
From time to time, investigators go back through the case file,
reinterview people, and follow up on the few tips that
(19:56):
still come in. They, like the family, are holding out
hope that one day, that one phone call will come
in and finally unlock the secrets of what happened in
June Duo one to three. For Brooklyn's family, the years
have been an exhausting marathon of grief and fighting for answers.
Her mother, Shelby, and her sisters Tasha and Page have
(20:17):
worked NonStop to make sure no one forgets Brook's name
and face. They run a website and a Fine Brooklyn
Farthing Facebook page where they post updates and share memories
to keep her story alive. They've had to put up
with small town gossip and awful online theories, and they
just want people to focus on sharing real information with
(20:38):
the police. The family's pain was made even worse when
Brooklyn's grandfather, whose seventieth birthday she celebrated right before she disappeared,
passed away without ever knowing what happened to her. Her mother, Shelby,
lives with a terrible uncertainty, hoping for the best, but
also just praying for the closure of bringing her daughter home.
(20:59):
As she put it in one interview, if she has died,
I want her body back home where I can give
her a nice family burial. The community of Beria still
supports the Farthing family. They hold vigils every year on
the anniversary of her disappearance to honor Brook's memory and
renew the call for answers. There is a reward for information,
(21:19):
which currently stands at fourteen thousand dollars. That money is
for any tip that leads to finding Brooklyn or to
the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for her disappearance.
Even after all this time, the main belief held by
her family and investigators hasn't changed. Brooklyn Farthing was taken
against her will. The theory that the final text was
(21:42):
sent by her attacker to by time is still the
most logical explanation for the strange end to her messages.
The case is a frustrating reminder that strong suspicion isn't
the same as proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Without a
body or a confession, getting a conviction is incredibly difficult
the day Joshua Hensley is still in prison on his
(22:02):
unrelated federal charges. He has never publicly said a word
about the case since the initial investigation. The secrets of
what really happened on June twenty second, twenty thirteen, most
likely rest with him for now, the case remains a chilling,
unresolved chapter in Kentucky, a story of a family's unbreakable
love and the agonizing.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Weight for justice.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
The story of Brooklyn Shy Farthing is a tragedy defined
by a few terrifying hours and a decade of unanswered questions.
An eighteen year old girl, full of life and loved
by so many, got into a situation she couldn't get
out of. Her last known moments are a haunting echo
of fear, captured in a few desperate texts sent in
the middle of the night. She disappeared from a remote house,
(22:48):
scarred by a suspicious fire, leaving everything behind but her phone,
which sent one last unbelievable message before going dark forever.
For over a decade, her family has had to live
in a world whereout her their grief made worse by
the constant nagging question of what happened, They have fought
to keep her memory alive, refusing to let her become
(23:09):
just another forgotten name. Brooklyn's story is a powerful reminder
of how fast a life can be taken, and how
the loss ripples out, affecting a family and a community.
For years, the person or people who know the answers
have stayed silent, protected by a lack of evidence and
the passing of time. But it's never too late for
(23:29):
the truth. Someone out there knows something about the disappearance
of Brooklyn Farthing. Maybe someone heard something, saw something, or
was told something that could blow this case wide open.
People's loyalties changed, and guilt is a heavy thing to carry.
It's time for that silence to be broken. If you
have any information, no matter how small you think it is,
(23:52):
please come forward. You can contact the Kentucky State Police
in Richmond at eight five nine six two three two
four o four. Also use their toll free tip line
at one eight two two two five five five five.
A fourteen thousand dollars reward is still being offered for
information that leads to answers. Please share this story. The
(24:12):
more people who know Brooklyn's face and the details of
her case, the better the chance that the right person
will see it. For her family, every share is a
sign of hope for Brooklyn. It's a chance for the
justice she has been denied for far too long. Please
let us know in the comments what you think of
today's story. You can reach out at our socials at
(24:34):
one Crime Pod. You can also join our community over
on Patreon. Thank you so much for listening. Until next time,
I am Shannon and this is one crime at a time.
In the quiet pre dawn hours of a Kentucky summer morning,
a cell phone screen lights up. It's a text from
eighteen year old Brooklyn Farthing, and it's short and chilling.
I'm scared. A few moments later, another message follows please hurry.
Then about an hour later, a final bewildering text comes
through that completely contradicts the fear from before. It just
(00:23):
says never mind. After that message, Brooklyn Farthing was gone.
She vanished from a remote house, leaving behind her purse,
her shoes, and a fire that investigators would later call suspicious.
Her story is a tangled mess of confusing timelines, questionable stories,
and a family's decade.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Long search for answers that just won't come.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Hi, and welcome to One Crime at a Time. I
am Shannon, and today we are covering the disappearance of
Brooklyn Farthing. Before we get into it, I just want
to remind you that you can reach out to us
at one Crime Pod on all of the social platforms,
and if you like what we do here, you can
join our Patreon for just one dollar and ninety nine
cents per month. Speaking of Patreon, I want to take
(01:15):
a moment to thank our newest Patreon members Neville Grant
and Rana Daywood. Thank you so much. Your support is
greatly appreciated. If you want to help out the show
for free, you can always support us by giving us
a like and review. All links will be in the
description for this episode.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Now on with our.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Story before she became the focus of a haunting mystery.
Brooklyn Shay Farthing, or just Brooke to her friends and family,
was a young woman just starting her life. Born on
August twenty sixth, nineteen ninety four, she was eighteen and
had just graduated from Madison Southern High School in Berea, Kentucky.
(01:54):
People who knew her describe her as spunky, outspoken, and
incredibly loving. It was a social butterfly who could light
up a room. Brooke called herself a girly girl who
loved doing her hair and makeup and was thinking about
cosmetology school. But she was just as comfortable outdoors, often
wearing her favorite pink and camouflage combo. Brooke was all
(02:15):
about her family. She was especially tight with her older
sister Tasha and her younger sister Page. The day before
she disappeared June twenty first, twenty thirteen, was a totally
normal day of family and celebration. It was her grandfather's
seventieth birthday, so everyone got together for him. That same day,
(02:35):
Brooke and Page both took their driver's tests. Brooke passed,
which became a running joke all day, and her dad
celebrated by giving her his forward pickup truck. It was
a day full of laughs, milestones, and the promise of
a happy, normal weekend. She'd even made plans with friends
to go to a car show in Somerset the next day.
(02:57):
Nothing about her suggested she was unhappy or trying to
get away. She was grounded, had a loving family all
around her, and was making plans for the future. Her mother,
Shelby Walker, later talked about the simple moments they shared,
the ordinary chats that are now painful, precious memories. She'd
bake brownies and we'd sit and talk on my bed.
(03:19):
Her mom said, those were the good days that I'm
missing so much. When you picture this vibrant, loved, and
full of life young women, it makes what happened next
feel even more impossible.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
She wasn't a runaway.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
She was a girl who in just a few hours,
was ripped from her life. Leaving behind a silence that
has now stretched over a decade. The night of Friday,
June twenty first, twenty thirteen started out like any other
summer night for a teenager in rural Kentucky. Brooke went
to a house party in Maria with her sister, Page
and their cousin. It was a relaxed, casual get together.
(03:55):
Page said, Brooke was in great spirits. She had even
brought an overnight bag, planning to stay at a girlfriend's
house after the party. Around eight o'clock pm, Page and
their cousin decided to head home. Brooke, though, decided to
stay since she had her plans all set that one
small decision would end up changing everything. Later that evening,
(04:15):
Brook's plan fell apart. Apparently she got into a disagreement
with the friend she was supposed to stay with. The
friend reportedly bailed to spend the night with her boyfriend,
leaving Brook stranded without a place to sleep or a ride.
Stuck at the party after her sister had left, Brooke
had to figure out how to get home. It was
late and she didn't have many options. Witnesses saw her
(04:39):
except a ride from two young men. The driver was
an acquaintance named Joshua Hensley, who apparently knew her ex boyfriend,
With another guy in the car, they didn't go straight home.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
They took a detour to a rural.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Spot on Floyd Branch Road, supposedly so Hensley could check
on some horses he looked after. After that stop, Hensley
dropped the other guy off at his house. Now it
was just Joshua Hensley and Brooklyn Farthing. Instead of taking
her home to Beria, Hensley drove her to his place,
a house on Villancourt in a remote area east of town.
(05:14):
This house would be the last place anyone ever saw
Brooklyn alive. It was a foreclosed property Hensley was staying at,
and this detail is critical. The utilities had been shut
off for weeks. There was no electricity and no running water.
As the night turned into the early morning of Saturday,
June twenty second, Brooks started to realize she.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Was in a bad spot.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
The texts she sent paint a pretty scary picture of
her last known hours. Around four o'clock a m. Brook
texted her sister Page asking for a ride home, but
Page was underage and didn't have her license yet, so
she couldn't come get her Their cousin, who could have driven,
had been drinking and wasn't able to drive. Page had
(05:56):
to tell her sister she was stuck with no luck there.
Brook's next call was to her ex boyfriend. He was
working a night shift and told her he'd pick her
up on his way home from work, but that wouldn't
be until around seven o'clock am. That meant a three
hour wait alone in a dark, remote house with a
man she barely knew. It was during this time that
(06:17):
her messages took a dark turn. At four twenty six
a m. A series of frantic texts went from her
phone to her ex boyfriend. The first one read I'm scared.
Then came the please, please hurry and just hurry. These
are not the words of someone who feels safe. It's
a digital cry for help. For an hour, there was nothing.
(06:38):
Her ex boyfriend, still at work, couldn't do anything but
wait for his shift to end. Then, at five thirty am,
one final baffling text was sent from Brook's phone. It
completely contradicted the terrified messages.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
From an hour before.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
It read something like never mind, I'm okay, I'm going
to a party in Rockcastle, countyr X probably confused by
the sudden change, texted back to ask who she was with.
He never got an answer, figuring she'd found another ride
and was safe, he just went home after work alone.
That was the last message ever sent from Brooklyn Farthing's phone.
(07:17):
That sudden switch from I'm scared to never mind has
been a huge red flag for her family and for
investigators ever since. The timeline continues with the story from
the only other person there, Joshua Hensley. According to what
he told police and the Farthing family, he left the
house sometime early that morning to go check on his horses, again,
(07:38):
leaving brook by herself on the couch smoking a cigarette.
Around seven o'clock am, right about the time her ex
boyfriend would have shown up. Hensley says he came back
to the house. He told police he got there and
found the house was on fire. Specifically, the couch where
he said he'd last seen brook was in flames. He
called nine to one one When firefighters got there, the
(08:00):
fire was mostly in the living room, The couch was
almost gone, and the fire had burned a hole straight
through the floor, but Brooklyn was gone. Inside the house
and on the porch were her personal things, her overnight bag,
her purse, and her cowboy boots were all left behind,
items her family says she never would have left willingly.
(08:21):
The only things missing were Brooklyn herself, the clothes she
was wearing, a gray.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Fought Ey shirt and light blue.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Jeanne shortz, and her cell phone. Later that day, when
Brooke didn't show up for the car show and wasn't
answering her phone, her family's worried turned to full blown panic.
Her phone got over one thousand calls in the first
twenty four hours from desperate family and friends. Her sister
Tasha actually got a hold of Joshua Hensley, his story
(08:49):
wasn't straight. In one call, he supposedly told Tasha that
Brooke got a ride from someone else. In another, he
claimed he heard her mention a party in Rockcastle County,
just like that final text. He also told Tasha that
he was scared and that the fire must have started
from the cigarette brook was smoking.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Within hours, a young woman.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
With solid plans and a close family had vanished, leaving
behind a scene damaged by fire and a digital trail
that ended.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
In a huge question mark.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
On June twenty third, twenty thirteen, with Brooklyn still missing,
her mother officially filed a missing person's report with the
Kentucky State Police. The investigation kicked off immediately, and authorities
saw all the red flags. This wasn't a case of
a teenager running away. The situation pointed to something much darker.
(09:40):
From the very beginning, investigators treated the case as suspicious,
believing foul play was highly likely. The first place they
focused on, was, of course, the house on Dylan Court.
The fire that Joshua Hensley reported was a huge point
of concern. The house had no electricity, which ruled out
any kind of electrical fees. Pensley's story about a drop
(10:02):
cigarette just seemed too convenient, especially because the fire destroyed
the main spot where Brooklyn was last seen. Fire is
a great way to get rid of forensic evidence, things
like DNA fibers or any signs of a struggle. The
fire consumed the very couch where he claimed she was sitting,
wiping out a critical part of a potential crime scene.
(10:24):
When Brooklyn's family went to the house to look for her,
they found her purse and her beloved cowboy boots sitting
on the front porch. Seeing those items confirmed their worst fears.
Brooke cared about her appearance and would never have gone anywhere,
especially not to some party without her shoes and her purse.
The only things gone were Brooke and her phone, which
(10:45):
strongly suggests she did not leave on her own. The
search for Brooklyn started with an intensity that matched how
serious the situation was. Hundreds of volunteers from the community
joined police to search the rugged Kentucky landscape. Over the
next few weeks, they covered more than sixteen thousand acres
across three counties. They brought in cadaver dogs to go
(11:08):
through the woods and fields around the Dylan court House.
Divers searched nearby lakes and ponds, hoping not to find her.
But despite all that work, they found nothing, no sign
of Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Her clothes, or her cell phone.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
By July twenty thirteen, with no new leads, the massive
ground searches were called off. A key part of the
investigation was her cell phone activity after that last text
at five thirty a m. On June twenty second, The
phone stayed on for a few days, but no one
answered any calls. On June twenty fifth, three days after
(11:43):
she vanished, her phone pinged a cell tower one last time.
The tower was in Blue Lick, Kentucky, about a ten
minute drive from the house. After that, the phone was
either shut off or destroyed. It was one last piece
of data, but without the phone itself, it was another
dead end. Police started interviewing people right away, and at
(12:04):
the top of their list was Joshua Hensley. While the
details of his police interviews haven't been made public, his
story has been picked apart by everyone. His account that
he left an eighteen year old girl he barely knew
alone in his secluded, dark house in the middle of
the night, only to come back and find her gone
and the couch on fire has always been met with
(12:25):
a lot of skepticism.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
His timeline left.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
A window of opportunity wide open, and his explanation for
the fire seemed to conveniently get rid of the most
important evidence. Despite all the suspicion pointed at him, Joshua
Hensley has never been officially named a suspect or a
person of interest by the Kentucky State Police. No charges
have ever been filed against him related to Brooklyn's disappearance.
(12:50):
This has been incredibly frustrating for the Farthing family, who
feel like the one person who knows what happened has
never been held accountable. Years later, in August of twenty twenty,
Joshua Hensley's name was back.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
In the news.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
He was arrested and later convicted on unrelated federal charges
for possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to prison.
While these are horrible crimes, police have never said there's
a link to Brooklyn's case, but for brooks family, it
only deepened their suspicions about what kind of person he
was and what he might have been capable of. Back
(13:26):
into one III, the investigation is still open and active today.
The Kentucky State Police say they continue to follow up
on tips and periodically review the case file, hoping to
find something they missed, But without a body, a confession,
or the physical evidence that likely went up in smoke,
the case is stuck. It's a puzzle with too many
(13:47):
missing pieces, leaving investigators with strong suspicions but not enough
hard evidence to make an arrest. When a case goes unsolved, theories.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Start to fill the void.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
For Brooklyn Farthing, those theories all circle back to the
strange circumstances of her last few hours and the man
she was with. Police have kept things close to the
vest but the public has pretty much made up its
mind based on what we do know. The biggest theory
and the one most people believe, is that something bad
happened to Brooklyn at the hands of Joshua Hensley.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
He's never been named an.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Official suspect, but the circumstantial evidence is pretty heavy. He
was the last person to see her. He took her
to his isolated, foreclosed house. Her last text show she
was scared while she was with him, and of course,
a suspicious fire just happened to break out right where
she was last seen at the same time she disappeared.
(14:42):
Let's break down why this theory makes sense. First, the
text messages at four twenty six a m. Brooks sends
a clear signal of distress. I'm scared. That's not a
message from someone who is feeling fine. It's a plea
for help. For that to be followed an hour later
by a capt asal never mind, I'm okay is just bizarre.
(15:03):
Her family and investigators have said they don't believe Brooks
sent that last text. The common belief is that someone
else sent it, someone who had her phone and wanted
to buy time to stop her ex boyfriend from showing
up at am. If he had arrived and found a
fire or a crime scene, the alarm would have gone
off right away. The part about a party in Rockcastle
(15:24):
County sounds like a quick lie to send people looking
in the wrong place. Second, the fire, we've established it
was suspicious. With no power in the house, the chances
of an accidental fire are slim to none. Hensley's story
about a drop cigarette just doesn't sit right with many people,
especially given the timing. The fire started on the couch,
(15:46):
the one place where evidence of a struggle or assault
would most likely be. It basically cleaned the most important
part of the crime scene. The fire isn't just a
weird coincidence. It feels like an active part if the
crime itself, an act of covering something up. Third, her
stuff being left behind. A young woman about to go
(16:07):
to a party doesn't leave her shoes and her purse.
Brooklyn's family has been firm on this. She was known
for being put together, and the idea that she would
walk out of the house barefoot into the Kentucky countryside
without her essentials is just unbelievable to them. This suggests
she didn't leave that house on her own terms and Finally,
(16:27):
Hensley's own story. It's been reported as inconsistent and his
actions are questionable. Leaving an eighteen year old girl he
barely knew alone in his house is weird enough, but
doing it when she had already said she wanted to
leave raises even more questions. His whole story has been
seen by Brooks family as a flimsy cover for a
much darker truth, and his later conviction on serious, unrelated
(16:51):
charges in twenty twenty has only solidified the public's view
of him as a dangerous person. A second, less likely
theory is that Brooklyn was taken by someone other than
Joshua Hensley. This theory suggests that either someone else came
to the house while Hensley was gone, or that Hensley
is telling the truth and Brooke left on her own
only to get picked up by someone on the road.
(17:14):
This theory tries to explain the situation without pointing the
finger at Hensley. Maybe Brooke got tired of waiting for
her ex and decided to start walking for help. If so,
maybe a predator saw her on the road and grabbed her.
But this theory has some major holes. It doesn't explain
the suspicious fire back at the house.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
If she was.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Taken from the road, the fire becomes a totally unrelated
bizarco incidence. It also doesn't explain that last text message.
Why would a random kidnapper bother sending a text from
her phone to throw her ex boyfriend off It seems
way more likely that the person who sent the text
was the person who was already with her.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
At the house.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Plus, the idea of her walking away barefoot leaving her
purse behind still highly unlikely.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
So while abduction by a stranger.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Is always a possibility, the evidence in Brook's case points
much more strongly towards someone she was already with. This
is a theory that always has to be considered, but
in Brooklyn's case, it's the least believable and has been
dismissed by her family and police. This theory suggests that
Brooke chose to walk away from her life and start
(18:24):
over somewhere else. There's basically zero evidence to support this.
She had just passed her driver's test and gotten a
truck from her dad. She was close to her family
and had just been at her grandfather's birthday party. She
had plans with friends for the very next day. People
who choose to disappear usually make some preparations. They take money, clothes,
(18:46):
and personal items. Brooklyn left everything, most importantly her last
known emotionless fear. The text time Scared is the exact
opposite of a planned departure. It's a cry for help
from a bad situation, not a life she wanted to leave.
The idea that she just walked away contradicts everything we
know about her, her plans, and her final messages. Dot
(19:09):
In the end, all roads lead back to Dylancourt. Every
theory has to deal with the undeniable facts, the scared texts,
the stuff left behind, the suspicious fire, and the baffling
final message. While no one has been charged, the weight
of it all has created a strong consensus, at least
in the public eye. The mystery isn't so much if
(19:31):
something terrible happened, but how it happened and why.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Justice is still out of reach.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
More than a decade after Brooklyn Farthing vanished, her case
is still officially unsolved, but it's definitely not a cold case.
The investigation is still considered open by the Kentucky State Police.
From time to time, investigators go back through the case file,
reinterview people, and follow up on the few tips that
(19:56):
still come in. They, like the family, are holding out
hope that one day, that one phone call will come
in and finally unlock the secrets of what happened in
June Duo one to three. For Brooklyn's family, the years
have been an exhausting marathon of grief and fighting for answers.
Her mother, Shelby, and her sisters Tasha and Page have
(20:17):
worked NonStop to make sure no one forgets Brook's name
and face. They run a website and a Fine Brooklyn
Farthing Facebook page where they post updates and share memories
to keep her story alive. They've had to put up
with small town gossip and awful online theories, and they
just want people to focus on sharing real information with
(20:38):
the police. The family's pain was made even worse when
Brooklyn's grandfather, whose seventieth birthday she celebrated right before she disappeared,
passed away without ever knowing what happened to her. Her mother, Shelby,
lives with a terrible uncertainty, hoping for the best, but
also just praying for the closure of bringing her daughter home.
(20:59):
As she put it in one interview, if she has died,
I want her body back home where I can give
her a nice family burial. The community of Beria still
supports the Farthing family. They hold vigils every year on
the anniversary of her disappearance to honor Brook's memory and
renew the call for answers. There is a reward for information,
(21:19):
which currently stands at fourteen thousand dollars. That money is
for any tip that leads to finding Brooklyn or to
the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for her disappearance.
Even after all this time, the main belief held by
her family and investigators hasn't changed. Brooklyn Farthing was taken
against her will. The theory that the final text was
(21:42):
sent by her attacker to by time is still the
most logical explanation for the strange end to her messages.
The case is a frustrating reminder that strong suspicion isn't
the same as proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Without a
body or a confession, getting a conviction is incredibly difficult
the day Joshua Hensley is still in prison on his
(22:02):
unrelated federal charges. He has never publicly said a word
about the case since the initial investigation. The secrets of
what really happened on June twenty second, twenty thirteen, most
likely rest with him for now, the case remains a chilling,
unresolved chapter in Kentucky, a story of a family's unbreakable
love and the agonizing.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Weight for justice.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
The story of Brooklyn Shy Farthing is a tragedy defined
by a few terrifying hours and a decade of unanswered questions.
An eighteen year old girl, full of life and loved
by so many, got into a situation she couldn't get
out of. Her last known moments are a haunting echo
of fear, captured in a few desperate texts sent in
the middle of the night. She disappeared from a remote house,
(22:48):
scarred by a suspicious fire, leaving everything behind but her phone,
which sent one last unbelievable message before going dark forever.
For over a decade, her family has had to live
in a world whereout her their grief made worse by
the constant nagging question of what happened, They have fought
to keep her memory alive, refusing to let her become
(23:09):
just another forgotten name. Brooklyn's story is a powerful reminder
of how fast a life can be taken, and how
the loss ripples out, affecting a family and a community.
For years, the person or people who know the answers
have stayed silent, protected by a lack of evidence and
the passing of time. But it's never too late for
(23:29):
the truth. Someone out there knows something about the disappearance
of Brooklyn Farthing. Maybe someone heard something, saw something, or
was told something that could blow this case wide open.
People's loyalties changed, and guilt is a heavy thing to carry.
It's time for that silence to be broken. If you
have any information, no matter how small you think it is,
(23:52):
please come forward. You can contact the Kentucky State Police
in Richmond at eight five nine six two three two
four o four. Also use their toll free tip line
at one eight two two two five five five five.
A fourteen thousand dollars reward is still being offered for
information that leads to answers. Please share this story. The
(24:12):
more people who know Brooklyn's face and the details of
her case, the better the chance that the right person
will see it. For her family, every share is a
sign of hope for Brooklyn. It's a chance for the
justice she has been denied for far too long. Please
let us know in the comments what you think of
today's story. You can reach out at our socials at
(24:34):
one Crime Pod. You can also join our community over
on Patreon. Thank you so much for listening. Until next time,
I am Shannon and this is one crime at a time.
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