July 10, 2025 • 19 mins
Josh gives listeners a sneak peek at season 7 of True Crime Bullsh**.
Then we cover a NAMUS-45 case that has increasingly interested the team. A young girl disappears on a short walk to her house. In the following years, questions are raised about her home life, and a kidnapper is apprehended nearby.
Sponsor:
Quince: Go to www.quince.com/TCBS to get free shipping and 365-day returns on your next order.
Written and researched by Shana Wilensky.
Edited and produced by Josh Hallmark.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-bullsh--3588169/support.
Then we cover a NAMUS-45 case that has increasingly interested the team. A young girl disappears on a short walk to her house. In the following years, questions are raised about her home life, and a kidnapper is apprehended nearby.
Sponsor:
Quince: Go to www.quince.com/TCBS to get free shipping and 365-day returns on your next order.
Written and researched by Shana Wilensky.
Edited and produced by Josh Hallmark.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-bullsh--3588169/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
This is a studio both and production as the True
Crime Bullshit Team and I start production on season seven.
I thought it would be great to take you behind
the scenes and give you a sneak peek at some
of the new information we've received the massive Keys document
dump from just last week, and where all this new
(00:30):
info in these documents are taking us. In this preview,
you'll get a glimpse of what cases we're looking into,
new evidence we have, and some updates on some of
the last season's loose ends. Following this preview is a
new episode of the Names forty five series focusing on
Bianca Noel Piper. This is True Crime Bullshit. I'm your host,
(00:55):
Josh Hallmark, and this is a serialized story of Israel Keys.
Since season six ended, I've had ongoing conversations with agent
Ted Halla, I've collaborated with doctor Michelle Ward. We had
a late night document upload from a confidential source. I've
(01:16):
traveled to Texas, Louisiana, Washington, and Maine, and we've received
a handful of potential victims, case files and approximately six
hundred new documents specific to Israel Keys and the various
investigations into him. To say that we are heading into
this new season stacked with information would be a massive understatement.
(01:38):
Let's start with maps. We're in receipt of two new
maps that were in Israel Keys's possession, and they include
handwritten notes and markers from Keys, and one of these
confirms a long held belief about a cash location. In fact,
with some new assistants, we believe we've been able to
not only identify new cashlows, but understand the third and
(02:03):
final way that Keys was finding and keeping track of
all of his caches. These new maps also indicate two
areas of interest to Keys, and both coincide with strong
potential Keys victims cases we've previously discussed. This season, you'll
also be hearing from new people, new research collaborators and
field experts, people who knew Keys, Key I witness accounts,
(02:26):
and even new FBI interviews. And we've received new documents
in multiple cases, including Nita Mayo, Barbara Blount, Eric Michael Peterson,
Mark Julian Oldberry, Jonathan Corey, and Celia Darlene Barnes. This
season will also take listeners back to Key locations across
the country, like Hunter's Washington Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania, Green River, Wyoming,
(02:50):
Port Angelus, Washington, Laplace, Louisiana, Tennessee, Canada, and more. We
also have brand new information from a friend of Keys
recalls a conversation where Keys not only mentioned a missing
person's case, but where he thought the cops might be
able to find this person's remains. And we believe we
(03:10):
have identified three of Keys's victims. So stay tuned for
all of that and a whole lot more when True
Crime Bullshit returns on Monday, September twenty ninth. And now
for a quick at break before we get into our
Name is forty five episode Summer is in full swing
and I don't know about you, but I have had
the need to refresh my closet. But I'm trying not
(03:33):
to waste money on clothes that I'm only going to
wear one, sir, for just one season. And that's where
Quinn's comes in. Their clothes are timeless, classic, feel luxurious
and look elevated, and the quality is way beyond what
you'd expect for the price. It's a kind of wardrobe
upgrade that just clicks. Think one hundred percent European linen
(03:53):
tops starting at just thirty dollars, washable silk dresses and
skirts and soft cotton sweaters, versatile war warm weather pieces
you'll reach for again and again. And the best part
is that everything with Quints is half the cost of
similar brands because Quince works directly with top artisans and
cuts out the middlemen, so they give you luxury without
(04:13):
the markup. And what I really appreciate is that Quint's
is only working with factories that use safe, ethical and
responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. So I know,
you know, I used to be in the fashion industry
and I take fashion very seriously. I want ethical clothing.
I don't want fast fashion. I want stuff that's going
(04:33):
to fit right, look good, feel good, and last throughout
the years. And that's what I love about Quints. I
bought a bunch of their basic teas. It's kind of
my uniform, and I just get the same one in
like five different colors. It's a quick, easy way to
diversify your closet and your day to day looks. So
give your summer closet an upgrade with Quints. Go to
(04:55):
quints dot com slash TCBs for free shipping on your
order and three hundred and sixty five day returns that's
q u i ncee dot com slash TCBs to get
free shipping and three hundred sixty five day returns quins
dot com slash TCBs. Bianca Noel Piper was last seen
(05:22):
on March tenth, two thousand and five, about a half
a mile from her home in Foley, Missouri. She was
a Caucasian female with brown, curly hair and brown eyes.
At the time of her disappearance, she was just thirteen
years old. She was five foot six and weighed one
hundred eighty five pounds. Bianca was last seen wearing a
lime green top, a gray Adida sweatshirt with a hood,
(05:43):
blue jeans, and white sneakers. Bianca had scars on her
arms and legs, a scar on her abdomen, and pureced ears.
She went by the nickname b. Now, before we talk
about the circumstances under which Bianca disappeared, let's learn about
Bianca and her life prior to her disappearance. Bianca was
(06:04):
the daughter of Shannon Tanner and David Piper. She had
at least two older sisters. When Bianca was about a
year old, her parents divorced. Bianca was known for her
love of horses, nature, and barbies. Her favorite color was purple.
She was born the day before Christmas and kept festive
lights up in her bedroom year round. She idolized Hillary
(06:26):
Duff and wanted to become a singer just like her now.
A lot has been said in the media with regards
to Bianca's mental health as well as her intellectual disabilities.
Early reports refer to Bianca as having the mental capacity
of a six year old and says she suffered periodic
bouts of anxiety and anger. More recent media doesn't mention
(06:46):
Bianca having such a low mental capacity, and other reports
say she suffered from attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder,
and takes several medications to control her mood swings and
aggressive ties. It's also been said that Bianca was hospitalized
for her severe form of bipolar disorder when she was younger,
(07:07):
but details about that are scant. Mentions of the scars
on Bianca's arms and legs naturally bring up the possibility
that Bianca was self harming, but this has never been clarified.
One article says that without her twice daily medication, she
may become disoriented or hallucinate. Another article said that Bianca
was on multiple medications to manage her various mental health conditions.
(07:33):
Symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It's very
commonly diagnosed in young children. Bipolar disorder is a brain
disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy,
and ability to function. The average age of onset for
bipolar disorder is twenty five, but it can occur in
(07:54):
late teens. It's very uncommon for it to be present
in young children and tweens. And as we mentioned previously,
Bianco was thirteen when she disappeared, and we don't know
how young she was when she was first diagnosed with
these disorders. And it's important to understand that because of
the mixed messaging in media, we don't have a full
(08:15):
understanding of exactly what mental health disorders or intellectual disabilities
Bianca may have lived with. Bianco was in the eighth
grade at Winfield Middle School, where she was in special
education classes. A woman who worked at the local general
store told reporters that she's kind of slow, but she
acts like a normal teenager. She's a big girl. If
(08:35):
you saw her walking down the road, you'd probably think
she's a grown up. By March of two thousand and five,
Bianco was living in Fully, Missouri with her mother, Shannon,
her older sister Tiffany, another unnamed older sister, and Shannon's boyfriend,
Jim felt it seems as though they were somewhat new
to the area, having recently moved there from Lake Saint Louis,
(08:56):
about thirty miles away. Lake Saint Louis had been close
to Bianca's grandmother, Carol Young. Carol says she and Bianca
saw each other nearly every day before the family moved.
They were very close and would often go shopping together
and go camping in Carol's motor home. Carol said that
she had plans to buy Bianca a horse that upcoming summer.
(09:17):
Regarding Bianca's mental health, Carol told reporters she was such
a funny girl. When her medicine got screwed up, she
could be a holy terror. But when she was happy,
she was happy. Bianca had been seeing a therapist who
recommended that Bianca take walks outside to get a handle
on her emotions. When Bianca fought with her older sister
Tiffany about chores on March tenth, two thousand and five,
(09:39):
at around six pm. Reports say that Shannon said she
drove Bianca to a bridge about a mile away from
their home, handed her a flashlight, and told her to
walk back home, in the hopes that this would calm
her down, like it did when something similar happened the
previous night. In one report, Shannon says she waited in
the car at the other end of the bridge. The
(10:02):
walk should not have taken Bianca more than twenty minutes,
and that's when Shannon says she became worried and drove
out to look for her daughter. Shannon and Jim began
knocking on doors desperately searching for Bianca. The family hoped
that she had just followed an animal into the woods,
as Bianca was such an animal lover, But two hours later,
when Bianca still hadn't arrived home, Shannon called the police.
(10:26):
It was a cold and snowy night, and Bianca only
had on a hooded sweatshirt. The search for her was
quite difficult. The area was rural, with hilly terrain and
creeks and underbrush, and it was quite dark and snowy.
The Mississippi River Bottom is only a few miles from
where Bianca was last seen. The search lasted several weeks
(10:47):
and totaled fifteen thousand man hours. Two hundred seventy square
miles were searched, including Lincoln County, Missouri, the Mississippi Basin,
parts of Illinois, and northern sections of Saint Charles County,
but no signs of Beianca were found. According to reports
in the media, both Shannon and Jim were questioned extensively
(11:08):
and were not considered to be suspects in Beyanca's disappearance.
Shannon stated that she believed that Bianca was no longer
in the area and likely did not know where she
was or how to find her way back home. It's
unclear how often Bianca saw her father, David, who lived
about two hours away, but they did speak on the
phone on the night that Bianca disappeared, a conversation that
(11:31):
reportedly ended with I love you. David told reporters that
he called police regarding updates in Beanca's case at least
twice a week, and handed out flyers to local businesses.
I love her to death, he told news outlets. I
got her picture right here. It makes me just want
to bust out crying. It's ruining everybody's life, not being
(11:52):
able to see her any more or know what happened
to her, or know if she's been tortured, or what
I sure would like to have my little girl back.
Two months after Bianca was last seen, Shannon filed a
restraining order against her boyfriend, Jim, but the order was
dropped soon after and the couple reconciled. One month after that,
in June of two thousand five, the police were called
(12:15):
at the home where Shannon and Jim were still living
with Bianca's older sisters. Inside, they found Shannon on top
of one of her daughters, holding her face to the ground.
The girl had a large bump on her face and
told police that her mother had assaulted her with a
curling iron and repeatedly punched her in the face with it.
Shannon had also allegedly threatened to tie her up and
lock her in a back bedroom, but Jim had advised
(12:37):
her not to do that. The girl had tried calling
the police, but Shannon tore the phone out from the wall.
It's unclear who ultimately called the police that night. At
one point, Shann had reached for a piece of broken
glass from a dish that had been broken during the fight,
and police had to subdue her with a taser. She
was placed on probation for this incident, and at least
(12:57):
one of her daughters moved in with her grandmother. Six
months after Bianca's disappearance, Shannon told reporters her hope to
find Bianca alive was fading. Quote, I'm torn between wanting
and not wanting to know. I'd almost rather think she's
out there somewhere and not know where she's at than
know something terrible has happened. In January of two thousand seven,
(13:21):
in a nearby Missouri town, a man named Michael Devlin
was arrested for kidnapping two young boys, also from Missouri.
Devlin had kidnapped Ben Omby, thirteen, as he walked home
from his school bus a week earlier. Omby was found
alive and he wasn't alone. With him was Sean Hornbeck, fifteen,
(13:42):
who had been kidnapped by Devlin at the age of
eleven back in two thousand two, five years earlier. It
was a joyous homecoming for both boys and their families,
and police all over the area began investigating Devlin with
regards to their local missing child cases, including those in
fully instigating Bianca's disappearance. The details are unclear, but Lincoln
(14:04):
County Police stated that they believed Michael Devlin was aware
of Bianca's disappearance and had been monitoring the search for her. However, ultimately,
nothing linking Devlin to Bianca's disappearance was ever found. When
the second anniversary of Bianca's disappearance came and passed, Shannon
(14:28):
expressed her belief that Bianca was still alive, though she
stated that she was more depressed than the year prior.
At the five year anniversary, Shannon had an age enhanced
photo of Bianca created to show people what Bianca might
look like. Around this same time, Bianca's father passed away.
(14:49):
Life for Shannon Tanner and her daughters remained tumultuous in
the passing years. In twenty twelve, Bianca's older sister, Tiffany,
who was twenty one at the time, was arrested with
her boyfriend and charged with the sex trafficking of miners.
Tiffany pled guilty to the crime in twenty fourteen and
was sentenced to eight years in prison. She admitted to
(15:10):
the court that she had sold two suburban high school
girls for sex managed the business and placed ads online
inviting guys to pay for sex with teens in a motel.
She supplied the girls with condoms, marijuana, and advice on
how to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors noted that while Tiffany
(15:31):
was the perpetrator of this crime, she had also once
been a victim of sex trafficking herself. Years before Tiffany
placed those ads, there had been ads with photos of
Tiffany online, The prosecutor stated. At some point Tiffany was
no longer a victim in this case because she perpetrated
the same crimes that were perpetrated on her. Tiffany was
(15:51):
unwilling to turn in the person who had originally trafficked her.
Around this time, Shannon Tanner did an interview with reporters
talking about her daughter's descent into sex trafficking. She said
that she tried to keep her daughter safe, but it
doesn't feel like anything I've done has helped, she told
one reporter. I thought it was always a possibility that
(16:13):
Bianca could be involved in some kind of sex trafficking,
just because it happens to a lot of young girls
that are abducted. When I started having gut feelings that
that's a kind of lifestyle that Tiffany was involved in.
That was one thing I could think of that made
it even remotely okay is that it might put her
in a position where she could run across Bianca somehow.
Shannon admitted that this was a hard interview for her
(16:35):
to do and said that she didn't want the public
to think that she was a terrible mother or that
she didn't raise her children with values or take good
care of them. In twenty eighteen, Bianca's sister Tiffany, spoke
to her reporter to commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of Bianca's disappearance.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol Sex Offender Registry, Tiffany
(16:58):
was released from prison in twenty fifteen. She says she
thinks about Bianca every day and all the family moments
her sister has missed out on. Shannon also spoke out
that year she was asked why another age enhanced photo
of Bianca wasn't created as a last one was already
eight years old. She stated that seeing her daughter age
(17:19):
is something she had expected to see in person, not
on a poster or on a telephone poll. It was
simply too hard on her emotionally to have another one created.
Almost two decades have passed since Bianca went missing, although
it seems that her case hasn't been forgotten by local authorities.
(17:39):
In February of twenty twenty three, it was announced that
a septic tank at Bianca's old home had been drained
by investigators. Nothing of evidentiary value had been found at
the time, but investigators stated that they were still combing
through that tank and that certain things they don't decompose
over time, DNA is still valid. They stated that they
(18:00):
are currently working with Outhrum Labs to try and solve
some of their older cases. Most of the investigators working
on these cold cases were volunteers who felt strongly that
the victims loved ones receive answers and justice. With this
newest search, it seems clear that police believe the answers
to Bianca's disappearance lie closer to home than with a
(18:22):
random predator. Seems unlikely that Bianca went into the woods
and was lost. It was a dark and snowy night
and she could not have gotten very far. On March
tenth of two thousand five, Israel Keys was seemingly in
Washington state he and Kimberly had a phishing license for
that exact date. When it comes to keys, of course,
(18:43):
where he is on paper doesn't always guarantee accuracy. Could
he have been in Missouri and come upon Bianca Piper.
It's possible, though extremely unlikely. It seems more likely that
he was searching for someone else who disappeared around that
same time, possibly del Mar Sample, who discs appeared from Centralia,
Washington a week earlier. Another possibility is he was searching
(19:05):
for Suzanne Lyle, who disappeared from Albany, New York in
early March of nineteen ninety eight, or, as we've continued
to research and will report on extensively next season, Keyes
was looking for another victim in the Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas area.
More on that in season seven. This episode was researched
(19:28):
and written by Shana Walensky, with editing and production by
me Josh Hallmark. Sources include psychiatry dot org, Nami dot Org,
The Guardian, CNN, Fox two Now, and The Patch dot com.
This is a studio both and production as the True
Crime Bullshit Team and I start production on season seven.
I thought it would be great to take you behind
the scenes and give you a sneak peek at some
of the new information we've received the massive Keys document
dump from just last week, and where all this new
(00:30):
info in these documents are taking us. In this preview,
you'll get a glimpse of what cases we're looking into,
new evidence we have, and some updates on some of
the last season's loose ends. Following this preview is a
new episode of the Names forty five series focusing on
Bianca Noel Piper. This is True Crime Bullshit. I'm your host,
(00:55):
Josh Hallmark, and this is a serialized story of Israel Keys.
Since season six ended, I've had ongoing conversations with agent
Ted Halla, I've collaborated with doctor Michelle Ward. We had
a late night document upload from a confidential source. I've
(01:16):
traveled to Texas, Louisiana, Washington, and Maine, and we've received
a handful of potential victims, case files and approximately six
hundred new documents specific to Israel Keys and the various
investigations into him. To say that we are heading into
this new season stacked with information would be a massive understatement.
(01:38):
Let's start with maps. We're in receipt of two new
maps that were in Israel Keys's possession, and they include
handwritten notes and markers from Keys, and one of these
confirms a long held belief about a cash location. In fact,
with some new assistants, we believe we've been able to
not only identify new cashlows, but understand the third and
(02:03):
final way that Keys was finding and keeping track of
all of his caches. These new maps also indicate two
areas of interest to Keys, and both coincide with strong
potential Keys victims cases we've previously discussed. This season, you'll
also be hearing from new people, new research collaborators and
field experts, people who knew Keys, Key I witness accounts,
(02:26):
and even new FBI interviews. And we've received new documents
in multiple cases, including Nita Mayo, Barbara Blount, Eric Michael Peterson,
Mark Julian Oldberry, Jonathan Corey, and Celia Darlene Barnes. This
season will also take listeners back to Key locations across
the country, like Hunter's Washington Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania, Green River, Wyoming,
(02:50):
Port Angelus, Washington, Laplace, Louisiana, Tennessee, Canada, and more. We
also have brand new information from a friend of Keys
recalls a conversation where Keys not only mentioned a missing
person's case, but where he thought the cops might be
able to find this person's remains. And we believe we
(03:10):
have identified three of Keys's victims. So stay tuned for
all of that and a whole lot more when True
Crime Bullshit returns on Monday, September twenty ninth. And now
for a quick at break before we get into our
Name is forty five episode Summer is in full swing
and I don't know about you, but I have had
the need to refresh my closet. But I'm trying not
(03:33):
to waste money on clothes that I'm only going to
wear one, sir, for just one season. And that's where
Quinn's comes in. Their clothes are timeless, classic, feel luxurious
and look elevated, and the quality is way beyond what
you'd expect for the price. It's a kind of wardrobe
upgrade that just clicks. Think one hundred percent European linen
(03:53):
tops starting at just thirty dollars, washable silk dresses and
skirts and soft cotton sweaters, versatile war warm weather pieces
you'll reach for again and again. And the best part
is that everything with Quints is half the cost of
similar brands because Quince works directly with top artisans and
cuts out the middlemen, so they give you luxury without
(04:13):
the markup. And what I really appreciate is that Quint's
is only working with factories that use safe, ethical and
responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. So I know,
you know, I used to be in the fashion industry
and I take fashion very seriously. I want ethical clothing.
I don't want fast fashion. I want stuff that's going
(04:33):
to fit right, look good, feel good, and last throughout
the years. And that's what I love about Quints. I
bought a bunch of their basic teas. It's kind of
my uniform, and I just get the same one in
like five different colors. It's a quick, easy way to
diversify your closet and your day to day looks. So
give your summer closet an upgrade with Quints. Go to
(04:55):
quints dot com slash TCBs for free shipping on your
order and three hundred and sixty five day returns that's
q u i ncee dot com slash TCBs to get
free shipping and three hundred sixty five day returns quins
dot com slash TCBs. Bianca Noel Piper was last seen
(05:22):
on March tenth, two thousand and five, about a half
a mile from her home in Foley, Missouri. She was
a Caucasian female with brown, curly hair and brown eyes.
At the time of her disappearance, she was just thirteen
years old. She was five foot six and weighed one
hundred eighty five pounds. Bianca was last seen wearing a
lime green top, a gray Adida sweatshirt with a hood,
(05:43):
blue jeans, and white sneakers. Bianca had scars on her
arms and legs, a scar on her abdomen, and pureced ears.
She went by the nickname b. Now, before we talk
about the circumstances under which Bianca disappeared, let's learn about
Bianca and her life prior to her disappearance. Bianca was
(06:04):
the daughter of Shannon Tanner and David Piper. She had
at least two older sisters. When Bianca was about a
year old, her parents divorced. Bianca was known for her
love of horses, nature, and barbies. Her favorite color was purple.
She was born the day before Christmas and kept festive
lights up in her bedroom year round. She idolized Hillary
(06:26):
Duff and wanted to become a singer just like her now.
A lot has been said in the media with regards
to Bianca's mental health as well as her intellectual disabilities.
Early reports refer to Bianca as having the mental capacity
of a six year old and says she suffered periodic
bouts of anxiety and anger. More recent media doesn't mention
(06:46):
Bianca having such a low mental capacity, and other reports
say she suffered from attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder,
and takes several medications to control her mood swings and
aggressive ties. It's also been said that Bianca was hospitalized
for her severe form of bipolar disorder when she was younger,
(07:07):
but details about that are scant. Mentions of the scars
on Bianca's arms and legs naturally bring up the possibility
that Bianca was self harming, but this has never been clarified.
One article says that without her twice daily medication, she
may become disoriented or hallucinate. Another article said that Bianca
was on multiple medications to manage her various mental health conditions.
(07:33):
Symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It's very
commonly diagnosed in young children. Bipolar disorder is a brain
disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy,
and ability to function. The average age of onset for
bipolar disorder is twenty five, but it can occur in
(07:54):
late teens. It's very uncommon for it to be present
in young children and tweens. And as we mentioned previously,
Bianco was thirteen when she disappeared, and we don't know
how young she was when she was first diagnosed with
these disorders. And it's important to understand that because of
the mixed messaging in media, we don't have a full
(08:15):
understanding of exactly what mental health disorders or intellectual disabilities
Bianca may have lived with. Bianco was in the eighth
grade at Winfield Middle School, where she was in special
education classes. A woman who worked at the local general
store told reporters that she's kind of slow, but she
acts like a normal teenager. She's a big girl. If
(08:35):
you saw her walking down the road, you'd probably think
she's a grown up. By March of two thousand and five,
Bianco was living in Fully, Missouri with her mother, Shannon,
her older sister Tiffany, another unnamed older sister, and Shannon's boyfriend,
Jim felt it seems as though they were somewhat new
to the area, having recently moved there from Lake Saint Louis,
(08:56):
about thirty miles away. Lake Saint Louis had been close
to Bianca's grandmother, Carol Young. Carol says she and Bianca
saw each other nearly every day before the family moved.
They were very close and would often go shopping together
and go camping in Carol's motor home. Carol said that
she had plans to buy Bianca a horse that upcoming summer.
(09:17):
Regarding Bianca's mental health, Carol told reporters she was such
a funny girl. When her medicine got screwed up, she
could be a holy terror. But when she was happy,
she was happy. Bianca had been seeing a therapist who
recommended that Bianca take walks outside to get a handle
on her emotions. When Bianca fought with her older sister
Tiffany about chores on March tenth, two thousand and five,
(09:39):
at around six pm. Reports say that Shannon said she
drove Bianca to a bridge about a mile away from
their home, handed her a flashlight, and told her to
walk back home, in the hopes that this would calm
her down, like it did when something similar happened the
previous night. In one report, Shannon says she waited in
the car at the other end of the bridge. The
(10:02):
walk should not have taken Bianca more than twenty minutes,
and that's when Shannon says she became worried and drove
out to look for her daughter. Shannon and Jim began
knocking on doors desperately searching for Bianca. The family hoped
that she had just followed an animal into the woods,
as Bianca was such an animal lover, But two hours later,
when Bianca still hadn't arrived home, Shannon called the police.
(10:26):
It was a cold and snowy night, and Bianca only
had on a hooded sweatshirt. The search for her was
quite difficult. The area was rural, with hilly terrain and
creeks and underbrush, and it was quite dark and snowy.
The Mississippi River Bottom is only a few miles from
where Bianca was last seen. The search lasted several weeks
(10:47):
and totaled fifteen thousand man hours. Two hundred seventy square
miles were searched, including Lincoln County, Missouri, the Mississippi Basin,
parts of Illinois, and northern sections of Saint Charles County,
but no signs of Beianca were found. According to reports
in the media, both Shannon and Jim were questioned extensively
(11:08):
and were not considered to be suspects in Beyanca's disappearance.
Shannon stated that she believed that Bianca was no longer
in the area and likely did not know where she
was or how to find her way back home. It's
unclear how often Bianca saw her father, David, who lived
about two hours away, but they did speak on the
phone on the night that Bianca disappeared, a conversation that
(11:31):
reportedly ended with I love you. David told reporters that
he called police regarding updates in Beanca's case at least
twice a week, and handed out flyers to local businesses.
I love her to death, he told news outlets. I
got her picture right here. It makes me just want
to bust out crying. It's ruining everybody's life, not being
(11:52):
able to see her any more or know what happened
to her, or know if she's been tortured, or what
I sure would like to have my little girl back.
Two months after Bianca was last seen, Shannon filed a
restraining order against her boyfriend, Jim, but the order was
dropped soon after and the couple reconciled. One month after that,
in June of two thousand five, the police were called
(12:15):
at the home where Shannon and Jim were still living
with Bianca's older sisters. Inside, they found Shannon on top
of one of her daughters, holding her face to the ground.
The girl had a large bump on her face and
told police that her mother had assaulted her with a
curling iron and repeatedly punched her in the face with it.
Shannon had also allegedly threatened to tie her up and
lock her in a back bedroom, but Jim had advised
(12:37):
her not to do that. The girl had tried calling
the police, but Shannon tore the phone out from the wall.
It's unclear who ultimately called the police that night. At
one point, Shann had reached for a piece of broken
glass from a dish that had been broken during the fight,
and police had to subdue her with a taser. She
was placed on probation for this incident, and at least
(12:57):
one of her daughters moved in with her grandmother. Six
months after Bianca's disappearance, Shannon told reporters her hope to
find Bianca alive was fading. Quote, I'm torn between wanting
and not wanting to know. I'd almost rather think she's
out there somewhere and not know where she's at than
know something terrible has happened. In January of two thousand seven,
(13:21):
in a nearby Missouri town, a man named Michael Devlin
was arrested for kidnapping two young boys, also from Missouri.
Devlin had kidnapped Ben Omby, thirteen, as he walked home
from his school bus a week earlier. Omby was found
alive and he wasn't alone. With him was Sean Hornbeck, fifteen,
(13:42):
who had been kidnapped by Devlin at the age of
eleven back in two thousand two, five years earlier. It
was a joyous homecoming for both boys and their families,
and police all over the area began investigating Devlin with
regards to their local missing child cases, including those in
fully instigating Bianca's disappearance. The details are unclear, but Lincoln
(14:04):
County Police stated that they believed Michael Devlin was aware
of Bianca's disappearance and had been monitoring the search for her. However, ultimately,
nothing linking Devlin to Bianca's disappearance was ever found. When
the second anniversary of Bianca's disappearance came and passed, Shannon
(14:28):
expressed her belief that Bianca was still alive, though she
stated that she was more depressed than the year prior.
At the five year anniversary, Shannon had an age enhanced
photo of Bianca created to show people what Bianca might
look like. Around this same time, Bianca's father passed away.
(14:49):
Life for Shannon Tanner and her daughters remained tumultuous in
the passing years. In twenty twelve, Bianca's older sister, Tiffany,
who was twenty one at the time, was arrested with
her boyfriend and charged with the sex trafficking of miners.
Tiffany pled guilty to the crime in twenty fourteen and
was sentenced to eight years in prison. She admitted to
(15:10):
the court that she had sold two suburban high school
girls for sex managed the business and placed ads online
inviting guys to pay for sex with teens in a motel.
She supplied the girls with condoms, marijuana, and advice on
how to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors noted that while Tiffany
(15:31):
was the perpetrator of this crime, she had also once
been a victim of sex trafficking herself. Years before Tiffany
placed those ads, there had been ads with photos of
Tiffany online, The prosecutor stated. At some point Tiffany was
no longer a victim in this case because she perpetrated
the same crimes that were perpetrated on her. Tiffany was
(15:51):
unwilling to turn in the person who had originally trafficked her.
Around this time, Shannon Tanner did an interview with reporters
talking about her daughter's descent into sex trafficking. She said
that she tried to keep her daughter safe, but it
doesn't feel like anything I've done has helped, she told
one reporter. I thought it was always a possibility that
(16:13):
Bianca could be involved in some kind of sex trafficking,
just because it happens to a lot of young girls
that are abducted. When I started having gut feelings that
that's a kind of lifestyle that Tiffany was involved in.
That was one thing I could think of that made
it even remotely okay is that it might put her
in a position where she could run across Bianca somehow.
Shannon admitted that this was a hard interview for her
(16:35):
to do and said that she didn't want the public
to think that she was a terrible mother or that
she didn't raise her children with values or take good
care of them. In twenty eighteen, Bianca's sister Tiffany, spoke
to her reporter to commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of Bianca's disappearance.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol Sex Offender Registry, Tiffany
(16:58):
was released from prison in twenty fifteen. She says she
thinks about Bianca every day and all the family moments
her sister has missed out on. Shannon also spoke out
that year she was asked why another age enhanced photo
of Bianca wasn't created as a last one was already
eight years old. She stated that seeing her daughter age
(17:19):
is something she had expected to see in person, not
on a poster or on a telephone poll. It was
simply too hard on her emotionally to have another one created.
Almost two decades have passed since Bianca went missing, although
it seems that her case hasn't been forgotten by local authorities.
(17:39):
In February of twenty twenty three, it was announced that
a septic tank at Bianca's old home had been drained
by investigators. Nothing of evidentiary value had been found at
the time, but investigators stated that they were still combing
through that tank and that certain things they don't decompose
over time, DNA is still valid. They stated that they
(18:00):
are currently working with Outhrum Labs to try and solve
some of their older cases. Most of the investigators working
on these cold cases were volunteers who felt strongly that
the victims loved ones receive answers and justice. With this
newest search, it seems clear that police believe the answers
to Bianca's disappearance lie closer to home than with a
(18:22):
random predator. Seems unlikely that Bianca went into the woods
and was lost. It was a dark and snowy night
and she could not have gotten very far. On March
tenth of two thousand five, Israel Keys was seemingly in
Washington state he and Kimberly had a phishing license for
that exact date. When it comes to keys, of course,
(18:43):
where he is on paper doesn't always guarantee accuracy. Could
he have been in Missouri and come upon Bianca Piper.
It's possible, though extremely unlikely. It seems more likely that
he was searching for someone else who disappeared around that
same time, possibly del Mar Sample, who discs appeared from Centralia,
Washington a week earlier. Another possibility is he was searching
(19:05):
for Suzanne Lyle, who disappeared from Albany, New York in
early March of nineteen ninety eight, or, as we've continued
to research and will report on extensively next season, Keyes
was looking for another victim in the Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas area.
More on that in season seven. This episode was researched
(19:28):
and written by Shana Walensky, with editing and production by
me Josh Hallmark. Sources include psychiatry dot org, Nami dot Org,
The Guardian, CNN, Fox two Now, and The Patch dot com.
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