The strange disappearance of a Canadian high school student | Forensic Files

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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website midnight approached on Thanksgiving Eve
November 23rd 2016 penny meek was up waiting for her son Tom Brown who was due home any moment hours earlier
Tom had gone out to meet up with France the 18 year old had a strict midnight curfew and was rarely late if he was he
always got in touch to let his mother know so far she'd heard nothing TACA Brown Tom's older brother was home from
Oklahoma State University for Thanksgiving earlier that night Tucker caught his younger brother as he
was leaving wanting to spend some quality time Tucker suggested they should watch a
movie together later that night Tom happily agreed midnight ticked by and if there was no sign of Tom at 12:03 a.m.
Tucker sent his brother a text asking where he was Tom didn't reply Tucker and Penny sent on several more text messages
trying to locate him but still they received a no response this was unusual Tom always responded the texts
at 12:23 a.m. penny tried to call Tom but her call went straight to voicemail his phone was off
Penny's concern grew though Tom could be a joker into goofball he wasn't the type to pull a prank like
this he was a well-behaved son far from rebellious or disrespectful Tom preferred playing video games with
friends than going to wild parties it was strikingly had a character for him to miss curfew and not be in touch
penny feared Tom had been in a car accident getting into separate cars to cover more
ground penny and Tucker went searching for Tom's red colored 2009 Dodge Durango SUV the pair turned down the suburban
streets of their small North Texan town of Canadian population just over two and
a half thousand people the quaint country style homes were dark and quiet families had settled in ahead of the
following day's festivities the Main Street was equally still in silent penny and Tucker combed the entire town
checking local haunts and hangouts yet there was no sign of Tom or his car though Canadian has more wealth and
bustle than other townships in the semi-arid Panhandle region of Texas it was still incredibly small and
close-knit the layout of the land is deeply engrained within the residents who live there
there's no way tom was lost penny returned home to start making calls she rang Robin the mother of Caleb King
Tom had gone out that night to meet with Caleb and another friend Christian Webb
all three were longtime friends from Canadian high school Christian was now a freshman at Oklahoma State University
and locked Tom's older brother Tucker she was back home in Canadians for Thanksgiving break with Christian in
town the group decided to perform an old ritual go for a late night drive to catch up and listen to music
penny was surprised to discover Caleb was home and in bed Caleb explained the trio had called it a
night just after 11 p.m. and then they went their separate ways Caleb had no idea where Tom went after
this encounter but insisted he was fine when they parted company penny then caught the other person out with Tom
that night Christian web Christian thought it was strange Tom wasn't home she considered he may have stayed out to
drive around town by himself or that he may have gotten a flat tire and was stuck somewhere
both Caleb and Christian went out to help search for Tom but they had no luck either
Tom had vanished [Music] [Music] at 2:00 a.m. penny contacted the Hemphill County
Sheriff's Department to report her son missing Hempel County had elected a new sheriff just two months earlier
Nathan Lewis was a young and inexperienced sheriff but he was raised in Canadian he knew the town there
hadn't been a violent crime there for over 15 years calls from parents his kids missed
curfew were not unusual in each case they'd show up alive and well so when sheriff Lewis heard tom bryan
hadn't come home it was quick to assume tom just lost track of time or was pushing boundaries to him the least
likely scenario was foul play tom was described as well-liked and popular someone with many friends from different
circles Caleb King knew Tom as a funny guy with a positive vibe who ain't a please he couldn't think of a single
person who didn't like him Tom had twice been elected class president and he had just placed the
tenth in the state for public speaking up until a month before his disappearance he played for the Wildcats
Canadian high school's football team with him they'd won two state championships which was a big deal
in Texas high school football is more like a religion kids can shoulder the weight of the
community's expectations to his family tom was just a regular kid he loved at WWE wrestling and idolized
Tom Brady the New England Patriots quarterback at six feet tall and 195 pounds Tom appeared big enough to hold
his own in a fire but he was far from the type to seek violence he had no interest in drugs or dangerous
activities there was no secret double life so when Tom didn't come home his family couldn't shake the feeling that
something was seriously wrong [Music] the last known sighting of tom was by his friends Caleb King and Christian
Webb on the night of his disappearance November 23rd they confirmed Tom arrived to their made-up point the parking lot
of Canadian middle school parking lot security footage filmed Tom arriving in his SUV Caleb and Christian turned up in
their own cars after greeting one another they all got into Christians car she drove with Tom riding shotgun in the
front seat Caleb was in the back both Caleb and Christian later stated they were all in good spirits Tom chose
the music American folk band The Avett Brothers they drove around town then headed north towards the old wagon
bridge a near kilometer long footbridge over the Canadian River after parking at
the southern end they walked across together it was a call to fall night tom was hunched up in his black windbreaker
emblazoned on the left of his chest were the orange letters of the Oklahoma State
College football team the Cowboys shortly after 11:00 p.m. the trio decided to call it a night
Canadian middle school security cameras filmed Christians car pulling into the parking lot Caleb and Tom climbed out
and returned to their own vehicles the three made plans to meet up again the next night before they went their
separate ways Tom cheerfully told his friends I'll see you tomorrow security footage confirmed
no one had entered or tampered with Tom's car whilst that was in the school parking lot
caleb and christian maintained it was an uneventful night out tom didn't seem anxious upset or distracted
he's eagerness to see them again implied he didn't plan on going anywhere anytime
soon security footage showed tom leaving the middle school car park alone in his
vehicle at 11:26 p.m. as Thanksgiving celebrations kicked off the following morning Tom Brown was still missing
wanting to survey a greater area Christian Webb and her father Trey took the search to where in Trey's helicopter
they swept over the Canadian River and its surrounding valleys then they flew further outwards over the panhandles
trademark dry empty plains a land of tumbleweeds rusted windmills and a mechanical pump
Jack's drawing oil from the cracked earth Tom's car would be easily spotted out there but they didn't find it Tom's
SUV wasn't in the town center or stranded along u.s. highway route 60 or 83 there were no sightings along the
train tracks on the western edge of town Christian and her father then flew 14 miles east and circled Lake Marvin the
63 acre lake was a popular area for camping picnicking fishing hiking and hunting Tom sometimes visited the lake
with friends but they failed to find his car there razor they flew back towards town over the baseball fields and Road I
agree on some Canadians eastern edge then something called Christians are below on a dirt dead-end trail
surrounded by brush and Bracken Christian spotted a familiar red SUV a dark thought immediately crossed her
mind Christian knew Tom had a somber side he hid from others at times he had trouble
picturing the future and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel had he driven to this isolated area to
take his own life Christian became distraught trade turned to the helicopter so his daughter
wouldn't see inside the vehicle and carefully maneuvered to give himself a clearer view through the windshield to
his relief car was empty the web´s notified Hemphill county sheriff's department of their discovery Tom's car
was unlocked with a window rolled halfway down his car keys cellphone wallet and backpack which held a school
issued laptop were all missing there were no visible tracks leading to or from the car police conducted a
rudimentary search of the vehicle on the inside driver's door handle they found blood tests later confirmed that was
Tom's sheriff Lewis described the blood stained quote the blood had looked like you swiped your hand on the door from a
small cup it was not substantial it was not spatter or droppings or anything indicative of an assault on the floor of
Toms vehicle they found a 25 caliber shell casing small and easy to conceal a 25 caliber gun is sometimes called a
pocket pistol although not very powerful that can still cause fatal injuries the
shell was a - of projectile meaning it had been fired Tom didn't own a gun and had no interest in them some friends of
his were gonna be us which is an unusual in rural Texas but none owned a gun of that type that
anyone knew of a receipt for a full tank of gas was also found this correlated with transaction records from Penny's
debit card at 11:28 p.m. the night of Tom's disappearance Penny's card was used at the front coil gas station
Tom often used his mother's debit card to buy fuel from there frong coil is located on 2nd Street less than five
minutes from his home Penny's card hadn't been used since this transaction franck oil was a self-service gas
station no staff were on duty security cameras were set up but none were working at the time footage from a
neighboring business captured tomat franck oil furthermore someone driving past witnessed tom filling up his car
but didn't see anyone else around it was around a five minute one and a half mile drive northeast from
franck oil to where Tom's car was later found however four and a half gallons of
fuel had been used this meant in the hours between Tom filling up the tank into the discovery of his car it was
driven around 40 to 45 miles sheriff Lewis called Tom's family to report his SUV had been filmed it was on a secluded
dirt trail leading to the water treatment facility on the town's northeast in French there was an
isolated spot that not everyone in town was familiar with according to Tom's family they didn't
believe he had ever been there before near Tom's car was a small incline leading to the rear of the Oasis Cove
residential apartments which were about 500 yards or 450 meters away although there was no evidence yet to prove it
sheriff Lewis said he was treating the case as suicide this only confused Tom's family they'd seen no signs of suicidal
thought or action in Tom's behavior in the past although he could be deep and retrospective he looked forward with
purpose tom was excited for theater rehearsals graduation the following year and
planned - funnily sporting passion and public speaking skills into a career in sports journalism Tom had also organized
to see Caleb and Christian again Thanksgiving 9:00 when Tom's family looked back at his behavior leading up
to his disappearance there were no overt or subtle signs he was contemplating an
end Tom did have personal struggles there his parents divorced when he was 8 years
old and only recently Tom had spoken candidly about the divorce to friends admitting his religious faith was shaken
as a result when Tom was 16 years old he had a run-in with local law enforcement
one night tom was downtown with two friends when they were approached by a deputy he accused the group of trying to
break into a building on Main Street the boy strongly denied the accusation this
was the first and only time Tom had an encounter with police he was told to call his mother but Tom refused stating
he hadn't done anything and didn't know what he was supposed to say tom was ordered into the deputy's car he
complied but nothing ever came of this accusation and Tom was free to go according to Tom's mother penny the
deputy who dealt with Tom and his friends that night was Nathan Lewis prior to his appointment as sheriff for
him Hill County then only a month before his disappearance Tom quit the high school football team
despite being seen as a dedicated and talented player the coach replaced him as a starter Tom was new our reserve
training almost every day sometimes twice a day to spend the games on the bench he quickly lost interest it was a
difficult week when Tom quit the people were understanding there was no lingering animosity over his decision
only ten days before his disappearance Tom and his girlfriend sage Pennington broke up sage was a freshman at West
Texas A&M University in Canyon two hours away from Canadian the reason for the split is unknown but according to Tom's
mother it was amicable the pair remained friends and they still messaged each other
saij was back home in canadian for the thanksgiving break records show tom sent her a text message around 11:30 p.m. the
night of his disappearance what was said is not publicly known but according to those who've read it it was a casual how
are you doing type message sage responded the text was delivered but Tom never replied the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department supplied tracking dogs to investigate Tom's car scanning a radius almost half a mile around it the
dogs failed to pick up a scent they followed a trail leading East from Tom's car but it didn't go far
ending it some nearby brush the next day the second set of highly trained and experienced tracking dogs were sent from
the nearby city of Amarillo these dogs picked up a scent in Tom's car leading handle is nearly a mile east before
reaching the Canadian River there was along the marshy banks of the shallow and slow moving waters where they lost
the scent it was inconclusive whether the dogs were following Tom scent specifically or someone else who may
have been in the vehicle tipster law enforcement led to the search for Tom extending to neighboring towns and
counties Tom's social media accounts bank and cell phone records were checked for
activity none had been accessed since his disappearance his cell phone was still often going to voicemail although
they were able to trace the last known location of Tom's phone before it was turned off shortly after midnight
November 24th Tom's phone emitted a ping indicating it was at the Wildcats football stadium the stadium is near the
southeastern border of town just over a mile from franck oil where Tom was last seen filling up no motive has been
established for Tom to have gone to the stadium at this time with this knowledge
law enforcement pieced together Tom's last movements at 11:26 p.m. tom was captured on footage leading the Canadian
middle school carpark alone he went directly to Franck oil to purchase a tank of gas at 11:28 p.m.
shortly after midnight his phone pinged indicating it was at the Wildcats football stadium
soon after this final ping Tom's phone was switched off shortly after daybreak his car was located on the dirt trail
near the water treatment facility the sequence of events only became more difficult to decipher when law
enforcement began collating the town's security footage the night of Tom's disappearance a camera on the corner of
2nd Street and main caught a red SUV quickly passed by around 1:30 a.m. the car matched Tom's this sighting occurred
close to 90 minutes after that final phone ping at the football stadium nine minutes later tucker brown's car
appeared on the same camera this was during the time he was out searching for Tom Tucker didn't know he was following
his brother's SUV just minutes behind and of the two cars never crossed paths Tom's car reappeared on security footage
at 524 am traveling north on 2nd Street for the next 20 minutes the vehicle seemed to be driving directionless all
over town at times that appeared to be heading towards tom's house but turned away when it got close eventually the
SUV headed northeast towards the water treatment facility footage captured the vehicle driving past the Hemphill County
Recreation Complex on 6th Street the car then moved off camera continuing east onto an isolated dirt track towards the
water treatment facility where it was later found abandoned no footage was clear enough to identify the SUV's
driver or to determine if there was more than one occupant nevertheless sheriff Lewis felt confident tom was driving
alone it didn't make sense to him that someone who had harmed Tom would then get into
his car and to drive all over town in the following days sheriff Lewis enlisted other law enforcement agencies
fire departments and local townspeople to help find Tom Brown the area where Tom's vehicle was discovered the nearby
water treatment facility enter the Canadian River were scoured on foot horseback ATVs Rovers and helicopters
the search radius expanded 50 minutes drive out from Canadian Lake Marvin surface was scanned by boat sonar
equipment didn't detect anything in the water's depths or on the shore these sonar results were enough for law
enforcement to eliminate Lake Marvin as a location of interest sheriff Lewis stated quote they cleared the entire
Lake Marvin perimeter and also in the water Thomas Brown is not at Lake Marvin 100% the lake wasn't dredged and divers
were never called in to conduct a search a specialist horseback search-and-rescue
team were called in from nearby Randall County they were experienced trekking the Canadian River for Missing Persons
two years earlier the 24 year old woman and her six year old niece vanished along the river lost horseback riding
Randall County's team were called in and located the pair deceased in the water for two days they meticulously searched
the river for Tom Brown they found no sign of him and were confident to report Tom was not in the Canadian River or
surrounding area the old sewer ponds of the water treatment facility posed a health and safety risk to divers they
had to be flushed before anyone could enter the effluent was placed in two new ponds once this process was complete the
odd ponds were searched but nothing was found the Canadian community rallied to support Tom's family with food cards and
flowers porch lights were left on prayer vigils were held and word spread to neighboring towns local business student
Odom offered five thousand dollars for information leading to the rescue or recovery of Tom Brown the Thanksgiving
break was now over Christian Webb had to recommend Studies at Oklahoma State University as Shay and Caleb King were
the last known witnesses to have contact with Tom before he disappeared she found it odd law enforcement had not
asked to question them or take statements Christian called the Sheriff's Department herself and offered
to talk with them before she left him desperately seeking answers Tom Browns family hired a private investigator from
the firm Cline investigations and consulting who specialized in missing persons cases private investigator
Philip Kline was open to all possibilities in the case at one point he even considered human trafficking and
made inquiries in other states but with no leads there he brought his focus back to Canadian
Klein had experts re-examined photographs of the blood stain in Tom's car they concluded it was deeper venous
blood Kline remained elusive about what that meant exactly however he put forth the possibility Tom may have been
wounded protecting himself from an assault by the third week of the investigation
sheriff Lewis publicly stated law enforcement had exhausted every resource they had in their search for Tom Brown
he told the Canadian record quote all evidence we have found indicates to us that he disappeared on his own when
asked why tom filled his car with gas only to abandon sheriff Lewis explained Tom must have gotten gas out of habit
not reason he was asked why Tom's vehicle was captured on footage driving back and forth throughout town instead
of just leaving the sheriff replied Tom mayor being indecisive unsure if he wanted to run away perhaps he toyed with
the thought of going home to say a final goodbye to his family the sheriff bolstered the runaway theory
by stating they'd found supporting evidence in Tom's bedroom on the home computer and in text messages sent to
friends Lewis didn't reveal what the evidence was but his interpretation was that Tom didn't want to being Canadian
sheriff Lewis quote there's things I don't want to release to the public because it's an ongoing investigation
and for the privacy of the family people don't need to know these things but I can tell you for sure the things we
found a clues that tell us he left on his own we've put him under a microscope and we've learned a lot about the young
men Tom made a conscious decision to leave home with law enforcement remaining tight-lipped the town was left
to speculate did Tom break the law did he fear being charged with a crime is that why he was refusing to return home
chief deputy Brandt Clapp remarked quote there are no criminal charges pending against him he is 18 he can leave maybe
he might have chosen a little bit wiser way to do it but he is not committed a crime and as far as we can tell no one
has committed a crime against him later penny found out law enforcement were asking her son's friends about his
sexuality sheriff Lewis maintained although he was under the strong impression tom was a
runaway the case would remain open until a conclusion was reached Tom Brown had been missing for three weeks at this
point during that time his cell phone hadn't been turned back on or used and his bank account hadn't been touched
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ship station make ship happen private investigator Philip Klein considered several scenarios maybe Tom
was taken against his will were agreed to travel with another party not sensing any danger
Klein issued a plea to ranch hands and oil field employees to keep a lookout for anything unusual he also gave a
message to Tom's fellow students at Canadian Tire if you know something say something
Tom's mum penny also appealed to her son's school mates quote if you know something please speak up if you know
something and you're trying to cover up something you have done it's all forgivable I just want to know where he
is and to get him to come home so that we can do whatever is best for him it was two months after Tom's
disappearance January 27th 2017 when a worker was checking oil wells and Lawrence on Lake Marvin Road the worker
noticed some trash behind a tree on the other side of a barbed-wire fence but as
it got closer he realized that wasn't rubbish there was a backpack the Sheriff's Department was notified the
backpack belonged to Tom gray on a laptop he used for school was inside grooves had formed in the ground
underneath the back and the water pooled around it it was wet inside and out papers inside were almost moldy it
looked as though the bag had been there for some time the laptop was water damaged it took time the technicians
were able to extract its data the laptop revealed no clues though all that contained was Tom schoolwork a search of
the area where the backpack was found resulted in no new evidence for sheriff Lewis the discovery of Tom's
backpack supported his theory Tom left the town voluntarily he believed Tom dumped his belongings and just walked
away a vigil was held for tom at canadian high school his schoolmates were given shiny pebbles engraved with
the message just make it home on one side and the Tom's name on the other by now the town of Canadian was covered
with posters and banners for Tom by March 2017 the reward for information increased to twenty thousand dollars as
his investigation progressed private investigator Philip Kline was becoming less convinced about the runaway theory
he told the Canadian record quote we do believe we have established some possible suspects in the city regarding
some possible nefarious activities we are exploring those but at this time we have completely vetted the opportunities
for Thomas to run we just don't see it based on the evidence of this toll climb then made another appeal to students of
Canadian higher quote if you know something you need to say something you could be charged with the crime for
withholding information even if you are innocent and you just heard something at
high school call us we won't report you we won't tell anybody you called us you will remain anonymous by late March 2017
private investigator Philip client released an official statement at read after four months of investigation we
believe the following based upon interviews and physical evidence one we believe Thomas Brown did not wilfully
leave Canadian Texas or plan his disappearance - we believe foul play was involved in Thomas's disappearance three
we believe there is a strong possibility a person or persons injured Thomas on the night of his disappearance
the purpose of our release at this time is we believe there is a person or persons at Canadian high school with
direct knowledge of the circumstance surrounding his disappearance we again say to the students of Canadian
high school if you know something say something Thomas and his parents deserve this
sheriff Lewis was quick to issue a reply to client statement speaking publicly Lewis maintained law enforcement always
perceived the Tom Brown case as a criminal investigation sheriff Lewis added quote at this time for the sake of
maintaining the integrity of our investigation we are not prepared to release the nature of any possible
criminal charges we are investigating [Music] in early April 2017 Christian Webb was
at Oklahoma State preparing for my exams around 2:00 this time she noticed the vehicle had begun to follow her as she
walked out of class one day she was confronted by campus police they escorted her to a room where a Texas
Ranger and an FBI agent were waiting they wanted to talk about Tom Brown Christian was asked to hand over her
mobile phone she complied and two they downloaded the contents she was then given a sheet of paper with
a list of questions to answer she complied then she was asked to recall the moments leading up to Tom's
disappearance they accused her of knowing where Tom was Christian felt they were playing mind games trying to
confuse her the questioning continued for four hours they finished by asking if she would take part in a lie-detector
test when Christian agreed they let her go Caleb King was enrolling for college at Texas A&M when he received a phone
call from him PL County Sheriff's Department Caleb returned to Canadian at their
request upon arrival he too was questioned at length by a Texas Ranger and an FBI agent their questions focused
on text messages Caleb had sent in these messages Caleb asked friends if anyone knew the
pin code to access Tom's cell phone these messages caught the interest of law enforcement because Tom's cell phone
had been missing since his disappearance caleb explained he sent those messages at the request of Tom's mother penny
penny had texted his own mother Robin asking if Caleb knew the code Caleb didn't know the code so he asked his
friends if they knew it interviewing officers didn't believe Caleb he offered to take a lie detector test but they
didn't take him up on it after hours of questioning Caleb called his mother she still had
Penny's text from months ago asking if anyone knew Tom's pincode Caleb showed the officers the text proving his story
penny stated she was asking around for Toms pincode at that time on behalf of the Sheriff's Department they asked her
if she knew the code she didn't so she started asking Tom's friends if they knew it that's not fully
understood why the Sheriff's Department were asking for Tom's ping code which by
all reports was still missing Caleb and Christian have been viewed by some with suspicion and speculation both the from
well-respected families Caleb's father is a Republican state senator representing rural Texas rumors
of a cover-up spread online the both Christian and Caleb have complied with investigators requests every step of the
way and have been officially cleared from any involvement in Tom Browns disappearance in mid-april
2017 private investigator Philip Klein organized the cadaver dogs to search points of interest in Canadian although
the exact details of this search were not released to the public Klein reiterated his belief Tom was most
likely deceased either a victim of accidental death or homicide Klein told the Canadian record quote we
feel like this trip closed a lot of doors for us we feel like we can now concentrate on certain suspects certain
individuals Klein strongly believed ancestor Tom's disappearance would be found at Lake Marvin
he told Amarillo globe news quote we think the car was out there that it was driven back and someone through his
backpack yard we do not believe he disappeared we believe he is deceased and had happened at Lake Marvin we
believe Lake Marvin has not been 100% checked and rechecked Lake Marvin was no longer a location of interest for law
enforcement sheriff Lewis still hadn't put divers in the lake but reiterated the lake and its perimeter were
extensively searched by ground air and sonar private investigator client who also
believed the area Tom's vehicle was abandoned was significant it was secluded but only a 500 yard or 450
meter walk to the oasis Cove apartments Kline believes it's possible a suspect either lived or took refuge there
Tom's backpack was locked up in evidence by law enforcement this meant Klein was unable to view it
nevertheless he wasn't convinced Tom dumped the backpack off like Marvin rode he believed it was tossed there by a
suspect getting rid of evidence the Hemphill County Sheriff's Department were quick to argue points made by Kline
they released a statement to address what Klein was saying quote at this time the sheriff's office has no evidence to
support the following assertions one the car was driven by someone other than Tom
Brown at any time during the Neue to the driver of Tom's red Dodge Durango walked
into the residential area on the north side of the city 3 the backpack recovered by the Sheriff's Department
was planted as a diversion for Tom Brown was assaulted and/or killed intentionally or accidentally 5 Tom's
body was dumped in or around Hemphill County the statement further read several issues of discrepancy exists in
the layout of the timeline as proposed by Kline investigations the Sheriff's Office has not released this due to the
sensitive nature of the information we will not at this time divulge any other information concerning the timeline of
the events of November 23rd and 24th this is based on our desire to maintain the integrity of our investigation and
effectively pursue prosecution should a suspect be developed Tom Brian remains a missing person and
the Hemphill County Sheriff's Department has classified this a missing person investigation from the beginning that is
not to say criminal activity has been ruled out or ignored in fact this investigation has been
pursued from the initiation as the possible result of a criminal act we will continue to investigate the
disappearance of Tom Brown with a primary goal of discovering Tom's whereabouts we will however go about
this task with the responsibility of conducting this investigation in such a manner that if suspects are developed
successful prosecution will be ensured by May 2017 the reward for information rose to $40,000 on July 18th hopes of a
breakthrough came when a realtor rented a house in Canadian and saw what they believed were extensive bloodstains on
the carpet they immediately contacted the Sheriff's Department the suspicious markings were
investigated and extensive forensic testing was done but all tests came back in negative it wasn't blood
Tom Brown's family called a press conference nearing the eight-month anniversary of his disappearance his
mother penny make elder brother taka stepfather Chris make and biological father Kelly Brown were in attendance as
was sheriff Nathan Lewis penny raised concern over the fact that Tom's car was returned to her promptly after discovery
no thorough forensic examination was done initially sheriff Lewis acknowledged this was a mistake
he emphasized no one anticipated the investigation would go in the direction at hurt at first they believed Tom would
be found quickly when he wasn't police retrieved the car to conduct a more comprehensive examination sheriff Lewis
declined to answer questions regarding the 25 caliber shell casing found in Tom's car or the discovery of Tom's
backpack he confirmed Lake Marvin had not been dredged and Davis still had not searched the water again he defended his
decision on the matter claiming the sonar examination was enough when asked if he still believed tom was a runaway
Lewis responded quote right now we have no evidence to say that anything else has happened no evidence to show that a
crime has been committed at this point he is missing penny concluded the conference she
expressed gratitude to the Facebook group mums for Tom who promoted the ongoing search for her son she then
finished with once again we're pleading with the public or anyone who might have
some shred of information which could lead to a break in the case I know this is every parent's nightmare and that we
are not alone but we do know what my son Thomas forgot please do not forget my son over these
months I have continued to text Thomas that I love him and that I miss him and I will never give up trying to find him
these messages have gone unanswered about praying for answers we are confident someone knows more information
or have heard rumors please help us no lead is too vague or insignificant the smallest piece of information may help
you may contact any of the following with information the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Texas a
missing persons Clearing House at Texas DPS the Texas Rangers the Hill County Sheriff's Office and Kline
investigations thank you by August 2017 private investigator Philip Kline said he was treating the
case as a homicide although he didn't necessarily think it was a premeditated slain he believed it possible that Tom
had run into friends or enemies and was killed accidentally claun conducted further interviews with
people around town clarifying statements that had discrepancies he revealed there
were three young persons of interest who was focusing on he would not name them quote I'm 100% sure somebody in Canadian
knows I'm 95% sure a young person was involved in this they made too many mistakes
we're coming we found are those mistakes the person out there and I'm pretty sure
they're listening if you just did something you thought was a joke or lost your anger for a couple of minutes you
need to come forward Cline sprayed the interior of Toms vehicle with luminol to determine if there were further traces
of blood inside Klein didn't reveal the results of this test simply saying the investigation was ongoing Klein then
appealed to anyone who was in downtown Canadian on the morning of Tom's disappearance specifically he appealed
to the driver of a dark brown a Ford 250 pickup truck believed to be driven by a
Caucasian male several witnesses spotted this vehicle driving around Canadian shortly after Tom's disappearance
furthermore Klein made an appeal for volunteers to assist him with a search earlier he conducted his own smaller
scale search around a lake Marvin Road where Tom's backpack was discovered climbed found items of clothing the
shirt and a pair of socks that he believed could have been Tom's on October 14th 2017 five hundred
volunteers offered to help conduct a larger scale search of Lake Marvin Road Klein selected 135 people to help him
over 30 bags of potential evidence were collected Hemphill County Sheriff's Department were present and assisted
to everyone's surprise a major discovery was made within the first five minutes of the search it was an iPhone 6s
excitement peeked that was the same model as Tom's but hope had belonged to Tom faded almost immediately the phone
was in excellent condition undamaged with no dirt in the port's it didn't look to have been in the brush long
there was dirt on the phone itself been attending law enforcement were of the opinion had looked as though someone had
smeared it on the phone the phone was sent to the lab for testing the water sensor in the device was not activated
this men had had not been exposed to rain since the time of Tom's disappearance almost a year prior to the
phone being found Hemphill County had received thirteen point eight five inches of rain the phone was given to
the FBI for further processing there have been no updates regarding the phone it has not been publicly confirmed if it
belonged to Tom Moore naught also found at during the search was a black zippered case for a pistol it was empty
the case could have held a 25 caliber pistol matching the casing found in Toms vehicle however the pistol itself was
not located frustrated by a lack of progress Tom's family hired attorney Rosana Aubrey oh she filed an open
records request with Hemphill County Sheriff's Department abraão believed that by releasing information on the
case and might compel a witness to come forward penny meek stated I know more about the
Las Vegas shooter or the church shooter than my own son's case that is kind of frustrating because I am the mum private
investigator Phillip client filed his own open records request he wanted access to police radio communications
dispatch logs and denotes by officers from the night of and the morning after Tom's disappearance
County Attorney called Miller objected to opening the records claiming it could compromise future criminal prosecution
he was tasked with marking which parts of the files could be exempt from disclosure on December 20th 2017 Miller
failed to complete this task in the allotted time in light of this the Assistant Attorney General concluded all
the information must be released however sheriff Nathan Lewis appealed this decision claiming releasing the
documents would compromise the ongoing investigation the sheriff understood the desire for
knowledge but not at the risk of impeding his investigation Penney organized the petition to open the files
had received eight thousand signatures in five days in response sheriff Lewis formally asked
the Texas Attorney General's Office to take charge of the investigation his request was sent on January 26th 2018
Lewis stated I don't know how much more they are going to be able to do that hasn't been done Lewis maintained other
avenues were still being pursued this included a court order request to perform a tower dump of cellphone towers
in Canadian around the time Tom disappeared this could reveal who was out that night and where they were the
Texas Attorney General's Office took over the case in the early months of 2018 the Hemphill County Sheriff's
Department and private investigator Philip Kline handed them all their current findings Kline is continuing
with his own investigation on behalf of Tom's family everyone in Canadian has their own theory as to what happened to
Tom Brown on Thanksgiving Eve November 23rd 2016 the case is rife with speculation misinformation and
unanswered questions private investigator Philip Kline quote all cases have their own fingerprints on
them this is a highly unusual case it's a small town everyone knows everyone when told of rumors circulating on
social media that officials in Canadian were paid off to keep secrets Klein stated I will go as far to say
that is an exaggeration but I will say that we are exploring some angles that are off the beaten path Tom's family
believed without a doubt he met with foul play and his ordeal began just after he arrived at the front coil gas
station the case remains open a map detailing all the locations of interest in Tom Brian's disappearance is
available to view on the case file website and in the show notes for this episode on May 20th 2017 Tom's classic
Canadian high school graduated the seniors sat together in alphabetical order the seat reserved for Tom Brown
was left empty when his name was announced he should have risen and received his diploma instead the crowd
held a moment of silence [Music] you [Music]

Case 85: Tom Brown

Midnight approached on Thanksgiving Eve, November 23rd, 2016. Penny Meek was up waiting for her son Tom Brown, who was due home any moment…

Map for Tom Brown’s episode https://www.casefilepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/85-thomas-brown.pdf

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Anonymous Host Writing – Milly Raso Additional edits – Tayla Vos Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-85-tom-brown

Brief Summary

Tom Brown disappeared on Thanksgiving Eve 2016, leading to a complex investigation with many unanswered questions.

Key points

The Disappearance of Tom Brown. On Thanksgiving Eve, Tom Brown goes missing, prompting a frantic search by his family.
The Search Intensifies. As hours pass without any sign of Tom, the search expands, involving law enforcement and locals.
Mystery of Tom's Last Movements. Security footage reveals Tom's last known movements, but raises more questions than answers.
Community Support for Tom's Family. The Canadian community rallied to support Tom's family with food cards and flowers.
Backpack Discovery. A worker finds Tom's backpack, raising questions about his disappearance.
Investigation Shifts Focus. Private investigator Philip Klein begins to doubt the runaway theory, suggesting foul play.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Tom had vanished.

The search for Tom escalates as he remains missing.

5:45WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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