Cold and Missing: Melissa Crabtree

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. 2 00:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400 All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 3 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160 Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560 Listener discretion is advised. 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280 I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski. 6 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680 And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,480 And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. 8 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:37,000 Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing. 9 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:42,840 I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski, and it will just be me coming to you this week. 10 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:48,960 Well, actually, in this episode, you will have the opportunity to hear from the family 11 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:55,840 of a missing person, the brother and sister-in-law of the person we are covering today, who 12 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:57,960 is Melissa Crabtree. 13 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:02,160 So I think we should just go ahead and just get right into this because there's a lot 14 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:03,580 to cover here. 15 00:01:03,580 --> 00:01:08,160 Just as a quick content warning at the top, the case we are covering today does have brief 16 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,740 mentions of death by suicide. 17 00:01:10,740 --> 00:01:15,680 If you or someone you love is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can dial 988 if you're 18 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:22,760 in the United States, or you can visit 988lifeline.org to speak with somebody. 19 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:28,920 Today we are covering the missing person case of Melissa Crabtree, and this takes place 20 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,520 in March of 2020 in Taos, New Mexico. 21 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:37,800 And also throughout the timeline today, you will be hearing from Peter, this is Melissa's 22 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,400 brother, and Paige, Melissa's sister-in-law. 23 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,320 Peter and Paige are married. 24 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:46,840 First things first, a little bit about Melissa. 25 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,240 Melissa is 51 years old in 2020. 26 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,920 She would be 55 years old today. 27 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:54,440 Melissa is legendary. 28 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,960 Her brother Peter had this to say about her. 29 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,280 She was always the best at everything. 30 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:07,800 And I both glorified her as a sister. 31 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,080 I was four years younger. 32 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:17,120 So it was tough to follow in her footsteps in elementary school back then because she 33 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:23,400 had set the bar so high, both athletically and academically. 34 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:29,640 And that really came through sheer determination and hard work, especially with her grades. 35 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:38,880 She worked her butt off studying and training for anything that was her goal at the time. 36 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:44,040 Yeah, she always had a big personality. 37 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,320 And she was funny. 38 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,160 Her top choice for college was actually Dartmouth. 39 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:56,840 And she applied early admission for her college essay and instead of doing a traditional 40 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:11,320 Essay, she puts together a rap using the background music of the Chicago superbowl shuffle. 41 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:25,600 And she could be really intense when she got angry, her anger could be just as intense. 42 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:33,480 One thing throughout it was she always had very unhealthy relationships. 43 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:44,800 And she ultimately often remained friends with her old partners, many of whom I'm in 44 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:46,280 touch with today. 45 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:52,720 And they all admit it was very unhealthy relationships. 46 00:03:52,720 --> 00:04:04,080 But like I said, they get very, very, very loud and just a lot of screaming. 47 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:05,080 Yeah. 48 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:14,760 Well, as far as the sister in law, I knew Melissa as sort of a legend before I even knew her 49 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,080 because of the veggie band thing. 50 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:27,240 And she put together this vegetable band tour based out of Berkeley in the late 90s. 51 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:37,520 It's like one of the first people to bring mass attention to the ability to use cooking 52 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:44,280 oil as a source for youth in a combustion engine. 53 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:45,280 Yeah. 54 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:50,360 So she went around the country, doing this veggie band tour. 55 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:56,640 Melissa excelled at what she put her mind to and was passionate and had strong convictions. 56 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:02,000 From being a star athlete who just missed the Olympics by a hair to a white water and 57 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:07,920 ocean kayaking guide and excelling in folk music that she wrote herself. 58 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:12,600 I'm going to include links to Melissa's music in the show notes and I highly recommend that 59 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,040 you check it out. 60 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:20,320 She's an incredible artist and especially if you like folk music, which I do, I really 61 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,320 enjoyed it. 62 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:23,760 So please check it out. 63 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:28,920 Everything started to slow down a bit for Melissa when she was diagnosed with Lyme disease. 64 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:33,480 The disease had been slowly taking over her body and by the time she caught up with it, 65 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,260 she was in the clutches of it. 66 00:05:35,260 --> 00:05:41,040 She was supported in part by Sweet Relief, an organization that helps support musicians. 67 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,440 And she also had friends in her life that would support her financially. 68 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,400 But still she struggled with facing houselessness. 69 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:53,160 She jumped from place to place and because of her Lyme disease, it was difficult to find 70 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,480 accommodations that suited everything she needed or required. 71 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,680 And now a timeline of events. 72 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:07,100 On February 6th, 2020, Melissa had been going through a mental health crisis. 73 00:06:07,100 --> 00:06:12,600 She was sick with her Lyme disease, facing houselessness, had been going through a tough 74 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:14,960 breakup and had lost her father. 75 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,040 Were all kind of things leading up to this event. 76 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:23,000 She drives a car to the Taos Gorge Bridge with the intention of jumping off of it. 77 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,780 However, at the bridge, she calls her ex girlfriend and asks for help. 78 00:06:27,780 --> 00:06:32,600 When Melissa's ex comes and picks her up from the bridge, she takes Melissa to a psychiatric 79 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,960 hospital where Melissa voluntarily checks in for the next five days. 80 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:42,000 On February 9th, Melissa's car is still in the Gorge Bridge parking lot and has been 81 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,460 sitting there for around three days. 82 00:06:44,460 --> 00:06:47,840 So it's tagged to be towed if it's not moved. 83 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:52,840 Upon her release from the hospital, Melissa is still working the sedation medication out 84 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:57,920 of her system when she calls her brother, Peter, using somebody else's phone. 85 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:00,320 Here's how Peter remembers this phone call. 86 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:10,840 Yeah, the last time I talked to her was the day after she got released from psychiatric 87 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,600 hospital, which she had checked into on her own. 88 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:19,600 And she was still really drugged up from whatever they put her on. 89 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:21,600 She was not happy about it. 90 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,240 She was hard to understand. 91 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:24,720 And she knew she knew it. 92 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:26,920 She was hard to understand. 93 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,480 Like her awareness was fully there. 94 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:36,360 She knew that she was like, she's like, yeah, and she listed the drugs that they had put 95 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,520 her on and I was like, wow. 96 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:46,160 Yeah, like, yeah, they were giving her psychotropic medicine that was meant to like knock 97 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:47,160 you out and shit. 98 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:48,160 Right. 99 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:56,480 So yeah, she was just really desperately asking if I knew anywhere for her. 100 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:08,040 She tried to shelter and she's like, people were openly doing drunks and bad stuff going on and she just feels unsafe there. 101 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:09,040 Right. 102 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,480 She had a place that she was saying in the actual house. 103 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:13,480 Okay. 104 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:23,800 And she got freaked out there because according to her and the person whose house it was also 105 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:30,960 said that most of us made these same claims to her was that a pickup truck kept driving 106 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:35,920 by and I was like, call the police. 107 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,360 And she's like, I can't call the police. 108 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,360 They're in on it. 109 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:48,080 And like everything she was saying was paranoid and delusional. 110 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:49,080 Sure. 111 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:55,280 But I had lived in New Mexico for several years and graduated nursing school in Albuquerque 112 00:08:55,280 --> 00:09:00,960 and I can tell you, I've seen and heard things that maybe someone's not paranoid when they 113 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:06,960 say that about that happening in New Mexico because I've experienced things happening 114 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:11,640 to people I knew that would sound insane and paranoid to other people too. 115 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:13,880 But it's really happening. 116 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:14,880 It's not paranoia. 117 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:20,120 So I was like, it scared me when he told me that. 118 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:24,160 On February 13th, Melissa's car is towed from the parking lot. 119 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:26,880 Her phone was found in the car. 120 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,840 Family didn't necessarily find it odd that she left her cell phone behind since this 121 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:35,660 is something that she would often do when she wanted to unplug or get away. 122 00:09:35,660 --> 00:09:41,520 On February 23rd, a good friend of Melissa sees her at the Hanuman temple in Taos. 123 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,880 The Hanuman temple is open to all people and will provide meals. 124 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:51,400 Later, when this friend spoke to Peter and Paige, she is sure that she saw Melissa there 125 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,880 and said that they spent hours together talking. 126 00:09:54,880 --> 00:10:00,000 She even says that later that evening, Melissa and her talked on the phone. 127 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,360 Melissa was calling from an unknown number. 128 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:08,560 On February 29th, after not being able to get a hold of his sister, and after her not 129 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:12,240 contacting him, Peter reports her missing. 130 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,400 Peter and Paige begin making plans to get to Taos, but COVID shutdowns are starting 131 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,340 up and this complicates their travel. 132 00:10:19,340 --> 00:10:25,160 On March 3rd, the under sheriff, Steve Mira, does conduct a search focusing on the area 133 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:27,080 where her car was last seen. 134 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:32,480 He says, quote, we are in the process of exhausting all means to pursue leads, one of which is 135 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:37,120 because her vehicle was found at the bridge, the probability that she may have jumped, 136 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:38,880 unquote. 137 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:44,280 Peter and Paige arrive in Taos just as the COVID shutdowns are beginning to take effect. 138 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:45,280 Here's Peter and Paige. 139 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,640 We got there, we were able to get there. 140 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:51,680 We just had to secure a place. 141 00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:56,880 Unfortunately, we had an acquaintance at a place out there that they usually rented out 142 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,720 as a B&B, but it was COVID. 143 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,520 So, right, they just, fortunately, they let us stay there. 144 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:09,120 So once we secured a place to stay, we laid for a week, we flew out and did as much stuff 145 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:15,520 as we could on foot, talking to people, got to the sheriff's office just in time as they 146 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,400 were putting the COVID signage on the bus. 147 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:19,400 Oh. 148 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,120 And getting ready to close for the day. 149 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,560 That was the first place we went. 150 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:30,720 To find out that the detective had been handling Melissa's case, they promised it to pass on, 151 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:35,400 pass the information and file onto the next oncoming person assigned to that duty. 152 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:41,400 And done so, and so her file had just been sitting there in the week or so before we 153 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,520 got there, just sitting there and nobody working on it. 154 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:45,520 Gotcha. 155 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:51,920 So we were at least able to like prompt them to get started on it, but the vibe wasn't 156 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,280 like super friendly. 157 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:59,360 Peter and Paige scramble to talk to everyone that knows Melissa, and again and again, they 158 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:04,800 talk to folks that swear they have seen her within the last week or few days. 159 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:06,800 Here's Peter and Paige with more. 160 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,480 Numerous people that had spotted her at a supermarket. 161 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,720 Yeah, we went to that supermarket and asked for video. 162 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:21,160 And by the time that we were able on our own to work up the chain of command, it had already 163 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:22,640 restarted itself. 164 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:24,960 Right, like we recorded over itself. 165 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:25,960 Yeah. 166 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:32,920 Do you know when it was after you last talked to her when she was seen at the supermarket 167 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:43,200 or between the we had an exact date and time at the time and it was the same week that 168 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:44,760 we were down there. 169 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:45,760 Okay. 170 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,420 So it was in March sometime. 171 00:12:49,420 --> 00:12:52,720 And it was like a supermarket in Taos right there. 172 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:53,720 Yeah. 173 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:54,720 Okay. 174 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:55,720 Okay. 175 00:12:55,720 --> 00:13:02,640 So people at the ashram so they feed her at a few different places. 176 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:03,640 Yeah. 177 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:04,640 Interesting. 178 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:05,640 Hmm. 179 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:08,640 So, oh, I'm sorry, go ahead. 180 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:16,080 There were multiple sightings in the weeks after, but none from people that I had known 181 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:20,000 or knew how well they knew Melissa. 182 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:25,960 So that they were numerous, I'd say probably 25. 183 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:28,520 Oh, wow. 184 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,560 In that month. 185 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:36,640 On March 5, 2020, investigators searched the rim of the canyon and scan the river and the 186 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,360 banks below to search for any sign of Melissa. 187 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:45,600 The local rafters in the area show up in droves since they all knew Melissa. 188 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:49,360 Rafters with experience in search and rescue volunteered their time searching the river 189 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:55,760 and there was no sign of Melissa, nor has any sign of Melissa turned up in the river. 190 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,760 Investigators do go back to the home where she was staying. 191 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:03,440 They don't process anything in the home evidence wise, according to family, but they do take 192 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,280 a look at the room that Melissa was staying in. 193 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,460 Inside the bedside table, they find her wallet. 194 00:14:09,460 --> 00:14:14,640 They also noted that a Native American artifact was left in disarray. 195 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,560 According to everyone that knows Melissa, she would have never left this particular 196 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:21,820 item in disarray or mess. 197 00:14:21,820 --> 00:14:28,320 Melissa was not an organized person with her items necessarily, but with this artifact, 198 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:30,960 she was always very careful and tidy. 199 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:35,160 So this is something that is strange to those that know Melissa. 200 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:40,860 At the beginning of this case, everything is not only complicated by COVID and shutdowns, 201 00:14:40,860 --> 00:14:45,440 but it's also complicated by the fact that police believe that Melissa jumped off of 202 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:50,660 the bridge and for weeks this is the theory that they work off of and they believe they 203 00:14:50,660 --> 00:14:53,600 will find her body when the water levels change. 204 00:14:53,600 --> 00:15:00,520 However, as the weeks creep on and the rafters in the community still find no trace of Melissa 205 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:05,660 and even though her family is finding more and more people who have seen her, police 206 00:15:05,660 --> 00:15:09,020 still rely on this theory. 207 00:15:09,020 --> 00:15:13,200 Rafters in the community still find no trace of Melissa and the river reaches historic 208 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:18,480 lows and still no sign of Melissa is found. 209 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:24,740 Search and rescue have concluded, she absolutely did not jump from the bridge. 210 00:15:24,740 --> 00:15:29,800 Over the next several months in 2020, Peter and Paige will work to track down all of Melissa's 211 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:31,640 personal items. 212 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:36,360 Melissa had put a bunch of her stuff into a storage unit before going on tour a while 213 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:38,800 before she went missing in 2020. 214 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:43,480 But Peter and Paige also discover that just weeks before she went missing in March of 215 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:48,700 2020, she put most of the items she had with her in a storage unit. 216 00:15:48,700 --> 00:15:52,620 As Peter and Paige worked their way through all of Melissa's belongings looking for 217 00:15:52,620 --> 00:15:57,480 any clue of what might have happened to her or where she might have gone, one thing they 218 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:03,760 do take note of is that all of her outdoor gear, her best outdoor gear, is missing. 219 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:04,760 Here's Peter. 220 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:11,360 What's still saying something to me is all her best gear is not with any of her stuff. 221 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,920 Does that lead you to believe that she has it with her? 222 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,880 Yeah, either. 223 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:17,880 Yeah. 224 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:30,720 It's possible the police have it and she had multiple units of, you know, the top equipment 225 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,520 and I don't see any of it. 226 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:40,160 And I'm sure her friends wouldn't have taken it. 227 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:45,240 Around March 2021, so Melissa has been missing for a full year. 228 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:52,480 Someone that knew Melissa very well was in Pueblo, Colorado, when she believes, 99% sure, 229 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:53,880 that she sees Melissa. 230 00:16:53,880 --> 00:17:04,680 About a year after she disappeared, a person that knew Melissa well said they were 99% 231 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:13,280 they saw her leaving in a soup kitchen and then cross the street and disappear into the 232 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:20,680 woods by a river and go back in Pueblo, Colorado. 233 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:21,680 Yeah. 234 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:22,680 In Pueblo? 235 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,360 Yeah, about five from Taos, you know. 236 00:17:25,360 --> 00:17:26,360 Yeah. 237 00:17:26,360 --> 00:17:27,360 Hmm. 238 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:28,360 And this was a year, you said? 239 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:29,360 Yeah. 240 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:30,360 Okay. 241 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:31,360 So like March 2021 ish? 242 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:32,360 Yeah. 243 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:33,360 Yeah. 244 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:34,360 Okay. 245 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:39,600 She, she talked to Peter on speakerphone and she said that she was so sure it was her 246 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:41,600 that she went around the block. 247 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,240 But she didn't want to go after her and scare her. 248 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,280 So she asked me what I thought she should do. 249 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:51,880 I said, just keep your eyes. 250 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,320 I said, I thought she was right. 251 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:59,760 If it was her and she's safe, he probably shouldn't scare her. 252 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:00,760 Right. 253 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:09,560 And to keep her eyes open and you know, around the soup truck and if he stood around to, 254 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,760 you know, approach her carefully and lovingly. 255 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:20,160 I wouldn't go after her because if she's safe, she doesn't want to be found and it could 256 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:22,640 just put her in more danger. 257 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:23,640 And right. 258 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:30,960 And you know, that's at least that would be a good sign that she's safe and being taken 259 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:31,960 care of. 260 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:37,960 And I mean, that's something that I think regardless of whatever mental state Melissa 261 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:49,760 is in or innate ability or just primal instinct to survive is in her knowledge of all these 262 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:56,640 different environments is one that she can survive pretty much anywhere in any environment. 263 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:02,400 So Melissa has all that knowledge and I think regardless of what mental state she's in, 264 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,000 she'd be able to use that. 265 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:12,880 So yeah, I mean, I think that that is that's a plausible theory that she disappeared. 266 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:15,800 I think it's plausible that she got taken. 267 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:20,040 I think it's plausible that she she killed herself. 268 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,040 Yeah. 269 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:27,600 And there's also there's also the thing where, you know, even though she's one of those experienced 270 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:34,000 outdoors women in North America, people still can break their ankle. 271 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,000 Totally. 272 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,000 Yeah. 273 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,600 It's such a long time to go on. 274 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:47,360 I was from someone who had known her for years, wouldn't call you to just be scandalous or 275 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:50,720 stir up some drama that could be the center. 276 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:52,720 She's not that type of person. 277 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:53,720 Right. 278 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,280 And she didn't she say, I want to make sure I get this right. 279 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:01,200 She went around the block and saw her a second time and said her name. 280 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:06,360 And when she said her name, the woman turned or the pressure to say the person with long 281 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:08,960 hair that looks like Melissa. 282 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:15,120 Wearing gear, tight and stacked like Melissa would have the gear. 283 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:16,120 Right. 284 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:20,840 And she under the bridge and to the by the river and to the woods, which would also be 285 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:21,840 on Melissa move. 286 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,120 And then she come from an area where people were getting food. 287 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:27,120 Right. 288 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:28,120 Right. 289 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:30,640 That adds up in a geographical area. 290 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:31,640 Not too far. 291 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,600 That actually gives me a lot of hope. 292 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:38,720 Melissa's family has searched other areas that were meaningful to Melissa for any sign 293 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:41,440 of her and nothing has come up to date. 294 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:46,400 The family acknowledges that everything is on the table until it's proven otherwise. 295 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,840 They know she did not jump from the bridge. 296 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:50,840 So what did happen to Melissa? 297 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,560 When I asked what people should do if they believe they see her, this is what they had 298 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:55,560 to say. 299 00:20:55,560 --> 00:21:04,920 I think just really just approach her slowly and just casually as they would ordinarily 300 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,160 as if she hasn't been missing. 301 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:09,920 Like they would see her every day. 302 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:10,920 Yeah. 303 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:20,440 And then just say to let her know that her brother's got all her stuff safely stored 304 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:26,360 at home and has a clean room for her to live in anytime she wants. 305 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:31,560 You know, without any allergies and other specs. 306 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:37,400 And if she just wants to go away, that's fine too. 307 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,360 Just right now that she's alive. 308 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:41,360 Yeah. 309 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:50,360 And then just let people know that anywhere that there might be in any part of the country, 310 00:21:50,360 --> 00:22:00,520 that Melissa loved, which could be anywhere in the Rockies, the Canyon Islands, in Utah, 311 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:06,000 in Mexico, that she could look completely different. 312 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,560 Her hair could be short, her hair could be dark. 313 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:11,680 She could be dirty. 314 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,520 She could be cut up. 315 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:22,960 So don't be scared to look in the eyes of homeless people or people that appear homeless. 316 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,480 And my opinion was so. 317 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:27,480 Yeah, absolutely. 318 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:28,480 Yeah. 319 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:41,200 As far as any foul play, I mean, I think that's is strong a possibility as any to, I mean, 320 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:49,520 I think it's quite equal between doing something to herself or disappearing or foul play. 321 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,640 And I think they're all pretty equal. 322 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:59,800 But of course, if you know that Melissa Crabtree was met with foul play or something bad has 323 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:07,360 happened to Melissa, please call the Taos police at 575-758-3361. 324 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:14,920 The sources for the timeline today come from Taos News, KRQE News, and Melissa's family. 325 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,680 So that is the case of Melissa Crabtree. 326 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:24,160 And hopefully, if you've listened to last week's episode in this one, you see why I 327 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,160 wanted to tell these two with each other. 328 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:34,120 And I don't tell them necessarily because I think they're related to each other. 329 00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:39,600 There doesn't appear to be any like strong patterns between the two. 330 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:46,400 But just because of the location, I think with Melissa's case, what seems very obvious 331 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,120 is that police dropped the ball. 332 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:56,160 And maybe if we didn't see like kind of a history of this with Holly's case as well, 333 00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:01,000 we could chalk it up to COVID because, you know, just as Melissa goes missing and is 334 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,920 reported missing, the COVID shutdown start happening. 335 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:09,400 And that was like a very chaotic time for everybody. 336 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,400 So maybe you could chalk it up to that. 337 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:19,260 But the fact is, we know that this is kind of a history for them that if they have any 338 00:24:19,260 --> 00:24:27,160 reason to believe that somebody jumped from the Gorge Bridge, then they'll simply kind 339 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:32,880 of give themselves six months before they start looking or considering anything else 340 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,600 because that will just be like the most likely. 341 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:41,400 And yeah, there were searches done, you know, of the river of the canyon kind of immediately 342 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:42,400 afterwards. 343 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:47,880 But there was no proof that that had that's what had happened. 344 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:53,720 In fact, there was a lot of evidence against that because she had been seen in like very 345 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:58,920 reputable and checkable places since her car had been parked in the parking lot. 346 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,260 Melissa's car is tagged on the ninth. 347 00:25:02,260 --> 00:25:05,280 So that means it had been sitting there for a while already. 348 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:10,080 But it's like she was, you know, in a hospital. 349 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,540 There are records like those are things that police can check. 350 00:25:13,540 --> 00:25:20,400 And so maybe if they had done that, they would have done things like, you know, take a little 351 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,240 closer look at her room. 352 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,640 It was common for Melissa to kind of have a messy room. 353 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:32,000 But for this, you know, kind of sacred object to her to be left in a disarray, that was 354 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,080 weird to everyone who knew her. 355 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,460 Everyone said that that was something that was weird. 356 00:25:38,460 --> 00:25:43,760 It just feels like the police really put themselves at a disadvantage when they just kind of lean 357 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:52,640 on a theory that's like kind of thin, especially in this case where there are known instances 358 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:57,880 of Melissa being seen after her car is like ditched in this parking lot, essentially. 359 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:03,080 So it's like always frustrating, you know, when you're looking at it years later to just 360 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:09,580 like, just like want to like be like, why didn't police do more in those weeks following 361 00:26:09,580 --> 00:26:12,160 to like, maybe they could have tracked her down. 362 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:16,840 And she would have said, hey, like, I, I want to be missing, I want to be gone, like, I 363 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:18,520 don't, I don't need to be found. 364 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:23,500 And then they would have said, like, okay, and communicated that to, you know, her family. 365 00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:28,480 And then she could go live off of the grid, which could be a possibility. 366 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,640 I think it's always like a beautiful reminder. 367 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:36,800 Something that Peter said is like, you know, look at people who are facing houselessness 368 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:40,800 in the eyes, like you just like, don't really know who they are. 369 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:46,240 And like, maybe it's somebody who is missing and is having like a really tough time. 370 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:51,400 So just like, you know, if you're listening to this podcast, I assume like you are interested 371 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,680 in missing person advocacy. 372 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,380 So like, that's just such a great reminder that like, there are people, you know, living 373 00:26:58,380 --> 00:27:02,000 on the fringes of society that like a lot of the times we don't want to look at. 374 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:06,400 But like, that might be where a lot of missing folks are. 375 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:14,580 I do hope that, you know, in the future, someone can get the message to Melissa that, you know, 376 00:27:14,580 --> 00:27:19,860 she is loved, her brother has a place ready for her whenever she wants to come home, like, 377 00:27:19,860 --> 00:27:20,980 she can come home. 378 00:27:20,980 --> 00:27:24,080 I hope that message gets to her. 379 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,920 And I hope she really hears that message and feels that and even if that's not what she 380 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:32,480 wants to be doing, like I hope she I just like really want Melissa to get that message 381 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:38,200 and just know that she is deeply loved by her family and is thought about and, you know, 382 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:42,400 talked about like very highly and I hope that message gets to her. 383 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:47,360 I do agree with the family that it's like, everything is equally possible right now. 384 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:52,800 Like maybe she did want to completely disappear and go live off of the grid. 385 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:57,000 Maybe there is a foul play element here. 386 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:01,260 Or maybe she did want to die by suicide. 387 00:28:01,260 --> 00:28:06,160 All of those things are possible, but until something is completely ruled out with evidence, 388 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:09,400 like everything has to be considered right now. 389 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:13,400 It's almost like if you pick up Melissa's case and kind of look at it from one angle, 390 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,700 you can you see her gear is missing. 391 00:28:16,700 --> 00:28:20,800 You hear her paranoia and in the days leading up to her disappearance, she's kind of moving 392 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:22,400 around a lot. 393 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:27,340 And then in the weeks after she's hopping around and calling from people that she knows 394 00:28:27,340 --> 00:28:32,040 from different numbers, so maybe she wants to disappear and cover her tracks and like 395 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,560 get off the grid and go. 396 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:40,980 And then if you look at it from another angle, you know, you can see that she was struggling 397 00:28:40,980 --> 00:28:48,640 with mental health, that, you know, she initially drove to the bridge to die by suicide. 398 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:52,900 So maybe it wasn't the bridge, maybe she found another way to do it. 399 00:28:52,900 --> 00:28:55,760 And then you turn the case another way. 400 00:28:55,760 --> 00:29:00,000 And there's also a possibility of like maybe she was met with foul play. 401 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,880 You know, she was hopping around from place to place. 402 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:08,820 Maybe somebody took advantage of the vulnerable state that she was in. 403 00:29:08,820 --> 00:29:15,680 You know, you hear Paige's fear of New Mexico and of the strangeness that's happening in 404 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:16,680 Taos. 405 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,760 You hear Melissa talking about a pickup truck and that's, you know, really what is making 406 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,560 her nervous and the police even being in on it. 407 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:30,280 And then the police kind of having this delayed response to her case and to searching for 408 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:31,880 her and all of that. 409 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:35,080 And then the artifacts left in disarray in her room, like, you know, then you see all 410 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,860 those things and think, well, maybe that's a possibility too. 411 00:29:37,860 --> 00:29:41,960 So really it's like everything is on the table until it's off. 412 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:47,560 And, and I really hope that as this case progresses, that we can get some of these things off the 413 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:51,280 table one way or the other for Peter and Paige. 414 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:55,800 And for those who knew and loved Melissa, so many people have been reaching out to Peter 415 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:57,500 and Paige. 416 00:29:57,500 --> 00:30:01,700 Somebody reached out to me on this case and then put me into contact with Peter. 417 00:30:01,700 --> 00:30:09,640 So Melissa is deeply loved by a community and people who want the best for her and want 418 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:14,960 answers as to what happened to her because she's a part of their lives still. 419 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:19,200 So yeah, when this case came to me, you know, through an email, I knew it was something 420 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:26,640 that I had to cover and couldn't just be written off as like the police kind of wanted to do. 421 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:30,120 They wanted to like write it off as that, you know, she jumped off of the bridge, but 422 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,320 like we can't let that happen here. 423 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:37,000 We'll be posting pictures of Melissa throughout the week on our Instagram. 424 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:43,200 So you can follow us there at Cold and Missing to get an idea of what she looks like and 425 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:48,220 what she could be looking like if she is living off of the grid. 426 00:30:48,220 --> 00:30:51,780 If you could just take a moment before you move on to your next podcast or the next thing 427 00:30:51,780 --> 00:30:56,000 you're doing around your house, if you could just review us, if you're an Apple podcast, 428 00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:02,680 you can leave us a written review or you can leave us a five star, a thumbs up, a heart, 429 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:10,560 whatever the whatever the metric is in your podcast player is perfectly fine. 430 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,600 And we appreciate every single one we get. 431 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:14,960 So thank you if you've already done that. 432 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:20,480 And we will have transcripts of this episode and the rest of our episodes on our website 433 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:28,560 www.coldandmissing.com and you can go there and find all our past episodes along with 434 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:30,920 transcripts for all of those episodes. 435 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,320 But that's all that I have for this week. 436 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:38,640 I just want to give a quick thank you again so much to Peter and Paige who carved some 437 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:44,880 time out of their week to sit down with me and tell me more about Melissa and their memories 438 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:51,280 of her which was so fun to hear about and then also to go through the painful memories 439 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:56,320 of what those days were like realizing that she was missing. 440 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:59,920 So thank you again to Peter and Paige. 441 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:01,760 Thank you for listening to Cold and Missing. 442 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:03,240 I'm your host Allie. 443 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:18,240 Have a good week and stay safe y'all.