The Long November | Chapter 1
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This podcast is intended for mature audiences. Listener direction is advised.

On november second two thousand seven, eighteen year old Justin gains walked out of a popular club in the luth, georgia, just northwest of atlanta. In the early morning hours, he was spotted climbing into a car with a Young woman and was never seen again.

Despite dozens of volunteers searching, flyers hanging on local businesses, extensive news coverage and even the georgian national guard lending their services, there was no trace of Justin gains, yet seemingly vanished. There were no answers to explain his disappearance in the case eventually went cold. Eight years later, that would all change. A new league gave investigators insight into what happened to Justin that night, and this story would take a sinister turn.

At some point there's a tussle, and he chokes him out, and they thought that they had killed him. So they wrap him up in a paint tar.

I thought he was dead, but he wasn't dead in one shooting. They put him in a in and hold them away.

Investigators in connect county are working to identify human steel remains, found the cult. The disappearance of Justin James takes a grow turn as law enforcement sources reveal new details and what they're now calling a murder investigation .

found .

police searched every square inch of these woods off of georgia highway through sixteen and drowning creek road. A detailed confession alleged that Justin gains was robed in, murdered and that his body was dumped in nearby lake land year when Justin's body resurface. Days later, he was moved into a large metal box and thrown down a well. A suspect confessed to exactly what happened to Justin gains and named everyone who was involved in his death.

Dilling glass said he killed Justin.

He took that earring out of Justin to hear the night. Det, he was killed. So why to this day has no one been arrested for his murder?

The problem with this case is not just that we don't have a body, is that we don't have a crime sae, we don't have any physical evidence of death. We don't have a massive blood. We don't have a murder weapon. We don't have.

To me, there's no such thing .

as a conspiracy that can be broken when you will get more than two people, somebody y's eventually gonna. K and there are a lot of people in this.

in my man. If we could man at mother, that would be the key to the whole puzzle.

I believe that if his body was mind, people would start talking.

And that's where I come in. I'm here to get people talking.

E, C, L, bill is man. They would rather believe a life in the truth. They don't wanna believe the truth.

They don't won justice. They want a conviction. No matter how you dress IT up or make IT more, I never killed that boy. That things that I will give you and show you, and I have proved to there's a lot of things that people don't know. There's a lot of things that people are not heard.

From wavelan, i'm shan cab, and this is drowning creek.

Georgia in the fall is beautiful. Even in early november, temperatures often hang right around a comfortable sixty to sixty five degrees, and the leaves have begun, by this point, to change the shades of Christ son, yellow ish, gold and orange as they fall and cover the sidewalks and yard in a blanket of color. Justin gains in a few friends live together just off the iconic campus of gains will state college in athons.

In two thousand seven, Justin was a freshman, and this was the first time he lived away from his parents. As any college freshman is, Justin was full of hope and excitement, even if he hadn't quite figured out what IT was he wanted to do with his life. On the afternoon of thursday, november first, he made the our long drive to his parents home and snowballed georgia to change cloth and hang out with his siblings and his folks. Before going out that night, his mother, eric, and stepfather, Stephen Wilson, still kept his bedroom just the way IT was before he moved out, because he sometimes came home from school to stay for the weekend. But also, I think just in case he disappeared into his old room and picked out the clothes he would wear out that night, the last outfit he would ever wear, he would decide, with Stevens approving eye on a grey abro mbi shirt, stylishly rip genes and ten issues Justin was never shy about getting a second opinion on something, especially on how we looked needed.

Any help for any guidance? Or mom, do you think I should move into this place? This is what i'm looking to do for college. Applied for this, and he always asks for the opinion. And, I mean, he walked in. I was like to my husband, hey, Steve, on what hurt to I wear in night for the ladies and my husband wear with your blue? Yes, don't wear that Brown n IT like maybe the most important .

part of Justin's outfit though, a huge diamond dearing that never strayed far from his left year, he liked the way I looked, but IT also said, i've got style and money. Cubic zirconium, but who could tell? Justin was all about his image.

He worked out all the time, and his bright blue eyes complimented his baby face. His friends called him gains, or sometimes gater, that that was more of a nickname. He seemed to try and implement himself.

His friends just went on wrong with IT. He grabs some cash and left his wallet behind in the bedroom. On his way out, Steven asked just and if he wanted to make a few extra box over the weekend, something he did from time to time, to earn extra cash, Justin said, sure.

at that time, we owned a roofing company, and we would have Justin clean gutters on the weekend. We'd pay on one hundred and fifty dollars house. Justin loves money.

He loved working. So he was also come on for that. We came in, talked all siblings, ask what to wear. We hung out for about an hour half. And then his friend Chris picked him up and took him up to bills.

That's Justin's mother, Erica Wilson, though he loves to talk about her son. When I first SAT down with her, I can tell that the energy in the room had changed a bit as soon as he mentioned wild bills. Wild bills was a huge club and actually had one of the largest dance floors in the southeast at the time.

They held eighteen and up night each week to appeal to the Younger crowd. Eventually, every one of a certain age seem to make their way through. While those front doors, it's also the last place just in machine.

A lot of night I was looking at western, but on thursday night, night, on back in the day, we had ninety five, five, the beat. And IT was thursday, thursday, twenty one to drank, eighteen to party. He would go up there a lot on thursday that ninety was air. There was probably .

over three thousand people.

thursday. Thursday is popular with the college crowd in most cities. Most clubs in or near college towns have them. That drinks are cheap.

There are tons of people, and everyone is there looking at a good time to blow off steam from a hard week at school. And if you're looking for IT, there plenty of people willing to hold up for the night. Chris, one of justice roommates at school, picked him up sometime between six and seven P. M. Justin knew we d be drinking that night, so he hope to leave his car in his parents driveway.

Chis and his girlfriend picked just first place. They stop this quick trip at the top of our street because Justin had worked there for many years.

Justin, his friends, went to a quick trip at the evening to get mixers for bodkin. They would use bottles of gatorade or a similar drink and Spike IT. That way they get right around and drinking conspicuously. Around the time Justin was nearing his broken wood high school graduation, drinking became more of a common past time for him. You could even say IT was becoming .

a problem at seventeen, eighteen he would go to while bills that I knew up on sunday for a teen night. But then I realized during a senior year one day, I went to, bound them in his room. And like, what do you do in at school time? Partha man, I mel, alcohol and a pay at the band on his ARM and he he went to school.

He ended up happen to come home because course IT, he said, you know, oh, they were just having me do more. I was just in lined mom, so I think during his senior air he was sneaking out ter, going out somewhere on thursday night night, going up to wild bills with a fake I D. And drink. And he was drinking a lot more than I realized.

Alcohol is a bit of a sensitive subject for eric.

When he was little, I was always against doc call because I had a bad relationship with his father because of that. And I I don't have no bear is bad. Bear is bad.

And mean, I remember him been four years old in my popcorn being in store and they're be a budweis on the he like, no mummy, I can't go here. So my cherney was open with me because he knows I had a bad experience with alcohol. I still think about that. Maybe he never really told me about his drinking because he knew how bad I hated IT because of his father. And what I experience just in IT.

recently been arrested for underage drinking. Your school and athons, where police found him passed out in his car alongside a bottle of aga. He was scheduled to appear in court a few weeks after his disappearance, and Erica tells me that data lawyer and was prepared to face the music, whatever that might mean for him. IT was likely just a small fine in at most a few hours of community service. But that night Justin and his friends went cruizing for a while after dropping by the quick trip, stopping at a local pool hall nearby and pre gaming in the parking lot.

I believe at this point, uh, Justin had been drinking in the car to save money, say and bite in there. Justice cheap, justice cheap. He was probably gonna save some girls of bion drinks, maybe who know so I that's why I believe he drinks before he went in there. So I don't think he had a turn of money on him.

Justin, Chris and Chris s. Girlfriend AManda arrived at wild bills and approximately eleven, forty pm, more than four and a half hours after leaving his parents house.

Justin has A V I P pass at some girl gave them or some gave them, and him Chris and Chris s. Girl l found at the time, went in the line, just did use a fake I D to get in that night he was in the twenty one to know older, lying and Christenin his girlfriend war in the eighteen to twenty nine um and then when they get up to the main thing, Justin give some his past a lot of man Chris and his girlfriend passed the gentleman and Chris and his girlfriend at that point leave while bills Justin says, I don't worry. I'll find a way home Chris, his girlfriend decided .

that they were going to go to a friend's house and hanging out instead because they couldn't get into the area with Justin, who had assured them that he'd find a ride home later that night. Justin danced and mingled inside the club and at some point seemed to get into an alteration with an uni dense fied mail. IT was allegedly over dancing with a girl is not really clear, but there wasn't a fight, eric. He tells me what she's been able to piece together regarding this, as it's the first time i've heard any sembLance of motive for her son's .

disappearance. I have heard that Justin saw a gentleman slap a girl, abuse a girl, and Justin went over and said, hey, buddy, you don't treat women like that and the guy said, just go away, get away and that they were supposed bly, I am just in the whole night. So that is out where the fight confrontation is positive, taking place.

Justin also continue to drink. When in the club he had a bake I D, but he also knew several the bartender who would serve him, knowing that he was under age.

I mean, I sure he was drinking someone he went to school with. There was one of the bartenders, and he made IT seem to me that he wasn't really drunk. There was another older lady, and he also said that Justin seem fine. But I mean, they also knew justice under age, and they were serving in all night, because the longer I went to school at Justin, so SHE knew. So I ve heard, you know, conflicting things.

Sometime before one A M, Justin began asking around for a ride. And by one thirty A M, he was seen outside the front of the club, looking at his phone. He repeatedly tested and called nearly a dozen friends, a total of twenty four times to come pick him up, but with no luck, because few answered and everyone else had work or class in just a few hours.

They just chalked IT up to Justin being Justin. He'll figure IT out Justin did have cash on him, but it's unclear to why he didn't call a taxi at this point when he was seemingly out of options. He never called his parents something Erica still can't understand or seem to get past.

IT answer me to this day that he didn't call that night when he made hundreds of phone calls, hundred, you know, hs of phone calls and text, but not wants to ask. Maybe because I, he knew how much I hate that alcohol, and I worried about him drinking and being like a biological father. I thought I look at, know he didn't wanted disappoint us, but I would never be disappointed any of my children.

But for whatever reason, ericka and Stephen, along with everyone else who's ever known him, have not seen or heard from Justin gains since he simply vanished.

At first error, didn't think much of the fact that SHE hadn't heard from Justin when he woke up the next day. I mean, after all, he was a college kid now, and he had his own life. He was pretty responsible for the most part, and he would see him on saturday when he stopped by the metre husband, Steven, to clean the gutter.

So now it's friday, early friday morning. Justin, I told us that he'd be home on saturday morning so he can go clean the gutters and do the job to make money. So I didn't expect him home friday night. So you know nothing, you know, just one out thurday with his friends. Friday is all good.

When Erica Stephen hadn't hurt from Justin by saturday morning, though, the worry immediately began to set in. This wasn't like Justin .

saturday morning. He's not home to go clean gutter. Justin doesn't miss, miss an opportunity to make money.

So I said my house. I said something wrong, something wrong. He's like coni. He's probably just, you know, have probably clean the got a storm like, no baby, you know, he has, you know, two days work lined up. Something is wrong and it's like everything's OK, you know, don't worry. You know, is eighteen is finally, you know, no, maybe met a girl or something, you know, it's OK I answer on his phone is now on the mom and why aren't you working yourself to making this money for college, you know and is not answer my phone. Um IT was going through the voice mile so I couldn't get a hold of him and I am upset Stephen had .

tried to be the voice of reason and coal eric s. fears. But when they still hadn't heard from Justin by sunday morning, IT was a parent that something was definitely .

wrong on sunday still can get a hold of my time. Now my husban's like, go. So I start calling Justin friends back then.

IT was my space, so got on one of my kids, my space and I started message justice friends and colony friends and you know they're like, oh no, Justin's fine. You know, we haven't heard from, but you know, we're sure you're fine. He's fine. And of course, he has go back to athens before monday for school.

very quickly turned to panic as Erica began calling friends of justice, even taking the social media to try and track him down. But he had no luck, and everyone kept telling her not to worry. Justin's probably fine, but sometimes a mother just knows not home on sunday .

calling is old girlfriend because they were very close still and no one's heard from him and they're all saying it's okay. And then like sunday night, I get a phone call from all those friends is like fifteen people on the bone and they're like something wrong. We can't find Justin.

You know where Chris was expecting. Justin pick on back up cars in my art, I know, is not there and his friends are coal. And they said something is the wrong. We can't find Justin.

Derek didn't know IT yet, but her entire world was about to come crashing down around .

her from saturday. I just knew something we're wrong saturday. But everyone assured me he was okay.

Everyone to message ed, no, work against her. Fine, he's out there is probably find, don't worry about IT. And on sunday night, I mean, there's just tons of these kids.

They are this call, I mean, and they're all freaked in outside, you know, something drawn. I can't find them. But my mom got on third because he wasn't there, just told me something wrong. So on sunday night are for the missing.

Late sunday night, erika called the gun at county police department file a missing person's report. Officers arrived at the Wilson home to take the report, but they didn't seem to take her song's disappearance very seriously. At first.

this officer tells me, oh, don't worry, most people come back in a few, in so many hours, it's not really necessary. But then this guy goes home and tells his wife, who post on social media, oh my god, my husband just took a report and he has a really bad feeling about this one. He's at my house, you know, tell me how.

Don't worry. You know, most you know missing people come back. And before they're just selling their outside, I think it's probably they didn't even turn IT in right away or make IT urgent or anything you but then he go home and tells his wife, you know, that he has a bad feeling. And then at me, as as mom, I have to read .

that when net skin .

was an online forum for all things going at county, IT no longer exists. But at the time, IT was a heavily visited site, and eric immediately began using IT as a blog to post information about Justin and to ask for help finding him from the community. SHE also oppose ted.

Her contact information on the site. There were so many posts about Justin gains that when that scan actually gave the thread its own page, thousands of people were communicating with each other and directly with era. There were thoughts and prayers offered, and even a few tips began to come in. But while some of the information seemed promising, something's eric a read and heard, or just playing cruel that .

he was off Steve rines ball, then they tipped his body away. You'll never find IT. The very first one was, uh, that they put just in through which if you would never find his body IT was assist some horrible things.

I was, I just started run in the outside, screaming, hit in the house. My husband's like, right. What's wrong? I like, oh my god, they're telling me i'd never meet up and I just lost that. I couldn't process IT my neighbors. But I thought I was crazy because I literally was just running outside screaming, screaming, because, I mean, IT just pushed me over the red hair, and that people .

even try to extort the grieving family while at their lowest point.

Hey, send me money because we we know your sons of peroo will get your pictures of your son if you send us money. I mean, and some people are telling what they heard. The other people are just cruel.

A man calling himself pep even told erika that he had helped Justin get a fake I, D. To cross over the mexican border from texas.

Within days of his disappearance, the investigation was officially under way. Justice friends and volunteers in the community rally together and began passing out fires, knocking on doors and forming in prompting search parties. Some friends still held out hope at first that Justin had just decided to go off the grid for a few days and would turn up fine, or had even fled the state to avoid the upcoming court date for his under age drinking arrest. So I think, honestly, that was just their coping mechanism of choice, refusing to believe the voice in the back of their head, telling them this slightly wouldn't well, as time passed, hope turned the hard .

break and despair felt.

So you know basically hopeless in terms of things that are most likely is, you know he's either running from the law, he's trying to lay low to avoid getting in trouble for something or you know as a more time past, obviously the uh confidence in him being passed out on someone's cw somewhere drop pretty substantially after that I was you know something that happened.

My kisa was friends with Justin since they are soft year of high school, they initially bonded over their love of playing .

poker with a math class together, something like that and ah I had never talked to him previously and he said something to the effect of the teachers in the middle of teaching and he yelled across the classroom is, hey, hey sir, you want to play poker this weekend? You know, that was the start of the friendship met up that we can play poker, meet him in a few other bodies and that side started was just a sitting around, you know, playing ten dollar cash games of poker.

Mike was involved in the search for Justin immediately. He left school and void aster as soon as he heard from his mother that Justin was missing. This was personal for him, not only because the two were close friends, but also because just and help the Young, quiet Michael come out of a shell a bit, something that made a huge impact on him.

And that, to me, like that changed my home high school experience from there, because I became, you know, you are the sum of the a fight people that you spend the most time with. So then I became a little bit more outgoing. I became A A little bit more of a class class.

And high school became much more enjoyable. And you, as I was able to learn how to make new friends, by nature, i'm actually very introverted. Just help me to break out of that shell.

My brother Patrick also participated in the early search parties and tells what IT was like.

First night was really like .

the core people. That was that group of people. That was a high school friends.

A lot of us, when we first came there, I thought we were going to find them by goalless. Immediately, we thought we were going to find them in h. He tried to walk.

He's on the side the road. He's a goal. He's hurt. Like we don't know what's going on first. Like five days, we're like got watching.

I mean, we're searching until two or three o clock in the morning every night. And IT was trace back where he would go if he got a ride, right? Research, research, research, research, research. And he cross off of these excess places where you think you could be.

But both of the higher brothers said that the search is seemed unorganized and at times almost pointless. I remember .

one where we all met up that wild bills, and then you basically spraying out another one that felt like I was just a wild goose chase that felt totally unorganized as opposed to like searching and like grade sections are, are you search for someone as you create a grid, then you go search and pot that grids, see if you come up with any clues. Where is, you know, this felt like we are just driving out to a spot basically and glencore around for anything suspicious and like this feels disorganized.

Local news outlets kept the public constantly updated on the case, and worried of Justin gains vanishing, seem to spread where Erica and Steve pleaded for anyone with information to come forward. They didn't care who is responsible. They just one of their son home safe. And he wondered if he was hurt, if he was cold, if he was hungry.

You've heard this from the mothers of other homa IDE Victors. The mothers are concerned that their son or daughter is not just enough to eat over. There are cold. I thought there was on to have a common allot of cases like that where the mother's are concerned about that.

Bob polo has worked as a private .

of investigator since the early seventies, or pia work, or was at the only major families. Seven deathly sense, as I call them you murder. Anyway, assault. right? Joba station, you know, what have you?

Just days after Justin's disappearance made news headlines, bobo mo said dept. Ously caught a broadcast covering one of the search parties. Bob wasn't supposed to be home that day. He should not have seen just in picture on T. V, but that would prove to be a pivotal moment in the Justin gin's case.

I had rest home to yet some paperwork that I needed for a couple of people I needed to interview in the love that day. I needed those. Those papers I have forgotten. Take a early that morning walking to TV as I was passing by to get my desk and .

head just games picture .

on there and missing across the TV train. And I just saw a short bit of when veteran private .

detective bob poll no called a breaking news feature stating that Justin gains was missing, he took notice. Justin was from the same small town of snowden bill that bob lived in. And by the looks of the search party on T. V, they were gonna need all the help they could get.

We had a video of these Young people searching for adJusting games, and they were all in my asked in front of while bills nike club parking lot. And I would key on IT to me that was not organised IT appear. So I just went with what was doing grandma notes and went on to my areas, which haven't to be in the area of while bills.

surely out of curiosity, bob pulled into wild girls parking lot after finishing work for the day I saw, didn't impression .

SAT there in my car, looked at the kind of running and walking along and and appeared to be this organic in person that was on T. V.

seeing how is organized. The search parties really were I T. They'll never find that kid this way.

He'd participated in enough of these kinds of searches and had enough experience under his belt to know that much. Bob is a tough, known on sense kind of guy. He's old. School is very good at what he does, so he found someone who seem to be in charging kindly, offered his help.

not chated just a moment and not told him. But I know in my end. And houston, texas, nineteen Miller, who works for a company named that texas EQ search, was a national certain rescue team. And I had had past experiences and cases for victims where I used to Miller, his company, to search for bodies.

Tim Miller in his texas EQ search team were soon called in a bob polo urging. The rescue team initially began with searches on horseback, but by now he evolved to utilizing ground searches. Sides can soar, ground penetrating dar boats, aircraft, drones and A.

T. V. They had the experience, know how, and equipment that was needed and the clock was taking. Cases like this were right up to Millers ali.

He and his team have performed thousands of searches in conjunction with more enforcement agencies all over the country and abroad, and they've been successful in finding hundreds of missing people alive and dead. Soon after tim Miller team arrived, George's national guard came to help as well, and they set up quarters at the nearby church. Justice mom visited wild bills every thursday night.

There were over three thousand people there. The ninety went missing. Someone had to have seen something.

I shake up there every thursday after he went missing, the hand up fires, and look at people and just try to, you know, see if anyone seems suspicious.

And what else could SHE and Stephen do really searching for? Justin consumed them. IT became their every waking breath. I didn't even go to work anymore. Finding Justin was their job.

Now we were in that turn for public four months. My husband, that work every day for four months, we went out looking for Justin. But I mean, because there is not a handbag about what happens when your k goes much need on what .

to do week after a week. IT was the same route. Wake up, search for Justin, cry yourself to sleep, wake up a few hours later, and do IT all over again for months. Eventually, the volunteer is dwindled LED as they went back to work in school, the rescue team in the national guard left, and suddenly IT was just eric and her family.

They were there in your feeling confident you of all these people here you have guidance. You know you finally know what you're do you know or you know you're going to do something and that end the week you know, you know you're hope in something, but that if they are like, oh, well course, at this point I was going to be thanksgiving so you know, well know, you know if you need anything, let us know we're going to leave.

You know, it's thanksgiving and thanksgiving. What's a big deal? My kids still missed. And but I mean, you can expect people to be there all the time. I mean.

the holidays hit hard. First, thanksgiving and Christmas. No festive decorations, no urge to give or receive gifts, who could care about that? The Wilson home was no longer the cheery place at once was, as eric fears were becoming a reality that her son might not ever come home again.

Now that the search was all but officially over, there is no daily task to keep eric, Stephen and there's six other children preoccupied the real effects of justice. Disappearance slowly took hold, and everyone dealt with IT differently. IT was a dreadful time, and everyone, especially his siblings, felt the weight of Justin's absence.

They were all very different. Some of our kids want to canceling. Um our oldest sun was in ohio of state at the time. He had a really hard time now he had to go through counting of things are once on Jordan is very open and I would talk about IT all the time.

But I mean they were all different unfortunately when just what i'm missing um in the beginning, I mean I went and look for Justin about my daughter played sports and I was very involved with my kids. My kids were my life and I stopped I stop you know um made her coach picker up and you would be like, mom, please go no, I can't go, can go and but I mean, I stop going to their games. I didn't want to do anything how I want to look for Justin or sleep.

You know, our cb nanc drill. I might stay on internet all night. I mean, I wanted do anything, but I not the same person I was as i'll never be.

The stress was extremely difficult for Steven as well because he had did not only take care of the other children and eric, but he also had to go back to work because with eight mouths defeat, they needed the money.

That wasn't fair to him because, I mean, he was handled and you know worried about coming home. Make a cheran. Okay, the kids and everything when he suffering to they're all our kids. I mean, it's not his mind, you know, it's all the same, you know so he's hurting just as bad as me. I look back and I should be more support of him because, you know, it's not just poor me of it's a whole family.

Eric has become a shell of reformers self a hello empty void wrapped in skin SHE no longer recognized in the mirror SHE felt that if he wasn't looking for Justin, SHE was somehow fAiling in. And because he was never found, SHE could not even properly mourn him or say goodbye. The depression cut, slow and deep. SHE was spiring further and further down. IT was all he could do for a while to even get out of bed.

I was ready to give up and just spend the rest of my time and cry my life away. But IT is not something you can do. One day, my daughter said something about, mom, you, this isn't you, where you always did with me and I like, no and SHE left that day to go do whatever IT what's soft all the time, we're basketball and something click and said, you know what, just in what I want that you need to get up and forecast. So I tried to stay strong now and you know being and I know that doesn't dos just and doesn't dos.

While all of this was playing out, boo know had been doing what he does best investigating. He'd managed to get a copy of the security footage from wild bill that night. The footage gave clues as to justice movements inside and outside the club, but he was out of view of the camera when he disappeared.

Bob poured through the footage over and over again, taking note of who came and went, what they wore and if they were with or even near Justin. The footage showed Justin dancing, shaking hands and high five friends and making dozens of calls and text out front while looking for a ride. Then he walked out of you. There wasn't much to go on. Fortunately, bob found a witness who was willing to talk.

James irving was friends with just him, having that him a college. James was someone who have found they actually witnessed Justin with a bond girl inside, while bills that night seated at his table with him. James saw the same bongers l here in the car with trusting gains and two other people in a black two thousand six dogs charger with heavily tended windows, shiny paint and oversized twenty two entrance with a George attack. They got in this car that was a nale and an uni dense fied passenger owner drivers, really.

irving's I witness account placed Justin with several other people in the wild d bills parking lot around two A M. And he was certain IT was just in because he spoke to him briefly.

Justin got in the fast, the long girl on the front, and he drove away. And James is to Justin as he rolled down as one to live in the club. And he got a girl he told he didn't think that just I knew those people he was with and he had never seen him before so he said, hey, take here, see you around at school and just and say, ah, cool. Some like that.

Irving's account was one of the first real leads, bob, and the one at county police had to go on. And it's huge because whoever Justin got into that car with maybe the last people to see him alive, the only problem is, at the time I didn't know who those people were, and IT all seemed to center around a mystery blond grow. Bob knew how important this lead was and would not .

let the case go. That car was in is a vocal point of the investigation. The blond girl course is .

now nearly sixteen years after Justin went missing. Well, that's where I common. And for what is maybe the first time, investigators have opened the files on an active case to a podcast to me. Multon county share of joe chapman, whose department is primarily handling Justin's case at this point, explained his views on me coming .

into the fold. I see IT has a positive, not not all in my position have that view point, but at this point time and we we've thrown rots, we've drag rots, we dog whales done everything you can do. And here I am getting rated, retire. And I don't think the one come and behave. I just don't think you will have the attention right now.

But the share of tells me that not everyone was this compelled at first to open the case files to me, including the investigator assign to, just in the case, former FBI agent mike .

rising. Oh, mike, hey, the podcast. go. wow. You know sure if I don't like a given us where you're going to like at this time, you are going to talk to this man IT. Okay, so I was kind of interested how that conversation was going to go.

Yeah, that makes two of us. And I know I won't be easy, but my goal here is simple to reinvigorate the case surrounding the disappearance of Justin gains, but also to find out if there is information from witnesses that has not yet come to light, to find justice remains if he is in fact deceased is believed, and ultimately to find out exactly what happened to him the morning of november second, two thousand seven.

And after just a few weeks of looking into this case, people are talking. When I begin this investigation in early summer of twenty twenty three, in a hail mary attempt, I wrote a letter to one of the main suspects, in this case, a man named dustin Dylan glass, who's currently in prison in georgia for unrelated charges. Glasses name has been synonymous with Justin gains for many years now, and for good reason, he confessed to taking part in justice murder, describing IT in detail. Though no one has yet been charged with justice murder, police believe that glass is the key, unlocking the mysterious disappearance of Justin gains in my letter, I asked the glass to speak with me on the record about Justin honestly, thinking i'd never hear back from him because who they are, am I? Two weeks later, I was on the phone with him.

So i've got a little right, and for a long time i've said here and watch the world talk about about me. You want to talk about that with you. I will give you all the way the truth. I will give you hunt percent truth may when you hear everything that really happened, like you can blow your mind.

Drowning creep is an original production of wavelan I rot created a series, and the original al score executive producer is Jason hook, associate producer is leo cope, sound engineering by shame freeman, special thanks to eric Wilson and her family. If you have any leads on this case, please can contact me at info at shaan cope dot com, and if you love the series, please leave a you and tell your friends follow wavelan on instagram at wavelan media for more on this series and upcoming new shows, and you can also find me on social media at shank pe official or at scope that com. As always, thanks for listening.