BANFIELD: All right. I got another piece here on the docket that I want to bring to your attention. Police say three weeks ago, a woman named Samantha
Sperry, she went into the Kentucky woods on an ATV, and she was out looking for her suicidal ex-boyfriend.
The ex-boyfriend has since returned from those woods, dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia, but not Samantha. So what happened there?
[18:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Kaler Bottoms is a wildlife area in Western Kentucky, 1,900 acres of woods and swamps that pretty much turn into mud every spring. That
is reportedly where Samantha Sperry went three weeks ago, riding on an ATV with another man.
She`s a 25-year-old married mom of two and she was out searching for his suicidal ex-boyfriend. And that`s where Samantha Sperry went missing.
According to her family, police would only start looking for her a whole week later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY ARTIS, STEPFATHER OF MISSING WOMAN: Monday, this whole parking lot was full with people, with compassion, helping us look for my daughter. Not
one officer was in those woods on Monday. I`m thankful for the officers that got involved since Monday. But before then, nothing.
DEWAYNE REDMON, SHERIFF, GRAVES COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: I don`t have a problem with them blaming us or saying we`re not doing everything that we
can. But I`ll have to say that we are. We`ve probably put more time and effort into this particular missing person`s case than any others that
we`ve had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: But the only missing person that we`re looking for right now is Samantha because her ex-, well, he made it out of those wetlands. He was
dehydrated. He was hypothermic. But he made it out alive.
[18:39:56] And the other man who Samantha was reportedly riding with, well, he told police that she just went off and walked to a relative`s
house. But Samantha did not show up at that relative`s house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARTIS: I can`t sleep, knowing that my child could be out here somewhere. A man doesn`t want to see his family hurt. And I feel that I`ve let my
daughter down.
I just hope that we do find her alive. I mean, you know, I hope she`s not in these woods. I hope she`s somewhere else alive. I mean, that`s what hope
is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Joining me now is Shelley Byrne, a reporter with The Mayfield Messenger. Also with me, Tony Artis. He is Samantha Sperry`s stepfather.
Tony, maybe I`ll start with you and just if you can, let me know what the very latest is in this search for her. Are you getting any leads? Are you
any closer to finding her?
ARTIS (via telephone): Any closer to finding her, no. Yes, calls are coming in. In my understanding, they are checking the -- the sheriff`s
department are checking leads. That`s what we`re being told. So --
BANFIELD: As we understand this, Rhen apparently -- Rhen is the ex- boyfriend who Samantha went out to look for. And Rhen apparently on the day he went missing, he had an argument with Samantha. He left in her car.
And sometime later in the day, he was on the phone or in some communication with his own mom and his own sister saying that he was suicidal, had a
shotgun, took pills, and was in the woods.
And Samantha went with an unidentified man to go look for him. Do we know who this unidentified man is or are the police keeping that quiet for a
reason?
ARTIS (via telephone): Well, the information you just stated actually came from Rhen`s family. We really don`t know what happened that day. Do we know
who the other man is? Yes, we do.
BANFIELD: But obviously he`s not a suspect in any of this. He is not been named at least as such, so it`s not fair to name him in any of this.
ARTIS (via telephone): Yes, you`re right.
BANFIELD: But I`m still curious, Tony, about the process. She went missing. And Samantha`s mom was very worried and reached out to the police.
How did that go?
ARTIS (via telephone): Well, we got the call -- we got a message from Samantha`s brother about the car being abandoned, and Rhen being suicidal
and having a shotgun and going in the woods. He asked if his sister was with him, with Rhen. And my wife went to where she works, and she was a no
call no show.
She called the local police department, and asked them to do a welfare check. And they were -- she was told if they have an officer available.
They said they would call back and never called back.
BANFIELD: What happened when she asked them to file a missing person`s report because she had said, you know, she`s out there, and this ex-
boyfriend of hers is suicidal and might have a weapon, what happened then?
ARTIS (via telephone): They told her being that my daughter is an adult, it`s not illegal for an adult to go missing and blew my wife off. And that
was the local -- that was the local police department where my daughter lived.
BANFIELD: I`m going to ask the sheriff about that in a moment. First, I want to bring in Shelley Byrne, if I can. Shelley, you`re a reporter with
the Mayfield Messenger, you know this area. Give me a feel for just how frenzied the search for Samantha is right now. Who`s there? What are they
using? How much are they able to cover this swampland?
SHELLEY BYRNE, REPORTER, THE MAYFIELD MESSENGER (via telephone): The search has been intense. There have been searches the last three
weekends. There were 130 people out there on Sunday from nine different counties searching four square miles.
They were using dogs, horses, all terrain vehicles. They`ve used boats. They`ve searched with night vision goggles and they even got a helicopter
in the air for a brief period.
BANFIELD: And nothing. They haven`t found a clue, just nothing? I`m hearing that some of these ATVs that are out on the search are getting
stuck in the mud because this is such a difficult place to search.
BYRNE (via telephone): They haven`t found anything that I have been told about at all. And yes, I`ve heard that the ATVs have been getting stuck and
also some horse trailers got stuck on Sunday.
BANFIELD: I`m also finding here in some of the research that the people who`ve been out looking have been actually up to their necks in water at
times trying to search for this young woman, 3,000 acres of densely wooded area.
[18:45:08] In the meantime, while they`re searching for her, Shelley, do we know anything about Rhen Hendrickson coming out of the woods in the
condition he was in? Is he a suspect? Are they questioning him? Or is he no part of this? Or is all of it a mystery?
BYRNE (via telephone): I don`t think there`s been anything said about whether he is a suspect. I would refer you to the sheriff for that
information. I have not heard one way or another
I was told that although Rhen was early on in that area, that she and this male friend of hers had gone searching and on the ATV, and that she was
with this male friend when they got their ATV stuck and came out an a rural road, and she said she was going to a relative who live nearby.
BANFIELD: And that did not happen. All right. So, obviously a lot of questions for the sheriff in this case. And that`s who I am going to speak
to next. Don`t go away.
[18:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: We are still talking about that young Kentucky mom who mysteriously went missing in the woods three weeks ago on an ATV, 25-year-
old Samantha Sperry, married mother of two, reportedly on that ATV heading into the muddy backwoods to search for her suicidal ex-boyfriend, who by
the way, showed up after four days, and Samantha did not.
I`m joined now by Sheriff Dewayne Redmon of Graves County, Kentucky. Sheriff, thank you for being on the program. I`m sure you are able to hear
some of my interview prior to the break. The family of Samantha is very concerned that the search for her took a week. It took a week before anyone
went out.
She`s concerned that nobody wanted to file a missing person`s report, even though there was this report of an ex-boyfriend suicidal with a gun
potentially. And she felt as though the case -- they felt that the case wasn`t taken seriously. How do you respond to that?
REDMON (via telephone): Well, the case was taken seriously. I mean, the agency they went to first, which was where she lived, not in Graves County,
didn`t take a missing person`s report at that time. But once she came into Graves County, into our office, we took the missing person`s report, and we
began to search.
I think she was reported to us missing on Thursday. We done a search that following Friday with several deputies out that day searching the area. The
problem that we were having, of course we didn`t have a -- I guess you could say a good location for a search.
You were talking, it`s kind of like an area that she went missing in is a wildlife refuge and bottomland. We`ve had a lot of rain and that area is
very flooded. So ATVs, we`re getting them all stuck and trying to wade through water. So search efforts on that particular day were very
difficult. And so since then there`s been two or three different searches that`s occurred since that time.
BANFIELD: Can I ask you? I`m so mystified by this story. Samantha goes into the woods with an unidentified man on an ATV to look for her ex-
boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend comes out, and then the story goes that Samantha and the unidentified man come out and part ways. Is the -- first
of all, can you tell me who the unidentified man is?
REDMON (via telephone): I don`t want to name his name right now, no.
BANFIELD: OK. Is that --
REDMON (via telephone): He was just a friend of the person --
BANFIELD: Of Samantha.
REDMON (via telephone): It was a friend of the person that originally went missing.
BANFIELD: OK. So it`s a friend of Samantha`s.
REDMON (via telephone): Yes.
BANFIELD: Is that man a suspect in her disappearance?
REDMON (via telephone): He is being questioned, yes. I mean, along with the person that she, you know, went looking for.
BANFIELD: So her ex-boyfriend is being questioned, as is the man who went searching for the ex-boyfriend with her, last person apparently to have
been with her, but neither one is a suspect at this time, sir?
REDMON (via telephone): Yes, I mean, you know, basically until we find a body or find her, you know, determine, you know, what has happened to her.
I mean they are both persons of interest. Like I said, they both -- like I said, they`re being questioned. One has taken a polygraph and the other one
is scheduled to take one.
BANFIELD: Oh, that`s interesting. I hope they don`t find a body. I hope they find her. But it has been freezing cold for the number of days that
she`s been gone, several weeks.
REDMON (via telephone): Yes, three weeks ago Wednesday she`s been missing, yes.
BANFIELD: Sheriff, thanks so much for being with us. My thanks to Tony Artis as well and also Shelley Byrne for reporting.
I have one more thing for you tonight. If you are ever trying to elude the police, I have one suggestion. Don`t go to a place like this. You`re about
to find out why.
[18:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: One more thing for you tonight. How far would you go to outrun the cops?
[19:00:01] Me, none, but I don`t know. How about this guy who went deep into a Florida swamp, and not only that, how about ending up neck deep in
the mud to attempt to hide from them? But they had a k-9, and that k-9 was tracking him happily. Look at the k-9 licking him. I mean, you should see
k-9 so angry, right. But this guy is like -- and it almost looks like the perp has to laugh too. But this perp is not going to be smiling for much
longer. He is actually facing a laundry list of charges. But he had a lovely moment with a puppy dog.
Next hour of CRIME AND JUSTICE starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s their fault, not yours, yes or no.
BANFIELD: One of the world`s greatest magicians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can`t answer that yes or no question.
BANFIELD: Steps into a brand new spotlight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If someone is on the route, and they fall and get injured, it`s never your fault?
BANFIELD: But, boy does he perform, while defending the safety of his act.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wouldn`t be my fault. I`d have to be an expert to know if it`s my fault.
BANFIELD: He`s asked not to grand stand while he`s on the stand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my courthouse because I pay taxes.
BANFIELD: He rankles the attorneys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I ask if you would please not give speeches?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I don`t think it`s funny, by the way.
BANFIELD: He even bobs along to his own show tunes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But will his charm work on the jury?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have said being a magician is being nothing, if not an entertainer.
BANFIELD: And is there a mystery to his magic trick that he has not yet revealed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep it rolling. We are good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can`t sleep knowing that my child could be out here somewhere.
BANFIELD: Three weeks into the search for a missing married mom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stubborn as can be, and strong willed. I think she can survive this.
BANFIELD: Why did she go aTVing in the wetlands? And who else might have been with her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have probably put more time and effort into this particular missing person`s case than any others that any others we have
had.
BANFIELD: Is there anything to be learned from her ex showing up with hypothermia?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a chance that we are not going to get her back alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
