July 16, 2026

The Disappearance Of Melissa Trumpy

The Disappearance Of Melissa Trumpy

Melissa Trumpy vanished after leaving work on October 26, 2021, and has never been seen again. In this episode of Among Monsters, Myia Vale examines the haunting timeline, troubled relationships, abandoned vehicle, and ongoing homicide investigation surrounding one of Wisconsin's most unsettling unsolved disappearances.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:08.039
Sullivan, Missouri, a quiet town tucked between rolling hills and

2
00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:12.160
dense forests, the kind of place where neighbors wave from

3
00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:16.239
their porches, the kind of place where people know your name,

4
00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:20.920
the kind of place where a person should not simply disappear.

5
00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:26.600
But in April of twenty nineteen, that is exactly what happened.

6
00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:32.560
Sixty nine year old Betty Alexander was living a quiet life.

7
00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:36.200
She wasn't a traveler, She wasn't someone who vanished for

8
00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:40.719
days at a time. She didn't drive, she didn't own

9
00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:45.039
a cell phone. She relied heavily on family members who

10
00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:50.960
checked on her constantly. And then one morning, she was gone.

11
00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:56.039
No note, no goodbye, no signs of a planned departure.

12
00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:04.319
Her purse remained behind, notification remained behind, her glasses remained behind,

13
00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:09.879
her medications remained behind. Even the money hidden inside her

14
00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:14.920
purse remained untouched. It was as though Betty Alexander simply

15
00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:22.560
vanished into thin air. Investigators searched, volunteers searched family members,

16
00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:30.959
searched the woods, the fields, the roads, the waterways. Nothing

17
00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:38.480
no confirmed sightings, no physical evidence, no answers. Years later,

18
00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.200
the mystery remains unsolved. What happened to Betty Alexander. Did

19
00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:47.519
a woman suffering from the early stages of dementia wander

20
00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:50.799
away and somehow evade one of the largest searches the

21
00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:54.920
community had ever seen, Or did something much darker happen

22
00:01:54.959 --> 00:01:58.920
inside a quiet Missouri town. Tonight we examine one of

23
00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:04.560
Missouri's most haunting missing persons cases, a disappearance that continues

24
00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:09.840
to leave investigators, family members, and an entire community searching

25
00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:14.120
for answers. This is the story of Betty Alexander, and

26
00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:20.319
this is among Monsters. Welcome to Among Monsters, I'm Maya Hanson.

27
00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:24.080
Every week we step into cases that refuse to fade

28
00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:30.240
into history. Some involve killers whose names become infamous. Others

29
00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:35.840
involve people who simply disappeared, leaving behind unanswered questions that

30
00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:40.680
grow heavier with every passing year. Tonight's story is different.

31
00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:46.680
There is no crime scene, no confession, no arrest, no body,

32
00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:52.719
no answers. Instead, there is an empty apartment, a family

33
00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:56.479
still waiting, and one simple question that has haunted a

34
00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:01.199
Missouri community since the spring of twenty nineteen. Where is

35
00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:06.479
Betty Alexander? Sometimes the most frightening monster isn't someone hiding

36
00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:11.439
in the shadows sometimes it's the silence that follows when

37
00:03:11.479 --> 00:03:16.599
someone vanishes without a trace. Sullivan, Missouri, a community where

38
00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:21.639
people recognize familiar faces at the grocery store, where church

39
00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.560
on Sunday is still part of many families weekly routine,

40
00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:31.479
where neighbors notice when something feels different. In April twenty nineteen,

41
00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:35.280
sixty nine year old Betty Alexander was living alone in

42
00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:39.240
a senior apartment complex in Sullivan after the death of

43
00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:44.080
her husband. Despite the difficult loss, those who knew her

44
00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:48.360
said she remained closely connected to her family and looked

45
00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.000
forward to spending time with her children and grandchildren. Betty

46
00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.479
was beginning to experience the early stages of dementia. It

47
00:03:56.599 --> 00:03:59.680
was serious enough that her family checked on her frequently

48
00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:04.520
and helped her manage medications, but according to her daughter,

49
00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:08.199
it had not progressed to the point where they believed

50
00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.680
she would simply wander away and disappear. Her life followed routines,

51
00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:22.879
morning medications, meals, gardening, phone calls, church, family visits. Routine

52
00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:28.199
is comforting, routine is predictable, and when routine suddenly stops,

53
00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:34.560
people notice. On April tenth, twenty nineteen, Betty spent part

54
00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:38.439
of the afternoon outside tending to her flowers. A neighbor

55
00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:43.079
later recalled seeing her gardening, and nothing appeared unusual. She

56
00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:47.079
seemed to be going about another ordinary spring day. No

57
00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:51.120
one reported seeing her upset, no one reported an argument,

58
00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:57.399
no one reported suspicious activity as evening approached. Investigators later

59
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:01.720
concluded that Betty likely took her schedule seven pm medication

60
00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.120
because that dose was missing from her home, but the

61
00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:09.560
medication she should have taken the following morning remained untouched.

62
00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:14.519
Investigators believed she disappeared sometime after seven pm on April

63
00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:18.639
tenth and before the morning of April eleventh. That timeline

64
00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:21.600
would become one of the biggest clues in the entire case.

65
00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:26.879
Somewhere inside those overnight hours, Betty vanished, and no one

66
00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:31.759
knows exactly when or why. The next morning, something wasn't right.

67
00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:36.040
Betty wasn't answering, she wasn't where she was expected to be.

68
00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:40.519
As concern grew, family members went to check on her apartment.

69
00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:45.759
What they found made the mystery even deeper. Inside, nothing

70
00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.759
looked like someone preparing to leave for a trip. Her

71
00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:54.360
purse remained, money was still inside, her identification hadn't been taken,

72
00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:58.959
her glasses were left behind, even though she depended on them.

73
00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.480
Most of her metacation was still there. There was no

74
00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:05.680
indication she had packed belongings or planned to be away.

75
00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:11.319
For investigators, these details mattered. People planning to disappear usually

76
00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:15.480
take essentials. Betty appeared to have taken almost nothing, and

77
00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:19.600
yet she was nowhere to be found. Family members immediately

78
00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:23.480
knew this wasn't like her. Betty loved seeing her grandchildren.

79
00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:27.639
She kept regular contact with those closest to her. She

80
00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:32.040
wasn't someone who simply vanished without telling anyone. Days turned

81
00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:37.279
into hours of frantic searching. Police were notified, volunteers gathered.

82
00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:44.480
The community that knew Betty began looking everywhere they could imagine, roads, fields,

83
00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:51.160
wooded areas, drainage ditches, creeks, anywhere a confused person might

84
00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:55.160
have wandered. Hope remained high during those first critical hours.

85
00:06:55.839 --> 00:07:01.360
Many believed Betty would be found sitting somewhere, tired and disoriented. Instead,

86
00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:07.720
the searchers produced almost nothing. No clothing, no footprints, no

87
00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:15.000
personal belongings, no confirmed sightings, just questions, questions that years

88
00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:19.319
later still have no answers. When someone disappears without taking

89
00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:23.839
their glasses, without taking their wallet without taking the medication

90
00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:28.639
they rely on. Investigators began asking a different question. Did

91
00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:32.959
Betty Alexander leave on her own? Or did someone make

92
00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:37.759
sure she never came home. When someone disappears, investigators often

93
00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:41.959
have one advantage. Time. The first few hours can be

94
00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:45.680
the difference between finding someone alive or watching a trail

95
00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:50.720
slowly disappear forever. In Betty Alexander's case, that clock was

96
00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:55.120
already ticking. No one knew the exact moment she had vanished,

97
00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:59.040
only that some time after taking her evening medication on

98
00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:03.800
April tenth, twenty nineteen, she was no longer inside her apartment.

99
00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:08.120
By the time family realized something was wrong, daylight had

100
00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:13.480
returned to Sullivan. Whatever had happened had already happened. Law

101
00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:18.720
enforcement immediately began gathering information. The first question was simple.

102
00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:22.639
Was Betty capable of leaving on her own? Her family

103
00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:25.839
described her as being in the early stages of dementia.

104
00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:31.800
She sometimes became confused, she occasionally forgot things, but she

105
00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:36.919
still recognized family, She still carried on conversations. She still

106
00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.080
enjoyed tending to her flowers and spending time with those

107
00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:44.799
she loved. According to the investigators and her family. She

108
00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:48.080
was not known to simply wander away for long periods

109
00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:53.960
or disappear without contacting someone. That distinction mattered. Early stage

110
00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:58.279
dementia can affect memory and judgment. It can also increase

111
00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:03.519
the risk of wandering, but every person experiences the disease differently.

112
00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.840
For Betty's family, this wasn't behavior that fit the woman

113
00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:12.840
they knew. Investigators carefully examined her apartment. There were no

114
00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:18.200
obvious signs of a struggle. Furniture appeared normal, nothing suggested

115
00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:22.519
a violent confrontation had taken place inside. There was no

116
00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:28.000
indication that someone had ransacked her home. Equally important, there

117
00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:31.360
was no evidence Betty had packed for an overnight trip.

118
00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:38.480
Her purse remained, cash remained, identification remained, prescription medication remained,

119
00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:44.120
her glasses remained behind. Investigators also noted that Betty did

120
00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:48.600
not own or regularly use a cell phone, eliminating one

121
00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:53.279
of the most common ways investigator's track a missing persons movements. Today,

122
00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:59.120
Without digital breadcrumbs, the search became much harder. Officers quickly

123
00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:03.799
expanded the search beyond Betty's apartment complex. Neighbors were interviewed.

124
00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:09.120
Had anyone seen Betty walking? Did anyone hear unusual noises overnight?

125
00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:15.600
Did anyone notice unfamiliar vehicles? Memory can be an unreliable thing,

126
00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:21.279
especially after people learn someone has disappeared. Small details suddenly

127
00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:26.799
seem important. A vehicle that looked ordinary yesterday now feel suspicious.

128
00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:32.399
A stranger who barely caught someone's attention becomes impossible to identify.

129
00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:38.360
Despite numerous interviews, investigators found no confirmed witness who could

130
00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:42.279
explain where Betty had gone. After that final evening, search

131
00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:47.159
teams began combing the surrounding area. Volunteers join local law enforcement,

132
00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:55.440
Search and rescue personnel worked methodically woodlines, creeks, fields, roadside ditches,

133
00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:00.440
vacant lots, areas where a confused person might naturally wander.

134
00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:05.440
Search dogs were brought in. Each scent, each possible clue.

135
00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:10.799
Each report received careful attention. Every hour increased the urgency.

136
00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:15.519
If Betty had become injured, time was critical. If she

137
00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:19.240
had become disoriented, she might be unable to call for help.

138
00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:23.320
If she had sought shelter somewhere, she could still be alive.

139
00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:29.240
Hope drove every searcher forward. The terrain surrounding Sullivan complicated

140
00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:35.639
the effort. Dense vegetation rolling hills, rocky ground, creeks, and

141
00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:40.039
wooded areas stretched for miles outside of town. Even experienced

142
00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:43.440
searchers know how easily someone can disappear into rudg a terrain,

143
00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:50.080
and yet, despite extensive searches, nothing definitive was found. No clothing,

144
00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:56.360
no eyeglasses, no medication bottles, no purse discarded nearby, no

145
00:11:56.440 --> 00:12:01.759
physical evidence pointing investigators towards Betty's location. For many families,

146
00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:05.759
the hardest moment comes when the first organized searches end,

147
00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:11.080
because that's when reality begins setting in. The easy answers

148
00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:16.919
have disappeared. As days turned into weeks, investigators continued following tips.

149
00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:20.600
Every reported sighting had to be checked. Someone thought they

150
00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:23.919
saw Betty at a gas station. Another believed they'd seen

151
00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:28.000
an elderly woman walking near a highway. Others remembered seeing

152
00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:32.879
someone who resembled her in neighboring communities. Each report brought

153
00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:38.120
renewed hope. Each investigation ended the same way the sightings

154
00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:43.240
cannot be confirmed. False leads are common in missing person investigations.

155
00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:48.519
People genuinely want to help. They convince themselves they remember

156
00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:54.480
seeing the missing person. Unfortunately, memory isn't always accurate the

157
00:12:54.519 --> 00:13:01.639
case slowly expanded beyond Sullivan. Betty's information entered miss person databases,

158
00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:08.480
Her photographs circulated across Missouri. Law enforcement agencies shared her information.

159
00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:14.559
Organizations that specialize in missing person adults helped spread awareness.

160
00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:20.480
Her family continued speaking publicly. Every interview carried the same message,

161
00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:27.399
Please keep looking, Please don't forget Betty, because every day

162
00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:31.840
without answers was another day her loved ones lived in uncertainty.

163
00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:37.559
One question continued to trouble investigators. If Betty had wandered away,

164
00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:42.200
why hadn't searchers found even a single traice. Search and

165
00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:49.759
rescue teams often locate evidence a shoe, a jacket, eyeglasses, something.

166
00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:55.039
In Betty's case, there was almost nothing. That absence of

167
00:13:55.159 --> 00:14:00.759
evidence didn't automatically suggest foul play, but it also didn't eliminated.

168
00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:06.559
Investigators had to keep every reasonable possibility open. Did Betty

169
00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:11.440
become confused and travel farther than anyone expected, did someone

170
00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:16.399
offer her a ride? Did she encounter someone with bad intentions?

171
00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:21.879
Or was there another explanation nobody had yet considered. Each

172
00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:27.600
theory had strengths, Each theory also had serious weaknesses, and

173
00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:33.279
without physical evidence, none could be proven. As weeks became months,

174
00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:38.080
the search changed. No longer was it simply about finding

175
00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:41.080
a missing woman. It became a search for the truth.

176
00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:46.960
Because somewhere, someone knows what happened to Betty Alexander. Whether

177
00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:51.840
that person is a witness, a stranger, or Betty herself.

178
00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:55.919
The answer has remained hidden for more than seven years.

179
00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:01.120
We'll examine the leading theories, the unanswered question, and why

180
00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:05.960
Betty Alexander's disappearance remains one of Missouri's most haunting unsolved

181
00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:11.879
missing person cases. As investigators moved further into Betty Alexander's disappearance,

182
00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:17.240
one reality became impossible to ignore. There was very little evidence,

183
00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:22.639
no confirmed sightings, no surveillance footage showing where she went,

184
00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:27.759
no phone records to trace, no vehicle movements to track,

185
00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:33.039
no digital trail, no digital trail, just a woman who

186
00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:36.919
appeared to vanish from her Sullivan apartment sometime during the

187
00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:42.000
night of April tenth, twenty nineteen. For investigators, that meant

188
00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:46.960
every possible explanation had to be examined. But it is

189
00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:50.360
important to remember something. A theory is not a fact,

190
00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.639
and in Betty's case, many of the questions that emerged

191
00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:58.279
over the years remain unanswered. This is one of the

192
00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:02.799
first possibilities considered. Betty was in the early stages of

193
00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:06.519
dementia at the time of her disappearance and required medication

194
00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:11.000
she no longer had access to after vanishing. People suffering

195
00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:16.399
from dementia can become disoriented. Sometimes they leave familiar surroundings.

196
00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:20.440
Sometimes they become confused about where they are or where

197
00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:24.399
they intend to go. Because of that reality, investigators and

198
00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:28.559
search teams focused heavily on the possibility that Betty had

199
00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:33.279
wandered away from her apartment. At first glance, it seemed possible,

200
00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:39.360
but there were problems, serious problems. According to information provided

201
00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:43.159
by her daughter, Betty did not drive, she was not

202
00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:46.679
known for taking long walks, she did not carry a

203
00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:50.759
cell phone, and she left behind her glasses, something she

204
00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:55.200
normally relied upon. Even more puzzling was the fact that

205
00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:59.759
extensive searches failed to locate any sign of her. No clothing,

206
00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:05.480
no personal belongings, no medical items, nothing. While it is

207
00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:09.359
certainly possible for a missing person to evade search efforts,

208
00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:14.720
investigators were left asking difficult questions. If Betty wandered away,

209
00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.279
where did she go and why has no trace of

210
00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:23.200
her ever been found? As months passed, another possibility emerged.

211
00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.319
What if Betty left the apartment willingly, not because she

212
00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:32.000
intended to disappear forever, but because someone offered her a ride.

213
00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:38.079
Investigators never publicly identified any evidence providing that happened. However,

214
00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:42.960
because Betty vanished without a trace, law enforcement couldnt completely

215
00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:46.599
dismiss the possibility that another person became involved at some

216
00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:50.440
point after she had left her apartment. This theory creates

217
00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:54.400
its own set of questions, who was the person, Why

218
00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:58.279
has no witness came forward, And if someone did encounter

219
00:17:58.359 --> 00:18:03.720
Betty that night, was it an innocent interaction or something

220
00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:08.359
much darker? Years later, there are still no public answers.

221
00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:12.759
One detail has generated discussion among followers of the case.

222
00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:16.920
When Betty's daughter entered the apartment, he noticed what was

223
00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:19.960
described as a scratch on the glass portion of the

224
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.519
screen door. Investigators have never publicly stated that mark was

225
00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:27.839
evidence of a crime. They have never announced it was

226
00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:32.799
connected to an intruder, nor have they indicated it was unrelated.

227
00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:37.960
The scratch remained simply that a detail, a detail that

228
00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:42.319
stood out because there were so few others. In many investigations,

229
00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:47.519
small observations become magnified when there is little evidence available.

230
00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:52.240
Whether that scratch means something significant or nothing at all

231
00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:57.519
remains unknown. Another fact that investigators noted involved Betty's medication.

232
00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:01.880
Authorities found that one of two boxes of feentanyl patches

233
00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:05.839
delivered on April tenth was missing. The second box remained

234
00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:10.839
inside the apartment. The missing box immediately raised questions. Did

235
00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:14.240
Betty take it with her, was it removed by someone else?

236
00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:18.720
Did it have anything to do with her disappearance. Investigators

237
00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:23.119
have never publicly connected the missing medication to a suspect

238
00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:28.799
or announced any conclusion regarding its significance. Like many aspects

239
00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:33.799
of this case, it remains one more unanswered question. Then

240
00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:39.279
there was the cash. Inside Betty's purse were two envelopes

241
00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:44.400
containing one hundred dollars each two hundred dollars total. Her

242
00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:47.160
daughter reportedly stated she did not know where the money

243
00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:51.200
came from because she had been handling Betty's finances after

244
00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:56.680
the death of Betty's husband. Again, investigators never publicly stated

245
00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.920
that the money was evidence of criminal activity, but it

246
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.799
it was unusual enough to attract attention. Why was it there?

247
00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:09.640
Who gave it to her? Had it been there for days, weeks, months?

248
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:14.079
No public answers have emerged. One of the most frustrating

249
00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:18.240
realities of Betty Alexander's disappearance is that no single theory

250
00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:22.759
clearly explains all of the known facts. If she wandered away,

251
00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:27.319
why has nothing been found? If someone harmed her, where

252
00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:31.559
is the evidence? If she left voluntarily, why did she

253
00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:35.480
leave behind the items she depended on every day, Every

254
00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:40.160
possible explanation seems to answer some questions while creating new ones.

255
00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:44.160
That is often the hallmark of the most difficult missing

256
00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:49.680
person investigations, not a lack of theories a lack of proof.

257
00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:54.720
As months became years, the case gradually entered cold case territory,

258
00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:59.880
but Betty's family never stopped searching. Her information remained active

259
00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.960
missing person's databases. Her case continued to be shared through

260
00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:10.240
media coverage, advocacy organizations, and missing person awareness efforts. In

261
00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:14.680
twenty twenty four, five years after her disappearance, family members

262
00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:19.480
continued speaking publicly about their determination to find answers, and

263
00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:24.079
in twenty twenty five, renewed awareness efforts, including billboard campaigns,

264
00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:28.119
helped keep Betty's face visible to the public. Because for

265
00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:31.480
those who loved her, the passage of time changes nothing.

266
00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:36.279
The missing loved one remains missing. Every birthday matters, every

267
00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:42.000
holiday matters, Every unanswered year matters. Some mysteries are frightening

268
00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:46.160
because we know exactly what happened. Others are frightening because

269
00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:51.599
we don't. Betty Alexander left behind almost everything, her glasses,

270
00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:59.119
her purse, her identification, her keys, her medications. Yet somehow

271
00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:03.039
she disc appeared, and more than seven years later, no

272
00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:05.920
one has been able to explain how. When a murder

273
00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:10.880
investigation reaches a conclusion, there is often a courtroom, evidence

274
00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:15.440
is presented, a jury listens, a verdict is delivered. For

275
00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:19.720
the victims' families, there is at least the possibility of answers.

276
00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:24.960
But when someone simply disappears, there is no courtroom, no trial,

277
00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:30.720
no conviction, only uncertainty, and uncertainty can last a lifetime.

278
00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:36.200
For Betty Alexander's family, April twenty nineteen marked the beginning

279
00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:39.640
of a journey they never expected to take. Instead of

280
00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:44.240
planning family gatherings around birthdays and holidays, they found themselves

281
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:49.079
organizing searches, speaking with investigators, and asking the public to

282
00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:53.720
keep looking. Every interview became another opportunity to remind people

283
00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:57.440
that Betty was more than a missing person poster. She

284
00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:01.559
was a mother, a grandmother, an neighbor, a woman who

285
00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.240
loved flowers and enjoyed spending time with people she loved.

286
00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:09.359
Public appeals from her family have consistently focused on keeping

287
00:23:09.400 --> 00:23:13.400
attention on Betty's case and encouraging anyone with information to

288
00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:18.559
come forward. As the investigation continued, law enforcement never announced

289
00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:22.119
that they had ruled out foul play. They also never

290
00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:26.559
announced that they had confirmed foul play. That distinction is important.

291
00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:31.759
Cases like Betty's often remain classified as missing person investigations

292
00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:36.359
because there is not enough evidence to determine exactly what happened.

293
00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:41.000
Investigators have continued to encourage anyone with information, no matter

294
00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:45.519
how small, to contact law enforcement. One challenge in long

295
00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:49.640
term missing person cases is a gradual loss of fresh evidence.

296
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:57.160
Memories fade, witnesses move away, businesses replace surveillance systems, receipts

297
00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:03.400
are discarded, phone records eventually come unavailable through routine investigative methods.

298
00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.079
The passage of time makes solving any case more difficult.

299
00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:11.359
That is one reason investigators stress the importance of receiving

300
00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:15.640
tips as early as possible. Yet, despite those challenges, cold

301
00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:20.599
cases are solved every year, advances in forensic science, new

302
00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:25.079
witness statements, someone deciding after years of silence, to finally

303
00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:29.240
tell investigators what they know. History has shown that cases

304
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:33.480
once thought unsolved can suddenly change with a single new

305
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:37.400
piece of information. That possibility is one reason Betty's case

306
00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:41.519
remains open. In the years since her disappearance, awareness efforts

307
00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:46.799
have continued. Family members have participated in media interviews, community

308
00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:52.200
members have shared Betty's photograph online. Missing persons organizations have

309
00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:56.359
continued to feature her case. Each renewed effort carries the

310
00:24:56.359 --> 00:25:00.799
same hope that someone somewhere recognize it as a detail

311
00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:08.079
they've overlooked or remembers something that once seemed unimportant. For investigators,

312
00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:12.759
missing person cases are rarely forgotten. Even when active search

313
00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:17.400
is slow, information is preserved, tips can still be evaluated,

314
00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:22.480
Evidence can be re examined. New technology can sometimes provide

315
00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:26.440
opportunities that did not exist when the investigation first began.

316
00:25:27.079 --> 00:25:30.799
Although there have been no publicly announced major breakthroughs in

317
00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:35.400
Betty Alexander's disappearance, law enforcement has continued to ask the

318
00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:39.480
public for information. There is another reality about missing persons

319
00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:45.480
investigations that often receives less attention. Families frequently described living

320
00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:49.079
in two worlds at once. One world hopes their loved

321
00:25:49.119 --> 00:25:53.720
one is still alive, the other fears the worst. Without answers,

322
00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:58.960
neither possibility can be fully accepted. That uncertainty can continue

323
00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:03.440
for years, sometimes decades. It is a burden unique to

324
00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:08.640
families of the missing. Today, Betty Alexander remains listed as

325
00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:12.640
a missing person. Her case is still open. No arrest

326
00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:17.720
have been announced, no suspects have been publicly identified, No

327
00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:22.880
definitive explanation has ever been released regarding what happened after

328
00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:26.480
she was last believed to be inside her apartment on

329
00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:31.000
the evening of April tenth, twenty nineteen. Some mysteries endure

330
00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:35.599
because they are impossible to forget, not because they are sensational,

331
00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:40.680
not because they dominate national headlines, but because they involve

332
00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:46.559
ordinary people whose lives suddenly changed forever. Betty Alexander's story

333
00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:50.960
reminds us that every missing person case leaves behind more

334
00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:55.079
than unanswered questions. It leaves behind an empty chair at

335
00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:59.319
family gatherings, a birthday that passes in silence, a phone

336
00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:02.960
call that never comes, and loved ones who continue hoping

337
00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:06.119
that tomorrow might finally bring the answers they've waited for

338
00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:10.440
years to hear. If you have any information regarding the

339
00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:15.119
disappearance of Betty Alexander, investigators ask that you contact the

340
00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:19.920
Sullivan Police Department or the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Missing

341
00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:25.400
Persons Clearinghouse. Even information that seems insignificant could help move

342
00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:29.839
the investigation forward. Thank you for joining me on among monsters,

343
00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:35.200
I'm Maya Hanson. Until next time, stay aware, take care

344
00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:39.000
of one another, and never stop remembering those who are

345
00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:39.720
still missing.