Latest / True Crime and Wine Time / Awilda Marrero_ Mark Johnson & Sofia McKenna _ Missing in Connecticut _ S2 E 46

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Awilda Marrero_ Mark Johnson & Sofia McKenna _ Missing in Connecticut _ S2 E 46 · True Crime and Wine Time

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Well, hello, lovelies. I am Terry True Crime,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: and welcome to Midday Missing, where we shine a light
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: on missing person cases. Why? Because every name matters, every
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: face deserves to be seen, and every share has the
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: potential to reach someone who just might know something. I
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  Speaker 1: also want to thank you guys. We're here 30 minutes
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: early today doing Monday's episode because something came up and
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: I had to reschedule. My apologies for that. Typically, we
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: live stream every Monday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: here on our True Crime and Wine Time YouTube channel
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: and on our True Crime and Wine Time Facebook page.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Because together, we can help keep these cases visible, keeping
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: the conversation going, and remind the family still searching for
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: answers that their loved ones have not been forgotten. And guys,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: before we get started today, if you haven't yet, please
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: like this video, hit the subscribe button and turn on
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• 2:03
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  Speaker 1: find Midday Missing and the cases that we share. And
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  Speaker 1: through the podcast app. It's just simply another way to
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  Speaker 1: you get it commercial free, which if you're like me,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: I do not like the commercials. Now I will say
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  Speaker 1: sometimes the commercials are entertaining, but I don't necessarily want
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  Speaker 1: to listen to them. Okay. Now today we are headed
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  Speaker 1: to Connecticut and And Connecticut may be one of the
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  Speaker 1: smallest states in the country, but its landscape creates very
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  Speaker 1: different challenges when someone disappears. The state contains heavily wooded areas,
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  Speaker 1: numerous lakes and rivers, and a coastline along the Long
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  Speaker 1: Island Sound. While its location in the Northeast makes traveling
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  Speaker 1: into neighboring states relatively easy, Connecticut also is the home
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  Speaker 1: to the Connecticut River, which is the longest river in
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  Speaker 1: New England. Okay, did not know that. And it runs
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  Speaker 1: through the center of the state before reaching Long Island Sound. Now,
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  Speaker 1: for missing person investigations, that combination of forest, waterways, coastline,
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  Speaker 1: and closed state borders can significantly expand the area. Investigators
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  Speaker 1: might need to consider for searching. As of today, there
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  Speaker 1: are 229 active missing person cases. Okay, quite a bit
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  Speaker 1: for such a small area. Now, our first case today
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  Speaker 1: is Awilda Mararo. She was 43 years old when she
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  Speaker 1: disappeared from Enfeld, Connecticut on April 6, 2009. Awilda was
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  Speaker 1: born on January 17, 1966. and was originally from Puerto Rico. Now,
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  Speaker 1: she had previously lived in New Britain, Connecticut, before moving
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  Speaker 1: to Enfield. Now, Awilda was between five foot and five
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  Speaker 1: foot one inches tall. I'm going to say five foot one, okay?
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  Speaker 1: And she weighed approximately 165 pounds. She had brown hair,
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  Speaker 1: brown eyes, pierced ears, and a scar on her upper
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  Speaker 1: right arm. And she also had the name Mike tattooed
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  Speaker 1: on her left bum bum and the name Joel tattooed
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  Speaker 1: on her right thigh or right above the knee. Now,
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  Speaker 1: some sources I found identified Awilda as Hispanic. Others identified
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  Speaker 1: her as white. So now she did not have a
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  Speaker 1: driver's license or a vehicle. She was, however, a grandmother
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  Speaker 1: to her one-year-old grandson, Jacob, and her daughter, Angelica, was
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  Speaker 1: expecting another baby in just five days after her mother disappeared. Now, Awilda,
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  Speaker 1: like a lot of grandmothers, had purchased clothing in participation
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  Speaker 1: of the baby's arrival. Now, Angelica did give birth, and
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  Speaker 1: she learned her daughter, Tierra. Guys, Awilda went missing. she
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  Speaker 1: has not met her newest granddaughter. Now, Awilda had medical
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  Speaker 1: problems and was taking medication at the time she disappeared. Now,
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  Speaker 1: she also suffered from depression and bipolar disorder, which, believe
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  Speaker 1: it or not, guys, is pretty common. But her family
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  Speaker 1: says she was not suicidal, okay? And then the hours
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  Speaker 1: before she disappeared, she did make some statements that would
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  Speaker 1: later become particularly concerning to her family because she told
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  Speaker 1: her daughter's boyfriend to take care of my daughter if
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  Speaker 1: anything happened to her. Guys, I have to say, my
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  Speaker 1: monkey butts mom has said those things to me. Sometimes
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  Speaker 1: you say those things not because you think something's going
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  Speaker 1: to happen to you, but just because it's a sweet
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  Speaker 1: thing that you want to make sure they know, okay? Now,
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  Speaker 1: at approximately 11.30 p.m. on April 6, 2009, is when
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  Speaker 1: 17-year-old Angelica last saw her mother in the area of
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  Speaker 1: Asinomic Tuck Street in Enfield. Waldo was leaving their home,
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  Speaker 1: and she left without getting fully dressed, okay? She was
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  Speaker 1: wearing a gray nightgown, jeans and a brown jacket, but
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  Speaker 1: she was barefoot. Now, she did not take her purse,
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  Speaker 1: her cell phone, or any other personal belongings with her.
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  Speaker 1: Then when Angelica woke up around 7.30 the following morning,
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  Speaker 1: her mother was gone. Now, initially, she thought Awilda may
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  Speaker 1: have gone for an early morning walk or possibly gone fishing,
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  Speaker 1: which is something she enjoyed doing. But the fact that
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  Speaker 1: her mother, it appeared, had left without shoes raised questions
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  Speaker 1: about where she could have gone and why. Now, the
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  Speaker 1: family said they did not report hearing anything unusual during
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  Speaker 1: the night. There were no signs of someone forcing their
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  Speaker 1: way into their home. There was no fight or disagreement.
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  Speaker 1: And the door was unlocked at the home. Okay. Okay. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Detective Michael Bayliss explained the door was unlocked, which is
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  Speaker 1: why we think she left on her own. Guys, maybe
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  Speaker 1: she forgot something outside. I mean, I've walked outside saying
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  Speaker 1: in the middle of the night going, oh my God,
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  Speaker 1: did I turn the water off? And I've gone out
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  Speaker 1: in my PJs and barefooted. So people can go outside
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  Speaker 1: to do something and something nefarious can happen. Now, Angelica
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  Speaker 1: did contact the police and the search for Awilda began. Now,
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  Speaker 1: investigators initially considered whether she might have gone to a
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  Speaker 1: nearby soup kitchen, but that was not true. They searched
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  Speaker 1: the surrounding area and they brought in canine units. The
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  Speaker 1: dogs tracked Awilda's scent to the Connecticut River on South
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  Speaker 1: River Street near a boat launch. What? What? The scent
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  Speaker 1: ended there. Now, maybe she got onto a boat. Maybe
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  Speaker 1: somebody took her from that area. We don't know, but
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  Speaker 1: Angelica told investigators that her mother may have visited that
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  Speaker 1: location two days earlier and that her mother loved fishing
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  Speaker 1: from the boat launch, which could have explained why the
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  Speaker 1: dogs detected her scent there. Now, as the years passed by,
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  Speaker 1: Investigators have not received any confirmed sightings of Awilda and
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  Speaker 1: they have not found any remains that could be connected
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  Speaker 1: to her disappearance. Now, they have not, Detective Bailey said,
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  Speaker 1: we have not had a sighting or any remains that
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  Speaker 1: match up to her. Now, law enforcement has said there
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  Speaker 1: is no evidence establishing that Awilda was left was a
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  Speaker 1: victim of a homicide, okay, and raised the possibilities that
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  Speaker 1: maybe she could have left and begun a new life
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  Speaker 1: or changed her identity, which I'm going to say as
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  Speaker 1: a grandmother and a mom, that would be shocking, okay?
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  Speaker 1: That would be. Now, Angelica has struggled to believe that
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  Speaker 1: her mother would have simply walked away, She loved being
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  Speaker 1: a grandmother to her son Jacob, and she was preparing
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  Speaker 1: and excited for the arrival of her grandchild. Now, like
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  Speaker 1: I said, five days after Awilda vanished, Tierra was born,
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  Speaker 1: and her grandmother was not there to meet her or
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  Speaker 1: see her. More than 17 years later, the circumstances surrounding
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  Speaker 1: Awilda Marrero's disappearance remains unsolved. She left her home on
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  Speaker 1: a rainy night without shoes, without her purse, without her
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  Speaker 1: cell phone, and without any other belongings. Okay, now the
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  Speaker 1: statement she made to her family shortly before she vanished,
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  Speaker 1: along with the canine trail, have never provided a definitive
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  Speaker 1: answer about what happened and whether or not she walked
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  Speaker 1: away from her home on her own. Like I said,
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  Speaker 1: maybe she was raining. Maybe she thought she left something
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  Speaker 1: out in the rain. She wanted to go out and
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  Speaker 1: make sure it was okay. We don't know. And she
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  Speaker 1: still is classified as an endangered missing person. So please,
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  Speaker 1: we are asking anyone with information about the disappearance or
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  Speaker 1: possible sightings of a Wilda Marrero, please contact the Enfield
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  Speaker 1: Police Department at 860-763-6400. Also, please go to our Midday
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  Speaker 1: Missing Facebook page or any of my Terry 2 True
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: Crime social media pages after the show. We will post
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: the missing person posters. If you could please share them
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  Speaker 1: because it's our small way of helping, but it also
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  Speaker 1: helps the families know their loved one has not been forgotten. Okay. Now,
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  Speaker 1: if you know of a loved one missing, or if
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  Speaker 1: you know someone in your community that's missing, or if
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  Speaker 1: you want to come on and do an interview and
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  Speaker 1: tell us about your loved one, we would love to
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  Speaker 1: share their story. You can email me, Terri, at tcwtmedia.com
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  Speaker 1: Or you can contact me through any of our social
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  Speaker 1: media pages, okay? I may not get back to you
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  Speaker 1: that day, but I will get back to you, okay?
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  Speaker 1: I will. Now, next, we have Mark Randall Johnson. He
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  Speaker 1: was 42 years old when he disappeared from Toland, Connecticut
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  Speaker 1: on October 24, 2006. Mark was born August 11, 1964.
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  Speaker 1: He has a white male with blonde hair and blue eyes.
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  Speaker 1: At the time of his disappearance, he was approximately 5
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  Speaker 1: foot 10 inches tall and was weighing between 150 and
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  Speaker 1: 150 pounds. Now, Mark has an unspecified medical condition. And
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  Speaker 1: his wife, Donna Lee, reported that she believed he was
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  Speaker 1: depressed because of personal problems at the time he disappeared.
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  Speaker 1: She told authorities that she last saw him sometime between
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  Speaker 1: 11 and 11.25 p.m. as he walked away from their residence.
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  Speaker 1: It's kind of a red flag for me. I don't
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  Speaker 1: know why, that one just struck me as a red flag. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Mark left the residence on foot without his cell phone.
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  Speaker 1: He was wearing dark colored jeans, a gray long sleeve shirt,
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  Speaker 1: dark colored rubber snow boots, and a dark-colored coat or sheepskin,
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  Speaker 1: and he was wearing a hat with a New York logo.
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  Speaker 1: Authorities have conducted several searches of the area surrounding his home.
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  Speaker 1: Canine teams and Connecticut State Police aircraft were used during
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  Speaker 1: these search efforts, but investigators have not contacted him or
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  Speaker 1: anything except for A hat was found during a search
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  Speaker 1: of the area. We don't know if it's his, okay?
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  Speaker 1: Because we know he was wearing a New York hat.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe he had it on underneath. We don't know. But
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  Speaker 1: there has been no other signs of Mark discovered. Mark's
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  Speaker 1: disappearance and lack of communication were considered uncharistic of him. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Mark and Donna had married several months before he disappeared. Now,
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  Speaker 1: his wife has claimed that Mark called her several times
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  Speaker 1: after he went missing. She said she believed he had
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  Speaker 1: voluntarily left because he was afraid he might be sent
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  Speaker 1: to prison. Okay, interesting. But Mark had been arrested for
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  Speaker 1: possession of drug paraphernalia and was subsequently charged with missing
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  Speaker 1: three court appearances connected to that case. And he was
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  Speaker 1: placed on probation in 2006. And she's saying that because
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  Speaker 1: he hadn't completely complied, she thought he was going to
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  Speaker 1: be sent to prison. However, his attorney tells us he
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  Speaker 1: was not in danger of being jailed or going to prison.
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  Speaker 1: So I don't know, guys. Maybe it's because I'm in
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: the true crime world. I find it suspicious that he
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  Speaker 1: called her. Especially when we find out investigators have been
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  Speaker 1: unable to verify his wife's claims that he contacted her
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  Speaker 1: after his disappearance. That is even more red flags for me. Okay. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Mark has not made any contact with his family or friends,
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  Speaker 1: that has been verified. Okay. Now, in October 2010, at
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  Speaker 1: the request of his sister, Mark was declared legally deceased. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I've had people send questions or make comments about why
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  Speaker 1: people do this. There's multiple reasons. If they have property anywhere.
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  Speaker 1: If they go missing and you don't know what happened,
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  Speaker 1: you can't a lot of times close out accounts for them.
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  Speaker 1: You can, if you have children, sign them up for
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: social security benefits. If they had young children, there's a
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  Speaker 1: lot of reasons. Sometimes it's closure for the family, but
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: usually it's so that business affairs can be handled. Okay. Now,
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  Speaker 1: we are asking anyone with information about the disappearance or
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: whereabouts of Mark Randall Johnson to please contact the Connecticut
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  Speaker 1: State Police at 860-896-3200. And I'm also asking you to
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  Speaker 1: share his missing person poster, which will also be shared
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: this afternoon. Now, we do have a third case today.
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  Speaker 1: So Sophia McKenna was 20 years old when she disappeared
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  Speaker 1: from Groton, Connecticut, May 27, 2018. Sophia was last seen
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  Speaker 1: with her friend, 21-year-old Spencer Mugford, off the coast of
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  Speaker 1: Avery Point in Groton at approximately 2 a.m. that Sunday morning.
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  Speaker 1: Sophia and Spencer went out onto the ocean. They were
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  Speaker 1: last seen on a Snapchat while out on the water,
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  Speaker 1: and they also posted on social media while they were out. Now,
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  Speaker 1: authorities initially thought maybe Sophia and Spencer had taken out
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  Speaker 1: either a kayak or a paddleboard, but it was later
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  Speaker 1: determined that they had been aboard a 14-foot white and
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  Speaker 1: blue sailboat with no mast. Now, a search effort began
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  Speaker 1: after Sophia and Spencer arrived. were overdue to return. And
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  Speaker 1: the United States Coast Guard worked along state and local
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  Speaker 1: agencies in a very extensive search, covering 2,025 square miles
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  Speaker 1: over 71 hours. That's a lot, guys. Now, that night,
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: a Coast Guard boat crew located Spencer's shirt at ledge light. Now,
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  Speaker 1: on the afternoon of May 28th, Search crews located the
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  Speaker 1: 14-foot white and blue sailboat on Truman Beach near Greenport,
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  Speaker 1: New York. The boat was empty when it was found.
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  Speaker 1: It is the vessel that they believe Sofa and Spencer
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  Speaker 1: had been aboard. Now, the Coast Guard commander, Andrew Eli,
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  Speaker 1: explained that the water temperatures were in the low 50s
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  Speaker 1: and that someone immersed in water at that temperature would
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  Speaker 1: probably have less than 20 hours of what the Coast
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: Guard considered survival time if they did not have a
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  Speaker 1: life jacket. After the 71 hours, the Coast Guard suspended
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  Speaker 1: the search. However, on June 8th, Spencer Mugford's body was
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  Speaker 1: found in Long Island off of Old Saybrook in Connecticut.
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  Speaker 1: So Sophia has not been found. She does have several tattoos.
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  Speaker 1: She has a cherry blossoms on her back. The words saying,
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: searching for the thrill of it on her ankle. And
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: a July zodiac sign behind her ear. And the words,
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: thy world is a lamp unto my feet. and a
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: light unto my path on her foot. Sophia has not
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: been found, no clothing, no remains, nothing, and she still
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  Speaker 1: is listed as missing. So we're asking anyone with information
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  Speaker 1: about Sophia McKinney, please contact the Connecticut State Police at
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  Speaker 1: 860-848- Guys, you can also always report information to FBI.gov tips,
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: even if they're not looking into the case, okay? Because
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: it's anonymous. You can do that. Now, I am going
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: to ask you all again to either join our Midday
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: Missing Facebook group, where we do post all of our
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: missing person posters online, But we also post other missing
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: person cases that need attention and we have verified them.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: We also try to post active Amber Alerts. So if
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: you have Facebook, come on over and join. But remember,
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: I also post our missing person posters on my Terry
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: True Crime socials. So you can share them from there
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: if you're not over on the book face. And just remember,
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: Every help, every share helps put the names and faces
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: in front of more people. Because, guys, we never know
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: who might recognize someone or have a little bit of
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: a tidbit of information, okay? And while you're there, go
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: ahead and like us on our social medias and follow
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: us because everywhere but Midday Missing, is where you want
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: to stay connected, join the conversation, and keep up with
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: whatever's going on and what craziness we've got behind the scenes, okay? Now,
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: just in case you're new here, True Crime and Wine Time,
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: our original podcast, airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: And every week, we dive into shocking true crime cases,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: most of the time perfectly paired with wine, a cocktail,
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: or lately it's been soda and sparkling water. Whatever your
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: drink of choice is. And this week, guys, we are
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: continuing our deep dive into the absolutely bunny boiler case
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: of Sarah Hartsfield, who is not only a child abuser,
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: a murderer, an arsonist, a serial killer, bigamist not I
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: guess not bigamist she was just a serial cheater and
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: got married a light a lot so if you haven't
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: listened to the first five episodes do that first and
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: then join us Thursday for part six because guys we're
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: getting into some really doozy stuff okay we are and
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: you're gonna want to know and I guess I don't
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: need to share that with y'all because that was for
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: Monday night and If you missed Monday night's Dearest Mother's
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: Darkest Secrets, I did cover the case of Mary Beth Tenning.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: And she's a mother whose nine children died over a
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: 14-year period. And we went through the deaths, the timing,
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: all of it. And I have to say, I still
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: have lots of questions about her. Go listen because she's
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: out of prison. So definitely go give it a listen. Now, guys,
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: I will be back in just a few minutes for
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: our regularly scheduled Midday Missing. But I do thank you
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: all for being here today. And until next time, stay safe,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: stay aware. And if you see something, say something. And
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: let's help these families bring their loved ones home. Bye, guys.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: See you in a few minutes. Thank you for watching.