Latest / Midday Missing / Veronica Reyes Diaz_ Her Kids Were Inside_ Where Did She Go
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: In the early morning hours of January 18th, 2020, 23-year-old
- 0:06Speaker 1: Veronica Reyes-Diaz returned to her Florida home. She had picked
- 0:11Speaker 1: up her children and put them to bed. Then her
- 0:14Speaker 1: children heard her go outside. But by morning, their mother
- 0:18Speaker 1: was gone. Her SUV was still parked at the house.
- 0:22Speaker 1: Her keys and wallet were left behind and her cell
- 0:25Speaker 1: phone would go silent days later. More than six years
- 0:29Speaker 1: have passed and her family is still asking the same question.
- 0:34Speaker 1: What happened to Veronica after she stepped outside? Hello, lovelies.
- 0:59Speaker 1: I am Terry True Crime, and welcome to Midday Missing. Okay,
- 1:05Speaker 1: there's a delay back here. Welcome to Midday Missing, where
- 1:08Speaker 1: we shine a light on missing person cases that deserve
- 1:12Speaker 1: more attention, more awareness, and more eyes looking for answers.
- 1:17Speaker 1: You can join us live every Monday and Wednesday at
- 1:20Speaker 1: 1 p.m. Eastern on our new Midday Missing YouTube channel
- 1:25Speaker 1: or our Midday Missing Facebook page. Now, we will continue
- 1:29Speaker 1: to share here for a bit on our True Crime
- 1:32Speaker 1: and Wine Time YouTube channel for a little bit. And
- 1:35Speaker 1: we will continue to share the missing stories and help
- 1:39Speaker 1: keep these cases in the public eye, no matter which
- 1:42Speaker 1: channel you watch. Okay. And if you were listening over
- 1:47Speaker 1: on the podcast apps, please download the episode. Leave us
- 1:51Speaker 1: a review. Every like, share, download. and review helps more
- 1:56Speaker 1: people discover Midday Missing, and most importantly, helps us reach
- 2:01Speaker 1: more people with the name, face, and story of the
- 2:05Speaker 1: missing person. Also, please take a moment to like this video,
- 2:11Speaker 1: subscribe to the channel if you haven't, and turn on
- 2:15Speaker 1: that notification bell so that you know when we go live. Now,
- 2:21Speaker 1: we do have an Amber Alert that was issued late
- 2:24Speaker 1: Sunday night for 15-year-old Willow Chapman, who is missing from
- 2:29Speaker 1: Cooperus Cove, Texas, since last Thursday. It's up by the
- 2:33Speaker 1: Temple area. Now, according to the alert, Willow was last
- 2:37Speaker 1: seen wearing a black hoodie, gray sweatpants, and was carrying
- 2:42Speaker 1: a black nightmare before Christmas. Willow is described as a
- 2:46Speaker 1: black female with black hair and brown eyes. She stands
- 2:50Speaker 1: approximately five foot tall and weighs 98 pounds. And we
- 2:56Speaker 1: are asking anyone with information about Willow Chapman's whereabouts is
- 3:02Speaker 1: urged to call 911 or the Cooper's Cove Police Department
- 3:07Speaker 1: at 254-547-8222. I will also share her poster on our
- 3:15Speaker 1: social media so that you can help share those. so
- 3:18Speaker 1: that we can bring this young woman home. Okay. Now
- 3:23Speaker 1: today we are heading to Florida. January 18th, 2020 in Dover, Florida,
- 3:31Speaker 1: a 23 year old mother of three had come home
- 3:35Speaker 1: after spending Friday evening out with a friend. She still
- 3:38Speaker 1: had the ordinary work of motherhood waiting for her. So
- 3:42Speaker 1: she collected her two older children from her sister's home
- 3:46Speaker 1: in nearby plant city, She returned to the house where
- 3:49Speaker 1: her husband and youngest child were and got the children
- 3:52Speaker 1: settled for the night. By morning, Veronica Marlon Reyes-Dios would
- 3:59Speaker 1: go missing. And now, more than six and a half
- 4:02Speaker 1: years later, the question is not simply where she went,
- 4:06Speaker 1: but what happened in that narrow stretch of time between
- 4:10Speaker 1: her return home and her disappearance. Veronica was born on
- 4:17Speaker 1: June 7th, 1996. She was just 23 years old when
- 4:21Speaker 1: she vanished. And she had three children whose lives were
- 4:25Speaker 1: tied to hers in an intimate rhythms of everyday family life.
- 4:30Speaker 1: And she was a devoted mother. Her father, Fidencio Minhares,
- 4:39Speaker 1: and her aunt, Claudia Morales, have spoken publicly about the
- 4:43Speaker 1: loss of contact with her. Their words remind us that
- 4:46Speaker 1: a missing person case is not an abstract puzzle. It
- 4:51Speaker 1: is a daughter whose father still drives through the neighborhood
- 4:55Speaker 1: where she lived and a mother whose children have grown
- 4:58Speaker 1: older without an answer about where she is. The public
- 5:05Speaker 1: records only give us fragments of Veronica's early life. It
- 5:09Speaker 1: does not establish a whole lot of information about her. Okay. Now,
- 5:16Speaker 1: To me, these are meaningful absences in her story because
- 5:20Speaker 1: it makes it harder for us to know who she
- 5:23Speaker 1: is as a real person. But what is clear from
- 5:28Speaker 1: her family's public comments is that Veronica is deeply missed
- 5:33Speaker 1: and that those closer to her reject the idea that
- 5:37Speaker 1: she would willingly leave her children behind. Okay, guys, that
- 5:42Speaker 1: is an important thing to keep in mind. Her father
- 5:46Speaker 1: described her to one news report as small in stature,
- 5:50Speaker 1: but full of spirit. And that description adds something a
- 5:55Speaker 1: physical missing person listing, let's be honest, can't capture because
- 6:01Speaker 1: all the profile tells us is that she's about five
- 6:03Speaker 1: foot tall, right? And her father remembers her personality because
- 6:08Speaker 1: it was big. And for families, those are two different
- 6:12Speaker 1: kinds of truths. the details that help strangers recognize someone,
- 6:17Speaker 1: and the memories that help loved ones hold on to
- 6:20Speaker 1: the person they love. By January of 2020, Veronica was
- 6:26Speaker 1: living in the Dover area of Hillsborough County, east of Tampa.
- 6:31Speaker 1: Her family connections extended to Plant City. Her husband was
- 6:35Speaker 1: at home with their youngest child on the night she disappeared,
- 6:39Speaker 1: while the This arrangement matters because it establishes a sequence
- 6:48Speaker 1: of movement that helps investigators and family members put together
- 6:54Speaker 1: what the person was doing before they went missing, okay? Now,
- 6:59Speaker 1: like I said, Veronica spent Friday night out with friends
- 7:02Speaker 1: before early in the mornings picking up her children and
- 7:06Speaker 1: heading back home, okay? And they do say Veronica tucked
- 7:11Speaker 1: her children into bed And then the children heard her
- 7:14Speaker 1: go outside. That's the last time she was seen or heard, okay? Now,
- 7:23Speaker 1: over on the Charlie Project, it gives us a little
- 7:26Speaker 1: bit more details, okay? A friend had dropped Veronica at
- 7:29Speaker 1: home after that night out, okay? Veronica then drove to
- 7:34Speaker 1: her sister's home in Plant City to pick up her children.
- 7:37Speaker 1: Then she drove back to Dover to put them to bed, okay?
- 7:42Speaker 1: But What happened when she went outside? Why did she
- 7:46Speaker 1: go outside? Okay, because those unanswered questions should remain questions
- 7:52Speaker 1: and they shouldn't be converted into conclusions. Now, the children
- 7:57Speaker 1: hearing Veronica go outside, I have to be honest, it's
- 8:00Speaker 1: one of the most haunting details in this story because
- 8:05Speaker 1: it places her at home after the evening out, you know,
- 8:10Speaker 1: but Hearing a door or someone you love step outside
- 8:15Speaker 1: doesn't tell investigators or family what happened, okay? Nor does
- 8:22Speaker 1: it establish a verified route that she took after she
- 8:26Speaker 1: stepped outside. We just know that by morning she was missing.
- 8:31Speaker 1: Her Chevrolet Yukon was still outside the home. Her keys
- 8:34Speaker 1: and wallet were inside the vehicle. And these details matter.
- 8:40Speaker 1: Her car was at home. her wallet, her keys. Where
- 8:45Speaker 1: was she? Okay. Now, Veronica's cell phone became another critical
- 8:50Speaker 1: piece of the timeline. Okay. Now, the Charlie Project reports
- 8:56Speaker 1: that the phone was missing with, was missing with her.
- 9:00Speaker 1: And it continued to register in the local area during
- 9:03Speaker 1: the weekend of her disappearance. And by that evening of
- 9:07Speaker 1: January 20th, it had either been switched off or lost
- 9:13Speaker 1: As most of us know, a cell phone ping can
- 9:16Speaker 1: help establish an approximate connection to a network and where
- 9:20Speaker 1: the person might be, okay? But it doesn't give us
- 9:26Speaker 1: enough information to reconstruct the exact path, okay? And it
- 9:33Speaker 1: doesn't tell us why it stopped communicating, okay? A phone
- 9:38Speaker 1: can move with or without its owner. It can remain
- 9:40Speaker 1: stationary while its owner moves or lose service for reasons,
- 9:45Speaker 1: you know, not related to deliberate actions. Maybe the battery
- 9:49Speaker 1: just went dead. She had been out all night. Okay. Now,
- 9:53Speaker 1: in missing person investigations, the first days often produce the
- 9:58Speaker 1: clearest memories. but they can also produce conflicting recollections. The
- 10:05Speaker 1: record available to the public in Veronica's case leaves several
- 10:09Speaker 1: practical questions unresolved. Who was the last adult to speak
- 10:14Speaker 1: with her? What did she say when she returned home?
- 10:18Speaker 1: Did any cameras capture her after she stepped outside? Were
- 10:26Speaker 1: there any voicemails or text messages on her phone when
- 10:30Speaker 1: they got the records? And we don't know. That is
- 10:34Speaker 1: not publicly available to us. Now, the sheriff's office is
- 10:40Speaker 1: treating Veronica's disappearance as an unresolved case. Okay. Now, that
- 10:45Speaker 1: is significant. Because The agency didn't merely include her name
- 10:50Speaker 1: in a database. It told the story of a young
- 10:53Speaker 1: mother whose children were left without her and appealed to
- 10:57Speaker 1: people who might know something, okay? Now, Veronica's father has
- 11:02Speaker 1: been among the voices refusing to let this case disappear
- 11:07Speaker 1: from public view. In January of 2025, in an interview
- 11:12Speaker 1: with Spectrum News, he described continuing to drive around the
- 11:16Speaker 1: mobile home park where Veronica lived trying to make sense
- 11:20Speaker 1: of the events. And guys, that image speaks to a
- 11:25Speaker 1: particular kind of grief that most of us hopefully will
- 11:29Speaker 1: never know because her dad knows the roads. He knows
- 11:33Speaker 1: that area, but he doesn't know what happened to his
- 11:36Speaker 1: daughter or where she went. Okay. Her aunt Claudia has
- 11:41Speaker 1: also spoken publicly in the same anniversary coverage of Claudia
- 11:46Speaker 1: said she continued to believe Veronica might be somewhere out there.
- 11:51Speaker 1: She emphasized again, the family does not believe Veronica would
- 11:56Speaker 1: voluntarily walk away from her children, okay? Now, that is
- 12:02Speaker 1: the family's perspective, but that is not proof to anything.
- 12:07Speaker 1: But I do say loved ones know the person that's
- 12:10Speaker 1: missing more than any of us in the public or
- 12:14Speaker 1: law enforcement. Canoe. Okay. Now the passage of time has
- 12:19Speaker 1: changed the lives surrounding this case. When Veronica disappeared, her
- 12:23Speaker 1: children were young enough that the sheriffs described them hearing
- 12:29Speaker 1: her go outside that night. Okay. And by the fifth anniversary,
- 12:33Speaker 1: her aunt were speaking about her children growing up without
- 12:37Speaker 1: knowing what happened to their mother. Birthdays, holidays, school years,
- 12:43Speaker 1: everyday ordinary family milestones have continued all without their mother. Now,
- 12:51Speaker 1: this family is keeping Veronica's name visible, okay? And that
- 12:58Speaker 1: says a lot, okay? Now, the family is also planning
- 13:01Speaker 1: to gather at the Valrico Hills Mobile Home Park to
- 13:05Speaker 1: mark the anniversary each year, okay? Because they believe just
- 13:09Speaker 1: a banner cannot replace the investigation. Now, there have also
- 13:14Speaker 1: been public discussions about Veronica's marriage and relationships, okay? Now,
- 13:20Speaker 1: there is some stories out there that are saying that
- 13:26Speaker 1: her father described concerns expressed by some friends and relatives
- 13:30Speaker 1: about her marriage, okay? But this is not facts that
- 13:37Speaker 1: her husband had anything to do with it. We all
- 13:41Speaker 1: know Everyone suspects the husband first. And it's tempting for
- 13:46Speaker 1: all of us to search for one dramatic detail that
- 13:49Speaker 1: will explain everything, okay? Why the vehicle was left behind,
- 13:54Speaker 1: why the phone continued to ping, but yet her wallet
- 13:58Speaker 1: and keys were at home. But none of that gives
- 14:02Speaker 1: us an answer. And one question that deserves special care was,
- 14:07Speaker 1: did Veronica choose to leave her family, strongly disputes that, okay?
- 14:13Speaker 1: Saying she was devoted to her children. At the same time,
- 14:18Speaker 1: public reporting does not provide enough verified evidence to announce
- 14:23Speaker 1: exactly what happened or a motive, okay? In January of 2025,
- 14:32Speaker 1: the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office told news that Veronica's case
- 14:36Speaker 1: remained under investigation and they did not provide evidence excuse me,
- 14:42Speaker 1: any new developments, okay? She is still listed as an
- 14:46Speaker 1: endangered missing, okay? Now, for someone who believes they've recognized Veronica,
- 14:54Speaker 1: identifying details may be useful, okay? You can see if
- 14:58Speaker 1: you're watching this on the screen, a picture of her
- 15:01Speaker 1: missing person poster. Her name is listed as Veronica Marlene Reyes-Diaz,
- 15:08Speaker 1: and they also reference the surnames Minaras Reyes and Minaras Reyes.
- 15:14Speaker 1: She has brown eyes and her hair was dyed burgundy
- 15:18Speaker 1: around the time that she disappeared. She does have a
- 15:21Speaker 1: dark mole near the corner of her left eye, pierced ears,
- 15:25Speaker 1: and she may wear glasses. Okay. They say that she
- 15:29Speaker 1: was last seen in a gray and white long sleeve
- 15:33Speaker 1: crop top, jeans, and blue sandals. But we all know
- 15:37Speaker 1: appearance and clothing can change over time. Okay. Now, if
- 15:43Speaker 1: you have any information about Veronica's movements in the early
- 15:47Speaker 1: hours of January 18th, 2020, if you talk to her,
- 15:52Speaker 1: if you just think you saw her, if you've heard rumors,
- 15:55Speaker 1: please call the Harrisboro County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200. Veronica
- 15:59Speaker 1: was just 23 when she disappeared. She was a daughter.
- 16:02Speaker 1: She was a niece. She was a wife. And all above,
- 16:13Speaker 1: she was a mother to three children. And her story
- 16:18Speaker 1: began long before that Saturday morning when she went missing.
- 16:22Speaker 1: And it deserves to be remembered as more than just
- 16:25Speaker 1: a mysterious final sighting. Somewhere between an normal act of
- 16:31Speaker 1: bringing her children home and putting them to bed and
- 16:34Speaker 1: stepping outside for something, she has gone missing. And the
- 16:40Speaker 1: family says until there is an answer or she is found,
- 16:45Speaker 1: they will continue asking what happened to Veronica. Okay, guys,
- 16:53Speaker 1: that is important. Okay. Now, if someone you love is
- 16:58Speaker 1: missing or you know a missing person whose story needs
- 17:01Speaker 1: more attention, we would be honored to help share their story.
- 17:05Speaker 1: Families and loved ones are also welcome to join us
- 17:08Speaker 1: for a live interview to talk about their missing loved one,
- 17:11Speaker 1: share important details about the case, and tell our audience
- 17:16Speaker 1: how they can help. Okay? All you've got to do
- 17:19Speaker 1: if you want to have a case, you can send
- 17:22Speaker 1: it to me on any of our social media accounts
- 17:25Speaker 1: or at terri at tcwtmedia.com. Okay? Now I'm going to ask,
- 17:31Speaker 1: don't forget to join our Midday Missing Facebook group if
- 17:34Speaker 1: you're on the Facebook. because there we post the missing
- 17:37Speaker 1: person posters from every case we cover and share additional
- 17:41Speaker 1: missing person posters that we have verified. I will also
- 17:46Speaker 1: share our posters across my Terry True Crime social media
- 17:50Speaker 1: accounts so that even if you're not over on Facebook,
- 17:53Speaker 1: you can still help by sharing these posters and getting
- 17:56Speaker 1: these faces and names in front of people who matter. Okay.
- 18:02Speaker 1: Now you can catch all of our shows, on our
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- 18:09Speaker 1: Midday Missing, we are now on our new Midday Missing
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- 18:19Speaker 1: of the TCWT Media family. Okay? Now, if you need
- 18:24Speaker 1: some bunny boiler, bonkers, batshit crazy stuff, you want to
- 18:31Speaker 1: join us on our True Crime and Wine Time channel
- 18:33Speaker 1: right now. this Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern. Now, every
- 18:38Speaker 1: week we grab a glass of wine or a cocktail,
- 18:41Speaker 1: sometimes sparkling water, and we take a deep dive into
- 18:44Speaker 1: some of the most shocking, disturbing, and unforgettable true crime cases.
- 18:49Speaker 1: And guess what, guys? We are continuing that this week
- 18:52Speaker 1: because we are going back to Knoxville, Tennessee for a
- 18:55Speaker 1: case that is, I'm going to be honest, difficult to
- 18:58Speaker 1: comprehend even decades later. And Me and my co-host Lama
- 19:03Speaker 1: have difference of opinions, I think. So you definitely want
- 19:07Speaker 1: to join us because Krista Pike was only 18 years
- 19:10Speaker 1: old when 19-year-old Colleen Slimmer was brutally murdered in January 1995. Okay.
- 19:19Speaker 1: And prosecutors say that attack was fueled by jealousy. But
- 19:23Speaker 1: I'm going to be honest. What happened that night went
- 19:25Speaker 1: far beyond a confrontation between two young women. Colleen was beaten, cut.
- 19:31Speaker 1: and ultimately killed. And afterwards, Krista kept a piece of
- 19:36Speaker 1: Colleen's skull as a souvenir. That's right, guys. Also, she
- 19:41Speaker 1: has never shown any remorse that I have been found.
- 19:44Speaker 1: So you definitely want to join us this week. If
- 19:47Speaker 1: you haven't seen the previous episodes, you can find them
- 19:51Speaker 1: on our True Crime and Wine Time page under our playlist, okay?
- 19:55Speaker 1: So you definitely want to do that. And if you
- 20:00Speaker 1: want more of Meeting Lama, our True Crime and Wine
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- 21:07Speaker 1: It means a lot to us. I want you to
- 21:09Speaker 1: leave some comments and let me know what you think
- 21:13Speaker 1: about Veronica. I have some ideas and suspicions and I
- 21:18Speaker 1: am actually going to try to reach out to her dad.
- 21:20Speaker 1: So dad, if you or another family member happens to
- 21:23Speaker 1: see this, reach out to me because I would love
- 21:26Speaker 1: to talk with you and get some more information about Veronica. Okay.
- 21:32Speaker 1: Until next time, guys, stay safe, stay aware. And if
- 21:35Speaker 1: you see something, say something. And let's help these families
- 21:39Speaker 1: bring their loved ones home. Bye, guys.