WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.480 She was just 16, full of life, and dreams of 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:08.119 becoming a vet. But in 2004, Samantha Tapp disappeared 00:00:08.119 --> 00:00:12.480 from Burleson, Texas, leaving behind a family 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:15.939 still searching for answers. For nearly two decades, 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:18.519 her sister has fought to keep her story alive. 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:23.199 This episode is about love, loss, and the relentless 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:28.440 power of hope. Welcome to Beyond the Silence. 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:33.340 Whispers across America. I'm Sammy, your host, 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:35.939 driven to shine a light on the dark corners of 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:38.539 forgotten cases and keep alive the voices the 00:00:38.539 --> 00:00:42.640 world has tried to silence. If you've followed 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:45.500 these cases with me before, you know every missing 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:48.679 person story starts long before they disappear. 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:52.200 Today, we're telling the story of Samantha Tapp, 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:55.880 a spirited teenager whose life was shaped by 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:59.890 hardship. long before the day she vanished. For 00:00:59.890 --> 00:01:02.850 Samantha and her older sister Kendall, their 00:01:02.850 --> 00:01:05.409 lives were already complicated well before October 00:01:05.409 --> 00:01:11.150 12, 2004. The girls had a rough go. They spent 00:01:11.150 --> 00:01:13.750 part of their childhood in foster care after 00:01:13.750 --> 00:01:17.310 family upheaval. And when things fell apart there 00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:21.489 too, they each bounced between relatives. Samantha 00:01:21.489 --> 00:01:24.390 with an aunt, Kendall with the grandparents. 00:01:25.590 --> 00:01:29.269 Eventually, Sam joined Kendall at their grandparents'. 00:01:29.269 --> 00:01:32.709 And by all accounts, the sisters were tight even 00:01:32.709 --> 00:01:35.469 after all those hardships. But nothing about 00:01:35.469 --> 00:01:39.950 their lives was easy. So on the night it happened, 00:01:40.310 --> 00:01:43.049 Sam leaves her grandparents' home around 7 .30, 00:01:43.269 --> 00:01:46.269 walks a few blocks to Kendall's boyfriend's house, 00:01:46.469 --> 00:01:50.260 where Kendall's living by then. She's upset, 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:52.519 certainly worked up about something, though no 00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:54.879 one really remembers what exactly sparked it. 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:57.719 Kendall said it was probably something silly, 00:01:57.939 --> 00:02:00.500 one of those sister spats that feel like the 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:02.599 end of the world in the moment, but fade into 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:05.180 the background noise of a thousand other arguments. 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:08.979 And Sam wants to stay, but Kendall tells her 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:11.639 it's not a good idea, and she needs to go home. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.860 Sam storms off, and Kendall just figures she'll 00:02:14.860 --> 00:02:17.960 cool down and head back or find a place to vent 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:21.240 for a bit. But that was the last time anyone 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.219 saw or heard from Samantha. You want to talk 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:26.620 about moments that haunt you. This is one of 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:30.159 them. The thing is, when Samantha went missing, 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:33.000 law enforcement did what they often do. They 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:35.340 labeled her an endangered runaway instead of 00:02:35.340 --> 00:02:38.539 a missing person. And if you've looked at missing 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:41.300 teen cases as long as I have, you know that's 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:44.639 not rare. Maybe even routine. It happens a lot, 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:48.979 and the impacts are real. Kids, especially teens 00:02:48.979 --> 00:02:51.460 who've run off before, get this label slapped 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:54.000 on their case and suddenly the urgency's gone. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:58.099 Fewer resources, almost no media attention, and 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:02.159 less pressure for answers. I mean, I get it. 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:04.979 Sometimes a kid does just want to disappear for 00:03:04.979 --> 00:03:08.879 a night or two. But sometimes. Something else 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:12.060 is going on. And that label. It's like shutting 00:03:12.060 --> 00:03:14.680 off the spotlight right as things get dark. And 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:17.389 speaking of things getting dark. Let's get into 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:21.250 the so -called investigation here. Or, honestly, 00:03:21.530 --> 00:03:24.389 the lack of one. Because Samantha was quickly 00:03:24.389 --> 00:03:27.270 chalked up as a runaway, there was no organized 00:03:27.270 --> 00:03:31.629 search, basically no media coverage. Phone calls 00:03:31.629 --> 00:03:35.409 went largely unanswered. And the leads, they 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:40.229 just fizzled. Within a week or so, Kendall and 00:03:40.229 --> 00:03:42.789 her grandparents noticed cigarette butts and 00:03:42.789 --> 00:03:45.210 itsy rearrangements in the backyard furniture. 00:03:46.090 --> 00:03:48.909 It seems like maybe Sam, or Sam with some friends, 00:03:49.169 --> 00:03:52.169 snuck in while the grandparents were out. The 00:03:52.169 --> 00:03:54.469 family hands this over to police and you'd think, 00:03:54.569 --> 00:03:57.210 alright, this could be something. But all the 00:03:57.210 --> 00:03:59.270 cops did was tell her grandparents to change 00:03:59.270 --> 00:04:03.990 the locks. End of story. No canvassing, no forensics, 00:04:04.030 --> 00:04:08.409 nothing. Look, I've seen this before. There was 00:04:08.409 --> 00:04:11.770 a case I read long ago out of Oklahoma. Kid ran 00:04:11.770 --> 00:04:15.090 off, except... Well, everyone said he left, so 00:04:15.090 --> 00:04:18.769 nobody really poked around much. Later, it came 00:04:18.769 --> 00:04:21.250 out that he'd actually been in trouble, serious 00:04:21.250 --> 00:04:23.589 trouble, right there in his own neighborhood. 00:04:23.889 --> 00:04:26.889 And by the time anybody took a real look, the 00:04:26.889 --> 00:04:30.250 trail was cold, witnesses had gone silent, and 00:04:30.250 --> 00:04:34.550 the case never got solved. These decisions, labeling 00:04:34.550 --> 00:04:37.310 someone as a runaway instead of a missing person, 00:04:37.529 --> 00:04:41.379 not picking up on small details right away, They 00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:44.019 don't just affect the paperwork. They change 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:47.000 lives, make the difference between a quick reunion 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:50.600 and a family waiting decades for word. Honestly, 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:53.240 the more I see it, the more frustrating it is. 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:57.439 And you know, Samantha's case is a textbook example. 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:00.819 She's on probation, yeah, for borrowing her aunt's 00:05:00.819 --> 00:05:03.319 car. You get a 16 -year -old kid making some 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:06.879 bad choices, sure. But should that history have 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:09.540 shut down a real investigation into her disappearance? 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:13.600 It's a pattern across the country. Every time 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:16.079 you stack up these cases, you start to see all 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:19.740 the times a runaway label let clues slip through 00:05:19.740 --> 00:05:24.199 the cracks. It's just not right. What's truly 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:26.480 remarkable, though, is Kendall's dedication. 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:30.459 I mean, for two decades, she's kept her phone 00:05:30.459 --> 00:05:33.439 number the same, just in case Samantha tries 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:37.899 to call. She's filing FOIA requests. working 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:40.459 with private investigator Lou Berry, pushing 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:43.740 every possible lead. And there are these developments 00:05:43.740 --> 00:05:46.579 that almost play out like a cruel game of telephone. 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:52.779 Sam's name pops up in Oregon in 2011. St. Helens 00:05:52.779 --> 00:05:55.439 police run it, but there's no follow -up record, 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:01.819 no explanation. Then, in 2013, her name is run 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:04.980 at the Dallas -Fort Worth Airport by U .S. Customs, 00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:08.339 but again, nothing comes of it. Some say maybe 00:06:08.339 --> 00:06:12.300 someone else was using her name. It's just so 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:15.620 many loose ends, you know? And it doesn't stop 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:18.399 there. There's even talk that Sam called up a 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:21.319 relative in Texas, wanted a place to stay, then 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:23.720 told them she was off to Florida with a man she'd 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:26.720 met. But with these things, memories get hazy. 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:31.079 Stories shift over time. It's hard to know what's 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:34.240 real. Then there's the detail, that Samantha's 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:36.660 social security number hasn't been used since 00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:40.639 2004. Which leaves you wondering, did she disappear 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:45.379 on her own? Or did something else happen? I want 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:47.480 to read you a couple things. It's going to break 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:51.040 your heart, but I think it's important. Kendell 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:54.259 wrote to Samantha on her birthday. Your 34th 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:57.139 birthday is bittersweet. I've not gotten to celebrate 00:06:57.139 --> 00:06:59.819 this special day with you for the past 18 years. 00:07:11.729 --> 00:07:14.449 Do you know that I've never stopped looking for 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:18.610 you? Do you know that I love you? And Vanessa, 00:07:18.910 --> 00:07:23.430 Sam's friend. She wrote, It's been so long that 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:26.519 there are fragments of memories left. The only 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:28.740 way I can put things is in letter form to you. 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:32.160 It makes me feel you may someday read it. My 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.439 favorite memory is becoming your best friend. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:38.180 These were put out there hoping. Maybe Samantha 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:41.560 might find them. Or maybe they reach someone 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:43.939 who knows something. Either way, it's a testament 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:46.860 to the power of hope and what it means to never 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:50.959 give up, even as the years stack up. You might 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:53.449 be asking, Where does Samantha's case go from 00:07:53.449 --> 00:07:56.230 here after 20 years with no answers? I mean, 00:07:56.290 --> 00:07:58.689 that's the question with so many long -term missing 00:07:58.689 --> 00:08:02.709 cases. Sometimes the official investigation fizzles 00:08:02.709 --> 00:08:05.990 out. But that's where communities and volunteers 00:08:05.990 --> 00:08:09.129 have really stepped up in recent years. Just 00:08:09.129 --> 00:08:12.889 go online and you'll find Facebook groups, advocacy 00:08:12.889 --> 00:08:16.670 pages, folks keeping Samantha's face and name 00:08:16.670 --> 00:08:20.279 in circulation. There's power here. Crowdsourcing, 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:23.000 digital flyers, those age -progressed images 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:26.899 shared thousands of times. Sometimes a post or 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:29.980 a tweet reaches the right person, sparks a memory, 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:34.259 or brings forth a new lead. And it's not just 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:37.399 digital noise. Sometimes real leads come out 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.759 of these spaces. Private investigators like Lou 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:43.220 Barry stay tied in with family and community 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:46.960 advocates. Jason Watts comes to mind. People 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:50.419 who won't let the story fade. Cases have been 00:08:50.419 --> 00:08:52.500 solved in other places because the right bit 00:08:52.500 --> 00:08:55.379 of info hit a message board, or someone recognized 00:08:55.379 --> 00:08:58.500 themselves in an age -progressed photo. It's 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:01.240 slow, yeah, and not every case gets a miracle. 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:04.980 But if nobody's watching, there's no chance at 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:07.639 all. There is still hope that official agencies 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:10.480 will reconsider how Samantha's case is classified. 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:15.080 Kendall keeps pushing for missing person status 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:18.980 instead of runaway. Because with that, suddenly 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:22.679 you get better access to resources, fresh eyes, 00:09:22.899 --> 00:09:26.940 maybe even a new round of media interest. Sometimes 00:09:26.940 --> 00:09:30.720 all it takes is a spark. Pressure from advocates 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.820 or even a news story going viral to get the attention 00:09:33.820 --> 00:09:36.700 of law enforcement again. I mean, we've seen 00:09:36.700 --> 00:09:40.639 cases reopened when communities refused to go 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:46.000 silent. That, to me, says we can't give up. So 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:49.120 if you're listening and you've got even the tiniest 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:51.700 detail buried in your memory, don't write it 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:55.059 off. Reach out. And if you're moved by Samantha's 00:09:55.059 --> 00:09:58.000 story, share it, talk about it, keep that pressure 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.019 alive. Because every time someone hears Sam's 00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:04.720 name, there's a chance, however slim, that it 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:09.340 brings her closer to home. That's it for today's 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:11.980 episode. The questions remain and the search 00:10:11.980 --> 00:10:15.580 continues. Because every missing person deserves 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:18.299 answers and every story deserves to be heard. 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:22.179 What are your thoughts? What do you believe happened? 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:25.279 Share your voice because sometimes the smallest 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:29.159 detail can spark the biggest breakthrough. I'm 00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:31.940 Sammy and this is Beyond the Silence, Whispers 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:35.340 Across America. Thank you for listening, stay 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:37.059 safe, and I'll see you next time.