>> he says, gonell did not come says, danielle didn't come home last night. and i'm like, what? man: you had a beautiful 15-year-old girl just vanish. home last night. and i am like what? >> a beautiful 15 year old girl, just vanished. >> they saw them by this creek. >> they're trying to get them to go hang out. >> i saw her get in the truck.

there was another saying that she was with her mom. >> maybe she was abducted, maybe she was kidnapped. >> the stories did not stop, did? they >> now. >> we were getting information that they were cuddling. >> we have to figure out, does he have any motive to want to harm her? >> i see her side, right at the exit of the trail. the word help was etched into the ground. >> two shovels that had what appeared to be blood on them. >> that just did it for me. >> i can't even think about how scared she was. [crying] >> a mother's worth night where. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> there are no signs to get there, just follow the rough, sandy trail down from the subdivisions above, turn a corner, and there it is, the creek. a twisting, slow-moving body of water in north carolina, it's

nothing less than an undiscovered garden of eden for teenagers playing hooky from high school. >> it's like going to the beach for us, it's just a vacation when -- >> when caroline was a high school freshman, and terrified of math class, if the weather was good, her decision was made. go right to the creek, and bypass school altogether. >> tell me about that afternoon at the creek, caroline, what did you do? >> just go swimming, and after we were done swimming we would sit by the fire and get dry, and then we would hurry up and go back to the school, and take the bus home. >> so the creek was the place for the local kids could high out from the grown-ups, and play all day like frisky otters, in till one day in a secret teenage world collide with tragedy. >> i just knew in my heart that something was wrong. >> people were actually hiding their kids. >> do you think i'm gonna risk not knowing what happened? no i was gonna find out.

>> so, this story is about a teenage sweetie named daniel. danielle locklear. it seems everyone in her orbit, young and old, got a boost from her take on life. including her mom, rhoda. >> she was just a fun, girl, she said, out she shined. you would notice her. >> she was always happy, never seen or without a smile on her face. >> danielle and, was like a older sister, and a surrogate mom for daniel. danielle was living with her mother, while she worked her way through a painful divorce in another state. >> my sister was like, do you mind daniel coming, i was like not at all. >> so she dropped and very naturally? >> oh yeah, oh yeah. >> danielle was the outsider, a new school, for all about ten

minutes. caroline and danielle became about best buds, immediately. >> we were sitting in the auditorium, and i'm guessing it was kind of like scare to talk to her because of how she pretty she was. i just kept her on her shoulder, started complementing her hair, and she just started making jokes. and hanging out with us all of the time. >> a few weeks into her freshman yeah, danielle was already known a round the school by her nickname, danny. >> did any fit into any of the groups? >> every group, every person, it didn't matter. >> she can sit down at any lunch table and should be welcome. >> she could talk to the quietest kid in the class, and have a full on conversation. >> and an obedient student as well, sharp as attack, straight a's in rotc class. she was a girly girl, goofing on youtube with makeup tricks. baking professional looking and tasting cakes. >> she loved to bake.

>> and she was good at it? >> yes, she was really, really good. she was a fast learner, so she would jump on youtube and find all these different recipes, and just different techniques, and the first time she would try something i mean it was a home run for her. and you'd think she'd have bruised thumbs with her nonstop messaging, and social media posts. posts like. are you wondering if a striking teen like daniel had a boyfriend? well she did. she struck about her head over heels relationship with a boy in the summer of 2013. his name was je'michael malloy. danielle's great aunt, and grandmother had known his family forever. they belong to the same church. kelly remembered the sparks flying when je'michael and danielle met as teenagers. >> you can see something in their eyes, i'm looking at her and looking at him. it's like they were attracted to each other right away.

>> sheena, who played the role of nosy aunt, always kept a hawks eye on her niece, now she had a reason to be extra vigilant. >> now it's time for nosy and to be extra vigilant, because he had something to work with? >> yes, i was like what is going on here? >> what was going on was that the pair had become what everyone called, a cute couple. >> now she had a pep in her step, you know, now they are doing things together, and we start to see these notebooks, and je'michael. and danielle malloy. >> this is boyfriend or boyfriend, we're going down this road really fast. he was her first real boyfriend, and an older one to. je'michael was a senior at another school, and danielle was a freshman. she invited him to her first high school dance. >> she's like, i'm gonna need some high heels, and i said mom, high heels. >> you're going to cross that line. that line to high heels, and welcome to new young adult. >> so she puts on these sparkly

hills, i'm walking her walk, and i'm like, oh my god. >> she's pulling it off? >> yeah. >> by spring of 2014, danielle had been living with sheena and her grandparents to close to ten months. they saw little dandy, maturing into a young woman. but she was still too young to spend the night alone. so on march 11th, when gina and her mom had to go over to atlanta for a doctors appointment, danielle's grandfather was given the responsibility of keeping an eye on the teen. >> so grandfathers in charge here? >> yes, grandfather is in charge. and this is something we would really never do, on the way down that we would text danielle, she was like, oh, you guys just left me? it's just me and pop pop. like that. because we would always joke. >> you would do that to me? >> yeah, like you guys just left me. >> it was a tuesday, a school night, after supper, just before bed, danielle asked her grandfather if she could drop off a school notebook at a

classmates house a few doors away. he said yes. >> my dad says, okay, we'll make it quick. and we never had any issues with her. so, he lets her go. >> and of daniel went into the night. in atlanta, sheena said something was off. >> i had a bad feeling come over me, i felt really uneasy, and i felt like man, she needs to call something that. she could be in a ditch somewhere. i remember, i could not even sleep, i had this overwhelming feeling of something bad happening. >> and the next morning, she got a call from danielle's grandfather, and it was bad. >> he says, danielle did not come home last night. and i am like, what? what is he saying? daniel did not come home? what do you mean? >> danielle had gone. about to be officially a missing person. as simple to state, as it was

terrifying and all of its ramifications. >> coming up! >> we were asking all these questions, like well do you think she would have ran away? do you think she could be at a friends house? >> where was daniel? her family was about to get its first, unnerving clue. >> the word help was scratch into the ground. it made my hair stand up. and i started to get really nervous. >> not far from the creek, one ominous sight leads to another. >> i looked down and i see her sock, right at the exit of the trail. >> when dateline continues! ontinues >>er significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased

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i still love to surf, snowboard, dermatologist-recommended cetaphil. and, of course, skate. so, i take qunol magnesium to support my muscle and bone health. qunol's extra strength, high absorption magnesium helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. qunol, the brand i trust. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yup, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network. give your business a head start in 2024 with this great offer. plus, ask how to get up to $1000 prepaid card >> daniel locklear walked out with qualifying internet.

switch today. danielle locklear walked out the door of her home on the night of march 11, 2014, and hadn't been seen in the hours since. their bright, bright girl gone. the door of her home on the night of march 2014, she hadn't been seen in the hours since. their bright girl gone. danielle's mother ronna wasn't a south carolina restaurant

when she got a call from her sister chena. >> your mind goes like this. i get in the car, and i get to my house, and i grabbed as many clothes as many as i could, and drive through the night. >> tina and daniels grandmother, kelly, also raced back home. they arrived to first. >> so what do you see when you pull up to the house? >> there is a police car there, my dad called the police. >> >> detective josh hamilton became the lead investigator for the police department. >> the families telling all your officers that she's a girl. >> absolutely. >> this is not like her to go to a runner. go to the beach with her boyfriend. >> totally out of character. >> but police thought it was possible that daniel left voluntarily and would return on her own. >> give it 24 hours, you're gonna have a different resolution here. >> we were hopeful that she had stayed at a friends house. >> but that scenario didn't sound right to ronna. when she arrived, she said this much to police. , they were like asking all these questions, what do you

think she would've ran away? do you think she could be at a friends house? you know, anything, you know. and i was like, well there's no reason why for daniel to run away >> the family called around to everyone that they could think. up hoping somebody had heard from daniel. of course, her boyfriend was at the top of the list. >> i said hey, je'michael, it is chena simmons, have you heard from danielle? she's been missing since last night. >> >> he said, no, he hadn't seen danielle in days. and what's more, he said that they had broken up before. the split was news to daniels and, but she wasn't entirely surprised. these two had broken up before. the last time, just a few months earlier. >> she mentioned something about him talking to another girl. and he wasn't giving her as much attention anymore. she didn't like that. >> so after she is moping around the couch, she is with

him to the dance. >> she said yes, we're about to go, we are fine. >> chena simmons had also called in yellow school, they reported that danielle had skipped school the day she went missing. >> totally out of character, what was up that. then a light bulb moment for her. >> the day before everything kind of happened. i'm pulling into the driveway, and the sun is almost down, and she is running across the driveway, and she's kind of out of breath, and laughing. and i'm like, i'm like where you coming from? where you coming from? oh, just, there's this creek back in the neighborhood that some kids are trying to get me to hang . but, don't worry, i won't be going back there. it's a mess back there. >> and i was like, yes you won't be going back there, right? >> the creek. chena simmons got told are now, with hermes missing, she had to

go find her, but how? >> we go to the back of the neighborhood, and i see the neighbors kid on a dirt bike. i said, is there creek around here? he said yeah, i'll show you. >> so you followed this neighborhood kid down to the creek? >> the creek. >> the neighborhood kids, led her to a wooded area. >> we were walking here, and he's walking his dirt bike down, and he's leading me to down to the stream. >> then the kid pointed to the ground. he saw something. there, carved in the dirt, was some care, a single word. >> the word help was scratched into the ground. help. >> as if somebody picked up a stick and -- >> like somebody had scraped help in the ground with the stick. >> the creek, help, frightening >> it just made my hair stand up and i started getting really nervous. >> chena simmons did not know what was going on, but it could not be good, that sos in the sand.

>> does that mean anything to you? it's alarming. >> it's extremely alarming, i do not know if it was a call for help. i do not know if this is something that daniel had left for me. >> chena simmons kept walking a down the path, and then she came upon, it the creek, down the steep road. >> subdivision is just back up here. >> right. >> and this is just from 100 years ago or something. >> right. >> it's like the secret, undiscovered place. >> i had no idea that it existed, and there was just fire pits, and close from the kid to one swimming, there were old homework, notes, and all of that stuff. >> including a towel that she recognized from her house. >> one of your family towels? >> yes, one of our towels. of course i'm concerned, it looks like she had hung out but maybe this is from today, or when was this? because i know she was there the day before. >> danielle had definitely been there at some point. chena simmons returned home and

told police which he had found. they were interested, and went back to the creek with her. >> they were kind of walking ahead, and i looked down, and i see her night sock. just right at the exit of the trail. and i know it's her sock, because i bought them. it's these fuzzy socks, and it was like rolled into a ball, and it kind of had straw in it. >> would she go on with their socks on like that? >> absolutely not. >> chena simmons could not make sense of why a sock, daniel wore only at bedtime would be there. >> i can't imagine being barefoot in here, walking here, in the stocking feet. you'd be all ripped up. >> absolutely. >> chena simmons no the south could be an important clue. she picked it up, and turned it over to police. by then, something else was coming to light. police realize that daniels almost constant social media chitchat, had gone dark. the high school girl missing and life was suddenly gone on facebook and instagram too.

and cops learned something else from their own kids. >> they're like, well she's been hanging out with some bad kids lately. i'm like, oh great. >> bad kids? a sock covered in straw. the word help carved in the sand. danielles hours before her disappearance, were becoming more and more enigmatic. and infinitely more terrifying. >> maybe we don't really know her the way we thought. >> coming up. pictures surface of danielle by the creek the day she disappeared. >> one of the pictures, she had on a pair of glasses that didn't belong to her. so, i zoomed in to the lenses, and i could see they were like for kids in the background. >> stories surface too, about danielle and a boy from school. >> we were getting information from other kids that were down there that they were making out, and that they were cuddling. >> when dateline continues.

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chena papa was known as the junosy aunt in her big family. sheena was known as the nosy anton her family. so when her niece, danielle locklear went missing, sheena was not waiting on police for answers. >> so you become your own detective here? >> i mean, my concern was to find her. >> sheena search had turned up troubling things about daniel. there was boyfriend turbulence, playing hooky from school, and hanging out at a creek. >> how do you reconcile this behavior, with this little girl that you have known for a long time? >> it did not seem right, but she is turning into a teenager as well and she has got boyfriend problems and maybe she is a little emotional. i don't know. >> before police could get there, chena found that neighborhood friend danielle was supposed to see the night she disappeared.

>> this is the one that she was supposed to deliver the book? >> yes, and i was like hey girl, oh my gosh, did you see daniel last night? >> she was like, no. >> chena was disappointed, but the friend said something else. >> she was like, we were texting last night and she actually had some pictures of her from earlier on in the day of march 11th. >> and those images showed danielle hanging out at the creek. >> i can see what shirt she had on, i can see her jeans or at the bottom of the picture and she kind of just had on some shorts like she didn't want to yet her pants what. >> where their pictures of the kids that she was hanging out with? >> there no other pictures of any of the kids around, but it was strange, in one of the pictures she had on a pair of glasses that did not belong to her. so i zoomed in to the lenses and i could see there were like four kids. like a reflection of four kids in the background.

i asked her friend, i said, wait a minute there were other people are? she was like -- a little hesitant. >> chena pried the names of the other kids out of this friends. more names and faces for police to track down. >> and so now i am like, i've got to find out who these kids are. >> chena did not know what, then but one of those kids was caroline. caroline first introduced danielle to the creek days before her disappearance. it did not seem like daniels kind of place. >> danielle never really skipped class, and one day she was like i do not want to go present my project, so can i go with you? >> then the next day, the day that danielle went missing, she was at the creek before the school day was over. >> she was already at the creek before me. >> how did she seem to you, caroline? >> she just kept texting me like, hurry up and get down. here everyone is having fun. when i got down there she was just hanging out with everyone, having a blast, laughing.

>> kids were celebrating what seemed like the first day of spring. >> we are doing chicken fights in the water. we were making jokes, it was a good day. >> after a day of laughs, danielle headed home. >> she has dinner with her grandfather, she is accounted for. >> her grandfather said she had seen her that evening, so now why is this sock over here at the entrance to this? creek? >> police theorize that after dinner danielle had gone back from her home to the creek. why else what they have recovered that sock that she only wore at night? she wondered if she met up with somebody there and other information was rolling in. the high school grapevine was abuzz with rumors of the boys danielle spent the day with at the. craig. >> you identify a boy named angel from the school. so how do you hook, danielle who is missing, with this boy named angel? >> we are getting information from other people down there that they were making out and that they were cuddling.

>> and remember, danielle and her serious boyfriend just split up. >> she's available, she's very cute. >> that's right. >> billy west is the cumberland county district attorney. he was brought in early in the case as angel emerged as a person of interest. >> he had a girlfriend, but we knew that danielle was single. her relationship had recently ended with je'michael malloy and some of the kids were telling us in interviews that angel was trying to put the moves on danielle, so to speak. >> at this point we have got to figure out is, she in a romantic relationship with this boy and if so does he have any motive to want to harm her? >> most kids described angel as a popular student, but some others called him a fight to start. angela certainly someone police wanted to talk to, so they stop by his house. >> he was saying, i do not know who you are talking about, i don't know what you're talking about. >> angel denied being at the creek, something that police knew was not true.

>> investigators do not like to be lied to, even if it's a good? >> that's right. >> you want them to shoot straight. and you are not getting it. >> we did not get the truth and and initially from him. >> so angel was lying, but did he have something to hide? coming up. investigators are also about to look at those closer to home. >> the family does not get a pass, does it? >> absolutely not. >> it was painful because never in 1 million years would we have done anything. she was very precious to us. >> which family member prompted this reaction? >> it is the first and only time in my career that i contacted my supervisor and said, you know there is something wrong here. >> when dateline continues.

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(dad) fargo, what did i spend on groceries this month? (son) hey dad, can the guys stay for dinner? (dad) no... (vo) want to see everything fargo can do? you can, with wells fargo. hi, richard louis with their hours top stories. the jury says former president, donald trump, must pay writer, e. jean carroll, more than $83

million in damages. for repeatedly defaming her. trump was found liable for sexually abusing carroll in a previous trial. after the verdict, carroll issued a statement saying this was a quote, huge defeat for every bully that has tried to keep a woman down. and world wrestling entertainment founder of vince mcmahon. has been resigning after being accused of sex trafficking, and sexual assault by a former employee. mcmahon denies the allegations. now back to dateline! teline danielle locklear was by then, local news, including nbc affiliate wral tv, missing for a day, and then two. as the week went by, missing girl posters where textup. by then local news, including nbc affiliate derby arl tv was picking up on the missing teen story. >> this does not make any sense. >> during that first week, danielle's mom, rhoda, spent her days at the police stations and night at her mother's house.

>> i would just sit there, and everybody would go to bed, and i would just stare at the front door, just waiting, and saying, and hoping, and praying, that she will run through the door so i can yell at her. >> investigators hoped for the same, but danielle had gone silent. no posts, no tweet, no texts. >> we noticed really quickly there is no social media. >> that's not a good sign. >> absolutely not. >> even if she's run away with a boyfriend to myrtle beach or something? >> absolutely not. >> to just drop cold out of that thing that she does all the time, right? >> for a teenager like that to be so active in them flatline on social media is very concerning. >> a command post was set up, headed by david, the hope mills deputy chief. >> how many different agencies proceeded to look for her? >> the fbi had the biggest presidents. there were representatives from the sheriff's office. if they wore a badge in compelling county they were not command post. >> police deployed those no

resources to investigate their most promising lead, angel. he was the classmate, rumor stories, was seen supposedly canoodling with danielle on march 11th. but angel initially told police that he did not even know daniel and had not been at the creek after police briefed angels about the consequences of lying to the authorities, he started to spill. >> he finally came forward and said, yes i was there. i was with daniel, i talked with her some. >> caroline was there to. >> was angel hitting on her? >> no, he was actually dating one of my other friends at the time and then another one of my friends who is at the creek, tammy he was talking to tammy the whole time. >> according to caroline, the stories of angel hitting on danielle were just rumor. angel told police that he lost saw danielle in the afternoon. >> his story was that she had left around 3:30 that day and was headed towards home, headed towards where she lived with her grandfather. >> what about his alibi in the critical hours after 9 pm?

>> his alibi was actually pretty solid. he said he went to practice after school, that he and his family went to a movie that evening, came back, was spending time with his family. so we were able to confirm that during the hours, we were pretty certain that danielle went missing, he was at home with his family. >> he does not seem to pan out, detective? he drops off your person of interest. >> he's dropped off the suspect pool pretty quick. >> if a police had not run out of people to investigate. the family does not get a pass. does the detective? >> absolutely not. >> when you say everybody is a suspect, that include people under your roof. >> they come to ask some sharp questions to the family members? >> yeah they do. >> investigators seized computers and cell phones. >> any type of electronics, anything that anybody out in the house. i remember trying to write down phone numbers, all of it really quick, because they were taking it really quick. >> police interviewed everyone, but they were interested in one specific relative. >> they were asking questions

to your father? >> yeah they were asking questions about my dad? why would she staying there? the family dynamic is strange? >> daniels grandmother expected that her husband would come under police scrutiny. >> everybody had their eyes on him because he was the last one that saw her. >> officer george reagan was the first policeman dispatched to daniels house after her grandfather reported her missing. when the grandfather described what happened the night before, things did not seem right to regan. one thing that struck him, 10 pm seemed awfully late to be letting your granddaughter out of the house. >> he told me he had been playing video games and when she came in to tell him, hey i'm going out to a friends house, because he was involved with his video games, he didn't realize how late it really was. he said, you know, if i had known it was at late i probably would've told are no. but because i didn't realize the time i told her if she could. >> and then there was the fact that he did not report her missing until well into the next day. >> so why did he wait so long to call the police?

>> he tells us that he thought he had to wait at least 24 hours, but then when he called to talk to his wife and she was on her way back from atlanta, she said you need to go ahead and call the police. now. >> the responding officer says that he got a bad vibe from grandpa. >> it was the first and only time in my career of taking missing people's calls that i excused myself and contacted my supervisor and said, you know there's something wrong here. >> the grandfather was asked to come to the police station for an interview and he was later asked to take a polygraph. >> what are you trying to roll in or out? >> we are initially trying to rule out whether anything could've happened between him and her that might have led to her disappearance. >> the police suspicion about their own can, was excruciating for daniels family. >> it was heartbreaking. >> was it a pain upon a pain? >> it was painful because never in 1 million years would we have done anything. she was very precious to us.

>> daniels grandmother certainly did not think her husband had anything to do with her granddaughter's disappearance. but, she was also searching her heart for forgiveness. >> how do you let her leave? or how do you let her get out of the house? why didn't you call for? tv was calling and everything, saying, what kind of grandfather would let the child out of the house at this time of the night? >> it was not long before police cleared danielle grandfather. he passed the polygraph, and police could not find anything in his phone or family history to make him a suspect. grandpa was off the hook. police were continuing to go down their list of names. >> i'm tim, how are you? >> someone else on their list was daniels on again off again boyfriend, je'michael malloy. >> where does he stand on your persons of interest theories on what's going on? the boyfriend? >> he's floating in the middle. >> so many people to talk to, but none of them was danielle. no one had the slightest idea where she was, not even her ex.

>> i still love her. >> coming up, could daniel have run away? je'michael shares what could be a critical revelation. >> she felt she was a burden to her grandma, and that's why she was supposed -- she would really want to go back to south carolina. >> if she is runaway, now what do you think she went to? >> when dateline continues. -do we want to be inside -- ohh. -hey, i'm keith. there are some situations that young homeowners turning into their parents just can't handle. yeah, there he is. -there's my nephew. -very cool. i got a video of him, uh, playing piano. that's not how you take a selfie. progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. -three, two, one. -we don't need a countdown. just take the picture. >> the g7 thing, was she

-three, two, one. -we don't need a countdown. investigator: did she say anything about that she was planning on going anywhere? dennis murphy (voiceover): police were talking to je'michael malloy. he'd been danielle's most recent boyfriend. planning on going anywhere? >> police were talking to him, he had been daniel's most recent boyfriend. the couple met at a youth camp a year earlier when daniel was on the 14. >> kids have elementary school boyfriends, you hold hands, but this was her real boyfriend. she was in love with. >> her first love came with a family seal of approval. he like daniel was a good kid, never a problem. varsity soccer, a dedicated runner with a laser-focused goal of becoming a marine after

graduation. he i had his eyes set on what he's going to do it themselves? >> yeah, he seemed like a very ambitious child. i thought hey, this might be something good for danielle. i know they're young, but it seems like he has a plan for his life. >> danielle was daydreaming herself into that master plan. alexis mcdowell was one of danielle's best friends. >> she talked about how after her freshman year, her sophomore year she's going to do online classes and go with him into the military, wherever he was shipped to and be there with him. so she was talking about marriage, talking about having little danielle and je'michael running around. she was very serious about je'michael. >> je'michael laidback vibes was the ying to danielle's yang. >> he was handsome, it seems like they were the perfect match, they were in the same league. >> even though je'michael and danielle had broken up, he was

still one of the people closest to her. >> why did he sit up there -- >> he came down to the station willingly. >> no you're gonna talk my lawyer stuff going on? >> no he was really voluntary, came in on his own. >> je'michael said he and danielle might have broken up, but she was still dear to him. >> she was a good girl. >> so you loved her? >> i loved her. >> he pitched in just how much danielle cared for him too. the former boyfriend wanted to find her just as much as anyone. >> what can you do to help us find her? >> whatever you want me to do. >> so law enforcement pumped him for information. >> so she skipped? school >> right. >> she did that a lot? >> she didn't go to fourth period a lot. she didn't like fourth period because you got picked on, because of her clothes and stuff. >> she dressed different or something? >> she dressed normal to me, but she didn't have the best of clothes. like, i mean, yeah. you can afford what you can afford. >> je'michael offered his own

theories about what might have happened to her. >> she felt like she was a burden to her grandma and that's why she was a -- she really wanted to go back to south carolina. >> if she's run away now, where do you think should go to? >> a close friend. that's the only thing i can think a close friend. >> malloy also said danielle had been depressed in the past, and she even told her aunt chena simmons about that. >> she said that she a try to kill herself twice. >> why? >> -- >> je'michael was cooperative, police for giving him a pass either. >> i will keep you in history in the eye and tell you that by -- >> the boyfriend told police the same thing that he told the family. he had not seen danielle in days. on the night she went missing, he was home studying. >> was anybody else was home

with you that night? >> my friend dominic was there. my mom was there, my grandma was there. >> je'michael family confirmed the whereabouts. police talked about his friend dominic lock, too. >> dominick says yeah i was with him, we are studying for our sats. >> police asked for je'michael cell. >> his phone says that he was there. >> so you have three or four sources saying the same thing that je'michael is saying. he was at home that night. >> there are also cell phone messages that je'michael sent other friends around the time she went missing. gps data showed those texts were sent from je'michael house, and police could not find evidence that he and danielle had arranged to meet up the night she disappeared. there is one more thing. je'michael lived almost a half hour drive from danielle.

>> je'michael doesn't have a car? >> no. >> he had a good >> alibi, starting with its, friends firing off the occasional texts from his house. there is no way to tie him to daniels disappearance. rather, daniels family and friends remember is worry and concern for danielle. >> if anyone said anything, if anyone found her? >> je'michael seems like he was very concerned. he was asking me, you know, is there any place that you can think of that she might have to or any people that she could have ran off with? >> alexis could not think of anyone, but danielle's classmates had an idea of what it happened to the teen. the high school rumor mill was running wild and new leads or emerging out of all of that chatter. >> you still have a bunch of high school students. >> a bunch of her friends who

are prepared to come forward with their own version of what transpired. >> and the stories that police were getting, some of the bloody and literate, we're leading right back to the creek. coming up, the rumor mill turns out a new name. derek. but he says that he was at home, online, when danielle disappeared. >> you have derek telling you i was noodling round on the computer, but you're not gonna find a record of that because i deleted the history. >> right, if you're not doing nothing wrong then why are you deleting your history? >> when dateline continues. iratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd, and certain other conditions. but i'm protected. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. i chose arexvy.

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ever since danielle locklear went missing, went missing, her aunt chena simmons had one goal. to find her. so almost every day, chena would head to the creek for more detective work. >> i had a cousin in special forces and he got inside the water, he had his stick and he was just going through the cold waters. >> chena also kept running down leads. >> maybe there is a new boyfriend in the picture and they just skipped out? >> you have no idea, and my concern right then is just to ask as many questions as i can

from the people who had seen her last and find her. >> like investigative reporter working the story she was able to track down most of the kids with danielle the day she disappeared. >> i remember one time, he was like my mom told me not to talk to you, so i was like wow. so it was going around that i was the crazy aunt. >> the kids had good reason not to talk to grown-ups about their days at the creek. >> they were scared, they were all skipped and they don't want their parents to. -- >> she does not like to leave home. if she does, she definitely would have taken some makeup or

something. she doesn't even go to the mail without her makeup. >> sorting it out wasn't easy for law enforcement either. >> we're dealing with 15, 16, 17 year old kids in high school. something that is getting a lot of publicity. everybody wants to be the person that knows something. that saw daniel that they, talk to danielle that day. >> what kinds of theories were you hearing from the high school kids? >> there was a theory that she had a problem with a young man that was down there, the young man had beat her and potentially it led to her death. all kinds of stories, one that somehow there is a problem between her and another young lady, because they were talking to the same young man. we were getting all kinds of different stories. >> as the police questioned the school ground, one name came over over and over again. there. >> there, he hangs back with her. >> they said that they were tight. >> derrick told me that daniel was like a sister.

>> he said family comes first. >> derek is a kid that was not even in school, was looking at getting back into school, ran into trouble and wasn't in school. >> when derek was in school he has a penchant for skipping, he was a regular at the creek and familiar with daniels crowd. caroline was friends with him. >> derek is kind of like, at the time he was big and bulky, and everybody was afraid of him. >> did you hear stories about him later? >> yes, i did. >> the story going around about derek was more than a little scary. >> we had information concerning him saying that he was trying to get into a romantic relationship with danielle and she refused. as a result he cut her neck and left her in the woods. >> detective this is a horror movie. >> yes. >> as horrible as the story was -- it sounds like a good lead. >> it was a good lead. >> kids are telling it verbatim?

>> yes, they were. it wasn't coming from one kid it was going for two or three kids, if we needed to follow up on this, for sure. >> police brought derek in for an interview. what do you see in his demeanor? >> he is very relaxed, doesn't seem concerned about being in trouble. >> he is cool, having a smoke? >> cool. >> detectives wanted to find out what did he know about daniel. suddenly the story was out of the window, he claimed he hardly knew her. >> the only thing i know about her, white female, black hair, blue eyes, went missing march 11th. >> when you did see her in school, where did you see her at? >> walking around in the hallways. i basically said hi to her one-time. and that was when i was talking to my friend caroline. >> he denied knowing daniel, but admitted he noticed her. >> from what i've seen on facebook, very beautiful face. she was a very, very beautiful

girl. >> were you infatuated with her? do you kind of have like a secret crush? >> no. she seemed a little too preppy. >> to preppy? kind of standoffish? >> yes. >> was she standoffish to you? >> she seemed like a goody goody. and honestly i don't hang out with goody goodies. >> goody goodies have a bad habit of snitching. i'm not gonna lie, i do illegal things i know i do. >> so derrick thought danielle was a goody goody and a snitch and he did less than legal things. interesting. he also seemed to know a lot about the creek. >> that was my chill spot. i was one of the founders of that area. >> the founders? >> yes. i would skip so much, i found that area. nobody else would go back there. >> but he said he hadn't gone there the night daniel disappeared. derrick said he spent that night at home. >> around 8:30, my dad left to

go to a pool tournament. again, i stayed on the computer, job searching. between facebook, job searching and tv, that's what i was doing all night. i'm not really sure if there's any history on my computer. there might be, i'll have to take a look. >> are you in the habit of erasing your history? >> yes, i have a real bad habit of doing it. >> derek is saying i was noodling around for jobs on the computer but you won't find workers of that because i deleted that history. >> right, if you're not doing nothing wrong, why are you deleting your history? >> derek explains he did it to protect his account from hackers. he had been burned in the past. >> i have about haunted ever since my last facebook got hacked. >> but, what about his alibi? >> your dad left at 8:30 before the full tournament. what time did he get back? >> between 12 and one. >> he can't account for himself that night, convincingly. >> there's nobody there in the house that can truly put him

there. >> no solid alibi and now new evidence was in, and it didn't look good for derek. >> i'm gonna ask, was she alive when she left that area out there around your house tuesday night? >> coming up -- a chilling discovery at their works house. >> we found two shovels that had what appeared to be blood on them. >> but this case is far from closed. police are about to learn that the last pink from daniel cell phone came from near here. an rv park. you had no idea who is coming and going there? >> no idea. >> makes you wonder? >> makes you wonder a lot. >> when dateline continues. ontinues advil targets pain at the source, acetaminophen blocks pain signals. advil dual action. shipstation saves us so much time it makes it really easy and seamless pick an order print everything you need slap the label on ito the box and it's ready to go our cost for shipping, were cut in half just like that go to shipstation/tv and get 2 months free for weeks, police searched

jusdennis murphy (voiceover): for weeks, police searched for any sign of danielle locklear. but a chatty girl had gone mute on social media, her phone dark. for daniel lackland. a chatty girl had gone nude on social media. her phone, dark. a search warrant had been filed

for herself providers records. a cell phone can be a detective's best friend these days. would you agree with that? >> the best. >> and the results were in. her phone had turned down, been roughly in her neighborhood when she left home, about ten pet made. but, at 10:40 p and, it suddenly started pinging off of the tower miles away. the phone, and presumably daniel, we're on the move. >> we had a pin drop pretty much puts it on i-95. that pin out is a certain amount of area that a phone could be in. >> as helpful as phones are, it doesn't give you x marks the spot. >> not in this case. >> the last thing came from that spot near the highway. a worry in itself, because i-95 is a big ribbon of opportunities from miami to the state of maine. was daniel run away? had she been abducted? no one knew. the records did give investigators a direction to go in pikas within that area was derrick's house. police interviewers brought this information to derek's

attention. >> we know where daniels fellow s. and where her phone is. it's in front of derek. house for she alive when she left that area in front of your house? yes or no. >> i have no idea. >> you are saying she wasn't out there? don't she wasn't out there was some of the friends? >> no. she didn't know where i was. >> but she was a? that >> your buddies know where she was. >> nobody saw her? >> not a single soul. >> police weren't satisfied. they got a search warrant for derrick's house. what they saw only deepened their suspicions. >> tell me what you found, detective, there are some interesting things that caught your attention. >> yet, we went out, there we initially found a burn pit in march or april might timeframe. it wasn't really super cold here. >> a burn pit. curious. there was more. >> we see a long knife in a tree. we also found shovels that had, in fact, what appeared to be blood on them.

>> a burn pit. a serious knife and shovels with maybe bloodstains. police thought their case might have cracked wide open. >> spied right up. >> you thought you saw the case? >> might assault. it might be on to something. >> looking good, until investigators did some testing on the blood. >> we did a presumptive of their. it showed negative. back to square one. we're not dealing with blood. >> well, what about derek denying he knew daniel even though friends claimed he called her his sister? didn't that make him a liar? one of derek's friends cautioned him, don't read too much into that. >> he tries some coal tell everybody says is. for everybody's sister. everyone's brother. that is the kind of guy he is. >> detectives also spoke to one of derek's biggest offenders, his girlfriend. her information suggested derek could not possibly have been involved in daniels disappearance. he had no way of getting to her house that night. >> he doesn't even have a

license. >> caroline knew derek as well and thought he was a decent kid, misunderstood. >> i guess everyone thought he was that type of person because he was a kid that skipped school and got in trouble with teachers. spoke, back something like that. >> school bad boy, yeah? >> just really soft hearted guy. always was there for anyone who needed him. >> in the end, police couldn't find any electronic trail linking derek to daniel. detects lead fizzled out. with no explanation for that help scrawled at the creek, they were down to their two main close. >> we've been a sack on the trail, you have a phone out on i-95. more questions than answers. >> daniels must cell phone ping was miles away from her neighborhood. >> we can see that she is moving in a quick fashion. faster than a person could walk. >> story told that the phone is in a car. >> yeah. >> had she been abducted?

, grabbed by a person or persons unknown? the stranger danger abduction theory was gaining traction for both the police and daniels peers. >> a lot of girls at the high school were scared of walking around, you know? and the neighborhoods and stuff at night. >> parents were scared to. >> people were hiding their kids. we're thinking, some crazy person come through. kidnap her. >> there is something more about the application of that last sulfone ping. not only was the coach near derek's place. it also included an rv park. >> had no idea. >> no idea. >> makes you wonder, right? >> makes you wonder. did someone stay this rv park? go to hotels? go back to the rv park? that's why her phone is there?. >> there's a lot of questions. >> did you have to go through the rv park? >> a lot. we drained the ponds. dove, are dogs and. we began to search that entire property. from the wooded areas to the water. >> by now, daniel had

been missing for almost two weeks. >> i went over that area, and drove by. it was open field. >> my gosh, so many places she could be. >> not a mobile home community. this is rv comes coming going. trenches. >> made me feel more nervous. that it was by i-95. we're looking around here, she could possibly be somewhere else. >> after several days of searching the rv park, there is no sign of daniel. no sign of herself on that last ping-ponged by the highway. oak could be anywhere. >> a county wrote, she could be five states away. >> absolutely. absolutely. i 95, an hour either way. a different state. a few hours, you're in a different region of the country. >> a bad, bad feeling the pain of her stomach not away at chena.

>> well, we are, like something bad has happened. >> the news minute because, but danielle's mother held out hope she would one day see her alive again. >> i said i'm not leaving until i find my child. >> that day might come sooner than anybody thought. just when all seems lost, who believe it? daniel was seen on camera, walking around. >> wow, she might be visiting someone at the hospital. >> coming up -- daniel, seen alive on surveillance tape. then, a report of her at a were done. we found her. >> when dateline continues. dateline continues. continues. s. but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty and breath to be had. because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flare-ups.

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nearly two weeks had passed since 15-year-old danielle locklear vanished into the night. detectives were getting frustrated. almost all theories of her disappearance since 15-year-old daniel had vanished into that night. detectives were getting frustrated. almost all theories of her disappearance were still in play. >> have you eliminated the objection theory at that point? have you eliminated je'michael or another boyfriend unknown? >> no. >> or that she had taken off on her own? >> we haven't eliminated any of them yet. >> detective hamilton kept daniels picture by his desk. thought about the case around the clock. >> many nights i grabbed myself, honestly. i have a little girl myself. if something happened to her would be devastating. >>

all of the not knowing was torture for daniel's mom. >> your mind, you're going crazy. i mean, you think the worst and craziest stuff. >> by now, danielle's disappearance also a story. she was featured in dateline missing in america stories. her missing was national news. >> her face is blown up all over the billboards. every time a, start at the. >> the media set up shop in the position parking lot. deputy chief and his team started giving regular briefings. >> we are leaving no stone unturned. we are going to bring her home. >> we want to information about -- >>. ? >>. >> did that put extra pressure on the investigators? it had jumped the fence? looking national story? >> pressures. precious for resolution. in this case, it is beautiful, young 15 year old girl. just basically vanished into thin air. >> north carolina state of

investigation and the atf were consulted. thrown agents, traveled and from across the southeast. >> cadaver dogs were brought in from england. they insisted as daniels entire subdivision was searched. >> every house in her neighborhood was 200 plus houses, was searched with the consent of the homeowner. >> volunteers were drafted. over 300 joint danielle's family for a top to bottom search of the creek area. >> she's my baby. she's sweet and loving. just trying to find her. >> friends from the neighborhood and the church pitch in, including danielle's ex-boyfriend, je'michael, and his family. >> we were hopeful during the grid surges that we might find more. close. we needed to find something to give us some solid direction to go. >> the coverage also brought a deluge of tips. some, totally farfetched. >> there is this lady calling

saying she had her. that she was taking care of her. but she was sick. it was crazy. >> how many leads do you think you chase down? >> over 1000, leads. i'm positive of it. >> one of the sleeves had the authorities convinced daniel was alive. some tipster said she was at a restaurant near that north carolina virginia border, 150 miles away. and she's there right now. >> these people were adamant. look, we've seen her. she's with a guy. >> fbi agents were dispatched to check it out. >> they're sending pictures back. like they're sitting in the parking lot, watching, and taking pictures of it. man, that's her. >> spitting image. >> got, yeah. >> this is it. we're down. we found her. >> but, when the agents made contact with a girl -- >> it wasn't her. >> all those leads had chena simmons second-guessing her in instincts. many daniel had run away. >> i started seeing things in the house that are missing. i was like, well, i haven't seen

those jeans in a while. haven't seen that shirt. maybe she packed a bag and leap. >> maybe she's out there somewhere. >> maybe she is. >> then, the family received a call that made them think their prayers have been answered. investigators said daniel had been seen at a nearby hospital. what's more, she'd been captured on surveillance video. >> wow. she would be the hospital. what in the world? is she on drugs? somebody gave her something? we had no idea. >> danielle's grandmother grabbed the hands of those around her and started to pray. but one please call back -- >> what they're looking at was danielle on the -- [crying] >> it was so devastated to her grandma, she can really describe it. there was video of danielle. but danielle scene on full tape, six months before. her dear granddaughter had been in the hospital visiting her. >> i thought they had found her.

that just done it for me. >> on march 29th, three weeks after danielle disappeared, her family family and friends gathered for a balloon release. her friend, alexis, was there and so was je'michael. she remembers he was holding out hope that daniel was alive. >> hey, gave me a hug, he said, hope we find her and that she's okay. >> up until then, danielle's aunt chena simmons had managed to stay strong for the family. with the release of those balloons, she felt her resolve and confidence sailing away. >> for the first time then, i felt i was given up hope. starting to feel it. as she may not ever come home. how would we be able to live like this? i couldn't sleep. i couldn't eat. but was horrible. >> something, anything, would

be better than not knowing. for the family, answers were phone call away. >> is there a deputy that is close by with a pair of binoculars? >> coming up -- >> when i was looking, i could see what looked like dark hair. >> the most painful of discoveries and one particular detail. when dateline continues. tail. when datelin continues. continues. id digestion. try align probiotic. what can you do with sensitive skin? ♪♪ cetaphil gentle skin cleanser does more than clean. it actually protects skin by keeping it hydrated. so you're always ready for the unexpected. cetaphil. we do skin. you do you.

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on the morning of april 2, 2014, chena papa did what she'd done almost every day

since her niece disappeared. she went to her family church to pray for danielle's safe return. but this time, her prayer was different. it was please just allow us to bring her home and lay her to rest. somehow you'd cross that line. yeah. i felt like i was being selfish wanting her to come back alive. and but i also had in me, i can't live with not knowing. i'd rather just know the truth. dennis murphy (voiceover): the truth at long last would start to be revealed that afternoon. this is not your regular route go home. no, sir, it's not. dennis murphy (voiceover): veteran homicide detective adam brinkley, now retired, had been helping out on the locklear case. he'd interviewed some of the high school kids in danielle's circle. now he was off duty, driving the back roads towards a river he knew very well. dennis murphy: you're a fisherman. i'm a fisherman, yeah. is that one of your fishing holes? that's one of my fishing holes. dennis murphy (voiceover): it was shad season.

and as chance would have it, he was wearing a special pair of polarized fishing glasses. these ones that are on your lanyard, huh? yeah, these ones right here. and they help me to kind of look and see into the water a little bit better. dennis murphy (voiceover): he was traveling about 35 miles an hour when he reached this bridge. something in the water below caught his eye. i see something down there towards that debris that just didn't quite look right. boy, you got good eyes. with all that junk out there, you saw something. yeah, i just normally-- i just know it's not normally there. dennis murphy (voiceover): he stopped to take a closer look. i really couldn't tell what it was. and that's when i got on my cell phone and contacted dispatch. dennis murphy (voiceover): within minutes, a deputy pulled up. so i took and got the binoculars out. when i was looking, i could see what looked like dark hair. dark hair. dennis murphy (voiceover): with a jolt, he realized that the hair was human. you must say something like, "oh my goodness." well, definitely knew--

what have i walked into here? yeah, definitely knew that. and i got on the cell phone, and i called my homicide supervisor and told him, look, i got a body in a river down here. dennis murphy (voiceover): police from two counties descended on the scene. one of the first investigators to arrive was detective hamilton. one look at the clothes told him danielle locklear had been found. dennis murphy: you had a clothing match, huh? clothing match. you had a photo of what she was wearing that day at the creek. correct. dennis murphy: and there was the same shirt on your-- same shirt. dennis murphy: --body recovered. the same shirt. dennis murphy (voiceover): police would need positive id from the medical examiner before they could officially notify the family. but danielle's relatives were already hearing about the discovery of a body from the local news. a potential break in the case of a missing cumberland county teenager. the moment that they put it on the news, everyone was already sending their condolences. and i'm like, no, it doesn't mean that it's her. dennis murphy (voiceover): great aunt chena had to see it for herself. she rushed to the river. i went running towards the emergency vehicles to go in,

but they had a roadblock. and i said, "no, let me see. let me see." and then, "ma'am, i'm sorry. we can't let you through." dennis murphy (voiceover): danielle's mom rowna had taken refuge in a hotel for the night. after midnight, a team of police showed up at her door. a female sergeant broke the news. and she was like, "we found the body." i said, well-- i looked at her and i said, "i understand you have to do your job." i said, "just look me in my eyes." i said, "is it her?" she just looked me square in my eyes. she didn't say nothing. i knew. dennis murphy (voiceover): sleep would be unthinkable. i think i could probably count every crack in the ceiling that night because you're just sitting there. you're in a blank space. you're just like, did she just tell me what she just told me? do i have to actually plan a funeral?

i'm getting ready to bury my child? no, no, no, yeah, nightmare. snap out of it, rowna. it was real. county. and the river and creek a mother's worst nightmare. dennis murphy (voiceover): as the family began to mourn, detectives got to work. they scoured the river for clues. it was clear from the condition of danielle's body it had been underwater for almost a month. detectives could see why. there was some cinderblocks tied to the body. so the body's weighted down. yeah, you could see through the water with lights. dennis murphy (voiceover): the cinder blocks were tied to the body with bright yellow rope. and they were unique. old style is how i would categorize it. it was very old. not like you get at the modern day building supply place. no, this one had a lot of pebbles and actual rocks in it. so that stood out to me. dennis murphy (voiceover): on the banks of the river, they found shotgun shells-- perhaps a clue as to how she died.

but a shotgun had nothing to do with it. the next day, the medical examiner concluded danielle's cause of death was asphyxiation. it seemed danielle had been strangled. and a particularly gruesome detail-- stuffed in danielle's mouth, the medical examiner found a night sock. hamilton had seen one just like it before. it was a match to a sock that aunt chena had discovered on the trail. yeah, i was going to say aunt chena actually found that sock. so this was the pair. that was definitely the match. dennis murphy (voiceover): remember, the sock at the creek had been covered in debris. detectives theorized that whatever happened to danielle started there creekside, a possibly violent altercation. if that was the case, how had danielle's body ended up here? the river was about 30 minutes away from the creek in a remote part of the county. and the river and the creek aren't even connected.

aren't connected. the body was disposed of their. >> it was disposed. of >> the spot had been chosen to conceal daniels body. but by whom? all detectives had to do was look around. maybe the answer was nearby. >> it was so close. i mean if you dropped a pin where his house was, the river was right there. >> reporter: coming up. >> about to circle back to one of the young men they looked at, and they are prepared for anything. >> reporter: did you have your best on? firearms out? >> we had everything with us. >> reporter: when dateline continues. s. th dupixent, the number one prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, you can stay ahead of your eczema. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema to help heal your skin from within.

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sexually assaulting her in a civil trial. >> international court of justice has ordered israel to take all measures possible to prevent a genocide in gaza. now back to dateline. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: word that danielle body had been found was tearing through the high school. >> they told me to turn on the news. some news. and i turned on the news. the video of pulling the body. i called my mother's work. i was crying on the phone. begging her to come home. >> danielle's family was trying to come to grips with her death. her grandmother, who had let daniel leave that night, was plagued by guilt. so was her grandmother. kelly >> i feel like i failed.

i've failed my granddaughter, by not being there for her when this happened. >> reporter: the discovery of but danielle body had started the morning process for her family but it was also the turning point for detectives. danielle is someone who have just down the road from the river where her body had been found. her ex boyfriend, je'michael. >> he was on his home turf. >> his backyard. that's county all there.. not even a light. traffic light in that town. >> investigators that that could be a coincidence. was not somebody either family considered a suspect. not at first. he had been supported it by their spot since danielle disappeared. >> but there had been moments with je'michael that gave them pause. >> chena.

>> remember how he had seen so helpful with information about his ex? >> reporter: now one story he told could be read in a very different way. >> he says well, did you know that danielle was depressed? >> depressed? why would you say that? >> when we broke up the last time, she told me that. that she was going to drown herself, in cold water. >> reporter: he is suggesting a narration here? >> i said, wait a minute. >> reporter: detectives were also reviewing everything they

knew about je'michael. turns out his breakup with daniel was anything but. casual on his cell phone they found outrage texts from the girl. >> he says i'm not gonna take calls, goodbye he blocked or. >> once more danielle had used her friends cell phone to do around about from his cell phone to keep texting. >> reporter: he seemed to threaten her life. he wrote -- >> reporter: he wrote that he is going to kill her if what? >> if he didn't leave her alone. >> reporter: detectives confronted him about that michael early on. >> he said i was heated and said angry things i didn't mean to say. i love her if i could take her back i. would >> reporter: remember je'michael what appeared to be a solid alibi.

people put him at home studying the night he disappeared. his phone was there to. he had to have been with her, he sent text messages to female friends that night. >> he had been having a conversation with several girls. >> reporter: on top of that he had always been cooperative with police. >> reporter: in fact he had been interviewed aggressively by investigators and never buckled. -- >> reporter: but that didn't stop investigators from giving him a polygraph. in his cool exterior they thought they saw a crack. >> absolutely bombed. it >> reporter: he flunked? it >> they suspected he was lying, but he never changed his story. >> reporter: now that danielle's body had been found, it was time to dial up the pressure. investigators would pay him a visit at his house.

they set the stage at a church parking. what >> we set the stage, who was on the perimeter and who was going in. >> reporter: did you have your vests on, fire arms out? >> we had everything with. us >> reporter: will sever officers kept their eye on the perimeter, the detective approached his front door. he seemed stripped to me, i was surprised we just found the body down the river from his house. he was cool as a pickle. >> reporter: they asked him to come down to the station. >> sure definitely all go down to office with you guy. >> reporter: his mother joined him in the interview room. she seemed to get just how bad the situation looked for her son. -- >> reporter: but je'michael

didn't seem concerned. -- >> reporter: this time adam brinkley, the detective who found the body would do the questions. je'michael had a lawyer there. -- -- >> reporter: je'michael said he didn't kill danielle. but if he had, he said he wouldn't be so stupid to hide the body next to his own house. >> reporter: you are a fisherman? did you see it with this kid? but he was in for a surprise,

while he was sitting there detectives armed with a warrant were searching his house. and next to his driveway, oh what a discovery they made. >> reporter: coming up. je'michael learns about the search in progress, and then fresh trauma for friends of danielle. >> i was just like, are you kidding me? >> reporter: when dateline continues. continues. continues. see the difference with olay. what can you do with sensitive skin? ♪♪ cetaphil gentle skin cleanser does more than clean. it actually protects skin by keeping it hydrated. so you're always ready for the unexpected. cetaphil. we do skin. you do you. ♪ ♪ ♪

danielle's decomposed body had been found in a river,

>> danielle's decomposed body had been found in the river, but it didn't seem to faze 17-year-old je'michael malloy. in the interview room, he was unflappable. but there is when he agreed to sit down with detective brinkley. it was his mom who told investigators had that very moment turning his house upside down. >> at the house? >> yes, sir. >> really, i don't go there. >> you can see him think, didn't it going to work. >> if je'michael was rattled, he had good reason. investigators had made a big discovery. cinder blocks. the distinctive concrete blocks. did you find items like that at the house? >> we did. and a dent in the grass where one might have lane? >> or two. there was to have daniel. >> they also found yellow rope. detective brinkley

hit je'michael about that. >> do we tell you found the robe that she was tied with? >> then you found the rope. >> at your house? >> shouldn't be at my house. >> why shouldn't it be? >> cars had nothing to do that. >> by the cinder blocks? by the rope? why the polygraph? >> the evidence is not going to lie. that's gonna be the one thing that will get you in the end. >> detective gave je'michael one last chance to confess. >> you're gonna look like a monster. you're not going to win this battle. >> all right, detective. >> no go. still, detectives didn't have enough. you didn't arrest him that? night >> no. >> reporter: did you think you are releasing a violent character back in the community? >> yes. >> detectives were now certain that je'michael was daniel's killer. they knew with investigations going next. they had to deconstruct je'michael's alibi. the one that put it on

home studding that night. it turns out out, family members had said they were with him, weren't in the room with him. they couldn't say they seen him with their own eyes. >> we actually could not get confirmation from the mother and grandfather that he was. there >> which meant that the only person truly vouching for him was a study partner and best friend, dominic. >> we brought him into the sheriff's office. give him the same opportunity. and he lawyered up. >> did you go through the scenario, you are two guys in trouble and white might be able to get out of it. >> we let them know bluntly house of cards is tumbling first on the train gets. the ride four days later police got a phone call it was jamichael. >> i got a call for my supervisor that je'michael was ready to confess. >> to confess?

>> reporter: >> that's what i was told. there's a lot of rumors up to this point. >> not over this time. je'michael was there to confess. >> why did i do that? >> now, he wasnot that selfish kid police encounter days before. >> what am i going to do? >> i'm gonna pray to you right now, chases. >> the person taking this confession, again, the detective brinkley. >> sat down, i said, je'michael, tell me in your own words what happened. >> the night of the murder, je'michael said, he and dominic sneaked out the house and headed for danielle's. they wanted to talk to his ex girlfriend. >> i had took my wallet and threw it against her window. she came out. she got in the car. we went to the creek. we sat down and talked for a. while but >> but this wasn't an evening of reconciliation. it was another combustible on their breakup. something that raises the stakes way high. according to je'michael, danielle had been telling him

on one of four months that she was pregnant. >> she was supposed to take a we pregnancy test in front of me. >> if the test came back positive, je'michael he said he would provide first shot, but he would not keep danya. >> she snapped on me. she pashmina face. she's that man jumped on top of, micah deliver mean step. >> in the middle of the alleged >> all i remember was -- i grabbed her, i was choking her. i blacked. >> je'michael what he came to, daniel wasn't with him. he said he called out to dominick. they loaded danielle's body in the back seat of. car as for the word they found scrawled in the sand, police had suspected for a while it had nothing to do with a case. >> someone did it in a hurry. that was our consensus. but >> reporter: that socked it. it fell off as they were dragging her body out of the creek. area >> reporter: according to je'michael, dominic is the one

who shoved the sock into her mouth. -- -- >> as they drove back to his house, je'michael said he threw danielle phone out on the i-95, the last place it pinned. then, je'michael found rope and cinder blocks. tied her up, put her in the car, and threw her over the side, and into the river. >> he said that night, he and dominic made a pact. >> take it to the grave. don't tell nobody. >> once his confession was complete, je'michael was arrested and charged with second degree murder. >> put your hands behind your back. >> reporter: days later dominic was as. well and now danielle's circle was aware that je'michael had

confessed. >> i had a panic attack. i was like, you know, how could he? he was texting me, tell me, you know, i hope she's okay. i love her. i miss her. i was just like, are you kidding me? >> i want to kill him. i still want to kill him. >> danielle's family was likewise enraged. >> what were you say to one another? >> we feel betrayed. we feel like he's been around. as he was walking alongside of us during the search. he watched us cry our eyes out. you know? it was devastating. >> reporter: knowing full well she was at the bottom of the? creek >> yes yes. >> more troubling still, chena simmons didn't feel like je'michael had told the whole truth. it doesn't make any sense to me. i don't like the the story. >> neither did investigators. >> reporter: did that story satisfy? you >> know. >> reporter: coming up, a bold move to get the whole truth out of je'michael, reveal something remarkable. >> that's when his attorney

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what about your husband? is he here? no, unfortunately, he couldn't make it. she attacked him last night. you attacked your husband? ♪ ♪ ♪ [silence] dice dreams, attack your friends and steal their coins. play now.

attack your friends and steal their coins. a month after danielle's body was found in the river, her family and friends gathered to say their goodbyes. >> a month after danielle's body was found in the river, her family and friends gathered to say their goodbyes. the details of danielle's final minutes were especially haunting to her mother. >> they put her in the trunk of [crying] the car. they took her

to the dirty river and tossed her there. >> your baby. >> yeah. threw her away like she was garbage. [crying] >> for her aunt who had always kept an eye on her niece, the pain is still so raw. >> i was over protective, i know now, i was always in her business and stuff. i wish i was a little more in her business. i can't even think about how scared she was. [crying] >> to make matters even worse, they felt the charge of second degree murder didn't cut it. that crime of passion story of a fight turned deadly, they believe that was a lie. they pointed to je'michael's cell left at home. what teenager does that? >> he knows what he's doing. he left the phone at home on purpose. >> detective hamilton felt the same way. >> do you believe this was premeditated crime? >> absolutely. >> he planned it i

do believe he planned. it >> reporter: for the detective, it wasn't just the phone it was the location that he chose for their meeting was a dead giveaway. the creek. >> why wouldn't they iron it out in front of the house? why do they have to go to the creek and walked on a dark trail? once there they asked him to close his eyes, e i want you to go back there and go back to when you choked danielle. his eyes are twitching. i am like jamichael, what is going on? what is happening? john and he says that it

grabbed her hands for her to choke her. >> it was dead calm in the creek. ten seconds went by, then 20. then a minute. >> that's when his attorney stopped. and he stopped him he walked me through the entire process. >> reporter: as for the motive, he believes it goes back to the test mentioned during his confession. >> he said je'michael was dead set on becoming a u.s. marine. a baby wasn't part of his plans. >> he thought she was pregnant. >> what's gonna mess that is life plan? >> was going to mess up his dream career of going in the marines. in the mind of a 17-year-old. and she wasn't pregnant at all. >> and there was one more detail that convinced detective this was a uniquely calculated crime. chilling. remember those texts je'michael sent out from his house around the time of the killing? the ones that

bolstered his alibi? >> what was that about? >> couldn't have been there to do it. i can tell you that. >> the tax percent to girls even flirting. with he wrote to one, i just woke up. what are you doing? for a while detectives were stumped. how could he'd be texting from home and also began committing a murder? >> it was a problem for us. i could not figure it out. >> it was a tech savvy investigator that solve the mystery. je'michael had downloaded an app that allows you to schedule your text.. >> reporter: let me understand this, you can pre right your text, and then tell the phone when you want to send. it >> yes. >> reporter: it was chilling. >> in my opinion he's a sociopath, i truly believed he was getting away with. murder i want >> everybody to know, she will get justice. >> reporter: with the trial

looming the prosecutor was planning to up the ante on the secondary murder charge >> we wouldn't have tried if the judge allowed us to, and first degree. we would have. we will try to do that as an option. >> we wanted him to pay the price. >> but trial came with a risk. the prosecutor still thought a competent defense attorney could make a compelling argument on voluntary manslaughter. a crime of passion in the moment. so -- >> this young man might be out in five? years >> that's right. if the jury finds him guilty of manslaughter, he could be given 5 to 7 years. you could see him out on the streets in a short period of. time was >> reporter: trial as a. gamble the prosecutors consulted with family members who wrestled with their fears >> it was a lot. we've been through a lot. we just wanted to be done. >> je'michael agreed to a deal. he pleaded guilty to second degree murder and receive 25 to 31 years in prison. his friend, dominic pleaded guilty to accessory. he received 6 to 8 years. and in may 2016, danielle's family showed up at the county courthouse for je'michael's

sentencing. it was their first face to face since they accepted the plea. >> same old kid, that smirk on his face. >> when it was his turn to speak, je'michael turn to the family, apologize. >> sorry doesn't cut it. i want say i am truly sorry. >> they didn't buy it. >> he sorry he did not add more cinder blocks. that's what he was sorry for. because he had every intention for her to stay down there. >> je'michael's mother who had known danielle's family forever, spoke at the sentencing to. >> i want you to know, i'm not blocking no pain. i pray for y'all. i pray for him. i pray for forgiveness. most of all i pray for mercy. >> but mercy wasn't something danielle's mother was considered. >> not talk about mercy? she didn't have no mercy

that night. you ripped out my soul. >> my sister is not the same. she's not the same. i mean -- she was my niece, but that was my sister's daughter. her only daughter. >> in 2017, danielle's class graduated from high school. at the ceremony, rona looked on as they honor the girl who forever be 15. >> it was all decorated, ribbons and everything. they gave me a box with her tassel on the cap and everything. they graduated my child. i'm so thankful. >> reporter: there are so many things danielle's family misses about her mom her. her heart, happy-go-lucky nature, her infectious. joy >> that's what chena simmons thinks about when the memories come rushing back. >>

she was always laughing. so, i just picture her laugh. i know that's the way she wants to be remembered. >> caroline, who was with danielle that day, misses her friend too. that one time teenage hangout is now just a memory. >> was at the end of the creek for you >> yes, it was. it all went after that. ever. >> the creek, still lacing through the sandy banks. but those voices of innocence are still now. ever since one lazy, happy day turned into a very bad night. one never to be forgotten or completely understood. understood. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: hello i'm andrea canning, and this is dateline. a doctor's wife dies after a minor fender bender. so why do her brothers believed this was no accident? >> i pulled