Buried

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 09 - June 6, 2022 Jun 08, 2022

The northeast Texas mother-of-three disappeared along with her vehicle in early 1991. Until early last year, when a volunteer group called Adventures With Purpose used sonar to locate her car in Lake Tawakoni. They found human remains last October.

Parker’s children announced in late May that authorities matched the remains to family D-N-A.

Now the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office is closing its missing person case. It says the University of North Texas Health Science Center for Human Identification in Fort Worth sent investigators a report confirming the remains were those of Parker.

Adventures With Purpose founder Jared Leisek says his group is grateful to Sheriff Terry Jones for trusting them to recover Parker’s car and remains.

And an obituary published this week describes Parker as a “strong-willed, free-spirited woman who enjoyed spending time on the lake and night driving with her kiddos.”

They plan to hold a private service next week in Wills Point.

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 08 - May 25, 2022 May 25, 2022

Early last year, divers pulled wreckage from a 1980 Buick Skylark out of Lake Tawakoni. They returned last fall and discovered human remains under the debris.

Those remains have now been matched to Carey Mae Parker — a young northeast Texas mother-of-three who went missing along with her Buick in 1991.

Parker’s daughter Brandy Hathcock confirmed yesterday (Tuesday) that investigators used D-N-A to identify the remains, presumed to be Parker’s. “She’s coming home!” Hathcock wrote in a Facebook post. Her siblings made similar announcements.

The Hunt County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately return calls overnight. In October, its officers coordinated with a private dive group to retrieve the remains — which included bones — from the Waco Bay area of the lake. The successful volunteer effort came months after a Texas D-P-S team abandoned searches after just one day.

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 07 - Oct. 15, 2021 Oct 16, 2021

The Oregon-based group Adventures With Purpose located parts of Carey Mae Parker’s car during its first search at Lake Tawakoni in February.

On Friday, the group might have found remains of Carey Mae Parker herself.

Founder Jared Leisek confirmed late Friday that his team found human remains in a debris pile from Parker’s car near a causeway on the lake’s Waco Bay.

The dive group located Parker’s 1980 Buick Skylark in February and brought parts of it to the surface. Later searches by Department of Public Safety divers were unsuccessful, and Leisek’s group agreed to return this fall with different equipment.

According to a Parker’s sister, Patricia Gager, in a Facebook post, the divers retrieved a pelvis bone. Parker fractured her pelvis in an accident years before she went missing in 1991. That injury may prove useful in identifying any possible remains.

The Hunt County sheriff’s office didn’t immediately return calls late Friday.

But Leisek and Parker’s family say they’ll all be back tomorrow to finish the search.

For KETR News, I’m George Hale in Bloomington, Indiana.

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 06 - Feb. 24, 2021 Feb 25, 2021

It was around this time of year in 1991 when Carey Mae Parker seemed to disappear without a trace from southern Hunt County. Until three weeks ago — when a private search group located Parker’s car upside down in a bay north of her family’s home. Authorities lifted most of the 1980 Buick Skylark out of the water later the same day.

This week, forensic divers from the Texas Department of Public Safety and others returned to Waco Bay to search for more submerged evidence. After marking spots Monday along the White Point Causeway on FM 751, they descended into Lake Tawakoni yesterday (Tuesday) morning — hoping to finally locate and bring Parker’s remains above water.

The Hunt Co. Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond to calls and emails about the search. But Sheriff Terry Jones told members of Parker’s family at the lake that investigators had NOT located human remains and were NOT planning to resume operations today (Wednesday).

For KETR News, I’m George Hale in Bloomington, Indiana.

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 05 - Feb. 05, 2021 Feb 06, 2021

From a Hunt County Sheriff's Office press release dated February 5, 2021:

"On February 4, 2021 at approximately 5:43 pm, the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a call from a search and recovery team advising they had located a vehicle in Lake Tawakoni near the causeway on FM 751. Hunt County Sheriff Terry Jones responded with patrol units and the Criminal Investigation Division to learn the search and recovery team were on the lake using sonar equipment when they discovered a vehicle in the lake. The search and recovery team, who was there with family members, advised investigators that the vehicle they had located was similar to a vehicle involved in a Hunt County missing person case, which the search and recovery team was familiar with. FM 751 was closed for a period of time as the vehicle was recovered from the water. Once the vehicle was recovered, it was confirmed the vehicle matched the description of a Hunt County missing person case. Investigators believe that the vehicle recovered from Lake Tawakoni is the vehicle belonging to Carey Mae Parker, who has been missing since in 1991."

The Buried Lede: Production Notes and Dog Searches Jul 24, 2019

The Buried Lede is an opportunity to connect with the people behind Buried. Send questions and ideas to buried@ketr.org; we'll answer on future episodes. And keep up with the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can subscribe to Buried for free on NPR One, Apple Podcasts, CastBox and anywhere else you listen to podcasts.

Files: Public Reprimand of Dan Robertson -- July 1995

Buried Episode 15: The Black World Jul 09, 2019

On Thursday, Feb. 21, 1991, a Quinlan police officer arrested Carey Mae Parker on a warrant for traffic offenses. Here's what happened next.

Buried Preview: Episode 15 Jun 20, 2019

Law enforcement officials in the Lake Tawakoni area had a reputation for corruption and criminality -- much of it deserved -- throughout the 1990s.

Police officers in south Hunt County say they're still picking up the pieces.

Buried Update: Texas State Highway Search Jun 01, 2019

In the latest search for Carey Mae Parker, sheriff's deputies use ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs to scan properties in northeast Texas.

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 04 - May 24, 2019 May 24, 2019

Sgt. Jeff Haines of the Hunt Co. Sheriff’s Office said searchers used cadaver dogs and ground penetrating radar on three adjacent properties as part of the investigation into Parker's 1991 disappearance from the area of Quinlan, TX. Haines declined to elaborate on any results of the day's efforts before notifying Parker's family about the searches.

But the detective did confirm the search areas included properties that belonged in the past to the family of Cody Songer, a man Parker dated before going missing in 1991.

Buried Update: We're Working On A Fix May 09, 2019

We're working on a solution to problems accessing Buried on certain podcast apps. In the meantime, every episode is available at KETR.org/Buried.

Buried Episode 14: The Constable Mar 22, 2019

The constable Carey Mae Parker 's father says he contacted in 1991 had enemies within local law enforcement and the courts.

Buried Bonus: Billy Givens Extended Interview Feb 22, 2019

An inmate in a Texas prison looks back on an alarming conversation he had with Carey Mae Parker 's ex-boyfriend Cody.

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 03 - Feb. 21, 2019 Feb 21, 2019

Dogs trained to detect human remains have resumed searches near the former home of a woman missing since 1991, a law enforcement official said Monday.

Buried Episode 13: No Body, No Crime Feb 16, 2019

An inmate in a Texas prison can't shake some of the things Carey Mae Parker 's ex-boyfriend Cody said while on the run in Oklahoma.

Buried Update: Waco Bay Estate Search Jan 25, 2019

Canine units from across the country descend on Lake Tawakoni's Waco Bay Estate subdivision in the first search of its kind for Carey Mae Parker .

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 02 - Jan. 22, 2019 Jan 23, 2019

Authorities in northeast Texas launched a day-long search Saturday of properties once connected to a woman who vanished nearly three decades ago.

The Buried Lede: Three Days On The Road Dec 27, 2018

The Buried Lede is an opportunity to connect with the people behind Buried, like Brittany, George, and Jerrod. Send questions and ideas to buried@ketr.org; we'll answer on future episodes. And keep up with the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can subscribe to Buried for free on NPR One, Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music and anywhere else you listen to podcasts.

Buried Episode 12: The Cody Call Dec 21, 2018

The ex-boyfriend of Carey Mae Parker on their tumultuous relationship, new insights into an infamous party and a theory that Carey is alive.

Buried Bonus: Jeff Haines Extended Interview Dec 07, 2018

The detective in charge of investigating Carey Mae Parker 's disappearance offers his perspective on the cold case he took over in 2013.

Buried Episode 11: Misdirection Nov 30, 2018

In July 2017, KETR approached the Hunt Co. Sheriff's Office to discuss Carey Mae Parker 's disappearance. It didn't go well.

Buried Episode 10: A Hunt For Skulls Nov 01, 2018

Carey Mae Parker 's brother and sister explore properties connected to some of the rumors about their sister's disappearance and the events that followed.

Buried Radio: KETR News Spot 01 - Oct. 11, 2018 Oct 11, 2018

Missing people can't advocate for themselves. So, a new group in northeast Texas is aiming to become their voice.

The Buried Lede: Tales from Waco Bay Estate Sep 27, 2018

The Buried Lede is an opportunity to connect with the people behind Buried, like George, Jerrod, and Carinne. Send questions and ideas to buried@ketr.org; we'll answer on future episodes. And keep up with the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can subscribe to Buried for free on NPR One, Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music and anywhere else you listen to podcasts.

Buried Bonus: Louise Kinslow Extended Interview Sep 20, 2018

The mother of Sarah Elizabeth Kinslow describes the weeks following her daughter's disapperance and the impact it had on her family.

Buried Episode 09: The Kinslow Girl Sep 13, 2018

Carey Mae Parker isn't the only missing person with ties to Lake Tawakoni.

Buried Episode 08: In The Woods Aug 23, 2018

Carey Mae Parker 's son reveals that Carey's father Howard admitted to killing someone decades earlier in a foreign country.

Buried Episode 07: A Well Under A Shed Aug 09, 2018

A Hunt County detective identifies a person of interest in Carey Mae Parker 's disappearance: Her dad.

The Buried Lede: Let's Talk About The Party Jul 26, 2018

The Buried Lede is an opportunity to connect with the people behind Buried, like Emma. Send questions and ideas to buried@ketr.org; we'll answer on future episodes. And keep up with the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can subscribe to Buried for free on NPR One, Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music and anywhere else you listen to podcasts.

Buried Episode 06: A Visit To Tishomingo, Oklahoma Jul 19, 2018

In his first interview with the detective investigating Carey Mae Parker 's disappearance, Cody recounts his version of the party in Hawk Cove.

Buried Preview: Episode 06 Jul 12, 2018

In November 2016, a detective from the Hunt Co. Sheriff's Office traveled to Tishomingo, OK, to track down and question Carey's ex-boyfriend Cody.

Cody tells Sgt. Jeff Haines that Carey started "stalking" him and followed him to a party in Hawk Cove, TX. Cody says that was the last time he saw her.

Buried Bonus: Janice Hight Extended Interview Jun 28, 2018

Cody's ex-girlfriend Janice digs into rumors about Carey Mae Parker 's car and a disturbing letter she received from a man in prison.

Buried Episode 05: Every Single Drop Jun 21, 2018

It's been over two decades since Cody's ex-girlfriend Carey Mae Parker disappeared. But even after all these years, Carey is very much on Cody's mind.

Buried Preview: Episode 05 Jun 14, 2018

Janice and Cody lived together for a year in Oklahoma. She says that not long after they started dating, he mentioned Carey and the last time he says he saw her. He told her that Carey threw a drink in his face before leaving a party.

Carey's brother Glenn says that Cody's father started acting strangely after her disappearance. He believes they both knew something about it.

Buried Episode 04: A Party And A Fight Jun 07, 2018

Years after Carey Mae Parker went missing, her family started hearing rumors about a party. And a fight.

Buried Preview: Episode 04 May 31, 2018

In the five years after Carey's family filed its missing person report, the Hunt Co. Sheriff’s Office didn't interview her ex-boyfriend Cody. So, one day in May 2014, her son Brian took matters into his own hands.

In a 7-minute call, Brian questions Cody about some of the things his grandfather told the family about a party and a fight in a place called Hawk Cove.

The Buried Lede: There's So Much More Coming May 24, 2018

The Buried Lede is an opportunity to connect with the people behind Buried. Send questions and ideas to buried@ketr.org; we'll answer on future episodes. And keep up with the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can subscribe to Buried for free on NPR One, Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music and anywhere else you listen to podcasts.

Stacey reply to Patricia letter -- Nov. 19, 2012
Stacey reply to Patricia letter -- Nov. 28, 2012
Stacey reply to Patricia letter -- Dec. 16, 2012
Stacey reply to Patricia letter -- Jan. 09, 2013
Stacey reply to Patricia letter -- Mar. 09, 2013

Buried Episode 03: Drama Nov 30, 2017

Brandy and Brian remember what they can about their mother, Carey Mae Parker , and how her disappearance shaped their childhoods and the adults they became.

Buried Episode 02: Nineteen Years And Counting Oct 31, 2017

After two years without help from the Hunt County Sheriff's Office, Carey Mae Parker 's family launches its own investigation.

Buried Episode 01: Incident 940808 Oct 10, 2017

The family of a young Texas woman who went missing in 1991 makes a shocking discovery: For 19 years, law enforcement didn't investigate.

Buried Preview: Missing In Northeast Texas Sep 15, 2017

After years without answers, family members made a shocking discovery: Police never investigated. For nearly 20 years, no search was conducted, and no one was questioned. And Carey isn’t the only one missing.

Reporter George Hale follows Carey's family as they pursue the truth about her disappearance, and about some of the people who let it happen. You can subscribe now on the NPR One app or wherever you get podcasts.

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