This was followed by a police search of Chalamont Park in November 2016. We could have put her to rest. The daughter of two hair stylists, she was already immersed in that world and the craft came naturally. Ebby Steppach was born on March 31, 1997. [4] When he called her back, she answered, this time telling him she was in her car but was unsure where she was parked. Cops took 5 years to arrest them. Why this wasnt done, I dont know, Hudson said. And definitely her contacts. Family: Ebby Steppach's Death is Being Investigated as a Homicide. Ill be back to spend the night. Discover Ebby Steppach's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. In this update, Laurie is joining us again to discuss how Ebby was found and where her case stands today. Ebby family were unaware of the odor until after the remains were IDd. The discovery of Ebbys remains came after a foul odor had been reported coming from the pipe during the early parts of the investigation. Ebby Steppach died six years ago today, still no arrests Debi believes someone is responsible for her granddaughter's death, saying, "there is somebody or somebodies that know exactly what happened to her." Her prayer is that whoever is responsible will come forward and confess, leaving no more questions, only good memories, behind. "It was something I just couldn't shake. If you have any information about the disappearance and murder of Ebby Steppach, please call the Little Rock Police Department at (501) 404-3128. Are You Involved in a Story Making Headlines? Exploring the 2015 disappearance and subsequent death of 18-year-old Ebby Steppach; It has been through your support, many prayers and Gods strength that they have been able to make this journey., God hears and answers all prayers, it continued. Ebby was going through a tumultuous time in her senior year, as many teens do. Her car was found abandoned in a city park. The nightmare only continued for Ebbys family as they noticed mistakes they said police had made from the beginning and believed her case was not being taken seriously. That was when they discovered Ebby's remains just 60 feet from where her car had been found. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The daughter of two hair stylists, she was already immersed in that world and the craft came naturally. Margie Foley, a family friend and mother of one of Steppachs best friends, claimed that she had smelled decomposition while doing a private search of the area and alerted the authorities. Rules and Guidlines for Discussion. I hope her family gets justice. There have been a lot of rumors swirling about why this case has not been solved yet. She knew her daughter was in danger. But that information will not be released, to avoid jeopardizing the case. Ebby Steppach case still open, preliminary cause of death determined but wont be released, One year later | The search for justice for Ebby continues, Days after Ebby Steppach disappeared, police shrugged off pipe odor, caller says, Mysterious 911 call and the disappearance of Cheyann Klus, Dr. Dharmesh Patel (41) attempted to kill his family by driving their Tesla off a 300 foot cliff, Ana Walshe is missing after her husband googled 'how to dispose of a 115 pound womans body', Jennifer Fairgate and her briefcase of bullets, Florida Cosplay/Cam Girl, Melissa Turner stabs her boyfriend to death and waits 4 hours to call 911, Tristyn Bailey (13) was stabbed 114 times, allegedly by her 14 y/o classmate. On November 3, 2015, a friend of Ebbys and her mother went to the park to look around. LRPD treated the case as a runaway situation for almost 8 months, and by the time federal investigators got involved in 2016, crucial evidence had been lost. In the News. Sep. 22 2021, Published 6:32 p.m. Little Rock Police Capt. I would give anything to hear her laugh again. On November 4, 2018, Ebbys friends and family planted a tree in Chalamont Park, in a move to show she would never be forgotten. After the fundraiser, a birthday party was held for Ebby. In 1991 a woman was found dead by suicide in a hotel. When Ebbys remains were found, Laurie was devastated. Upon the arrival of police, Foley claimed she was kind of dismissed by the officers, who told her the park had been searched with recovery canines who would have picked up on the scent of human decomposition, and assured her it must be an animal or something.. She remained silent for nearly 24 hours. I'm so sorry. And I just became hysterical.. [4] Wanting independence from her parents, Steppach decided to move out of her family's home at the beginning of the school year,[5] but was mainly staying with her grandparents and friends. Teen, Man Charged in Abduction of Cleo Smith, 4, Girl Found Alive After 18 Days in Western Australia, Pregnant Caretaker Was Abducted While on the Job, and Man Is Charged with Murder After Body Found. Those who she loved most of all were her grandparents. October 25, 2015. To help spread word of the case, Laurie appeared on Dr. Phil. Throughout the evening, cell phone records showed Ebby sent text messages to men she had implicated in her rape, threatening. To laugh with her again.. Investigations, which is dedicated to locating missing and trafficked children, and T.H.O.R.N., an international anti-human trafficking organization that works to address the sexual exploitation of children. Mother hopeful new detective will solve 2015 murder of daughter Ebby Steppach 18-year-old Ebby vanished in October 2015, but her remains weren't found until May 2018. He recalled her sounding confused, disoriented and panicked, their mother Laurie told Dateline. In 2017, the case was reassigned to the LRPDs homicide unit, who brought cadaver dogs to the park to search for clues. The family's private investigator had a bigger, more thorough file than the police. The 4 men implicated in her rape were interviewed by police, but there have been no formal searches of their cell phones for further evidence. [4] On Friday, October 23, she attended a party at some point during the evening. For Ebbys older brother, Trevor, the toll his sisters disappearance and death took on his heart may have been too much. Ebby Steppach was creative. He told Dateline that mistakes were made early on in the case before he was brought on to help solve it. He had footage of it on his dashboard camera, but had since lost the recordings. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. So we had to wait. Friends of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie are coming out of the woodwork and claiming that the couple's relationship history was toxic from the start. I just knew it, everything in my soul, I knew something had happened to her, Laurie said. "It was a gut feeling with all of us," he said. Their names, obviously, have not been released. It was around that time that Laurie said the 18-year-old high school student started to change. Im so glad this is becoming standard fare in these subs vs dogs being infallible. But later that evening, Ebby had stopped responding to Michael. They said they couldnt due to a lack of resources. A few days after she was last heard from, a security guard discovered her 2003 Volkswagen Passat running and abandoned in Chalamont Park, at 20600 Chalamont Drive. And she took excellent care of it. But her stepdad and I were really strict. She explained that Ebby had started a new job, started hanging out with a different crowd, changed schools - all of which she believes led to the rebellion. While the search for Ebbys body ended in 2018, Tommy Hudson, the lead investigator on her case at the time kept working on finding her killer. If you have any information about the disappearance and murder of Ebby Steppach, please call the Little Rock Police Department at (501) 404-3128. She knew her daughter was in danger. Please post your thoughts and theories below. An internal investigation was conducted, which yielded insufficient evidence to prove her claims. Ebby Jane Steppach had dreams of becoming a cosmetologist. He initially hesitated to take the case, but once he saw the shotty investigation he knew he had to do something and began tracking Ebbys final movements. Ebbys death has been classified as a homicide and her killer(s) is/are still unknown. According to locals familiar with the case, Ebby was about to report 4 men who sexually assaulted her, including the son of a police officer. On October 23rd, 2015, Ebby attended a party. Later on October 24, Michael called his stepdaughter and told her he would meet her at her grandparents house, where she was reportedly staying at the time. But someone else needs him now.. There are only two reasons here why this case has not been solved.A)The Little Rock police dept are completely stupid and boungled the case from the startor B) They know good and well who did it but they hid/destroyed evidence and drug their feet in order to protect the ones who murdered her. [4] She had previously attended a private school, but transferred to a public school that year. To laugh with her again.. That was the last time anyone heard from her. Today marks the third anniversary of the last time she was seen alive. What happened to Ebby from Dr Phil? A family friend named Margie Foley had reported to the police that she smelled decomposition while they . He also added that they have persons of interest in the case and have interviewed multiple people, but no one had been named a suspect at this time. Although Hudson would not tell Dateline how Ebby died, because he believes it would interfere with the investigation, he said her death is being investigated as a homicide. Its Going To Take Someone Coming Forward, Says Mother Of Little Rock Teen Whose Death Remains Unsolved, Private Investigator Refutes Police Theory That Teen Found Dead In Drainpipe Crawled Down There On Her Own, I Knew Instantly Someone Had Taken Her, Says Mother Of Teen Whose Body Was Found In 2018, This Is Not A Cold Case, Says Retired Detective About Ebby Steppachs Death, Sponsored: Dr. Phil McGraw Teams Up With Sundae To Help Homeowners Sell As-Is. - Published on May 19, 2022. Ebby opted to move out and bounced around between staying with friends and her older brother, Trevor. And Ebby seemingly vanished without a trace. December 2017 In an attempt to bring publicity to her case, Steppachs mother and brother Trevor appeared onDr. Phil. Ebby stayed with Danielle and her family for the remainder of the week. Laurie Jernigan also claims that police refused to check cell tower pings from Ebbys phone. James and Michelle Butler: The Senseless Murder of 21-Year-Navy Veteran and Wife. EDIT: Someone commented that old remains can be hard for cadaver dogs to detect. Thats what we think about every day. Photo provided by Ebby's mother Laurie Jernigan. Ebby had spent the day with her grandparents, and left their house around 8 p.m. telling them she was going to meet her stepfather. She saw the best in people and loved anyone who came into her life with a fierceness that was unmatched. She never responded to her grandmothers calls, either. In my hometown there was a gang rape and murder with 8 people involved who had loudly threated to kill the girl in the middle of the town green the same day they killed her. When she wasnt at her grandmothers house [the following day], thats when thing started to get like, Well, where is she?,' Steppachs stepdad, Michael Jernigan, told the station at the time. Laurie said the days since Ebby died, have been filled with trying to find out what happened to her daughter in October of 2015. Detective Bruce Maxwell has access to all of Hudsons work on the case and they are in constant contact. I hope that one day that justice is brought down upon those that committed this crime, for the sake of her family and for her. The men implicated in Ebbys rape have been spoken to by investigators, but there have been no formal searches of their cellphones for the alleged video of her rape. The Steppach family offered a reward of $50,000 with information leading to their daughters discovery. And she never showed up at the police station. On October 27, Ebbys abandoned car was discovered in Chalamont Park in Little Rock. The nightmare only continued for Ebbys family as they noticed mistakes they said police had made from the beginning and believed her case was not being taken seriously. I understand her strong will, I understand all of that. Ebby Steppach was born on March 31, 1997, and lived in Little Rock, Arkansas with her mom and step-dad, Laurie and Michael Jernigan, and two siblings, Trevor and Harris. A private investigator hired by Ebbys family, Monty Vickers, said her text records indicate she sent several messages to the men she accused threatening to go to the police. Dr. Phil devotes his platform to shine a light on the 2015 disappearance and subsequent death of 18-year-old Ebby Steppach; a story that dominated national news. But as time passed, they became more and more worried. Her decision to transfer schools had come after she began dating a new boyfriend, and while attending this new school she was known to occasionally be truant. Even though her grandparents were the last family to see her, they werent interviewed for a year and a half after she disappeared. Upcoming on In Pursuit. She remained a missing person for nearly three years before her body was discovered in a drainage pipe in Chalamont Park in May 2018, in the immediate vicinity of where her car had been found. -. "There was some evidence we were looking at that was found at the scene when she initially disappeared that bothered us," Hudson said. The keys were in the ignition and the car was out of gas as if it had been left running. The woman who reported the smell to police felt they had initially shrugged her off, not showing up until an hour after she had first phoned in. "It was something I just couldn't shake. You would think talking to Danielle and looking into the cell phone pings are two of the first things theyd do. No one heard from or saw Ebby again. She submitted recordings of conversations, text message threads, emails and provided witnesses as evidence. Ebby Steppach was born on March 31, 1997. Her stepfather meticulously photographed the inside of the car and her belongings, just in case. He never gave up on her, on finding out what happened, she said. Create your free profile. Towards the beginning of the school year, she left her family's home to gain her parents' freedom. If for no other reason to set a precedent that shoddy half ass police work is unacceptable. She was unable to tell him who she was with or where she was. A preliminary cause of death has been determined but not publicly released. The last known contact she had on October 25 was with her older brother, Trevor. She was survived by her parents, Laurie and Michael Jernigan; her father, Peter Steppach; her sister, Harris Elizabeth; brother, Trevor; stepbrother, Ethan; her grandparents . Five months into the investigation, he spoke with the security guard who found her car. In May 2017, the case was reassigned to homicide detectives within the Little Rock Police Department. She rebelled against her parents and started living with her friend Daniel Westbrook. I listen to too many. Marking Ebbys birthday, every dollar raised from those in attendance went to the organization, which provides services for survivors of assault and human trafficking. She later texted the men implicated, threatening to report them to the authorities. Steppach's family released a statement Wednesday evening after they were notified of the Arkansas State Crime Lab results. This would later be increased to $50,000. Shortly following the news of Hudson's retirement, Little Rock Police Department released a statement about Ebby's case: The Little Rock Police Department is committed to work collectively to resolve all cold cases; more specifically the Ebby Steppach case. Ebbys family was notified of the discovery and the remains were sent to the state crime lab, where they were determined to be those of the missing girl. Ebbys cell phone records show that she made two calls to the Little Rock Police Department that night, each about a minute long. And I knew it was Ebby.. Working off a gut instinct, Hudson told Dateline he felt they needed to take another look in the park where Ebbys car was found back in 2015. Ebbys cellphone records indicate she made two calls to police that night, each about a minute long, but strangely Little Rock Police say they have no record of her calls. They changed Ebbys status to a missing person and, along with her family, handed out flyers across town. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. On October 30, 2015, the Little Rock Police Department searched an abandoned car in a small r By Katherine Stinson. It was the last time anyone ever heard from Ebby. Her step dad Michael says thinks she may have gone out to confront her rapists. [8] The Steppach family offered a reward of $50,000 with information leading to their daughter's discovery. May 19, 2022, 4:00 PM The disappearance of high school senior Ebby Steppach in 2015 made headlines across the country and sent shockwaves through her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. Want Dr. Phil to Investigate a Situation or Possible Scam? (KTHV) - Oct. 24 is a heartbreaking anniversary for the family of Ebby Steppach. Instead, Ebby got to spend that last day with her grandparents. He lived in a house on Lomay Close with his wife Neha, and their two children - a 7 /yo girl and a 4 y/o. [4], The following day, October 24, 2015,[6] Steppach arrived at her mother's home, and informed her stepfather that she had been gang raped by four individuals[7] at the party and wanted to report the incident to authorities. Catherine Townsend, a dynamic private investigator, says she has been working on the case for the past 18 months and believes the police are wrong to call Ebbys death a suicide and that her killer could still be found. In early fall, Laurie and Michael began receiving calls from the high school reporting Ebbys truancy. So I kept thinking she might have been washed into the pipe, which would have made it more difficult to find her.. It was hard for all of us.. But again, the case hit a snag when Hudson recently announced he was again retiring and relocating across the river, where he will help out at the North Little Rock Police Department cold case unit. While initially believed to possibly be related to the case, it was later determined the leg bone belonged to an animal. On October 30, 2015, the Little Rock Police Department searched an abandoned car in a small residential park. IE 11 is not supported. Hudson told Dateline that a new investigator has been assigned to Ebbys case and that he has complete faith in his investigative abilities. Hell And Gone is a podcast from iHeartRadio and School of Humans that follows journalist and private investigator Catherine Townsend as she investigates unsolved deaths. Her feedback, along with that of others, resulted in the creation of a handbook that police give out to those whose loved ones have gone missing. In addition, Ebby moved out of her parents house and into her older brother, Trevors home. And they were stopped in their tracks. A podcast did a great story on this and I cant remember which one. The 2018. It seems as though most unsolved cases begin with a very poor investigation. She remained a missing person for nearly three years before her body was discovered in a drainage pipe in the immediate vicinity of her car in May 2018. With this kind of police investigation who needs enemies? If she was a runaway like the police kept saying, she wouldve taken her makeup. In this season of Hell And Gone. The next evening around 5:30 p.m., Ebby called her brother, Trevor, and told him that she was in her car, but didnt know where she was. Ebby Steppach, 18, of Little Rock, Arkansas mysteriously vanished on October 24, 2015. Laurie said she later found out that after Ebby disappeared, Trevor spent his lunch hours searching the trunks of abandoned cars for his sister and traveling to other states following up on tips. Ebbys disappearance was also featured on Nancy Grace. They are thankful for the life they got to share with her and ask for continued support and prayers as they work through this difficult time, the statement read. Something was there. It is a shame, because the culprits seem pretty obvious. He has the answers he was looking for.. It has taken a toll on our entire family.. Could it help solve the mystery? [13], In 2017, her case was profiled on the podcast The Vanished. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. The Vanished did a great story on this. During this time in her life, she also got a job at the Foot Locker in McCain Mall, a move her family says coincided with a change in behaviour. For Ebby's family and friends, they just want answers. However, where she was on the road has never been publicly released, nor if there was anyone else in the car with her. Kind of police investigation who needs enemies dead by suicide in a residential. Were made early on in the case on March 31, 1997 to an animal a new investigator has determined... Their names, obviously, have not been released is becoming standard in! 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