It was hard for all of us.. It was up to us to clean up the mess and basically start from the beginning. It's why I searched here. And I just became hysterical.. The first 2 years with Ebby it was a long time before I could grieve because I was fighting and Trevor happened instantly with no signs. 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. He never gave up on her, on finding out what happened, she said. Her remains were missed in all the searches. Will Ebby Steppach ever get justice after police botched her case? 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 rebelled against her parents and started living with her friend Daniel Westbrook. In early fall, Laurie and Michael began receiving calls from the high school reporting Ebbys truancy. "Maybe if we ignore it, it will go away." I wish my job worked that way. Descried as bubbly and of a big heart, Ebby was known for going out of her way to help the ones she loved. The last person to hear from Ebby was her brother, Trevor, on Sunday, October 25. She abruptly decided to switch to Central after attending private school all her life [EDIT: Ebby attended LISA Academy, which is a charter school, not a private school]. She also mentioned it had been recorded without her knowledge or consent. I would give anything to hear her laugh again. On Friday, Ebby went to a party while Danielle stayed home because she didnt know anyone who would be there. On November 4, 2018, Ebbys friends and family planted a tree in Chalamont Park, in a move to show she would never be forgotten. Are You Involved in a Story Making Headlines? Its unclear what compelled investigators to search the pipe specifically on Tuesday. When I got the case, there were things that werent done that shouldve been done on the front end, Hudson said, explaining that interviewing key witnesses and checking surveillance footage had not been done. Several searches were conducted in the park by both police and volunteers. She later learned that Michael had agreed to help Ebby, so he took Laurie home and attempted to reach Ebby to make a plan. By that time, I just knew in my soul that something was really wrong, Ebbys mother, Laurie Jeringan, told Dateline. James and Michelle Butler: The Senseless Murder of 21-Year-Navy Veteran and Wife. And I just became hysterical.. 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. Parents: Is Your Child Addicted to Screen Time? [4] She also alleged that the rape had been recorded on a cell phone. Thats when Trevor told me something was terribly wrong, Laurie said. Vickers tried to contact the police for three months to offer assistance with the investigation, but his calls and emails went without reply. And it was broken all over the car. On October 27, her abandoned car was discovered in Chalamont Park in west Little Rock. Hudson obtained maps of the drainage pipes from the city and took a team back down to Chalamont Park, where they sent cameras down drainage pipes. Almost 3 years later, her remains were discovered in the same park. Our cold case unit is comprised of seasoned investigators who have retired as active members of the Little Rock Police Department. gossipgossipblah 4 yr. ago This is just outrageous to me. However, where she was on the road has never been publicly released, nor if there was anyone else in the car with her. What really happened to Ebby Steppach? It wasnt until October 30 that officers went to the park and identified the car as Ebbys. While initially believed to possibly be related to the case, it was later determined the leg bone belonged to an animal. Want Dr. Phil to Investigate a Situation or Possible Scam? The remains were found near a memorial for Steppach, police said. I really feel sorry for their mother. She was unable to tell him who she was with or where she was. Concerned, the family conducted their own search for Ebby. 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. Arkansas Online series about Ebbys disappearance: https://www.arkansasonline.com/ebby/, Stories of the Unsolved blog post: https://storiesoftheunsolved.com/2019/02/02/the-murder-of-ebby-steppach/, Arkansas Online article about police mishandling evidence & acting inappropriately: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/may/31/report-of-smell-dismissed-in-15-2018053/?page=2, THV11 follow up one year after remains were found: https://www.thv11.com/article/features/one-year-later-the-search-for-justice-in-ebby-steppach-case-continues/91-beb932ec-171e-481a-83a8-068ac173a8e2. Although Ebby had moved out, she kept in touch with her parents and even reached out to her stepfather Michael with an alarming situation. The daughter of two hair stylists, she was already immersed in that world and the craft came naturally. He started by searching areas around the accused mens homes, ditches, the woods and other areas that someone could dump a body. I would give anything to hear her laugh again. 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. "But if Tommy had been on the case back then and had found her in a week, they would've found who did it and we wouldnt have had to keep living this nightmare. Her phone records also indicate she stopped opening messages that night a major red flag. Tommy Hudson with the Little Rock polices Cold Case Unit said the case is considered an open homicide investigation. Ebby family were unaware of the odor until after the remains were IDd. Descried as bubbly and of a big heart, Ebby was known for going out of her way to help the ones she loved. Little Rock Police Capt. So I kept thinking she might have been washed into the pipe, which would have made it more difficult to find her.. During the multiple searches for Ebby, a team looking through a remote wooded area of Little Rock stumbled across a site, consisting of clothes, handcuffs, a skeletal leg bone and a shoe that resembled one that the missing girl would wear. They were only 60 feet away from where her car had been abandoned. On May 22nd, 2018, Steppach's skeletal remains were discovered in a drainage pipe beside the parking lot. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. At the time, Little Rock police believed Steppach ran away. Andrea Cavallier is a Digital Producer for Dateline NBC. [4] On Friday, October 23, she attended a party at some point during the evening. Ebbys friend Danielle, whom she had been staying with, was never contacted by police either. He has the answers he was looking for.. "It was a gut feeling with all of us," he said. Officers with the Little Rock Police Department searched the park, but came up empty-handed. I just knew it, everything in my soul, I knew something had happened to her, Laurie said. When her family tried to report her missing, they were told they needed to wait 12 hours for her to be considered missing. And definitely her contacts. Unsolved Homicide: Who Put Ebby Steppach in the Drainpipe? These remains were subsequently confirmed to be those of Steppach. Little Rock Police spokesman Officer Steve Moore said cold case investigators were following up on Ebby Steppach's disappearance Tuesday when they found the skeletal remains in an underground. And they were stopped in their tracks. Ebbys remains were found on May 22, 2018, a mere 60 feet from where her car had been found two years earlier. Ebby Steppach was born on March 31, 1997. 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. My faith is so strong and I trust that God will bring answers, Laurie said. Thats what we think about every day. As they felt the police werent taking Ebbys disappearance seriously, her family approached the media to help widen word of their missing loved one. Ebby's body was found in a drainpipe in her hometown of Little Rock, AR, and the mystery that still shrouds her death has left an . Searches were conducted of the park and the woods near where the car was discovered, but no evidence was found. During the search for Ebby, her family looked into the possibility of her having been forced into sex trafficking. The Steppach family offered a reward of $50,000 with information leading to their daughters discovery. As of today, the case is still open and unsolved. "Because I know I would've been hysterical and rushed over. 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. Her devotion in close relationships and drive to renew a prosperous life for herself was cut short by an unexplainable, unsolved murder in October of 2015, leaving all who knew her across her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas (pronounced ARE-ken-SAW) grasping for . When Ebbys remains were found, Laurie was devastated. 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. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In November 2015, the family offered up a $3,000 reward for information leading to her discovery. 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. [7] She initially told him she was parked outside his house, but upon hanging up and walking out to the street, he did not see her car. [4] Per a 2017 report, the men Steppach had accused of rape had all spoken to police, though no formal searches of their cell phones were done for the alleged video of Steppach's rape. It is a shame, because the culprits seem pretty obvious. And Ebby seemingly vanished without a trace. The daughter of two hair stylists, she was already immersed in that world and the craft came naturally. Searches of the woods around the park were undertaken, but no sign of Ebby was found. When Vickers contacted the security guard who found the car several months later, he said it was the first anyone had contacted him about it. Ebby Jane Steppach was born March 31, 1997 at 6:30 a.m. She died October 25, 2015, the day her car was abandoned at Chalamont Park in West Little Rock. The last known contact she had on October 25 was with her older brother, Trevor. She went through a lot of changes all at once and suddenly she was chomping at the bit to take control of her life, Laurie said. I have peace knowing neither Ebby or Trevor are alone. Remains found in an underground pipe in a Little Rock park have been confirmed as those of an 18-year-old woman who went missing in 2015. Something happened to her.. No one heard from or saw Ebby again. An internal investigation was conducted, which yielded insufficient evidence to prove her claims. The battery was dead, gas tank empty, and keys were left in the ignition. As they felt local police werent taking the case seriously, Ebbys family hired private investigator Monty Vickers, who acted as a go-between between them and investigators. After hanging up from her phone call with her brother, Ebby was never heard from again. In 2015, she was 18 years old, 110 pounds, with blonde hair, and only a little over 5 feet tall. After Tuesdays discovery, Steppachs family released a statement asking for privacy, THV11 reports. The keys were in the ignition and the car was out of gas as if it had been left running. On October 27, Ebbys abandoned car was discovered in Chalamont Park in Little Rock. If you have any information about the disappearance and murder of Ebby Steppach, please call the Little Rock Police Department at (501) 404-3128. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. This would later be increased to $50,000. "Because I know I would've been hysterical and rushed over. This case hasnt been discussed on this sub in about a year, but its one I think about often, so I wanted to bring it back up again. Plus, hear from Debi, Ebbys paternal grandmother, who has never spoken to the media because she says so much of the media got her granddaughters story wrong. When he died, I thought, now he knows what happened to her. May 22, 2019 1 year since Ebbys remains were recovered. The remains were found by cold case investigators in an underground pipe in Chalamont Park, the last place Steppach was seen before she went missing. Classic small town law enforcement incompetence. Ebby Jane Steppach was 18 years old when she disappeared in late October 2015. The family thanked the numerous people involved in the investigation, including a Little Rock Cold Case Detective, Tommy Hudson, and members of the cold case unit, as well as the FBI. Relieved, Trevor went to his front door, but found neither his sister nor her car were outside. Our cold case unit is comprised of seasoned investigators who have retired as active members of the Little Rock Police Department. For Ebby's family and friends, they just want answers. Detectives remain tight-lipped about the case and have not revealed how Steppach died, only classifying it as a homicide. Her remains were found in a drainage pipe. I think it was too much on his heart, his mother Laurie told Dateline. 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. He told Dateline that mistakes were made early on in the case before he was brought on to help solve it. After Ebbys family wrote letters to the governor begging for help, the FBI voluntarily got involved, but crucial evidence had already been lost. Even though her grandparents were the last family to see her, they werent interviewed for a year and a half after she disappeared. 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. She worked two part-time jobs as a teenager, saving every dollar so she could buy nice, expensive makeup. 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. In this update, Laurie is joining us again to discuss how Ebby was found and where her case stands today. Ebby Steppach was creative. [1], Ebby Jane Steppach was an 18 year-old high school student in Little Rock, Arkansas who was completing her senior year at Little Rock Central High School. Cheyann Klus went missing on December 2nd, 2017. Many personal items were strewn about the car, including Ebbys phone, wallet and contact lenses. But her stepdad and I were really strict. While neither were human remains, it piqued the interest of investigators and thus the pipe was excavated. When the FBI got involved it became clear how badly her case had been treated and thats when things moved in a different direction. [12] Margie Foley, a family friend and mother of one of Steppach's best friends, claimed that she had smelled decomposition while doing a private search of the area, and alerted the authorities. Together, they will continue to work on any new developments in this case.. Upon Ebbys remains being found, hundreds gathered for her memorial service at Christ Community Church on the campus of the Little Rock Christian Academy. [14], In 2021, her case was the subject of season 1 of the podcast "Subterfuge in Chalamont Park". They're together. They have the names of the guys she claimed assaulted her, but no formal investigation of them has been done as far as I know. She remained silent for nearly 24 hours. A podcast did a great story on this and I cant remember which one. There have been a lot of rumors swirling about why this case has not been solved yet. Her car was found abandoned in a West Little Rock park days later, but her body wasn't discovered until May of 2018 . Steppach had recently attended a private school, but the following year she attended a government-funded school. I think a young woman was seen speaking with a young man by the park security. Sadly, this time Ebbys remains were finally found. As such, on March 31, 2018, they held a fundraiser for PATH, also known as Parents Against Trafficking Humans. 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. Searches of the woods in the park were undertaken, but no sign of Steppach was found. Lucy Letby- Killer Nurse? 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. They hired private investigator Monty Vickers to see what he could find out. And the burden of being the last person to talk to Ebby.. I hope her family gets justice. 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. Later, they basically admitted that the beginnings of the case were mishandled (without actually admitting it, of course). But as time passed, they became more and more worried. If you have any information about the disappearance and murder of Ebby Steppach, please call the Little Rock Police Department at (501) 404-3128. I am more likely to think the delays and mishandling of evidence can be chalked up to incompetence and indifference, although anything is possible. In 2017, Laurie participated in Closer to Home Arkansas Takes Action, which was hosted by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. 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. -. Timeline of the Ebby Steppach Case Steppach, a student at Central High in Little Rock was reported missing on Oct. 26, 2015. "It was a gut feeling with all of us," he said. One of her favourite places to visit was the beach and while there she would spend hours looking for seashells, which she would often gift to them. Ebby Jane Steppach had dreams of becoming a cosmetologist. Could it possibly be one of the men who raped her,? If you have any information regarding the murder of Ebby Steppach, please contact the Little Rock Police department, 501-404-3128 Investigator Tommy Hudson (email: thudson@littlerock.gov) 501-371-4829 Little Rock PD Non-emergency number 501-371-4636 Little Rock PD Public Information Officer, Sources:Ebby Steppach case still open, preliminary cause of death determined but wont be releasedOne year later | The search for justice for Ebby continuesDays after Ebby Steppach disappeared, police shrugged off pipe odor, caller says. For anyone still looking, she is the subject of True Crime Garage's latest episode. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. In May 2018, the FBI and the LRPDs Cold Case Unit (led by experienced detective Tommy Hudson) teamed up with Little Rocks Public Works to begin excavating drainage pipes at Chalamont Park. Unsolved Homicide: Who Put Ebby Steppach in the Drain: With Phil McGraw. To help keep the case in the public eye, Ebbys family created a Facebook group to help spread awareness via social media. Laurie Jernigan also claims that police refused to check cell tower pings from Ebbys phone. As of now, the case is currently with the Little Rock Police Department Cold Case Unit, who say its an open homicide investigation. 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