TADP Season 2 Episode 11 – The mysterious disappearance of Denise Martin

The armchair detective podcast

The disappearance of Denise Martin

Welcome to the armchair detective podcast, I’m you’re host the armchair detective. Today I will be discussing the disappearance of Denise Martin. This is a recent disappearance that was brought to my attention from Kirsten, a follow of the armchair detective facebook group. Thanks for the suggestion Kirsten, if anyone else has suggestions on cases you would like me to feature on my podcast, please let me know. I absolutely want my audience to be part of this podcast so if you have suggestions, or if you would like to participate in an episode by co-hosting an episode about a case that is important to you, please send me an email and let me know.

Also, there are a few things to look forward to in the next few months. I will have some promotional events on the podcast where I will give away promotional gifts to listeners of the podcast. I will also be putting out an e-book in the next few months which will detail my journey into true crime podcasting and will be discussing never released materials about some of my early podcast episodes. This will be posted to my website armchairdetective.org so keep a look out for this soon.

Now onto our case today. In today’s episode I start by discussing the details surrounding Denise Martin’s disappearance. Then I will feature some theories from other armchair detectives from different websites on the internet and I will follow this with my own conclusions on Denise’s disappearance.

Denise Martin is 22 years old. She is Caucasian with brown hair and blue eyes. She is approximately 150 lbs, and she is 5 feet 3 inches tall. She has a tattoo of a sun on her lower left shoulder area near her upper chest. She is most likely wearing black oval glasses and possibly carrying a black backpack. She is also wearing black shorts and a red or orange top at the time of her disappearance.

Virginia Beach Police said Martin has been missing since about 7 or 8 a.m Tuesday June 19, 2018 . She was last seen at a home by her father in the in the 2600 block of Dunlace Way in the Red Mill section of the city. However, Martin’s best friend, Miriam Loya, said police have confirmed that a neighbor saw Martin sitting by the front yard at 8:22 a.m. Martin’s friends and family said that this is very unusual for her to disappear like this and that she has never disappears for an extended period of time before. “She left her keys, wallet, ID, phone, and car behind,” Loya said. “I know her, she would never leave her phone behind.” Loya said Martin’s boyfriend, Jordan Stroud, drove from Ohio to be with the family.

Her father was the last person to interact with her before leaving for work June 19. By 9:30 a.m., Denise’s brother found her phone, keys, wallet and ID, but she wasn’t at the house. Her brother and father searched around on their own before filing a missing-person report with Virginia Beach police. Martin’s friends and family say she would never leave without telling someone.

Denise’s baffling disappearance last week has prompted friends and family members to gather in her Virginia hometown to track her down. Friends and family of 22-year-old Denise Martin started leading a search party to find her. The search began at 8:30 a.m., according to a Facebook post. Volunteers are searching in wooded areas and dense vegetation. Family and friends continued to search Thursday for a 22-year-old woman who was reported missing two days earlier.

People who are interested in participating in the second search party can find information on where and when to go on Loya’s Facebook page. Loya has created the facebook account, #BringDeniseHome. Jordan Stroud has also created a twitter account @jstroud97, to share information about Denise Martin’s disappearance. You can also find Stroud’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Jordan.Stroud13. Just two days ago, Jordan wrote the following on his facebook page “In a few hours we will have hit one week of Denise being missing. We cannot let this die on social media until she is found. Please, continue to signal boost this. The more eyes we have watching the sooner she can be found safe. Denise, if you see this, know that I love you so much and I won’t stop until I know you’re okay.”

On Denise Martin’s facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/denise.martin.315428) there is an interesting post from May 12th. Denise wrote the following quote “ It’s that time of year again! For my birthday this year, I’m asking for donations to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I’ve chosen this nonprofit because their mission means a lot to me, and I hope you’ll consider contributing as a way to celebrate with me. Every little bit will help me reach my goal. Thank you so much for your time!

Martin’s friends and extended family members – many of whom are from out of state – have used social media, a boat, a helicopter, a trained dog, two planes, and multiple volunteers, to aid their search, WVEC reported. “It’s a very stressful situation. We all feel very helpless right now – it’s the most helpless we’ve ever felt,” said Henry Smalley, one of Martin’s high school friends.

Martin’s boyfriend, Jordan Stroud, who lives in Ohio, said he spoke with her until 1 a.m. the night before she disappeared. He said Martin was planning to visit him soon.“It was just a conversation that we normally would have. She gave no indication of wanting to disappear or run away,” said Stroud, who drove 9 hours to help with the search.

Virginia Beach police said in an emailed statement Thursday June 21st 2018 in the afternoon that they have an active missing persons case and that detectives have been working on it since the report was taken. However they stated that there is no credible information to indicate that Martin is in danger.

A group rose early Thursday June 21st 2018 to look for her. Cole Cassidy, who said he graduated from Kellam High in 2014 with Martin, said the search included up to 40 people at times. They were scouring different areas of the city, following up on tips. Martin is resourceful, so Cassidy thinks she’ll be found safe. “I don’t see the worst happening,” he said. James Conley, another friend from Kellam, said the search started about 7 a.m. It would continue until Martin is found, he added. “I just want her to be back,” Conley said.

Martin had just moved back to the area and was living with her family after graduating from Longwood University, where she studied theater arts, said Hayden Schwarting, a high school friend.
There are still no signs of what happened to Denise Martin, or where the 22-year-old woman, who’s been missing since Tuesday morning, may have gone to. But police, and her family are hoping on finding her safe.

Authorities said Martin’s family had filed a “missing persons” report at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday June 19th 2018. Detectives have been searching late Wednesday night and early Thursday.

Police said there is no evidence of a break-in at the woman’s home and, at this point, they don’t believe foul play was involved, but the detective who spoke with Martin’s family and Loya said authorities are not yet ruling out the possibility of foul play. Police said they received a lot of tips, but no leads have been developed.

“If she were to run away, she would have gone to our old apartment in Farmville, Virginia. But close friends of ours have access to a spare key and have been passing by. The blinds are always shut and the lights are off,” Loya said. The two were friends and roommates at Longwood University.

“She had a conversation with her dad shortly before she disappeared that morning. She planned to go to the store and check out this new theatre that she heard about,” Loya said. “She was close to her family and wanted to be with them as soon as she graduated — she couldn’t wait to move out of Farmville.”

Denise had recently moved back to her parents’ home in Virginia Beach after graduating from Longwood University in Farmville, Va.

The search party that had been initiated by friends and family on Thursday morning and is ongoing.

Virginia Beach search crews looking for missing Longwood University graduate Denise Martin discovered a decomposed body Wednesday morning June 27th 2018 in the same Virginia Beach neighborhood from which she went missing. No information was released about the body. The Medical Examiner’s Office was called to a wooded area in the 2500 block of Edgehill Avenue, in Virginia Beach, to help identify the person and determine cause of death. The body’s gender, race or approximate age has not been released by police. The body’s condition prevented police from identifying it. The body was found less than a mile from her father’s house. At this point it is unclear if the body is that of Longwood University graduat Denise Martin.

Tonya Pierce, a Virginia Beach Police Department Public Affairs Officer said the following:

“Due to the heat and the weather we have had in the area, a considerable amount of rain, the infestation, there was no way to make an immediate determination of who this individual was”.

Pierce also made this comment:

“We don’t want anybody to assume because we have family members of whoever this individual that was located we have family members on that side and we have family members of Ms. Martin to be concerned with”.

Pierce also commented:

“In order for us to determine where we go in the process with the investigation at this point right now we have to determine who the decedent is in order to determine which direction to go,” said Pierce. “Once we get the Medical Examiner’s report back we will be able to have a better idea of what may have occurred.”

Miriam Loya, Denise Martin’s friend took the news of the discovered body to social media:

“We are aware that a body was found. There’s no confirmation that it’s Denise. I ask that over everything, everyone respect the family’s privacy and give them space. No one should be contacting them right now,” Loya stated in the Facebook post.

After Denise’s disappearance, police were notified of several unconfirmed sightings of her, the police spokesperson says. It was while investigating one of those alleged sightings that the body was found.

Police are handling the body’s discovery as a separate death investigation.

Those who were close to Martin said there were no clues or signs leading up to her disappearance, but said their concern grows with every passing day.

Denise Martin’s loved ones and friends are turning to social media to get the word out about her disappearance. They say that there is no evidence of foul play but that it is not being ruled out. The fact that she left all her personal belongings behind indicates that she intended to come back quickly. She is obviously loved and missed and we can be serve them by helping to bring Denise home.

Almost 10 days have passed since Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) received reports that 22 year old Denise Martin had gone missing from the Virginia Beach, Redmill and Hampton Road areas.

Now I’m going to discuss what some online amateur sleuths think of Denise’s disappearance.

Truth Prevails said the following on Websleuths:

“One of her friends made a comment asking anyone who has any information about her whereabouts to contact him directly because her parents are pretty stressed out? That could suggest that she was arguing with her parents, maybe? Yikes. I hope she comes home soon–it’s been more than 24 hours now. No phone; no wallet; no vehicle.”
I don’t agree with this comment. If you look at Denise’s friend Miriam Loya’s facebook comment, it’s very similar. I can’t begin to imagine the kind of stress parent’s and siblings of a missing loved one would feel, especially this early on in their loved one’s disappearance.

Wendy44 said the following on Websleuths:

“She is a friend of my daughter. She may have been carrying a green backpack and/or a brown purse and wearing black tennis shoes. Praying they find her safe.”

Wendy44 also said the following on Websleuths:

“I’m not sure why her dad hasn’t made a statement, but her mom passed away in 2016.”

This comment actually makes me feel more for her father. Imagine loosing your spouse and two years later your child goes missing. I can understand why her father hasn’t made a statement. We don’t know what happened between Denise and her father hours and days before she disappeared. Imagine if they had a fight and then she goes missing. That would be very difficult on anyone let alone a parent.

Wendy44 also wrote the following:

“I’m not sure what’s okay to post as I’m not a verified insider. No problems with her boyfriend–he’s a fantastic kid who drove down from his summer internship in Ohio to look for her. He’s tweeting updates under #BringDeniseHome. It’s definitely out of character. I’m hoping she just needed some time alone and decided to hike out to the beach and didn’t bring her phone because she didn’t want to be tracked.”

I agree completely with her comment here. Denise’s boyfriend Jordan was in Ohio at the time she disappeared. I don’t think there should be any cloud of suspicion on Jordan in regards to her disappearance, and I hope people aren’t putting suspicious comments out there.

Whitelilac wrote the following on Websleuths:

“A FB friend posted that “we can’t find her glasses. so she’s probably wearing them…”
Denise appears to have lots of friends who are worried….a lot have her missing poster as their profile.
Much hope there’s an explanation and that this lovely young woman is found safely…”

This is an interesting fact that I haven’t found in any of the articles about Denise’s disappearance. So clearly she was probably wearing her glasses if they can’t find them.

Creepcrusher wrote the following on Websleuths:

“I hope she knows she’s got a lot of people that care about her. I’m really impressed by how her friends have come together and gotten the word out so quickly.”

I completely agree with this comment. I am really impressed how Denise’s family and friends stepped up immediately and searched for their missing loved one. I was also impressed by how quickly her father and brother reported her missing and how quickly the Virginia Beach police responded the missing person case. I’ve looked into many cases of missing persons, and usually the police doesn’t get involved this quickly. The only other case I can think of where police got involved this quickly was the case of Jennifer Kesse, so kudos to the Virginia Beach police department!

Thedebut said the following on Websleuths:

“I love their use of other SM platforms to spread the word in addition to Facebook and the news. Where exactly was she last seen at 7am? It gives an area but not a specific location – home, work, school, friends house?”
Denise was last seen on Dunlace Way in Virginia Beach but yeah, I totally agree with this comment. I’m very impressed at the way her family and friends have been using social media to spread the news about her disappearance.

Creepcrusher said the following on websleuths:

“This is just worrisome. You don’t typically see a 22 year old classified as a runaway. I don’t think she ran away. Her friends obviously knew something was wrong very quickly. What does it take for LE to knock on the door of every sex offender in the area? Many of these close by SO’s are rapists. I hate to go there, but it just doesn’t look good at all IMO.”

Now I agree with this comment and it seems very logical. While I’m not in law enforcement, I would think this is something that law enforcement would look at. Typically, they look at family and people close to the missing person, then they consider locally know offenders. They also rely on the public’s help and tips, which is why we need to share information over social media to spread awareness. Someone out there knows something.

Creepcrusher also said the following:

“Maybe they got her on surveillance somewhere. She took a brown bag but didn’t take her ID, credit cards, or money?”

Now I’m not from the Virginia Beach area, but looking at Google Maps, the area where she was last seen seems to be a very residential area. I mean it’s possible that a home in the area has security cameras, and I hope police have considered this, but there doesn’t seem to be any commercial areas near where she disappeared. Well, there is a 7-11 less than a mile from where she disappeared. There would definitely be CCTV cameras there. There would also be CCTV cameras at the Navy Federal Credit Union located less than a mile or an 18 minute walk from where she was last seen. There is also a shopping mall area that is less than a mile from where she disappeared. There is a Target, Home Goods, Once Upon A Child and Primo Pizzeria Ristorante all of which should have CCTV cameras. There is also a Right Aid less than a mile from where she was last seen which should have CCTV cameras and there are other shops in the surrounding areas that should have CCTV cameras. I hope law enforcement have looked at all these locations for their CCTV footage.

Knox wrote the following on websleuths:

“Update on description: black shorts, bight colored short sleeve t’shirt (possibly red or orange), high top black shoes with some sort of bright colored accent (maybe shoe laces), carrying a light brown over the shoulder bag.…”

I find this interesting, it’s a bit different than the information put out by medias. I’m not sure which to believe but this was apparently taken from the #BringDeniseHome which is updated by Jordan, Denise’s boyfriend so that is most likely the more accurate information to go by.

Wendy44 also wrote the following on Websleuths:

“I don’t know her father, so I can’t really speculate on him, but I do know that her best friend/former roommate Miriam is a force of nature and I can see her swooping in immediately and gathering the troops and getting things organized. I think the initial postings asked people to contact her friends because they were being shared on social media among Denise’s friends and they probably thought one of them must know something. More recent postings I’ve seen ask people to contact the VA Beach PD.”

It’s nice to see that so many of her friends are involved in searching for her disappearance. I agree, her friend and former roommate Mariam is definitely a force of nature. I would also add Jordan, Denise’s boyfriend in that category. They have done a lot to raise awareness of their loved one’s disappearance so way to go Mariam and Jordan!
Wendy44 also said the following:

“I’ve read they have pulled surveillance video but I can’t find any confirmation of that in the media.”

I really hope she’s right here. Many cases are solved using CCTV footage. If she is captured on camera, it might show what happened prior to her disappearance. I’ve even seen CCTV footage of actual abductions taking place. Who knows, but I hope virginia beach police have at least looked into this possibility.

Wendy44 also said the following:

“At first I really thought she just decided to get some time away, for whatever reason. It’s not really like her to do that, but that’s what I wanted to think–maybe it was all the life changes. She’s a very level-headed, no BS, no drama kind of person and very loyal friend. If she had taken her car, I probably wouldn’t be as worried. But how far can she get on foot with no ID, phone, no money card? I’m constantly monitoring twitter and facebook hoping for good news.”

I want to be hopeful in this too, but the fact she left everything behind really scares me. It’s almost as if she left for a walk and intended to come back and someone abducted while she was walking. That’s really the only thing I can think of. But then again, if she went for a walk, why didn’t she at least bring her phone with her?

Wendy44 also said the following:

“I’ve searched, but I’m not sure what theatre she was talking about. She told her dad she was going to a “new” theatre, which I assumed was newly opened but I guess it could be a just a theatre she hadn’t been to yet. She majored in Tech Theatre and I believe specialized in Scenic Painting and Design.

They’re saying she was possibly last seen carrying a white grocery bag. If that sighting was really her, I wonder if she was carrying something from her home in that bag (and therefore was intentionally leaving her house, leaving her phone, keys and ID, and taking something with her) or if she had been somewhere where she bought something and either did not go home or never made it home.”

That’s interesting, I hadn’t come across this information. I do wonder what theater she was talking about. If someone knows, this might be important in finding what happened to Denise. If you now what theater she was talking about please call Virginia Beach police.

Elainera on Websleuths wrote the following:

“This begs the question: what was in the bag? Why would she take the bag but not her phone, id and bank cards? As she just moved back there, nobody is probably in the position to say whether any of her clothes or other personal items are missing.

To me this smells of self harm, obviously I hope I’m wrong.”

I don’t think she had any intentions of harming herself. She was an activist for suicide prevention so I think that outcome is unlikely, however as I mentioned in another podcast episodes, when certain items are left behind, sometimes it’s a sign that someone has decided to leave their life behind and start a new life. If that was Denise carrying a grocery bag, then it certainly does raise questions.

Wendy44 also wrote the following on websleuths:

“It’s looking like she was probably on foot, based on the social media postings in the past day. To answer the earlier question about the family being involved in the search, I saw a post that was public from a woman who was at the Mount Pleasant Methodist Church, about 10 or 12 miles south of Denise’s house. She said Denise’s father and several friends came into the church hoping to see surveillance video because tracking dogs had tracked her to the intersection of Mount Pleasant and Doolittle (she didn’t say if there was video or not).

Another public post from friends said they were searching Northwest River Park, which is about 10 miles south of the church, with a ranger’s permission and coordination. I don’t know if dogs tracked her there or why they were focusing on that park, but they felt they’d found clues and were getting closer to finding her. It does give me hope that’s she’s still out there and that they will find her.”

Now this is information that was not made public to medias, at least that I’m aware of. This comment really scares me. Directly off Mount Pleasant there is a body of water. If search dogs did indeed track her scent there, then she may be in that body of water. I wonder if virginia beach police have looked in that body of water. I have included a picture of the roads and a picture of the body of water. Now I’m not saying that Denise is in the body of water, all I’m saying is that it needs to be investigated if it hasn’t been already.

Evilrobert posted the following on websleuths:

“We’re not really a rural area, so the areas being searched are covered by cell towers.

Other things;
Red Mill is generally considered to be a more upper middle class neighborhood. It’s not really out in the sticks.
Walking down Indian River (through Pungo) to Elbow Rd to Centerville (which turns into S. Battlefield) to get to Northwest River isn’t a walker friendly route at all. Elbow Road barely has room to walk on the side of the road (which also contributes to the ghost stories). (To validate the other path if walked, which that one is rough too with no footpaths.)
Tuesday had a heat index of 107 here as well, for general information of those trying to reason out walking that far.”

So when she went missing, the temperature was 107 Fahrenheit, or 41 degrees Celsius. Now if the tracking dogs are right, then that means she would have walked approximately for 3 hours and 11 minutes or a total of 9.7 miles. I don’t see her walking that far in 107 temperatures but I could be wrong.

So now that I’ve looked into what other websleuths have to say about Denise’s disappearance, I will give my opinion. I believe that on the morning of June 19th 2018, Denise left home and intended to go to a local theater that had recently opened. I believe the fact that she left her wallet, cell phone and other personal belongings behind indicate that she wasn’t going far from home and her intention was to return home shortly. I believe she was abducted while walking to this theater and that it’s possible they may find her body in the body of water at the intersection of Mount Pleasant and Doolittle. I really hope that I’m wrong here and that Denise Martin will be found safe and alive. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.

Someone out there knows what happened to Denise Martin. Do you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Denise Martin? Do you have any information concerning the person or persons who may be involved in her disappearance? If you have seen or know Denise’s whereabouts I urge you to contact the Virginia Beach Police Department right away at: [phone]. We need to find out what happened to Denise Martin so her family and friends can have some closure.

This concludes another episode of the armchair detective podcast. I urge you to share this podcast episode all over social media. Denise’s disappearance is almost 10 days old and I believe if we use social media we can find Denise. Also, if you enjoy this podcast, then why not subscribe and write a friendly review on Itunes. The better rating I have, the more people will listen and the further the message can get about the missing loved ones. Thanks again for listening to the armchair detective podcast. If you want to follow me, you can find me on twitter @armchairdetecti and you can also find me on facebook. I created a group paged, just search for “The Armchair Detective Group Page” and send a request to join. I accept all requests to join. Also if you want to support this podcast, then head to patreon.com/thearmchairdetective and click on the Become a patreon icon. That’s all I have for today, again please share this all over social media, Denise’s family and loved ones need answers. Until next time, take care.

~Acdetective~

EDIT

I’m very saddened to say that the body located near father’s home was that of Denise Martin. My thoughts and prayers go out to her friends and family in this very difficult time.