Loading summary
Groons Advertiser
Spring always feels like a reset. The days get longer, routines shift, and life starts moving fast again. And when your schedule is packed, complicated wellness habits are usually the first thing to disappear. Groons makes that part simpler. Groons are a convenient, comprehensive formula packed into a snack pack of gummies a day. This isn't a multivitamin, a greens gummy, or a prebiotic. It's all those things and then some at a fraction of the price. Each serving includes more than 20 vitamins and minerals and 60 ingredients, which include nutrient dense and whole foods. It also has 6 grams of prebiotic fiber that is three times more dietary fiber than lean greens powders and more than two cups of broccoli. And because you can't fit this level of nutrition into just one gummy, Groons comes as a full daily pack, making it both functional and easy to work into your routine. With ingredients backed by over 35,000 research publications, Groons is built to simplify wellness. When life gets busy, save up to 52% off with code hours at Gruns Co. That's code hours at G R U N S Co. Picture this.
Shopify Advertiser
It's late at night and you're scrolling your feeds when all of a sudden you see it. That one product that you've been looking for. And as you're checking out, you realize you don't have your card anywhere near you. And that's when you see it. That purple pay button that has all your information saved, making checkout as simple as a tap on your screen. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all E commerce in the United States, from household names to brands just getting started. In addition to that handy purple pay button, Shopify can help tackle tasks like inventory, payments, analytics, and more. Everything is all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. See less carts go abandoned and more sales go with Shopify and their shop pay button. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com 48hours. Go to shopify.com 48hours that's shopify.com 48hours.
Narrator / Investigator
We're looking for this missing girl. Her name is Jade Colvin.
Friend of Jade
She was a sweet little ray of sunshine. Just an angel.
Narrator / Investigator
This is a cold case that could
just sit there and no one let it.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Jade went missing June 10 of 2016.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
At the time, she was 14 years
Friend of Jade
old, but she comes off as much older. She's super cool, super smart. So interesting.
Special Agent John Turbot
This one tugged at my heartstrings. We have families. We have kids. Some of us have daughters. You don't get to go home and turn off Jade Colvin.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
There were so many people that were involved in this. Lead detective, special agent, deputy U.S. marshal.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
I'm a detective. Everybody came together to figure out what happened to Jade.
Friend of Jade
I first met her through one of my best friends. And we were inseparable from that moment. We just always had a dumb good time wherever we were. She loved doing her hair. She was really great at colors. She was very artsy, had great style.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
They were just like sisters.
Special Agent John Turbot
I don't think Jade had an easy life.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
Her mom would disappear for periods of time. She was put into foster care. Jade just really hated it. She ran away.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
She kind of went from state to state, place to place.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
It was just hard to keep up with where she was.
Friend of Jade
But she always, always, always just would check in. And then one random day, just nothing ever again.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
Weeks went by, Then it's months, then it's years.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Once I was assigned this case, every trace of her was gone.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
When we initially adopted the case, she had been listed as a runaway.
Interviewer / Host
How do you know at this point? Is this a runaway or is this. Somebody took her?
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
We didn't know.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Jade's digital footprint last landed in Decorah,
Special Agent John Turbot
Iowa, really remote area that she did not know. She was there for several days and was never seen again.
Interviewer / Host
The last place Jade was living was here.
Narrator / Investigator
Absolutely. The house was straight on this driveway.
Interviewer / Host
There's a lot of places to look
Detective Chris Webker
for a young girl here.
Interviewer / Host
I mean, where did you even begin?
Narrator / Investigator
It's a needle in a haystack.
Special Agent John Turbot
I said, who are the last people that were around her who lived in the same house or who was at the same place? We don't know where loyalties and alliances lie at this point.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
We got a lot of tips.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
From Massachusetts to Oklahoma to Texas to Minnesota.
Narrator / Investigator
My goal was always like, oh, we're going to find this girl.
Special Agent John Turbot
That was the hope every day.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
We never forgot about her and just always wondered where she was. I was afraid something bad had happened. I would have never in a million years thought it would come to this.
Special Agent John Turbot
Natalie Morales reports. Jade Colvin is missing.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Why is that not going on? I myself have thought of Jade several times. There we go. When not at work, you get to do the eggs. I think of my own children.
Special Agent John Turbot
Whoa.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
If you went a day not knowing where one of your kids was at, maybe you'd go crazy.
Detective Chris Webker
Cheryl Nablo, mother of three, is a detective with the Des Moines, Iowa Police Department. She specializes in finding missing kids.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Nobody wants to be Living in a world where they don't know where their kid is or if their kid's safe.
Detective Chris Webker
In 2022, Detective Nablo joined forces with Deputy US Marshal Justin Wallace, Detective Chris Webker, and special agent John Turbot in the search for Jade Colvin. Jade was 14 when she was reported missing in June 2016 after she ran away from a local shelter for troubled youth.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
We are here to locate kids who run away.
Detective Chris Webker
The U.S. marshals Service had adopted Jade's case as part of a statewide effort to find missing children called operation Homecoming.
Interviewer / Host
What are the challenges in finding missing children?
Detective Cheryl Nablo
When somebody goes missing, they want to be missing. They don't want you to know where they are. It's hard to track them down at that point.
Detective Chris Webker
Jade had been missing for more than five years.
Interviewer / Host
Where do you begin?
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
You got to start at the beginning. You got to know who the person is. Their friends, their family, their whole background.
Detective Chris Webker
And they soon discovered Jade had a troubled childhood.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
Jade had a rough go of it growing up.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Things weren't the easiest for her.
Detective Chris Webker
Detective Nablo Learned Jade's mother, LaDawn, had died three years after Jade went missing.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
So I couldn't just reach out to her and talk to her about everything that she knew about Jade.
Detective Chris Webker
Jade's father, Kevin, had lost contact with his daughter. Both parents had struggled with substance abuse. Something special agent John Turbot explains had an impact on Jade.
Special Agent John Turbot
Jade Colvin grew up with, I think, a pretty dysfunctional family situation. It was difficult.
Friend of Jade
She didn't hold any of it. She just accepted it for, like, what it was and dealt with it and didn't let it get to her negatively. Loved her to death. Spent every day together,
Detective Chris Webker
despite everything. Friend Dane Lynn Grier and her mother, Jamie Koopman, described Jade as easygoing and upbeat.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
There was reasons she could have been angry, and she wasn't like, she was very light, light and bubbly. I met her mom. Her mom was very unreliable. She kept telling me, oh, how much she loves Jade and all that, you know, And I believe she did. Don't get me wrong. But she just couldn't make the choice for stability. She couldn't overcome her own demons.
Narrator / Investigator
Her mom definitely cared about her.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
I think her mother loved her. The state determined at some point that she was not able to care for her.
Detective Chris Webker
In September 2015, when Jade was 13, the Iowa Department of human Services stepped in and. And deputy Justin Wallace says LaDawn lost custody.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
That's when they took Jade into foster care.
Detective Chris Webker
For the next nine months, Jade was in and out of different Facilities and foster care. And she often ran away, run away,
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
been found, run away, been found several times.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Jade is doing what some other kids do. She's running away from the system. She's not wanting to be placed in a stranger's home.
Detective Chris Webker
When Jayde was placed in foster care, ladonn would have limited access to her, and she wanted more.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
She wanted Jayde to live with her.
Detective Chris Webker
But without legal custody, Jamie Koopman says LaDawn resorted to trying to hide her daughter from authorities.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
I think she was just trying to hide out to stay with her mom or to stay where her mom could visit.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Her mom tried to keep her out of the police spotlight, just trying to hide her out different places.
Detective Chris Webker
And according to her aunt Tandra Bruce, Jade became good at hiding.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
She would change her hair, she would change her appearance.
Interviewer / Host
So she really knew how to run away and hide.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
She did. She really did.
Detective Chris Webker
At that point, Jade was caught in the middle of a mother trying to do her best, who arrange stays with friends and family and being placed in foster care, but often living as a runaway.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
I felt so bad. I felt horrible.
Interviewer / Host
Did you tell her you can come here anytime?
Aunt Tandra Bruce
I did.
Interviewer / Host
Call me. Whatever you need.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
I did. Call me, and I'll be here for you.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
She was jumping all over for a while, so it was hard to track her.
Detective Chris Webker
The Iowa department of human services lost track of Jade after she ran away from that shelter. And in June 2016, I had hope
Aunt Tandra Bruce
that she was out there somewhere and she would get ahold of somebody eventually,
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
and then there is nothing.
Detective Chris Webker
Investigators learned Jade's family and friends spent years searching for her online.
Narrator / Investigator
We saw in the social media accounts that friends and family were trying to reach out to her and continue to look for her.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Everybody's reaching out to her at her birthday, saying, we love you, we miss you. We just want you back home.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
Every year, I'd go on Facebook, happy birthday, Jade. Please call me. We still love her. Anytime she wants to come home. It doesn't matter what kind of trouble you got yourself into. I thought she'd pop back up. We just wanted her to know, like, we were there for her.
Detective Chris Webker
According to deputy Justin Wallace, Jade's mother, Ladawn also posted she misses her and
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
wants her to come back.
Detective Chris Webker
Posts like this one from September 2018. It's hurting all of us so much. Please call someone, Jade, I'm seriously, physically dying of a broken heart.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
There was no response to any of those.
Detective Chris Webker
And when Jade's mother died a year later, there was still no response.
Narrator / Investigator
LaDawn passed away she never came to the funeral. She never showed up at the funeral.
Special Agent John Turbot
She.
Narrator / Investigator
She would have been there.
Detective Chris Webker
Jade's family and friends still held hope Jade would surface when she turned 18 and would be free of foster care.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
I had hoped she had run away and was laying low. And we thought when she turned 18, when it was safe, she would get ahold of us again. And when her 18th birthday came around and she didn't get ahold of us, we knew. We knew something was very wrong.
Detective Chris Webker
As Detective Nablo and Deputy Wallace worked to find Jade, they got help from state and national organizations that shared these missing posters on social media.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
That was huge. That's when a lot of tips started coming in.
Detective Chris Webker
And there would be a potential break in the investigation. A tip from a hospital worker in Minnesota.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
We're not too far away from Iowa. There's this girl. We think maybe that's Jade.
Detective Chris Webker
Let's check in on the serta. Counting sheep.
Friend of Jade
Why aren't we counting anymore?
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
Well, the all new Certa Perfect sleeper has the Q4 support system that helps relieve aches and back pain.
Detective Chris Webker
We'll never get counted again. Uh, nope.
Special Agent John Turbot
Certa. We make the world's best mattress.
Certa Mattress Advertiser
Confronting high credit card debt can feel scary because. But the good news is, if you owe $10,000 or more in credit card debt, financial relief options are now available. National Debt Relief is currently offering debt relief designed to reduce what you owe and put you on the fast track to becoming debt free. If you qualify for debt relief, you may be able to pay back less than what you owe and save thousands of dollars. Just visit nationaldebtrelief.com Imagine only paying one low monthly program payment you can afford and saving money as you become debt free. National Debt Relief has already helped bring debt relief to over 550,000 US consumers, earning thousands of five star reviews and an A rating with the Better Business Bureau. You're stronger than your credit card debt. Let today be the day you start turning things around. Take the first step and visit nationaldebtrelief.com to see what debt relief you may qualify for. That's National Debt relief dot com.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
We wanted to chase every single lead, every single tip as far as we could.
Detective Chris Webker
And when Des Moines PD Detective Cheryl Nablo got a tip, Jade Colvin might have been in a hospital in Red Wing, Minnesota. She was hopeful.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
A staff member had observed a female come into the hospital, and the person that she was with was kind of controlling the conversation. It drew suspicion, and they thought it maybe looked like Jade. So there was Follow up done to get the video footage to try to figure out who that person was. When you have a lead, you work your lead until you either prove it's Jade or prove it's false. And ultimately I was able to identify who that person was, and it was not Jade.
Detective Chris Webker
Additional tips poured in from all over
Detective Cheryl Nablo
the country, you know, ranging from Massachusetts to Oklahoma to Texas. People were definitely paying attention.
Interviewer / Host
Look at that. Are those all the leads that you explored and the different ways you went about the investigation?
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Yeah, it's a lot of leads. It felt like each tip was hope. Right. Because like, she could have been out there.
Detective Chris Webker
The first big break in the case came when detective Nablo was able to figure out how where Jade had gone after she ran away from that shelter in June 2016. Detective Nablo had obtained search warrants and got access to Jade's social media. Instagram messages from March 2017 caught her attention.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
You can see where her mom is coming to get her in Arizona.
Detective Chris Webker
I just talked to mom. Jade wrote to her friend Dane Lynn. She's coming next week. I'm in Arizona right now. Jade wrote to another friend. I should be back in Iowa today or tomorrow. Detective Nablo learned Jade had been staying in Arizona for several months, and it seemed ladawn was going to bring her back to Iowa. Detective Nablo also got access to ledawn's accounts. And on her Facebook, there was a message mentioning the town of Decorah.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Decorah is just a small rule. Midwest, Iowa town.
Detective Chris Webker
As detective Nablo combed through ledon's Facebook, she saw messages ladonn had sent to Jade and uncovered a clue, A mention of someone named James. Investigators learned James was James Bachmerski, a man Ladon had been dating for several months.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
Ladon and him met online. They began a romantic relationship. Ladonn would go and stay with him occasionally. I think one point was living with him.
Detective Chris Webker
Deputy Justin Wallace found out James Buck Mirski owned a farm in decorah, Iowa, and had two sons, Brian, aged 19, and James Jr. Age 21. Investigators gained access to voice messages Ladonn had sent Jade detailing a plan for her daughter to stay at the farm. She while she lived three hours away, dealing with some legal issues.
James Bachmerski (voice message)
You're going to live here until you are probably 18 and able to get out of the system if I don't already have you out of the system. And you'll have a good life, baby. It's what I want. I love you.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
It was just a temporary. I'm going to get right with the court, and then Jay could come live with me.
Interviewer / Host
How big a lead is that? Or are you thinking we've got a break in this case?
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Yeah, it was huge. I remember going over to the U.S. marshal's office, and they were excited.
Detective Chris Webker
The marshals reached out to local law enforcement near the Bachmerski farm for help talking to the family. And that's when Detective Chris Webger from the Winnesheek County Sheriff's Office officially joined the team.
Interviewer / Host
First of all, Decorah. I mean, where are we? What is this town known for?
Narrator / Investigator
God's country.
Interviewer / Host
It is God's country.
Narrator / Investigator
It's in northeast Iowa, kind of way up in the top corner.
Interviewer / Host
So tell me about getting the call to first, you know, start the investigation into this young missing girl, Jade Colvin. Who called you?
Narrator / Investigator
So we. We received a call from the U.S.
marshals, and they reached out to us and said, hey, do you guys know the Bachmerskys? Can you guys help us go and talk to them? And so that's ultimately where we started.
The goal was to talk to them and say, hey, look, we're looking for this missing girl. Her name is Jade Colvin, and your names were brought up in social media. What can you tell us about her?
Detective Chris Webker
They found Brian Bachmerski first. According to Detective Webger, Brian confirmed Jade had been at the farm. Her mother dropped her off and left. A few days after she arrived, Brian and Jade had lunch at this Pizza Ranch and took several photos together.
Interviewer / Host
So right here, this booth?
Special Agent John Turbot
Yep.
Narrator / Investigator
I mean, you look at this photo and you see, you know, she has a genuine smile,
Interviewer / Host
and it seems like they're, you know, sort of goofy, like, having fun with each other.
Narrator / Investigator
They got along, teenage kids and everything, and. Yeah, absolutely.
Detective Chris Webker
Brian told investigators he didn't know what happened to Jade. He said the last time he saw her was two days after their lunch at Pizza Ranch, around 10pm before he said he worked the night shift at Walmart. Brian claimed he texted with Jade until just after midnight when she suddenly stopped responding. Deputy Wallace wasn't convinced by Brian's story.
Special Agent John Turbot
There were.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
Several of us thought that we probably weren't getting all the information out of them.
Detective Chris Webker
That included Detective Webker.
Narrator / Investigator
There's something that doesn't feel right about this as to what's going on.
Detective Chris Webker
And there was something else that troubled Detective Webker.
Narrator / Investigator
That was the last time that she ever had any. From Facebook, from Instagram, from Snapchat. She never had another digital footprint again.
Interviewer / Host
And for a teenage girl, how unusual is that?
Narrator / Investigator
Extremely unusual.
Detective Chris Webker
How could Jade seemingly disappear without a trace. According to Deputy Wallace. Ladonn thought it was unusual, too, and she went to the farm to confront James.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
We were able to interview one of the friends who said she drove LaDawn out to the farm in Decorah. The friend stayed in the car while LaDawn went inside the house to talk to James Bachmerski.
Detective Chris Webker
Ladonn's friend told the marshals James claimed Jade ran away. Suspecting there was more to the story, Chris Webker called Special Agent John Turbot from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and asked him for help.
Special Agent John Turbot
Chris laid out what we knew, what the marshals had been able to unearth. And as I'm sitting there listening, I said, it's very likely that Jade is no longer alive and we actually need to start treating this as a homicide investigation.
Lemonade Pet Insurance Advertiser
If you're the proud parent of a puppy or kitten, you know you can't pet proof your entire life. There simply isn't a sock drawer high enough or a couch cover thick enough. But you can pet proof your wallet with Lemonade Pet Insurance. Whether it's an unexpected accident or a routine checkup, Lemonade can cover up to 90% of the bill. Plus they can handle claims in as little as two seconds. So before you turn into a complete helicopter pet parent, get a@lemonade.com pet do
Kaylin Moore (Podcast Host)
you have a dark curiosity? Heart starts Pounding Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries is a weekly podcast hosted by me, Kaylin Moore. Each week I'll take you on a dark journey through terrifying true urban legends, bizarre true crime cases, chilling tales of backwoods horror, and more. So if you're looking to join a passionate community of the darkly curious, check out Heart Starts Pounding on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. And remember, stay curious.
Designer Shoes Warehouse Advertiser
You know that thing where you get an amazing pair of shoes at a really great price and want to tell everyone about it? Yeah, so do we. Here at Designer Shoes Warehouse will give you something to brag about, like the latest styles from brands you love or the trends everyone's obsessing over, or shoes that make you feel like, well, you. So go ahead, show off a little. Buying shoes that get you and prices that get your budget. Head to your DSW store or dsw.com today. DSW. Let us surprise you.
Interviewer / Host
So this here is the farm.
Narrator / Investigator
Yep. So this is the where Bachmerskies lived.
Detective Chris Webker
Having established Jade was at this farm in Decorah, Iowa In March of 2017, Detective Chris Webger hoped new leads could be developed to solve the mystery of what happened to her.
Interviewer / Host
This farm really is at the end of the road.
Narrator / Investigator
Here it is the house at the end of the road.
Interviewer / Host
House at the end of the road.
Narrator / Investigator
You can see how secluded it is.
Interviewer / Host
This is a young girl who has a history of running away. When you get out here, is it possible, do you think she could have run away?
Narrator / Investigator
Our evidence showed that she didn't.
Interviewer / Host
And if you were to run away from here, I mean, there is just farmland and empty space.
Narrator / Investigator
I mean, direction. You're not from here, I bet you. Which way were we facing right now? I mean, she's not going to know where she's at.
Detective Chris Webker
When investigators first visited The Farm in 2022, James Bachmerski no longer lived here, and the house had been gutted and renovated. But the new owners let them look around.
Narrator / Investigator
We tried to find anything we could in the area, and ultimately we didn't.
Special Agent John Turbot
You have this farm where we know Jade is last seen. So we draw a box around the farm and we say, who's living in the farm? Who are the guests at the farm? Certainly the owner of the property, the one who's having contact with Ledawn and Jade is James Bachmerski Sr. And then you have these two sons, James Jr. And Brian.
Detective Chris Webker
Having already talked to Brian, detectives were eager to reach James Jr. Turns out he had an alibi. He wasn't living in the area at the time and was never at the farm with Jade. So that left James Bachmerski Sr. To be interviewed.
Narrator / Investigator
We had known from that initial contact with the kids that Bachmersky had moved away and he was in Georgia.
Detective Chris Webker
Special agent John turbot made the trip.
Special Agent John Turbot
We located the house, and it was out in the middle of nowhere.
Interviewer / Host
What's the mindset going into an interview and first interaction with somebody like him?
Special Agent John Turbot
I think, despite what a lot of people think, I am really trying to take off the police hat and a lot of the things that come with that. And I need to sit down with James, and I need to be John, and he needs to be James. And can we have a good conversation about this young lady? That he clearly had out on his property and has never been seen.
Detective Chris Webker
When John turbot knocked on the door, James Bachmerski agreed to talk. These are excerpts of the audio interview.
Special Agent John Turbot
Think one of the first things out of his mouth, if not the first,
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
was something happened in Iowa, and it's affected my life forever.
Special Agent John Turbot
I've knocked on doors a lot in my career, and that would be on the. You know, that would be an outlier for opening remarks. You're like, okay, is he thinking of something that, you know, I'm not. I'm making it clear. I'm talking about Jade.
Interviewer / Host
And he continues, okay, I have that clip I'm going to play for you.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
Do you know what I think?
Special Agent John Turbot
What?
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
We got to find answers.
Special Agent John Turbot
Yeah, I agree with that.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
All I wanted was to go to my grave to know that my kids had nothing to do what was going on.
Special Agent John Turbot
Yeah. Yeah.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
I don't know if they do.
Interviewer / Host
It's interesting. He said, I don't want to implicate my kids. Yes, but in so doing, is he implicating his kids?
Special Agent John Turbot
Well, it seemed like it. So he immediately is talking about someone being implicated, which says, in my mind, he thinks a crime was committed. Now it's a question of, was it me, Was it my boys?
Detective Chris Webker
James Bachmerski confirmed he was in a relationship with ladawn and that she brought Jade to his farm to hide her and keep her from being put in foster care.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
You know what I thought was gonna happen? What? To be honest, I thought we were gonna be a family.
Special Agent John Turbot
He admits that there's a plan to bring Jade back to Iowa. He's saying this woman was trying to reunite with her daughter and get to a new life.
Interviewer / Host
Did he say when in that interview he last saw Jade?
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
Yeah, to my knowledge, she was getting ready to do a bunch of laundry, and I had to go to norby's for something.
Special Agent John Turbot
Norby's, which is like a farm and fleet store. And the next thing I know, she'd vanished out of thin air.
Detective Chris Webker
James bachmersky talked for several hours that day. But after the interview, John turbot and Chris webker were still no closer to finding out who. What happened to jade? They wondered if there were any additional clues to be discovered back at the farm.
Narrator / Investigator
When he got back, we came up with a plan of what else can we find? And that's when we came across a neighbor that said, hey, by the way, I have this barn that James spock mirsky property is left in in 2018. He was left in a real hurry and left all of his stuff behind. And so we're like, oh, really? And so we went there and found this dusty old phone in a box.
Detective Chris Webker
It was James Bachmersky's cell phone.
Interviewer / Host
This was a real find. I mean, if you're looking for a smoking gun, you're getting a cell phone instead.
Narrator / Investigator
This was something that was unbelievable to come across
Detective Chris Webker
on the phone. They found these photos of Jade at the farm, and there's this one with her mother, ladawn, when she dropped her off. And Left. And this one from the day after Brian and Jade had lunch at Pizza Ranch of them at a bonfire.
Narrator / Investigator
There was a number of photos with them at that bonfire, roasting hot dogs
and stuff like that.
Detective Chris Webker
They're the last known photos of Jade on Bachmerski's phone. There were also text messages Jade had sent, including the ones Brian had mentioned when he said he worked the night shift at Walmart the same night Jade was last heard from.
Narrator / Investigator
Those last text conversations were monumental, in my opinion.
Interviewer / Host
So let's go through these a little bit. Here it is, Jade reaching out to him around a little after midnight.
Narrator / Investigator
It says, hey, Brian, it's Jade. And I always love this because, you know, the typical teenager saying, jade, you
Interviewer / Host
know, she's just checking in with him. Is it going okay? Tired yet?
Narrator / Investigator
Yeah, just, you know, just the typical conversation.
Interviewer / Host
And she's like, if you want to call on your hour break, we still can if you want. So they're planning for his break, like
Narrator / Investigator
within, ultimately planning to talk again that night on March 30th.
Interviewer / Host
And then he's like, well, I guess just text me when you can. This is 2 o' clock already. 2:03. He's on his break.
Narrator / Investigator
Yep.
And fully expecting that Jade's gonna be texting and doesn't get anything.
Detective Chris Webker
Those text messages, along with Brian's timesheets from Walmart, helped confirm his story and cleared him.
Narrator / Investigator
We're able to corroborate things he's telling us.
We kind of took him off of the table.
Detective Chris Webker
As Chris Webker and John Turbot continue to search through information from Bachmersky's phone, they say they made an important discovery. Several deleted messages.
Narrator / Investigator
Those were mostly family that was reaching out to find Jade to talk to Jade.
Detective Chris Webker
Including messages from LaDawn, who sounds desperate to reach her daughter. Please let my baby girl know I love her and need to talk to her.
Special Agent John Turbot
He's selectively removing what we would consider evidence or helpful information.
Interviewer / Host
Suspicious behavior then?
Special Agent John Turbot
I would think so.
Detective Chris Webker
But it would be two seemingly random photos found on Bachmersky's cell phone that changed the course of the investigation. One of his kitchen and one of his bedroom, taken just two days after Jade had that last text exchange with Brian.
Interviewer / Host
Describe for me what you see here. This is from the time frame of April 1, 2017.
Narrator / Investigator
So this is a picture of the Bachmerski kitchen. This is a very unique picture where everything is cleaned up, everything is organized. There's no garbage laying around. It's clean.
Detective Chris Webker
Was it a crime scene?
Special Agent John Turbot
And as we talk to people, Brian included He talks about the condition of this house when he had lived there and been there. He does not say that they were good housekeepers. I mean, it was not good. So to see pictures like this, this is way out of what law enforcement knew. This is way out of description.
Detective Chris Webker
And in another photo on the phone taken two months later on June 5, 2017, of Brian and James Jr. In that same bedroom, investigators say it appeared the bed was new, that the bed in the earlier photo had been removed and replaced.
Narrator / Investigator
The mattress is smaller, there's no headboard anymore. And you can see the condition of the room is back to messy.
Special Agent John Turbot
You're thinking, you know, evidence has been cleaned up. We are now looking at all of these pieces and it seems undeniable. It is time to tell him that case facts show us that you were involved in the death of Jade Colvin.
Noom Advertiser
Thinking about GLP1s to help with weight loss go micro with Noom. You start off with a small dose of medication, then gradually increase as your body reacts. The Noom GLP1 microdose program starts at $79 and is delivered to your door in seven days. Start your microdose GLP1 journey today at Noom.com that's N-O-O-M.com Noom micro changes big results. Initial three week subscription and four weeks of medication from $79 plus tax and $179 per month plus tax for 12 week subscription thereafter. Final pricing depends on program selection.
Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment
Noom Advertiser
of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only. Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms@mintmobile.com.
Special Agent John Turbot
The more time we spend in this investigation, the case facts just continue to all point in one direction and at
Interviewer / Host
one point person and that one person was James Bachmersky.
Detective Chris Webker
James Bachmerski Sr. More than two years into the investigation to find Jade Colvin, Special Agent John Turbot believes he knows what happened to her.
Special Agent John Turbot
I thought James Bachmerski had killed and disposed of Jade's body.
Detective Chris Webker
Now he needed to prove his theory. Armed with the photos from the cell phone, he went back to.
Special Agent John Turbot
The second interview is going to be different. Than the first I actually open with. Hi, James. I'm John from Iowa. Do you remember me? How are you, buddy? You remember me? No, I'm John. I'm the officer from Iowa that talked to you about five months ago. We sat right in at your kitchen table. And he's like, no. And I'm like, okay. So that would. Obviously, something would be really wrong if a human being could not remember that.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
I'm not even gonna lie. I'm not even close to being.
Interviewer / Host
He tells you that he's drunk. He can't seem to remember things. Did you believe him?
Special Agent John Turbot
I didn't. If you recall, in that first interview, his level of detail was fantastic. And then we get back and it's like, he doesn't know me. For starters, he can't place Ladan or Jade. And that all seems remarkably unbelievable.
Detective Chris Webker
Turbot pressed on, and he asked Buck Mirsky about those photos from his phone
Special Agent John Turbot
a couple days after. This little girl's never seen or heard from again, ever. This is your bedroom. So you cleaned your bedroom. Great job. See how clean that is? No, the floors are shiny. You see that?
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
So I guess you're thinking that there was evidence there that I tried to get rid of what you're saying, and I am telling you right now, I'll guarantee you there isn't.
Interviewer / Host
Guarantee you there isn't. What are you thinking when you hear that?
Special Agent John Turbot
Well, I mean, as you listen to that clip, he says, well, you must think I've, you know, hidden evidence or destroyed evidence. And I'm like, well, it's getting hard for me to reach any other conclusion at that point.
Detective Chris Webker
According to Turbot, Bachmersky had an explanation for why he took those photos.
Special Agent John Turbot
He floats the idea of, hey, I was gonna sell or lease the property, But I don't think that was ever proven to be the case. The truth is good. We'd agree, right?
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
The truth is. But I don't know what you want.
Special Agent John Turbot
Just the truth.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
And what is the truth? Cause I don't know what it is. What is it?
Special Agent John Turbot
The truth is where Jade ended up.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
All right. Where?
Special Agent John Turbot
Well, I'm gonna ask you that question.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
And I'm asking you because I don't know.
Special Agent John Turbot
I'm pleading with him to just talk about the truth, and he's admitting the truth is good. But we're not quite having a truthful conversation at that point. It is time to tell him that based on everything the case facts show us that you were involved in the death of Jade Colvin. And it's a very important moment.
Interviewer / Host
All Right, let's listen to. You're saying that to him at this point.
Special Agent John Turbot
Is that the case back? Show us you were involved in Jade's. You know, Jade's death. You do know where Jade's at?
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
Dead, Yeah.
Special Agent John Turbot
I told you last time, she.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
No, you keep saying death.
Special Agent John Turbot
She's dead. She's dead.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
What you say that she did?
Special Agent John Turbot
I think James Bachmersky just wanted to know, had we somehow pieced this all together?
Narrator / Investigator
You know what?
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
I already.
Special Agent John Turbot
We should talk about that.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
A long time ago. Figured I'd go to the grave before I tell the truth about this.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
Yes.
Interviewer / Host
I'd go to the grave before it. I'd talk about this.
Special Agent John Turbot
Yes.
Interviewer / Host
Did you take that as a confession?
Special Agent John Turbot
That's about as close as you could probably get at the end of that interview. Any doubt I had, if there was any, had been removed.
Interviewer / Host
You've got the right guy.
Special Agent John Turbot
We've got the right guy.
Detective Chris Webker
In August 2024, James Bachmerski was charged with murder in the second degree.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
My heart just dropped.
Detective Chris Webker
Eight years after Jade was reported missing, her friends and family, including her Aunt Tandra Bruce, finally learned the teenager they cared so much about was never coming back.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
You just don't want to believe it. It hurt me so bad.
Interviewer / Host
That she's gone.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
Yeah, that she's gone.
Detective Chris Webker
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown felt the evidence against James Bachmerski was strong.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
Jade was at James Bachmerski's residence. He was the last person to have seen Jade alive.
Detective Chris Webker
He had those cell phone photos of James Bachmersky's clean kitchen and bedroom. And the deleted messages from Jade's family
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
communications, like where Ladonn is looking for Jade,
Detective Chris Webker
and he had James Bond Mirsky's own words a long time ago.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
Figured I'd go to the grave before I tell the truth.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
Why would you make that statement if you had nothing to do with Jade Colvin's death?
Detective Chris Webker
But what Scott didn't have was Jade's body.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
Jade Colvin has never been recovered. Her body was never found. Usually there is a body. So a jury would look at that and say, okay, obviously a crime has been committed, but here we have to prove that a crime was committed, that Jade is missing and that she didn't leave on her own.
Detective Chris Webker
And with the case about to go on trial, would it be enough to convince a jury of Bachmerski's guilt?
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
How do we make that not only make sense, but make sense beyond a reasonable doubt? Is it enough? Certainly. That was a concern here.
Detective Chris Webker
For more than three years. Deputy U.S. marshal Justin Wallace says a Dedicated and passionate group worked tirelessly to try and find out what happened to Jade.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
There were so many people that were involved in this. All of us put in a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of effort.
Detective Chris Webker
That team included detective Cheryl Nablo, detective Chris Webger, and special agent John Turbot.
Special Agent John Turbot
There was never a doubt that we had the right person.
Detective Chris Webker
The murder trial against James Bachmerski, now gray haired, began in August 2025. Prosecutor Scott Brown explains how how Bachmersky's actions after he claimed Jade had run away pointed to his guilt.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
Why isn't he calling law enforcement? Hey, there was this girl that was staying at my place and now people can't find her. Why wouldn't he do that?
Detective Chris Webker
The defense argued there was no evidence Jade Colvin was dead or that James Bachmersky had killed her. There was no DNA, they said, no murder weapon and no damning Google searches. But there was Jade's history of running away. Brown says that's irrelevant.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
She did have a history of running away, but she always resurfaced. She always stayed on her cell phone. Why would she stop using her cell phone? That was a big hurdle for them.
Detective Chris Webker
Special agent John Turbot and detective Chris Webker say throughout the week long trial, Bachmerski, who did not testify, showed little emotion.
Special Agent John Turbot
He seemed emotionally detached.
Narrator / Investigator
He just tried to stay stoic.
Detective Chris Webker
And there was information the jury wouldn't hear. James Bachmerski had a criminal history, including a prior charge for harassment. And in 2013, Bachmerski spent nearly a year behind bars after being charged with child endangerment against his own children
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
and
Detective Chris Webker
took a plea to a lesser offense of assault. Deputy Justin Wallace described some of the violence as alleged in court documents.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
He had a metal chair with a battery hooked up to it, and when the boys misbehaved, he put him in the chair, which essentially shocked him.
Interviewer / Host
Oh, my gosh. I mean, when you hear that, are you already thinking the worst of what he could have done to Jade?
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
It definitely does creep to the forefront of your mind.
Detective Chris Webker
Deputy Wallace believes ladonn didn't know about his history of violence.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Justin Wallace
She probably did not have any idea of who he truly was.
Detective Chris Webker
That's something Jamie Koopman believes as well.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
I know ladawn would not have taken Jade somewhere that she thought this of all things would happen.
Detective Chris Webker
As for a motive for why Bakmersky would kill Jade Colvin, there was some
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
evidence that we had that he was attracted to Jade. He took all those photos of her.
Detective Chris Webker
When the jury began deliberations, Scott Brown Was confident in the case he presented.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown
Within several hours, we the jury find the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree.
Detective Chris Webker
James Bachmerski was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Considering he's 67 years old, it is essentially a life sentence. Jade's aunt Tandra Bruce was relieved.
Interviewer / Host
And when you heard the verdict, what did you think?
Aunt Tandra Bruce
I thought, finally, justice is being done.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
I was super grateful that the family was able to get that outcome in the case. It makes it all worth it. This was about justice for Jade.
Narrator / Investigator
Looking back on it, it kind of seems pretty amazing how it came together.
Special Agent John Turbot
Everybody just kept their head down and kept going.
Interviewer / Host
I think it gives a lot of people hope that there are people who are as passionate and committed as the team that went into trying to find out what happened to Jade Colvin.
Special Agent John Turbot
Yeah, this was very special for us, but there are a lot of police officers out there doing the exact same thing.
Detective Chris Webker
But everyone involved believes the case is not over yet.
Narrator / Investigator
My hope is to get Jade someday. This isn't one that's gonna stop for me. We all agree that we're gonna continue to see if we can find out where she is and bring her home to them.
Detective Cheryl Nablo
Just because James was charged and convicted doesn't mean that she. She still doesn't deserve to be found.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
I want to bring her home. I want to have a proper burial for her. I want somebody out there, they know something, to please come forward.
Detective Chris Webker
Until then, those who love Jade continue to struggle with their grief.
Aunt Tandra Bruce
I have pictures and, you know, I just want to think of her as when she was happy.
Friend Dane Lynn Grier
I talk about her. I don't let people forget about her. She didn't deserve any of this. And I never want anybody to think that she did anything wrong or that it was anyway her fault.
Detective Chris Webker
I.
Friend of Jade
I just wanted more people to know about her, that she existed and she was a person. She got everything she didn't deserve in life. She deserved the entire world. And she would have made the world a better place every day that she would have been here.
Narrator for Blood is Thicker Podcast
When beloved family patriarch Gary Ferris went missing, his family looked everywhere on their property until they came across something horrifying. It's a homicide.
Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)
Absolutely.
Narrator for Blood is Thicker Podcast
The blame game in this family was went round and round. This is Blood is Thicker, the Ferris wheel.
Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)
I would don't see how anyone can look at this story and think they were happy.
Narrator for Blood is Thicker Podcast
Binge the full series. Blood is Thicker, the Ferris wheel on the free Odyssey app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Detective Chris Webker
Pluto TV has thousands of free movies and TV shows.
James Bachmerski (Interviewee)
We're coming at you with everything we got.
Designer Shoes Warehouse Advertiser
This is the mindset free.
Detective Chris Webker
This is the mantra. This is the with movies like Pineapple Express, the entire Star Trek film franchise and Gladiator, and TV shows like Survivor, SpongeBob SquarePants, the fairly odd Parents and Ghosts, Pluto TV is always free. Huzzah. Pluto TV stream.
Shopify Advertiser
Now pay Never.
Podcast: 48 Hours
Host: CBS News
Date: April 20, 2026
This episode of “48 Hours” delves into the complex disappearance and subsequent homicide investigation of Jade Colvin, a 14-year-old girl last seen in June 2016 after running away from foster care. Through interviews with investigators, family, and friends, the episode untangles the web of a cold case—unveiling family struggles, failed institutions, and the determined efforts that ultimately brought Jade's killer to justice, even as her remains have never been recovered. The episode emphasizes the emotional and procedural challenges of solving a “no body” murder case, the impact on those left behind, and the continued hope for closure.
Notable Quote:
“She was a sweet little ray of sunshine. Just an angel.” – Friend of Jade (02:44)
Notable Quote:
“There’s something that doesn’t feel right about this as to what’s going on.” – Detective Chris Webker (20:59)
Notable Quote:
“You’re going to live here until you are probably 18 and able to get out of the system... and you’ll have a good life, baby.” – James Bachmerski (18:09)
Notable Quote:
“I'd go to the grave before I tell the truth about this.” – James Bachmerski (38:19)
Notable Quote:
“She did have a history of running away, but she always resurfaced. She always stayed on her cell phone. Why would she stop using her cell phone? That was a big hurdle for them.” – Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown (42:19)
The disappearance and murder of Jade Colvin reveal the tenacity required to solve cold cases, especially when evidence is largely circumstantial and the victim’s body is never found. The episode showcases the heartbreak of loved ones, the meticulous work of law enforcement, and the imperfect search for closure. Justice prevailed in the courtroom, but for Jade’s family and investigators, the case isn’t fully closed until Jade can be laid to rest.
If you or someone you know has information about the disappearance of Jade Colvin, authorities urge you to come forward. Her family and friends continue to hope for answers, closure, and a proper goodbye.