PERSONAL TRAINER ELENA MOORE MISSING FROM PLANET FITNESS

Summary

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: "PERSONAL TRAINER ELENA MOORE MISSING FROM PLANET FITNESS"

Original Air Date: June 16, 2026
Podcast Host: Nancy Grace
Panelists & Experts:

• Jennifer Wood (Director of Research, FITSNews.com)
• Missy Silcox (Lexington PD)
• Dave Moyer (Expert canine tracker, former law enforcement)
• Dr. Bethany Marshall (Psychoanalyst)
• Joe Scott Morgan (Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State Univ.)
• John Mobley (South Carolina Trial Attorney)

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Episode Overview

Nancy Grace investigates the disappearance of Elena Moore, a well-known personal trainer and fitness instructor, last seen at a Planet Fitness in Lexington, South Carolina. The episode dissects Elena’s final known movements, the response and theories from law enforcement, expert analysis around the search and evidence, and tackles the problematic tropes surrounding missing women cases.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Elena Moore’s Disappearance: The Last Known Movements

Timestamps: [02:48] – [06:45]

• Elena Moore, a personal trainer at Wolf's Gym, was last seen at Planet Fitness—“a glamorous workout enthusiast...this is completely out of character” (Nancy Grace, [02:48]).
• Surveillance confirms check-in at Planet Fitness at 6:40 PM.
• Witnesses and cameras later see her leaving (around 8:30 PM), walking toward the wooded strip behind the Planet Fitness, close to a Lowe’s and apartments.
• “She vanishes into thin air right under the nose of the FBI. They have an outpost right across the street.” (Nancy Grace, [05:30])

2. The Area & Timeline Analysis

Timestamps: [06:45] – [11:36]

• The area is suburban, dense with shopping centers: Lowe’s, CVS, Home Depot, and apartment complexes.
• Timeline:
  • 6:40 PM: Elena checks in at Planet Fitness.
  • 8:30 PM: Seen leaving, around sunset (sunset was at 8:37 PM).
  • Previously thought to have last been seen at CVS, but further review of footage places her last at Planet Fitness.
• Transit mystery: She traveled 3.6 miles from CVS to gym—no public information on whether she walked, drove, took Uber/taxi, or where her car is.
  • “Police have not indicated how she got from the CVS to Planet Fitness.” (Jennifer Wood, [11:12])

3. Search Efforts: Technology, Dogs, & Challenges

Timestamps: [11:50] – [19:54]

• Tracking dogs (both live scent and cadaver dogs) deployed, but no useful trails detected, likely due to heavy human activity and challenging terrain.
• “If she got into a vehicle, there’s not going to be any exit trail… the dogs would have something if she walked away…” (Dave Moyer, [12:29])
• Dogs would react to scent retained in cracks of asphalt or wooded terrain, but in this case, conditions likely destroyed the scent trail.

4. Surveillance, Cell Phone, and Vehicle Mysteries

Timestamps: [19:54] – [24:39]

• Lack of definitive video showing exit from the gym or the parking lot (e.g., entering a vehicle).
• Cell phone location: No active “pings” after her disappearance; possible phone disabled or destroyed.
• “If her cell phone is missing, and her car is missing, you’re putting an awful lot of distance on this. The scope of your investigation expands rapidly.” (Dave Moyer, [38:14])

5. Theories and Psychological Profiling

Timestamps: [21:34] – [32:37]

• Dr. Bethany Marshall raises concern about unknowns in Elena’s social/professional relationships, potential for stalkers, or someone with intent to harm.
• Repeated discussion of missing women being prematurely dismissed as “runaways” or involved with secret partners.
• Contested by Nancy Grace: “This is not a young woman who wants ‘me time’ or to go off with her secret boyfriend. That’s what police always seem to say whenever somebody goes missing.” ([02:48])
• Social media and image speculation: Attorney John Mobley suggests marriage trouble/fleeing for “sexy” image online—a point heavily disputed as victim-blaming by Nancy and Dr. Bethany.
  • “Everything he just said, I want to erase it all.” (Dr. Bethany Marshall, [30:19])
  • “Of course she’s posting photos of her physique and how great she looks. Who’s going to go to a personal trainer that’s totally out of shape? Nobody.” (Nancy Grace, [30:19])

6. The Husband’s Role and Missing Person Protocols

Timestamps: [27:08] – [34:19]

• Husband reported Elena missing ~24 hours after last contact.
  • Dispute between panelists about what the delay means—routine absence or possible marital issues?
  • “If my husband doesn’t come home tonight...I’m calling 911. Especially if he doesn’t pick up his cell phone… He better come home, especially if I’ve cooked dinner.” (Nancy Grace, [32:37])
• No public evidence husband is a suspect or uncooperative; police have not officially indicated suspicion or cleared him entirely.

7. What’s Next in the Search for Elena Moore

Timestamps: [36:21] – [38:14]

• Search efforts should revisit all possible evidence: cell phone, car, digital records, security footage.
• If items (like her phone) were discarded, dogs could help locate—“If there’s something with her scent, the dog would be drawn to it.” (Dave Moyer, [36:24])
• “If you know or think you know anything about Elena’s disappearance, please contact Lexington Sheriff’s at 803-358-7271.” (Nancy Grace, [48:00])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the scene being right next to law enforcement:
  “She disappears—right under the nose of the FBI. They have an FBI outpost right across!” — Nancy Grace ([05:30])

• On the complexities of canine tracking in urban settings:
  “On asphalt with cars driving over it.... trained dogs can do it, but those skin rafts, the biological matter, it spreads out and makes it almost impossible for the dogs to follow.” — Dave Moyer ([17:17])

• On victim-blaming and the tendency to dismiss missing women:
  “That’s the problem…when a woman goes missing, it’s her fault because she posted sexy photos…she’s a personal trainer, of course she posts photos of her physique.” — Nancy Grace ([30:19])

  “His initial comments were about how attractive she is. That has nothing to do with this, Nancy…this is her calling card. She is a fitness trainer.” — Dr. Bethany Marshall ([30:58]–[31:55])

• On the lack of evidence for either runaway or foul play theories:
  “This could go in any direction...But Mobley has brought up a really good point. The fact that they are claiming they don’t know if foul play is involved. But …we see that happen all the time when law enforcement says ‘Ah, she’s just having some me time’—and then she’s dead.” — Nancy Grace ([45:51]–[46:30])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction of Disappearance and Surveillance Details: [02:48] – [06:45]
• Area Description and Search Efforts: [08:13] – [14:57]
• Canine Tracking and Evidence Handling Explained: [14:57] – [19:54]
• Social Dynamics, Relationships, and Dismissive Theories: [21:34] – [32:37]
• Panel Disagreement & Victim-Blaming Discussion: [27:43] – [32:37]
• Speculation on Foul Play, Husband’s Role, and Public Plea: [32:37] – [48:00]

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Summary Flow & Tone

Staying true to Nancy Grace's direct and passionate style, the episode flows tightly around the facts, expert insights, and the fight against problematic narratives that surround missing women—especially those in the public eye. The panel moves from technical analysis (surveillance, dogs, physical evidence) to psychological and social questions, contending with less evidence-based but unfortunately common tropes.

The takeaways reinforce urgency, the need for thorough investigation, and a call for public information—while highlighting the dangers of quick conclusions and misplaced suspicion.

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If you know anything about Elena Moore’s disappearance, contact Lexington Sheriff’s Office: 803-358-7271.

Transcript

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Jennifer Wood]

What we know right now is that Elena Moore checked in at planet Fitness at 6:40 and shortly afterwards she was spotted walking around back by the Lowe's into a near a wooded area. Lexington police department have since searched that wooded area. I would like to point out it is not an expansive wooded area. I mean it's just, you know, kind of like one of those wooded areas that separates a neighborhood from a shopping center. So it's, it's really, it's a really crazy case. I can't figure out where this young woman has gone.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Now.

[Nancy Grace]

You know what's interesting, Jennifer Wood across the green is the FBI there in Lexington, South Carolina. They have an FBI outpost right across. I'm trying to identify it from here. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Look at that. Right under the nose of the FBI. She disappears. Now you stated Jennifer Wood joining us from fitznews.com 6:40pm and we've actually got her on surveillance. Is this her checking in or checking out? Jennifer? Let's see it again. There you go.

[Jennifer Wood]

Police were not clear as to whether or not she was checking into the gym or checking out in that video, but heard her time clock on her check in with her key fob was 6:40. So it's. I mean, and that is not a remote area. Lexington is very populous. There are neighbor. There are neighborhoods everywhere. Houses all over the place. Lake Murray, which is a huge lake, is about a mile from there. So yeah, I mean, it is just hard to believe that somebody vanished into thin air in that area.

[Nancy Grace]

Let's see the photo of her either checking in or checking out. This gives us a lot of information. See what she's wearing. She's wearing an army green. I believe it is. If you compare it to her pants, it's not black, it's army green. Zip up hoodie. She's got brown hair back and a bun. She's wearing black tights. It looks like she's got a Fiji Water in her hand. There are the witnesses. And we've got a time. We've got her fobbing in electronically at 6:40pm hey, Dave Mack, while you're sitting there, look up for me on the almanac. What time was sunset the night that she goes missing? There you see her again. Now she checks in around 6:30 to 6:40pm it's around 8:30 when she is observed walking away from the gym. This place has got to be saturated with video cameras. Saturated. But I want to know, Dave Mack, when you dig it up, just let me know. What time was sunset? Now what is around the area? Sunset was at 8:37pm okay, so she goes in at 6:40. She's leaving. Leaving around 8:30. Right when it gets dark. Significant. Now, Jennifer Woods.

[Missy Silcox]

You're.

[Nancy Grace]

You've been there on the scene. This is what I know about the area. There's a Lowe's, you know, the home improvement store right there. It's along Kaufman Farm Lane. We know the FBI is just beyond the green. And when we say a wooded area behind it, I don't mean a big expanse like the Carlton Reserve where Brian Laundrie took his own life. I'm talking about a strip of greenery between the strip and like apartments. The FBI and more. So it's not as if she goes and gets lost in a vast, densely wooded area. What else is around there, Jennifer Wood?

[Jennifer Wood]

You know, it's just like any suburban area there. You know, there's a Home Depot, Lowe's Pharmacies. I mean, it is, it is the strip where all the shopping centers are. You know, that's where we go to the movies as a family.

[Missy Silcox]

While the investigators were following the cameras throughout the town, they noticed that the CVS was not the last place that, that Ms. Moore was seen at. And that led us to Planet Fitness. When she exited the Planet Fitness, it's unknown whether she went behind the building or into the wooded area. We don't know if she walked behind the building, if she walked into the woods. Hence why we're doing the canvas search right now. So it's anyone's guess at this point.

[Nancy Grace]

Jennifer, what do we mean by a canvas search? By the way, that's from wltxnwis canvas search. What did they do immediately?

[Jennifer Wood]

So it sounds like they were out there with, on foot with dogs. They had drones overhead searching that area. They were very clear in their messaging that it was not a recovery mission of any kind. It was just a search to make sure that she was not in that area where she was last seen walking towards.

[Nancy Grace]

Guys, tonight the search is on for a gorgeous young fitness instructor. What do we know about her? Take a listen to Missy Silcox from Lexington pd.

[Missy Silcox]

She is a personal trainer over at Wolf's Gym. And the last, we thought the last sighting of her was at the CVS as reported earlier. However, once she left the cvs, she went to Planet Fitness and we have her clocked in on her little barcode and at 6:00pm and she left at, at 8, I believe, like 8:30 or so.

[Nancy Grace]

Some of that video we're showing you is from wltx. So thank you to our friends there. She is a personal trainer at Wolf's Gym. Now if you look at the police flyer about her being missing, it gives you the location of the CVS originally. That's was thought to be the last place she had been seen. No, she went from there. Let me understand this. Is this correct, Jennifer. She went from there to Planet Fitness and then seemingly just disappears into thin air?

[Jennifer Wood]

That's correct. Police have not indicated how she got from the CVS to Planet Fitness. I don't know. It is, you know, just a mile up the road. It's, it's not a long walk if she were to be walking. They haven't said whether or not her car was located. There were some indications online. Somebody said she took I cab, but there's not a ton of cab services in Lexington, so I, I, I'm not sure.

[Nancy Grace]

How far away is the CVS from the Planet Fitness.

[Jennifer Wood]

I mean, it would, it's, it's a walk, but, you know, it's not, you know, half mile, mile. It's not. For somebody that is as in shape as she is, wouldn't be a horrible walk.

[Nancy Grace]

Joining us in addition to Jennifer Wood at fitnews.com, an expert tracker, master trainer, K9 tracker, program manager for military contracts, former Navy bomb disposal master technician, former deputy K9 commander with San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, Dave Moyer is joining us. Okay, Dave, you've seen the terrain. They've brought out the dogs. To my understanding, as we go to air, the dogs gave me nothing. How can that be? Did she leave in a car? Let's just first start with what do you do with the dogs?

[Dave Moyer]

Yes, ma'.

[Jennifer Wood]

Am.

[Dave Moyer]

We would try to establish any kind of an exit trail based on whatever scent article we could get for our victim here. And I just use that term to identify the young lady that's missing. We don't know what happened with the time elapsed from the time she was last seen to the time she was reported missing. There's heavy, heavy human contamination all around that area. So it's a very difficult situation for the tracking dogs to, to obtain a track. But it is possible. If she got into a vehicle, there's not going to be any exit trail. So the speculation would be if the dogs didn't have anything, that she might have gotten into a vehicle at some point. It's not like she flew away so that there's really no other options. If she walked away, the dogs would have something to follow. If she didn't walk away, if she got into a vehicle or onto a motorcycle or a bicycle, that would not be something that they could track.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, wait a minute. Dave Moyer, of course, I'm just a trial lawyer. You're the master canine handler. But in the Lacey Peterson disappearance, canines could track her. And she was either probably in the back of a boat, covered up with a tarp, which does make a difference. They could track her scent. They were cadaver dogs all the way from their home on Covina in Modesto to the San Francisco Bay. A tracker dog could do that. Now, would the difference be that she was kind of out in the open, possibly in the boat under a tarp? But they did. A dog did track her.

[Dave Moyer]

That is possible. I'm not familiar with the K9 team that was involved in that. However, it is unlikely. There are extenuating circumstances where the environmental conditions are absolutely perfect and the scent is preserved, but it's very difficult in the summertime with the warm temperatures and also with all the human contamination that is in the area in question. For this case

[Nancy Grace]

you mentioned, it would be difficult for the dogs. Just walk us through it, if you could, in a very rudimentary fashion, how you bring the dogs there, how you transport them, how you keep them, their noses uncontaminated until you give them the scent. And then what do you do?

[Dave Moyer]

Yes, ma'. Am. Commonly, how we like to train the dogs is once the canine unit arrives on scene, another unit would have already obtained a scent article of some kind for the subject that the dog is supposed to track. That object will be then be placed, and whoever is handling it will be standing there next to the object at the place last seen. In this case, it would have been the exit doors for the Planet Fitness. You'll get the dog out of the car, give it about 5, 10 minutes to acclimate, go potty, do whatever the dog needs to do to relax, and that they're taking what's called a scent inventory at that point. They're kind of acclimating themselves to the environment and all of the odors that are in that area. Because, remember, dogs can smell millions and millions of times better than a human can. So if you could just imagine the assault on the senses that would be for people coming out of a gym after a long workout. The dogs have a lot of information to sort through. The dog would then be taken up to the place last seen and allowed to go out and investigate the scent article. And then the search command is given that tells the dog that this is the odor that you're looking for. The dog doesn't have to pick it up, it doesn't have to put it in its mouth. You don't jam it into the dog's face. The dog is already getting the odor off of that particular item. And we train for this over and over and over again through repetition. The dog understands that the article presented, whether it be an aluminum can, a cigarette butt, a footprint, an article of clothing, all of these things contain the human scent that we want that dog to track. These dogs are trained to scent discriminate. And if there is an exit trail that has been preserved due to the environmental conditions, the dog will detect that exit trail and follow it. Unfortunately, when somebody gets into a car, most people have the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on this time of year, so there's not a lot of odor escaping that vehicle. And as it drives away, there's even less. And it's not Enough for the dogs to follow.

[Nancy Grace]

Yes, that's a dead giveaway that somebody got into a vehicle when the scent suddenly ends. What about the dichotomy of the canines on asphalt around Planet Fitness and then going into that thin strip of wooded area?

[Dave Moyer]

I'm glad that you mentioned that. That's actually something that we trained for a lot in our urban training. Imprinting asphalt does not retain the human odor. Because remember, the human odor that the dog is tracking is an amalgamation of the biological matter and, and fluids that are falling off your body at all times. I know it's kind of gross to think about, but you're shedding thousands and thousands of skin cells every minute, Every movement you make, they're falling off your body, they're raining off of you. And the dogs are detecting this as these biological skin rafts are actually decomposing, that the dog is able to figure out which direction the trail goes based on that tiny, tiny amount. A matter of seconds between the fresher scent and the aged scent. That's how they're able to determine a direction of travel on asphalt with cars driving over it. And dragging all those skin rafts and the biological matter around it spreads it out and makes it almost impossible for the dogs to follow. But trained dogs can do it. These particular pieces of human odor will go to any place that's wet or moist, usually the gutters, any of the parking lot, raised parking lot areas, Cracks in the asphalt will actually retain some of these, this scent for longer than the open asphalt area. And when you get into wooded areas, it's just. And it's an immense amount of scent. If there is odor there, the dog will be able to follow that much easier than in an urban environment like asphalt.

[Nancy Grace]

So we've got her on asphalt, which is not going to help the dogs at all. And very quickly, before I move on to our next point in the search for Elena, scent dog versus cadaver dog. Explain. Did they bring in both?

[Dave Moyer]

Me personally, I would absolutely use both. Now, if this was a scenario where she was in those woods, her fresh live scent would still. Would still be there. It wouldn't just strictly be human remains. Sense that the two are very complementary when you're doing human remains detection and human tracking, because there is so much of the crossover or the mission creep, if you will, for the dogs to follow that, whether it's live odor or dead odor. So if she was in that very small wooded area, I would expect that a trained canine team would have been drawn into her, whether she was still alive or or otherwise.

[Nancy Grace]

Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Back to how she got there. From the CVS to the Planet fitness is about 3.6 miles, we believe, as Jennifer Wood was telling us. Did she take an Uber? Did you take a cab? What about her car? Jennifer Wood did she was her car in the parking lot? Where was her vehicle?

[Jennifer Wood]

Police have not given any indication that her vehicle was in the parking lot. So I am not sure. I mean, they've been pretty tight lipped about that aspect of the investigation.

[Nancy Grace]

I'm telling you right now, the mode of transportation is going to be very, very important. If she took an Uber, I don't think she would have walked 3.6 miles to get there. Maybe so because she's a fitness board buff, but I need to find that out. 3.6 miles to Dr. Bethany Marshall. Joining us, renowned psychoanalyst. You can see her now on Bravo and on Peacock. She's a star of a brand new podcast on the couch with Dr. Bethany. She's the author of Deal Breaker. You can find her at Dr.bethany marshall.com. Dr. Bethany, all of these, how do you say, experts giving love advice on meeting guys. They say things like, well, you're not going to meet a guy at the nail salon. You need to go somewhere like Lowe's or Home Depot. So that's where the men are. I don't like that in my line of business because there's not just men you want to date there. There's men you don't want to date there.

[Missy Silcox]

That's right.

[Nancy Grace]

There she is at Planet Fitness in the same strip as Lowe's. Weigh in.

[Dr. Bethany Marshall]

You know, Nancy, I want to know about her relationships with the people around her. What was she talking about? What did she talk to her friends at the front desk about? Because they're all fellow employees. Was somebody stalking her? Was there anybody at the gym who was harassing her at Lowe's, Home Depot, FBI, the pharmacy, all these other places? Did anybody follow her? This was a very active young woman. And you and I know from many of the shows that we have done before and the cases that you have helped crack, it's often women who hike, walk, bike along the same trail day after day after day who get targeted by serial killers, stalkers. So was this a typical trajectory or path for her to go to this particular pharmacy and then do a quick walk as a warmup on the way to the gym. Who were her clients? Was any client that she was training harassing her? Were they preoccupied with her?

[Nancy Grace]

Dr. Bethany, you're right. I want to take A look at all the people around her, not just the people there at Planet Fitness, but who did she speak to at cvs? Was she alone? How did she get from CVS to Planet Fitness? It's nearly four miles. Her car apparently wasn't in the parking lot. So what does that tell me? She had to have a mode of transportation. They're doing a canvas search.

[Missy Silcox]

Listen, we are doing a canvas search of the wooded area that is right adjacent to Planet Fitness because that's the last time that Elena was seen walking out of the Planet Fitness, and we didn't get any tips or anything like that. We just want to make sure that every square footage of this area is looked and no stone goes unturned. We pulled a lot of camera footage throughout the town, and that's how we knew that the CVS was not the last place that she was seen at. We had seen her bounce off of the Buffalo Wild Wings. And then over here by the Planet Fitness and Lowe's area, that is Missy

[Nancy Grace]

Silcox with Lexington pd. We're talking about Lexington, South Carolina. Did you hear what she said? Let me go straight out to Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, and star of a hit podcast, Body Bags with Jo Scott Morgan. He is also a forensic investigator, a death investigator with over 10,000 death scenes under his belt. That video from WLTX. Thank you for that, LTX. Joe Scott Morgan. Bounce off. Bounce off. Buffalo Wild Wings. Now, what does that mean? Does that mean she pinged at Buffalo Wild Wings? Because jump in. Jennifer Wood if I'm wrong, but we believe her phone was with her, but we're not getting any pings. Were there pings when she was near Buffalo Wild Wings, and now they're not? Did somebody tell her turn her cell phone off? Did somebody destroy it? You're my forensics expert. What about it, Joe Scott?

[Joe Scott Morgan]

When I hear bounce off, I'm thinking that she's caught by an external camera, maybe, you know, walking past that specific area at that point in time. There have been cases where you will have phones that will jump on local WI fi, and also that would mean that she would have to have proximity, like close proximity to whatever WI fi service there was. So my. My first thought is that they're seeing her on video, and this is kind of a progression that the officer is laying out here to talk about her movements at any particular time. I'm very curious about this. Wandering off behind Lowe's. Just looking at the satellite imagery. I was checking out just a second ago, there appears to be you. If you see Planet Hollywood there and over to the right and slightly down, there's a couple of retention ponds in those areas as well. You know, I found bodies in retention ponds over the years and you've got a lot of other establishments. I think over to the left there is a pretty good sized golf course over in that area as well. So where could she have wound up? Bodies of water are going to be my primary target area. However, I have to think about again, as our colleague mentioned a moment ago, she kind of, you know, there, there might not be anything there for them to track if she's gotten into a vehicle, Nancy, they're so many locations she could have gotten into a car or have been forced into the car and then all of a sudden she's gone. And there's a lot of ways to disappear there because there's major arteries running through that area.

[Nancy Grace]

But back to you, Dave Moyer. I agree with everything Jo Scott just said to the point of the retention ponds, because if she were on the golf course or she were at that retention pond, the dogs would have found that.

[Dave Moyer]

Yes, ma'. Am. I think there, there would have been a very obvious trail going through that small, those little patches of woods going down to the water. And all of her odor would have pooled up around that water. More to the point, with the temperatures that are out there, if she is in that water, she's going to be on the surface pretty quick.

[Missy Silcox]

Her husband is the one that reported her missing. At this time, we don't have any, any proof that she would be in danger. There's no, anything to indicate foul play at this time.

[Nancy Grace]

From Wis. Wait a minute. Stop everything. So the husband reported her missing. Jennifer Wood, when did the husband report her missing?

[Jennifer Wood]

Yes, the husband reported her missing on Friday. What time? They have not.

[Nancy Grace]

But when did she go missing?

[Jennifer Wood]

Thursday.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay. Joining me right now, a veteran trial lawyer out of the South Carolina jurisdiction, John Mobley. He is the founder of the Mobley law firm. John Mobley. Why are you smiling, number one?

[John Mobley]

Well, Nancy, you know, as always, I gotta call it. Like I said, you may not agree with what I'm going to say, but this is the deal. Every day in this country, people go missing. Men, children, elderly. But you let an attractive middle aged housewife go missing and the public has a psychotic break, you know, and I will tell you that based on what I'm seeing about this case, it's my opinion there's no foul play that this particular lady either A, is having a mental health crisis and decided to disappear, or B, there's a boyfriend in the picture. And I'm going to point a few things out. I would like you to take a look at that. I considered. I looked at you look at her Facebook page, okay? You look at all the photos you're posting. She's got about 4, 500 pictures posted on Facebook. Sexy pictures. Her in a bikini, her looking cute, her smiling, her with her friends. Out of all those pictures for a married woman, there's maybe three or four with her husband. To me, that is significant because people that are in happy marriages typically post pictures with their spouse, on dates with their spouse, on vacation with their spouse. Typically, women that are happily married do not post sexy bikini photos every other day on Facebook because it can be deemed as disrespectful to her husband.

[Nancy Grace]

Let me just stop you right there, Mobley. So far what I've heard out of your mouth is she slung up with a boyfriend. We have no evidence of that. She's way too sexy. And she posts pictures of herself without her husband. Do you know how long they've been married? Maybe they just got married. Maybe they're estranged. Maybe she had them post them posted and took them down. I don't know why they're not there, but okay, see, that's the problem. Dr. Bethany Marshall. Him. Him right there. Mobly, is a problem because when a woman goes missing, it's her fault because she posted sexy photos. Does anybody not hear that she's a personal trainer? Of course she's posting photos of her physique and how great she looks. Who's going to go to a personal trainer that's totally out of shape? Nobody. That's why she's doing this. But yet Mobley has extrapolated. There's no wrongdoing and she's just having some me time, some sexy time with her boyfriend. Bethany, that's a problem. Everything he just said, I want to erase it all.

[Dr. Bethany Marshall]

I want to erase it, too.

[Nancy Grace]

And he started the husband way a full day. I tell you this much. If David lynch is not at home tonight, I'm reporting him missing and I'm going out looking for him. I'm not going to be like Brian Hooker. All you see of him is tail hole and elbows running away from the Bahamas while his wife, for all I know is, is dead in the water. No, I'm going to look for him and I'm going to call 911 that minute, the minute I think he's missing. So he darn well, better come home on time, especially if I've cooked dinner. That said, did you hear what Molly just spewed out?

[Dr. Bethany Marshall]

Yes, I did, Nancy. It was very disturbing. His initial comments were about how attractive she is. That has nothing to do with this, Nancy. Whether she's attractive, what age she is. She is going to post pictures because she is a fitness trainer. This is her calling card. This is her. Just like I might, might post photos of me in my office, right, Because I'm a psychoanalyst. Or I might post a picture of a book that I found very helpful. That will be my calling card. You post pictures of your children because your audience is very interested in you and in your life. So I don't think the fact that she posted all these pictures without her

[Nancy Grace]

husband, that's why I post pictures of the children. I post them because they are the center my life, and that's that. And murder is kind of the only thing I have to post about that, actually. Continue. And put Mobly back up. Mobly, I see you kind of twitching during all of this. Go ahead, Bethany.

[Dr. Bethany Marshall]

One photo, though. I. I can't know. I don't know which one. And on one photo, she has her wedding rings on her right hand. And then in another photo, she has them on her left hand. I couldn't help but notice that. And maybe wonder if she was in a conflictual relationship with her husband, you know, switching her rings back and forth on from one hand to the other, just like Murdoch's wife had her wedding ring under the floorboard of her car. And it was a sign of her conflict and her ambivalence with him. So what I think is more important is that she has a lot of relationships in her life. She is a fitness trainer. She. She did not come home. What is the story there?

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, let me get a hold of John Mobley. Mobley, did you hear any of that or did you just put it on? We're talking. Because the first thing you say she goes missing is she's too sexy.

[John Mobley]

Exactly. That's not what I said. And, and that was kind of part of the process. And I think that, you know, in some cases, you know, there are certain advocates, there are certain professions that are always an advocate. If you're inclined to be a victim advocate, you know, or if you're someone in that mindset, then you're going to always assume someone is a victim. What I'm saying is you look at all the circumstances of the case, and I want to, and I do want to address the husband Waiting a day to report her missing. To me, what that suggests is it was not uncommon for her to just disappear and him not know where she was for a while. That's why he would wait a day, because she's off someplace. She's not with him, she's doing something. He didn't know where she is, and then she ultimately comes back home. So that's what him delivered.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, so now you're saying she's too sexy, she's got a boyfriend, and she's a tramp. Go ahead, say it. That's what you think.

[John Mobley]

No, I didn't say that at all. Also indicated she might have mental health

[Nancy Grace]

issues, doesn't come home at night, and he's used to it. That's what you said.

[John Mobley]

Well, that would be. Well, there's only two reasons for him to delay making the report.

[Chelsea Handler]

What?

[John Mobley]

Either A, he's somehow involved in her disappearance, or B, that's a normal course of her behavior. Now, if you're inclined to always believe the husband's a suspect, if you're inclined to believe someone's always a victim, then, yeah, you're going to go down that road and you're never going to turn around. So what I'm saying is, if you look at all the evidence.

[Nancy Grace]

Well, there's another possibility. What if he wasn't at home that night? For all I know, he travels. I don't know where he was. Look, if I were to suggest as a husband right now, that would do this investigation a great disservice, because I don't know that they've got reams of surveillance footage. Nobody has told me that we see the husband drive into the parking lot. They know nothing. If they knew that, there'd be three inches up his tailpipe right now. But Jennifer Wood, we've heard nothing like that. No one has implicated the husband. So just to name him as a prime suspect. Well, that would hurt the investigation. It would shut down investigations into other avenues and other inquiries. So, no, I'm not naming him. For all I know, he was out of town, he came in late, he went to sleep early and wakes up and goes, hey, what? Where is she? I don't know what happened, but I can tell you this much. If my husband doesn't come home tonight, Dave Moyer, I'm calling 911. Especially if he doesn't pick up his cell phone. I want to see her digital records. Now, it seems to me that she had her iPhone when she went into Planet Fitness. So where's the iPhone? Did she cut it Off. Was it destroyed? What happened? You heard Jo Scott talking about retention ponds. Was it thrown into a pond? I want to find out. Remember what a significant piece. Hold on, hold on. Dave Moyer, Jennifer Wood, you know this better than anybody. Remember fighting Maggie Murdaugh's cell phone exactly where, according to the black box in Murdoch's suv, he slowed the car down and let down the passenger window electronically and threw her phone out. The phone in that case was so critical because it showed him basically, even though we weren't witnessed, it wasn't witness throwing out her cell phone on the side of the road. We need this woman's cell phone.

[Jennifer Wood]

Where's her cell phone, the phone and the car? So I think there's. I mean, there's a lot of pieces, this investigation that we just don't know yet.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, Dave Moyer, what do we do now?

[Dave Moyer]

Well, ma', am, it sounds like they've. They've exhausted what they can do with their canine assets that they have available. They've checked the. Assumingly, I'm speculating that they checked the retention ponds with human remains dogs as well as the tracking dogs. Something of note that I want to mention. These canine tracking dogs, these trained human tracking dogs, also double as evidence collection dogs because that same odor that they're trying to track, if, let's say, and I'm speculating, a cell phone is thrown out of a car window and is sitting on the side of the road, the canine will be drawn to that because that article has the subject sent all over it. So if there was something that was associated with her somewhere in that area, the dogs presumably would have detected that because that odor will last longer than just a trail of somebody walking away. It's all over and again, for the sake of argument, a cell phone that's lying in the bushes. I've had many cases in the past where subjects involved in a crime of violence would toss a knife, or in one very good case, a hatchet tried to bury it in the sand, and the dogs were able to go from the trail. The subject ran away on divert from the trail and find that article that was buried in the sand out of sight because of all that human, that subject's odor associated with that object. So if she had an object that was in the area like we were just talking about with the cell phone, that's something they would have been drawn to. As this investigation continues and they find some more areas of interest, I would absolutely deploy the dogs in those areas to again, rule out that she's not in those areas. But with a car missing and a cell phone missing and everything else, you're just. You're putting an awful lot of distance and your the scope of your investigation expands rapidly.

[Nancy Grace]

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[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Okay, Dave Moyer, Every once in a while you say something that makes me really happy about the person burying the hatchet and it alerted the dogs. In this case we hear John Mobley say everything but she's been taken. I'm curious about what Jennifer Wood said as well. Where's her cell phone and where's her car? Why was there at least a 24 hour delay in reporting? So John Mobley, are you actually advancing a Gone Girl scenario? You know, with Ben Affleck? Remember that movie? Is that what you're saying? She staged her own disappearance? Like what what was her name? Sherry Papini. The super mom that stages her own disappearance and then shows up and blames three Hispanic women. Is that where you're going with this? She's not really missing.

[John Mobley]

It's certainly a possibility that cannot be ruled out. I think it's also too important to look at. You know, where she went when she left the gym. You know, she did not walk toward the parking lot. She didn't walk toward a car. She walked toward some woods. So I don't think she was going to the woods to go camping. She didn't have a rifle. I don't think she was going hunting. So the question I would have is why is she walking toward a wooded area when she.

[Nancy Grace]

Well, maybe she was walking to the back of the strip mall. Did you think of that? Again, just because the woods are also there? She didn't go in the woods. The dogs have proven that. So where did she go and why did she go toward the back?

[John Mobley]

So you have to consider that possibility. Again, I think that when a middle aged suburban housewife goes missing, often people are quick to, you know, claim foul play, believe that she's a victim. But I want to note that even in their statements to the press, law enforcement has said they do not suspect foul play and they have said they do not believe she's imminent danger. And that is extremely telling to me.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, for the first time since you started talking, I agree with you. Jennifer Wood, what exactly did they say? Mobley's right on this one point. Mobley, go ahead.

[Jennifer Wood]

You know, I mean, they really, truly have been. I mean, other than giving us the time that she disappeared, when she was reported missing, generally. They released their first notification on Sunday and they did the search yesterday. They've been really tight lipped about everything in between. I mean, it is just, it's so hard to even speculate without knowing how she got from one place to the next place.

[Nancy Grace]

And another thing, they haven't brought in the husband or made comments like he's not cooperating or he won't take a polygraph that hasn't leaked out, which leads me to believe he is cooperating. Again, I don't know if he was even in town when she goes missing. We can't point the finger at him. This could go in any direction. And Mobley has brought up a really good point. The fact that they are claiming they don't know if foul play is involved. But on the other hand, we see that happen all the time. Joe Scott Morgan, when law enforcement says, ah, well, she's just having some me time and then she's dead.

[Joe Scott Morgan]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I think as a death investigator, one of the things that I'd be very curious about, and we did this regularly, I want to talk to her physicians, whoever they might be. I want to know what kind of medications is she on, has she got any kind of health factors, and also want to know if she's on any kind of psychiatric medications as well. They should be doing a deep dive in that area. Anything that she is being prescribed many times that's proverbial, you know, handwriting on the wall, if you will, because you can go and look at this individual and see what their life is all about as it's dictated by those that are prescribing meds for her. I want to know what's going on with her from Jump street to try to understand this. I still hold to the idea that she is probably has gotten into a car with somebody. And there's a lot of places along this thoroughfare to get into cars. I was just taking a look at that. The Lowe's parking lot in particular, if you've never been to a Lowe's, particularly at that time of day, it's packed with individuals and guess what they're going to have, they're going to have CCTV coverage of that parking lot from multiple perspectives. So we have to learn as much as we can about her history, health and mental health otherwise. And also what does the CCTV information reveal about getting into a vehicle and just kind of vanishing?

[Nancy Grace]

If you know or think you know anything about Elena's disappearance, please contact Lexington Sheriff's 803-358-7271. Repeat, 803-358-7271. We remember an American hero. Deputy Glenn Hilliard, Wicomico Sheriffs, Maryland. Shot in the line of duty after 16 years, leaving behind a wife, now widow to Sheikah and three beautiful children. Trenton, New Jersey and Dehydra. American hero Deputy Glenn Hilliard. Thank you to our guests, but especially to you for being with us tonight. Nancy Grace signing off. I'll see you tomorrow night. And until then, good night, friend. Service opens doors. And at American Military University, it can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you. Learn more at amu.apus.edu Military open doors to the future for you and your family. With the help of American military University.

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[Nancy Grace]

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