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Greg Jenner
Hello, Greg Jenner here, host of youf're Dead to Me. In my new family friendly podcast series, Dead Funny History, historical figures come back to life for just about long enough to argue with me, tell us their life stories, and sometimes get on my nerves. There's 15 lovely episodes to unwrap, including the life of Ramses the Great Josephine Baker and the history of football, plus much, much more. So this Christmas, give your ears a treat with Dead Funny History. You can find it in the youe're Dead to me feed on BBC.com or.
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Nancy Grace
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Stephanie, just 13 years old, walks into the woods and disappears. No way. This little girl did not just walk walk into the woods and poof, disappear. And tonight, bizarre inconsistencies emerge amongst the various stories about what happened to Stephanie. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. A teen girl, Stephanie, just 13, is lost in the woods, say her parents. We're getting a lot of conflicting reports, the parents went overnight without reporting their 13 year old girl was gone. As we all gather together this holiday season, whether it's around a manger scene, a Christmas tree or a menorah, we're together as a family. Not everyone has that blessing, that luxury to be together during the holidays. Tonight, please help us bring them home for Christmas. People across our country missing, sometimes for days, sometimes for hours, sometimes for years. Won't you help us bring them home for Christmas? Where is Stephanie? It's going to be a cold day in H e double that I believe. A little girl, just 13 years old, walks into the woods and disappears. Listen. Despite extensive investigative efforts including a neighborhood canvas and video search along with an expansive grid search utilizing K9s from Maine Warden Service and Maine State Police, Stephanie is still missing. Everything is still on the table for us from her simply being missing to run away to the worst situation because we don't have any concrete leads or.
Chris Carson Sr.
Tips that have led us basically in.
Nancy Grace
One direction or the other. I find that very, very hard to believe that there are no concrete leads or tips. First of all, you're hearing from Special FBI Agent in Charge Kimberly Milka from NewsCenter Maine. Then Lieutenant Darren Karn from the Maine State Police. There is a lot going on in this scenario and to figure out where is Stephanie tonight you have to go back to the bizarre living conditions where she eight other children were living. Have you ever heard of a yurt? Y yellow U Utah, Rhode Island, T, Tennessee, A yurt To Chris Carson joining us, special guest joining us tonight of New Sweden, Maine, a neighbor of the Stephanie Dameron family. Chris, I want to thank you for being with us tonight because not very many people are willing to speak out and I think I know why, but I'll get to that in a moment. Now some of the children along with the mom and dad had left the yurt which has no heating, no air condition, certainly no wi fi. The mom and dad had gone up the street to live in a camper that had heating, water, the works. Leaving Stephanie and other children there with the grandpa, no blood relation. So tell me about the yurt that these children were living in.
Chris Carson Sr.
Originally when they first moved here, their yurt was built beside the road, two by four kind of style looking octagon and they actually carried it a quarter mile back through their wood cutted road that was gone and then just been adding to it. One of our neighbors, Art was down in there once and it was just cardboard and tar paper and stuff like that added onto the sides of this thing. They did have a wood stove on the inside of it to keep it warm, but it was very poor conditions at that time.
Nancy Grace
I'm just trying to understand how the mom and dad move up the street into a camper off to them by a friend that has heating and has running water and other amenities, leaving their children behind in a yurt with grandpa who is not even their, their blood relative. I don't know where this guy factors in, but how many children, how many people, to the best of your knowledge, Kris Carson, were living in the yurt.
Chris Carson Sr.
At that time? When the parents moved up, it was just Richard, Stephanie and Star. So just the three of them. But before that it would have been all of them down. I believe it'd be seven.
Nancy Grace
Speaking of grandpa, to Chrissy Rand, volunteer searcher for Stephanie. She knows these woods like the back of her hands by now. Question Christy, who is grandpa? That would be 80 year old Richard Turgeon.
Kristi Rand
Richard is a friend of more than 15 years of Dale's. He helped Dale through a rough path a long time ago. They became close, bonded. He helped the family to kind of get on their feet and through some of these moves and transitions, he's followed them from state to state for many years.
Nancy Grace
Okay, right there you really got my attention, state to state. Joining me now, Dave Mack, crime Stories investigative reporter. I've done a little research on why they have gone from one state starting in Texas to another to another. Now they've landed way off the grid in Maine. Dave Mack, these eight children, they don't all belong biologically to Dale Dameron, do they?
Dave Mack
Actually, Lisa Marie Dameron was married at the time she met Dale Dameron and had been in an 18 year marriage and four of the children are from that marriage, four of the eight children she has had.
Nancy Grace
Now isn't it true? Dave Mack, let's be specific. Just before a court hearing where the mom, Elisa, now Dameron was to appear, she took off and she and Dale took the four children by the bio dad and left the state. Isn't that true?
Dave Mack
That is exactly what the biological father of those children, her first husband had to say that they had an upcoming custody hearing and she left. She took the kids and took off and he has not seen them since and didn't know where they were until this story broke.
Nancy Grace
Well, I just wonder. You know, Brian Fitzgibbons, you're the director of operations, USPA Nationwide Security. You lead a team of investigators that go around the world trying to find people. That's your specialty. Uspasecurity.com. brian maybe he couldn't find his four children because they're living in a yurt in New Sweden, Maine, way off the grid. You heard Chris Carson say you can hardly get up the driveway, such as it is. Let's see a shot of this place. There's no phone, there's no electricity, there's no heating, much less air condition. No wonder he couldn't find his children.
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Brian Fitzgibbons
And just to give folks some perspective, you know, this is almost five hours north of Portland, Maine and you know, another almost eight hours north of Boston up by the, in the northern tip of Maine by the Canadian border. So you know, this yurt living with no connectivity, no cell phones. This is a very difficult and challenging case for investigators to get any leads or information to track down.
Nancy Grace
To Kristi Rand joining us, volunteer searcher. She's been out beating the bushes trying to find then 13 year old Stephanie who's just a beautiful little girl. I can't imagine her alone out in that wilderness. I know canines were brought in and I'm going to get to that. But they didn't pick up her scent, which makes me suspect everybody's story because I trust a dog. Best witness I ever put on the stand, Christy was a dog that said Christy. I'm biased in this case because I've learned that there was another young daughter, now an adult that ran away as well and she won't say why she ran away. Isn't that true?
Kristi Rand
Yes, that's definitely true. Lisa's oldest child would be one of the eight children being mentioned. She is grown now, lives out of state, obviously is nowhere near where they are in New Sweden and just wants nothing to do with them.
Nancy Grace
See, you know, that is for me, my worst nightmare, that I'm cut off from my children or I'm away from my children, that would be hell to me. People say, what is hell? That would be hell to me. She ran away. And I guarantee you there's a reason why, Because I mean, think about it. Dr. Jeff Kalashevsky is joining us, a renowned forensic psychologist, author of Dark Sides and you can find him on YouTube, by the way. Dr. Jeff Kalashevsky, forensic psychologist it's like relationships when you break up and you break up and you break up over and over and over, the relationships don't work out. At some point you have to think, wait, wait a minute, I'm the common denominator. Maybe I have the problem. When you have one child run away, I don't know whose fault that is. But when you start getting More than one child running away. Both girls who run away at about the same time in their lives, the parents are the ones. They're the common denominator. That's true. And the one thing about this case.
Chris Carson Sr.
From what we know already, is that this hopping from state to state, living.
Nancy Grace
In a rural area, off the grid.
Chris Carson Sr.
My big question is it sounds like.
Brian Fitzgibbons
There'S a lot of secrets going on in this family or family situation that could be part of the reason why.
Nancy Grace
Children are running away off dissecting what happened in the past. Why did the other daughter run away by the same time Stephanie Dameron disappears, walks into the woods and poof. Disappears. That's not true. That is not what happened. I don't know what happened yet, but it ain't that. Let's go to that night. Listen.
Dave Mack
After a serious argument about chores, Stephanie goes for a walk.
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Lisa and Dale Damron are in town.
Dave Mack
On a job interview when Star calls to tell them about the argument and Stephanie running into the woods. It is 3pm and the Damrons think Stephanie will return shortly. As the sun goes down and Stephanie hasn't returned, the Damrons are concerned and.
Nancy Grace
Take to the woods calling out for Stephanie. When Stephanie hasn't returned, the next morning, the Damrons report her missing. Let me understand exactly. To Dave Matt, crime stories investigative reporter, what are they saying happened to Stephanie?
Dave Mack
They were not home when this happened. And that that Gail was at a job interview and they got a text from stars saying there'd been an argument and Stephanie took off. I mean, that's the story that they stick with, but it makes absolutely no sense because of where they're located. Nancy, there's no restaurant in town nearby. There is nothing but open space. So there's no place for her to have just gone and left. And without being in the woods, I mean, she'd have been found. It's just impossible.
Nancy Grace
I asked you what they said and that is what they said. And I want to follow up on that. You can't just drop a bomb on me and not expect me to react to Chris Carson Sr. Joining us from New Sweden. He's one of the only people with the backbone to speak out about what happened to Stephanie. He's a neighbor of the Damron family. I've got a question. I thought Dale Dameron was on disability. What? What job interview did he say he had?
Chris Carson Sr.
It was Ruby Tuesdays.
Nancy Grace
Did he get the job? I'm curious.
Chris Carson Sr.
Yeah, he says that he did and he worked there for a little bit, but the boss fired him because of the Implications of Stephanie being missing.
Nancy Grace
So what I'm getting at right now, Chris Carson Sr. Is did he really have a job interview that day?
Chris Carson Sr.
I do not know. No one's actually tried to even confirm that.
Nancy Grace
Okay, well, okay, that's interesting. No one has tried to confirm it, even if he did have a job interview that day. And let's just go with that. He did have a job interview that day and apparently the wife felt she had to go along. And coincidentally it was then that Stephanie, then 13, disappears into the woods, never to be seen again. Now here we have dad, Dale Dameron first explanation as to what happened to his daughter.
Dale Dameron
Listen, her sister and her got into an argument. Stephanie, from what I was told, took off through the woods. The trail used to be real prevalent through there and it would go straight down to where the mud hole was. The kids would go down there, catch tadpoles and everything. And that's what everybody up here assumed she had done, was cut through the woods, went down the trail, down to the mud hole and play. Well, when we came home, that video.
Nancy Grace
From our friends at CBS News, they got home, no Stephanie. So maybe it's just me, Kristi Rand, but when I can't find one of my children, I don't know where they are, I immediately try to find them. Okay, why did they wait until the next day to report her missing?
Kristi Rand
Well, according to the parents, Stephanie would walk away and kind of burn off steam, do exactly what they're saying, go for a walk and then return home eventually. So at first they didn't immediately panic. They, according to to them, they assumed that she would return home. I, I'll never understand why they didn't make a phone call as soon as it got dark. But maybe Stephanie was known to stay out all night just wandering the woods of New Sweden. I've never heard. Chris would know better. I don't think he'd ever seen Stephanie.
Nancy Grace
Just what did you just say, Christy? That this 13 year old little girl was known for staying in the woods all night.
Kristi Rand
They say that she was known to go for walks and blow off steam and for some reason they didn't become alarmed when it got dark.
Nancy Grace
Well, going for a walk and spending the night in the woods are two very, very different things. To anyone on the panel tonight, has there been a suggestion that she would sleep in the woods at night? I've never heard that till this very moment. Is that true?
Chris Carson Sr.
I have never heard of that either. That's the first time.
Nancy Grace
Okay, all right. I never heard that. Maybe that's just Someone's speculation. Okay. What does the father, Dale Dameron, have to say about not reporting her missing?
Dale Dameron
Where we live at and the way we live first few hours, there was no reason to raise a red flag. So we got the phone calls that she took off up the road and we figured by the time we get home, she'd be back and that would.
Nancy Grace
Be the end of it.
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Stephanie still hasn't returned an hour and a half later. Stephanie is very familiar with the woods near their home and they check all her usual spots but find no trace of the 13 year old. The family doesn't think Stephanie would have headed to the main road. But as they walk the half mile trail leading to the street, Grandpa and some of her siblings remember hearing some kind of vehicle pass by just a few minutes after Stephanie left.
Nancy Grace
You heard Dale Dameron speaking to on patrol live. We asked Mr. And Mrs. Dameron to join us tonight. They did not want to answer questions about Stephanie's disappearance. Then nighttime falls as sunset approaches with no sign of Stephanie, the Damerons become increasingly concerned that Stephanie is no longer in the area. The teen isn't responding to anyone screaming her name.
Kristi Rand
She does not have her own cell phone and temperatures have Dr.
Nancy Grace
Dropped more than 10 degrees. First thing in the morning, the Damerons.
Kristi Rand
Officially report Stephanie missing.
Nancy Grace
Tell me about the search that then ensued. Of course, law enforcement had lost 24 critical hours by the time Stephanie was reporting. Was reported missing at just 13 years old. Please continue showing photos of Stephanie while we're talking in case it sparks anyone's memory. What happened then? CHRIS Carson sr. Joining us, the Dameron family neighbor. When did you first discover Stephanie was missing?
Chris Carson Sr.
When I, Kelly and I first realized that she was missing. It was a few days after they actually called the police, the authorities. My neighbor Doug came over. Him and I were getting ready to go to town and Lisa stopped in and asked. He calls him Mr. Doug if he had it in camera across the road from the joint, right across the road from the Damron's property. And then after Steve found out, no, he doesn't. He was like, oh, it's because Stephanie was missing again.
Nancy Grace
What was his demeanor when he told you Stephanie, his daughter was missing?
Chris Carson Sr.
It was Lisa that told us and she was actually kind of calm.
Nancy Grace
CHRIS CARSON sr. You're telling me you didn't realize until how many hours later that Stephanie was missing until Lisa Dameron told you? How long had it been?
Chris Carson Sr.
It wasn't hours. It was a couple days.
Nancy Grace
And you're their next door neighbor?
Chris Carson Sr.
Yep, right. Next door neighbor. Stephanie used to come here through the summer.
Nancy Grace
You know, it's interesting to me to Franz Borghardt. He is a high profile lawyer, criminal defense attorney, founder of the Borghardt Law firm, former prosecutor, professor, lsu, on and on and on. Franz When I put a witness on the stand, I weigh their credibility before I put them up to a jury. If they've got problems, I tell the jury in the opening statement, I'm going to put this guy up. And he let's just say he has a record or he has lied in the past or whatever his problem is. So they know the problems. One thing I look at is whether they are willing to come forward tonight. Chris Carson is joining us willingly, but the mother and father won't speak out. They are in the middle of a search for their daughter, yet they're shrinking violets when it comes to answering my questions and asking the public for help. And I've got a problem because what Carson is telling me is very different from what the dad has been saying.
Dave Mack
Listen, Damron says in the first half hour after returning home from his job interview at Ruby Tuesday, he was knocking on every neighbor's door, notifying them Stephanie was missing. But neighbor Doug Tinsley says he and other neighbors Chris and Shelly Carson were not told for two days. Tinsley said he and Carson were the first in the group notified about the disappearance, but not until 4:50pm Sept. 25, more than 48 hours after Damron claims he notified everyone in the first half.
Dale Dameron
Hour of me being home. I had already knocked on at least every door between here and the beginning of the road on one way and the creek turn off the other way.
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Greg Jenner
Greg Jenner here, host of youf're Dead to Me. In my new family friendly podcast series Dead Funny History, historical figures come back to life for just about long enough to argue with me, tell us their life stories, and sometimes get on my nerves. There's 15 lovely episodes to unwrap, including the life of Ramses the Great Josephine Baker and the history of football, plus much, much more. So this Christmas Give Yourself is a treat with Dead Funny History. You can find it in the you're Dead to me feed on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts this holiday.
iHeartRadio Host
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Nancy Grace
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. You were just hearing the bio dad Dale Dameron on locating the lost describing Franz Borghardt, how he went all the way to the creek on one end and all the way to the highway on the other end. And that encompasses the home of Kris Carson and the other neighbor, Doug Tinsley. They say nobody told them she was missing for two days. Now who am I supposed to believe?
Brian Fitzgibbons
Well, if I'm defending Dale, Dale's certainly not coming on your show, Nancy, because his consistent, inconsistent statements are going to make my job very difficult.
Nancy Grace
That said, I Look, these guys clearly.
Brian Fitzgibbons
Aren'T going to win any parenting awards, and they really weren't even guarding the kid anyway.
Nancy Grace
Okay, I don't know anything that you just said. It's like defense lawyer babble I asked you who to believe and you start talking about a parenting award. Nobody's walking out of this crowned Miss Congeniality or Miss Sweet Potato. That's not happening tonight, but I find it very, very disturbing. Kristi Rand joining us in addition to Chris Carson, the neighbor, Kristi Rand has been out searching for Stephanie. Did you come in contact with any person that stated that night, that day when she was finally reported missing, that the parents, the parents told them Stephanie's gone. Have you seen her? Anybody?
Kristi Rand
No, never. I want answers. Why? You are saying you were screaming Stephanie's name in the woods but your closest neighbors didn't even hear it. So the night Stephanie went missing, not only did you not knock on their doors, but you're claiming you were screaming her name in the woods all night and no one heard it.
Nancy Grace
You know what, Kris Carson joining us, the neighbor, Chris, I want to tell you what happened a couple of weeks ago. I heard a neighbor was ill and I took them some food. I knocked on the door and I said, hey, I'm your catty corner neighbor. And she said, are you the woman looking for her cat? I went, well, that was a while ago. She goes, that's when I first met you. I don't know if you remember, you were walking up and down the whole neighborhood screaming, cinnamon, Cinnamon. That's the name of our cat. And then you went by the next day in a car screaming out the window, cinnamon. We heard you in the house. That was for the cat, Chris, the cat who we found, by the way. That was for the cat. And they didn't do this for their daughter, their 13 year old girl.
Chris Carson Sr.
They haven't talked to any of the neighbors about anything. And it's just very, very odd why they didn't because we all would have jumped. And if we liked the Damrons or not, it doesn't matter. All of us would have jumped up and got in our cars and walked through the woods right at that moment.
Nancy Grace
And I want to stress that as of tonight as we go to air, neither Dale Dameron nor his wife have been charged. They have not been named a person of interest, a suspect. Neither has the fake grandpa that lives with the two little girls. So why is there confusion about what happened to 13 year old Stephanie? The FBI has been called in on the search for Stephanie. This little girl, just 13 years old, was either running away from something or running to something, something tonight. Where is Stephanie? What about the search once the parents finally report her missing? Not really even going up and down the street calling for her as the dad says they did, according to neighbors. What happened during the search? Listen.
Dave Mack
The Damrons contact the Maine State Police and organized searches begin. Investigators conduct a neighborhood canvas and video search. K9 teams and volunteers conduct grid searches over the Damron's property for days.
Dale Dameron
And I honestly think that she got picked up by somebody. She thought she was going to come home that night and they didn't bring her home. The harsh reality of it is I don't think she's anywhere in New Sweden. I believe she walked out to the end of the driveway, had somebody on there that she found a number and they swapped numbers back and forth and she met him up at the top of the road.
Nancy Grace
Okay, that's not what the witnesses say happened. You were hearing the dad speaking on locating the lost. This is something I don't quite get. Kris Carson Sr. The neighbor of the Damron family. Who is she supposed to be? This is a 13 year old little girl, just turned 13. She's home schooled, so they say she has no contact with the rest of the world. She and her sister, the older sister Star, do puzzles that they get from the library. Occasionally they're way up a dirt trail living in a yurt. If they don't have heat, air conditioner, water, they have to go up to the camper how a mile away and drag water back down on a toboggan. Yet I'm supposed to believe what the dad's saying is that she has Internet access. He's also saying she went to the end of the driveway and somebody picked her up. Nobody saw that happen, nobody heard that happen. And they in fact say the opposite, that she walked into the woods and quote, disappeared. So they have WI fi.
Chris Carson Sr.
At the time when Stephanie went missing, the only WI fi capabilities that they had was from a cell phone. I believe they were on a huge mobile network and you can. It barely works. They really didn't get Starlink until after Stephanie was missing.
Nancy Grace
Let me talk to you about the cell phone. I'm very curious about the cell phone. Stephanie or her sister did not have a cell phone. It would have been grandpa, the 80 year old non biological relative living with them. His flip phone, Is that what we're talking about?
Chris Carson Sr.
Yes, the flip phone. And we actually saw Starr using a flip phone at one time when they were up here.
Nancy Grace
Okay, let's talk about the search. I'm supposed to believe that this little girl just turned 13. Get somebody, God only knows who to go up to the Canadian border in New Sweden, out in the outskirts, not even in New Sweden. Look there. That somebody came there and got her and absconded with her. While the testimony is she went into the woods, not met somebody at the end of the driveway, it sounds bogus to me. Christy Rand, who has spent tears, sweat and blood searching for this girl. How likely is it that this little girl just turned 13, used his grandpa's flip flop phone to have a hot romance and get somebody to meet her at the end of the driveway?
Kristi Rand
Probability slim to none. Not it didn't happen. Not only do people like Chris that have met Stephanie seem to think that she didn't even have the personality type to be flirting or meeting men online, it didn't happen. I think there's a possibility that she wanted a phone so that she could run away or get out, but I don't believe that she was successful with that.
Nancy Grace
No, she doesn't seem to have the capability to do that. But that said, more importantly to Brian Fitzgibbons, who sends a team of investigators all around the world trying to find missing people, that's ranked speculation that this little girl had a hot romance online and convinced somebody to drive up to New Sweden, Maine and take her away from it all. There's no indication. No one saw a car, no one heard a car. No one knows of anyone she was talking to online or calling on her grandpa's, her fake grandpa's flip phone. What I go back is to the witness account, the grandpa and the sister state she had an argument with the sister in the moment, which means it wasn't planned in the moment about chores in the yurt, I guess, sweeping the dirt floor. They had an argument and she, according to them, went off into the woods and disappeared. That is the original story. All this about meeting somebody online is concocted.
Brian Fitzgibbons
I agree, Nancy. And we have to take those witness accounts for what they are. These are people that are wholly dependent on Dale Dameron. Okay. That are providing this informational law enforcement. The second piece that I wanted to say, when we're dealing with a flip phone that won't have apps that are encrypted, all of those communications are going to be ready, readily available to law enforcement. So if it were the case that Stephanie was using this flip phone to communicate with somebody to pick her up, law enforcement would have that. That's an ideal scenario to track communications. This is not like an iPhone 16 that could have any number of apps where communication tracking would be very difficult.
Nancy Grace
Even though he originally said, and you heard him from the horse's mouth, that he thought that Stephanie went Angrily into the woods over chores in the yurt, down to the tadpole hole. It was kind of like a ditch with water in it. We were showing it earlier and that's where he originally said she went. But then after he thinks about it, comes up with a story that she obviously fell in love with someone and hid out. Listen.
Dale Dameron
Or if she could just contact someone and let us know, hey, I'm all right. Mom and dad, you know, let us know, let us know what's going on. Like I even told her, I mean, I'm from West Virginia, so I don't expect everybody to understand. If she was 14, 14, you know, about turn 14, she fell in love with some boy and everything and she wanted to hide out and everything until whatever. That's fine. Let us know what's going on so we can help and take care of her.
Nancy Grace
Hide out with a boy? What boy? Internet searches have been done, forensic searches have been done. There is no boy. What is he talking about? I'm from West Virginia, so maybe everybody else doesn't understand, but falling in love at 14 with some boy or whatever, he's totally changing course. Dave Mack, is there any indication she had an online romance?
Chris Carson Sr.
Any?
Dave Mack
None whatsoever, Nancy. There is no indication that she or her sister were able to get online. All of that story comes from Dale Dameron.
Nancy Grace
As of tonight as we go to air, neither Dale Dameron nor his wife have been charged. They have not been named a person of interest, a suspect. Neither has the fake grandpa that lives with the two little girls. What did the search for 13 year old Stephanie entail? What was done to Kristi Rand joining us, who is a searcher and has been spending time, effort, money, resources trying to find Stephanie. Tell me about the search. I understand drones, canines and more were used.
Kristi Rand
Canines, basically any resource that our Maine state police or the FBI could have brought in. It was brought dozens and dozens of vehicles all along the street. I know that some of what went on was kind of secretive. We've heard reports from the Andrew, the neighbor, Uncle Andrew, that his property was searched as well. As far as I know, they've approached neighbors looking for security camera footage, anything that's relevant.
Nancy Grace
I want to go to Chris Carson now, the neighbor of the Damron family. What did you observe of the search? Because the dogs didn't pick up anything.
Chris Carson Sr.
The first set of dogs that they brought in were just search dogs, normal search dogs. And my property, I opened it up to anybody, you know, that was a search team to come on my property and do whatever you got to do and I'm cool with it. And so they, the search teams were just honestly every nuts. They were all over the place. Certainly it was crazy. It was, it was just a huge thing going on. And then they brought back another set of dogs, but these ones were unfortunately cadaver dogs, which are different from search dogs. And those guys, they, I mean we had everything going on, helicopters over my, on my house. It was shaking my house. It was, they were searching. They did a good job searching.
Nancy Grace
Despite extensive investigative efforts, including a neighborhood canvas and video search, along with an expansive grid search utilizing K9s from Maine Warden Service and Maine State Police, Stephanie is still missing.
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Investigators remain tight lipped about what exactly was found on the grandfather's cell phone, but calls in the FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment or CARD team to assist in the investigation. Investigators follow up on leads in West Virginia, Texas, New Hampshire and even Canada, but none have led them any closer to Stephanie.
Nancy Grace
There are tips from the public that.
Brian Fitzgibbons
Maybe she had a social media friend.
Nancy Grace
At the time or an acquaintance. So we just try to follow up on any information for those outside states. First you're hearing from a special agent, FBI Agent Kimberly Milka. And then you were hearing from New Center Maine. And then also from New Center Maine, you were hearing Lieutenant Darren Karn, ME State Police. Did you hear what they said? Brian Fitzgibbons, what Karn said? He said there have been tips from the public that maybe she had a social media friend. We follow up on any information yet. There has been no name, there has been no online friend. In other words, that's a dead end.
Brian Fitzgibbons
Yeah, absolutely. And the question is, in order to have a friend on social media, you have to have an ability to connect to social media. And that's not happening on a flip phone that the grandpa has. Right. So you know, this is a dead end. These tips from the public seem to be from the parents.
Chris Carson Sr.
Right.
Brian Fitzgibbons
And then the next thing is, you know, knowing that neighbors heard about this days after Stephanie was missing. You know, investigators are right about one thing, that they don't have any leads to go on.
Nancy Grace
And now we learn another piece of the puzzle tonight, everything is not as it seems. Listen.
Dave Mack
Neighbors report hearing Dale Dameron and loud arguments that went on for more than 30 minutes at a time directed at his wife and children. The screaming matches recalled by neighbors Shelly and Chris Carson happened frequently in the weeks and days before Stephanie vanished, with one such scream fest happening the day Stephanie vanished.
Nancy Grace
CHRIS Carson NEIGHBOR TO the Damrons CHRIS Carson SENIOR did you ever hear Dale Dameron screaming at his wife and children.
Chris Carson Sr.
Absolutely, yes. And it was not just once a week or something. Coming up to the time where Stephanie was missing, it was almost daily. Constantly. They would. It sounded like the kids would jump in their car, slam doors and honk the horns. Beeping, beeping, beeping. And it was. It was just like that. It was just kind of crazy.
Nancy Grace
What was he yelling at them about?
Chris Carson Sr.
You really couldn't hear. You could hear a lot of profanity, the F bombs and stuff like that. You really didn't hear anybody yell back. And if you did, you really couldn't tell what they were saying, because Dale, when he yells, he makes sure that you hear him. Yellow.
Nancy Grace
Speaking of dropping the F bombs and screaming at the children so loudly the neighbors could hear it. This is out in the middle of the wilderness. We actually have some of that caught on video with Dameron screaming and cursing out the neighbors. Listen.
Chris Carson Sr.
I'm not an idiot. Come on the street.
Nancy Grace
Why are you yelling in my yard?
Chris Carson Sr.
No, you. Your daughters came here for help.
Nancy Grace
What in the hate. Chris Carson is him. Is that him cursing out your wife?
Chris Carson Sr.
Absolutely. We didn't even. Shelly's never met him before. He just came up and we saw him out the window. Well, Shelly did. I was in the basement, and. Well, my wife, she's not. She's going to protect her property and her family and what's hers. She. She usually doesn't yell like this, but that day, obviously she did. And he was just. I don't know how to say the word, but he just wasn't making sense of anything. Just saying that we need to keep our mouths, his family, out of our mouths. And it kept going on like that. And he kept threatening Shelly to, hey, you know.
Dave Mack
About.
Chris Carson Sr.
In a row, so I'll punch you, lay you right out. So I was calm. I had my hands up, you know, across over. And I did have a firearm. But up here in Maine, you can. And we got bears. I mean, they'll show up anywhere, so I always have one. And I walked out there, and he said, what are you gonna do, shoot me? And I was like, well, if you touch my wife, I will shoot you. And then shortly after that, Lisa came down and made him get in the car, and she took him back home.
Nancy Grace
I noticed that he. That your wife said your daughter came here for help.
Chris Carson Sr.
Oh, yes, she came. Both daughters, Stephanie and Star, would come here to get water because we had a bad drought that summer when the rest of the family was living up the road at Andrews. So the girls, they came up here and were getting water and apples off of our trees and they enjoyed the chickens. They would come out and play with my chickens, but they wouldn't stay very long. And then they would just rush back to their house almost like they kind of weren't supposed to be here.
Nancy Grace
And I want to stress that as of tonight, as we go to air, neither Dale Dameron nor his wife have been charged. They have not been named a person of interest, a suspect. Neither has the fake grandpa that lives with the two little girls. Take a look at more of that ring camera footage you have down there. Why don't you shut up? Whatever you have down there is your.
Chris Carson Sr.
Best friend YouTube channel.
Nancy Grace
Huh? DK cops. We don't lie. What's the lie?
Chris Carson Sr.
What's the walking?
Nancy Grace
Tell me why. You're right in your goddamn mouth. We don't say about you liar. Why do we say shit about cps? Cps? What the are you doing? How many times did you guys call CPS on us? How many times?
Chris Carson Sr.
Who you are?
Nancy Grace
You can go yourself because we never got a hold of CS. Your daughters came here. This 13 year old little girl is missing. Stephanie argues with his sister about chores and she tears up and walks out of the home into the woods.
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Am Nina Khrushcheva, the great granddaughter of.
Nancy Grace
Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union in 1962.
Greg Jenner
And I'm Max Kennedy, the nephew of.
Nancy Grace
US President John F. Kennedy.
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We explore what was a terrifying moment.
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In history, the story of the Cuban Missile crisis, how close the world came to nuclear war, and what they had to do to pull it back from the brink.
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The bomb, Kennedy and KHRUSHCHEV.
Nancy Grace
Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get.
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Nancy Grace
Where is Stephanie? Bizarre inconsistencies emerging tonight. The theories from the dad become even more and more unpredictable.
Dale Dameron
Listen, I hate talking about one of my kids any way shape but I really at this point don't trust anything that Starr's telling me about the whole situation.
Nancy Grace
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Dave Mack
Dale Dameron goes so far as to accuse Stephanie and her sister star of waiting until the old man they call grandpa. 80 year old Richard Turgeon would take his medication at night, then grabbing his phone from under his pillow and using it to talk to boys.
Nancy Grace
So Kristi Rand, who has been searching for Stephanie. The theories are getting zanier and zanier. At the beginning we were told by the sister star and the fake grandpa that there was an argument over chores. Stephanie walks into the woods and is never seen again. She just magically vanishes. Now the dad is claiming that the little girl poisons the fake grandpa, giving him medication so they could get on his phone and using the phone to talk to boys.
Kristi Rand
There's nothing that makes sense here. We've gone from she walked into the woods, walked to the street, had a friend online. At this point it wouldn't surprise me if we'll come out with more theories.
Nancy Grace
Dave Mack we just showed Chris Carson the neighbor, Chris Carson Sr. The neighbor's ring cam where the dad, Dale Dameron is screaming about cps. He's got good reason to suspect CPS was called. Isn't it true CPS took the children away for a period of time when they lived in Texas?
Dave Mack
They did. They actually lost. They being the Damron we're talking about Dale and Lisa. They lost custody of their children for six months. Nancy and it went back to. And this is incredible judgment on his part. They actually Dale Dameron was smoking marijuana in the car with the kids in the car. And of course the police see them and they follow him into a McDonald's where he's just puffing up. And you know, that's the type of man we're dealing with. Somebody who thinks that's perfectly acceptable behavior. But yeah, that's how CPS got involved with his family to start with was from the public intoxication and putting all of his children at risk for his own well being.
Nancy Grace
Maybe that's why he thinks everyone calls CPS on him. This time as a matter of fact, CPS was called on them because the children looked like they hadn't had baths and were basically wearing rags. But I want you to hear what Damron has to say on locating the lost.
Dale Dameron
Stephanie was sneaking around when Papaw was taking his sleeping pills. And we weren't around because we got. My dad is 80 years old, just had a massive heart attack about a year and a half ago. So they got him on sleeping pills and a bunch of heart pills. What Stephanie was doing and her older sister was involved in it just as much. They were waiting until Papaw took his sleeping pills or wasn't paying attention. They would sneak off with his phone.
Nancy Grace
That's what is called an alternative narrative. We didn't hear anything about that. When Stephanie first disappeared in the woods, wouldn't a parent say I think she's met somebody online. Look at the grandpa's phone. That's not what the story was. Dr. Jeff Kalashevsky what is an alternate narrative?
Dave Mack
Right?
Brian Fitzgibbons
It's a false narrative.
Chris Carson Sr.
And how many cases have we covered.
Brian Fitzgibbons
When the person was guilty and they.
Nancy Grace
Try to build a false narrative for people to go chase down? That's exactly what's happening here.
Brian Fitzgibbons
This guy knows more than what he's disclosing. And I would.
Nancy Grace
I'm glad the FBI is involved because.
Brian Fitzgibbons
If this is something that was this child taken across state lines, who knows.
Nancy Grace
Where this is going to go. And I want to stress that as of tonight, as we go to air, neither Dale Dameron nor his wife have been charged. They have not been named a person of interest, a suspect. Neither has the fake grandpa that lives with the two little girls. To Franz Borchardt, veteran trial lawyer, criminal defense attorney, founder of the Borghardt law firm, former prosecutor, professor of Louisiana State University. Franz, there's another word for alternate narrative. Tonight, we know there is a $15,000 reward. Do you believe, Franz, that rewards work?
Brian Fitzgibbons
I don't think 15,000 is going to get it done, Nancy. I also think that the fact that there's no significant forensic leads gives me pause. So I just don't think we're going to find her.
Nancy Grace
Brian Fitzgibbons, Director Operations, USPA Nationwide Security. What do you think?
Brian Fitzgibbons
Just like attorney Borgart said, with no substantial forensic leads, with no network of friends and associates, you know, Stephanie was living a very isolated life. Who are you offering this reward to, is the question.
Chris Carson Sr.
Right.
Brian Fitzgibbons
So a reward can work in a suburban or urban scenario where there are a number of people to offer it to who might have information.
Nancy Grace
Well, if you don't think the reward's gonna work, Fitzgibbons, what, now you think I'm just gonna quit because the reward may not work?
Brian Fitzgibbons
No, you know, we can't quit, obviously. The FBI, I believe, has to continue this search in that woods. You know, I think there's a very good chance that she is out there and that there are more questions to be filled in with that cell phone. I'd like to know what's going on with that, with Grandpa's cell phone.
Nancy Grace
Christy Rand, for once in my life, I disagree with Fitzgibbons. I don't think she's in those woods because if canines scent dogs, cadaver dogs can't find her. I don't think she's there. Christy, what do you think? You've been the one out in the woods looking for her.
Kristi Rand
I think there's a possibility that none of us knew or we do not know when Stephanie actually disappeared, which would mean we could have had not only the 24 hours missing of time to be looking for her, but as many as two full days before the 23rd. I think they had a lot of time. Whatever happened to Stephanie, if she is in the woods, it's not directly behind her home and was placed somewhere. I believe an accident or something may have happened. But no, I don't believe she's directly behind the home. I don't think she just walked into the woods and got lost. I'd like to hope that the search was thorough enough that if she had walked in the woods and was injured within a mile or so of her home, that someone would have found something in those first initial large searches, and there was nothing.
Nancy Grace
Kris Carson, sr. You are the neighbor of the Damron family. You know these little girls. Chris, one thing that's very disturbing to me is that this could have been avoided. I don't know what neighbor called Child Protective Services, but somebody did call and CPS came out. Chris Carson, sr. And did nothing. They saw the girls living in these horrible conditions and did nothing.
Chris Carson Sr.
Yeah, it was Shelly and I. We definitely did not call cps. Other folks in our little neighborhood here hadn't because of what, I mean, the weather conditions. I mean, sometimes it'd be 30 below zero living in that year. So they would call and try to get in, like a wellness check. And the response we got from DHHS or CPS was, oh, we don't have anybody right now available to go check. And this is like 30 below zero. And they refused to even send somebody out here.
Nancy Grace
Cps, Child Protective Services at it again. And now Stephanie is gone. If you know or think you know anything about missing Stephanie Dameron, it's not over yet. Please call Maine State Police, 800-924-2261. Repeat, 800-924-2260 or 8002-2553-2480-0225-5324. There is a $15,000 reward. And tonight, when we remember American heroes, I want to remember and honor people that come forward, people that have the backbone, the bravery, the courage to come forward and try in their own way to save children that are being abused, that are being mistreated, that are suffering. Those are my heroes tonight, and I ask you all to please help us find the truth about Stephanie Dameron. Thank you to our guests for coming forward tonight. Thank you to Chris Carson and Kristi Rand for speaking out on behalf of. Of this little girl who has no other voice for her. Again, no one has been named a suspect. No one has been named a person of interest. As we wait for justice to unfold, we remember an American hero, Officer Darren Burks, Dallas pd Survived by his grieving mother, Cherie. American hero of Officer Darren Burks. Rest in peace, Officer Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye, friend.
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Hello, Greg Jenner here, host of youf're Dead to Me. In my new family friendly podcast series Dead Funny History, historical figures come back to life for just about long enough to argue with me, tell us their life stories, and sometimes get on my nerves. There's 15 lovely episodes to unwrap, including the life of Ramses the Great Josephine Baker and the history of football, plus much, much more. So this Christmas, give your ears a treat with Dead Funny History. You can find it in the you're Dead to me feed on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
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You are the fittest of the fitness. Only one of you will leave here.
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This is when mindset comes in.
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Watch the trailer on trainergames.com this holiday.
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This is an iHeart podcast.
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Episode: STEFANIE, 13, 'WALKED INTO WOODS' AND DISAPPEARED: BIZARRE INCONSISTENCIES EMERGE
Date: December 23, 2025
In this gripping episode, Nancy Grace delves into the mysterious disappearance of 13-year-old Stephanie Dameron from rural Maine. The case is fraught with bizarre inconsistencies and conflicting accounts from family members. Nancy and her panel examine the confusing details, the troubled family background, the failed response by authorities, and the community's efforts to unravel the truth behind Stephanie’s vanishing. The episode is a tense exploration of missing persons cases, family dysfunction, and the relentless pursuit of justice.
The tone is direct and impassioned, with Nancy Grace’s characteristic tough questioning and skepticism. She is vocal about the failures she perceives from both family and authorities and uses emotionally charged language to drive home the urgency and injustice at the heart of the case. Guests’ input ranges from measured and factual to deeply empathetic and frustrated.
This episode is a sobering look at the mysterious disappearance of a vulnerable child, set against a backdrop of familial dysfunction, poverty, and systemic failure. Nancy Grace and her panel highlight the contradictions in the family’s accounts, the unsuccessful search effort, and the tragic pattern of institutions failing at-risk children. The ultimate message is a plea for continued vigilance, public awareness, and the hope that someone will come forward with the key to finding Stephanie Dameron.