Dateline NBC: After the Verdict — The Ongoing Search for Answers

A 'Missing in America' Panel

Date: December 4, 2025
Host: Josh Mankiewicz

Episode Overview

This special episode of Dateline’s After the Verdict convenes a roundtable of family members, advocates, and a retired detective deeply involved in missing persons cases, many of whom were previously featured on Dateline’s “Missing in America” podcast series. The discussion centers on the emotional, practical, and often bureaucratic challenges faced by families searching for missing loved ones, the role of law enforcement, the power and pitfalls of media, and advice and insights for families in similar crises. The tone is candid, empathetic, and insightful, offering both hard-earned wisdom and solidarity among those touched by loss.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis and Scope of “Missing in America” (00:01–01:23)

• Josh Mankiewicz explains how a single question posted on social media (“Have you ever known someone who has gone missing?”) led to an overwhelming public response, sparking renewed journalistic inquiry and ultimately, the digital and podcast series that chronicles such cases.
• Quote: “Heartbreak, confusion, and often a determination that does not fade with time.” — Josh Mankiewicz (00:32)

2. Panel Introductions & Stories (01:24–03:50)

• Sue Quackenbush: Mother of Danielle Lopez (New Jersey, 2024)
  • On the experience: “It was agonizing and overwhelming, tragic, unfair.” (01:42)
• Nan Trogdon: Retired detective, Cumberland County, NC, investigated Kent Jacobs’ case.
• Rachel Barth: Friend of Tyler Goodrich (Nebraska) — found deceased near his home.
  • “He was found about a thousand yards from his house. And so that was really tough to, to deal with.” (02:21)
• Colleen Nick: Mother of Morgan Nick (Arkansas, missing since 1995)
  • “It’s not just that we lose someone that we love, but the world loses the potential of who that person is.” (02:30)
• Raven Payment: Advocate, Colorado MMIR task force.
  • “Unfortunately, most of our family members are all too familiar with this pain and this circumstance.” (02:51)
• Travis Ware: Brother of Alexis Ware (South Carolina).

3. The First 48 Hours: Immediate Barriers and Actions (03:19–08:01)

• Delays & Inaction:
  • Travis Ware: Describes being forced to wait before filing a report:
    “Those first two days was awful…we couldn’t do anything other than post on social media, say she’s missing.” (03:19)
  • Colleen Nick: Contrasts Travis’s case with hers from 1995—overwhelming resources, but no technology.
    “At one point, someone got a fax machine hooked up…Morgan’s flyer would be faxed out.” (03:54)
• Law Enforcement Limitations:
  • Nan Trogdon: “Cases grow cold, typically in about 48 hours. Well, by the time you’ve waited 48 hours, you've lost all kinds of evidence.” (05:31)
  • Many agencies are understaffed or deprioritize missing persons, especially adults.
• Do Families Need to Drive the Search?
  • Rachel Barth acted swiftly: creating flyers, organizing searches, making use of social media and drawing media attention.
    “We created a Facebook page, and I would say within days, I mean, we were up to 10, 15, 20,000 people.” (08:01)

4. Police Response, Social & Racial Disparities (10:01–12:59)

• Role of Media:
  • Sue Quackenbush asks if law enforcement responds more when cases get media attention, referencing disparities like in the Gabby Petito case:
    “Does law enforcement respond more to the pressure from the media?” (10:11)
  • Josh Mankiewicz: Local news and local podcasts are often the most important.
• Black and Indigenous Cases:
  • Travis Ware: “A lot of police departments do not take black women gone missing seriously.” (11:23)
  • Raven Payment: Discusses systemic bias against Indigenous people and jurisdictional issues, especially involving reservations:
    “Jurisdictional issues get more complex…a lot of times they're pointing fingers at each other…” (13:07)

5. Resources, Tech, and the Search for Answers (13:28–15:32)

• Resource Gaps:
  • Rachel Barth hired tracking dogs but wishes she’d known or used certain tools (dogs, digital tracking) earlier.
    “How are we not tracking his watch? How are we not tracking this stuff?” (14:10)
• Desire for More:
  • Colleen Nick: “If we could take one thing back to 1995 that we have now, it would be all the technology and all the resources…” (15:18)
  • Travis Ware: Above all, wished for police support.

6. Family Advocacy & Systemic Efforts (15:32–17:20)

• The Morgan Nick Foundation:
  • Colleen Nick organizes meetings between families and police to foster communication:
    “We bring them to the table together and we break bread…it literally breaks the barriers down…” (15:52)
• The Alexis Ware Act:
  • Travis Ware: Details legislative efforts to turn missing person cases over to the FBI after one year:
    “Have the police department release that case over to the FBI to have an extra resource…” (16:53)
• Personal Toll:
  • Sue Quackenbush: Advocacy can consume one’s entire life:
    “Law enforcement has been great now…But my pain is so intense, and yet I had 37 years with my daughter.” (17:40; 18:03)

7. “Marketing the Missing,” Media, and Scams (18:53–23:35)

• Public Visibility:
  • Rachel Barth: “You have to market the missing…those little stories about them…keep their story relevant…” (18:53)
• Out-of-pocket Costs:
  • Sue Quackenbush offered a $25,000 reward for information. (20:30)
• Scams:
  • Sue Quackenbush recounts being targeted by scammers:
    “They’re scammed terribly…with gruesome details and knowledge and pictures…clinging to hope…” (21:02)
  • Colleen Nick notes high-profiles cases may deter scammers, but even then, identity theft can happen.

8. Tension Between Police and Private Investigators (23:16–23:27)

• Detective Nan Trogdon:
  “They just don't want to hear it. Law enforcement feels like they're trained better, even if this person is a retired officer.” (23:18)

9. Playbooks and Community Support (23:35–25:02)

• Raven Payment:
  • Provides community-specific “playbooks” and scripts to empower families reporting loved ones and to increase law enforcement urgency.
  • Direct support includes media coaching and logistics.
  • “Oftentimes…one of the most comforting things…is let them know that they're heard and they're seen and they're validated.” (24:18)

10. Humanization, Victim Blaming & Social Media (25:02–28:13)

• Challenging Harmful Narratives:
  • Colleen Nick: “You blame that person who's missing because it makes you feel safe.” (26:13)
• Victim Blaming:
  • Rachel Barth and others highlight how public and social media discourse often blames the missing or their families in an attempt at self-protection or to rationalize.
• Social Media's Double Edge:
  • Travis Ware: His family was victimized by a YouTuber profiting from their story with lies:
    “It got so bad we had to send a cease and desist out on a YouTuber…he made a little over $10,000 on videos just on my sister's case alone.” (27:22)
  • Social media can both mobilize help and amplify pain.

11. The Importance of a Single Family Spokesperson (28:25–29:41)

• Colleen Nick advocates for streamlined communication:
  “It reduces the confusion and the chaos…if you have one person from a family who's communicating with law enforcement or…with the media…” (28:36)
• Colleen shares how early media interactions pushed her husband out of the spotlight, changing family dynamics.

12. The Relentless Toll of Searching (29:42–31:10)

• Colleen Nick: “If we quit, everybody quits, everybody gives up.” (29:52)
• Rachel Barth: Searching for Tyler consumed 16 months, affected family, friends, and the wider community. The “answer” was bittersweet but preferable to uncertainty.

13. The Reality for Indigenous & Marginalized Communities (31:10–33:04)

• Raven Payment: For many indigenous families, multiple disappearances/homicides are familiar:
  “Oftentimes have had multiple people in their families either be victims of homicide or…go missing…” (31:17)
• The scale is so vast that focusing only on indigenous cases could fill Dateline’s entire output.

14. Solidarity and the “Impossible Journey” (33:15–34:37)

• Sue Quackenbush: “It is helpful to hear and know I'm not the only boxer in the ring…” (33:15)
• Colleen Nick closes with the thought: “It’s not just that we lose someone that we love, but the world loses the potential of who that person is…” (33:33)
• Travis Ware: Finds unexpected comfort and calm in shared community:
  “I feel so much calmer because I have individuals that, yes, we're going through hardships, but we all have something that we can relate to.” (34:18)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Somebody somewhere knows what happened.” — Unnamed panelist (00:51)
• “Law enforcement has been great. Now, staying in touch…my pain is so intense…” — Sue Quackenbush (17:40; 18:03)
• “If we don’t keep pushing, law enforcement doesn’t do their job. That is our responsibility.” — Colleen Nick (29:52)
• “You have to market the missing.” — Rachel Barth (18:53)
• “Black women are about six and a half percent of the country, [but] like 19% of the missing or higher, depending on who you ask, which is astonishing.” — Josh Mankiewicz (11:36)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Panel Introductions & Cases: 01:24–03:50
• First 48 Hours: 03:19–08:01
• Law Enforcement & Media: 10:01–12:59
• Community Advocacy (MMIR): 12:59–15:32
• Resource Gaps & Tech: 13:42–15:32
• Scams: 21:02–21:57
• Tension with Private Investigators: 23:16–23:27
• Victim Blaming & Social Media: 25:23–28:13
• Single Spokesperson & Family Toll: 28:25–31:10
• Indigenous Issues: 31:17–33:04
• Closing Thoughts: 33:15–34:37

Closing Reflection

Through deeply personal accounts, expert insights, and empathetic exchanges, this panel illuminates the shared pain, dogged determination, and imperative for systemic change experienced by families of the missing. The urgency for better law enforcement response, more technology, less victim-blaming, and ongoing support and solidarity are recurring themes. Above all, the panelists urge listeners and authorities alike never to forget the humanity and potential lost in every case—and to keep pushing, even when answers seem impossibly out of reach.