Real Life Real Crime | Behind The Scenes With Jason Ard: Barbara Blount ep 1

Summary

Real Life Real Crime | Behind The Scenes With Jason Ard: Barbara Blount ep 1

Introduction

In the premiere episode of “Behind The Scenes With Sheriff Jason Ard,” hosts Woody Overton and Sheriff Jason Ard delve deep into the harrowing case of Barbara Blount. This episode provides an intimate look at the complexities and challenges faced by law enforcement in solving Barbara’s disappearance and presumed homicide. Through candid discussions, the hosts shed light on the relentless pursuit of justice, emphasizing the importance of community involvement and ongoing investigations.

Overview of the Barbara Blount Case

Barbara Blount, a 58-year-old resident of Holden, Louisiana, disappeared on May 2, 2008. The case quickly turned into a perplexing investigation marked by unusual evidence and environmental obstacles. Sheriff Ard recounts the initial discovery, noting, “[35:18] Sheriff Jason Ard: Right.” Woody adds, “[38:38] Woody Overton: Right,” highlighting the immediate challenges faced by the investigators.

Barbara was last seen leaving her home at 25580 Highway 1030 in Holden. When authorities arrived, they found no signs of forced entry. Instead, the back door was open, pots were scattered on the kitchen floor, and some windows were ajar, suggesting she might have left voluntarily or been startled ([07:21] Podcast Host). Her vehicle was later found a quarter-mile away on a hunting club road, submerged in rising floodwaters due to a severe rainstorm. This natural disaster significantly hindered the investigation, as water levels rose rapidly, complicating the retrieval of the vehicle and potential evidence.

Challenges in the Investigation

The investigation into Barbara’s disappearance was immediately beset by environmental factors and elusive clues. Sheriff Ard explains, “[43:22] Woody Overton: It is something that I know if you message me at 2 o' clock in the morning then, and you're…” emphasizing the persistent nature of the case. The heavy rainfall not only restricted access to the crime scene but also washed away critical evidence, making it difficult to determine the exact circumstances of Barbara’s disappearance.

Despite these hurdles, the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, aided by the Louisiana State Police and the FBI, conducted extensive searches. Volunteers from various communities, fire departments, and even out-of-state participants joined the search efforts, reflecting the profound impact of Barbara’s case on the local community ([08:29] Podcast Host).

Ongoing Efforts and Collaboration

Sheriff Ard and Woody Overton emphasize that Barbara's case is far from cold, maintaining that it remains an active investigation fueled by continuous tips and community support. “[33:00] Woody Overton: This is not a cold case,” Ard asserts, reinforcing the department’s commitment to solving the case. The collaboration between law enforcement and the true crime community is pivotal, with Sheriff Ard highlighting the integration of podcast platforms to garner public assistance.

Woody Overton shares his role in the investigation, stating, “[25:02] Woody Overton: [...] you can think of it as a 365-day-a-year job,” underscoring the relentless dedication required to pursue justice for Barbara. The hosts discuss the importance of new detectives and fresh perspectives, which have been instrumental in reigniting momentum in the case. Sheriff Ard adds, “[31:13] Woody Overton: [...] it's about justice for Barbara Blunt,” emphasizing that the pursuit is driven by a deep-seated need for closure rather than public recognition.

Community Involvement and Call to Action

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to urging listeners to come forward with any information that might aid in solving Barbara’s case. Sheriff Ard and Woody Overton provide multiple avenues for submitting tips, including dedicated phone lines and the “Behind The Scenes” podcast platform. Sheriff Ard passionately states, “[43:22] Woody Overton: [...] This is not a cold case,” reiterating the ongoing nature of the investigation and the critical role of community tips.

Woody encourages persistence, “If you have a tip and haven’t heard back, resubmit it until you get a response” ([42:16] Podcast Host). This proactive approach aims to ensure that no potentially vital information is overlooked, highlighting the collective effort required to bring Barbara’s case to resolution.

Reflections and Conclusion

Throughout the episode, both hosts reflect on the emotional toll of unsolved cases and the unwavering commitment of those seeking justice. Sheriff Ard shares personal anecdotes, such as keeping Barbara’s picture on his desk even after retirement, illustrating the deep personal connection and responsibility felt by law enforcement ([03:45] Sheriff Jason Ard).

Woody Overton echoes these sentiments, expressing frustration over misinformation and the relentless nature of the case, “[34:28] Woody Overton: [...] be afraid,” underscoring the gravity of the situation and the determination to see it through. The episode concludes with a heartfelt plea for continued public support and vigilance, reinforcing the message that every tip brings the investigation one step closer to uncovering the truth.

Key Takeaways

• Case Details: Barbara Blount disappeared on May 2, 2008, under suspicious circumstances with evidence initially suggesting no forced entry but complicated by severe weather conditions.

• Investigation Challenges: Environmental factors like heavy rain and flooding significantly impeded the investigation, washing away potential evidence and delaying crucial findings.

• Active Case: Despite the time elapsed, the case remains active, with Sheriff Ard and Woody Overton continuously seeking new leads and community involvement to solve the mystery.

• Community Involvement: The hosts stress the importance of public tips and provide multiple channels for submitting information, emphasizing that even the smallest details could be pivotal.

• Determined Pursuit of Justice: Both Sheriff Ard and Woody Overton exhibit unwavering dedication to bringing closure to Barbara’s family, highlighting the personal and professional commitment required in such long-term investigations.

Notable Quotes

• Woody Overton [02:00]: “My descriptions of the crime scenes, what I saw with my own two eyes. If you're gonna get offended, please turn.”

• Sheriff Jason Ard [03:45]: “All tips solve cases.”

• Woody Overton [25:02]: “If you have a tip and haven’t heard back, resubmit it until you get a response.”

• Sheriff Jason Ard [27:23]: “This is not a cold case. This case is actively being worked.”

Conclusion

The first episode of “Behind The Scenes With Sheriff Jason Ard” serves as a compelling exploration of Barbara Blount’s unresolved case, blending thorough investigative recounting with personal reflections from those deeply involved in the pursuit of justice. By fostering a collaborative environment between law enforcement and the true crime community, the episode underscores the pivotal role that public assistance plays in solving complex cases. Listeners are left with a profound understanding of the case’s intricacies and the steadfast commitment to uncovering the truth, offering hope that Barbara Blount’s story will one day reach a just conclusion.

Transcript

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[Police Officer]

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney prior to enduring any question but you can't afford one, the court of appoint one for you. Do you understand your rights?

[Narrator]

And the wolf is at your door.

[Woody Overton]

Oh.

[Narrator]

You running over that's for sure Already knows all about you.

[Woody Overton]

Cut you.

[Narrator]

Down no matter about you now you better watch the.

[Woody Overton]

Warning this episode of.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

Real Life Real Crime.

[Woody Overton]

The podcast may contain descriptions of acts of violence or that of a sexual nature and should be for people that.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

Are 18 years or older.

[Woody Overton]

He my warning people, I do not get the facts of these cases off of the Internet or for some television show. The facts I'm retelling you were presented to me by the victims of the crimes or the perpetrators who committed the crimes against the victims. My descriptions of the crime scenes, what I saw with my own two eyes. If you're gonna get offended, please turn.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

This podcast off now.

[Woody Overton]

Thank you.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

Hello everybody and welcome this episode of Real Life Real Crime, the podcast. As always, I'm your host, Woody Overton, and today we're doing a very, very special drop behind the Scenes Sheriff Jason Ards podcast for the Livingston Paris Sheriff's Office. And y' all have to remember we've been I've been carrying this torch for the Sheriff's office for a lot of years after Sheriff Ard asked me to come back in and help them on Ms. Barbara Blunt's case. He's a forward thinker, right? He's thinking outside the box. He knows what they did for Courtney Coco's case and Mary Pusho's case. And so we came in and I did a full series on it and I think about her every day. I have her picture. But it's been a lot of years and we have a lot of information. But he's got this podcast platform now which is really, really well done. The I went there and recorded at their location that, you know, they got the best people and everything else. But we sat down and got into the case, Ms. Barbara Blunt's case, and went over all the pertinent facts again and just talked about it. So I actually did two out of three episodes. They were recording on Ms. Barber that day with them. And this is going to be the first one.

[Woody Overton]

Y'.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

All tips solve cases. Okay. The. The most Sheriff's offices, they're just like effort. The. The. You know, we. We got other cases to work. We can't worry about that one anymore. Sheriff Ard and I said this numerous times. Will message me late at night or in the afternoon, be like, hey, do you see this? Did you think about this? Da, da, da, da. So he's always carried this torch for miss Barbara and he wants it solved. He wasn't even sheriff at the time.

[Woody Overton]

He.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

He was the chief deputy and wasn't even in parish at the time. I think he was at the FBI Academy. The. So this. Listen to this episode. I'm very proud to have been a guest to go back to my roots. And of course, it's all amazing now compared to what it was back then. Sheriff Art's done a great job with the department. He's doing a great job with the detectives. And he's this podcast genius. And the, you know, I told him, I said, let me drop it on real life, real crime so people can get to listen, see how well it done. It's done. And they, you know, can look you up, look you up and get the variety of different shows, etc. Topics that you cover on your podcast. And so y' all go follow Sheriff Jason ours. It's called behind the Scenes podcast. Go follow it. Go just get. Subscribe to it. Right? I'm a subscriber now. And every time they drop an episode and they drop them weekly. Every time they drop an episode, you will get an alert. And the. It may be something that you're totally down with no matter where you're at. In the United States, across the world. The. Recently they had Chris Hansen on doing child predator stuff. I mean, he's doing some really cool stuff. But Ms. Barbara Blunt's case, we need to bring this home. And man, if I could tell you what I know. The. The. The being. But beyond a reasonable doubt and. And probably calls two different things. We just need a little bit more, you know. You know, you listening to me out there and you know, you're holding on to that piece of information that. That is going to be the one that can be taken to the prosecutor and say, finally, here it is. Right? Roll with it. So calling your tips to Livingston Parish Sheriff's office or call me 313rlrctip and I don't have to tell them anything. You can remain anonymous. I might tell them about the tip, but I won't tell them your name if you tell me. Don't tell them anything. I won't tell them that either. I'll just put in in my mental bank for but Ms. Barbara Blunt's case, y'. All, it's so solvable. No crime happens in an effing vacuum. All right? The problem with this is the, the people that did it are the only ones that did it. And they're not going to rat on each other until y' all give us the tip. That makes one of them. Makes one of them flip. Okay? Anyway, I love and appreciate each and every one of you. Go follow like share. Subscribe to behind the Scenes podcast with Sheriff Jason Ard and be on it this week and next week and just do it. And hey, when you go follow them and look them up, let them know that you, you're a lifer. All right? And I love and appreciate each and every one of you and oh hashtag just for Bradley. Hashtag just for ao. Now Austin Banyan. Holy smokes y'.

[Woody Overton]

All.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

Please continue to call in your tips. I have so much that I can't even work and that's the honest guy truth. But it's just so much information. But every time I do an episode or I do a tick tock, go follow me on real life real crime. Tick tock, right? Every time another one comes out, I get more tips and I have so much. I was just working Bradley Straitsman's case and homicide and now it's now now working two homicides. Who, who knows how many homicides it's going to lead to, right? So please continue to call in your tips on that. Also calling your tips Ms. Barbara Blunt. 313rlrc tip go like follow and subscribe to Sheriff Ards behind the Scenes podcast and I'm Woody Everton. You host a Real Life Real Crime the podcast. Until next time or ever. Don't let me catch you down on Murder Bite. Peace.

[Podcast Host]

It's been 17 years. What happened to Barbara Blunt? This is one of those cases that sticks with you. I think we all, including the family, just want answers and we don't intend to stop until we get some. Here's what we know. It was Friday, May 2, 2008. 58 year old Barbara Blunt went missing midday from her home. She lived at 25580 Highway 1030. 6 in Holden. The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office was alerted that evening. Once on scene, this is what we learned. There was no sign of forced entry. The back door was open. Pots were stacked on her kitchen floor. Kind of like she was intended to maybe clean that day. She had some windows open. She had valuables that were left in the residence in Plainview. So there's no appearance of any robbery. It appears as though someone lured her from her residence. Maybe someone she knew, maybe someone maybe startled her. A rainstorm hampered efforts that day. In days that followed, the whole area was covered with water. Her vehicle was located approximately a quarter mile north of her residence. It was parked on a hunting club road in a wooded area. It rained so much, by the time the record service got there to pull the vehicle out, water had came up and rose to where it covered the floorboard of the vehicle. We canvassed the entire area. We interviewed everyone with a possible connection to Ms. Blount. Law enforcement partners, including the Louisiana State Police and the FBI, helped us chase every single bleed. Volunteers from all over citizens, fire department people came from out of state to help search the area. We searched all the waterways, the entire wooded area, tirelessly. The description of Ms. Barber. She was born March 29, 1950. She had brownish gray hair, green eyes. She was around 5 7, approximately 150 pounds. Anyone with information on the Barbara Blunt case is asked to call the Leaverton Parish Sheriff's Office.

[Podcast Producer]

This podcast episode may contain explicit material.

[Podcast Host]

Listener viewer discretion is advised.

[Woody Overton]

The intention is not to offend, but to provide information.

[Podcast Host]

Proceed only if you are comfortable with potentially sensitive content. Hello, everyone. Welcome to behind the Scenes with Sheriff Jason Ard. I'm Jason Ard. We started this podcast to educate everyone on the role of the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office. We're about serving and protecting our community. On this podcast, we will tackle lots of topics. Good afternoon, everybody. I'm, as always, excited to be in my little podcast room here. And I have a very special guest, one that I just. I'm very honored that he is here. He's a very busy guy, but Mr. Woody Overton, real life, real crime. Woody, thank you for being here. Very exciting to have you in our studio today.

[Woody Overton]

Sheriff, it's my honor and this is impressive and thank you for having me. And it's important to me to be here today.

[Podcast Host]

Well, I appreciate that. And we're going to be talking about something that's very, you know, not only dear to my heart, but it's a very frustrating thing. It is something that we try to every single year. Well, we don't try. We do every single year make sure that people remember Ms. Barbara Blunt. And that's a. We know without a doubt it's going to be a homicide. You know, a lot of people said was the missing person. What we know, you know, it's a homicide and it's something that, that kind of, that haunts you. I know it haunts me as an investigator and now as a sheriff of that day and going back that was May 2, 2008, she goes missing in the Holden area. And of course, you know, the, the, the thing about it is it was just, it was probably one of the cleanest crime scenes. I remember that like it was yesterday. And you know, we'll hear later on from, from Stan Carpenter, who was a chief detective at that time. And I remember talking to Stan a lot. I was actually chief operations and it was a lot going on, but I was remembering like it was a clean crime scene. It was just so many things. We had Mother Nature fighting against us and all that that was going on.

[Woody Overton]

I called it a perfect storm against y' all working it from the elements to just everything. And, and like you said, the crime scene being so clean or. Yeah, we know she went missing from her home, right?

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Woody Overton]

And then the, the rain coming 6 inches and the flooding, the car getting flooded. It's like a perfect storm to stop this case of being solved. I mean, because real life, real crime. The podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians.

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[Woody Overton]

I'm gonna put you on, nephew. All right, unk. Welcome to McDonald's.

[Podcast Host]

Can I take your order, miss?

[Woody Overton]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for. Now. It's back. We need snack wraps.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

What's a snack wrap?

[Woody Overton]

It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back. Sometimes you get lucky in the beginning and get some hot evidence or whatever, and everything just was against y'. All. But I want to say this real quick and probably interrupt you a lot, and I apologize, Sheriff, but I remember distinctly, and I had been gone from here, from the parish Sheriff's office on November 1, 2007. And I remember sitting in office at state police, and I had a tv, and I was staying late, and the newscast came on, and I remember thinking, selfishly thinking, oh, my God, I'm glad I'm not the detective working this case. And I just had a bad feeling about it. And they're out there in the rain and doing whatever, and I had a bad feeling about it from the beginning. And selfishly, I was thinking I, you know. Yeah, I didn't want to be one stuck with not solving it right. And then.

[Podcast Host]

Well, that's always the fear, too. Yeah. You want to solve that case, and a lot of times it. When. When the cards are stacked against you and. And to. To walk through the crime scene when. When you get there, like I said, it's clean. She obviously was doing some kind of spring cleaning. We had a cordless phone that was outside.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

No force entry into the home, but it was looked like that there was maybe. Could have been a struggle on the porch because the coral is falling. It fell on the ground. But then again, we had some bad weather come through, and if she was on the phone or maybe she was trying to call 91 1.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

So, you know, and then. And then you find her car that's not even a quarter mile down the road. And by the time the crime scene gets there, we're trying to get stuff done. The water's coming up so high because it's not far from Tickfaw river in that area. And it rose so fast, we couldn't even get the record there.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

I remember water from getting inside the vehicle. It was, like you said, just. It was. It was a very difficult, you know, difficult task for. For the investigators. And. And then, you know, you start kind of unraveling everything, asking questions, and, you know, they. They. They take us, and it takes you down, what I always call that, takes you down many roads, and some of them are dead. In and some of them continue on.

[Woody Overton]

Right, right. You have to go down the road.

[Podcast Host]

But you have to go down the.

[Woody Overton]

Road or it's a dead end. Right. Follow the lead to you can disprove it or you can't get off. I mean, you still want it to this day. Right?

[Podcast Host]

So you know, you know, I don't know if you know this and I know you and thank you upfront because you have really helped us with this case with your tip line. I mean people call you, they tell you sometimes when they don't tell us. But you've been a big, big asset for this case.

[Woody Overton]

It wouldn't happen. I'm, you know, take it back.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

The.

[Woody Overton]

You invited me in and gave me the full case file and asked me to use my platform to help and we did that. And, and even after the sheriff, after the we did that and I remember one night you text me like two o' clock in the morning like, hey, have you seen this? And, and we're working and we were meeting and stuff and then what happened? Covid? So even after, during the investigation, it's like everything has been stacked against the trying to get Ms. Barbara justice for Ms. Barbara and, but people need to know. I'm sure we're going to talk about it, but this is. I know they see it. I call her murder bursary the day she went missing. Okay. And they see you on the news and they see y' all talking about it on that day. But that's not. This is a 365 day a year job. And Chief Carpenter was Talking about having Ms. Barbara's picture on his desk to the day he retired. I still have the playing card in, in my truck and the look at, look at her every day. This is a active, ongoing investigation. Is it cold? I, I can't call it cold because I know what's going on. I know the tips are still coming in. They're still being working. People need to understand that this is not something that's going to go away. Right. And, and this is not something that you do once a year for ratings or you know, to satisfy the public or whatever. And this is something that I know if you message me at 2 o' clock in the morning then, and you're. Because you're sitting in your kitchen table going through the case file. What other sheriff does that? What other sheriff also brings in a podcaster who's no longer in law enforcement to you to use this platform to try to solve the case. And they. You're thinking outside the box and, and, and you've done that. And, and your guys have been phenomenal. I mean there's, I said it on the podcast numerous times that day and I, y', all, Sheriff Allard gave me access to everything that he had access to the exact same thing at the time. And there's absolutely nothing I would have done different and had I been the lead detective on the case. But sometimes these things happen. But it's not cold. And this is not a once a year in May type thing. I try to mentor. I'm doing six shows a week now. I try to mentor, mention her at least once a week. Every time I do, somebody sends another tip.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Woody Overton]

And y', all, you can send it. I'm not law enforcement anymore. I don't have to tell them anything. You want to remain anonymous and a lot of people do, that's fine. But send it in because whatever you hold on to, it's been a long time. People are, have kids of their own now. You know, their mom and daddy may have died something. They may have been in a high risk lifestyle back in that time running with the wrong crowd. And they, they change and the hearts change. And hey, whatever's weighing on you, whatever you heard, no matter how small you think or irrelevant you think it is, if you still think about it, call me, let me know that they give me the tip and I'll give it, pass it on and with your name without it. But what it's going to take one of you out there that's listening right now, that's you've been holding on to that one piece of information for all these years. Call it in.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. One of the things I want to, I want to make sure, and you may know this, that we kept kind of getting hung up on a tip where they, they, this couple seen Barbara Blunt on the side of the road.

[Woody Overton]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

With a dirty, with a guy with dirty blonde hair. You remember that?

[Woody Overton]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. So myself and Ben Bourgeois, who is a major over detective now, chief detective, we actually went a couple of years ago to that home, sat down with that couple and went over everything and ruled that out and come to find out that was the witness who actually found the car.

[Woody Overton]

That's correct.

[Podcast Host]

And his mother and who resembled Ms. Barbara Bond. And so it was just one of those things because we kept getting those tips in.

[Woody Overton]

That's right.

[Podcast Host]

And said hey look, this, this, this road is not dead in until we make it right.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

So. So we went down and we did that. And like you're saying this thing to Me is not cold either. Like, I catch myself looking this file throughout the year. I keep a file at my house, right. And when I. I don't have a lot of downtime, but sometimes I can't sleep. I say sometimes, most of the time I'm up, you know, wee hours of the morning.

[Woody Overton]

That's what I did my best for.

[Podcast Host]

And I go through different case files that we have, and one of them is the Barbara Bunt case, because it does haunt you a little bit. And look, it's not that we, we don't know what happened. Right. We have a lot of evidence that points at certain directions that we feel like that. You know, look, there's a possibility this person was paid, right. There's a possibility that it was some type of, possibly even within the family. I don't have a problem saying that. We know that. We get a lot of tips on locations of where her body possibly is, and we, we take that serious and we follow up on those kind of things.

[Woody Overton]

And let me, let me give them an example, Sheriff.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

The.

[Woody Overton]

One of the tips I got was about a family member that owned a piece of property, and some guy on his deathbed gave the information the night she wouldn't disappear, and they were digging there, etc. And this is the people. This is the stuff the general public doesn't know. Right. That's. That goes on 3, 6, 365 days a year. And I got that tip and I called in and y' all went to the property.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Woody Overton]

And searched it and excluded it. And. But that doesn't get released. Right. And, and like you said, the, that it's not like you're totally sitting in the dark. Okay? But what you think and what you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt are two different things. And this is a murder case. It's never going to go on away. The statute of limitations are never going to run out. And when you do come, and I'm praying that it's going to happen sooner than later when you do come, you're going to come correct. And. Because this is, this is no, no lawyer is going to plead their client to the death penalty or life in prison.

[Podcast Host]

And, and it's coming to an end. I mean, it's, it's. I feel good about this case whenever we sit down, look at it, it's just like it's one tip away. It's one piece of evidence away. It's getting a lot closer than we've ever been. And I feel good about that. And look, we bring new detectives in quite a bit to get new eyes because there's. Sometimes we're, you know, we get so involved that sometimes we can miss things. So we even try to, hey, get some new eyes on this. Let them go, relook, you know, look through the case. And we have a lot of detectives that's never. It wasn't here during that time that have got involved in his case and taken some really deep interest in it.

[Woody Overton]

And that's, you know, four eyes better and two. And how are many a million eyes are better than, you know.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, 10 or whatever outside the office. You.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

Some other people try to help. And I mean, anything we can. We can do that. That's what we want to do. Because I want to. I want to solve this case. And we owe it to Ms. Barbara. She was a good person. She didn't deserve what happened to her, and we owe it to her.

[Woody Overton]

That's. Let's talk about that for one second. This is not, you know, most time y' all are dealing with high risk victims and stuff like that. Ms. Barbara Blunt.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

Come on, man. The.

[Woody Overton]

Yeah. What kind of better person can you get than her? Right? And. And, And I'm thinking of my mama, but, you know, if this was my mama, you know, she was just. She wasn't in any kind of dangerous lifestyle. There's no whatever. And. And it happened for a reason. You don't murder someone and. And snatch them up and. And do away with them or try to do away with them permanently for no reason. Right. Okay. And. And this is. It's just heartbreaking. But they. But back to what you're saying about bringing in new eyes and everything. I want. I want to say again because really, really upsets me that some other guy does some show whatever went on his thing and saying that I only talk about Ms. Marvello on the podcast during your election years, and then you only talk about it during election years and that you and I had been. He knew that you and I had been knocking on people's doors together and interviewing. That's be at. I'm sorry that I'm gonna say bad words on your stuff. I'm trying not to curse, but that's bull. I mean, you and I talk about it all the time and everything, and, and we've worked it together, but I've never been in anybody's house with you to interview witnesses stuff. So y'. All. There's a lot of misinformation, there's a lot of haters, but that's not what it's about. It is, it's. You know what, it's not even about Sheriff Art or Livingston Parish Sheriff's office. It's about getting justice for Barbara Blunt. Right, Right. I don't care who does it. I don't care who, who gets it and gets the credit and does whatever.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, this is not a credit. This is about justice. And she deserves it more than, I mean, I would even say more than anybody. Like she, like you said earlier, she was a very good person. She was a hard working person and they had been through a lot and she, you know, she didn't deserve this. Nobody deserved this kind of stuff. And again, you know, I took oath of office to serve and protect my community. And you know, I'm do everything I can to solve this case, including working with people outside of our office. You know, the FBI showed interest in it. You know, they've helped us a lot. We have a lot of people that is trying to make this happen. And that's what makes me feel more confident today than I have been. But yeah, look, those tips come in year round. You see a lot during the anniversary in May because obviously we won't, we don't want people to forget. And it's the time you do it, you know, her anniversary when she came up missing. And so, but look, it's, it's year round that we get these tips and look, these guys stop what they're doing to go and follow this tip because we won't. I mean, we're, we're thirsty for this. And again, it's, it's, it's so many things that, that happen and it's so many pieces of evidence to put together. I always like to say the pieces of the puzzle.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

And, and I'm at the point now where I just think we only have a few pieces that puzzle. Puzzle missing right now.

[Woody Overton]

And, and I totally agree with you and y' all calling your tips, whatever it is that's sticking in your head, you know it, you think it's stupid, it's not. Call it in. And what again, I want people to know that it's not a cold case. Y' all work it ever. I don't know what y' all do on what all other tips you get. I'm not going to pretend that I do. But I know Woody overtones what he gets in, what I pass on. And I, I know sometimes I don't know what the outcome or exactly the steps y' all take to investigate it, but I get the call back saying, no, that's not going to be it. But I know it's being worked and that's what's important. And y', all, what if it was your mama? What if it was your sister, your grandmother, Right. Sheriff I'm gonna say something and this is not coming out Sheriff Ards mouth. I want to say the people that did this, they should be very afraid. Oh, that's what is coming because you. Hey, it's not going away. You have to get lucky every single day. We only Sheriff R and his people only have to get lucky once. And you know what? I know the luck has been there. But I know also this murder investigation cannot be rushed. And when you come, you're gonna. When y' all come, you're gonna come correct. But the bad people and never listening everything every new. Every time I drop a podcast or do whatever you're or Karen or whoever does the news gets on it or whatever over there watching.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Woody Overton]

Wouldn't you be watching if you were the murderer?

[Podcast Host]

You know they watch.

[Woody Overton]

Absolutely. So be afraid.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Woody Overton]

Because one day they come with they're going to kick in your door and they're going to drag you out of bracelets and put you in sheriff's art hotel.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, right. A hotel motel.

[Woody Overton]

Be afraid. I just, I hate to think that they get Ms. Barbara hasn't got to see her life. All the Christmases she miss, all the birthdays she missed and anniversaryism maybe births and everything else, they took that away from her. Meanwhile, they get those Christmases they're going to celebrate their next birthday. You know, they woke up this morning but they took her life.

[Podcast Host]

And they'll celebrate till they can't tell. They'll celebrate the justice in our hotel.

[Woody Overton]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

You know, you know what do you said earlier you have a tip line as well.

[Woody Overton]

Right. And actually I want to do give a new one and. And I don't know when it's an air and that's fine. The Because I just took another case out of Vernon Paris and so do you mind if I give it.

[Podcast Host]

No, no, go ahead.

[Woody Overton]

The so that you can call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, be anonymous or you know, tell me your name, whatever you wanted to do. I'll abide by the rules. I don't have to play by law enforcement rules. I don't have to give everything over. But then the tip line is 313RLRC TIP or 313-757-2847 call it in and you can totally remain anonymous. I just gave Sheriff Hard a tip that I got last Week. And, and they want to remain anonymous. Right. And you, you can remain anonymous. Whatever you're holding on to might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. 313-757-2847 or 313RLRC. Tip. And I'm the only one that reads it calling you tips, we need them.

[Podcast Host]

And you also can tune in our loses Paris Sheriff's office app and we have a tip, you know, a tip line there. You can actually directly give us a tip. You can remain anonymous or you can just call us. Yes, you can do the same thing. You can remain anonymous. Whatever you, you want to call us. Contact Woody if you feel more comfortable.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

Get on our app, submit a tip, do, do any of those things. We, we want your tips. We want to be able to continue, we're going to continue investigating this, but we, we need those tips. We want them to come in.

[Woody Overton]

And so the, and I haven't done it yet, but I, I need to share your app on the real life real crime community app. And, and that there's a section there about Ms. Marvel blind also. So cross promo, y' all do it. The, you know, the more you talk about her, the more not, not more likely. The more you talk about her, the quicker we're going to bring this case to conclusion. Yeah, it's a fact. Every time I mention her name, we, I get a new tip. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So, you know, one of the things that as, as we, we wrap it up here, I, I just, I want to, I want to kind of take us through what happened 17 years ago. You know, 17 years ago, which was May 2, 2008, 58 year old Ms. Barbara Blunt went missing midday from her home at 35580 Highway 1036 and Hold. Levison Parish Sheriff's office was alerted that evening. And once on the scene, this is what we learned. There's no signs of force entry. The back door was open. Pots were stacked on her kitchen floor, which we knew that she kind of cleaned that day. And that's what, you know, she had, she had done. There was values were left. All her valuables were left in the home. Nothing missing. Then we had a huge thunderstorm roll in.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

Which actually obviously kind of affected our efforts of trying to gather evidence. We went over the whole, you know, crime scene, but the whole crime scene where her car, which was located about a quarter mile down the road, completely covered in water, rising water. I mean, Mother Nature was doing what mother nature does sometimes. It was, it was just a, a really challenging Moment for your investigators.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

It rained and rose so much that it actually covered the floorboard of the vehicle. We can as the entire area interviewed everyone possible. That whole community was so impacted. They all knew who Ms. Barbara was. It was a very well known family. We had not only law enforcement, but partners. The Louisiana State Police, FBI. I know we had local firefighters there, just search parties. We had people show up on horseback, everything that we could to try to search the area around her car and her home. Eventually we had so many volunteers that showed up and helped from the waterways, the wooded areas. And it went on for days and weeks, us trying to find something. And so I just don't want people to forget Ms. Barbara Blunt, and we're not going to do it. Ms. Barbara Blunt, you know, her date of birth was 329 of 50. She had brownish gray hair. We'll share a photo of her. She had green eyes. She was about 5 foot 7, 150 pounds. And again, we said early, anybody, anybody out there that thinks you might have information, even if you have already given us this information, it's so important that you call us, give us a tip, please. You know, call Woody, submit a tip to us, give us a call, do whatever you think you need to do, but don't live with this. Don't think that we may. The worst. We always said the worst crime of those that we don't know about.

[Woody Overton]

Right?

[Podcast Host]

The same thing with a tip. The best tip that we could get is the one we don't know about and you're sitting on it. So give us that tip. Let us work through this and see what we could, what we could come up with.

[Woody Overton]

Hey, and, and Sheriff, touch on that real quick. Because I had so many different social media platforms and like five or six just different on Facebook pages and that's why we started the app because people send it, you know, in messenger on this page and messenger on this page and I might not get to for a couple weeks. But what you just said, if you called in a tip already, and I think I hadn't thought about this before, if you called in a tip already or you send in a tip already and you have it specifically me, I'm talking about, and you haven't heard back from me, then please resubmit it, do that. Because I may have missed it. Because at the time I had too many different venues and too much stuff going on. I may have missed it. So you, absolutely, you can send it in a hundred times and I'll respond to you. I know y' all would do the same.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. That's what we want. I mean, we need that.

[Woody Overton]

And. Wow. Yeah. I hate to think that I missed something, but it's very possible.

[Podcast Host]

Look, it is possible, and you said it right? If you do, you did happen, you submitted a tip and maybe you don't know where the case are, nobody called you back. Resubmit the tip, you know, let me know, call me at my office, email me directly.

[Woody Overton]

Absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

Get in touch with me and I'll look at it for you. I don't mind at all. So, again, we're human. Sometimes we do, we do make mistakes. Or sometimes it gets, it's, you know, maybe covered up with a piece of paper because we were working another case and maybe we dropped the ball on a tip. That happens. I'm not scared to say that. But in order for us to make sure we get it, resubmit it. Resubmit and let us make sure that we can give you that answer.

[Woody Overton]

And I you submit it to me. The and you don't get an answer, then. Then Woody Overton dropped the ball. So resubmit it and we'll get it to the proper people. Right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Woody Overton]

And look, look, this is, you know, people from all over the country have sent stuff in. We have psychics and. Yeah, all kinds. Hey, you know what? I, I got no problem reading their stuff and listening to them and talking to them. Who knows what may come out of it. But that's where you were talking about earlier. You go down the road to. You can you hit the dead end, you turn around and get on another. Right, right.

[Podcast Host]

So, well, we're going to keep doing. Any final thoughts on the case.

[Woody Overton]

Man, I just want those people to be afraid. I really do. And I want, I want everybody out there to know this is not cold. Cold. Cold means you got nothing. You're following nothing. You're not chasing down anything. That's a cold case. This is not a cold case. This case is actively being worked. Not just an election time, not just when I'm up for podcast awards or whatever. The, The. This case is being worked and it's being worked because of the people that send in tips. So please keep sending them in and if I have not responded to you, resubmit it right until I did.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, well, what do you. Look, man, thank you for being here.

[Woody Overton]

Hey, I love. You guys are awesome.

[Podcast Host]

I appreciate it. Thank you for all the help, help that you have provided for this case and continue to work with us on this. And I can't wait to the day comes and I think it's very soon that we get to celebrate the closing of this case because I know it's coming. I feel good about it. Just gave and I appreciate it. And look if you're out there, you enjoying the podcast, the podcast, remember to follow us on YouTube or whatever listening platform you may be using. Doing this is completely free and it's a great way to be alerted as new episodes drop. So with that they'll do it for behind the Scenes with Sheriff Jason Ard. We appreciate all of you listening. Download our app also you can follow us on social media. And thank you as always in Livingston Parish. We love our schools, we love our churches and we absolutely believe in the second Amendment. Thank you. Be safe and God bless.

[Sheriff Jason Ard]

Awesome.

[Woody Overton]

Sam.

[Police Officer]

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney prior to or during any question. If you can't afford one, the court appoint one for you. Do you understand your rights?

[Narrator]

You running over that's for sure Already knows all about you cause you down no matter about you. Now you better watch the.

[Woody Overton]

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