Real Life Real Crime | Behind The Scenes with Jason Ard: Barbara Blount ep 3

Summary

Real Life Real Crime | Behind The Scenes with Jason Ard: Barbara Blount Ep 3

Release Date: August 14, 2025
Host/Author: Real Life Real Crime Productions
Summary by: [Your Name]

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Introduction

In the third episode of "Behind The Scenes with Sheriff Jason Ard," hosted by Woody Overton, listeners are taken deep into the unsolved case of Barbara Blount. This episode features in-depth conversations with Captain Kevin Harrell and retired Detective Chuck Watts, who were directly involved in investigating Blount's disappearance in 2008. Through their firsthand accounts, the episode sheds light on the complexities and challenges faced during the investigation.

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Case Background

Barbara Blount, a 58-year-old resident of Livingston Parish, vanished on May 2, 2008. Her disappearance was reported midday from her home at 35580 Highway 1036, Holden. Initial findings at her residence showed no signs of forced entry, and the house appeared meticulously clean, suggesting that Blount may have been lured out rather than forcibly taken.

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Initial Investigation [08:03 - 12:19]

Captain Jason Ard introduces the key detectives involved:

• Captain Kevin Harrell: Joined the Sheriff's Office in the mid to late '80s, transitioned from uniform patrol to juvenile division, and eventually became a detective.
• Detective Chuck Watts: A retired detective from the Lewiston Parish Sheriff's Office, known for handling high-profile cases.

Notable Quote:

"Barbara Blount is one of the only unsolved cases I was involved with," — Captain Kevin Harrell [08:17]

The investigation began on a rainy Friday afternoon when Blount was reported missing. Upon arriving at her residence, Harrell and fellow detectives found the back door open and the house in a state that implied she had been preparing for or finishing spring cleaning. The only immediate clue was a cordless phone on the carport that had been knocked over, later suspected to be accidental.

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Challenges Faced [12:19 - 16:04]

The heavy rain on the day of the discovery severely impacted the investigation:

• Environmental Obstacles: Water over the crime scene compromised evidence, limiting the detectives' ability to gather critical information.
• Access Issues: The flooded wooded areas made aerial searches impossible initially, delaying key findings.

Notable Quote:

"We were at a disadvantage due to the water. And this is in a wooded area where her car was, even though it was off the road." — Captain Kevin Harrell [11:10]

Despite these challenges, the team worked tirelessly, utilizing resources from the Louisiana State Police and the FBI to distribute questionnaires and canvass the area. Volunteers played a significant role in searching the waterways and swamps nearby.

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Investigation Details [16:04 - 30:01]

The detectives delved into Blount's personal life, uncovering that she was a beloved community member with no known enemies:

• Personal Attributes: Blount was known for her strength and independence, demonstrated by her ability to handle challenging tasks on her farm, such as wrangling cattle.
• Alibis and Leads: Initial leads involved a witness who found Blount's car and a person seen with her, both of whom were eventually ruled out as suspects.

Notable Quote:

"We always sent somebody we chased a call or something to investigate. We didn't wait on the lead investigators. We jumped on it." — Captain Kevin Harrell [32:56]

The investigation maintained a high level of activity, avoiding tunnel vision and pursuing all potential leads diligently. DNA evidence provided a breakthrough when a suspect was identified through CODIS, but further investigation cleared him of involvement.

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Community and Detective Insights [30:01 - 45:19]

The episode highlights the importance of community involvement and the detectives' unwavering commitment:

• Community Volunteers: Local volunteers, including horse riders from Texas, assisted in the search despite challenging terrain.
• Detectives' Perspectives: Both Harrell and Watts emphasize the emotional toll of unsolved cases and their dedication to bringing closure to victims' families.

Notable Quote:

"I would like to cleared it. But I don't care who cleared it. I just want to live long enough to see that it's cleared to put the family at rest in peace." — Captain Kevin Harrell [44:32]

Sheriff Ard underscores the significance of confidence in investigators, praising Harrell and Watts for their relentless pursuit of justice and maintaining high clearance rates within the Sheriff's Office.

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Current Status and Call to Action [45:19 - 47:03]

Despite extensive efforts, Barbara Blount's case remains unsolved nearly two decades later. The episode serves as a plea for new information:

Notable Quote:

"Please, if you have information, call us. If it's the same information, call us again, we don't mind relooking at those information." — Captain Kevin Harrell [47:03]

Detective Harrell encourages anyone with relevant information to contact the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, emphasizing that even repeated tips are valuable.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a heartfelt acknowledgment of Barbara Blount's character and the detectives' persistent efforts to solve her case. Woody Overton reiterates the community's role in aiding the investigation and honors the dedication of those seeking justice for Blount.

Notable Quote:

"Barbara Blunt is a true victim, she had lived a decent life, worked hard, raised a family, and she didn't deserve this." — Sheriff Jason Ard [35:59]

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Key Takeaways

• Unsolved Mysteries: Barbara Blount's disappearance remains one of Livingston Parish's most perplexing cases.
• Community Involvement: The significance of community support and volunteer efforts in law enforcement investigations.
• Persistent Dedication: The unwavering commitment of detectives and law enforcement officials to solve cold cases and provide closure to affected families.

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How You Can Help

If you have any information regarding Barbara Blount's disappearance, please reach out to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office through their official tip lines or the podcast's app. Every piece of information, no matter how small, could be crucial in solving this enduring mystery.

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For more detailed discussions and updates on this case, subscribe to "Real Life Real Crime" on your preferred podcast platform and follow their social media channels.

Transcript

[Will]

This podcast is sponsored by IQ Bar. I've got good news and bad news. Here's the bad news. Most protein bars are packed with sugar and unpronounceable ingredients. The good news? There's a better option. I'm Will and I created IQ Bar Plant Protein Bars to empower doers like you with clean, delicious, low sugar, brain and body fuel. IQ bars are packed with 12 grams of protein, brain nutrients like magnesium and Lion's Mane and Zero Weird Stuff. And right now you can get 20% off all IQ Bar products plus free shipping. Try our delicious IQ Bar Sampler Pack with seven plant protein bars, four hydration mixes and four enhanced coffee sticks. Clean ingredients, amazing taste and you'll love how you feel. Refuel smarter, hydrate harder, Caffeinate larger with IQ Bar go to eatiqbar.com and enter code BAR20 to get 20% off all IQ Bar products plus free shipping. Again, go to eatiqbar.comand enter code BAR20. If you work as a manufacturing facilities engineer, installing a new piece of equipment.

[Kevin Harrell]

Can be as complex as the machinery itself.

[Will]

From prep work to alignment and testing, it's your team's job to put it all together.

[Jason Ard]

That's why it's good to have Grainger on your side.

[Will]

With industrial grade products and next day.

[Jason Ard]

Delivery, Grainger helps ensure you have everything.

[Will]

You need close at hand through every.

[Kevin Harrell]

Step of the installation.

[Will]

Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[Woody Overton]

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, but you can't afford one, the court appoint one for you. Do you understand your rights?

[Jason Ard]

When the wolf is at your home you running so but that's for sure. Already knows all about you cut you down no matter by you now you.

[Kevin Harrell]

Better watch the light.

[Woody Overton]

Warning this episode of Real Life Real Crime. The podcast may contain descriptions of acts of violence or that of a sexual nature, and should be for people that are 18 years or older. 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 going to get Hey y', all, it's Woody Overton, your host of Real Life Real Crime, the podcast. And today we're going to be dropping part three of Sheriff Jason Art's behind the Scene podcast on Ms. Barbara Blunt's case. And featured on the episode the man I call dear old dad, Detective Chuck Watts retired now. And Kevin Harrell. Now, Chuck Watts trained me, and when I first got into detectives, and then we were partners later on and everything else. And then Kevin Harrell and I actually worked uniform patrol together. And then we were in detectives together and just two of the finest investigators you could ever hear from. And y', all, I listened to this episode last night. And again, thank you, Sheriff R. For having me on. But, you know, listen to it. Call in your tips. The tips are what's going to solve this case. Okay, but my hat's off again. Sheriff Ard and Lipstick Parish Sheriff's Office for taking this approach, keeping the awareness. And that's why we're sharing it on our feed. And Detective Chuck Watts. And now I think Kevin is over Uniform Patrol, but he was a hell of a detective, too. And this is their view of of Ms. Barbara Blunt's case. And I'm Woody Overton, your host of Real Life, Real Crime, the podcast. Till next time or ever, don't let me catch you down on murder by you. Peace.

[Jason Ard]

This podcast episode may contain explicit material. Listener viewer discretion is advised. The intention is not to offend, but to provide information.

[Kevin Harrell]

Proceed only if you're comfortable with potentially sensitive content.

[Jason Ard]

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. Well, good morning. I am going to be continuing our episodes on Barbara blunt. It's been 17 years. We all want to know what happened to her. This is one of those cases that sticks with you, I think, all, including the family. We just want answers, and we are not going to stop until we get those answers and hopefully bring some kind of justice to Barbara Blunt, who very much deserves it. Today I have in the studio with me two gentlemen that you've never heard from that were actually the assigned detectives on the Barbara Blunt case. One is currently with me at the Sheriff's office, which is Captain Kevin Harrell. Thanks for being with me today, Kevin.

[Kevin Harrell]

Glad to be here.

[Jason Ard]

And the other is Mr. Chuck Watts, who is a retired detective from the Lewiston Parish Sheriff's Office. Chuck and I worked together for years. And, Chuck, you worked a lot of Big cases when you was at the sheriff's office? Most of. Most of our high profile cases. I know you were assigned. I remember that like it was yesterday. But Chuck Watts, thank you for being here today.

[Kevin Harrell]

Thank you, sheriff.

[Jason Ard]

And so as we get into this case a little bit more, I wanted you to hear from the guys. Like I said, the boots on the ground take you behind the scenes a little bit. And Chuck, you. How long was you with the sheriff's office? When did you start?

[Kevin Harrell]

I started somewhere around mid to late 80s.

[Jason Ard]

Okay. And. And you, where'd you start? And you was in juvenile at one time, I think. I feel like that's where you was when I actually first came to work here in 93. I can't really remember.

[Kevin Harrell]

I started out at the detention center, as most people do, and I stayed there a while and went through transportation for a little while and then on the road and actually went into juvenile and eventually into detectives.

[Jason Ard]

Just for the record, the reason I didn't meet Chuck when he was a juvenile detective and I was being unruly. Juvenile.

[Kevin Harrell]

No, no.

[Jason Ard]

Okay. Should make this.

[Kevin Harrell]

Sure.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah. So. And I know that you worked, like I said, a lot of high profile cases. And so Barbara Blunt, me and you've talked about this recently. This case is obviously the case that you were very clear when I talked to you. Still bothers you today?

[Kevin Harrell]

Absolutely. It's very seldom do I not think about this. Not going to say daily or weekly, but about the time you just think that nothing's going on, all of a sudden it pops in your mind.

[Jason Ard]

Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

It's probably one of the only unsolved cases that I was involved with.

[Jason Ard]

I'm pretty sure you're correct about that.

[Kevin Harrell]

Yeah.

[Jason Ard]

We've looked back, we have a few and very few, which is contribute to Yalls investigation skills. But this was one that haunts us all.

[Kevin Harrell]

It does.

[Jason Ard]

Kevin, how long you been with the sheriff's office?

[Kevin Harrell]

I'm working on 27 years.

[Jason Ard]

27 years?

[Kevin Harrell]

Yes.

[Jason Ard]

And take me through your tenured here.

[Kevin Harrell]

I started in uniform patrol. I'd done eight and a half years and got promoted to detectives.

[Jason Ard]

Okay. And so we're going to take people back to 2008, which was May the second. Whenever Barbara Blunt goes missing. Kevin made it very clear to me he was a rookie detective. I was, you know, about how long you'd been in detectives?

[Kevin Harrell]

Probably less than a year.

[Jason Ard]

Less than a year. Not a better person to have with you, right, Chuck?

[Kevin Harrell]

Yeah. Good detective.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah. So, you know, we, we. We don't. We're going to take people through the scene. And the biggest question that. That I have, and I want to kind of start out with that, and I'll start with you. Chuck would take me through that day that you can remember. Like you get the phone call from dispatch or Stan, whoever it is. Who, who, who actually called you?

[Kevin Harrell]

I got a call from dispatch, as you said, Sheriff, it was on a Friday afternoon, and Detective Harrell and myself, we were the weekend. We came in at 2 o' clock in the evening and was on call till we had to work till 10 and then was on call to 4am and then the day shift took over. Detective Harold had went and was checking on something and I was at the courthouse and all the courthouse personnel was already gone. So it was at the 4:00, clock I get the call of a missing person, Ms. Blunt. And at that time, I think I called chief of Detective Stan Carpenter and advised him. And Detective Harrell and I got together and we went there. In fact, I think Detective Harrell was. Got on the scene before I did. I did, yes. And when we got there, it started raining bad. We went by the house there and we noticed that the house had been cleared already and secured. So we actually went down to where the car was at. And at that time, the water was up over my shoes. And by the time that we got our record there, I think Detective Bourgeois was there with the record, if I'm not mistaken, and it was already inside the car. As we know as investigators, there's two things that destroy his evidence. Fire and water. And we caught the water.

[Jason Ard]

Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

So we were at a disadvantage due to the water. And this is in a wooded area where her car was, even though it was off the road. There's a lot of woods there. And I remember the woods even just being flooded. But we got there and then we went back to the house and walked through it and took a look at it. Detective Harold and I did. And Detective Bourgeois, which now is the chief of detectives, I'm proud for him. And he came there. I think him and Detective Sager did the process. The crime scene at the house, which everything was just clean. It was.

[Jason Ard]

It was, yeah.

[Kevin Harrell]

I. I don't know if. If Ms. Blunt was a. Just like to keep things clean or she just was doing spring cleaning and doing everything. Right. Because pots was out and where she had been dusting and all. So it was a. She kept a very clean house.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah, I was talking to Stan Carpenter about it. Excuse me. One of the things that we had talked about was he like, she had some windows open, you know, some cleaning stuff out, like the pots pulled out of cabin. Like you'd be cleaning that kind of stuff. Not rumble through. Like it would be. That a suspect would have went through and rumble through everything. He said the same thing. What was the. And I know that everybody. We talk about the phone, you know, the cordless phone, it's on the porch. One of the things I didn't realize is when you said earlier that when you got on scene, you already had water over your shoes.

[Kevin Harrell]

That's correct.

[Jason Ard]

And I knew it was coming up fast, but I didn't realize it's coming up that fast. And. But tell us about the. The cordless phone.

[Kevin Harrell]

There was a cordless phone on the carport, and we noticed that it had been knocked over or fell over in the back. It was off of it, and the battery was out. And it puzzled me for a while, you know, was this something intentionally meaning a struggle, or was it something accidental that maybe the wind blew over because it was windy, it was stormy, that. So eventually, day or two later, when I was able to go home, I had my cordless bone, because I didn't know the office would call information or whatever, and I had it setting up on my carport, and I accidentally hit it, and when it fell over, it fell over just like the one at Barbara's house. So that kind of relieved my mind a little bit, because if it had been a struggle, there should have been other stuff, and we did not see that.

[Jason Ard]

Right. So, I mean, that's the only thing that you had that was a sign of a. Of a possible struggle would have been the phone.

[Kevin Harrell]

Correct.

[Jason Ard]

There was nothing else at her house on that scene that showed any sign of struggle other than that, you know, And I mean, I looked at the photos a couple of times, and, I mean, it wasn't thrown against the wall. It wasn't thrown on the ground, but, you know, and it's still a possibility that it could have been a struggle, and it got bumped where it was sitting and fell off. So there's. It's there, but it's. It's the only thing we got. And Mother Nature was not cooperating with.

[Kevin Harrell]

Us that day at all.

[Jason Ard]

We know that. Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

In fact, talking about the weather, we could not get the helicopter up that day, but I believe it was the next day. Detective Bourgeois and Chad west, they got up, and I think they flew for five straight days, if I'm not mistaken.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harrell]

And which didn't yield us any information. Yeah, I do remember that. North of where her house where her car was found. They got a road called Hull Lane and they had some people out the next day that was there with four wheelers on foot, horseback, you name it. And we was up in the air and I do remember Raymond Blunt, he was horseback and he led his horse off into a ditch in the horse and Raymond had to swim out. Yeah, that's how bad it was, the flood. It was bad as 2016, but it was bad. We lost a lot of time and space there because of the water, so.

[Jason Ard]

Well, you got to preserve those, those crime scenes. And when the cards are stacked against you, they stacked against you. I mean, there's really nothing you can do about it, you know?

[Kevin Harrell]

That's correct.

[Jason Ard]

Whenever I know when y' all got to the scene, there was a witness that was there and I'm what, Kevin, you remember there was a witness that actually found Barbara Blunt car.

[Woody Overton]

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[Will]

This podcast is sponsored by IQ Bar. I've got good news and bad news. Here's the bad news. Most protein bars are packed with sugar and unpronounceable ingredients. The good news? There's a better option. I'm Will and I created IQ Bar Plant Protein Bars to empower doers like you with clean, delicious, low sugar brain and body fuel. IQ bars are packed with 12 grams of protein, brain nutrients like magnesium and Lion's Mane and Zero Weird Stuff. And right now you can get 20% off all IQ Bar products plus free shipping. Try our delicious IQ Bar Sampler Pack with seven plant protein bars, four hydration mixes and four enhanced coffee sticks. Clean ingredients, amazing taste and you'll love how you feel. Refuel smarter, hydrate harder, Caffeinate larger with IQ Bar. Go to eatiqbar.com and enter code BAR20 to get 20% off all IQ Bar products plus free shipping. Again, go to eatiqbar.com and Enter code BAR20. If you work as a manufacturing facilities engineer, installing a new piece of equipment.

[Kevin Harrell]

Can be as complex complex as the machinery itself.

[Will]

From prep work to alignment and testing, it's your team's job to put it all together.

[Jason Ard]

That's why it's good to have Grainger on your side.

[Will]

With industrial grade products and next day.

[Jason Ard]

Delivery, Grainger helps ensure you have everything.

[Will]

You need close at hand through every.

[Kevin Harrell]

Step of the installation.

[Will]

Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Jason Ard]

And you was there where the car was located?

[Kevin Harrell]

Yes, I eventually made it over there once I left the house.

[Jason Ard]

And what was it? What did the scene look like when you got there? The car scene?

[Kevin Harrell]

It was. It was off the Side of the gravel road. And then, like Chuck has had. It was raining.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harrell]

Very hard. And I was there when detective Bourgeois came, and we collected the keys, which was found on the. On the side of the road and.

[Jason Ard]

That's right. I forgot about that. So her keys were found on the side of road. Would they look like they were dropped or thrown or.

[Kevin Harrell]

Yeah, they looked like they were just.

[Jason Ard]

Dropped on the side.

[Kevin Harrell]

And it was in between the car, where it was parked on the gravel road in between there and the highway.

[Jason Ard]

Right. Okay. I remember seeing the photos, but.

[Kevin Harrell]

Yes. Yes.

[Jason Ard]

Okay. And I says, you're lucky to get that. If the water came up, even it was faster or waited a little. If we wouldn't have found the car so quick. You may not even found the keys.

[Kevin Harrell]

You probably wouldn't have. Yeah, they was coming up that quick.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah, it was horrible. Yeah, it was horrible. You remember, we. I think y' all had a. So we had a suspect that actually found the car. Well, we had a person found the car turned into a suspect. Right. Because everybody's a suspect.

[Kevin Harrell]

Thank you, Sheriff.

[Jason Ard]

Everybody's a suspect. And reason I'm bringing this up. And about two years or maybe three years ago, Detective Bourgeois and I, our chief Bourgeois and I actually went to try to solve the witnesses that seen the suspect on the side of the road with Barbara Blunt. Y' all remember that? And that haunted us for a while. And so looking up and finding those witnesses, and we actually went and sat down with their house, talk to him a little while, and was able to rule that that person is the person that found the car. Just a witness who I'm sure y' all interrogated for quite some time.

[Kevin Harrell]

And.

[Jason Ard]

His mother resembles Barbara Blunt, from what I remember. And so once we talked to him, we kind of ruled that that's who they seen on the side of the road when they passed.

[Woody Overton]

Right.

[Jason Ard]

When you kind of narrow down the time frame, that kind of stuff. And. And we may have all kind of knew that, but it just was one of those things that kept surfacing. And it may have been that we wasn't doing a great job of actually making sure that we put that out there, that, hey, this was a dead end. And so unless it was another timeline that we don't know that there was actually a person fitting the same description that was standing with her.

[Kevin Harrell]

Right.

[Jason Ard]

And we all think. Have a feeling that she went from one car to another, and it was that quick.

[Kevin Harrell]

Yes.

[Jason Ard]

So. So, Chuck, do you remember. Do you remember, I guess, the. The actual time that they realized that she was missing. Do you remember any. Like it was a daytime, nighttime the last time somebody talked to her?

[Kevin Harrell]

The information that I had was. Came from the daughter. Christy had said that she had talked, had went by and seen her mother, I believe, believe that morning before she went to work. She'd worked at Winn Dixie and a meet and. But she couldn't get a hold of her around noon time. So I think this actually started maybe around noonish or thereafter is the information we had got.

[Jason Ard]

And it had been a while since they had talked to her senior. I think they seen her or talked.

[Kevin Harrell]

To her that morning as far as I can remember. Christie, the daughter of Barbara Blunt, had stop by there on the way to work.

[Jason Ard]

So I'll take people back in time and you may not remember this, but I remember it's like we just did. I don't know why, you know, certain things just kind of stick out in her head. But you told me you did something to the phone when you got there. Hard line phone. You called the last number they called or something like that. You able to bring. You remember that?

[Kevin Harrell]

I don't remember that.

[Jason Ard]

That's one of those old heart, you know, the landlines. And you were able to dial something in gave you the last number or something. Yeah, it was a way you used could do that.

[Kevin Harrell]

Yeah, I think it's either star 69 or 67. One of the two.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah.

[Kevin Harrell]

One of them hid your number that you were on when you made a phone call.

[Jason Ard]

Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

And the other one was to get the last number there.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah, I remember you could used to do that, but you told me you did it. And I think Star67 is how you hide your number. I think star maybe how you get the last number correct. But you did and you called it. Well, I don't know why that sticks out in my head, but it does. But it's just investigative work. I mean, you're doing what you do every day. You can go through the process. And of all the cases you've worked, I mean, what do you. What is your actual thought process about. About Barbara Blunt? What, What. Where do you. Where do you think? You think Barbara Blunt's missing? You think she's murdered?

[Kevin Harrell]

I think she was murdered, yes. I think it was a kidnapping or however you want to word it. And ultimately she was murdered, yes. Yeah, my thoughts on this also, when I first got to the house, I mean, everything, nothing was out of place. So, you know, being in law enforcement, we take a lot of missing person complaints, especially uniform patrol. And in most cases Those people return, you know, they return home the next day or what have you. And it. My very first thought of this was possibly, hopefully this was going to be the same scenario that, you know, that she, she would be found. But as the case went on and on with the, you know, the phone we talked about with her vehicle being parked where it was in the location was suspicious to me. And then I began to say, well, maybe this is not going to be that normal missing person's case, you know. So that concerned me. And as a new detective, I was eager to learn and then, you know, solved his case and find Ms. Barbara.

[Jason Ard]

So what I want to do real quick, I'd like to go over like the timeline. I'm going to read through this. And I've done this before, but I don't think you can do it enough. And, and then kind of get your thoughts of after this is over. But basically. So it's Friday, May 2, 2008. 58 year old Barbara Blunt went missing midday from her home, 35580 Highway 1036 Holden. The Livingston Parish Sheriff's office was alerted that evening. Once on scene, we learned this. No signs of forced entry. The back door was open. Pots were stacked on the kitchen floor. We know she intended to clean that day because apparently, I think we actually asked questions around the family. She was intending on either cleaning or just got through cleaning. Valuables were left in the residence in plain view. No appearance of any type of robbery. Appears as though someone lured her from her residence. Someone maybe she knew. We kind of talked about that, what you were kind of getting into. Everybody's a suspect, but obviously someone that she knew, we feel like, or maybe stalled her, caught her off guard to where it was no struggle. But somebody obviously lured her from that residence in a way that they didn't leave a mess. Rainstorms completely hampered all our efforts that day and. And basically everything was pretty much covered with water. On the second crime scene, where her car was actually located, her vehicles was located approximately a quarter mile north of her residence. It was parked on a hunting club road in a wooded area. And if I remember right, if you turn on that road, it was to the right. Kind of pulled in like somebody turned down the road and then pulled into the wooded area and parked. Rained so much it covered the full board of car right before y' all got it out there. I think water actually got in the car about an inch, about an inch on the floorboard. We canvassed the entire area. We interviewed everyone with a possible connection to Blunt Law enforcement partners, including Louisiana State Police and the FBI, helped us chase every single lead that we came across. Volunteers helped us with search, helped us search the area. And we searched waterways and wooded areas. And in that area where there's a lot of waterways, because we're not far from the Tickfall river on the north end of the parish. And so that's probably where, of course, anytime you got a river, you got a bunch of canals that kind of run off that river. So that whole area there was kind of swampy, if I remember.

[Kevin Harrell]

Yes.

[Jason Ard]

And not far from the river itself, if. Am I right on that?

[Kevin Harrell]

Yes, that's correct. Also, Sheriff, if. If you go down Highway 1036, it's. A lot of our roads are in this parish, the road is a lot higher than the property.

[Jason Ard]

A lot higher.

[Kevin Harrell]

And that didn't help at all because we knew was in a low. In fact, I used to hunt that years ago. That was an old KS hunting club, and I hunted there for years. And there's all kind of laterals coming off going through there. Yeah, it's a slash back up in there.

[Jason Ard]

You remember, Y' all remember. So Louisiana State Police, their role, if I remember, was basically crime rap. The crime lab came in. State police, crime lab, FBI. What role did they play in this, the FBI?

[Kevin Harrell]

They have a lot of resources, you know, and they basically come out and also put together with the sheriff's office a form that we would distribute to the people in the area, you know, and it was a questionnaire, just like we did on another homicide case that I worked on years ago. I think we pretty well all worked on it, too. And that was their main goal there, I believe, was to help us with the questionnaire that we got out to the public.

[Jason Ard]

Yeah, you know, in. It's good to have those resources and, you know, when you're limited with your resources. I know back in, oh, eight, we had a lot of resources, but we were still limited when it came to certain type of cases. Correct. Volunteers. I mean, it was. I just remember being a lot of people in the area, which is common here in Livingston, when you have something that you need, your community, they're going to step up. And I just remember being a lot of people on a previous interview, I remember Stan Carpenter kind of mentioned. And I kind of remember this. Remember that the horse riders out of Texas or something.

[Kevin Harrell]

Correct.

[Jason Ard]

I don't think they really realized the terrain that they were going to get into when they got down here to Louisiana. I mean, we're not on the. On the coast Here in Louisiana, but we absolutely up in the swamp world. And there's some very tough terrain here in Livingston Paris. When you get off the beaten path, I mean, it's not easy, but I want to go. But I know that I just want to recall some stuff, and I want to kind of get into that. How many calls did we got the next two or three weeks? And the reason I know, when you go through this file, it sees a lot of y' all just having to follow up on so many tips. Location of the possible world her body was dumped, or they may have seen her in a grocery store, whatever. Can you do any of those? Kind of jump out at you that. That just sticks with you? Did you feel like that, you know, we could have. Not that we could have covered it a little. I'm just. Anything that kind of sticks out at.

[Kevin Harrell]

You as investigator, Nothing as far as the tips. I need to go back and just bring up that we dealt with what little bit of evidence we had, right? A very little bit. When you run your evidence out, you have to rely on information. And you're only as good as the.

[Jason Ard]

Information you get 100%.

[Kevin Harrell]

And we chased it. It didn't matter if it was me. Detective Harold, Chief Booth Wall, Chief Carpenter, whoever. If me as a lead detective, if I'm not around the sheriff's office don't wait on Chuck or Kevin Harrell to come and go do it. We always sent somebody we chased a. A call or something to investigate. We didn't wait on the lead investigators. We jumped on it. Which is a good thing. No. You had mentioned something about the. All the people that volunteered and came there. It's a good thing because a lot of times, another case that I worked, the. The main suspect was right there in my hip pocket the whole time because he wanted to know what we were doing.

[Jason Ard]

Right? And they get pretty brave at times.

[Kevin Harrell]

They do, because they think that if they can get close to us, we're going to say something that may benefit them.

[Jason Ard]

Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

So in all my years of working cases like this, you only had one of three reasons to kill somebody. Profit, love, or revenge. I'm not talking about someone getting in a car wreck and killing someone, Right? But they'll say, and you kill my brother, I'm gonna kill you.

[Jason Ard]

Right?

[Kevin Harrell]

Hey, I understand you got a lot of dope in your house, so you got to have a lot of money, too. We're going to do this profit. And it turned bad, and it was a murder, right? And I loved her. I didn't want Nobody else to have her. So I killed her or him, you know.

[Jason Ard]

Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

But we really did have a lot of people like you say that came there.

[Jason Ard]

You know, speaking of Barbara Blunt, you know, she was, she just had this reputation of being a really good person and, and y' all doing, you investigate, you know, you didn't find no enemies. You know, she just wasn't that person. She was a very strong lady, very physically capable of taking care of herself. I think that actual day she kind of wrangled one of her cows because, you know, she raised cattle and they said that one of them got hung up in a fence or barbed wire or something. She had like put it in a headlock and, and look, man, that's, that takes a lot of strength to be able to do those kind of things. So I know at her, her age she wasn't like a, you know, an 85 to 90 year old person that was uncapable of maybe physically holding somebody off. So we know that she was physically capable. She was a very sweet lady. Her reputation was of that and couldn't find anybody in the community, had a bad thing to say about her. I mean, she helped people and she could help them. D.C. politicians want to enact harmful credit card mandates that could take away your cash back and re rewards points perks that stretch your budget and make life a little easier. Losing these benefits means less money for.

[Will]

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[Jason Ard]

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[Will]

Leaving you with higher costs and fewer options.

[Jason Ard]

Tell Congress to guard your card and oppose the Durbin Marshall credit card mandates.

[Kevin Harrell]

Paid for by electronic payments coalition.

[Jason Ard]

And she was loved by many, you know, and so it's just, she of all people, to me, and we've said this in previous interviews, she is a true victim. True victim. And most people are a victim. You know, this is not a person that, you know, was at a crack house, you know, having a bad drug problem or whatever comes up missing. This was a person that had lived a decent life, worked hard, raised a family, was a widow to her husband that was killed in an accident. And you know, she didn't deserve this. And so that's, I know that's why we're sitting here, because it hurts us as investigators that, you know, we, we're trying to solve a case and run into a lot of dead ends. But then again, there's a lot of good leads out there that kind of leads us to certain individuals that we just don't have all the pieces to the puzzle yet. So to speak. And what was your take on Barbara Blanche Chuck? I know you investigated and met a lot of her family members and friends.

[Kevin Harrell]

I've never knew Barbara Blunt before that day. I knew her husband. I knew him as Junior and I knew about him in the accident that he got killed in. But not to just go back and repeat everything you said about her because he was 100% right. I tried finding something bad about her.

[Jason Ard]

Well, that's what. That's what you do. Yeah. You have to try to dig things up like that.

[Kevin Harrell]

Right. And. And I actually went to Magnolia Baptist Church. I got a phone call from Chief Carpenter and inform me that I was going to church at Sunday and to their church. And after church we would have a question and answer. And after the church I got up in front and I talked to people and I answered their questions to the best of my ability. You know, as when you're doing investigations, there's some things you can say and there's some things you can't say. You got the whole back. And I got to know Barbara starting May the second in 2008. I got to know her pretty well. She didn't have boyfriends. She wasn't interested in dating. There was a person that told me that someone had asked her out and she said no, that she was a married woman. And this was Junior was already had been killed. So it was nothing on her computer. A lot of people. Course computers have changed from back in 08 till now.

[Jason Ard]

Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

I still don't know how to turn them on. Yeah. But there was nothing on the computer. You know, such as singles looking for singles.

[Jason Ard]

Right. Right. No interest at all?

[Kevin Harrell]

None. Zero. She was a very strong lady. I think she even had a buffalo they were racing. So I mean, I don't know. I've been years since I've raised cows. But imagine it's pretty good chore with the buffalo and all. But she was a very strong woman. You had said something earlier, Sheriff, about when we started the investigation looking at suspects. That and we talked to the family. Always use the family first. In other words, if. If her husband would have been living. I wanted to clear him right. Then the kids and the kids, then the other relatives. And then just keep expanding out until we zeroed in on somebody. But I never could get a. Just a good, solid, solid lead. Even though we did get a hit on through CODIS one day.

[Jason Ard]

Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

And myself and the chief and Chief Bourgeois went and talked to the suspect. I won't rephrase it. Talk to the person. And we Was able to clear him. And that took us to below New Orleans somewhere, if I'm not mistaken. And we had one. One time I went to the family member, lived in Mississippi, Chief bourgeois, myself, and DNA'd him. He was related to him through marriage. They had the same last name. And I'm kind of bouncing around, but, yeah, that goes back to where we chased every body, every lead. If we got a call and said, hey, you need to go polygraph. Detective Harold, right? We did what we had to do.

[Jason Ard]

Oh, absolutely. You know, there's no doubt.

[Kevin Harrell]

We never put blinders on just looking. Tunnel vision. We never had tunnel vision.

[Jason Ard]

You know, it's. It's. And I'm just going to say this in, oh, eight, I was actually the chief of operations. In that same year, I was promoted to chief, chief deputy. All this was going on. But in my tenured for 32 years. And I say this very. I was from the time I started. And I can't say in the years that I was in the detention center, because I didn't really work with detectives in the detention center much. You know, every now and then, we'd have an occasional complaint that y' all would have to come in. But one of the things I want to get at is the confidence. When you become a road deputy in your detectives, is very important that you have confidence that they're going to do their due diligence to solve these cases. And whenever you hear when I first started, you know, you'd hear certain, you know, a couple names was. That was there, and. And I'm out here and say that you wouldn't roll your eyes a little bit. You know, maybe they were on their way out, didn't really want to investigate. But when we had these homicides, I mean, y' all were always boots on the ground, all hands on deck. We didn't have a lot of people to pull from. Our division grew a little bit. But, you know, from the time I got. Yeah, I don't think y' all added a. Well, time I got detectives. It was still the same amount of people, and I want detectives. And 99 or 98, I think during that timeframe, it was in 98. And I went 97, 98, 99. I was in detectives. And y' all haven't grew at all.

[Kevin Harrell]

Eight.

[Jason Ard]

Eight. And so we were still replacing people as they retired. And of course, we. We investigated everything. But my point is, having confidence in your investigators is vitally important. Knowing that you don't have to go through and double check. And as your Chief operations. And in being the sheriff today, I have the utmost confidence that y' all gave it your all. You still do. Every day. Still bothers us, these things, we take them personally because this is our community. It is. And these are our people. We're responsible for them to keep them safe. And. And I just. My hat's off to you guys because I know that y' all were those investigators. You know, I know Kevin was a rookie investigator, but you hung around for a while after that. You continue to solve good cases. And Chuck, your reputation was that. I mean, you. You handle a lot of our high profile cases, did a great job, you know, and these cases will take a toll on you. They really will. And so before we close, I'm gonna wrap this thing up. Is there anything that just kind of jumps out at you or anything you want to say before we go, Chuck, on this case?

[Kevin Harrell]

The only thing I'd like to add is I don't care who clears. I'm not that type person.

[Jason Ard]

Right.

[Kevin Harrell]

What I'd like to clear, absolutely, not from a feather in the hat standpoint, but to satisfy me, I would like to cleared it. But I don't care who cleared it. I just want to live long enough to see that it's cleared to put the family at rest in peace. And also the sheriff's office. I mean, we don't get this every day, right? This. I don't know if we've had one unsolved since I retired. I don't know.

[Jason Ard]

Pretty sure we haven't.

[Kevin Harrell]

But I know this. We always had a very, very high clearance rate.

[Jason Ard]

We have, we still do today. A lot of times. You guys kind of built the foundation for that and it continues on, you know, I mean, look, the chief of detectives now, somebody that you molded whenever he came in.

[Kevin Harrell]

Yeah.

[Jason Ard]

You know, you and Stan and rest of them, I mean, we, you, y' all were. Y' all had your hands in a lot of them. I mean, Kevin's a captain now. He's worked his way up through the ranks. And all that comes to your mentors as you're coming up. I'm not going to give you all the credit for making me sheriff, but I will. Because everybody that you work with and you look up to touches you some kind of way, you learn something about them, you know, and little things like Chuck never used to get button these little buttons on his shirt.

[Kevin Harrell]

I remember that.

[Jason Ard]

Weird. I just remember things like that and. But you have an impact on everybody. I appreciate it and I hope it's a good impact no, you do. It's always good. And people learn from you. And as a road deputy, when you're thirsty, one of the things I can't commend you for is you absolutely would answer any question I had. And you didn't mind pointing out mistakes. A lot of people don't do that these days. They'll go and tell everybody else about your mistake, but I won't tell you. You can't learn.

[Kevin Harrell]

You cannot.

[Jason Ard]

You got to know that you messed up or you and on it and understand. Okay, well, I screwed up on that. I'll make sure I don't happen again. So thank you for your service. What you've given to this parish, this office. And it's a lot and we says a lot of people that got got justice because of your. Your tenure here at the Sheriff's office. So that is greatly appreciated. And I want to make sure I said that. Kevin, anything I just want to say as well.

[Kevin Harrell]

I learned a lot from Chuck. Chuck taught me a whole bunch. Ben, I even rode you on patrol when I was a reserve.

[Jason Ard]

Don't not talk about that.

[Kevin Harrell]

But, you know, I learned a lot from all of you guys and I appreciate that. The last thing I'd like to say is any tips or anything that comes out that we can. Excuse me, we can find Ms. Barbara, find out what happened. I just asked that you give it. Give those tips because I know 100% they will be traced to the end and followed up on. So, yes, please, if any tips out there, you know, let us know. I would like to add this. Even though I'm retired, Chief Bourgeois can tell you I talk to him anytime I get information. Any of the deputies, be it the ones that I know or the ones that I don't know, everybody know pretty well where I live, pick up a phone. I got the same cell phone number that was issued to me through the Livingston Sheriff's Office years ago. And it don't have to be about this case or any particular case. Livingston Sheriff's Office still my home. And I'm here. I'll help anybody that I can. And it would hurt my feelings if I know somebody needed some information or some help. And I could have provided that it would. It would really hurt me, you know?

[Jason Ard]

Well, I appreciate that. And I knew when I called you to come on the show, you. Look, man, just let me know when and I'll be there. Yeah, and that's. That's always been Chuck White, so. So, Chuck. Thank you, Chuck. Thank you, Kevin. I want to say this. Remember Barbara Blunt was 2008. It was made his second. She came up missing and at the time as Barbara Blunt. Her date of birth is 329 of 50. She had brownish gray hair, green eyes. She was around 57 and 150 pounds. And Kevin said it earlier, if you have information, please give us that tip. Call in, you can get on our app. And we have a tip line. Woody over was on the show. What he kind of put his out there. If you don't, maybe you don't want to talk to law enforcement. We respect that. That's one of the things that we've done on this case. Unlike some of the other ones, we have been outside the box trying to get other avenues of just trying to find avenues of success. And sometimes this just doesn't come from your office. And I don't mind saying that because whatever help we can get, we want to get it. So with that, please if you have you have information, call us. If it's the same information, call us again, we don't mind re looking at those that information relooking at the same old test because you never know what you might have realized that maybe you missed something and it happened. So with that, thank you Chuck. Thank you Kevin. And look those of you if you're listening and you're enjoying the podcast, remember to follow us on YouTube or whatever listening platform you may be using. Doing this is completely free and a great way to be alerted as new episodes drop. So that'll do it for behind the scenes with Sheriff Jason Ard. We appreciate all of you listening. Please download our lpso app, follow us on social media, like it, share it and continue to follow us. And as always in Livingston Parish, we love our schools, we love our churches and we absolutely believe in the second amendment. Be blessed and thank you.

[Woody Overton]

Yeah the rights 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 but you can't afford one the court of appoint one for you. Do you understand your rights?

[Kevin Harrell]

And the wolf is at your door.

[Jason Ard]

Your running's over, that's for sure. He already knows all about you.

[Kevin Harrell]

Cut.

[Jason Ard]

You down no matter about you now you better walk alive.

[Woody Overton]

Warning this episode of real life real crime. The podcast may contain descriptions of acts of violence or that of a sexual nature and should be for people that are 18 years or older. 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 this podcast off now. Thank you.

[Will]

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