Episode 308

Summary

Sword and Scale Podcast - Episode 308 Summary

Introduction

Sword and Scale delves into the harrowing true crime case of 17-year-old Valerie Tindall from Arlington, Indiana. Episode 308, released on July 29, 2025, meticulously chronicles Valerie's disappearance, the intensive investigation that followed, and the eventual revelation of her tragic fate. Hosted by Sword and Scale, the episode provides a comprehensive look into the dark realities lurking within seemingly ordinary communities.

Background: Valerie Tindall and Arlington, Indiana

Valerie Tindall was a promising young girl from Arlington, a small, rural community in Rush County, Indiana. With a population of approximately 17,000, Rush County is characterized by its tight-knit community and agricultural economy. Valerie was known for her sense of responsibility, working various odd jobs to support her family and pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinarian.

“Valerie was about to start her senior year in high school, and the future was heavy on her mind,” the narrator explains at [00:23]. She aspired to leave the confines of Arlington to attend college and build a better future for herself, a stark contrast to the static environment of her hometown.

The Disappearance: June 7, 2023

On June 7, 2023, Valerie left for work as usual but never returned home. Her disappearance quickly escalated from a minor concern to a full-blown crisis as her parents grew increasingly worried.

“By morning, both of Valerie's parents were in a state of panic,” the narrator recounts at [06:58]. A Silver Alert was issued on June 10, highlighting her disappearance and urging the community to assist in locating her.

Initial Investigation

Detective Randy Meek, with 19 years in law enforcement and 14 in investigations, took the lead on Valerie's case. From the outset, Randy and his partner Sean committed to a thorough investigation, deviating from past cases where initial steps were insufficient.

“We were from the get go, going to do everything we possibly could have,” Randy states at [10:31]. The investigation hinged on digital evidence due to the absence of eyewitnesses, leading detectives to scrutinize Valerie’s social media, phone activity, and financial records.

Key Suspects and Leads

Valerie's employer, Patrick Scott, emerged as a person of interest early in the investigation. Patrick, the owner of the local landscaping company, was not only Valerie’s boss but also a neighbor and a surrogate father figure to her.

At [17:05], Patrick Scott provides his account of the day Valerie disappeared, detailing their meeting at South High Gardens in Shelbyville. However, inconsistencies in his statements began to raise red flags among the investigators.

“She got out of the car, got in with another guy,” Patrick recounts at [20:55], describing Valerie’s last known movements. This claim conflicted with other pieces of evidence, leading detectives to question the validity of his statement.

The Breakthrough: Discovery of Valerie’s Car and Patrick’s Involvement

After weeks of investigation with numerous dead ends, Valerie’s car was discovered hidden in an apartment complex on June 26th. This discovery reignited the investigation and focused attention on Patrick Scott. Surveillance footage revealed that Patrick had used a maroon Ford Taurus, matching his vehicle, to drive Valerie back to Rush County on the day she went missing.

“We found her car hidden in an apartment complex,” Randy explains at [28:01]. This finding, coupled with Patrick’s suspicious behavior and unexplained actions, solidified his status as the primary suspect.

Discovery of the Murder Scene

In late November, a significant breakthrough occurred when cadaver dogs detected the scent of decomposition near a pond on Patrick’s property. Despite initial challenges, including misleading information from Patrick, investigators unearthed a wooden box containing Valerie's remains in one of his sheds.

“Anybody that's ever smelled it, it's a smell that will never exit their brain,” Randy notes at [44:21]. The discovery of the box provided the definitive evidence needed to confirm Valerie’s murder.

Confession and Arrest

Patrick Scott was brought in for questioning, where his demeanor remained unnervingly calm despite the gravity of the situation. During the interrogation, Patrick confessed to strangling Valerie to prevent her from making false allegations against him.

“She tried to blackmail me into buying her a car,” Patrick admitted at [49:12], further detailing the events that led to Valerie’s death. His lack of remorse and disturbing emotional detachment underscored his sociopathic tendencies.

Conclusion and Aftermath

Patrick Scott pled guilty to the murder of Valerie Tindall and was sentenced to 57 years in prison. Detective Randy Meek reflected on the case, emphasizing the importance of community and relentless investigation in uncovering the truth.

“Valerie became our kid,” Randy shared at [56:03], highlighting the personal toll the case took on those involved. The episode underscores the unsettling reality that such horrors can exist within the most trusted and familiar individuals in a community.

Notable Quotes

• Randy Meek ([00:23]): “Valerie was about to start her senior year in high school, and the future was heavy on her mind.”
• Sheena Tindall ([07:22]): “Please please come home. There is nothing we can't work on and fix as a family.”
• Patrick Scott ([51:02]): “She tried to seduce me, and I wasn't gonna have it.”
• Detective Randy Meek ([56:29]): “Valerie became our kid.”

Final Thoughts

Episode 308 of Sword and Scale serves as a chilling reminder that danger can lurk in the most unexpected places. Through meticulous investigation and unwavering determination, Detective Randy Meek and his team brought justice for Valerie Tindall, shedding light on the darkness that can hide within seemingly ordinary lives.

Transcript

[Host]

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

[Randy Meek]

You can start smelling the decomposition. And it's a smell. Anybody that's ever smelled it, it's a smell that will never exit their brain.

[Narrator]

I think some of you are a little confused. You see, SNS isn't a true crime podcast. It's a bus. Yeah, a bus. You can't change its trajectory, you can't change its makeup, can't make it blue instead of yellow, and you can't change the driver. I'm driving. I mean, you can get off the bus, you can get on the bus. That's about the extent of your power here, Karen. Basically, you're not in charge here, so sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. Try to listen for once in your miserable life. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. This is episode 308. And if you don't know what podcast you're listening to, I think that's your problem. The Tyndalls are an ordinary middle class family living in Arlington, Indiana, which is part of Rush County. Rush county is about 40 miles southeast of the state capital of Indianapolis. It's a rural area and the town of Arlington is a tiny unincorporated community, meaning it's not really a town and it's not really a village. Doesn't really know what it is. It's just kind of a place that you might want to raise kids, though it gives the vibe that nothing much has ever changed. The nearest big city is miles away, and as peaceful as this area is, it's also somewhat isolated.

[Randy Meek]

My name is Randy Meek. I'm a detective with the Rush County Sheriff's Department, and I've been in law enforcement for nearly 19 years and 14 of those have been in some form of investigations, whether narcotics investigations or general investigations. Rush county itself is a small farming community, so we have a population of roughly 17,000 people. And it is one of those communities that everybody knows everybody and we're so, we're you know, we're a proud community. We have a low crime rate. We still escort a lot of the basketball teams, football team and things like that. We have one high school in our community and our number one business here is agriculture. So we have a lot of farmers and we have far more farmland than we have population. And like I said, it's a proud community that everybody knows everybody and when something happens, everybody's willing to help out and assist.

[Narrator]

For 17 year old Valerie Tindall, this quiet life was all she ever knew. She lived in a modest Home with her parents and her siblings, Valerie always showed a sense of responsibility. She looked out for her family, often working odd jobs during the summer months, mowing lawns, babysitting and running errands for neighbors just to earn a little extra money. Because she liked contributing and being independent. She was practical and hardworking, traits that her mother admired and traits that we all should admire, to be quite honest. 2023 was a pivotal year for her. In the past, she was an underachiever and didn't take school seriously. But once she decided she wanted to be a veterinarian at the end of her junior year, there was full steam ahead. Straight A's and B's. Valerie was about to start her senior year in high school, and the future was heavy on her mind. She dreamed of leaving Rush county, going to college and making something of herself. The thought of staying in this quiet, unchanging place felt suffocating at times, as she knew she wanted more. But she hadn't quite figured out how to get it yet. On the morning of June 7, things were normal as ever. Valerie had breakfast with her mom, talking briefly about her plans for the day, and mentioned heading out to work later. There was no reason to think that this day would be any different from any other. Valerie grabbed her keys, climbed into her green Honda Accord, and drove off. Hours passed, and evening crept in. Sheena waited for her daughter to return, as she always did, expecting to hear the familiar sound of her Honda pulling up into the driveway. But that sound never came. That's how easy it is. That's how quick it happens. Your life is suddenly turned upside down. Valerie had not come home. At first, it seemed like a minor inconvenience. Maybe she was just running late, caught up in some errands or spending time with friends. But as night wore on and calls to her phone went unanswered, Sheena's worry grew. By morning, both of Valerie's parents were in a state of panic. I, unfortunately, was at work.

[Sheena Tindall]

Yeah, I was here. I was working in the bathroom and I come down for a break and she was in her room and going down to try to wash some clothes and come back. And she came down and said she was going to go to work for a couple hours, that she'd be back. She smiled at me right now when she said it, and I see her since.

[Patrick Scott]

If you know anything about anybody she could be talking to, where she could have went, what she might be in, anything to let things know so they can investigate it. Don't wait, don't hesitate.

[Randy Meek]

If you think of something, come forward.

[Narrator]

Valerie's mom added a personal message for her daughter saying if you ran away.

[Sheena Tindall]

Please please come home. There is nothing we can't work on and fix as a family. We all miss you so much from your mom and dad to your bullies. I have had people all over messenger ask if we found you and tell us they will pray. That is all I can ask of everyone else to please just pray. Pray for her safe return. Pray that she realizes how much God, family and friends love her. Her best friend is so torn up. She misses her so much. We all just miss her so much. Life just isn't the same. Our home is broken.

[Narrator]

On June 10, a Silver alert was.

[Detective]

Issued for Valerie Rush County Sheriff's Department is asking for your help finding a missing 17 year old. This is Valerie Tindall. She is missing from Arlington, Indiana. She was last seen around noon on Wednesday. The Sheriff's Department says she is believed to be in extreme danger. She is 5ft 6 inches tall, weighs about 160 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. Valerie was last seen driving a green 2000 Honda Accord with an Indiana license plate. It's on your screen Zyk833. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's department at the number on your screen or just call 911.

[Narrator]

In a press release, they asked for property owners between Shelbyville and Arlington with deep creek beds, low level fields, ravines and properties off a roadway to help find her vehicle. They added that the car could be hidden in barns, other outbuildings or along lesser traveled roads. She was last seen wearing a light blue shirt, jean shorts, sandals and glasses.

[Randy Meek]

On June 8th, the Sheriff's Department received a call. Deputies took a report that morning of Valerie being a reported runaway or missing person. The road guys took the initial report and she was entered as a runaway missing person into the computer system at that time.

[Narrator]

Since you're a true crime fan, you know about a lot of these cases where the victim was reported as a missing person or as a runaway, but turned out it was something worse like a kidnapping or a murder. But in reality, most missing people get that status because of their own actions or maybe their families. In 2023, 80 to 85% of missing children ran away or were pushed out of the house by parents. Of the remaining cases, abduction by an acquaintance counted for 3 to 4% and abductions by strangers totaled less than 1% of cases. It's really rare to just get kidnapped out of the blue by a stranger, no matter what lifetime is Telling you, Unfortunately, it's that 1%, though, of cases where acting fast is most crucial.

[Randy Meek]

So we received the case, it got sent to the detective's office on June 11 or June 12. And the.1 of the things we had talked about was we have seen investigations done in past and not any specific agency, but just done in the past that they wished they would have done things from the get go that they needed later because circumstances were different than what they maybe initially thought. And Sean and I had the conversation that we were not. That was not going to happen. We were, from the get go, going to do everything we possibly could have. And if we don't need it later, we don't need it, but we're going to do everything we can to get all the facts at the beginning, which later created that environment of a whole bunch of analysis that had to be done that took a long time.

[Narrator]

In other words, Detective Randy and his partner Sean didn't just file a missing persons report and wait no matter what.

[Randy Meek]

On this case here. We, from the get go, took it seriously and did the necessary steps in those initial days to give us later evidence that built the foundation for this case. And it was important that we did it in those initial days because that evidence, a lot of it was dig digital. So we didn't have, we didn't have any witnesses, which is. Is kind of unique in this situation is you don't. We didn't, we didn't have any witnesses in this case. So we ultimately had to depend so heavily on. On data from social media, cell phones and stuff like that to piece this case together, to lead us in the direction that we needed or that it led us in. So the initial days of it being reported, how it was reported, didn't change what we did. We took it from the beginning days. We were. Whether she ran away or was abducted, we did the things exactly the same either way.

[Narrator]

The last thing Valerie told her parents before she walked out the door was that she was going to work. Valerie worked as a landscape laborer for a company owned by a guy named Patrick Scott. Patrick and Valerie were friendly, and they sometimes hung out together. In addition to hiring her, he typically hired one or two other seasonal workers for the summer. His business was successful, and he usually paid his workers at the end of every day anywhere between 100 to $200. But Valerie never showed up to work that Wednesday. After she went missing, detectives focused on gathering any clues to her last known movements. They talked to family and friends and went through her social media, bank records and phone activity to trace her steps. Within just a few days, they issued search warrants for her phone and Snapchat account, hoping to find a lead. Without Valerie or her car, hope was fading. That is, until Valerie's grandfather was questioned and remembered a sighting that shed new light. He reported seeing a young woman who looked a lot like Valerie driving a black Nissan eastbound on US Highway 52 towards Rushville just a few days after she disappeared. An hour later, the same car passed by again, but this time with a Hispanic male behind the wheel and the girl as a passenger. This report begged the question, was Valerie still out there and had she run away to be with a new boyfriend? Or had she been kidnapped and maybe even pulled into one of those human traffic rings we keep hearing about on Lifetime? I got to stop picking on Lifetime. They do have some marvelous Christmas specials. It was the start of summer in 2023 and Valerie Tindall of Arlington, Indiana had the rest of her life ahead of her. Or so she thought. 17 year old Valerie was a hard worker and had been earning good grades towards her goal of becoming a veterinarian. She worked for a landscaping company and was saving money for car and other things. Young people save up money to buy on their own whatever the hell it is they buy. I don't know. Anyway, Valerie was a responsible girl and always told her parents where she was. But when she announced she was going to work on Wednesday, June 7, her parents were curious since she didn't usually work on a Wednesday. The police scoured her phone records and social media and after a few days also had an idea of where her vehicle was last seen. But they still hadn't located it or Valerie. After a few more days passed, her grandfather remembered seeing a girl who looked like Valerie in a black Nissan driving up the highway past his house. When it came back the other way, he thought he saw a young Hispanic male in the driver's seat. At the same time, investigators were following all leads, including information from her cell phone. Initial pings placed her phone in Shelbyville, Indiana around noon on June 7th before her phone eventually went dead. After talking with her parents more, they discovered she had an old boyfriend in that area. They checked out the location, all the woods in that area, and footage from nearby cameras. They called on their Shelbyville police to help locate her car, but it wasn't found. All the leads so far were accounting to a dead end. Just like the information about the black Nissan and Hispanic male, nothing really panned out. The case was getting cold. That's when they decided to retrace their footsteps and go to the last place that Valerie was supposed to be, at her job. Here's her employer, Patrick Scott.

[Patrick Scott]

Hi, Patrick. So you're here today because of Valerie Tindall, who's been missing or run away since June 7, which was a Wednesday of this.

Right. Right.

Now, you know Valerie because. A couple different ways here. One, she's your neighbor, right?

Right.

She lives there, kind of like in front of you?

Yeah. Okay.

And she also works for you, right, in the summer, help mow grass and things like that?

[Host]

Right?

[Patrick Scott]

Yeah, part time.

Okay.

And when she does that grass, when she does mow grass for you and works with you, is she usually with you, you drive her from job to job?

Yes.

So you guys are always together?

Yes.

Okay, so there's never a time where you have her meet you at a job?

[Host]

Just once.

[Patrick Scott]

Just once.

[Host]

Just once.

[Patrick Scott]

How long ago was that? Before, Jim. Before she ran away?

Yeah.

Before she left?

Yeah.

[Host]

Right after she. Shortly after school let out.

[Patrick Scott]

All right. Okay.

[Host]

Wednesday afternoon.

[Patrick Scott]

Wednesday afternoon. Where did you meet up with her?

[Host]

At South High Gardens.

[Patrick Scott]

South High Gardens in Shelbyville?

Yes. Okay.

What were you driving at that point?

[Host]

I had my truck and that car both?

[Patrick Scott]

Yeah, the truck and the car both at South High. At South High.

So the.

The what did you drive there that day? The truck with your trailer, too?

Yes. Okay.

How did the car get there?

[Host]

I moved it there, like, the day before. Two days before.

[Patrick Scott]

Why did you do that?

[Host]

Because she was going to take off.

[Patrick Scott]

So you gonna give her a car to use?

[Host]

No, no, I'm just gonna give her a ride.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay, so she. So she called you on Tuesday? On Tuesday?

[Host]

No, she called me a couple days before she was gonna leave.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

So she.

[Host]

I didn't think she'd go through with it, but she did.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Narrator]

Valerie reportedly didn't get along with her father. He didn't. Like some of her past boyfriends, allegedly. And recently, she'd been meeting up with boys without telling her dad, again, allegedly. But there was someone she regularly confided in. That's how we know all this information. That person was her employer, Patrick Scott. He was, like, her real father, or maybe a surrogate father, according to him.

[Patrick Scott]

So she planned this with you?

[Host]

Well, she planned it.

[Patrick Scott]

I just.

You went along. You just went along?

Yeah.

Okay, so her plan, or the plan was, was for you to go ahead and have the tourist there prior to Wednesday?

[Host]

Well, she wanted to ride back, but I didn't want to drive that truck, so I drove the car.

[Patrick Scott]

On what day?

Wednesday.

Okay, but you took the Car there the night before, right?

Yes.

And you did that because you knew that she was going to need a ride.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Patrick Scott]

Cause she had already told you that she wanted to meet with you on Wednesday at those apartments, correct?

Right.

So you already knew prior to Wednesday that you were gonna go to those apartments in Shovelville at High. What was it again?

[Host]

South High Gardens.

[Patrick Scott]

South High Gardens. To meet her. Right?

Right.

You knew that prior to Wednesday?

[Detective]

Right.

[Host]

Well, I mowed her on that day.

[Patrick Scott]

Did she know that, too?

Yes.

Okay, so you're already there. Were you there mowing when she showed up on Wednesday?

Yes.

Okay, so you're at south by Gardens mowing grass.

Yes.

And she shows up in her car, her green Honda Accord.

Right. Okay.

[Detective]

You met up with her.

[Patrick Scott]

Right?

Right.

And what, she got in the Ford Taurus with you?

Right.

And you guys left South High Gardens.

Right.

And left her car there?

Yes.

Along with your truck and trailer?

Yes. Okay.

From there, you came back to Rush county, is that right?

Right. Okay.

And on your way to Rush county, was she on her phone, using her phone?

[Host]

She texts a lot. She don't talk on it.

[Detective]

Right.

[Patrick Scott]

But she was using the phone?

Yeah. She.

[Host]

She text all the time.

[Patrick Scott]

She's doing something?

Yes.

Okay, and did you know where you was taking her before that day?

[Host]

Well, I thought we was going back to Rushville, but we stopped in Homer's where we went to.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay, so she had. You stopped in Homer?

Yes.

Okay, and what happened in Homer?

[Host]

She got out of the car, got in with another guy.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay, what kind of car did she get in?

[Host]

Just kind of a pale blue car is all I know.

[Detective]

That was the last time you seen her?

[Host]

When I dropped her off, yes.

[Patrick Scott]

That's the last time you talked to her?

[Host]

That was the last time I talked to her.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay. Yes.

[Narrator]

She got in another car with some dude. How many times have we heard that one before? Are your alarms going off yet? I remind you that this man, Patrick Scott, the owner of the landscaping company and employer, Valerie the missing girl, wants you to believe that he and Valerie were so close that she told him about all her boyfriends from the past and present. This included a recent breakup that Patrick, for some reason, found suspicious.

[Patrick Scott]

Give me some names, though. You gave me some names a little bit.

[Host]

I only know the one boy.

[Patrick Scott]

I don't even know him.

[Host]

I just know the name. She got in the truck one morning a couple weeks ago, and she was pissed. I knew she was when she got in the truck because of the way that she was texting. I mean, she would finally text Me. And she then said. I asked her, I said, are you mad? And she was pissed because the boy dumped her. She talked him into taking her back just so she could dump him a week later. Then he showed up at their house, I want to say Monday, before she disappeared and got his stuff. And he was pissed. She told me the next day.

[Patrick Scott]

And this is the kid that dressed a pale blue car, right?

[Host]

No, he had an orange car.

[Patrick Scott]

So this is a different kid?

[Host]

Yeah, there's five or six of them all the time. I don't even know what he looks like. I don't know what none of them look like.

[Patrick Scott]

You just know he drives an orange car.

[Host]

I'm an orangey ugly thing.

[Patrick Scott]

But you dropped her off to somebody in a blue car, right?

Okay.

[Host]

There was another boy she was talking to on Tuesday that was giving her because he thought they were going to have a relationship. And she says, no, but I can't tell you who his name is.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Host]

And then there's the boy in Arlington.

[Patrick Scott]

So she discussed this with you about her wanting to leave?

[Host]

Yeah, she'd been discussing it for a.

[Patrick Scott]

Long time, and then she discussed it prior to Wednesday, within a couple of days before Wednesday about. About this idea of what she was wanting to do.

[Host]

I'll tell you true, I thought she was leaving Saturday night because she said she was leaving Saturday.

[Narrator]

Meanwhile, about two weeks after her disappearance, Valerie's Facebook profile suddenly becomes active out of nowhere. Is she alive? Valerie's mom, Sheena, was contacted by an acquaintance of Valerie's who had taken it upon herself to start messaging Valerie, or at least who she thought was Valerie, on Facebook. This friend asked Valerie's account if she could come see her to make sure she was okay. The account responded, I'm okay. The friend retorted with, I need to hear your voice to know you're okay. Or I can come check on you. I just need to know where you are so I can check on you. The response was, no, I'm fine. I was just stressing a little and took off. I'm okay. The friend then says, send me a voice message saying, you're fine. The account doesn't, but instead responds, bro, I'm fine. Please, I just need time to myself. And then the account says this. Why did you text me to see if I was with him? I thought you would have been, says the friend. Why would I be with him? Says the account. We thought anything could have happened. At this point, you have everyone worried sick. There's an Amber Alert out for you and everything. The response to that Was his girlfriend is pregnant. Why would I be with him and tell them I'm okay? There was a question mark at the end of that sentence also. What a weird thing to say, right? His girlfriend is pregnant. Why would I be with him? The police were doing the best they could, but Leeds seemed to be coming from everywhere.

[Randy Meek]

We were thrown in all kinds of different directions at first. Again, number one thing, where was. Where was her car? A car is easy to find, and we obviously didn't find that for, I believe, going off my memory, 19 days. Also, there was some communication on her social media that was unusual with one of the people she was talking to had made reference to the last conversation, said, I'm sorry that I hurt you. So this obviously was somebody that we had to vet out and make sure that they didn't have a part in. And so our first move was there. We went and spoke to that person.

[Narrator]

Another lead involved a friend of Valerie's who lived in another state. She'd been in contact with this person, too. And detectives discovered that this person belonged to an organization that had an important meeting on the day that Valerie went missing. He never showed up for that meeting, which was highly unusual for him.

[Randy Meek]

And talked to Patrick Scott. Patrick Scott said she didn't work. He didn't see her on Wednesday. She didn't work that day, which matched her schedule. She normally didn't work on Wednesdays. So we had a few things at the very beginning that did look like there was possibility that she had decided to run away. Keep in mind, we're getting. We're getting tips. We're getting tips from psychics. We're getting tips from. I mean, we were getting mass quantities of tips that led us. I mean, I remember we had a tip in Fort Worth, Texas. We had a tip at the Chicago subway that we had to follow up on. And we have all these tips coming in at the same time that we're following up on and not counting just the tips in our. In our. Our county and surrounding counties that were. That had some validity to them, that we could have been. You know, that could have been her. The people seeing her or possibly knowing she's at a location or whatever. And we had to follow up on those. So we were. We were obviously. We were stretched thin, and we were going all over the place on it.

[Narrator]

They even received a call from a psychic claiming to know where Valerie's car was. But they were wrong. Hippies are always wrong. All of these leads led exactly nowhere. And the Facebook account was a hoax. All they knew at this point was that Valerie may not have had an ideal relationship with her father. Then again, who does? Oh, you do, Susan. Oh, that's great. Thanks for piping up in the comments. I mean, they all knew she was seeing more than one boy. She was after all, 17. She said she was going to work on Wednesday, but didn't work on Wednesdays. They knew she disappeared without a trace, that she had talked about running away to her employer, who was also her friend and surrogate dad. And finally that no one could find her car until they did. It's hard to hide a two ton machine, you know.

[Randy Meek]

So we found her car hidden in an apartment complex. And it was not your typical apartment complex. And this was June 26th, I believe is when we found her car. So she went missing on the 7th. We locate our car roughly June 26th. And we found it because we were checking in the area. We had been doing surveillance on Patrick Scott at that point and we had seen him drive in that area and so we were doing checking that area and we came across this, this apartment complex in Shelbyville that was remote hidden in this, in this housing addition. You wouldn't expect there to be an apartment complex in this area. It's like a little alley that leads to it. And when a couple of our detectives went back there, they discovered Valerie's car backed in with a whole bunch of cars getting worked on or cars that were broke down. It was backed in there with the license plate off. And we were able to determine that that was Valerie's car. At that time. It was still possible that Valerie had run away based on the information we were getting. So we decided to leave the car at the time and not tow it out of there. And we also kept it. We also did not reveal for roughly two weeks that we had the car at that point. Just as an investigative strategy to be able to one, eliminate tips and then if the car moved, we would have known it.

[Host]

She never really until lately, she never talked to me about boys. We talk about everything else in the world but boys.

[Patrick Scott]

So you're telling me that you haven't seen her, talk to her or know anything about her since June 7th?

Yep.

You just went back on Thursday and moved her car.

Right.

Cuz she asked you to.

Right.

Why? Why specific way she wanted me to.

[Host]

Move it somewhere else so that way it wouldn't be after sinking. It was sitting right out and wide open.

[Patrick Scott]

Did she tell you to move it to Berwick?

Yes.

So she specifically said move it to Berwick.

[Host]

You but see, there was a deputy Living out there. So I don't know why she would want.

[Patrick Scott]

And you haven't seen her out and about when you're mowing grass over. We know you've been over there since she's been missing because it sounds like the grass probably been mowed.

Right.

[Host]

I've been over her twice.

[Patrick Scott]

And you've never seen her?

Nope.

[Narrator]

Before they found her car, they were using cell phone pings and messages to figure out where she was and where she was headed. Then they used traffic cameras to look at that car. In other words, they knew her phone was at a certain location at a certain time based on the ping. And they were trying to match that with the car on the surveillance camera at the exact time to figure out what kind of car it would be that she might be in. See how that works. They were surprised at what they found.

[Randy Meek]

So that's when we went to the next thing of. All right, so we've got her coming through here at this time. So then we start using surveillance cameras. Well, again, this is a farming community. There's not a ton of businesses along there, but we were able to find some businesses and traffic cameras and utilize them to our advantage. And we don't see her car coming through at that time. So she goes showable, she comes back, but we're not seeing her car on camera. So that doesn't make sense. So what we did was we were able to narrow the time down to that. This is a time within, you know, a minute that she should be crossing this camera. What car is crossing that camera at that time? Because she is more than likely in that car. And what we got was we got a maroon Ford Taurus at that time. And so we went back to her last photo that she had sent, which was a picture that showed an over the shoulder shot. And that picture showed a street sign in Shelbyville. And we could see a tan interior and we could see her fingernails and we could see the corner of her shirt was what the color of it. And using that surveillance camera, we were able to say there's a definitely it looks like a female in the passenger seat. We were able to determine that the interior of the car looks tan and all that match. Well, what we found was that Patrick Scott had a gas saving car, so he didn't have to drive his truck all the time. He had a little maroon Ford Taurus that he would operate. And so we then that was when we first came into realization that Patrick Scott had driven her back that day to Rush County.

[Narrator]

But why were Valerie and her Boss, AKA super dad. Even together on a day that Valerie wasn't supposed to be working. Well, that's a story within a story. You like stories, right? Patrick had taken such a fatherly interest in Valerie that he was using a locator or tracker, if you will, on Valerie's phone. That's normal. There are a few different versions of these Microsoft 365 places that allows users to share their work location and even schedule GPS 365 to locate vehicles, routes, speeds and operation time life360, which is mostly for families with lots of kids. You want to keep track of all your kids. And there's another one called Family360. They're all pretty similar. They all pretty much do the same thing. In fact, their names are almost identical. With the 360. 365 thing going, you know, it would seem reasonable, I guess, that the two might share one of these apps since he was working for her. Maybe he was tracking her for work purpose, I don't really know. But she didn't seem to mind. Her real dad, though, did. Patrick had been calling Valerie's dad and getting kinda pissed at him when Valerie wasn't where she said she was going to be. You know, like, what kind of parent are you if you don't even know where your daughter is? That kind of thing. Why would an employer care about how good the parents of their employees are? Just a little weird, you know, it's quite the overstepping of bounds. To add to this bizarre surrogate family dynamic, Patrick's own wife was jealous of the attention and money that he was giving to Valerie. Whether she thought it was a sexual thing or just a fatherly concern over a young neighbor and employee, who knows? But she knew something was up, that's for sure. Women always know. Let's just say she didn't like it one bit. And she didn't like Valerie either. But Patrick continued playing this role. And the reason they were together on that day was that he was going to go buy her a car. Her employer was going to go buy her a car. Messages between Valerie and Patrick sent to each other just days before she went missing confirm a friendly exchange about looking for one. Here's Patrick's version of events.

[Host]

When her car broke down, I told her if her dad couldn't get it running, I would help her get another car. But a cheap car, something she can make work and make payments on. You know, like a $3,000 car that wasn't suitin her. She wanted a new car. Brand new car. She wasn't putting up with no $3,000 car.

[Narrator]

It seemed clear that Patrick was meeting up with Valerie on that Wednesday afternoon to look at a specific car that she may have liked, maybe even to help her run away, since she'd verbalized that. To Patrick and others, it also seemed like the deal didn't go down that well since the vehicle was sold to someone else before she could test drive it.

[Patrick Scott]

You're kind of like a father figure to her, probably. She probably looks up to you a little bit.

Maybe.

[Host]

I don't know.

[Patrick Scott]

Maybe she does, and you're trying to help her.

Okay?

So the best way you can help her right now is if you know exactly where she's at.

[Detective]

Is it.

[Patrick Scott]

Tell me where she's at.

[Host]

I do not know. I swear to God.

[Patrick Scott]

Any idea at all?

[Narrator]

Nope.

[Patrick Scott]

Nope.

[Host]

I thought she went to Illinois. I really did. I thought she took off that moor to Illinois.

[Narrator]

By this time, the investigation had been ongoing for weeks. Aside from the idea that Valerie was planning to run away or not, detectives had enough data to place Patrick as the last person to see Valerie alive. He claimed he was helping her by employing her, being her confidant, looking for a used car for her, and by helping her disappear. But detectives had latched onto the distinct possibility that she really had disappeared forever.

[Detective]

Patrick, over the last five months, you and I have gotten to know each other, correct?

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Detective]

Correct. You've seen me a lot, right?

[Patrick Scott]

Yeah. Okay.

[Detective]

And every time. Every time we talk, it's. We get along good, right?

[Host]

I reckon.

[Narrator]

Although Patrick didn't have a criminal history, it sounds like he listened to a lot of true crime podcasts because judging by the tone of his voice, he knew what was coming. Don't think that just because he's from rural Indiana that he's some kind of dummy. I know that accent really gets under some people's skin. And they love to lash out and call people stupid and all that political divisiveness, you know? But this guy was a business owner. He was able to keep investigators guessing for months. So at this point, he knew the jig was almost up.

[Detective]

Now, I normally don't do this, but here's how I'm gonna do this, because here's why. Here's why. You know, I can play off, like, 8 million things right here. As you come and sit in this room, your mind plays tricks on you as an officer, all right? And it tells you to go all these different directions and try all this different stuff. But the fact of the matter is, is that I Think you're overall probably a pretty good person. Okay? If I didn't, I would have treated you probably different over the time. All right? So today, as we drove in here just for 40 minutes, and we just drove in together, in my head, I'm like, how am I going to talk to Patrick? And you know what I decided when I walked through the door? And then there's times like you sit in this interview room, and maybe that didn't happen in the past, all right? But the fact of the matter is, is that the natural human thing is when you do something wrong is you want to tell us that you did something wrong, okay? The other thing is, is that there's family involved. There's mistakes that's been made. Okay? I would like to talk to you today, and I would like you to tell me what happened to Valerie. That's the end result of what I want to know. Okay? But here's what's weird about today. I'm gonna tell you everything I know, okay?

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Detective]

Because here's the deal. In the end, I believe you've done something to Valerie. I believe you've done something to Valerie, and we're going to prove it. All right? But what I want to know is the why. And what you want to tell me is I'm sitting here watching you tear up right now. You want to tell me the why? Okay, so does that make sense?

[Patrick Scott]

Yes.

[Detective]

I'm not trying to be a jerk to you, okay? That's what I'm trying to say. I'm trying to be a person to you that you understand. I set from. I sit across a lot of people, okay? And the day one, I set across the times I've sat across from you. You remind me of a common man that goes to work that works his butt off and is a family man that loves his family. That's what I get from you, okay? And I may be completely wrong, but that's what I got from you in the five months that I have known you, okay?

[Narrator]

Patrick was for sure a family man. He was in charge of his own family, and he thought he was in charge of the neighbor's family, too. But the detective was about to uncover this family man's secrets.

[Randy Meek]

And one of the times when talking to Patrick, Patrick Scott made a comment that everybody's saying that he put her in the pond or that she's in the pond, something to that form, and that we're going. That the police are going to drain the pond. He tells us this. Well, we. The pond had never came up and so when we, when the investigators walked away that day, we said, did Patrick just tell us where she's at?

[Narrator]

They had already pulled search warrants for his property based on the revelation that he had her car on his property the day she disappeared. Patrick had several properties, including one next to his house and another separated by a neighbor's hayfield. In the middle of that hayfield was a pond. The owner of the property was 100% cooperative. So detectives sent out four cadaver dogs, one at a time and independent from each other, to see if they could sniff out anything. Each dog caught the scent of something on the north side of the pond. So next, divers checked out the fairly shallow pond but found nothing. They called on a topographist who theorized that the water runoff from Patrick's property into the pond could possibly place the scent there. Feeling like they were literally looking for a needle in a haystack, they took aerial photos. What they found on Patrick's property were areas of debris that could be hiding something and also areas of disturbed ground. Finally, they hit something.

[Randy Meek]

So we hit the first box fairly early as we're digging. And what we noticed was this box had OSB plywood on it, and which is what we had seen at the hardware store purchased. And we said, you know, it's that moment where it's, it's okay, you know, we're gonna have some closure, and it's not good. It's not what we wanted. But there is, you know, your mind tells you what's probably going to be in that box. So we, we start the slow, tedious process of hand digging this box out. And this box is the size of a skinnier version of a coffin, you know, roughly 5 to 6ft long, 20, 20 some inches tall. So it's, it's. As soon as you pull it out and you see it, you. You pretty well have an idea of what's going to be in it. We start taking the box apart, and as soon as we start taking it apart, we see VHS tapes and just trash.

[Narrator]

Now, detectives were worried that this was a false alarm. They had seen Patrick go to a hardware store a day after Valerie's disappearance and purchase the very materials used on this box. But this wasn't the box. Patrick was an extremely routine oriented kind of guy, but they noticed that he strayed from his usual schedule and headed to a remote cemetery that very day. Now they would need permission to excavate the cemetery. They sent deputies to have a conversation with the presiding priest. But at the same time, the excavator on Patrick's property wasn't giving up.

[Randy Meek]

The guy running the excavator is a local guy here. And again, I revert back to proud community. Anybody bend over backwards to help us. And he owns a local record business. His name is Bruce Davis and he is one of the greatest people in every community should have a Bruce Davis. And he was running the excavator for us that day. And so Bruce says to us, hey, this ground has been disturbed. This ground is.

[Detective]

My excavator is not bogging down.

[Randy Meek]

I am going to. This has been. Somebody has excavated here before. My. My excavators have no issue moving this dirt. So we decide, hey, keep digging. Keep digging until you tell us you've hit dirt that hasn't been moved.

[Narrator]

And that's what he did. He kept digging, just knowing in his gut that he was going to find Valerie. The excavator was practically fully extended, meaning he wouldn't be able to dig one more inch. But in that last attempt, he snagged the teeth of the bucket on another wooden box.

[Randy Meek]

You could start smelling the decomposition then. It's a smell. Anybody that's ever smelled it, it's a smell that will never exit their brain. And you can start smelling it.

[Narrator]

When they pulled the box out, they realized it required a special drill bit to open it. Guess where they found it? In a nearby shed belonging to Patrick. They opened the box, and even though they weren't able to identify Valerie's body, they recognized the orange fingernail polish she was wearing in the last photo of her, the Snapchat photo of her in Patrick's car.

[Detective]

But on June 7, you drove Valerie ultimately back to your residence. Okay. And you arrived in your residence at 12:59pm okay. And then between 12:59 and roughly 4 o', clock, something happened. And our job was to fill the gap and to try to figure out what happened as the investigation unfolded that led us to today in which we found the box with Valerie's body in it behind your shed.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay?

[Detective]

Now, I could have come in here and said, patrick, do you know why I'm about to talk to you? Because that's the common thing. And that was the first thought in my head that I was going to do to you. And then I said no, because I think deep down you love Valerie and I know you love your family.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay?

[Detective]

So I decided that when I come in that door just now that I'm gonna give you an opportunity to explain the why. Okay? Cause we have her in the box.

[Narrator]

You would Think that Patrick Scott would be shitting his pants right about now. But not once did he act like he was nervous. This man has nerves of steel. Detectives had finally found Valerie in a homemade wooden box crafted by Patrick himself. This discovery did not come easily, though. Patrick owned several properties next to his house, and he also mowed dozens of large areas of ground, including a remote cemetery where his phone pinged the afternoon Valerie disappeared. But it was something Patrick mistakenly said in a previous interview that eventually led them to her body. The only question that was left unanswered was why? Why would a seemingly normal father, grandfather, business owner, neighbor, and friend take the life of someone he supposedly cared about? Police had a final task ahead. In rural Indiana, a search for missing teen Valerie Tindall had stretched on for months, filled with dead ends and false leads. After Valerie disappeared on June 7, 2023, the initial investigation focused on tracking her last known movements, including her trip to a nearby town, where her car was eventually discovered at an apartment complex. Detectives worked tirelessly, following up on phone pings, surveillance footage, and interviews with those closest to her. Patrick Scott, her employer, was questioned early on, but insisted that he dropped Valerie off in Homer that day. A detail that initially seemed believable. But as the investigation progressed, new pieces of evidence started coming out. Text messages, surveillance data, and discrepancies in Patrick Scott's account. The breakthrough came in late November when detectives aided by FBI agents uncovered a disturbing scene on Scott's property. During excavation, a wooden box was unearthed containing human remains. Investigators had feared the worst, and this gruesome discovery confirmed their suspicions. Valerie had been murdered. And now it was up to detective Randy Meek to excavate the remaining information from killer Patrick Scott.

[Detective]

What happened to Valerie?

[Host]

Valerie got carried away.

[Detective]

No one has. Doing what?

[Host]

Doing what?

[Detective]

Just lay it out to me. Lay it out to me. What happened to her?

[Host]

She tried to blackmail me into buying her a car.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Detective]

Then what happened?

[Host]

She thought she was going to sedish me, and it wasn't going to happen.

[Narrator]

Don't forget, this is a minor compared to a seasoned grown man.

[Host]

Danger got carried away.

[Detective]

Well, explain that to me. What's that mean? Does Linda know about it?

[Patrick Scott]

Nope. Okay.

[Host]

Nobody knows.

[Detective]

Your chance to tell me what happened.

[Host]

She tried to seduce me, and I wasn't gonna have it.

[Detective]

But what happened to Valerie? That's where you're stopping.

[Patrick Scott]

What?

[Detective]

I mean, what'd you do to her?

[Host]

What'd I do to her?

[Detective]

What'd you do to her? Tell us what you did, sir.

[Host]

Strangled her.

[Narrator]

A cold blooded sociopath who claimed to devote himself to work. His family and friends, including Valerie, lied for weeks into months while knowing the whole time that she lay in a cold box underground, just yards away from the comfort of her bed and her home and the love of her family. And why? Because he wasn't having it. He wasn't having his wife, who was already suspicious, discover how carried away things had gotten with this girl. Even if his claims were true, Valerie was a child of 17. Besides, there was not one shred of evidence that she intended to blackmail him. That was all bullshit.

[Detective]

With what?

[Patrick Scott]

A belt.

[Randy Meek]

Okay, then what'd you do with it?

[Host]

I moved her into the office.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Detective]

How long was she in there?

[Host]

Till the next day.

[Detective]

Okay, where's the bell at?

[Patrick Scott]

It's gone.

[Detective]

Okay, you left her in the office till the next day. Then what happened?

[Host]

Then when I got home the next day, I just made that box.

[Detective]

Okay, what about the hole?

[Host]

The hole was already done, but it wasn't for that. It was because I was throwing com.

[Patrick Scott]

Going.

[Host]

Throw concrete in it.

[Detective]

What about the other box?

[Host]

Just put shit in it.

[Detective]

Did you build two that day?

[Host]

No, we just built one.

[Detective]

So you strangled her. What room were you in when you strangled her?

[Host]

Back there by my bedroom.

[Detective]

Like in that little entryway? Had you and Valerie been in a sexual relationship?

[Host]

Never.

[Detective]

Okay, so you said she tried to seduce you for the car. Well, explain to me what happened.

[Host]

She was wanting to come on to me.

[Detective]

Did she say she was gonna get you in trouble or.

[Host]

Yeah, she was gonna tell everybody that I was making moves on her.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Host]

I wasn't gonna have it.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay. It just.

[Host]

Things got out of hand.

[Detective]

Where'd the belt come from?

[Host]

It was mine. I had it on.

[Detective]

You had it on? Okay, so explain to me what happened.

[Randy Meek]

There in that room.

[Detective]

Like, how'd you get the belt on her?

[Host]

I was fighting her off, and I took it and threw it around her.

[Detective]

Why were you guys fighting?

[Host]

Because she was trying to get. She tried to take her clothes off.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Host]

And it wasn't gonna do it.

[Detective]

Okay, and then you guys got in a fight?

[Host]

Yeah, kind of pushing and shoving thing right there.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Detective]

And then you took your belt off, and then what happened?

[Host]

I put it around her neck and I held onto it until she quit.

[Detective]

Okay, and what'd you do afterwards? What was going through your head at that time?

[Host]

I didn't know what to do with her.

[Narrator]

Well, here's an idea. Since they were supposedly engaged into a pushing match, he could have pushed her towards the front door and sent her across the street back Home. Instead of maybe, I don't know, ending.

[Randy Meek]

Her life, was she struggling when you.

[Detective]

Were stroking or when you were strangling her?

[Patrick Scott]

Yeah.

[Detective]

Okay, what were you saying to her?

[Patrick Scott]

I didn't say nothing, okay?

[Host]

I just knew she wasn't gonna blackmail me.

[Detective]

Yeah, so because of the blackmail, did you. Was that your intention? To kill her to avoid the blackmail?

[Host]

She was gonna tell everybody that I had my way with her, and that never happened.

[Patrick Scott]

Okay.

[Detective]

You seem like a good guy. Explain to me how you have functioned like you have. Did you hate Valerie? Did I hate her? Yeah. No.

[Narrator]

You just heard a real sociopath's response. A real life monster disguised as a human. There's lots of them. When asked if he hated Valerie, his answer was so nonchalant that it's terrifying, so indifferent that it's like he's talking about a TV show. The hallmark of sociopathy is not rage or hatred, but a disturbing emotional vacancy, a disconnection to empathy. Sociopaths commit acts of violence or betrayal without feeling the gravity of their actions whatsoever. It's like life's a board game, and you're playing it, but the instructions are in Chinese, and you don't really care. You're just gonna do whatever you're gonna do, regardless of the rules. In fact, there's nothing behind the rules other than just a bunch of gibberish to you. Scott's flat no wasn't just a dismissal of the question. It was a glimpse into his inability to connect with what he had done to him. The act of murder wasn't fueled by passion or hatred. It was simply another moment in time, another problem to be solved, another task to complete.

[Host]

So we've done all kinds of stuff for a guy.

[Detective]

I've seen clothes. That's what I'm asking.

[Host]

Yeah, we took. She'd go out and eat with us. Her and her little sister Bo would go with it. Different places, they took her to the movies, they've taken her shopping.

[Detective]

You seem like a good guy. Like, I don't understand. Like, that's got to bother you, right? That you killed Valerie?

[Host]

Well, I wasn't too crazy about it.

[Narrator]

Wasn't too crazy about it. Taking a child's life, that is.

[Randy Meek]

It was obviously not the outcome we. We wanted, not the outcome the family wanted or anybody in our community wanted. But we at least had everybody working together, collectively doing our job, and we never lost focus. I mean, we worked hours. I mean, it's our lives, ultimately. All the investigators, lives. We stopped, you know, in June that year, and all the way up till November 28, our life stopped. You know, we all had families at home and we dedicated ourselves to this. We worked terrible hours to try to find her. We had notebooks, we had guys. Some of the guys had notebooks beside their bed. I know I sent emails at like 2, 3 in the morning. I'd think of something when I'm trying to go to sleep and we'd send emails. But we lived this for, you know, those five months and we did it together and we never, you know, we never stopped on it. It was, it was a, it was. Valerie became our kid.

[Narrator]

The detective didn't say all that for sympathy. He said it to remind us about the concept of community and working together to flush out evil even when we can't see it. Being a homicide detective must sometimes feel like being a shadow chaser and priest at the same time. Every lead feels like looking at something evil moving just out of sight, looking on the edges of reality. The average Joe or Joan never truly delves into the fact that evil is all around us every single day.

[Randy Meek]

And I think sometimes people wonder like, how did the parents not see this? How did the parents not understand it? Well, the, the thing is, is the parents didn't know any of this stuff. This is a guy who ran a successful business. He was a neighbor. We live in an area that a lot of people go and mow for people.

[Detective]

A lot of people, there's a lot.

[Randy Meek]

Of mowing services and people go and mow for them and that you trust them to take care of your kids. And here's a neighbor that they were friends with, their families were friends and they trusted this guy. And so obviously the parents didn't know all this stuff at the time. And so I think sometimes we forget that that information isn't given to you like that, it's trickled in. And so the family trusted this guy just like a lot of us would trust our neighbors and just like a lot of us trust our kids to go off and work for someone. And unfortunately in this situation here, Patrick Scott was a monster and he was in disguise.

[Narrator]

59 year old Patrick Scott pled guilty and was sentenced to basically a whole other lifetime. 57 years in prison for the murder of 17 year old Valerie Tindall. Believe it or not, we are all constantly chasing flickers of movement just outside of our field of vision. The real monsters, the people capable of these acts, aren't lurking off in some shed somewhere in the woods. They're right in the corners of your world, hiding in plain sight. That's the worst part about it. They don't wear the darkness on their sleeve. They move among us. They're your gardener, your door dasher, your grocery store clerk, your gas station attendant. They cook your meals, haul out your trash. They connect your calls. They drive your ambulances. They guard you while you sleep. Well, that's gonna do it for another one. We'll be here next week if you want to join us. Unless you're a socialist, of course, in which case you can just fuck off. We don't need you here whining. That's all you know how to do anyway. Alright, Patriots, see ya. Oh, and if you don't like America and want communism, get the fuck out.

[Patrick Scott]

Sam Sa.