Ep34: True Crime: Marissa Carmichael

Join Amy & Dawn as they take a deep dive into the disappearance of Marissa Carmichael, unpacking the key details, timelines and unanswered questions surrounding her case

Transcript

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,680 [Music] 2 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:19,680 Hello and welcome to our podcast Talk Gruesome to me, where we talk about movies and shows that cover true crime, paranormal and horror. 3 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:27,920 I am one of your hosts, Dawn. I am currently located in Los Angeles and I think I'm pretty well versed in the horror genre, 4 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:35,360 especially those 80s classics. A quick fun fact about me? I have a very extensive crystal collection. 5 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:43,920 Hello, I'm Amy. I'm from Kentucky and my area of expertise for this podcast is paranormal. A few fun facts about me. 6 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:50,240 I'm an empath, I collect old dolls and you know, I've never flown on an airplane. Can you believe that? 7 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:57,360 Now Dawn and I are also obsessed with true crime, so here we are. Talk Gruesome to me. 8 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:06,000 Hello, we are here with another true crime episode and we are going to be talking today about a missing woman 9 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:12,080 from Greensboro, North Carolina and her name is Marisa Carmichael. We're just going to get right into it. 10 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:19,920 I'm going to play the 9-1-1 call and then we'll give you the details. You just never know who saw or heard something. 11 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,720 So we're going to start doing some more of these. Let's start with this 9-1-1 call. 12 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,240 Thank you for mentioning. What’s  the address of your emergency. 13 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:29,840 I'm here to meet my mother. 14 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,720 I'm a contact to the law. I'm emergency number. 15 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,120 It comes into the same center. I have to try to help while I have you on the phone. 16 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,520 And I can give you a call. Okay, yeah, I just got, I don't know where I am in Greensboro. 17 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:47,920 I just got all my stuff throughout the car. HE took off with my phone. I have no clue where I am. 18 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:57,920 I have no numbers or no. Are you out of business? I am a core. Yes, I'm in a synergy. 19 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:05,120 Are you out of the next one? Is this 8-1-1-1-1 market? 20 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,920 Yeah, I'm going 8-1-1. 21 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,640 Is this going outside the phone? I'm going to be cut off. 22 00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:14,000 Okay, it's the red sign. Yes. 23 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:15,920 Okay, what's your name? 24 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:29,120 Are you hurt in the name, Dylan? No, I'm not. But I mean, like, do you call me to come and say the story? 25 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:35,920 I have to say it. And like, took off on me. And I don't know where I'm at. I'm in the middle of Greensboro. 26 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:39,920 He took my phone. I don't have my phone. 27 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:45,920 Yes, back home. 28 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:51,920 What are you wearing? So officers can identify you when they get there. 29 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:55,920 You say what? 30 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:59,920 What are you wearing? So officers can identify you when they get there? 31 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:05,920 I'm wearing some blue jeans and a white shirt with some yellow sneakers. 32 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:13,920 That's not going to help my problem, though, ma'am. I'm stuck all the way in Greensboro. And I don't know where I'm at. 33 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:15,920 Okay, you just told me you're at the Exxon. 34 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:23,920 Yes. But it wouldn't for me to get back home. I don't have any of my contacts. 35 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:29,920 Okay, I'm going to send an officer out there to see if they can help you in any way. 36 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:31,920 Okay. 37 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:37,920 All right, so be very soon and possible. Okay, thank you. 38 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:47,920 That's 25-year-old Marissa Kay Carmichael. That was the 911 call and her calling from an Exxon-gas station in Greensboro, North Carolina. 39 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:59,920 This was on January 14th, 2024. It was early morning. And then minutes later, and by minutes, I mean, 39. 40 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:05,920 We'll get into that. Minutes later, police would be dispatched. 41 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:11,920 And then when the officer arrived, Marissa was gone and she has not been seen since. 42 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:19,920 A young mom of five children, a tight-knit family, a night-out at a lounge, then an after party, a 911 call, 43 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,920 and a timeline that leaves everyone with painful questions. 44 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:29,920 Why we lay out what's known and only what's known verified from reporting official statements. 45 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:41,920 What you're going to hear is a timeline and the events and those all came from national and local news outlets or from the official Greensboro police department posts. 46 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:48,920 I mean, a little bit of this will be opinion, but most of this is factual from news reports. 47 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:56,920 Marissa Kay Carmichael was 25 at the time she vanished. She would be 26 now. She lived with her family in High Point, North Carolina. 48 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:01,920 Was widely described as loving, funny, and devoted to her kids. 49 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:08,920 This sequence begins again on the night of Saturday, January 13th, 2024. 50 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:17,920 And according to the police and local coverage, Marissa went to the One17 Sofa Bar and Lounge in Greensboro. 51 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,920 And then afterwards, she went to an Airbnb nearby. 52 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,920 After the after party, she was dropped off at a Exxon gas station on East Market Street. 53 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:35,920 The address most consistently cited by police on national media as 809 East Market Street. From there, that's when she called 911. 54 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:47,920 Then the time stamps, so we'll get a little deeper into this. At 3.40am, that's when Marissa called the Metro 911 from the Exxon. 55 00:05:47,920 --> 00:06:01,920 At 4.19am, the police were dispatched. That was 39 minutes later. Let me repeat that. That was 39 minutes later, that police were dispatched. 56 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:12,920 Again that’s terrible. And then at 4.21, so that gap was only a couple of minutes. An officer arrived, but she was no longer there. 57 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:18,920 And these again were from the police records. So these are exact timelines. 58 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:24,920 Greensboro Police Department surveillance showed Marissa getting into a vehicle and leaving. 59 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:31,920 Investigators identified and interviewed the driver and publicly characterized the person as a witness. 60 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:44,920 After that, we don't know the trail goes cold in February 2024, so about a month into the case, the police said that they were increasingly concerned about her welfare. 61 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:53,920 And they asked the public for any tips. By the one-year mark in 2025, local and national coverage emphasized that there were still limited leads. 62 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:58,920 The case remained active and the family and community were still searching. 63 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:11,920 So let's unpack that night and what's been reported. The One17 SOFA bar and lounge that venue appears repeatedly. So that's a fact in the timeline and the coverage. 64 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:19,920 And then after that, she went to that Airbnb after party and then she was seen at the Exxon on East Market. 65 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:29,920 The number one call is central ABC News obtained the audio in it. Marissa sounds distressed in states that she doesn't know where she's at in Greensboro. 66 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:39,920 That he took her phone and she doesn't have numbers to call to get her ride. She describes her clothes as blue jeans, a white t-shirt and yellow sneakers. 67 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,920 Details that were repreated in police descriptions. 68 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:56,920 And for context, police specified 3:46 as the last seen time and that came from the Exxon property and then just before that was when the 911 call came in. 69 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:05,920 The response time is one of the most questioned aspects. The local newsroom reported on why there was roughly a 39 minute gap before police were even dispatched. 70 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:15,920 An explanation tied to officer availability and re-interrated the arrival time at 4.21 a.m. and dispatch at 4.19 a.m. 71 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:24,920 I know, but on a side personal note, it wasn't police availability, right? Because the dispatcher didn't even call it in. 72 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:33,920 That's what took 40 minutes exactly. So that part to me is confusing and not great. 73 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:47,920 Anyways, just my personal opinion. When officers arrived and they didn't find Marissa, they later recovered surveillance footage indicating that she left with someone who has since been interviewed. 74 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:55,920 They were labeled a witness, not a suspect. And that was out in public statements. So that's factual. 75 00:08:55,920 --> 00:09:03,920 From the beginning, the Greensboro Police Department said that they were actively working the case. They were posting flyers and asking for tips through Crime Stoppers. 76 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:12,920 Public post and local coverage said again that tips were limited and that the detectives were conducted interviews and search and local connections to the case. 77 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:25,920 Then Marissa's family, especially her mom, Sarah Carmichael, she's spoken several times done interviews. She describes the last year understandably as unbearable. 78 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:30,920 She has frequently pleaded for people to come forward with any information they might have. 79 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:44,920 And in a 2025 national piece, it marked the one year of her disappearance. Sarah described living in a constant state of anxiety and hoping that one day they'll get those answers. 80 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:53,920 The local stations have documented community organized searches. They've done fliers, water searches and seasonal canvassing. 81 00:09:53,920 --> 00:10:00,920 A family and friends kept pressure on the case and refused to let the story fade. They wanted it solved. 82 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:09,920 Then again, October 24, which was nine months after she went missing, they reiterated again, they did everything. 83 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:21,920 They went through the same sequence, the timings, and they said again that the person that they interviewed has only been classified as a witness, not a suspect. 84 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:29,920 That just seems to stand out to people, so I think that's why they keep repeating that that person is only a witness. 85 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:45,920 At one year, January 2025, both local and national outlets recap the timeline and emphasize that the case is still active, urging the local to call 336-373-1000 for crime stoppers. 86 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:59,920 Let's go over some things that are confirmed versus things that are not. These are confirmed. This night out took place at One17-Sofa Bar and Lounge and then an Airbnb nearby afterwards. 87 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:11,920 The Exxon location on Market Street, 9-1-1, call around 3.40am, that address was East Market Street in Greensboro, North Carolina. 88 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:23,920 Dispatch was at 4.19am, police arrival, two minutes later, 4.21am, any officer did not find Marissa at the scene. 89 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:34,920 And then surveillance shows that Marissa left in a vehicle. The driver was later interviewed and classified a witness and not a suspect. 90 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:42,920 The case is still active, still open, the police continue to ask for any tips that people might have. 91 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:54,920 Now what's not been publicly confirmed that's any suspects names, an official determination of foul play, any official account that fully bridges the gap between the 9-1-1 call and the moment that she left. 92 00:11:54,920 --> 00:12:04,920 The gas station with that witness, we have to stick to what the police have vetted and reported and have actually said because that's all that's really known at this time. 93 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:16,920 The 9-1-1 call is heartbreaking. Marissa identifies that someone drove off with her phone. She doesn't know any phone numbers and she's trying to figure out how to get home. 94 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:25,920 Times have changed so much. I remember I knew everybody's number when I first started getting my cell phone. Now I don't. Yeah that's crazy. 95 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:36,920 Now we're going to go to the Dispatch timeline at 3.40, the call at 4.19 Dispatch 4.21, the arrival time. 96 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:46,920 That is prompted community questioning and reporting and they did follow up explaining the gap. Police and county leaders addressed why it took almost 40 minutes to send officers. 97 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:52,920 No matter the reasoning, the effect is still the same. When police arrived she wasn't there anymore. 98 00:12:52,920 --> 00:13:04,920 And there's also the question of how did she make this phone call. It's not really clear did she use a pay phone, did she use the phone inside the Exxon, did she borrow someone's phone. 99 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:14,920 I don't know the police haven't really said publicly confirming how she made that call. You think they knew? You would think. 100 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:27,920 But the police they describe Marissa as a biracial female, 5.4 and approximately 260 pounds with long black and blonde braids, a heart tattoo on her face and a butterfly tattoo near her eye. 101 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:35,920 Multiple outlets also repeated the clothing, the 911 description, white t-shirt, blue jeans and her yellow sneakers. 102 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:50,920 And then in January 2025 at the one year mark, Sarah Carmichael her mom, she talked about how worried she is, the insomnia, the panic and just the ache of all this waiting. 103 00:13:50,920 --> 00:14:02,920 And it's a window into how this affects families for months or years. In this case, no, I can't imagine just not knowing where your loved one is. 104 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:10,920 My heart breaks for anyone going through that because I can't put myself in that situation. It's, yeah, it's very, very sad. 105 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:24,920 But local stories through 2024 and 2025 show poster campaigns, search day, social pages and groups devoted to updates, coverage notes, limited leads, the addition of new detectives taking the fresh look. 106 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:28,920 Repeated calls for anonymous tips through Crime stoppers. 107 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:37,920 Let's just go through some theories of what could have happened. Voluntary. Maybe she just decided to leave by choice. 108 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:46,920 However, that does feel inconsistent with the reports listening to the 911 call and the lack of the phone. 109 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:52,920 She hasn't posted anything or been active on any of her social medias. 110 00:14:52,920 --> 00:15:01,920 The police also keep stating they're increasing concern. So that seems unlikely. This could have been a stranger. 111 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:11,920 There's the surveillance of her leaving with someone. I mean, they haven't made that public. Any of their interviews or anything like that. 112 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:20,920 However, again, they are only classified as a witness. So it could have been a stranger. There's people that you know. 113 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:30,920 In adult disappearances, the statistics show that it's very common that someone that you know has harmed you or could not do or murdered you. 114 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:43,920 But again, there haven't been any charge announced. There's no suspect that's been named. There's no public evidence or anything that would lead us to believe that it's someone that she knows. 115 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:57,920 It could have been an accident. Accidental death can't be ruled out, but there's no public recording of like remains or any belongings that they've found or forensics or anything like that. 116 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:03,920 So I don't know. This just really seems like a mystery right now. 117 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:10,920 Yeah, I'm not buying. She would’nt of left all the babies at home. She wasn't going to leave them babies. 118 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:30,920 No. And what I latch on to because if the last confirmed moment is the 911 call and the fact that she suddenly phoneless, if you can't call anyone, you're stranded, you accept a ride and might not otherwise take the split second situation, especially at 340 a.m. 119 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:47,920 It could decide anything and everything right and then again that response gap of dispatch and I know people don't want to blame anyone, but how can you not? That's just my personal opinion. 120 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:58,920 Yeah, that was, that was yeah, I don't know what we don't have is the public statement from the police that they suspect a homicide trafficking voluntary departure. 121 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:06,920 We keep the facts front and center and the appeal front and center, somebody in Greensboro knows they know something. 122 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:18,920 Let's just do one more little timeline. I know we've gone over it once, but let's just for facts and and trying to jog maybe anyone's memory that was in the area. 123 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:30,920 So Saturday January 13th, 2024. So it's been a little more than a year and a half. Marissa went to One17 sofa bar and lounge in Greensboro. 124 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:42,920 Then she went to an after party nearby at an Airbnb and then that evening, which would be considered Sunday January 14th, 2024 around 340 a.m. 125 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:56,920 The Exxon, the address is 809 East Market Street in Greensboro. That's what she called 911 and said that she didn't have a phone and she didn't know numbers of her contacts. 126 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:12,920 4.19 police were dispatched 4.21 and officer arrives and Marissa is gone and then surveillance from the Exxon shows that she left in a vehicle. 127 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:24,920 Then fast forward to February, which was approximately a month later, the police start saying that they're increasingly concerned and asking people for tips. 128 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:36,920 They note that that driver of that car is just a witness. A few months later, family and friends jump in. That's when they're doing the flyers. They're doing searches and things like that. 129 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:52,920 And there's just not really any leads. Unfortunately, in January 25, which was the one year mark, the police reiterate that the case is still active and the family is out pleading for any information and asking for tips. 130 00:18:52,920 --> 00:19:08,920 Listen, it's easy to reduce the case to time stamps and intersections, but coverage consistently emphasizes the people. There's five children who've missed birthdays with their mama, a mother who describes waking each day into the same nightmare. 131 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:16,920 And there's a community that hasn't stopped papering through corners and calling around trying to find her, they haven't stopped. 132 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:32,920 Careful attention matters, getting details right is everything. It can shake loose a memory, which is why we're trying to do this. The name of the lounge, the yellow sneakers. I feel like scream something. 133 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:41,920 The Exxon location on East Market, the ride that she was in leaving, all of that stuff matters. 134 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:54,920 And if you know anything about the disappearance of Marissa K. Carmichael, please contact Greensboro, Guilford, Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000. 135 00:19:54,920 --> 00:20:02,920 Tips can be anonymous, police and local outlets have amplified this number across multiple updates. 136 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:14,920 And you can share official missing persons, posts, and posts and things like that from the Greensboro Police Department and the local newsrooms. 137 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:29,920 I keep coming back to that. I don't have my phone. I have no numbers, right? I don't know. It doesn't tell us what happened, but it does tell us that she was trying to reach out and was trying to get help and was trying to get home. 138 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:49,920 She wanted to go home. And her family's ask has been simple for more than a year. Bring Marissa home or bring answers. If you are on East Market Street that night, if you are at One17 at that after party or at the Exxon, if you heard a details second hand call it in, even the smallest fact can connect dots. 139 00:20:49,920 --> 00:21:00,920 It can maybe possibly bring this family her back. Some answers, some closure. Happiness, hopefully. Was help would get her back. 140 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:10,920 Let's just go over the basics one last time. So Marissa K. Carmichael, she's 5'4", approximately 260. 141 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:24,920 Black and blonde braids, which could have changed, but that's what she had last seen. She has a heart tattoo on her face and a butterfly near her eye. 142 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:43,920 She was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, yellow sneakers, last confirmed location, Exxon 809 East Market Street in Greensboro. And this was January 14, 2024 at approximately 3 to 4 a.m. 143 00:21:43,920 --> 00:22:01,920 So if you know anything, again that number 336-373-1000. Any closing, I mean I know we want to cover more of these missing persons stories, just trying to help out and do what we can. 144 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:08,920 Yeah, because somebody could have been traveling back home or on vacation anywhere they might have passed it. 145 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:25,920 Oh yeah, I've seen a girl out there with yellow sneakers because that yellow sneakers is going to catch your eye. And maybe they remember that you don't know. Just any time you talk about Marissa, you talk about anyone that's missing, it brings them to light and may jog memories. 146 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:32,920 And there are so many missing cases out there. We have plenty to work with unfortunately. 147 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:40,920 So yeah, we'll keep doing these and hopes of getting the word out there for just many names that need to be brought to light. 148 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:51,920 Yeah, agree. And we're going to highlight marginalized groups, women, that type of thing. So you'll see more of that in our podcasts. 149 00:22:51,920 --> 00:23:01,920 We will. See you all in two weeks. We may be doing another one of these before we start up another series. We have to decide. 150 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:03,920 We're wild right now. 151 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:12,920 Wild. Yeah. So we may with this may be a two for two in a row. I'm not complaining. 152 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:22,920 No, we want to do this anyways. So no complaints here for sure. All right, well, we'll meet back here in two weeks. Thank you everybody for listening. 153 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:32,920 And if you know anything, 336-373-1000. Thank you. Bye. Bye. 154 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:44,920 Thanks for making it to the end and hanging out with us. Keep on the lookout for our next episode and stay gruesome. 155 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:54,920 [MUSIC]