Ep.3 - Find Out Who Your Friends Are

In Episode 3 we hear from those who knew Jennifer Powers as a friend.

Through their stories, a different side of Jennifer comes into focus—the moments, memories, and relationships that don’t always make it into reports or headlines. Her friends share what she was like day to day, the struggles she faced, and the details that have stayed with them since she disappeared on July 12th, 2008.

Some memories bring clarity. Others raise new questions.

This episode marks a turning point.

Because after this… the real investigation begins.

If you have any information that could help bring answers to the Jennifer Powers case, please contact us at timetellsallpodcast@gmail.com

Support the podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2608731/support

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:25

The drive creeps in the word where the floor boards cringe. The cattle sits cold on a black and stove below the ceiling where the spiders wove. No footprints leap from the garden gate. Only the pressure of a hollow wake.

SPEAKER_06 0:50

The episode you're about to hear is gonna be statements from different friends of Jennifer's. I think we've established that Jennifer was a very well-loved and well-liked and respected individual. My goal for these is to make sure that anyone listening knows that Jennifer was more than just a drug addict. As her daughter said in the beginning, she struggled with drug use, but there was a lot more to Jennifer than that, and that's what I wanted to establish by bringing out these statements from some friends. You'll hear from a teacher, a fellow sports parent, and from myself who was the coach of a team that her child played on.

SPEAKER_07 1:42

Hi, I am. I'm Kim Scoggins. I was a teacher at the school that Jennifer's children attended, starting in first grade with Caitlin. Well, I had Caitlin, her first year at Johnson, and she was just a precious child, always happy, always well kept. I got to know Jennifer through her, plus I worked with Jennifer's mother-in-law. She was a faculty member there at the school. Jennifer was always very supportive of her children. Anytime we had anything going on, parties, field trips, Jennifer was involved. She was always checking on Caitlin's progress, how she was doing. Her mother-in-law never had an unkind word to say about her ever. I just enjoyed being around the whole family. I knew her sister-in-laws from when we were in school. And so when she joined that family, of course, you're going to get to know her because they're a very well-involved family, too. She was always such a happy person. I can remember her smile to this day. That bright her red hair and that pretty smile she had. But you knew she loved her children. She glowed when she talked about them and when she was around them. And you could tell that they felt the same way about her. Like I said, anytime there was something going on at the school that involved her children, she would be there. We could always count on her showing up or helping out whenever she could. When we found when we found out she was missing and all this thing started coming out, I would have never known that she ever had a drug addiction problem. I never saw that side of her. She did not ever appear to be that way. I never felt like I saw her high or on drugs or anything like that when she was around her children. So I was very shocked when that part was told. Like I said, you could see it in the love she had for her children and the love they had for her. I would have to say as a mother myself, and I think about Jennifer's parents a lot when you hear this and it comes up. You know, if anybody knows anything they think that could help this investigation, you've got parents and you've got children that would really just like to know and have closure for this case, for these kids and for her parents.

SPEAKER_02 3:52

I am Joni Hall. I've lived in the coffee pot Ardmore community all my life, and I was a friend of Jennifer's. I met her through our kids going to school at Johnson Elementary, and I got to know her better when um two, her daughter and my daughter were on the same softball team. She was, she just came up when we when the season first started, practices and stuff, and asked if she could sit by me. And pretty much most of the time that was she would just come up and sit with me and we would talk, uh, you know, just about our kids playing ball and stuff. She was a sweet, sweet soul. And she was uh uh like the teen cheerleader, she cheered for every kid, and it was obvious that she um was her children's biggest cheerleader. She really enjoyed watching them play ball. She was always, always eager to help. Uh, we had a lot of problems uh with some of the parents on our team not wanting to work concession stand. I don't care how many times she had worked it, I don't care if she had already worked it that day. No matter what, if I was short-handed, she was one of the first parents that I always had that was willing to jump in and help. And she was a very hard worker while she was in that concession stand. She was on the ball the entire time. She was she was a big help. I could call on her last minute. Somebody might call that was scheduled to work concession stand or work to gate, and they, you know, weren't feeling good or they had something to come up in the family or whatever. And I I if I ever called her and she told me no, I don't recall it. She was always willing to jump in and help, and she was eager to learn for our ball team. And um she went when she did sit, you know, sit down for very long at a time, she would ask questions and you know, tell me, if you can teach me how to do this, if you ever can't be here, I'll be happy to do it. She was she was just she was a special young lady for sure. I just remember when she when I heard that she was missing. All I could think of was who in the world would want to hurt such a sweet and tiny soul. She was she was precious and there was something about her that always seemed to be um she she was very meek when I was around her. She wasn't um she didn't offer an opinion very often unless she was asked for it. She was um unless she was excited or you know something like that. She just wasn't um willing to uh butt in with an opinion if it wasn't asked for or anything like that. I just I never could grasp by my dealings with her why anybody would ever want to do anything to her. For me, I always try to ask myself, what if that was my daughter or my mother or um you know, wouldn't you want somebody to step forward for for your loved ones? I would. I mean, I saw her at school functions as well. It wasn't just the ball field, you know. She worked, you know, she worked anything that we had at school. She was there for um the uh awards days and things like that. She wasn't somebody who um, and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying any parent is is terrible for not showing up at every event. You know, some have to work more than others, and I understand that. But every time she could, she was there. Just if if anybody knows anything, please give this family some peace. They deserve to be able to lay her to rest, and she deserves to be put to rest.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Thank you for having me. Uh, of course, our daughters played softball together at uh Johnson Elementary was in the rec league. Um, of course, we were just, you know, on that particular team. I was just a parent, just like she was a parent on that team. Um, you know, so I got the got to know her from the ball fields there. Um, and of course, I did I did uh know who she was uh with at the time as well. I knew I knew the gentleman that she was with during that time. Um and they would be at ball games and things of that nature. Um it was always fun to see her. She was very lively uh into the game, uh, not just not just for her children, but for also, you know, the other ones as well. Um you know, she was kind of like a little firecracker. She she she liked to to watch the game and and be involved in the game and things of that nature. And it was just fun to see on that aspect, just like a you know, a a parent, of course. And I'm um one of those parents as well that uh I'm very automated and things of that nature. And so we got we got along great and came to know her through through that that ball year there. And um, you know, uh as far as my recollection, I never knew there'd be in any situation where uh she was a problem or anything of that nature, or you know, or even her kids, they you know, they were always well maintained and had what they needed from bats to gloves to you know the helmets and to and from the ball games, all that stuff, you know, the they had everything that they needed and you know she uh participated in the concession stands and stuff and everything else, just like every other parent did. And you know, it was it was good to see in that that that style of life, because that's when you see the family unit, you know, you just didn't really see any problems, you know, as far as you know, a spectator or or family or anything watching. Um I do know I I I feel I got to see her heart at one time when she uh uh we had this little thing in the area called Dog Day, and she went down and not just got her kid one, but she she brought uh every child on the team a magnet. And of course, even to this day in our home, we still have the magnet with uh our our daughter's nickname on it on the on the side of the refrigerator. But uh, you know, she brought those little magnets, they were handcrafted and had their little name put on it, and and you know, that just meant something to us, you know, and it it was like a little trinket that we've been able to keep over the years that you know that she probably didn't even think really how much it would mean, you know, to that child or to those parents over the years. But to me, looking at that, I look and see the the heart of the person, you know, that not only did she get her child one, she got the whole team one made. And uh, of course, on our team back then, you know, we had several kids when they're small and they didn't go by the real name, they go by nicknames or things of that nature. So whatever was important to them, she she had made and put on that magnet. And I I thought that was just awesome to to see that, you know, from her and her heart, even when she gave it to the the kids, and of course now we've you know, being you know, 18 years plus on that side of it, you know, it's kind of one of them things that it's a trinket, you know, and uh and we we still have it in the refrigerator to this day. So my my heart goes out to uh of course her daughter, uh, even you know during these times and all these years that you know we know what's more than likely has has happened, has happened, you know. But if anything, Caitlin, she deserves to she deserves to have some some form of closure. And if anyone knows anything whatsoever, uh, you know, and especially these days and times of social media and things of that nature, uh just come clean. Or if you know anything, just put it out there. Any any any small lead, you'd be anonymous, anything that's there. But let's give let's give Caitlin let's give her some closure and yes.

SPEAKER_06 13:03

So my name is Monica, and I'm the host of this show. Jennifer wasn't just another missing person to me. I knew her personally, and that's what makes this project so special. What I want you guys to know is for 18 years I've thought about Jennifer. I got to know Jennifer a couple of years before she went missing because I was the coach of her little boy in baseball. He played baseball for a team that I coached at Johnson Elementary. Jennifer was always happy to help. She was always happy to volunteer if we had anybody that laid out from working the concession stand or doing their part. When your kids play ball, you are usually asked to volunteer to work the concession stand and things of that nature. And I just got to know her really well from being one of the parents. I had to call her every week. You know, you're with you're with these people three or four times a week during ball season. So as I've said before, you get really close to your sports family and I call them my ball family. We saw each other more than we saw our own families during those times. So you just get really close. And uh I was very fond of Jennifer. I remember very well when I found out that she was missing, and I remember, you know, just showing concern to the family during that time period. Not only do I think about her going missing very often, but I think about the very last time I saw her. Anytime something happens to someone that means a lot to you, you always think about the last time you saw them, or at least I do. And I can remember very well the last time I I saw her. We were in the Dollar General, and she walks up to me, she saw me across the store, and as she would often do if she ever saw me out. Not only would she hug my neck at the ball field, but she would hug me if she saw me out at a store or something. She would go out of her way to come over and see me. She came over, I can still see that head full of red hair and her bubbly personality, and she actually had a hand had her hands full with uh she had a pack of Tyson baby back ribs. And I will never forget that, her going on and on about how she would fix those for her husband and how much he liked them, and she just went on and on about how much he loved them and and loved the way she fixed them, and and I can still just see her standing there telling me about it and how I had to get some. And it's been 18 years this year, and I there's never been a time that I see a package of Tyson baby back ribs that I don't think of Jennifer. There's lots of things that people can tell you about her, but she was a special lady, she was a special mother, and she wasn't just another missing person to us. This is special. I'm not gonna stop until I find Jennifer.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

If you have any information that might lead to the resolution of the Jennifer Powers case, contact the Madison County Sheriff's Office or contact us at Timetellsallpodcast at gmail.com. There is also a link in the description to send us a message directly from your phone. After this episode, we dive into theories and tips that have come in over the past few weeks. All of the people we have talked to so far have reached out to us voluntarily. There are still some people who we thought would have already done so.

SPEAKER_04 16:47

We will be calling.