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E247: Lopaz Richardson
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The victim at the center of our case this week, Lopaz Richardson, was a talented artist, and it was art and the supportive community that is so often bred from art that were driving passions in his life. So, when he disappeared on July 7th, 2021 at such a successful time in his life, those close to him knew that foul play was involved, even though law enforcement seem to believe otherwise.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast and Lopez Richardson's Case
00:00:00
Speaker
There's a reason why I will always support a strong arts education in schools. It's because art in all its forms, music, photography, painting, dance, is such an important outlet of not only emotion, but intellect. Art is a form of love, of protest, of identity, and of culture. I'm in awe of those who create art in a variety of forms, not only for their vision, but also for their talent.
00:00:27
Speaker
The victim at the center of our case this week was such a talented artist and it was art and the supportive community that is so often bred from art that were driving passions in his life. So when he disappeared at such a successful time in his life, those close to him knew that foul play was involved, even though law enforcement seemed to believe otherwise. This is the case of Lopez Richardson.
00:01:27
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams, and my name is Maggie Dameron. We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement, so justice and closure can be brought to these families. With each case, we encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page Coffee and Cases podcast because, as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee, and listen to what's brewing this week. Maggie
Lopez Richardson's Background and Family
00:02:05
Speaker
Lopez Richardson was more than just a name on a missing person's report. As I alluded to in the introduction, he was a man whose life resonated with creativity and compassion.
00:02:17
Speaker
Lopez Richardson called either low or most often pass by his friends, was born on April 18th, 1989. So he's like my age. From a young age, Lopez embraced art as his voice, capturing the world's beauty through his paintings. And when I tell you how talented he was, Maggie, I do not use that word lightly. He was dang good. Oh, I need to Google it. Oh, I'll show you some of his art.
00:02:46
Speaker
He honed his artistic talents throughout high school and college. He attended Kohoma Community College in his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. It was in college that he also found love with a woman named Ty Pence.
00:03:03
Speaker
whom he met when they worked together at the local Pizza Hut. Lopez and Taipins built a beautiful life together, along with a little boy that she brought from a previous relationship. Oh, so they have a cute little family. Yeah. And Lopez embraced him as his own. I mean, he really exemplified how love and acceptance were central to his character. Their family portrait was further completed with the arrival of a daughter together in 2011.
00:03:32
Speaker
who became Lopez's pride and joy as well. And notice that I said as well, because it said that Lopez treated the two children no differently. Yes, they were both his priorities a lot to who he was as a person.
Relocation to Texas and New Beginnings
00:03:49
Speaker
Now I didn't read or hear an exact reason why, but the family did decide to move away from Clarksdale, Mississippi.
00:03:58
Speaker
The closest I got to an explanation, it actually came from an artist friend of Lopez's named Vernon Adams, who was featured on Lopez's episode on the television series, Never Seen Again. I've never heard of this show. Yeah. It's produced by, well, the executive director is Tyler Perry. So in his episode on there, Lopez's friend Vernon Adams said, and it was supported by comments that were made by typins. Okay.
00:04:27
Speaker
He explained that segregation was still present in Warksdale and that the area in which i imagine he and Lopez grew up was often referred to as the, quote unquote, weeds. And Adams said that as with real weeds, they stifle the growth of flowers. And so the only way to grow was to move. You can tell he's an artist because that's a beautiful old yeah analogy.
00:04:50
Speaker
It's because of that statement that I'm left to assume that Lopez and his family moved looking for that chance yeah for more opportunity. So seeking a better life for his growing family, Lopez decided to relocate them from Mississippi to the Houston, Texas area in July, 2014. In Texas, Lopez began working on cars as a way to earn a living. Is he painting still at this time? He is, yes. He's still working on his art.
00:05:18
Speaker
And after making friends with members of and himself subsequently joining a motorcycle club. Interesting. Seems a little opposite of what you would think like an artistic person would do. But he also began working on motorcycles as well. So it's kind of upping his craft in terms of the automotive work. Lopez fit in with and grew a very large friend group with his fellow members of the motorcycle club, members who called each other brothers.
00:05:48
Speaker
However, despite the growth of those bonds, sometime after the relocation, undisclosed differences caused a rift in his relationship with typos leading to a
Business Ventures and Growing Concerns
00:06:00
Speaker
separation. Notice they did not get divorced, but they were separated. Did she at least stay close so he could be with the babies? Absolutely. Despite the romantic parting, Lopez and typos, they kept that close bond. They prioritized their children's wellbeing. Oh good. and their co-parenting, they were both dedicated to it. Even though Lopez would move to Rosenberg, Texas, which was about an hour away from where Ty Pence and the kids lived, they actually lived in spring, Texas, which is part of the Houston Metro area. So he moved about an hour away. He still saw the kids regularly and he chatted with Ty Pence almost every day. Oh good. What a good daddy. Yeah.
00:06:44
Speaker
Maggie, his artistic pursuits, you asked about them. They grew also. He continued his painting and he also ventured into writing. He published his novel Hellbent in 2019. He makes me feel like I have accomplished nothing in my life. I know. He's like, let me go work on cars and motorcycles and paint and publish a book and like co-parent. guy Yeah. All of that. After that move to Rosenberg,
00:07:11
Speaker
Lopez's artistic ambition also led him to finally achieve a long held dream, opening his first tattoo shop. Let's add another cool thing he can do. Yeah. in April, 2021 in Rosenberg, Texas. And Maggie was aptly named Dear Life Tattoos. While I do not have tattoos myself, I have always heard how addictive they are. That's not here too, but I don't know the needle. I feel like I would get like one little poke and I'd be like, well, that's enough. I feel like those who get tattoos view their body as canvases. And so I think with that first
00:07:52
Speaker
move to kind of turn your body into an artist's canvas it's really the last low pass saw his body that way, I think, because he had a portrait of his mother on his upper left arm a portrait of Emmett till.
00:08:08
Speaker
on the back of his hand the words on my on one forearm and grind on the other the number 662 along with the word mississippi on his wrist a guitar and the crossroad signs of route 61 and route 49 on his arm on each lower thigh above the knee he had work hard on one and play hard on the other and several other tattoos, including what was likely the most painful, but probably the most what the more meaningful. He had the word deer on one eyelid and life.
00:08:40
Speaker
and the other. I'm sure that would be painful, but you can see his tattoos. Each one had meaning, but I feel like the ones on his eyelids, that was his, it was almost like this is his vision when he's awake and his dreams when he's asleep. I feel like it represented his whole being.
00:09:00
Speaker
As such, the tattoo shop was not just a business venture, it was an extension of Lopez's soul, I feel like, a place where he could express his artistic vision and connect with others through the language of ink. The business thrived, Maggie, reflecting obviously Lopez's hard work and dedication, and there was an air of optimism surrounding Lopez as he prepared for a grand opening event of the shop.
00:09:26
Speaker
in July 2021. And really that speaks a lot to him, I think, because the world was still a cuckoo place in 2020. Yeah, we're still rebuilding economy and having a successful small business. yeah And I'm not sure, Maggie, if Lopez were still working on cars at this point as well, but I know he was at least still working on bikes in July, or at least bikes for those in his motorcycle club, because he was still in that.
Disappearance and Initial Investigations
00:09:53
Speaker
Knowing Lopez's work ethic though, I wouldn't doubt it if he were trying to do all of it at the same time. He just had this mentality geared towards success, I think is the best way to say it. Though there have been some setbacks along the way. I mean, obviously we talked about his breakup, of the marriage with Ty Pence. And at some point in 2020, Lopez had been in a motorcycle accident that resulted in major reconstructive surgery, leaving him with screws and pins in his left foot. I thought that the picture you posted right there was something he drew, so I was trying to figure out the deeper meaning of it. No, that is his foot. Oh. And let me tell you, I broke a finger
00:10:35
Speaker
And a recent girl, let's be honest. She broke her pinky, which is a very important thing. I did not realize how important it is apparently, but no surgery needed. Just physical therapy. I have my whole hand in this splint contraption. I've had it there for over a month and we'll have it for at least another month. That's for a pinky. I cannot imagine what this kind of injury, yeah like look at his heel was like.
00:11:00
Speaker
but I mean, you see two yeah long pins and at least three screws in his heel. This is major surgery. And with that information, Maggie, now we're caught up to the events, the key events in 32 year old Lopez's life up to the month of his disappearance, which was July 2021. Despite the setbacks and the speed bumps in the past, you can see why Ty Pint stated in her interview for Never Seen Again,
00:11:28
Speaker
that this, around July 2021, seemed like it was Lopez's quote, winning season, end quote. You know, things are looking good. Now Maggie, so far I've spoken of Lopez's life with kind of broad strokes. So let's get down into the nitty gritty of the first week of July.
00:11:48
Speaker
As I mentioned, Lopez had the grand opening of his tattoo parlor, an event that, even though it was positive and joyful for the most part, did lead to him having to kick out at least one member of the motorcycle club. Oh, that he's ah also a member of, so that probably caused a little. Yes. And that's the extent of what is reported about that incident, just that one person was asked to leave.
00:12:11
Speaker
but that didn't put a damper on Lopez's excitement because he had just updated some things in his shop. He had just purchased some new equipment. In hindsight for Ty Pence though, there are some nagging thoughts that in intermingle with the excitement that she knew he felt. She now thinks about something that Lopez told her in several of their phone conversations that early July in which he expressed fear and paranoia about something specific. Yes. His statements to her implied that someone was after him. He told her that he had quote, disrespected the wrong person. End quote. And is this pre opening of the tattoo parlor? It's around the the same time. And he also told her that he wouldn't have the chance to apologize.
00:13:07
Speaker
Oh, that's a little ominous. Yes. Now, I don't know if Lopez didn't disclose the name of the person who he had wronged or the nature of the disrespect, but I can at least say that Taipins has never shared that information with the public if he did. And especially if they she thinks this is who's responsible for his death, because obviously we know he's they not behind bars. so like Right.
00:13:33
Speaker
Adding to the mystery, Lope has mentioned to his wife, because remember, they're still married, that the issue stemmed from, quote, business dealings. Sounds a little sketchy. While the exact nature of those dealings remains unclear, it raises questions about, you know, did he get somehow get involved in something dangerous, maybe related to the motorcycle club or business? Right. Or is this connected to the tattoo shop? We don't know. But We talked before Maggie, how natural it is to kind of talk down our inner feelings and those nagging suspicions and chalk it up to us just over analyzing or being silly. So I'm sure at first type and tried to convince herself that the comment about not having the chance to apologize could mean anything. It could be that the person is moving or they're only in town briefly. So I didn't get a chance to say I'm sorry, or maybe the person won't talk to him anymore.
00:14:31
Speaker
It doesn't automatically mean bad things. Something more tragic. However, what began as just a nagging fear was amplified during the July 5th through seventh timeframe. Lopez returned his daughter to Typence's home in spring, Texas, late in the evening of July 5th, around 11 PM. And again, spoke of disrespecting someone.
00:14:56
Speaker
So whatever it was that was bothering Lopez about this incident wasn't going away. He had mentioned it several times. Then there was Lopez's last phone call with his daughter on July 7th, 2021, where he issued an unexpected, unexplained and also vague apology. To the daughter? To the daughter. He just says, you know, I'm really sorry.
00:15:20
Speaker
So almost like he expects not to be in her life the whole time. Seemingly? And then he says goodbye at the end of the call in a way that he had never done before. On Never Seen Again, Typens clarified that for Lopez, goodbye implied that you wouldn't see a person again. So Lopez preferred to say, like see you later. This farewell, laid in with this unusual finality struck Typens as deeply unsettling. She's thinking, what could this mean? Was it connected to the incident? Maybe that he had also detailed to her before. And do we learn any details about the incident or just that there was an incident? So we know that there was an incident. He tells her about something else. And I don't know if this is the incident or it's another incident. gay But he did tell her that there had been what was later called a bad joke.
00:16:19
Speaker
that Lopez hadn't found funny. And when somebody said it, it led to him getting angry and yelling at someone. So could that be the disrespect or was that a different incident? I don't know, but type-ins grew more and more concerned, especially when 20 minutes after Lopez's last conversation with his daughter,
00:16:43
Speaker
a member of the motorcycle club called Typence to ask if she had spoken to Lopez or knew where he was because they were concerned. Oh, so maybe he's making comments to this friend or this friend is not really a friend. Yeah, I'm not sure. All I know is that that phone call happened when after that moment, texts and calls to Lopez went unanswered because remember she and Lopez spoke.
00:17:13
Speaker
Moments. Every day. Yeah. That is when her concern escalated into fear. And this seems like moments have passed. Yeah. It hasn't been very long, but after she hears from this motorcycle member, I have you heard from him or concerned about him. She tries to check on him. She keeps trying to call him, goes unanswered. Which is weird because, you know, it could be about his kid or whatever. And I think he would answer that. He definitely would.
00:17:38
Speaker
So on the very next day, on July 8th, 2021, Typens contacted the Rosenberg Police Department and officially reported Lopez missing. So she's acting quickly. This seemingly routine act though of filing a missing persons report was the first step in what would be a labyrinthine journey. One that would expose a web of unsettling details and lead to more questions than answers.
00:18:08
Speaker
It was only one day later, on July 9, 2021, that Lopez Richardson's truck was located. Was he in the truck? He was not.
Truck Discovery and Investigation Delays
00:18:18
Speaker
His white Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck lay, I would say mangled in a ravine.
00:18:27
Speaker
It was found near train tracks in Howe, Texas, which is a town that was foreign to Lopez. It was a town with fewer than 4,000 residents. It's very rural. And what's more, when you factor in that Howe is about a five hour drive from Lopez's Rosendale home, the truck only added to the mystery. yeah And when you see pictures of the truck, you'll see why as well. But Maggie, I am going to show you some pictures of the truck, but I don't want you to comment on what you see just yet. Now let me read to you from the Grayson County Sheriff's Office Police Report, incident number GSO21-01610, because there are a few do details that I want to discuss. And this is a little bit long, but it's important.
00:19:16
Speaker
quote On Friday, July 9th, 2021, at approximately 1245 hours, Sergeant Keith Milks of the Howe Police Department notified Grayson County Dispatch of an abandoned motor vehicle on the railroad tracks ah approximately one third mile north of Ponderosa Street, crossing number 465404J.
00:19:38
Speaker
Sergeant Milks advised he located the vehicle, which was identified as a white in color 2013 Ram 1500 with Texas temporary registration. Sergeant Milks reported that no one was inside or near the vehicle when he located it. At approximately 1416 hours, Deputy Jimmy Leverett arrived on scene and located the vehicle. Deputy Leverett noted the GPS coordinates at latitude 33.32.167 North.
00:20:10
Speaker
Longitude negative 96.36.12 West. Deputy Leverett observed that the vehicle was partially in a ravine located on the west side of the railroad tracks. Deputy Leverett observed that the rear end of the vehicle had slid down into the ravine and the front of the vehicle was oriented towards the south.
00:20:33
Speaker
Deputy Leverett observed several tire marks in the gravel, which indicated the vehicle was possibly traveling southbound on the side of the tracks in the gravel. Deputy Leverett checked the vehicle to the best of his ability, but was unable to locate anyone inside or near the vehicle. Deputy Leverett observed minor damage to the front of the vehicle. Deputy Leverett did not find any evidence that would lead to the owner's whereabouts." Okay, now let's unpack the incident reports. Yes, I wanted to bring up that the report states that the vehicle had been abandoned, which before we talk about what Maggie saw in these pictures,
00:21:19
Speaker
Is not exactly how I would describe this vehicle because that makes me think more of a vehicle sitting on the side of a road. I mean, which there's no person in the vehicle, but it's not just nicely left parked by the road. Yes. Yeah. I understand that law enforcement only mean that the driver's not there. And I understand, I understand that, you know, at this point, they don't know where the drives have come from, right? The damage to it.
00:21:43
Speaker
But this vehicle is tilting precariously down a ravine that clearly looks like it was in an accident, not just parked there. That's how they make it seem is that it's just by the side of the road, but it's not. and No. Can we look at the pictures again? Yes. How would you describe those pictures, Maggie? So first off, what?
00:22:04
Speaker
spots on the gravel and what gravel because i don't see that from i guess maybe a little bit of gravel there i think in the and we'll post these listeners but in the second picture you can kind of see where the tracks are and there's gravel up there but was there a crossing did he go over just regular tracks because i feel like your tires would pop if you did that and this isn't an accident from which one would die. Like no he could get out of his car yeah and it doesn't look like the airbags or anything. No, no, it doesn't appear that way. So yes, I want to clarify. It's not just that his truck was abandoned and just sitting there. It was clearly it's like hanging off the side of a little taken down into a ravine. Knowing what we know of Lopez,
00:22:58
Speaker
that the police obviously aren't aware of yet that the family is. There are even more pressing questions like what is his truck doing five hours away from home? Yeah. Why is it here in how and how? Why wasn't he responding to any messages? Yeah. Why wasn't he responding to type-ins? What reason did Lopez or anyone he knows have to be so near the Oklahoma state line? So we've driven from southern Texas all the way up to not very far far from the Oklahoma state line. Why is his truck not traveling on an in interstate? Why would he have been traveling on a grass road beside of railroad tracks? And how would he even know that that road existed if he'd never been in that area? Yeah. And what caused his truck to be in that position? Was it an accident? And I'm curious if the damage on the front was already there or
00:23:50
Speaker
you know, was this a result of how it ends up? Because that part was the part that was sticking up. Right. So I don't know if there were an accident beforehand, like something hits it and it causes his truck to spin and go down into the ravine. It's just weird because then he would feel like his truck would be Like front down in the ravine, not tail down. Unless he hit something and it made him spin. I don't know. Or did something happen to his truck and then his truck is purposefully placed here? We don't know. And there is clearly damage to the front of his truck that, like Maggie said in the picture, it doesn't look like it hit anything.
00:24:39
Speaker
You might find this interesting, Maggie, but the police initially reported no signs of foul play at the scene. okay And no items of interest inside the truck. So they're basically like, yep, nothing to see here, no foul play, nothing to be collected. The Grayson County Sheriff's Office stated that they completed a quote, cursory search, end quote, basically to ensure that no one was inside the vehicle and they determined at that point that there was no sign of foul play. So there's no blood, there's no... But beyond that, they're not really looking. No. Their initial theories were that either an accident happened or that Lopez had just left his truck here and he would come back to get it at some point. Part my truck over the side of this ravine and come back into it. Yeah. that they They did not believe initially, I don't think even to this day, that he was the victim of foul play.
00:25:36
Speaker
This assessment, however, would later be proven tragically incomplete, fueling a firestorm of questions about the thoroughness of the initial investigation. The days that followed were a blur, a frantic searching and agonizing silence as the mystery surrounding Lopez's disappearance really tightened its grip on those who loved him. You see, Ty Pence had been spearheading searches for Lopez from the moment she had reported him missing. She and her friends would put up posters. They would go search for clues.
00:26:06
Speaker
She even created the help bring Lopez home Facebook page that I'll link in our show notes. But she told reporter Caitlin Monte of Fox 26 Houston quote we had been together since college I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I was out looking on the ground with some of his family and my best friend.
00:26:25
Speaker
searching downtown in the Rosenberg area and the area where they found his truck abandoned, end quote. And I want you to think about the dedication from Taipins because she's doing all of these searches in Rosenberg and in Howe. So every search that she's doing, she's driving between one and four hours to those spots. Yeah, one way to actively look for him. But there was one further complication that I haven't told you about, Maggie.
00:26:51
Speaker
The proximity of Lopez's truck to railroad tracks. Removing his vehicle would mean bringing tow trucks onto railroad property, which meant the need to get special permission from the Dallas Garland Railroad Company who owned the tracks there.
00:27:09
Speaker
They initially refused to allow a tow truck to drive over they were the tracks. Let the truck sit in the living. They did. Oh, so they're initially saying, Nope, we're not going to let you on the property to retrieve the vehicle, which what weighties, you know, would mean getting it out of there means protecting any evidence that there is the ability to search the vehicle. And how do they have more,
00:27:34
Speaker
Power than the police. I feel like if the police are like we want this and they're like, okay. Railroad has its own. It's its own authority. I know that they can be difficult sometimes with like road work. Yeah. So but here we are. And you can see why initially they said that searching the truck. The reason they couldn't, they said the sheriff's office.
00:27:59
Speaker
give it more than a cursory search at the beginning was they said it, quote, posed safety risks and quote, you can see because it's the way it's positioned in the ravine that might be kind of dangerous. So I understand the safety risk, but they still continue to say, ah but there's nothing in the truck really to be found. So.
00:28:20
Speaker
Police are saying there's nothing to be found. We have the truck that's sitting there, the railroad that won't allow a tow truck onto the property to get it out for a further search. Well, all of this is going on and Ty Pence is refusing to accept the initial police assessment of Lopez's disappearance that no foul play was involved.
00:28:39
Speaker
but her gut feeling wasn't supported by proofs until 35 days later when law enforcement finally came up with the idea to request permission from the owner of an adjacent property to Lopez's truck, to bring a tow truck in that way to remove the vehicle from that direction that wouldn't require railroad
Family's Continued Search and Uncovered Evidence
00:29:00
Speaker
consent. That took 35 days. That took 35 days.
00:29:03
Speaker
So like we could have just gone in from the other side of the ravine from somebody else's property. And that person was probably like, yes, please get this truck out of the ravine that's on my property. Yes. So I don't know why that wasn't a thought much earlier on. Well, you know, maybe.
00:29:20
Speaker
They were very busy with other investigative things. It was around this time that drone searches as well as ground searches, which were led by Tim Miller, the founder of Texas Equicerts were conducted. But again, we're 35 days late. Yes. These searches turned up no clues as to where Lopez might be asked in the Never Seen Again episode if the investigation were properly handled Tim Miller of Texas EquiSearch gave a resounding, hell no. That's exactly what he said word for word. Those 35 passing days meant not only that more than a month passed with possible leads fading each day, but also that his truck was left in that spot, a possible crime scene without protection where anyone could access it. And I hadn't really thought about that, but you could easily get in the passenger or the driver's seat of that car. You could.
00:30:17
Speaker
In fact, Lopez's wife reported knowledge that some of the members of the motorcycle club had visited the truck on August 7th. So before it's pulled out of there. And while that may have been just to see if there were any clues to his whereabouts, it still proves that the scene was contaminated yeah with tracks at the very least or even fingerprints. But I will say as far as I was able to ascertain I don't think the interior of the truck was fingerprinted anyway. Still to this day? No.
00:31:00
Speaker
The truck was found, remember initially, on July 9th, a day after he's reported missing, but wasn't removed until August 11th.
00:31:11
Speaker
And it was only then that quote, a complete inventory was conducted and quote, and the items found in the truck. Yes, there were personal items that were found there were released to type ins on August 24th, 2021. Wow. The items found in Lopez's truck included his wallet with his ID and credit cards. So I feel like that kind of downplays the left of his own deliciousness. They also found a digital camera.
00:31:39
Speaker
and a GoPro camera, but without blood found in the truck, police continued to believe that foul play wasn't even a theory to consider. So this lack of urgency, apparent inconsistencies, like first they're saying nothing's in the truck. Now they have his wallet and a digital camera and a GoPro in there. In the investigation, nod at type hints. She knew Lopez. She knew his love for their children. She knew his unwavering dedication to his dreams. This was not a man who would simply vanish without a trace.
00:32:13
Speaker
Driven by an unyielding need for answers, she decided to conduct her own investigation, embarking on a journey that would unearth unsettling truths and cast long shadows of suspicion over those closest to Lopez, making, in her mind, nothing other than foul play, a possibility. Well, because I feel like right now Law enforcement could basically say, yeah, we think he wasn't abducted by aliens. Like just disappeared. Yes. Gone. Mm hmm. When type ins received those personal items on August 24th, she and her best friend also searched the truck.
00:32:49
Speaker
and Maggie, she found even more than the police did. Which is crazy because she's not a, you know, investigative professional. Exactly. So this further leads to questions of the thoroughness of the investigation because under one of the seats, which apparently was not checked, she found one of Lopez's cell phones, his personal one. Okay. Now one would think that finding all of this technology, the GoPro, the cell phone, the digital camera would lead to much more information about Lopez's movements. Yeah, I was gonna ask, do we have anything? In early July, but I haven't told you the most unsettling detail yet, Maggie. The GoPro and the digital camera had been wiped clean. Not only was there not sufficient evidence on them, there was no evidence at all. So it's like somebody just deleted all the pictures of the camera in there? The memory card is blank in both.
00:33:40
Speaker
As for his cell phone, when Typons accessed it, she noticed that there were only message and messages and pictures from June 23rd and before. Everything after was gone, but she knew that she'd contacted him. She knew that Lopez had called her to talk to the kids nearly every day after that. Now, nothing.
00:34:05
Speaker
Oh, that's a little creepy. So when had the GoPro and the camera been scrubbed? When had the messages and the call records been deleted? And obviously, you know, he's not going to delete. OK, maybe the GoPro and the cell phone because he's going somewhere and he's like, you know, put them on his computer because he needs more picture space or whatever. But the cell phone being locked for that time period, why would he do that? That makes no sense. You can't logically explain that one. No. And especially, OK, if you delete messages from one person, but from everybody. Right.
00:34:33
Speaker
and your call log, I don't even know you could do that. Yeah, so who who did delete it? For what reason? This deliberate act of data destruction was a chilling confirmation of type ins has grown suspicion, obviously, that something sinister had happened to Lopez. Sadly, Maggie deleted data is not something easily retrievable. Maybe it would have been possible had the phone been retrieved only a day or two after Lopez disappeared, but it had now been over a month.
00:35:03
Speaker
And I'm going to make an assumption here that the sheriff's office at least requested maybe information from the cell phone because I feel like any investigation, if it were going to be complete, would mean exploring all avenues. Even if they're convinced that foul play wasn't likely, I would hope that they would take that records. But I would also like to think that they requested cell phone tower pings because that would tell us either Lopez's movements or at least the movements of someone who had access to his phone in the days leading up to the discovery of the truck. But sadly, I have not read any information in any of my sources, nor seen my hopes confirmed wow anywhere that those steps were done. There's one reference and one source that maybe it was done of his other cell phone, but not his personal cell phone. And was his other cell phone like? It was not found at the scene.
00:36:02
Speaker
doesn't mean Law enforcement had also discovered Lopez's shoes stuck in the mud near the truck, adding another layer of entry to an already perfect. So he's just going to leave with his no shoes. Yeah. The discovery of his shoes, just as with all of the other evidence, raised more questions than it answered. So did Lopez attempt to leave the scene and his shoes got stuck in the mud? That's what police suggested. And I felt like one would just bend down and pick them up, pick them up out of the mud, yeah put them babies back on. Yeah. Or were they planted there as a deliberate red herring? But if so, what does that prove? hello Or does it somehow show that there was a struggle of a ah forced removal? But Maggie, again, let me show you a picture of his shoes stuck in the mud.
00:36:50
Speaker
So it's very hard to see them because I guess they were so muddy that they kind of blend in, but they're facing, they're pointed in different directions. And they're, I mean, I don't know how far apart that is, but it looks like it would be wider than just stands. Yeah. But why would you have your shoes if they're stuck in the mud stuck pointing in different directions? That doesn't make any sense to me.
00:37:15
Speaker
When Ty Pence posted that picture of the shoes that were found near the barbed wire fence that was on the pictures and noted that they were pointed in opposite direction, she also posted a picture from the inside of Lopez's truck. Notice the gear shift. Oh, it's not even in park. No. Or drive. No.
00:37:41
Speaker
It is in reverse. See, that's what I was telling to you. I think it was backed down on my heels. It just doesn't make sense for it to go down that way naturally. Right. Yeah. So seeing that the gear shift is in reverse, it looks like somebody, like you said, Maggie, purposefully backed the truck into the ravine. But why?
00:38:01
Speaker
Well, I mean, I guess if their goal was to cover up whatever happened to him, I mean, so far they've done a pretty good job because we still don't know. It makes me think, was Lopez himself trying to hide in the foliage and maybe doesn't realize that there's a ravine there? Had Lopez been trying to escape from somebody?
Motorcycle Club's Involvement and Theories
00:38:19
Speaker
hence driving alongside railroad tracks in the gravel and not on the main road. See, I get the vibe that somebody is- Chasing him? Or hiding, maybe? Hiding the car, or I don't know. I know. Either he hit it, or maybe he's driving down the railroad tracks, somebody's chasing him, and he has the need to reverse course, so he tries to back up and the tire slide, because if it was muddy, maybe he slides into the ravine, maybe somebody else.
00:38:46
Speaker
tried to back his truck into the ravine, maybe even thinking it was deeper and they could fully conceal the truck. But even if that the position of the truck itself can seem like an accident, maybe on Lopez's part, the course the truck was traveling doesn't seem to be, right? Like why was he on this gravel next to the railroad tracks? Yeah. But with no blood discovered at the scene, the investigation by law enforcement to Lopez's family seemed stalled.
00:39:16
Speaker
Typence kept searching, though, and was able to uncover one other detail that I need to share before we get into theories. On July 8, 2021, same day Typence had reported Lopez missing, his debit card was used at an R and&R truck stop in Henrietta, Oklahoma, a seven hour drive from Rosenberg where Lopez lived and a two hour drive from where his truck was found.
00:39:44
Speaker
And how? So then how did he get there from how? If we're saying this is him that used the debit card. Unless the debit card was used and the accident happens on the way back. On the way back. But this is yet another detail that was discovered by type hints. Again, not by police because she still had access to Lopez's account information. Well, she immediately took the information to law enforcement who investigated it. But from my understanding, there was no footage from the gas station to confirm whether It was Lopez who used his card there, or if it was somebody else. And law enforcement also have never publicly stated what the amount charged to the card was or what it was used to purchase. Like did they buy fuel? Did they buy something else? I'm also curious, and I haven't seen it in any of my research, whether that debit card that was used in Henrietta was later found in his wallet that was in the truck.
00:40:38
Speaker
or whether it was missing. one because in now I feel like that would be crucial information. It would seem much more likely that Lopez had used it in Henrietta, Oklahoma if it was in his wallet. But I haven't seen it mentioned yeah anywhere. And I feel like that'd be easy to know. Right. But even if law enforcement didn't seem intent on pursuing the possibility of possibility of foul play, Tidepence was not deterred. If there were answers to be found, she was determined to find them.
00:41:04
Speaker
One of her first stops in that mission was Lopez's Rosenberg apartment, a place where she hoped she could find some clue, some trace of his presence, or at least some knowledge of his movements from July 5th, which was the last time that she had laid eyes on him. And she found that his door had been kicked in. Oh, armed with a mother's intuition, I think, and her heavy heart, Typence requested access.
00:41:32
Speaker
to the security footage that was pointing towards the property. And like why was his belongings were still just in there and the door had been kicked open? Yes. For an undetermined amount of time. Some of his belongings were in there. Because I'm sure people had raided his house and stole things. Well, I will tell you exactly what was taken. Oh. What she discovered on the video sent a shiver down her spine. The footage revealed that a few days after Lopez's disappearance,
00:41:59
Speaker
members of his motorcycle club had forcefully entered his apartment. Their purpose, as they later claimed to tie pins, was to retrieve their own motorcycles that Lopez had been working on repairing for them. Like, does he have a garage or something? I guess he like maybe pulled them in so that they were not sitting outside as he's working on them.
00:42:22
Speaker
So they said they just broke in so they could get their own bikes back, but they also took Lopez's bike and they assured typins that they would return everything once he came back. It's weird. This incident, while, you know, it could be innocent, maybe.
00:42:41
Speaker
it left Taipins obviously deeply troubled. So the forceful entry, the removal of belongings, this casual reassurance of returning everything when Lopez comes back from a group of people whom Taipins had admitted helped zero in any search for Lopez after he was reported missing. For her, it all felt staged. It felt like some desperate attempt to maintain a facade of normalcy while obviously Lopez's fate remained ah unknown.
00:43:09
Speaker
Hmm. Of course. And here's the innocent part that maybe they just needed to get their own bikes back, right? He'd been working on them for a while that it is admittedly their property and they don't know when Lopez is going to return. But why not ask type is to let them in to get the bikes. There should be a better way to enter said apartment other than kicking in the door. Yes. And why would they take Lopez's bike too? It's weird.
00:43:38
Speaker
Armed with this information now, Maggie, let's talk about the theories. Really, there are four. Accident, suicide, voluntary leaving, or foul play. So we'll talk about them in that order. Theory number one, accident. The accident theory suggested that Lopez may have been involved in a car crash, maybe sustained a head injury,
00:43:57
Speaker
that led him to wander off in the this wooded rural area and how Texas disoriented and lost. This theory, though, is really only supported by the fact that Lopez's truck was found damaged and abandoned in that remote location. However, extensive searches by law enforcement and Texas EquiSearch, which is an organization that specializes in locating missing individuals, yielded no trace of Lopez. Obviously, that casts doubt on the accident theory.
00:44:25
Speaker
had he wandered off, he likely wouldn't have gotten far, meaning he would have been found. And they didn't have she so yeah and if he had taken his other cell phone with him and called someone to say I've had an accident, which would explain why he's not there and they can't find him, then where was he now? Why hadn't that person gotten him help? Why were the memory cards on the technology in this truck as well as certain calls and messages erased?
00:44:52
Speaker
So this theory doesn't explain a lot like if you had accidentally got in an accident somehow and your car went over a ravine and you got out, you would take your personal phone and not your work phone. Right. Unless you are disoriented and you can't find it because it did slide under the seat and you don't know where it is, but you know where the other one is. So you have it.
00:45:23
Speaker
But then where is he? Right. And if he has it, then why haven't, in this theory, now why haven't we pinged it and to see where it last pinged? Well, but as it could be because police are really taking it seriously. Well, that's frustrating because I feel like maybe that could lead to like more clues even. I sad to say his body. and huh Theory number two is suicide.
00:45:49
Speaker
Taipins had reported that actually only after reading an article for CNN did she learn that local law enforcement were telling the media that based on conversations with those close to Lopez, their belief was that Lopez had likely taken his own life. He was closer to him than she is. Yeah. Where did this belief come from? Yeah.
00:46:11
Speaker
It certainly it wasn't her. No, it certainly wasn't from her. The only thing that could remotely hint to finality was that she told police that Lopez had apologized to his daughter and said goodbye. But that didn't mean he would take his own life from everything that I've heard At least quite the opposite was true because remember type and said to never seen again that this was low passes quote winning season and quote i mean you just had the grand opening for his tattoo parlor which was his dream. Plus again if this were suicide then where is his body right cuz it's not gonna decompose and the amount of time it took them to find his me no.
00:46:51
Speaker
Why wasn't it found in all of those ground searches and why would he do it there and how? Why would that be the spot that you've chosen? Yeah. Theory number three, leaving of his own free will. The voluntary disappearance theory proposes that Lopez had deliberately chosen to walk away from his life, erase his digital footprint and abandon his truck as part of a carefully orchestrated plan.
00:47:19
Speaker
Proponents of the theory pointed to the wiped devices and the seemingly deliberate nature of his disappearance. Again, going back to the apology and the goodbye and that last phone call. I mean, if this was his plan, he obviously did a good job because we still don't know where he is. Yeah. But Taipins vehemently rejects this notion, arguing that Lopez had no reason to abandon his life, especially his children. She emphasized his happiness with this tattoo shop, his unwavering dedication to his family. And besides,
00:47:49
Speaker
If he just walked away, why was his truck found like this? Why leave only one cell phone? Why wipe messages a memory card? Yes, why leave his shoes behind? He certainly couldn't physically walk far anyway with the pins and the screws in his phone. Oh, I forgot about that, with no shoes. Yeah, with no shoes. And if he had been driving away from his life in Rosenberg,
00:48:18
Speaker
why not have abandoned his vehicle his vehicle when he was even further away in Henrietta, Oklahoma, if indeed that was him, right, as this theory would seem to imply. Why would he have driven South again, as if he's coming back. of His whole point is to leave his life. And Lopez also left behind a large amount of money in his bank account and all of the inventory for his new tattoo business.
00:48:44
Speaker
So for these reasons, obviously coupled with the lack of any financial activity or contact from Lopez afterward, for type ins, it kind of debunks the voluntary disappearance theory. yeah Finally, we have theory number four, foul play. The sources highlight the significance of Lopez's statement to his wife of paranoia, suggesting that they could be crucial in understanding his disappearance.
00:49:08
Speaker
His wife firmly believes these statements, coupled with the other suspicious circumstances, point to foul play. These statements, obviously they provide a glimpse into Lopez's state of mind, the spirit of paranoia, before he's vanishing. It paints this picture of him being possibly entangled in a dangerous situation he can't escape. And remember, Lopez spoke of specifically a business deal gone wrong, of disrespecting the quote unquote wrong people who might seek revenge saying, quote, here was his full quote, I got involved with the wrong people. I got into this for business. I disrespected the wrong person and I can't get a chance to apologize. End quote. So Lope has his chilling words now heavy with the weight of his absence. They're echoing and type in his mind.
00:49:59
Speaker
These revelations coupled with the unsettling break-in at Lopez's apartment by members of his motorcycle club, the subsequent visit of two members ah to the site of his abandoned truck, the odd placement of Lopez's tennis shoes, the wiping of his devices, obviously it casts this long shadow of suspicion. And remember the phone call that Typence received on the 7th as well, asking where Lopez could be.
00:50:25
Speaker
So Lopez's disappearance, is it a result of a power struggle within the motorcycle club? Again, was he chased here? Did someone else drive his truck here to dispose it? Only foul play, as a theory can explain, in my mind, a lot of those
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:50:40
Speaker
details. And I feel like the apology to his daughter and the goodbye could even go with this as well if he felt that somebody was after him. After him. Yeah.
00:50:48
Speaker
He might not get a chance to say it, so now's his chance. There are, of course, other possibilities, even within the theory of foul play. For example, in my mind, this is what I'm thinking about as I'm reading all these details. Only one of his two cell phones was found. What if Lopez did get into an accident here with his truck, but he used his other cell phone to call a friend to come and pick it pick him up?
00:51:10
Speaker
And it's one of those quote unquote friends who then led to his disappearance, which maybe could explain why his debit card was used elsewhere. Or maybe he had used his primary cell phone to call someone for help and if they are the ones who are responsible for whatever happened to Lopez, then they would need to erase any the sort of evidence of that phone call, knowing obviously that's going to be the first thing that police would do would be to go through Lopez's recent contacts and call all of those people to interview them about his whereabouts. Maybe they wanted to erase at least back to one of the first times that they had communicated via that phone, which is why that such a long period date was chosen.
00:51:51
Speaker
Now, why the digital camera and the GoPro memory cards were also erased? I'm not sure of the connection unless he is being chased and he turns on the GoPro. Yeah. Or he's taking pictures. Or he may have like pictures of them. Yeah. Yeah. On the other hand, if something happened to Lopez as a result of foul play, and if that something happened in Henrietta, where his debit card was used, then why would the perpetrator drive his truck on the way back to where he's from. I mean, you would think that if they were going to dispose of it, they would dispose of it further away from home as opposed to on the way back. That makes me think maybe he did use his debit card, but he was on his way back. What was he doing though? I don't know. And if someone took him from the spot in how, where his truck was left, right? If he was taken from there, why wouldn't they have just taken the GoPro and the digital camera with them?
00:52:49
Speaker
Right. Why wipe it and then leave it? Yeah. Even if somebody did something to harm Lopez separately from his truck and then returned to the scene, like if they did it elsewhere and they just stashed his truck here and then returned to the scene to wipe the evidence from the devices or wipe them at the same time that they're taking him or plant the wiped devices. Why do any of those actions at all? Why not just take the devices and destroy them completely? Never to be found again.
00:53:20
Speaker
I don't know why they were left. While the circumstances to me point toward foul play, the lack of concrete evidence and the silence of those who may hold the key to unlocking the truth have left everyone involved with more questions than answers. So Maggie, what are your thoughts? I don't think it was suicide.
00:53:42
Speaker
I don't think he left of his, I don't know. I don't know. I can't decide. I don't think, I mean, I want to say foul play because of what an amazing person he sounded to be. And, you know, had like his whole life waiting for him and stuff like that. But then you raised so many good questions. Like why wipe the digital camera? Why wipe the GoPro? Why leave it? Why leave it? Like those type of questions make you wonder, is it foul play? Because I don't know. It's just weird.
00:54:17
Speaker
My gut leads me to foul play unless the only other explanation in my mind that I can think where, and it wouldn't necessarily, I wouldn't call it a voluntary disappearance, is if people threatened to hurt his family, if he didn't make himself disappear.
00:54:37
Speaker
in which case he would do something like this to make it appear as though yeah something has happened to him. And then I could see that maybe doesn't return, but my gut is still leading to foul play. Lopez Richardson's absence has left a lasting impression on those who love him. Lopez's artist friend and mentor turned mentee, Vernon Adams, has done a series of art based on Lopez as a way to celebrate the love and beauty Lopez brought to the world. His is a soul that lives on.
00:55:07
Speaker
in his children as well. Lopez's son loves listening to blues, hearkening back to Lopez's roots in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His daughter is a talented artist herself who enjoys drawing her father as she remembers him, surrounded by light. His work is not done as it lives on in them, but your help is needed to piece together the puzzle of Lopez's disappearance. He is a six foot two inch African-American man weighing approximately 210 pounds. He wore his hair in medium length dreadlocks, had a beard, and numerous tattoos. He was last seen wearing a black t-shirt and brown camouflage cargo pants. If you have any information about Lopez, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please contact the Rosenberg Police Department at 832-595-3700 or Texas EquiSearch at 281-309-9500.
00:56:07
Speaker
Your information could be the missing piece that brings Lopez home and provides his family with the answers and the closure they so desperately crave.
00:56:18
Speaker
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00:56:48
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.