all, or suggest something ominous? yes. we found those items in an area where the ground had appeared to have been disturbed. we became concerned that possibly a struggle took place there. meredith s water bottles, ella s leash, and signs of a struggle. nothing about the scene looked good to the veteran lawman, especially that expandible police baton that was found. he called in help. we eventually partnered with over 18 or 19 police agencies to help in the search for meredith. had her friends were naturally besides themselves. you know, your heart just broke because you think something happened, somebody had a weapon, and her stuff was there. so you re thinking at the very least she abducted. right. it wasn t something we could talk about until we could prove that. the cops commandeered a park building as headquarters. we began getting information pretty quickly. from people who had hiked the trails that it day. right. and remembered her?
officer in the nation carrying these things. did those artifacts, the water bottle, baton, found together tell you a story at all, or suggest something ominous? yes. we found those items in an area where the ground had appeared to have been disturbed. we became concerned that possibly a struggle took place there. meredith s water bottles, ella s leash, and signs of a struggle. nothing about the scene looked good to the veteran lawman, especially that expandible police baton that was found. he called in help. we eventually partnered with over 18 or 19 police agencies to help in the search for meredith. had her friends were naturally besides themselves. you know, your heart just broke because you think something happened, somebody had a weapon, and her stuff was there. so you re thinking at the very least she abducted. right. it wasn t something we could talk about until we could prove that.
the house was or what had happened there, but he knew it was bad. yeah, these ones are not fun to do. finally, he found it, down a secluded driveway, a man on the front lawn waving him in. what s going on. i m the neighbor. inside, the deputy could see signs of a struggle, blood on the floor. got blood on the wall, blood on the steps. a broken wall. he searched the house. hey, kids room, this one s clear. i m going to check this last room. here. the trail led to this, to someone in a little room just beyond the stairs, beyond all hope now. oh, my gosh. yeah. the house in the woods was home to tom and kelley clayton and their two adorable children. he had been a local star of sorts, a hockey player, and
finally found it down a secluded driveway. man on the front lawn waiving him in. i m the neighbor. inside the deputy could see signs of a struggle. blood on the floor. the trail led to this. beyond all hope now. she was a hometown girl
certainty are the known facts of a murky case. he got a friend to buy him a shotgun, said good-bye to the ivy league, and on a winter s day, drove home. that s all for this edition of dateline. i m craig melvin. thanks for watching. i m craig melvin. i m natalie morales. and this is dateline. we were like sisters. we had shared so much. they told me that they had found her body. i just collapsed. she s dead because she was my friend. first, melissa disappeared. where s melissa? that s the million dollar question. i knew right then that she absolutely never made it into her house. left behind in her garage signs of a struggle and a strange orange mist. we didn t know what it was. then, her boss went missing, too.