Transcript for Sarah Stern case investigators question Sarah’s friends: Part 2
Save at trelegy.com. On this brisk, cold day, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be on this bridge for you and knowing this was the last place your daughter was known to be. It’s always been difficult. It was so emotional on that bridge with Michael stern, Sarah’s father. It’s heartbreaking on so many levels and his pain is palpable. It’s a feeling of emptiness and hurt. The shark river runs underneath this bridge. It’s not particularly deep, but apparently it’s very dangerous because the current moves quickly. That water ultimately ends up in the atlantic, which could potentially be important as you look at this case. By 3:17 A.M., that car is towed off the bridge. That’s kind of where the investigation starts. The Neptune city police, goes to Sarah’s house on ridge terrace. Is there a dog in here? I heard a dog barking. There’s a really unique element to this case, and a great one, where the police, as they go an interview people, they have body cameras on. Which really provide a real-time window into exactly what the police are doing, what they’re saying, even what they’re thinking. There’s a teenager that’s supposed to be driving it and it’s parked on top of that bridge, and we’re getting no answer at the house. I have an open door at the house. I might go inside and make sure everything’s kosher here. I want to make sure we don’t have a jumper. Neptune city police! Hello? Hello? Neptune city force! Police go to her house. The back door is open, and the lights are on, and there is no sign of Sarah. The only thing home is her dog buddy, who she loved more than anything, who normally has his run of the house. Now, when they went to go look for her, he was locked in his crate. But the dog’s in the cage, so someone put the dog in the cage. Hello! Police department! She had so much love in her heart for her friends and her family and her dog, buddy. She loved that dog more than anybody I’ve ever known to love an animal before. Well, I guess Neptune is gonna have to figure out what their mindset of this kid is. You don’t see dog treats anywhere, do you? A little treat for the doggie. What a good doggie. All right. Let me call Neptune. We went through the whole house, there was nobody home. Sarah stern lives with her father Michael, and so obviously he’s somebody logically the police would reach out to, and they quickly realized that he wasn’t in town, that they found him in Florida on vacation. They were checking the house, they said, not in the house. So, now we’re kind of wondering what’s going on. She would never leave buddy, her dog. The dog was in the cage at the house. Her car was found with nobody in it. Okay. Robin draper is one of the stern’s neighbors. Her daughter Carly and Sarah grew up together. This was a neighbor of Sarah’s that she had known her entire life. She had gone to school with robin’s daughter Carly. Okay, she brought over today a bin. “Can I bring my mother’s stuff to your house?” You know Carla died? So, she brought a bin of stuff of her mother’s to your house? I said yes, I’ll put it in and — I tried texting her and We know that there was at some point Sarah was taking things, personal belongings, putting them in bins and distributing them. And on that particular day, the day that Sarah went missing Liam and Sarah went over to the draper’s house and left off some bins of some of her personal items. Is she depressed? I think she is depressed. Not suicidal in any way, do you think? I don’t know. Police quickly find out that she was last seen with one of her best friends. I said, “Did anybody get in touch with Liam mcatasney.” And sergeant Bradley Hines goes to his apartment and bangs on the door pretty furiously. And opens to a groggy Liam who had seemingly just woken up. It was the middle of the night, and is asking him about where is Sarah? Liam? You’re Liam? Can I come in and talk to her? Come on in. You’ve got a second? Can I come in and talk to you real quick? Yeah, no problem officer. Is Sarah here by any chance? No. When was the last time you talked to her? I was with her today. I’m going to turn some light on if you don’t mind. Mean, we went to get food today. And you went to work at what time? 4:30. Okay. So you haven’t talked to her since 4:30? No. You have a cell phone you can reach out to her on? I actually haven’t been able to find my cell phone. Any idea as to where it’s at? It’s been gone all day. Liam tells him that they spent the afternoon and the early part of the evening together before he had to go to work at Brennan steakhouse. And he hadn’t heard from her after that. What was her mindset the last time you talked to her? I just know she’s been trying to get away. She’s been telling me she’s going to Canada. Liam starts to te sergeant Hines that she has been going through a lot, that her relationship with her father has become someone volatile over the last few months, and that she was looking to get out. Trying to get away, okay. Canada, she’s been real depressed lately? Her dad is crazy. Okay. And then she’s dealing with the loss of her mother. That she wanted to move to Canada, that she was packing up these things, and she was ready And he freely shared, “Yeah, I was just with her last night.” She wasn’t very happy. She appeared depressed. It appeared like she wanted to leave, wasn’t getting along well with her father. As soon as you hear anything call the Neptune city or the Neptune township police department and let us know. Okay. Thank you. Hey, it’s sergeant Hindes, Neptune city. What do you guys have this thing listed as, this car on the bridge, is it a missing person, is it? She’s been very depressed. Her father’s got a new relationship. She’s not getting along with her father. There’s all kinds of emotional issues with her. I woke up around 5:00 A.M. The morning of December 3rd, I hear my mom downstairs on the phone and she was crying. And she was like they can’t find Sarah. And I was like what? It’s a sense of hopelessness when you don’t — you just have no idea. Sarah’s my only child, and it’s a hard feeling that we couldn’t find her.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
