The crime documentary Missing: Dead or Alive is a Netflix original that takes a different angle on the documentary form. The series focuses on a specific law enforcement department, the Missing Persons Unit of South Carolina. The series explores a string of mysterious cases involving missing people, from a 61-year-old Lorraine Garcia to a ten-year-old Amirah Watson. Vicky Rains, Heidi Jackson, and J.P. Smith are three of the South Carolina police officers from the Missing Person Unit who, after extensive investigative techniques, successfully returned these missing people to their regular location. Let’s go through the specifics of each instance of a missing person and the investigation to discover how the South Carolina officers were able to locate them.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Was Lorraine Garcia? How Was Her Relationship With Her Son, Tony?
The first episode opens with South Carolina policewoman Vicky Rains heading in the direction of Richland County resident Lorraine Garcia, 61, who went missing. Vicky requested assistance from her department. The unit captain, Heidi Jackson, and another investigator arrived to take a look at the house and the surrounding area, but they found nothing much. The only thing Vicky and Heidi could see was a door with a wooden shaft attached to it and smell bleach in the darkened room. The neighbor was concerned that she hadn’t seen Lorraine in a while and was worried that Tony, Lorraine’s son, might have had something to do with it because he had been quite abusive with his mother. The missing-person investigator, Vicky Rains, gave us a brief introduction to her whole section and the cops that worked there. J. P. Smith, the missing juvenile investigator; Heidi Jackson, the captain of the Missing Person Unit; and Sergeant Nina Mauldin had always put their hearts and souls into these investigations because they knew how important it was for them to discover the missing people as rapidly as possible. These officers are diligent and focused on their duty, and they endeavor to gather evidence as quickly as possible in order to gain even the smallest indication as to where these people might be found.
Although Lorraine Garcia was last seen on September 13, her son Tony, also known as Anthony Garcia, took no action to report his mother missing; instead, Lamanda, Tony’s ex-wife, filed a missing file for Lorraine. Additionally, she was concerned that Tony could have known where his mother was and might have taken violent action against her or kept her hostage. Lamanda spoke about her ex-husband, a PTSD-afflicted former soldier. He was a violent man, and his behavior may have been unpredictable at times, which filled Lamanda with anxiety. Perhaps that’s the reason their marriage fell apart. Lamanda had always been terrified of Tony, which is why, even after seeing him abuse his mother on multiple occasions, she was unable to file a report against him. Finally, Vicky and Heidi were able to speak with Tony on the phone. They then requested that he come into the department for questioning. Tony had a rather eccentric, intransigent, and misogynistic outlook on life. He was trying to avoid interaction with the police, but Heidi and Vicky hauled him to the precinct. Tony revealed that he had brought his mother to the hospital on September 13 so that she could keep taking her medicine. Tony rushed her to the hospital because he thought his mother was having a mental breakdown and was becoming paranoid, but the medical reports later revealed that she was actually doing well.
Tony went on to say that he thought his mother had fled somewhere and was still alive and well. However, the cops soon recognized that Tony was hiding highly significant information. Following Lorraine’s disappearance, Tony didn’t bother to file a missing report, indicating that he might have wanted his mother to leave the house. Tony, however, vehemently denied this notion, claiming that he had never been violent with his mother. The cops learned that Tony didn’t share a normal relationship with his mother from a woman called Clara in the area. In fact, Clara said that Lorraine herself told her that Tony had abused her in front of a lawyer over the sale of their house.
Why Was Tony Arrested?
It came to light that Tony was selling his mother’s home in a highly illegitimate manner. His mother owned the property and had never intended to sell it, but Tony set his sights on the house. Tony signed various documents involving the sale of the house in his name, despite not even having the power of attorney. Even after posting an advertisement on Facebook Marketplace, he received a deposit of $2500 from a potential buyer. Officer Vicky questioned Tony about this information, but Tony didn’t seem to care. It seemed like he knew what he did, and he did it on purpose. Vicky and Heidi reviewed Lorraine’s bank account’s most recent transactions at All South Bank, where the cops obtained video evidence showing Lorraine taking money out of her account while Tony stood by. However, Tony made no mention during his interrogation that he had taken his mother to the bank to withdraw some cash.
Vicky and Heidi were accumulating evidence against Tony, and all of it pointed to the fact that he had committed fraud by signing documents that weren’t in his name. That’s why Tony didn’t file a report and wasn’t concerned for his mother’s safety. His mother was just an obstacle in his way that he wanted to get removed. Vicky and Heidi used solid proof against Tony to get him arrested, first for signing paperwork fraudulently and then for making an online transaction with purchasers. Vicky and Heidi didn’t waste any more time in placing Tony under arrest on these serious accusations. Tony was detained, but he kept insisting that he had nothing to do with his mother’s disappearance, even though it didn’t appear that he was speaking the truth. Vicky discovered some of Lorraine’s worn clothing and bedding, and one of her clothes had a blood stain on it, indicating that something horrific had occurred to her.
Following Tony’s incarceration, Heidi received information from All South Bank indicating Lorraine had made contact with the bank a few weeks after her disappearance. She had asked the bank to create an account in her name, and the tape-recorded her mentioning her name, Lorraine Garcia.
The sudden discovery of Lorraine’s interaction with the bank employee provided investigators with a glimmer of hope. Now that they knew the missing individual was alive, they felt relieved. Given the forgery Tony perpetrated, Officer Vicky and Heidi were able to place him under arrest, so now all that was left to do was locate Lorraine and ensure her safety. Because that is the primary function of this unit. Vicky was happy that they were one step closer to discovering Lorraine alive, but Heidi couldn’t sleep the entire night thinking of methods to track her down. She thought that even the smallest diversion might keep her from finding the missing person. Therefore, the squad will continue to concentrate on the inquiry until they are able to locate Lorraine and deliver her safely to her home.
Did the Officers Find Lorraine Alive?
It had been two months since Lorraine disappeared. Tony had received bail, and he believed his mother was still alive and well. The cops made an effort to look into the blood that was discovered on those items of clothes and the mattress. The blood was clearly human, but five weeks earlier, the voicemail with Lorraine’s voice on it conversing with the bank clerk was strong proof that she was still alive. Vicky and Heidi made the decision to retrieve Lorraine Garcia’s phone number and address from All South Bank so they could get an idea of where Lorraine may be right now. In response to Heidi’s inquiry, the bank provided her with Lorraine’s new phone number and address. Vicky went to the place to look around in case she could find any information on Lorraine, but miraculously, when she arrived there, she discovered Lorraine alive and strolling down the street. She hurried over to the elderly lady and inquired whether she was Lorraine Garcia. The elderly woman responded, “Yes.”
Lorraine stated that she’d abandoned the residence in Richland because her son was violent to her, which she did not deserve. She didn’t want to sell her property, but with her opposition, her son, Tony, became increasingly hostile with her. In such a case, she reasoned that it would be better if she simply left. That’s why she departed the house and is now living elsewhere. She asserted that she had taken excellent care of herself and would not require the assistance of others. Lorraine’s newly discovered residence remains a mystery, as she sternly forbade the police to disclose where she was residing for the time being. Heidi, Vicky, and the entire department were overjoyed with the completion of their task. Lorraine may now choose whether or not to return home, but the unit was happy that they had found the missing individual safe and alive.
Conclusion
Numerous individuals go missing every day in America; some of them are found, while others remain unaccounted for. In every missing person case, the South Carolina Missing Person Unit officers give their heart and soul in an effort to locate the victim, just as they did when they located Lorraine. Following the resolution of the Lorraine Garcia case, the police were alerted about the disappearance of Amirah Watson, a 10-year-old girl. Let’s wait and see if Vicky, Heidi, and J. P. Smith, the investigators, can locate Amirah safely and alive in the upcoming episodes.
