Prologue

The phone rings, Johnny Carter recognizes the number. There was never a day she ever envisioned that she would form such close connections with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Missing Children's Unit, But here she found herself fifteen years into the nightmare that was her now life, the mother of a missing child, which means each call could either lead to closure and bereavement or celebration and connection. Johnny knew this call was about her little girl, Bethany. Her heart begins to raise and her hands tremble as she puts the receiver to her ear. Hello, she says, her thick Southern accent, wavering with half worry and half hope. Miss Johnny says the voice on the other line. It's about Bethany. I think we found her. I never wanted to cover missing children. It hits too close to home for me. It fuels my fears, my worries, my intrusive thoughts, maybe my paranoia. And some may claim it makes us wiser and smarter or more street wise, but it actually really doesn't matter if I wanted to cover this case or not, does it, Because sometimes these cases they find us, they come to us, not because we can solve them. But because there is one reason, and I think it's this, we can get loud and we need your help. Please join us as part of Bethany's Brigade and get loud to ask the question where is Bethany Markowski? You know, there are so many, so many missing children in these cases, the ones that we all may casually scroll past on social media. These are real people, real missing babies, of real parents who never wanted to be in this position. So when the team went searching for the season two case of Missing in Hushtown and I saw Bethany's face, something in my soul stirred and we all pointed to her, and we all agreed that this is the case, this is the cause, this is our girl. And here we find ourselves on Bethany's Brigade, standing alongside her mother, Johnny Carter, and her family and friends to ask one essential question, where is Bethany Markowski? This season on Missing in Hushtown Season two, Bethany Markowski. Throughout this season, you'll hear from family, friends, and the producers behind Missing Hushtown. I'm your host, Jules thorpe Hi, and for the season I called in a team Jen Rivera, co founder of Fireeyse Media, and the amazing women behind mom Cast Productions, Rachel Holloway and Heather Northcraft. The four of us have poured hours upon hours into this story to ensure that we tell it as holistically and truthfully to the sources we obtained as we can. This is about following the evidence, the leads, but also following our hearts. You'll hear from all four of us as we did take turns conducting interviews, being boots on the ground, and you know what, We'll even bring you along our production meetings where we discuss information and theories. I learned a lot from season one and missing in Hushtown Jennifer and Adriana Wicks, and I'm back and together with our team, we're Boulder, Braver, wiser, and ladder, and we're not going anywhere. There are two possible outcomes. Number one, Bethany LeAnn Markowski is alive, or two, Bethany Leanne Markowski is dead. What we want to know, what we really want to know, is this what happened between one and two? What happened at the one point five? Could Bethany be out there alive and living her life. That's the sliver of hope nobody wants to let go of, isn't it We always vow to look into missing person cases with that sliver of hope that this will end in a picturesque reunion. In fact, so often families themselves waver between their belief that their loved one is dead and the belief that they know their loved one is alive. There is a tuggowar of guilt that we see so often in their eyes that pulls them to say they have to hold hope, and so for them, with them, alongside them, we will hold hope together. Missing in Hutchtown will never do a season without working with the FA families and alongside them each step of the way. And this goes beyond the words you're about to hear. It's a partnership and promise and heart to stay by their side. Of course, we're biased, we're humans, and we're not here as journalists. Although True Crime Investigated podcasting doesn't have the same standard as journalistic integrity, we strive to be an equal opportunity podcast. But since we show up to events, we hug the families, We talk with them weekly, sometimes daily, They become parts of us and pretty soon. You guys were not just looking for Bethany LeAnn Markowski, but we're looking for that little girl that we grew to love through her family, and along the way it does become personal, and you know what, I hope that if that ever stops, then we know it's time for us to move on. We invited every party, which will be discussed in this podcast, to come and talk on the podcast. We invited parties to remain anonymous. We invited every party to have equal access to every piece of information we have. Yet some declined, but not first without giving us statements that we may use, and don't worry, we will share it all. And if you're wondering if the producers believe whether Bethany Markowski is alive, here's the truth, the full transparency. We don't know. Some days two of us believe she's out there, and other days three of us believe that we're searching for Bethany's remains. And then there's that day where we get a few promising tips, will all four of us know that there is actually hope she's alive, only to be followed by a tip of where Bethany's remains may be waiting for us to discover. And while we work diligently to follow that lead and the source of that tip, we get word that sadly, that source has just died. But we still go on, trying hard not to define the outcome beforehand, and it's been hard. People have claimed to be Bathday over the years. Some people saw her, some people say she was taken someplace. Some people say that she's at the bottom of a river in Sidonia. And believe me, I'll take you along every single lead we got, because if there's one thing we can't afford to do, it's this not take every tip or lead seriously, even if it means conducting a foot search team ourselves. Because when a child is missing, are you going to leave one stone unturned? Are you going to walk past the one stone that you come across which may hold the secrets, the keys, the answers to where your loved one is underneath. If you flip it over and there's nothing there, then your back where you started. But if there's something something under there that could bring you back to your baby, it was worth it. Now, before I give all the details, I do want to make a note. I do not believe this is a cold case. Nood on her team believes this is a cold case. Not myself, not Jed, not Rachel, not Heather, and I also believe that we can work together. That means you listening right now to bring Bethany home. You are now a part of Bethany's brigade. Let's go. Are we ever gonna know where Bethany is? Are we ever gonna know what happened? I know Bethany is not the most famous missing person. She is to me. And I know she's not the most important person in the world. She's me. Missing in Hushtown. Season two is executive produced in partnership by Fireeyes Media LLCs Jules Thorpe and Jhen Rivera, as well as mom Can Productions Rachel Holloway and Heather Northcraft. The script is written by Jules Thorpe and edited by Heather Northcraft. Project lead is Rachel Holloway and master editing and audio production is done by John Rivera. Jules Thorpe is your host Fire Eyes Media. My mom has weird raising voices while raising kids.