Pod Insights Crime Weekly S3 Ep377: Update in the Disappearance of Hailey Buzbee About this episode Authorities believe 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee, who vanished on January 5 after meeting a 39-year-old man through online gaming, is deceased following an investigation involving local police and the FBI. Investigators arrested the suspect, Tyler Thomas, in Ohio. Try our coffee! - www. CriminalCoffeeCo.comBecome a Patreon member -- > ｿ https://www.patreon.com/CrimeWeeklyShop for your Crime Weekly gear here --> ｿ https://crimeweeklypodcast.com/shopYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrimeWeeklyPodcastWebsite: CrimeWeeklyPodcast.comInstagram: @CrimeWeeklyPodTwitter: @CrimeWeeklyPodFacebook: @CrimeWeeklyPod
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:14 Derrick Levasseur? Hey everyone, welcome back to Crime Weekly News. I'm Derrick Levasseur.
0:17 Stephanie Harlowe? And I'm Stephanie Harlow.
0:18 Derrick Levasseur? And today, we're going to be talking about a story that a lot of you have suggested, both on the comment section on YouTube and the DMs on the Crime Weekly Instagram page. And we were going to cover it, and then as we were talking about covering it, there was a major update in the case. So for anybody who doesn't know this story already, 17-year-old Haley Busby of Fishers, Indiana, has been missing since early January. She was last seen at her home on the night of January 5th and was initially classified as a runaway after police believed she left voluntarily. But as the investigation progressed, her status was upgraded to endangered, and law enforcement confirmed she did not act alone. This weekend, Fishers Police and the FBI held a press conference announcing they now
1:00 Derrick Levasseur? believed Haley is deceased, and that the case has shifted from a missing persons investigation to a recovery mission. A 39-year-old man from Ohio has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies related to the case, though no murder charges have been filed at this time. And we're going to talk about this. Stephanie's going to give you a rundown of what we know so far. But yes, as I was just saying, we were going to come on here and do like a be on the lookout for Haley. And then literally, as Stephanie was researching the case, she said, oh my God, there's a new update. Now we have to change what we discuss here because this is a whole different ballgame now.
1:35 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, and I think it's important to discuss this, even though it doesn't look like it's gone well for Haley. It doesn't look like Haley's gonna come home, and that's just absolutely devastating. She's 17 years old. Her family is just absolutely crushed. But this is a very important thing to talk about right now, as far as how we can apply it to our own lives. Because it looks like Haley met her abductor on an online site.
2:01 Derrick Levasseur? Mm-hmm.
2:02 Stephanie Harlowe? And that led me to wonder, is there some sort of site out there that's directing people or these, these young girls, these young kids? To go to these sites to talk to people. I'm not sure, but either way Haley Busby, she's 17, she lives in Fishers, Indiana. She was last seen at home on Monday, January 5th, 2026. She was believed to have left the house of her own free will between 10:00 PM and the early hours of the next morning. Now, her father said, listen, we as a family, we don't have the resources for her to run away on her own. So they believed she had help in running away. And then the family right off the bat was worried someone outside of Haley's social circles had used social media to influence or lure her away in, in some way, shape or form.
2:45 Stephanie Harlowe? Like Derek said, she was originally classified as a runaway because she'd left the home voluntarily. She was then upgraded to endangered based on information gathered during the investigation. And at that time, law enforcement confirmed they believed that she did not act alone. She didn't leave her home. Maybe she did of her own free will, but it was not on her own. She had help in, in leaving the home. So this Sunday afternoon, so this is yesterday, we're filming this on Monday, the second. The Fishers Police Department held a press conference with the FBI and they said that sadly, they believed Haley was no longer alive. The investigation had turned into a recovery mission and 39-year-old Tyler Thomas of Columbus, Ohio was taken into custody Saturday.
3:28 Stephanie Harlowe? He was charged with one count of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, which is basically creating and producing um at CSAM material. And that's a level two felony because it, it involves a minor. And then one count of tampering with evidence, altering, destroying, concealing, et cetera, which is level three felony. So how the police eventually identified Tyler as a suspect, because they spoke to him within days of Haley going missing, they found or saw somehow, probably on some sort of maybe doorbell camera or surveillance camera, they saw an unknown vehicle that had been in the neighborhood the night Haley disappeared. And based on this vehicle, Tyler Thomas was identified as a suspect. He told the police that he'd picked Haley up, so he acknowledged picking her up from
4:13 Stephanie Harlowe? her home, but then he said he dropped her off on the side of the road in western Ohio. And law enforcement later. Found and verified that that this claim was not true based on evidence. So at that point, they conducted a search of his home and the vehicle that he had used to pick up Haley. And they found evidence that Haley had been at Thomas's home as well as at a short term rental property. And during the search, they recovered multiple digital devices belonging to Tyler Thomas. They analyzed these devices and they uncovered videos of Haley that were sexual in nature. So that's where the, you know, making the material charge comes in. And then they found out that Thomas made attempts to cover up this video by deleting it.
4:56 Stephanie Harlowe? And so that's where the, you know, covering up concealing evidence charge comes in. Police now say that they believe that Haley was killed within just a few days of being picked up by Thomas. He has not been charged with murder at this time. And I believe you can correct me if I'm wrong. It's probably because they have not found her body yet. Now, I did see one article randomly saying that they did find her body. But and it looked like it was from a legitimate source. But as it turns out, that was the only article I saw that said that. And so I'm, I'm believing that they either had their information wrong or I'm not sure what, what happened with that. But yeah, it doesn't look as if they have found her body yet.
5:39 Stephanie Harlowe? And so they are, do you think that they're probably waiting to recover her remains before charging him with murder?
5:45 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, that's exactly what's going on here. They, no body arrests when it comes to murder are very difficult. And it's kind of a last resort if they decide to go that route. So there's really no rush at this point. They've identified him, they've charged him, he's in custody, he's not going anywhere. So there's, there's no reason to get your, you know, to get in front of your skis. They would like to find her to confirm that unfortunately she's no longer with us. Because there's still a hope, maybe very off chance that she's out there somewhere right now. And she's being, you know, held against her will, maybe in some secure area where if they can work with this person right now, they might be able to find her and hopefully she's still alive.
6:27 Derrick Levasseur? But we recently covered that case where you had Melody Buzzard and law enforcement had, had found her and really didn't say anything. They were doing the back leg work to make sure that it was in fact her. That was a different scenario where. DNA had to be considered and they had to do some because of decomposition, they had to make sure that it was the right person. Here, I don't think you would have that, but that that's exactly the reason. They know they have the right guy. They're just trying to go slowly and. By by deeming her dead, by charging him with murder, you're basically saying, yeah, we know that she's no longer alive, even though they're saying that they believe that's the case. There's still that outside hope that they're wrong and that she might be found. You know, maybe in poor condition, but still with us. So.
7:11 Derrick Levasseur? It's an unfortunate set of circumstances when you think about it. I actually just recently. Not to get too far off the path, but I think it relates. Have you ever heard of the Amy Mahalavich case?
7:22 Stephanie Harlowe? Uh, yes, I have. Yes.
7:24 Derrick Levasseur? That is, so I just covered it on Detective Perspective. If you have not heard of that case.
7:30 Derrick Levasseur? Whether you have children or not. Go watch that episode. I did an extensive. Episode on it and that case is absolutely frightening. Quick little story. You definitely have to go listen or watch it, but. Basically, Amy, who was 10 years old, was at this, this, you know, she's at school and she was supposed to come home. And she ended up going to this like outlet down the street. And to not give everything away right now, because it's it's this crazy story. Essentially, this man had started calling her at home because he learned. Her his her mother's schedule. And he basically said, hey, I know your mom, I'm her boss, and we're trying to get her a gift because she's getting a promotion. So don't tell her.
8:16 Derrick Levasseur? Lie to her and let her know that you're home and you're home safe, but we're gonna go out and get her a gift. So she eventually believes it, meets this man, and here's the worst part. She actually calls her mom to check in. To let her know that she's okay, lying to her mom, letting her know she's at home. And at that moment. She was already with the offender. And the even scarier. Part about it is that this man had soft targeted multiple girls at the school, calling them, talking to them, trying the same tactics. And unfortunately, it worked with Amy before them. And this guy's still on the loose. They don't know who he is. There's so much to it. There's a guest book that disappeared where he was targeting girls at a certain learning center.
9:00 Derrick Levasseur? Again, if you haven't heard it, Amy Mahalavich, we might cover it eventually, but it's on Detective Perspective right now. And I bring it up because. They're different cases, but as parents, we're just constantly battling that that thing we can't see. Whether it's, you know, Roblox or or just online forums. These sick monsters, they're everywhere. They will use any platform, any situation to find someone who's vulnerable. They'll start they'll start soft and then if they see an opening, they'll exploit it. And all we can really do is have these difficult conversations with our kids. And by no means are we experts on it, right? You got to take your own approach that you that you're comfortable with.
9:40 Derrick Levasseur? But my approach, and I mentioned this in the Amy Mahalavik episode with Tenley, has been a little different. She wanted to get picked up from school from her friend and her friend's nanny, who was in their 30s. This nanny may be an amazing person. They may be the the perfect individual. But you're not taking that chance? I don't know them. I don't know who they frequent. I don't know who they're around. I don't know what they're into. I don't know what their intentions are. I don't know if they're going to see Tenley and Tenley is going to be someone that they find a trap. I don't know. I don't even want to go there. And so Tenley was upset with me because I was available that day. And I said, here's a compromise. I'll pick you up. I'll bring you to the mall. You can go do that shopping for your play.
10:25 Derrick Levasseur? I won't stand next to you guys, but I'll be at the mall. And if there's an issue, you can send us, send me your secret emoji and we'll be good. And I'll come find you. I can track you and I can get to you if there's a problem.
10:38 Derrick Levasseur? She was upset about it and then I actually brought up Amy's story because she's like, why you just? You don't trust me anywhere. I was like, no, no, no, no. I do trust you. I don't trust anybody else. And then we had a difficult conversation where, I'm not going to lie to you guys. I put a little fear in her. She was crying because I started telling her about some of the stories that you and I have covered and what the results were. And candidly, I told her straight up, hey, you know where they find these people? Because Amy, by the way, was found dead and the way they're found, it ain't pleasant. You know, I don't want to sugarcoat it for her or you guys. It's not a peaceful death. It's it's it's torture.
11:14 Stephanie Harlowe? And and traumatic and you're scared and.
11:16 Derrick Levasseur? Yes, and so she's sitting there crying. And I say that because my approach, which maybe I'm wrong, is to instill a little fear in her. To have her have a little sense of anxiety because I do think in today's society, it's a balance and you don't want to make them scared of everything. But they can't go out there with this complacency that everyone's good in the world because unfortunately, that's not what we live in.
11:40 Stephanie Harlowe? I agree, and unfortunately, this is not rare, right?
11:44 Derrick Levasseur? No.
11:45 Stephanie Harlowe? It's according to law enforcement and child safety advocates, there are hundreds of thousands of online predators active daily, who specifically seek out minors through social media, games, chat rooms, and other digital platforms. And children between 12 and 15 are especially vulnerable to grooming or manipulation by adults pretending to be peers online. Over half of victims of online sexual exploitation fall within that age range of 12 to 15. And listen, what can you do? That's exactly what Derek said. You have to start with a conversation and some people are going to say, okay, well, I'm going to have my kids keep their devices and use their devices in common areas where I can monitor them. Good luck, okay?
12:29 Stephanie Harlowe? Because they'll figure out a way to sneak it or or do this or do that. You can try to know the platforms and the apps that your child is using. You can try privacy settings and parental controls to limit exposure to strangers. Once again, good luck. These kids are wicked smart when it comes to technology, far smarter than I am. What you have to do is you have to build trust with your child and you have to have that conversation. And like Derek said, unfortunately, instill a little fear. I went through it with my oldest daughter, who's not a teenager anymore. She's in her twenties, but she was a teenager at one point. And even when then, 10, eight years ago, this was still an issue at that point.
13:05 Derrick Levasseur? Amy's case was 1989.
13:07 Stephanie Harlowe? Exactly. We had to have, we had to have conversations. And she was mad at me and she hated me. And at one point, she said that taking away her phone felt like I was ending her life because she was dramatic. But she's appreciative of it now. Now I'm dealing with a 14 year old teenage boy who is also at risk for certain things like exploitation and blackmail and things like that. There's these whole, I see videos about it all the time. There's these whole groups and agencies out there that are working to, you know, approach a teenage boy on social media, pretend to be a girl of the same age, ask for certain explicit pictures. And then when they have those pictures, start blackmailing this kid. Hey, we're going to show this to your school, your friends, your parents.
13:46 Stephanie Harlowe? If you don't do this, this or this. And then by that time, the kid's way too afraid and afraid they're going to get in trouble, afraid that they're gonna be exposed, that they'll usually just go along with whatever this person says. So yes, it's an uncomfortable conversation to have, but you gotta get used to it. When you have kids in this day and age, uncomfortable conversations are going to be the norm. And if it keeps them safe, then it's what we have to do.
14:11 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, yeah, no, it's, it's, it's a, it's a balance. By no means being on a true crime podcast or former detective are we experts? We're parents just like you navigating it, just like you and every child is different. Only you know your kid and you have to customize a plan that works for you. And I always tend to be more conservative in my approach, but at the same time, I want to do enough where God forbid I'm faced with a horrific situation like a lot of families out there are. I know I've done my best. It's still not gonna make me feel any better, but at least I've done what I can because you don't want to ruin that relationship for something that could potentially happen.
14:54 Derrick Levasseur? So it's all about finding that balance for you. And, and you know, with Tenley, I know our relationship, she knows my background and what I have to deal with. So I think there's a little bit more trust there and you just have to hope that you've instilled those values in them. And if, if they are approached with a situation like that, whether it's someone like this, some predator or drugs or anything else like that, you've talked to them openly where they'll make the right decision.
15:18 Stephanie Harlowe? Or show them this video. Have Derek, have Derek tell them about this.
15:22 Derrick Levasseur? Yeah, I'll try. Papa Derek, come over and see Papa Derek.
15:25 Stephanie Harlowe? That's his experience and he's been a police officer, a detective, he's been undercover. He's, you know, doing the true crime thing now with that experience. And so maybe his experience and the things that he's gone through and seen throughout his career will convince your, your kids that he kind of knows what he's talking about. And it's not just mom and dad being dramatic or exaggerating. There are real dangers out there. Your parents do have real fears and we all have to kind of work together to make sure that every kid stays safe if possible.
15:55 Derrick Levasseur? Definitely develop a secretive system. That's something that I think works tremendously well. And it can be applied to multiple situations. And by that I mean a code word, a secret emoji, something where if someone contacts you or contacts your kid and states that they're friends with you or family members of yours, your child can simply ask that and, and know that if this person is who they say they are, my mom and dad would have, would have told them this because this is something we've established and you don't tell that secret word or emoji to anyone.
16:32 Stephanie Harlowe? And tell your kid that they can't tell anyone, not their friends, nobody. It's very, very sacred.
16:37 Derrick Levasseur? There's four people in my life, Stephanie doesn't even know it. There's four people in my life that know, you should, that know the secret emoji that we have between the four of us and that's it. And that way I know that if they're out there and that gets sent to me or someone tells me about it, I know it's legitimate.
16:54 Stephanie Harlowe? I really should know it Derek because publicly I am known to be affiliated with you and your kids know me. And so if somebody calls and says, oh, hey Stephanie, you know, your dad's co-host, like she said that your dad's in trouble and she wants you to come here.
17:08 Derrick Levasseur? Well, I'm not going to send you the secret emoji.
17:10 Stephanie Harlowe? Don't send it to me. You'll tell me when we see each other.
17:12 Derrick Levasseur? No, I'm saying, I'm not going to be, if I get lost. Oh, you're saying reverse if I'm the one that gets kidnapped?
17:17 Stephanie Harlowe? I'm saying if, if, if they're telling them, oh, hey, you have to come here with me because Stephanie's got your dad and he's not in a good place or he's injured. You gotta come with me. Stephanie sent me. And then if, if they're like, what's the, you know?
17:29 Derrick Levasseur? Well, here's what I can tell you. If I get kidnapped or somebody comes after me, there's one of two things that happened. Either that person's dead or I'm dead. So you don't have to worry about the secret emoji.
17:38 Stephanie Harlowe? All right.
17:38 Derrick Levasseur? That's, that's the facts. I'm telling you right now, I'm gonna apply the same thing I tell you guys. I ain't going in no secondary location. It may mean my life, but I stand by what I tell you. I practice what I preach. Either I'm no longer here or, or this person is no longer here. It's one or the other.
17:53 Stephanie Harlowe? Yeah, it's unfortunate. We have to worry about this secret code words, secret emojis, make our kids stressed out and, and make them fearful of the world out there, but they do have to be a little fearful of the world out there.
18:02 Derrick Levasseur? And to bring this back to Haley, we're gonna have it up on the screen right now. Haley, again, was 17 years old. She's approximately five foot, three inches tall. She was last seen in enclave at the Vermillion neighborhood. There is a phone number here for the Fisher's Police Department. If you have any information about this case, you can call 911 or the non-emergency line at 317-773-1282. Obviously, if there's a major update in this case, we will let you guys know. Any final words from you, Stephanie Harlow?
18:37 Stephanie Harlowe? No, just our thoughts are with Haley's family. They are going through the worst thing they will ever go through right now. So they, they need your support, your thoughts. And like I said, just practice this with your kids.
18:51 Derrick Levasseur? Yes, don't wait until it happens.
18:52 Stephanie Harlowe? Don't wait until it happens.
18:53 Derrick Levasseur? Guys, that's gonna do it for us. We will be back later this week with Elizabeth Smart, part one. Until then, everyone stay safe out there. We'll see you soon. And oh, by the way, go Pats.
Previous S3 Ep376: Meredith Kercher & Amanda Knox | Trial of the Century (Part 5) Next S3 Ep378: Elizabeth Smart | Taken From Her Bed (Part 1) Page updated October 31, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated