A 22-year-old electrical apprentice from Florida vanishes after a drug deal gone wrong during a Thanksgiving road trip in 2016. While companions claim he ran off panicked, surveillance footage and phone data reveal a far darker picture—including a mysterious second figure, missing drugs, and a possible double-cross involving dangerous dealers. The case reveals how witness lies, changing stories, and digital breadcrumbs can slowly expose a crime far more sinister than initially appears.
Key Moments
Ashley Flowers
“sometimes the hardest cases to crack aren't always the ones with nothing to go on. They're often the ones where everybody seems to know something, but they're just too scared to talk.”
Opening statement establishing the core tension of the case
“for the first time, he can prove it. Cole was actually in Benson, like a 5-minute walk from where the car was left, just like Julian and Jeremy said, except he didn't run off alone. In the footage, Cole is just walking and there's someone following on foot right behind him.”
Captain Percy discovers Walgreens surveillance footage showing Cole did not flee alone—Jeremy Carpenter is following him
“their phones show continuous movement from Mount Olive all the way to Benson from 11:52 p.m. to 10:07 a.m. And 10:07 a.m. is when their phones finally come to rest near where Cole pulled the car over. And here's what's strange. We know that Cole and Jeremy get out of the car and walk away, but it doesn't look like their phones move. From 107 on November 25th to a little after 3:45 a.m., their phones just stay put.”
Phone location data reveals Cole's phone never left the area where he disappeared, suggesting it was left behind in the car
“Cole's phone does eventually come back on hours later, but it's not in Benson where he supposedly walked off. It is still over in Wayne County. Mount Olive is in Wayne County. Yeah, but like Wayne County encompasses more than just Mount Olive. And all police would tell us was that Cole's phone was somewhere in Wayne County, which means whatever happened to Cole, it sounds like it didn't end in Benson.”
Phone data reveals Cole's phone was taken away from Benson by the group, suggesting he never left the area voluntarily
Crime Junkie is a true crime podcast hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawley that investigates complex missing persons and murder cases. The show focuses on stories where witness accounts are unreliable, evidence is layered, and the truth requires careful reconstruction. Each episode digs deep into the investigative process, following leads and contradictions as they emerge.
Takeaways
1
Phone location data tells the true story Cole's phone remained stationary in the car from 1:07 a.m. to 3:45 a.m., contradicting claims he carried it while running. After reporting him missing, the suspects took his phone with them to Wayne County and turned it off. The timing and movement of multiple phones together mapped out the group's true whereabouts and behavior after the disappearance.
2
Surveillance footage proved the lying point A single 30-second clip from a Walgreens camera showed Cole and Jeremy walking together at 1:10 a.m., directly contradicting the claim that Cole ran off alone. This forced Jeremy to admit he followed Cole. One camera angle reviewed obsessively for weeks unlocked the entire narrative shift.
3
Changing stories reveal conscious deception Julian and Jeremy's account evolved dramatically under pressure—from claiming Cole had 'mental problems,' to admitting the trip was for meth, to acknowledging Jeremy followed Cole. Each breadcrumb only dropped when confronted with evidence. In investigations, witness stories that shift significantly and incrementally suggest intentional concealment rather than memory gaps.
4
A PI infiltrating the network revealed deeper players Cole's family hired a private investigator who mapped phone data, received threatening voicemails, and eventually identified 'Gordo'—a fifth suspect who wasn't initially known. The PI's work showed that the four arrested men were only part of a larger criminal network coordinating that night, with dealers actively hunting Cole after he fled.
5
Missing drugs may have been the trigger Investigators theorize that meth was thrown from the car or hidden by Julian, leaving dangerous dealers short. Cole, the most expendable member of the group who wasn't part of the original plan, became the scapegoat. A deal gone wrong—not mental illness—likely explains why Cole panicked on the drive back.
6
Cole's Spanish language skills may have endangered him Cole spoke enough Spanish that he could have understood conversations between Julian and the dealers about the real plan—a double-cross to steal drugs back after selling them. This unexpected comprehension may have triggered Cole's genuine panic when he realized the danger, setting off the chain of events that followed.