Motor Head

YCSD patrol car and crime scene tape in front of a house  

What happened?

Investigation Day 1

Deputy Fred Willits was dispatched to an Alesville residence in response to a silent alarm triggered at that location. On arrival, he found a young man on the property who insisted on speaking with detectives.

While Detective Ragland spoke to the accused burglar, Detectives Beckwith and Magee went to see a local reporter who the young man claimed had more information.

Later, the detectives met with the homeowner about the burglary and his family's relationship with Brandon.

Afterward, Detectives Beckwith and Magee took a closer look at the overview of information Joanne collected and Daniel's social media activity.

Investigation Day 2

The next morning, investigators talked to neighbors to find out more about the Gayle household and tried to learn more about Daniel. They also put out a BOLO just to be on the safe side.

Detectives Beckwith and Magee spoke to Yoknapatawpha High School faculty and staff, including a coach who taught both Daniel and his father, Mark.

Later, they talked to Daniel's high school art teacher about his time in school and his plans for an art career.

Then the detectives talked to Vince's girlfriend about their relationship with Daniel.

Investigation Day 3

The following day, while some investigators spoke to former and current members of the YHS art club, others talked to people who attended the New Year's Eve party with Daniel.

Based on information from those interviews, Detectives Beckwith and Magee talked to a man witnesses say was angry at Daniel after the party.

Then, they asked Brandon to come back in to clear up a few things.

Late that afternoon, The Oxford Weekly Planet's gossip column posted some blind items about what's happening in Yoknapatawpha County.

Investigation Day 4

First thing in the morning, a man with a connection to Daniel contacted the sheriff's department and spoke to the detectives.

That afternoon, Detectives Beckwith and Magee went to Memphis to see a detective who contacted them about the BOLO.

Investigation Day 5

The detectives asked Vince to stop by the station on his way to work the next morning. Then they talked with Sharon to get her recollections.

Later, they asked Rodney to come in to answer some follow-up questions.

Investigation Day 6

The next morning, Detectives Beckwith and Magee wanted to know what Brandon had to say about some newly uncovered information.

Later on, Detective Beckwith talked to another YCSD detective about a person of interest common to both of their investigations.

That afternoon, the detectives talked to Daniel's former employer to find out about his time working there.

Meanwhile, other investigators spoke to other employees about Daniel's tenure there, and one of them pulled an invoice of interest to the investigation.

Investigation Day 7

Early the next day, Detective Magee spoke to a colleague in the NYPD about Daniel's activities in New York City.

A short time later, the detectives got an update from Detective Guidry with some information they'd asked him to look into.

While they waited for Axyl to come in to explain a few things, Detectives Beckwith and Magee took a look at Daniel's recent financial activity.

After a quick lunch, the investigators reviewed the results of their efforts to corroborate alibis for some of the persons of interest.

Then they met with the host of the New Year's Eve party Daniel attended to learn more about what happened that night.

The host's friend Claire gave the detectives some new insight into Daniel's mood at the party.

Investigation Day 8

Detectives Beckwith and Magee started the next day talking to Chas Laughlin's wife and son about the family's interactions with Daniel and their whereabouts the last time he was seen in Oxford.

After the detectives took a look a the evidence collected from Daniel's car, they went to see Brandon's employer.

Later, they talked to Brandon's parents about his activities after Daniel left and his relationship with Daniel.

Then, the detectives followed up with Joanne to see if she had any additional information for them.

Investigation Day 9

The next morning, investigators spoke to Rodney's colleagues to determine his whereabouts around the time Daniel was last seen.

Later, they spoke to Vincent's co-workers and members of the Bible study group to learn more about his activities around the same time.

Detectives Beckwith and Magee also talked to Sharon's best friend and her employer to get more information about Sharon.

Investigation Day 10

The detectives met with the editor of the Oxford Weekly Planet to get more information about Joanne Ebner.

Later, they reviewed the Crime Lab's preliminary findings on the evidence from Daniel's car.

That afternoon, investigators spoke with friends and family of one of Daniel's co-workers.

Then they took a look at some information about Daniel's Facebook account access.

Investigation Day 11

Detectives Beckwith and Magee asked The Roadhouse bartender about some of his customers with connections to the investigation.

After reviewing the data retrieved from the GPS tracker, the detectives asked Vince and Sharon to come in for some more questions.

Investigation Day 12

The Oxford Weekly Planet's Crime Beat got wind of some law enforcement activity outside of Oxford, and later the detectives documented the results of their efforts.

That night, CSU sent over a preliminary list of evidence collected at the scene before it got dark.

Investigation Day 13

The next morning, Detectives Beckwith and Magee went to talk to Chas again about what they found.

When they left Laughlin Auto Body, the detectives asked Buck to follow them to the station for a chat. Later, they had Doug come in to clear up a few things.

After lunch, another sheriff's department officer stopped by to give the detectives some information.

Later, Detectives Beckwith and Magee had another conversation with Rodney.

Investigation Day 14

The detectives asked Brandon to come back in to see if he would fill in any of the gaps in his story.

Later, after a prayer service for Daniel, Detectives Beckwith and Magee met with the pastor of Vince's church.

That afternoon, the Crime Lab sent some preliminary information about evidence from the Clear Springs Nature Trail location.

Investigation Day 15

After reviewing everything Brandon had told them, the detectives had him come in again to clarify some discrepancies.

Then they accompanied Brandon to his residence, where he turned over some property he said would verify his story.

In light of Brandon's information about what Daniel was storing at Vincent's, Detectives Beckwith and Magee got a warrant to search the Gayle/Hathaway residence.

Investigation Day 16

Investigators were able to track down the man Officer Brown reported seeing near the Clear Springs Nature Trail and had him come in for a conversation with the detectives.

Late that afternoon, the coroner's office sent over their preliminary report.

Investigation Day 17

Detective Beckwith and Magee asked Doug to come in again to see if he had anything else he wanted to tell them.

Afterward, they asked Gage to come back in to answer some more questions.

Later, the detectives obtained warrants to collect biological samples from persons of interest in the investigation.

Investigation Day 18

The Crime Lab sent some preliminary findings from their analysis of evidence collected in a recent search.

Late that afternoon, the Crime Lab was able to provide some additional analysis results.

Investigation Day 19

After processing the DNA comparisons as a priority job, the Crime Lab delivered their initial findings.

Investigation Day 20

The next morning, the detectives talked to two suspects to try to get to the truth of what happened to Daniel.

Later that afternoon, the Oxford Weekly Planet let the community know that there were finally some answers about Daniel's disappearance and death.