'Stick to the official sources' | Social media helps, hinders search for Evelyn Boswell - WBIR.com

Posted: 25 Feb 2020 04:08 PM PST

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Details continue to emerge in the case of missing 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell, last seen in December 2019.

The child's mother Megan Boswell said Tuesday she can't take a lie detector test because she is pregnant.

"Well I am pregnant that's why they won't give me a polygraph," she said. "Due to policy if you're pregnant you can't take one."

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office said it doesn't administer polygraph tests.

The child's grandmother Angela Boswell appeared in court Tuesday in Sullivan County.

She's facing theft charges for driving a stolen car.

Records reveal that vehicle belonged to Melissa Wood, the mother of Megan Boswell's ex-boyfriend.

This is a lot of information to keep straight.

The TBI said Tuesday afternoon it has received 510 tips, but none of them have led to a credible sighting of that little girl.

10News has shared 19 posts about Evelyn's case on the WBIR Facebook page.

Those posts were shared more than 27,000 times, with nearly 4,000 comments.

With as much interaction as this AMBER Alert is getting online, it's easy for the truth to get a little muddled.

Investigators warn people that some of the comments and information people post are not true.

"There are a number of people sharing information on social media that's not accurate and it's not factual and in some cases that can hinder the investigation," said Leslie Earhart with the TBI.

At UT's Adam Brown Social Media Command Center, graduate assistant Brandon Boatwright shows 18,000 posts and comments about the case, mostly on Twitter.

He said stories can change quickly online.

"The fact that there's such a low barrier to entry into social media conversations means that anyone can interject and speculate and there's potential for those stories, whether they're real or not, to catch on and be spread," said Boatwright.

Any possible tips posted online aren't making it to the people who can investigate.

"Our platforms are not monitored 24/7, additionally they're not set up to receive crime related information," said Earhart.

True and confirmed information will come from the TBI, Sullivan County Sheriff's Office and local news outlets, which get information directly from those agencies.

"Stick to the official sources and don't necessary believe everything you see online," said Earhart.

Evelyn Boswell is 15 months old. She has blonde hair and blue eyes.

If you have any information that could help investigators, tips can be submitted to TBI by calling 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Gannon Stauch: Stepmom explains rental car as search for missing Colorado boy continues [EXCLUSIVE PART 2] - CrimeOnline

Posted: 29 Feb 2020 12:09 PM PST

It's been over a month since 11-year-old Gannon Stauch vanished from his Colorado home, and CrimeOnline spoke exclusively with his stepmother Tecia Stauch, the last known person to see him.

Read Part 1 of our interview here.

Gannon's stepmother, Tecia Stauch, admits the boy was under her care when he disappeared. She said she last saw Gannon on January 27 at some point between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. at their Lorcan Ranch home off of Mandan Drive, near Colorado Springs.

Stauch said Gannon left to go to a friend's house and never returned home.

As our investigation into Gannon's disappearance continues, Tecia Stauch requested to address some rumors she wanted to clear up, surrounding the details of her stepson's mysterious disappearance.

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The Nissan Frontier

On Monday, January 27, the day Gannon vanished, Tecia Stauch said she drove her husband Al Stauch's Nissan pickup truck. She said she took Gannon with her so that they could shop at "Play it Again Sports" and look at a bicycle for Al Stauch in Castle Rock.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Stauch said she decided to drive her husband's truck as a way to cut down on mileage on her own vehicle. She explained that her car was leased and she would have to pay a fee or have to buy the car outright if she went over certain miles each month.

Stauch said that her husband's truck was never at the airport, apparently disputing an online rumor. She explained that Stauch left for work with a family member to the airport and never drove or parked his truck there.

"He left Saturday night to fly out of the Denver Airport with a family member who had a red eye fly and he had an early morning flight."

Rental Car

There has been some online speculation that Stauch rented a car on the day Gannon disappeared. Stauch claimed the majority of the accusations have come from people who "do not have the facts" of the case.

While she is not disputing that she rented a car, Stauch said she didn't rent the car until Tuesday, January 28, the day after Gannon mysteriously disappeared.

That morning, Stauch said she picked up her husband at the Colorado Springs airport; both left the airport in the rental car, she claimed.

Stauch said, "the plan was to look for Gannon in a car he would not recognize." Stauch added that they didn't know if Gannon would hide from his family's cars, thinking he was in trouble.

"Hey, if my son is scared of getting in trouble he may hide if he sees us. Not to mention it was economical and an easy way to pull in and out because we were going door to door."

CrimeOnline viewed a Budget Rental receipt and confirmation number that indicated a white Kia Rio sedan was rented from the Colorado Springs airport at 8:50 a.m. on January 28, 2020, under Tecia Stauch's name. The car was returned the following day at 1:20 p.m.

According to El Paso County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jacqueline Kirby, Gannon was initially listed as a runaway.

"At the time the call was made, the reporting party stated that he was a runaway, he did not return from a friend's home, and so it was call typed as a runaway case," Kirby told NBC 5.

Earlier this month, El Paso County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Deborah Mynatt told CrimeOnline that Gannon's status was changed from runaway to "missing and endangered" given his age, the weather conditions when he disappeared, and his medication needs.

Lie Detector Test

Due to the speculation surrounding her alleged involvement, Stauch claims to have voluntarily taken a lie detector test and passed. However, CrimeOnline is still working to verify the test and its results.

Sgt. Mynatt told CrimeOnline that she was unaware of any lie detector tests being administered by El Paso County law enforcement. She added, however, that even if so, she would not be able to provide us any information about it, due to the ongoing investigation in the case.

Stauch said that she took the test through an independent agency and is willing to share the results in person.

Where is Gannon?

Meanwhile, the search for Gannon continues.

Tecia Stauch added that she has wanted to help search for Gannon since the beginning. However, she feels that the searches have been ineffective because instead of focusing on the boy, she said the focus has been on following her GPS.

"From my interview, I told them where I went. I'm sure they verified it with my watch. On top of that, my own Volskwagen car has Car-Net in it. I think what they did what looked at anywhere where I might have went from the day before and after I went to the airport."

Stauch added that although she desperately wants to find Gannon, she has no idea where he is, but hopes that returns home soon.

"I wish I had the answers."

Gannon is described as a white male who stands 4-feet-9-inches tall and weighs around 90 pounds. He has brown eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing a blue hooded jacket, jeans, and athletic shoes.

Anyone with any information on Gannon's whereabouts is urged to contact the El Paso SO's "Investigations Tip Line" at 719-520-6666. or the El Paso County SO 719-390-5555.

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[Feature Photo: Gannon Stauch/Handout]

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