In August, Thomas told his father that Hatfield had died in a hospital from an aneurysm. However, the hospitals had no record of her death. Thomas then gave different explanations: he said she was in a nursing home, then that she died in June. He even told his sister that she was alive, claiming an old friend took her away with a suitcase and a lot of money. Later, he said he didn’t know where she was.

Hatfield’s daughter, Rachel, says her mother had given her house to Thomas in exchange for care, but Thomas refused to put her in a nursing home even though Hatfield had Alzheimer’s and wasn’t eating. While Hatfield sometimes wandered off, she always returned.

The police say Thomas wasn’t helpful with their investigation, and there’s been no activity on Hatfield’s accounts since her disappearance. Rachel believes her brother knows what happened to her mother, and the case remains a mystery.