The police arrived at the home of Andrew Wy after he reported his twelve-year-old daughter, Lorie Paige, missing. “Hey, are you Mr. Wy? Hey, I’m so sorry.” The officer’s voice was gentle, professional. “So, do you remember what she was last wearing?” “I left for work yesterday. I don’t know. I got off work.” Just hours earlier, Lorie had suddenly disappeared, and police were called to investigate what was initially believed to be a possible runaway situation.

“No, what happened? It’s been so weird around here. Oh my god, it’s a predator. It’s this neighborhood.” Lorie was described by some as “really good at spinning lies. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Others noted, “Kind of weirded me out. I was like, ‘This kid really, really wants to talk to adults.’”

However, officers quickly realized there were no clear signs of where she went. No confirmed sightings. Nothing that actually explained how she left. And over the next two years, that story would slowly begin to fall apart, even though the person they were looking for had been right in front of them the entire time.

“Do you know where Lorie is now?” “No, I do not.” “Okay.” “No, I do not.” “Was it a mistake? Was it an accident?” “Keep it up, man. This is your life, not mine.”

It was the beginning of June in Tallahassee. In a quiet apartment complex along Continental Court, families went about their routines, unaware that something deeply disturbing had already taken place inside one of the units. Inside that home lived twelve-year-old Lorie Paige with her father, Andrew Wy. To neighbors, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. There were no signs of struggle, no calls for help, no immediate reason to suspect that anything was wrong.

But just days later, in early June 2023, everything changed. A call was placed to the police where Andrew Wy reported his daughter Lorie missing.

“911 dispatcher, what’s your emergency?” “Yeah. Hi. Um, my daughter is missing. I can’t find her anywhere.” “Okay, sir. Calm down. I’m here to help. What’s your name?” “Andrew. Andrew Wy.” “All right, Andrew. What’s your daughter’s name?” “Lorie. Lorie Wy.” “How old is Lorie?” “She’s twelve. She just turned twelve.”

Within minutes, an officer was dispatched to the home. At first, it seemed like a situation they’d handled countless times before—a child who may have left during the night. But as the officer pulled up to the apartment, what began as a routine missing person’s call was about to take a very different turn.

“Police Department. Hey, you Mr. Wy?” “Yes, sir.” “Hey, I’m so sorry.” “Okay. So, do you remember what she was last wearing?” “I left for work yesterday. So, like I work at night.” “So, you work at night? Okay.” “So, who was she hanging out with whenever she ran off?” “I don’t know. I got off work and she’s not here.” “Who was supposed to drop her off here?” “So, you went to work last night and she was here?” “Yeah.” “Okay. And then when you came home, she was gone.” “Yeah.” “Okay. Does she suffer from any like disabilities or anything like that, man?” “I don’t know. I’m just raising a child right now at this point.” “I hear you. Um, do you know of anywhere she might go? So, I know you don’t know about her friends, but—” “First time when we got her, she went to an abandoned apartment.” “Yeah, I was there for that one.” “I never realized. So, I don’t know.” “And then, are you okay? Just for policy wise, if I look in the house, make sure she’s not hiding under anywhere.” “I know. It’s really weird.”

That same day, officers began going door to door, trying to determine if any neighbors saw or heard anything unusual. At first, nothing about the situation seemed especially alarming. For those involved, this kind of behavior wasn’t entirely new. Lorie had previously been reported missing before, only to return within twenty-four hours, causing similar concern. Because of that, the case initially appeared routine. Another possible runaway. Another situation that might resolve itself quickly.

But what officers didn’t yet realize was that they were already at the center of something far more sinister.

With that, the search for Lorie began, starting with officers asking neighbors if they had seen or heard anything. “Police department.” “Hey, sir. How’s it going? My name’s Officer—” “Hey. Um, one of your neighbor’s daughters actually ran away, and I see that you have a camera.” “Okay. Do you know if your camera reaches like pretty far out into the neighborhood or is it like kind of stops right there?” “I can see there to there.” “Um, is there a way that you can look at the camera footage because um this gentleman here and see if uh and see if like a twelve-year-old girl left. It’d be anywhere from like 11:00 p.m. to like 10:00 a.m. I know it’s a really long time, but if it come that’d be awesome.” “What am I looking for?” “Like a little girl like five foot tall.” “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen her.” “Okay. Um—” “Yeah.” “Do you know if you’ve seen her like in the last like day or so? Like this morning walking around or anything?” “No, I haven’t been outside or seen anybody today.” “History. You said it would have been around 11:00 last night.” “11:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. It’s a really long range. I know. But let’s see.” “Wow. You have a really good angle.” “Yeah. I mean, that’s 8:00 yesterday.” “Okay.” “So, she did not catch her leaving.” “Thanks for trying. I appreciate it.”

As the hours turned into days, officers continued going from neighbor to neighbor, speaking with anyone who might have seen or heard something, but nothing came up. No sightings. No leads. No sign of Lorie. With each passing day, concern began to grow. What once seemed routine was starting to feel different.

Investigators began widening their search, reaching out to people across the local area, hoping someone somewhere knew something. And eventually, they came across one person who would shift the direction of the entire investigation, forcing officers to start looking at this case from a completely different angle.

“Hi. Hey. Hey. How you doing?” “You ever seen this guy around here?” “No.” “Oh, sorry.” “No, we’re just looking for missing girl. But you ever seen her around?” “No. What happened? I’m working.” “Oh, I can’t—I can’t—No. What happened? It’s been so weird around here. Something happened to my car. Something happened to my phone. It’s so weird around here. I swear to God.” “Is this a person that lives over here? It’s just a girl from around here that’s missing.” “Have you ever seen her around here?” “No. Oh my god. It’s a predator. They say it’s this neighborhood.” “Y’all seen—y’all know?” “What do you know about them?” “Oh, I just looked it up ’cause I moved over here. I have kids.” “Yeah, I have kids. Oh my god.” “I’ll do the same thing. It’s crazy. It drives me nuts.” “Oh my god.” “How many living nearby and next year?” “Oh my god. It’s one on the other side over—” “Yeah.” “I’m working, guys. I’m sorry. I get that.” “All right. We’re just saying if you had—” “No, I haven’t seen it.” “Thank you.” “Yeah, you can keep a bright one.”

With officers now receiving information that there were registered sex offenders living in the local area, their attention began to shift. If Lorie had encountered anyone, these individuals would be among the first places to check. At this point, investigators weren’t necessarily expecting to find anything significant. But with leads beginning to run thin and nearly two days having passed since Lorie was last seen, they couldn’t afford to overlook any possibility.

So following up on that information, deputies began locating the registered offenders nearby and expanding their search beyond the immediate residents. And with that, officers began canvassing the surrounding properties.

“Hey, are you Mr. Glasco?” “I am.” “Um, so I’m Detective Bailey, Detective Taylor with the Tallahassee Police Department. Um, so we’re actually working a missing person case. Okay. Um, I don’t know if you can kind of help us out. So, we’re trying to canvass the area to try to find her. Um, I have a few questions if you don’t mind me asking.” “Sure.” “Okay. You have a minute?” “I do.” “Okay, cool. Um, how long have you lived at this house?” “Uh, I think August 2022.” “August. Okay.” “And I’m on probation, just so you know. I don’t know if you’re aware of that, but—” “Okay. Thank you for telling us.” “Yeah.” “Would you rather us come inside?” “It’s up to you.” “Okay, if you’re okay with that.” “Yeah. I mean, I don’t know if you’re—We talked to a few other neighbors.” “My eyes are trying to adjust.” “So, a missing person in the neighborhood.” “So, she—I’ll show you her flyer. So, she was in this area. Not specifically this neighborhood, but she’s in this area. So, we’re knocking on several doors. We talked with multiple neighbors. You said nobody else lives at home with you. Um, do you have any step-kid? Are you dating anybody where any children would be coming here?” “No, I—I do have children.” “Nieces, nephews?” “No. Nobody comes to my house.” “Okay. You have children?” “I do have children.” “How old are your kids?” “Um, seven and twelve.” “And twelve?” “Yeah.” “Girl, boy?” “Seven-year-old boy, twelve-year-old girl.” “Do you have like a shed or anything in the back?” “Uh, there’s a—well, yeah, there is actually.” “Come—tell me—Do you want to go back there?” “Yeah. When he comes down, if you don’t mind, like I said, I mean, you do not have to, you know, let us do this at all. I just want you to understand that.” “No, I—yeah, you know, I don’t want to be any kind of hindrance. There’s a back here.” “This would be—” “He’s going to grab his flashlight. Yeah. Thank you so much for letting us.” “Yeah. So, he’s going to grab his light.” “Thank you.” “Clear. You own it.” “I own it.” “It’s a nice place.” “I can close that out. Oh, it’s that like lounge. Actually, there is a like closet.” “The utility closet.” “Yeah.” “Yeah.” “And then this door just goes back into the house.” “Okay. Sure.” “I mean, how much could you actually like is it savable or no?”

As officers continued checking each location, nothing was uncovered. Those they spoke to, including the individuals they were most concerned about, came back clean. For them, it was a relief. But for investigators, it meant something else entirely. They were back to where they started with no leads.

Now, with two days having already passed since Lorie was last seen, the urgency began to grow. Officers regrouped, knowing they needed to reassess everything and figure out where Lorie could have gone. There were at least two prior cases. In one, she had been found at a set of abandoned apartments. In another, she had stayed with a family friend. Each incident began to paint a picture, one that might explain her behavior and possibly where she could be now.

But before investigators could follow that path, they needed to understand the people around Lorie. At the time, Lorie had been living with her father, Andrew Wy, while also maintaining contact with her mother, who lived separately. The two were no longer together and were living in completely different places. She had previously been reported missing while under both parents’ care, incidents that ultimately ended with her being found safe.

Because of that, investigators still believed there was a strong possibility this was another runaway situation, that Lorie might be with someone somewhere and would turn up again. But what they didn’t yet realize was that it would become one of the most elaborate and twisted homicide cover-ups they’d ever handled.

And with that, officers revisited a familiar lead—the woman Lorie had been found with before.

“Hi.” “How are you?” “I’m doing all right. How about yourself?” “Hanging in there.” “Good. I had such a lovely day. So, um I’m Detective Drake. I’m over Lorie’s case. Um, so I am just trying to double-check a lot of locations. You know, she has been missing for a couple weeks now. Um, so one of the locations was your house because I know she stayed here before. Um, so is she here?” “No, she’s not.” “Has she been here at all?” “Yeah. I mean, she’s been here, but this is before, right? Not the past like two and a half nights.” “Gotcha.” “And just like I told the last couple of officers, last three officers that came by. I know. I believe that she knows that if she shows up here, I believe in accountability. I’ve already told the last three officers if she shows up here, I’m gonna bring her to you guys, right? and then you guys can take her back to her dad because I know that there is some type of process that needs to happen because there was a case and I was under the impression that she had been found because when she came down here um when you brought her here they had put her on two medications.” “Okay. What kind of medications?” “For anxiety and I don’t remember what the other one was for. But no life-threatening illnesses. It was more like insulin or medications are just like, and Lorie is really good at spinning lies. Like I’ve never seen anything like it before.” “Mhm.” “Um, I tell this story all the time to my family. When she was two years old, when kids are supposed to have an attention span of a nat, she would try to gaslight you. Because Lorie has the ability to hold on to vengeance, I guess is the best way to put it. She has a tendency to hold on to that kind of stuff, but she also still has the mind of a child.” “Well, she went to Bay Hill. She played all day long, you know, had a good time, and then at the end of the day when it was time for her to be picked up, she remembered, ‘Oh gosh, I’m going to have to be in the room by myself,’ and she’s pulling this line on my dad, which caused him to be arrested. And because she can hold on to a thing for a while, and it was bringing her greater and greater attention. It kind of taught her that this is all I need to do to get the attention that I need.”

While officers still had no success in locating Lorie, they did begin to gain a clearer understanding of her behavior. Speaking with the friend’s mother, investigators learned a few important details. Lorie had been on medication for anxiety, and according to those who knew her, she had a tendency to tell stories that weren’t always accurate. She was also described as someone who often sought attention.

Taken together, this began to paint a picture for investigators. At this stage, it reinforced their belief that Lorie may have left on her own, possibly to prove a point or to get a reaction. But as time continued to pass, that explanation started to feel less and less likely.

Two months had now passed. What once seemed like a possible attempt to seek attention was no longer being treated that way. As the weeks went by, officers were still left with no leads, no sightings, no evidence, and no clear understanding of what happened to Lorie. With the investigation beginning to stall, they decided to widen their approach.

Investigators started speaking to anyone who knew Lorie, hoping someone might hold a missing piece of the puzzle. This led them to her school, where they began questioning teachers and staff, searching for any detail that could point them in the right direction. But even then, many still believed Lorie could be with someone somewhere and that she might still turn up.

“Okay, so um I’m the lead detective on the Lorie Paige case. So, I was looking at her Reddit username and went ahead and searched Lorie Paige and I saw a post that you made on a subreddit.” “Oh, yeah. Kyrie Russell. I was like, everyone’s talking about Kyrie Russell, but no one’s looking for Lorie Paige. Here she is. Here’s a news article.” “I saw your post and one of your sub comments, you mentioned that you heard a rumor that she was being groomed by a twenty-year-old man.” “Yeah.” “I have never heard this rumor. No one brought this to my attention. So, where did you hear it? What’s going on?” “I can’t remember. I think it might have been Miss Summers.” “Who, if you’ve been reading online, you’ve probably seen Margaret Summers.” “I’ve talked to her multiple times. That’s why I’m—” “She didn’t tell you that.” “No. Did she say who the twenty-year-old man was or where she was being groomed?” “Where did that information come from is kind of what we’re curious about.” “This is a while ago, so I have to think. I thought she said it that Lorie’s mom or someone was concerned that she was being groomed by an older man. I think if a student told me I would have known that.” “I really felt like Miss Summers told me.”

When officers confronted her, she appeared unsure of what to say, unable to give any clear answers or point investigators in a specific direction. With little to go on, detectives decided to broaden their approach even further, choosing to speak with anyone who might have information on the rumor.

“I’m with SRO.” “Okay, this is so embarrassing. Okay, remember like months ago that Carlee Russell fake kidnapping thing was happening. So, I posted on Reddit. I was like, ‘Okay, so this is fake. Why are we still talking about her? How about this one? Here’s a real missing girl.’ I posted about Lorie. Yeah, about Lorie. And then in one of the comments, I told someone that I heard rumors that she was with like a twenty-year-old man that was possibly grooming her. So, please know where I heard it. I don’t remember. I thought I heard it from you.” “No, no, no. I never—” “It might have been one of the kids. I just don’t remember who.” “Donaldson, I do remember that there were some kids.” “Are you Mr. Drake?” “Yes, ma’am.” “Nice to meet you in person.” “Yeah. Um, I think some of the kids were saying even before she left that she was doing things she shouldn’t be doing. But you could ask Steven Woods. He’s one of our behavioral specialists. He’s the one that told me. And he said I remember him telling me he heard that Lorie would was running around in short spandex and a tank top and she knew what she was doing.” “So, I was like, ‘Yes, that might have been where I heard it.’” “No, so I interacted with this kid every day. No, that would be weird. We don’t think so.” “No, absolutely.” “No, but he was pretty assistant. There was a side of Lorie that we didn’t know. The first couple of days, that kind of weirded me out. I was like, ‘This kid really, really wants to talk to adults.’ Like she mostly wanted to talk to me. That’s her connection. She did really want to talk to the kids, now like she kind of was friends with the kids, but she really wanted to talk to adults most of the time.”

While it initially seemed like the information from teachers was unreliable—more speculation than fact—none of it led investigators any closer to Lorie. The case appeared to be going nowhere. But just a few days later, everything changed. A new witness came forward claiming they had seen Lorie weeks earlier, describing her getting out of one car and into another. For the first time in days, investigators had something tangible to work with. And this new detail began to shift the direction of the investigation entirely.

“So Jason, basically all I got was a call for service. She says that you were checking in and that you basically saw the flyer for the missing juvenile that you might have some information. Okay. What can you tell me?” “Um, so I was at the skate park.” “Just right over here.” “Yeah. Down there. And I see two cars pull up. The first car was a white sedan and it had like a brownish paint job but it was like a do-over, like it was faded. It was a white sedan, 2013 model, as more—I like cars so I know cars by heart. And then it parks there facing towards the skate park. I didn’t really see anybody since the windows were tinted. And then another tinted vehicle comes by. It was a red Honda SUV, 2016 model with the straight lights going up. Like you know the ones that normally drive around here, the gray ones, but it was a red one. It pulls up. I see her get out of the white car from the back seat, go back, get her stuff, and then go into the SUV, and then the SUV just drove off.” “As far as her stuff, you mean like a bag or something?” “Like a duffel bag?” “Like a duffel bag?” “Okay. And when you said she went and got her stuff, where did she get her stuff from?” “The back of the white vehicle.” “Like in the back seat or the trunk?” “The trunk.” “So she gets out of the back seat. Remember what side she was on? Driver’s side? Passenger side?” “Passenger side. So, she gets out the passenger side and she goes around and I guess the trunk had been activated so she can open it and she opens it and grabs her duffel bag and then she just goes over and gets into the red Honda.” “And then what does she get in? The front seat or the back seat?” “Passenger. Front seat. Passenger.” “Okay. And gets in there with her stuff and then the red SUV just drives away.” “Do you have any kind of other contact like email address or anything?” “Um, yeah.” “Okay.” “Sexy Furry IRL dot com.” “Sexy Furry. How’s the Sexy Furry spelled?” “It’s been in my email since middle school, so I haven’t really changed it.” “You’re fine, brother. Trust me, I got emails that I’ve kept forever in a day, too. So, I’m just trying to make sure I got it spelled correctly. That’s all.”

With this new information, officers followed up on the lead, checking the local skate park and surrounding areas for any signs of vehicles or activity that matched the witness statement. But unfortunately, nothing was found. The tip was ultimately proven to be false, and once again, investigators were left with no real progress.

With the case still going nowhere, officers returned to the one person closest to Lorie—her father. They re-engaged with him, hoping to gather more information, clarify details, and understand what their next steps should be. But this time, the conversation didn’t go the way they expected, because Andrew had them exactly where he wanted them.

“Have you talked to your brother in the last week or so?” “So, yeah. So, you know, I went to his house the other day and gave him some flyers to put on the trucks and stuff and told his guys to look out.” “Okay, this—I finally got—I nodded right as I stopped looking. So, that’s what Special Agents Work and I are going to do—go around hanging up everywhere and anywhere we can in Tallahassee, gas stations, housing projects, anything, schools, everywhere. We’ll have that. The more places we can have her face seen, the better chances we have.” “Miranda told us she weaned Lorie off of those medications before she even brought her down here.” “So, what kind of meds?” “Um, something related to—well, it’s used for two things, blood pressure and anxiety.” “What was it?” “Um, Glucagen. I can’t promise that I’m spelling that word right, but we have already done records to get those records.” “Yeah. I mean, either the grandma—” “I’m sorry, legal process to get the records. And just trust me, we’re a team. We got to work together. Obviously, she had to be left home alone sometimes because I had to go to work. But yeah, she—but the only time I ever saw her like down was when she talked to her mama.” “Okay.” “Like she’ll still be quiet, but when she talked to her mama—her mama called the school one time and I didn’t know and she came home and then she was like, ‘I feel like myself.’ I was like, ‘Where did that come from?’” “The phone call.” “And I asked what happened and she said she talked to her mom. I was just trying to kind of calm her down. That’s the one where Miranda called the school and talked to her in her classroom.” “I think I don’t know what happened. I know she said she called.”

As the interview continued, detectives began to change their approach. Up until this point, Andrew had been treated as a concerned father, someone helping in the search. But now, investigators started to consider a different possibility—one they hadn’t seriously explored before. Instead of asking what happened to Lorie, they began asking Andrew if he had anything to do with her disappearance.

“All right, I have to ask these questions. I’ve asked everybody these questions. Do you know where Lorie is now?” “No, I do not.” “Okay.” “No, I do not. And if I did—” “I know.” “All right, that’s out of the way. So, I want to ask you some other stuff, too. Okay? Again, we look into everybody. We look into everything. All right? This job will make you cynical, and we have to go over every single thing for two reasons. One, we’ve got to make sure because what’s going to happen is if we get asked, you know, why didn’t you ask that question? You never asked the question. Well, you know, we didn’t and we’ll never know. And the reason we’re asking is there something happening at home that would have caused you to think that you couldn’t go to work for whatever reason?” “No.” “Okay. Um, did the day leading up to Lorie going missing—so you went to work that night, came home, she was missing that day, the whole day before. Did you leave town at all?” “I don’t know.” “Was there any reason you would go to Jacksonville?” “Jacksonville?” “Mhm.” “Not that I can recall.” “Okay. Um, because it looks like you went just before you went to work. So, you went to Jacksonville during that day and then came back then went to work. Um, do you know if you got home later than usual or earlier than usual?” “It depends on the time.” “Mhm.” “Because sometimes if I do overtime, I get off a little late instead of like at 4:00, it’ll be like around like 11:00, 12:00.” “Like she would play on her mom’s phone and then Lorie would play on your mom’s phone so that they could play Roblox together.” “No.” “No.” “Whose phone she would have played on? Because she didn’t have a phone based on that time frame.” “She didn’t play Roblox on the phone. And if she did play it on the phone, it wasn’t her phone. It had to be my girlfriend’s sister, but she never played Roblox on my phone.” “Okay. Um, we know she started certain internet accounts. I think she started a Twitter, she started Instagram and all this stuff, but at some points you had taken her phone away and we didn’t know if before she even got a phone, did she start a different account or maybe we can get that information from your old phone because since you had this new one, it was after Lorie left, right?” “Yeah. And that’s why—you know, your new one doesn’t do as much good the old one might because—” “So just because you don’t have her Instagram account active on your phone doesn’t mean that it won’t be in the history.” “But she didn’t use my phone for Instagram. You feel me? Like that’s what I’m saying. Like she didn’t use my phone. She had a phone or she didn’t have a phone. She didn’t use my phone.” “Well, so that’s kind of the problem we’re running into is we do know that she had other accounts, but I can’t find them on her phone. So, I know somehow she’s accessing computer—” “But here’s what—she didn’t get on my phone to play. Like, she had a computer. She literally had a computer. If she had a computer, TV, she was straight. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I just got that phone, too,’ when I got her phone. That phone was new, too.” “So, you got them at the same time?” “Yeah.” “Okay.” “And yeah. So, it wasn’t like she was using my phone. She had a phone, but I took it away and she still had her computer. Like, I never took the computer away.” “This is the school computer.” “Yeah.” “Right. What about your other computer? You mentioned you had your own computer.” “Yeah. And you caught her doing some of the stuff on that.” “That was—yeah.” “Yeah.” “Yeah. But I just talked about it and then she stopped using my computer.” “Okay. Is that computer synced to your phone?” “No.” “Are there any shared accounts between that computer and your phone?” “No.”

As the interview came to an end, suspicion around Andrew began to grow. There were too many questions and not enough answers that truly made sense. To him, it may have felt like he was walking away without consequence. And for now, he was. But for investigators, something had changed. For the first time, they began to seriously consider that Andrew might know more than he was saying—or possibly have more involvement than anyone initially thought.

Still, detectives couldn’t focus on just one possibility. They continued working every angle, following leads, checking locations, while quietly keeping Andrew on their radar as a potential suspect.

It had been over a full year since Lorie’s disappearance. Investigators were still determined to find her, still holding on to the possibility that she could be somewhere with someone, but the reality was difficult to ignore. In the most serious cases, over seventy percent of children who are taken are harmed within just a few hours. It was a statistic that weighed heavily on everyone involved.

And yet, despite the odds, officers continued pushing forward, refusing to give up the search. That determination led them to the next step—reaching out to Lorie’s best friend.

“Hello.” “Hey, Miss Addison. This is Detective Childers with TPD. Do you remember speaking to me earlier?” “Yes. Yes.” “Hey, I was wondering if now’s a good time to talk to Amaya.” “Hold on one second.” “Hello.” “Yes, ma’am.” “Yes, ma’am. And she’s here.” “Hi, Amaya. My name is Detective Childers. I’m with Tallahassee Police Department. So, I’m assigned to Lorie’s missing person case. Um, I just took it over and I just had some questions for you. Um, so your sister had let one of our detectives know that you used to play Roblox online with Lorie. Um, and that she had the name Princess044089. Are you sure that was her account?” “I believe so. That’s the last person I played with a few months ago.” “Okay. Um, do you think at all there’s any chance it could have been somebody else?” “No. That’s the last person I played with since she’s been gone.” “Okay. Do you remember when that was, the last time you guys played together?” “The last time I was in Tallahassee—” “I’m sorry. Say that again.” “I said the last time I was in Tallahassee. I’m not sure what—” “Yeah, I’m not sure, but it was a couple months ago. And the last time I was over there, she used my phone and made an account. And I don’t know what the password is, but that was the last time.” “Okay. So, do you remember if by chance that would have been in the summertime?” “Yeah. Yeah. It was like during Thanksgiving time because when she was also here at our house, we were also playing Roblox.” “That was at Thanksgiving.” “Yeah, like around Thanksgiving time.” “This most recent Thanksgiving, like 2023?” “No.” “No. Oh, okay. So, it would have been probably about a year and a half ago.” “Yes, ma’am.” “Okay. Gotcha. Okay. Um, how often did Lorie play Roblox?” “We tried to play whenever we can. Like if we were bored, we would just play Roblox or like walk around the house and just laugh and talk.” “Gotcha. Did you guys ever play Roblox when you weren’t together? Like from each of your houses?” “No. She didn’t have a cell phone to do that. But I’ll play Roblox on my mom’s phone and she’ll play it on her—”

As investigators continued exploring every possible angle, they began looking into Lorie’s online activity. With growing concerns around online platforms and cases involving children being contacted through games, officers considered whether something similar could have happened here. They examined accounts, messages, and any potential connections, including platforms like Roblox, to see if Lorie might have been in contact with someone. But after following that lead, nothing concrete was found. There was no evidence linking her disappearance to any online interaction.

And once again, investigators were left without answers.

As the months passed, the case began to go cold. Investigators were left with no solid leads, no clear direction, and no answers. But eventually, they were forced to return to someone they had always considered but hadn’t fully focused on—the one person who had last contact with Lorie. Her father.

So, officers went back to Andrew Wy, taking a closer look at his actions, his timeline, and everything he had told them from the very beginning. And what they began to uncover only deepened their suspicion.

“Hey, I’m Detective Childers. Do you remember speaking with me on the phone?” “Yeah, sure.” “Um, is it just you that lives here?” “Uh, yeah, just me.” “Okay, we’re almost done. Um, we really appreciate your help. I’m sorry to keep inconveniencing you.” “Honestly, I’d be surprised if you found something. It’s been so long since—” “Well, I don’t know.” “Um, was there anything in the apartment that was left when you moved in?” “Yes.” “Uh, actually, no, absolutely nothing. I just keep getting his mail.” “Is it Wy?” “Keeping his mail. Yeah. W-Y. Yeah.” “Yeah. We’ve been looking for the person for a year now.” “Yeah. Like I said, should be more than a few more minutes and we’ll be done and out of there.”

When officers returned to Andrew’s previous residence, they discovered he was no longer living there. With permission from the new tenant, investigators decided to take a closer look inside the property, searching for anything that may have been missed. And that’s when they found something unexpected. Possible blood stains.

The discovery immediately raised concern, and the samples were collected and sent off for testing to determine whether they could be linked to Lorie. With this new focus, officers began actively searching for Andrew, trying to locate his new residence. This time, they were prepared.

Investigators tracked him down and, now treating him as the primary suspect, obtained a search warrant for the home he was currently staying in. For the first time, the investigation was no longer just about finding Lorie. It was about building a case against the person who may have been right in front of them all along.

Weeks went by before investigators were finally able to determine where Andrew was staying. After working with multiple agencies and following up on different leads, detectives were able to track him down. When they arrived at the residence, he wasn’t inside. But this time, they were ready. With a search warrant already secured, officers didn’t wait. They moved in, organized and prepared to search the entire property.

Andrew had no idea what was unfolding, and when he returned home, he was met with an unexpected surprise.

“Should I go in there?” “Not right now.” “We have a copy of the search warrant for you that will get to you. Thomas still has it.” “Here’s a copy of the search warrant. You can go to the courthouse to get a copy of it. This is apparently new to me because this is Georgia. You know, I’m from Florida, but it’s signed by the judge. This is your copy to have. You can keep that and get a copy of that. And all this is referenced to Lorie. This is about her.” “And what—” “What this?” “Yeah. This is in reference to Lorie.” “Like what?” “Neither of us are detectives. We’re not leading this. All we really told is that there’s a search warrant for your house for a certain item.” “I’m going to—come back. Once you’re done, like another hour or two—” “No, we about to take an inventory of what all we’re taking and once I get done with that—”

Eventually, Andrew stepped away as the search came to an end. Detectives left the property with several items, including cell phones, computers, tablets, and clothing—anything that could hold potential evidence. With this, investigators finally had what they needed to begin a deeper forensic analysis. And Andrew was now firmly at the center of it all.

But it would take months of testing, analyzing digital data, reviewing search history, and tracking location records before investigators could begin to piece everything together. However, as Andrew remained their main suspect, detectives knew they couldn’t ignore any possibility. So, they continued expanding the investigation, including reaching out to Lorie’s mother, hoping she might provide insight into Andrew.

But that conversation proved to be far from straightforward.

“I guess you had an appointment with Nashville PD and weren’t able to make it for some reason, and you wanted to go ahead and do that now if you’re able to.” “And I’ve been asking TPD for since the beginning for the files for this case. I’m not sure why y’all feel entitled to my cooperation, but y’all don’t have to cooperate. Y’all are running down—what files? I want all the case files, the lawyers from the last case.” “Sure. So, and just to give you kind of an update on what we’ve been doing since we got here, we’re pulling out all the stops when we—” “It’s too late. You’re pulling out all the stops too late.” “Yeah. Just doing everything we can to try to get a feel for who she was and what might have happened, where she might be.” “I mean, y’all know the scenario, and she’s likely no longer with us. Honestly speaking, y’all do this, y’all investigate this. You know how this goes.” “That’s possible.” “It’s likely.” “It is. It is likely. And y’all are treating me like a criminal. Like I did something. She was not in my care when all this went down. I’m dealing with the loss of my child and the gross negligence of Tallahassee Police Department. The disgusting negligence of the department could have potentially cost me the life of my child. And now y’all banging on my door eight months later asking me for my DNA.” “We’ll take all of that. Okay. They put brand new detectives on the case.” “It’s too late.” “I hope that it’s not, but it could be because if I’m moving a child, if I—y’all know how to do that. This is not—if I’m moving a child, I’m going to move the child in eight months. I’m not going to wait for y’all to run down to my house.” “We don’t think that you moved the child.” “I’m not saying—but anybody that did—because there’s an adult. It has to be an adult involved. She can’t sustain herself this long. So, whatever like thinking like in their pattern, if I know that I have a child that the police are looking for, I’m not just going to hold them. I’m going to move them. I’m going to hide them.” “Right.” “Well, if you’re thinking on the lines of placing the blame on us, then—” “Not the blame. I’m not placing the blame on y’all, but how y’all handled it was mishandled. It was very mishandled.” “Then you can be on the right side of this thing. You can investigate everything. I’m on the right side of this thing. I don’t have—” “I’m saying like there’s no reason—” “No, but I’m not entitled. I don’t have to cooperate with y’all. I don’t trust y’all.” “Okay. Well, one of the things is maternal DNA.” “I know how it works. Mitochondrial DNA, baby. Trust me. I got a master’s degree in this.” “Well, and that’s what we’re trying to do.” “And I’m saying that I want the case file. Y’all want what y’all want, but I can’t get what I want. Because what’s going to happen is that when these case files get lined up, this is going to look real stupid. And there’s going to be a lot of holes to poke in why this didn’t happen, why it should have happened.” “Yeah. Okay. And so if you want what you want, I want what I want. And this is how you get things done. This is how you get things done.”

While speaking with Lorie’s mother, detectives were met with frustration. She expressed concerns about how the investigation had been handled, feeling that more could have been done in the early stages of the case. Despite this, investigators remained focused. They still needed to understand Andrew.

“Um, I have to ask, you know, your opinion. Could her father have done anything to her? Would he have?” “I can’t speak on that as a fact and say because I don’t know. I don’t think that he would have because I mean—” “That’s what I’m asking. Your gut feeling. That’s important to—She’s been down there like for summers and Christmas. So, I don’t think that he would hurt her. I really hope he wouldn’t.” “And nothing happened while she was down there? No allegations of even any kind of abuse at all or nothing like that.” “Not that I am aware of, but I don’t—He didn’t talk to me.” “Yeah. Okay, I get it.” “But I mean, I’m not going to say like he didn’t, but I don’t hope he wouldn’t hurt her.” “And we have no evidence that he did. I mean, you know, forensics has gone over his apartment with a fine-tooth comb, and he’s been helpful. He’s actually provided a swab for his DNA.” “As he should. He was negligent.” “Yeah.” “Right.” “This is his fault.”

Now, I’ll be honest, that will require us to take the device and bring it back, which is a pain. I know. Um, and again, being completely honest, not trying to pull anything over on you. I mean, we’re going above and beyond trying to tell you exactly what we’re doing. Um, we weren’t sure how you feel about that. So, we did get an order, a warrant signed by a judge that would allow us to take the phone, extract the stuff from it that we need, and then bring it back to you tomorrow. We don’t want to keep the phone. We don’t want to do anything. I don’t want to deprive you of the phone because in this day and age, that iPhone is everything, right? So, we don’t want to take it back to Tallahassee. We want to do that here, bring it back to you in the morning. Um, any video footage that you can upload to us, Jerry can show you how to do that real quick. It’s not that hard. Um, just anything that you can think of that can help.

Sooner or later, detectives realized they weren’t getting what they needed. Nothing uncovered from this conversation helped build a case against Andrew. And nothing of significance was found on her phone, either. Once again, investigators were left without the answers they were hoping for.

But then the results from the evidence they collected began to come back. And this time, it was exactly what they’d been waiting for.

Just three days before Lorie was found, detectives made a major breakthrough. They began to notice inconsistencies in Andrew’s timeline. Details that didn’t quite add up. So they took a closer look at his cell phone records. What they found changed everything. His phone placed him in a remote area in Georgia at the exact time Lorie disappeared, directly contradicting the story he had given investigators.

And it didn’t stop there. Search history recovered from his device revealed queries related to remote locations, including areas in Georgia and Alabama, suggesting knowledge or even planning. For investigators, the pieces were finally starting to come together.

But the biggest breakthrough was still yet to come.

On the day Lorie’s remains were found, she was discovered in Thomas County, specifically in a remote wooded area near the Florida border. The area had recently undergone a controlled burn—a plan to use fire to clear thick vegetation. Because of this, dense brush and debris were cleared away, and the grounds became visible.

After the burn, human remains were exposed and noticed in the area, and authorities were called to the scene. The remains were then collected and forensically tested, and they were later confirmed to be Lorie Paige.

Now, with this, investigators already had key evidence. Phone data from Andrew Wy had shown that his phone had traveled to that exact area around the time Lorie disappeared. So when the remains were found there, it directly matched the evidence they already had.

The very next day, detectives located Andrew, who at this point had no idea that Lorie’s remains had just been found.

“You want to come over? You want to just come over to my car?” “When did you move to Tallahassee?” “Uh, September.” “September.” “And when did you get your new number? Because I tried to call your old one. Okay. You still work for—” “I’m still here, kind of.” “I heard they put you on like admin leave or whatever. I didn’t know if they—because I thought it all came about because of the gun.” “No.” “Um, do you have any weapons on you?” “No.” “Mind if I pat you down? Put your hands behind your back.” “You know why we’re here, right?” “Have a chat. Okay. We’re walking.”

With Andrew now in custody, they transported him to the station to start questioning him on what exactly had happened and try to get the truth out of him. Now at the station, detectives confronted Andrew. However, he didn’t give them any real answers.

“I’d love to have a discussion with you about why you’re here. You want to do that?” “No.” “Okay. Um, give me one sec. Be right back.” “You have any idea why you’re here?” “Andrew, we can play games if you want to, but I’m tired of playing games.” “All right. Is there anything you want to ask me?” “You brought me here.” “I know I brought you here. You don’t want to know why? You got the floor?” “You’re not concerned in the least. You’re a corrections officer. You just got brought to the police department in handcuffs, and you don’t have any questions.” “You’re right. Not one question. This silent treatment. I mean, how do you want to play this, man? I mean, if I were in your position, I’d have a ton of questions as to why I was here now.” “And I’m not going to pretend you’re not a smart man. I know you’re a smart man. So, you understand the difference between murder, manslaughter, and everything in between, right? Negligent manslaughter, any of those things? You understand that? You’ve seen people come in and out of that prison day in, day out, different types of charges. How do the ones look that are charged with murder versus the ones that are charged with lesser offenses? Do they look different? Do they act different? Which one do you want to be? You know why you’re here. Like I said, I’m not playing games with you. It’s over, man. Do what you have to do to make this right now. You won’t have another opportunity. You’ll be looking at a bunch of people in a jury box that won’t give a flying heck about what you say when it comes your time. They’re not going to care. They’re going to look at everything else and then they’re going to convict you. But they have to get it right. I need them to get it right. You need them to get it right. So, we need to know what actually happened. Okay. Was it a mistake? Was it an accident?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Doesn’t matter. Keep it up, man. This is your life, not mine. I can give a—” “When this is over, that’s it. That’s the only opportunity you’re going to get. I’m going to go about my business. I’m going to work the next case. Okay. Listen, man. The mystery is over. All right. Acting like that is what’s pissing me off. Lorie’s dead. You’re charged with her murder.” “So my daughter’s dead.” “She’s dead. We found her remains.” “Where?” “You tell us? Because you wouldn’t be here charged with murder for your daughter’s death.” “Crazy.” “If we didn’t have evidence to support that you did it, we wouldn’t be doing it all. All speculation. We wouldn’t be doing it all. Somebody thinks you did it. You’ve got evidence to support that you did it.” “You got evidence.” “Plenty of it.” “Mhm.” “That’s what he’s saying.” “Yes. And that is why you’re here right now.” “So why are we talking?” “Because what we want to know is how did it happen? That’s what we’re giving you the opportunity to tell us.” “Did you just get mad at her one day and decide this is the day? Was it an accident? Something happened and you got scared after the fact? Did you plan it? I mean, those are all questions I would want to be answered if I were a jury. We wouldn’t be doing our job if we weren’t sitting here asking you these questions to try and give you the opportunity to tell us what actually happened that day. And if I were on trial for it, I would like to give the jury those answers before they speculate as to what it was. Because them coming up with their own ideas is going to be very bad for you. Premeditated child murder does not look well for you in court. But you know what? Every parent up there has been frustrated with their kids. Every parent up there has thought about, ‘Oh my god, I wish this would just stop. They’re screaming. They’re yelling. I can’t control them.’ People understand that. People understand what it brings them to—getting mad, punching walls, doing whatever, that kind of stuff. Some people do lose their temper. They understand that. But you know what they don’t understand and what they don’t like is someone sitting in your position with a smile on his face, not giving a damn one way or another. That’s what they’re going to see. Change their mind. Don’t let them see that. Let them see who you are.” “I need a lawyer, bro.” “Okay, good luck.”

With Andrew asking for a lawyer, it stopped detectives from being able to question him any further. However, they already had enough evidence to build a strong case against him. So that very same day, he would be taken to jail. Once in custody, he would spend around two months in jail before dying in custody from a pulmonary embolism, which was later confirmed to be a blood clot in his lung.

As for Lorie, her cause of death was never officially determined.

The father had called the police. He had played the role of the worried parent. He had watched officers search and wonder and come up empty. He thought he had gotten away with it. He thought his secret would stay buried—literally. But the controlled burn that cleared the vegetation had nothing to do with him. It was nature, or perhaps something else, that decided it was time for the truth to come to the surface.

The phone records didn’t lie. The search history didn’t lie. And the remains found in that remote Georgia field told a story that Andrew Wy never intended anyone to hear. He sat in that interrogation room with a smirk, thinking he was in control, thinking he could outsmart investigators who had been doing this for decades. But in the end, he couldn’t even outsmart a controlled burn.

Two years. Two years of searching, of hoping, of chasing down false leads and dead ends. Two years of a mother demanding answers and a father pretending to help. And in the end, the evidence was there all along—buried under brush and lies, waiting for the right moment to be uncovered.

Andrew Wy died in custody. He never faced a jury. He never had to listen as the evidence was laid out piece by piece, as the phone records were presented, as the search history was read aloud, as the location data placed him exactly where he said he wasn’t. He never had to sit in a courtroom and watch as the family he had destroyed looked at him with the kind of hatred that only comes from losing a child to someone who was supposed to protect them.

He never had to face what he did.

But Lorie’s remains were found. And in the end, that was enough. Not for closure. There is never true closure in cases like this. But for answers. For the certainty that the person responsible was identified, charged, and would never hurt anyone again—even if death cheated the system of a trial.

The father who reported his daughter missing. The father who stood beside police and pretended to search. The father who thought he had hidden his secret so well that no one would ever find it. He was wrong. They always are.