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Unsolved Crime Footage: The Cases Police Can’t Close

Unsolved Crime Footage: The Cases Police Can’t Close

Art Grindstone

November 26, 2025
Art Grindstone

Art Grindstone

November 26, 2025

Key Takeaways

  • All six cases involve video or audio evidence that leaves more questions than answers, with official explanations often challenged by inconsistencies.
  • Footage includes hotel CCTV, airport security, church surveillance, personal phone recordings, home videos, and YouTube uploads, spanning vanishings and murders.
  • Online communities and families point to gaps like possible staging, hidden threats, or institutional oversights, keeping these mysteries active despite partial resolutions.
  • These clips highlight the limits of surveillance in uncovering truth, urging continued scrutiny for accountability.

What These Haunting Clips Have in Common

These six cases linger because they blend hard evidence with stubborn unknowns. Each one has video or audio that captures a pivotal moment, yet none is fully wrapped up in the public eye. Official lines offer some closure—runaways, accidents, mental health crises, random killings—but cracks remain, fueling debates in forums and podcasts.

The recordings vary widely: home tapes from Alissa Turney’s family life, Kenny Veach’s YouTube posts about desert oddities, Elisa Lam’s elevator CCTV at the Cecil Hotel, Lars Mittank’s airport dash on security cams, Missy Bevers’ killer caught on church surveillance, and the chilling phone audio from the Delphi murders.

Institutions push straightforward stories, but inconsistencies—like odd behaviors, timeline glitches, or overlooked details—keep investigators and online groups digging. These aren’t settled files; they’re open wounds.

Frozen Frames at the Edge of Vanishing

Imagine the grainy feed from the Cecil Hotel elevator, January 31, 2013. Elisa Lam steps in, hits a string of buttons, then hides in the corner, peeking out with frantic gestures. The clip runs about 2 minutes and 27 seconds, her movements growing erratic before she vanishes from view.

Shift to Varna Airport, July 8, 2014. Lars Mittank, caught on CCTV, suddenly breaks into a sprint, abandoning his luggage and papers. He bolts from the terminal into nearby fields, gone in an instant.

Early morning at Creekside Church, Texas, April 18, 2016. A figure in tactical gear prowls the halls around 4:20 a.m., hammering at doors and glass. Soon after, Missy Bevers arrives for her class and meets her end.

On Liberty German’s phone, February 13, 2017, near Delphi, Indiana: shaky footage of a man on the bridge, his voice steady—“down the hill”—right before she and Abigail Williams are killed.

Cases like Alissa Turney and Kenny Veach add layers with personal recordings and online uploads, dissected endlessly for clues that footage alone can’t provide.

What Viewers, Families, and Online Sleuths Say They’re Seeing

In Alissa Turney’s case, her half-sister Sarah has shared family recordings made by their adoptive father, Michael Turney, through podcasts and social media. Many hear control and possible abuse in those secret tapes, rejecting the runaway label. Reddit threads and true crime groups highlight Michael’s shifting stories and surveillance habits as red flags.

Kenny Veach’s YouTube video about the “M Cave”—a spot that allegedly vibrated his body—has sparked debates among hikers and anomaly trackers. Some link it to military secrets near Nellis Air Force Base, while others point to his comments suggesting depression or a planned exit. Fellow explorers share tales of similar desert vibrations, blurring natural and strange explanations.

Elisa Lam’s elevator footage divides viewers: some spot her evading a pursuer, others tie it to her bipolar disorder or meds. A vocal group invokes the Cecil Hotel’s grim past for paranormal angles, seeing more than coincidence in her gestures.

Lars Mittank’s mother described his paranoid calls before the airport footage shows him fleeing. Online breakdowns suggest psychosis from a head injury, or real threats like traffickers from a prior fight. The sudden run fuels ideas of pursuit beyond the frame.

For Missy Bevers, communities dissect the suspect’s gait and gear in the church video, suspecting a faked limp or deliberate disguise. Many argue it points to someone who knew her, staging the scene.

In the Delphi murders, the “Bridge Guy” clip from Liberty’s phone has locals and web sleuths profiling his build and voice. Families praise her quick thinking in recording it, while analysts see hints of calculation in his calm command.

Across these, observers often spot masking—disguises, off-camera threats, or staging—that challenges simple readings.

Timelines, Screens, and the Hard Edges of Each Case

Name(s)DateLocationType of FootageKey DiscoveryOfficial Status
Alissa TurneyMay 17, 2001Phoenix, ArizonaFamily home recordingsNote claiming runaway status; no body foundInitially runaway, reopened as possible homicide in 2008; Michael Turney arrested 2020, acquitted 2023
Kenny VeachNovember 10, 2014Near Nellis Air Force Base, NevadaYouTube videoCell phone near abandoned mine shaft; no bodyMissing person, likely accident or suicide
Elisa LamJanuary 31, 2013 (footage); February 19, 2013 (body)Cecil Hotel, Los Angeles, CaliforniaHotel elevator CCTVBody in rooftop water tankAccidental drowning, influenced by bipolar disorder
Lars MittankJuly 8, 2014Varna Airport, BulgariaAirport CCTVBelongings left behind; no bodyMissing person
Missy BeversApril 18, 2016Creekside Church, Midlothian, TexasChurch surveillanceBody found at sceneUnsolved homicide
Abigail Williams and Liberty German (Delphi murders)February 13, 2017Near Monon High Bridge, Delphi, IndianaVictim’s phone recordingBodies found next dayRichard Allen arrested 2022; trial pending

These summaries draw from public records. Full files hold more, but releases are selective, aimed at tips or optics.

Official Stories Beside the Theories That Won’t Go Away

Phoenix Police first pegged Alissa Turney as a runaway based on Michael’s note and report. But Sarah Turney’s push, highlighting recordings of control and odd behavior, led to a 2008 reopening and 2020 charges. Michael’s 2023 acquittal left legal closure, yet family and public suspicion endure over unproven abuse claims.

Nevada officials see Kenny Veach’s case as a desert mishap or suicide, with no proof of his “M Cave.” Yet explorers argue it could be a real anomaly or base secret, and his mental state doesn’t explain the missing body fully.

LAPD ruled Elisa Lam’s death accidental, tied to bipolar disorder, with clean toxicology on illegals. Viewers counter with footage quirks like timestamps and tank access doubts, plus hotel history fueling otherworldly ideas.

Bulgarian authorities treat Lars Mittank as a missing person, possibly self-vanished amid paranoia from injury. His calls suggest real fears—maybe from fight fallout—clashing with the voluntary angle.

Midlothian Police keep Missy Bevers’ murder open, not committing to burglary or hit. Online views lean toward targeted, citing the intruder’s deliberate moves as staging by an acquaintance.

Indiana State Police credit the Delphi footage for Allen’s 2022 arrest, but locals question gaps like accomplices. For years, many sensed a community insider, and trial waits test the narrative.

Patterns emerge: officials favor mental health or mishap, while others see secrecy or mismatches in the evidence.

The Frames We Don’t See: Gaps, Missing Context, and Lingering Questions

What do Michael Turney’s full recordings hold, and why did shared clips build suspicion without legal weight? Gaps between public shares and investigator knowledge keep Alissa Turney’s story open.

Was Kenny Veach’s “M Cave” real, imagined, or lost? His phone by the mine marks the end, but the hike’s middle remains blank.

Elisa Lam’s clip shows odd doors and gestures—what preceded it off-camera? Withheld footage or blind spots at the Cecil fuel doubts.

Lars Mittank’s run begs: what triggered it? Injury explains some, but no sightings since widen the mystery.

Missy Bevers’ intruder moves casually—disguise or tactic? External cams might clarify entry and exit, if they exist.

Liberty German’s full 43 seconds: what’s withheld? It shapes the Delphi case, yet public snippets leave questions on scene details.

Every clip is cropped, compressing truth into fragments where key moments hide.

Why These Unfinished Stories Still Matter

Surveillance blankets our world, yet these cases defy resolution, exposing video’s limits as proof. Public scrutiny has real effects: Sarah Turney’s work revived Alissa’s file, Delphi tips led to an arrest.

Blind trust in officials risks ignoring anomalies; unchecked speculation drowns victims in noise. Balance honors both.

Keep watching—not for thrills, but to demand more releases, cold-case reviews, better evidence handling.

These aren’t just clips; they’re echoes of lives cut short. The gaps reflect flaws in our systems, and in how we chase understanding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, all six cases are documented vanishings and murders with publicly available footage and official records. They span from 2001 to 2017 across various U.S. locations and one in Bulgaria, each with video evidence that’s been analyzed extensively.

Families and online communities point to inconsistencies like unusual behaviors in footage, timeline discrepancies, and potential staging. For instance, in Elisa Lam’s case, viewers question video edits and tank access; in Alissa Turney’s, family recordings suggest abuse not fully addressed in court.

Officials often stick to explanations involving accidents, mental health, or random crime, as in Kenny Veach’s likely mishap or Elisa Lam’s accidental drowning. However, public pressure has led to actions like reopening Alissa Turney’s case and arresting a suspect in the Delphi murders.

The footage is often partial, edited, or lacks context for events before or after the clips. This creates blind spots, such as unseen interactions in Lars Mittank’s airport run or withheld portions of the Delphi recording, keeping debates alive.

Yes, advocacy like Sarah Turney’s for Alissa and tips from the Delphi video contributed to reopened investigations and an arrest. It shows how community analysis can pressure institutions for more accountability.