Frank Merritt
Appearances
20/20
The Lies Beneath
So just none of it made sense at all that Michael had sent a text message to his boss just up and quitting. He was known to be a very dependable worker and a diligent worker that didn't add up at all.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
These text messages were completely out of character for Michael. I think that the family really noticed that very quickly.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
This has got to be the strangest case in my career that I've ever seen. It was as though this guy had literally just vanished.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
She welcomed them onto the property. She appeared to be very cooperative. She appeared as though she had nothing to hide. Obviously, they noticed it was a beautiful, sprawling five-acre piece of property, and they were able to walk the outside of the property and look around.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
So detectives got the report from the deputies, and they began to plan their next steps and how they were going to move forward to get back out to the property and do a more thorough search.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
They learned that his driver's license was expired. There was not a new driver's license issued in any other state. His pilot's license was expired. There was literally no trace of Michael, no matter what they tried, no matter where they looked.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
Based upon all of these bizarre circumstances, we knew something had happened to Michael.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
We began digging up that yard. We dug a very significant area. We realized that there was nothing to be found there. The fire pit was our next point of interest. Once they started digging, we heard some yelling.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
The decision was made to bust up that concrete and dig down below that fire pit to see what we could find.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
Once they started digging, we heard some yelling. We knew we were onto something.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
And I can tell you that we have found what appears to be a bone that is consistent with that of a human upper arm bone.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
I mean, that's just not something that we deal with and see every day. The media attention just grew.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
She pretended to be Michael in order to out Jeremy to his wife. And she tried to do that through Facebook messages from Michael's Facebook account. And when she didn't get a response from Jeremy's wife, Vanessa, she sent a bouquet of flowers to Vanessa with a card.
20/20
The Lies Beneath
Laurie was using his cell phone and his Facebook account to present this facade that Michael was still alive.