[Music] [Music] hey guys welcome to my channel and today we're going to take a look at another horrible case with you on June 8th 2018 fisherman aboard a commercial vessel near the Long Island straight noticed something unusual in the water closer inspection from the deck revealed it to be a man's body the fisherman immediately reported their Discovery to the Coast Guard police arriving at the scene retrieved the body of a young man from the shore they noted unexplained bruises and abrasions on the body it was later identified as Spencer mford who had been reported missing a few days earlier along with his girlfriend Sophia McKenna to determine the circumstances of Spencer's demise his body was sent for examination the autopsy results indicated that drowning was the cause of death experts found no signs of violence and all injuries were attributed to water it's important to note that the details of the autopsy were not disclosed the same weekend Spencer and his girlfriend disappeared two other men also went missing in the area their bodies were later found having drowned as well from the outset the police believed these were tragic accidents due to unfavorable circumstances leading to the young individuals drowning no other theories about the incident were considered at the time however the body of Spencer's companion Sophia McKenna was never found this enigmatic Tale unfolded on the night of May 27th 2018 in the small town of groten located in Connecticut in the northeastern United States the case remains unsolved raising more questions than answers the main characters of the story are two young people who decided to take a walk and visit the lighthouse in New London situated on the banks of the temps River and considered a mystical place by the locals the historic Lighthouse constructed in 1909 is famous for rumors about mysterious phenomena associated with the ghost of its first keeper Ernie according to Legend Ernie's beloved left him and in despair he ended his life by jumping from the lighthouses roof since then locals and visitors have reported strange occurrences at the Lighthouse some speak of unexplained phenomena such as doors and windows opening by themselves while others mention bed sheets slipping off beds Sailors have told of radios turning on without apparent reason and ships mysteriously unmooring from the shore consequently the lighthouse has become the focus of numerous television programs dedicated to Paranormal phenomena although these claims are merely rumors the place continues to attract people with its mysterious and unusual aura Spencer and Sophia were among those who had long dreamed of visiting this enigmatic Lighthouse and set out there on the eve of Memorial Day however something went arai that night what exactly happened remains unknown family members and the police can only speculate based on the few available facts on Saturday the 27th Sophia mencken's Friend Austin tried to contact her but got no response to his calls at first he didn't think much of it knowing that Sophia usually slept late however after several hours of unsuccessful attempts to reach her through calls and messages Austin grew worried he contacted Sophia's mother Michelle to find out if Sophia had called her the previous night Michelle hadn't checked her cell phone as her younger daughter had been playing with it since morning when Michelle finally looked at her phone she found seven missed calls from an unknown number trying to call back she reached the voicemail of Spencer a friend of her daughters and realized those might have been calls from Sophia Michelle tried to reach Sophia but also got no response Panic said in and she and Austin immediately began searching Austin called all the local hospitals while Michelle filed a missing person's Report with the police contacting Spencer's family they learned that his relatives were also worried since he hadn't shown up for an important family gathering and hadn't responded to their attempts to contact him they went to Spencer's apartment but found no signs of his presence there the previous night Spencer's father knew his son had been meeting with Sophia the evening before which caused concern for him and his wife due to the problems Sophia was facing Spencer's mother mentioned that her son had planned to go fishing with a friend but she felt he was lying and actually intended to meet Sophia that evening she last spoke with her son at 10 p. m. when he wished her good night realizing something had happened Spencer's family also reported his and his girlfriend's disappearance to the police around 6:30 p.
m. the police began searching for the missing young people at that time Austin contacted the sheriff to inform him that he had information about where Sophia and Spencer were the previous night he explained that he knew this because he had allowed Sophia to go there Austin also mentioned that he stumbled upon a video posted by Sophia on Snapchat the previous night Sophia had recorded the video on Spencer's mobile phone while they were on a boat heading towards the lighthouse the footage showed the back of a young man rowing towards the lighthouse everything looked good and they were having fun later Sophia uploaded this video to her Snapchat account later at 2 a. m.
a photograph of Sophia was uploaded to Spencer's chat she was playfully posing with the concrete barrier of the lighthouse in the background marked with a do not cross sign what happened just minutes after this Photograph remains a complete mystery 5 minutes after the photograph was posted at 205 a. m. the first call from Spencer's mobile phone was made to Michelle Sophia's mother followed by three more calls at 206 208 and the last call at 209 Michelle who was asleep at the time didn't answer any of the calls no voicemails or text messages were left and the 911 service also didn't receive any calls from that number that night the photos and videos posted by the young people confirmed that they were indeed at the Lighthouse as a result the police immediately dispatched 20 different Coast Guard units to the area the Coast Guard firefighters and police conducted searches by air sea and land the first discovery made by the police was Sophia's car parked on the University campus inside the car they also found her cell phone meanwhile on the same night the Coast Guard discovered a t-shirt which Spencer had been wearing in the video the police theorized that Spencer might have used it to secure the boat to the shore the search continued throughout the night and the following day soon a storm began and state authorities announced the suspension of the search for the young people until New Leads or signs of their possible whereabouts emerged this decision deeply shocked their families and friends but they continued their own search efforts hanging pictures and spreading information about Spencer and Sophia's disappearance throughout the city they appealed to the public to report any available information however despite the large number of people on the streets at the time of the young people's disappearance no Witnesses came forward the family searches continued for several days but all questions remained unanswered what happened why did Sophia repeatedly call her mother why didn't she leave a voicemail or call the police there were many speculations and assumptions could they have consumed something illicit indeed they had broken the law by stealing a boat from the campus and heading to the the lighthouse without permission it's likely Sophia feared they could be held accountable and thus chose not to contact the police as a few days prior she and Spencer had already had legal issues Spencer had been detained for driving under the influence and Sophia had faced charges for aggressive behavior perhaps for this reason she preferred to contact her mother rather than the police however it's unknown what other circumstances were present in Sophia's life at that moment she might have been in a state of panic and unable to think clearly everyone's reaction to such situations can be unpredictable meanwhile detectives tried to reconstruct the events of that day May 26th 2018 began as a typical day it was sunny and warm with the upcoming weekend promising plenty of fun the city was gearing up for Memorial Day Celebrations a national holiday Sophia had the day off but Spencer was scheduled to cover a shift for a colleague from from 7:00 a.
m. to 7:00 p. m.
afterwards the young couple planned to meet up and join the city's festivities Sophia and Spencer intended to spend the rest of the day together including a visit to the mysterious Lighthouse famous for its paranormal phenomena which they were eager to experience for themselves the details of what happened after Spencer's shift ended remain unknown it's unclear where they went or if they met anyone and there's no information about whether they had been drinking however it was established that Sophia parked her car at the University of Connecticut campus around 2 a. m. for some reason she left her cell phone in the car perhaps she forgot it or it was out of charge and she decided not to take it the pair then illegally took a sailboat without a m or engine weighing 14 lb and equipped only with ores they pushed it into the water and set off towards the lighthouse navigating by the rocky shores clearly it was unsafe considering the lack of safety equipment in the boat likely they were not afraid to embark on this journey due to Spencer's confidence in his aquatic skills he had been a proficient swimmer and boat Handler since childhood that's all the investigators managed to gather about the events of that night on Monday evening while scanning the surroundings from a search helicopter the police discovered a white and blue sailboat stuck in the Rocks covered with a layer of dust the vessel was located 12 km west of the lighthouse according to police reports this was likely the same boat that went missing from the campus and might have been used by Spencer and Sophia although this was not conclusively established fingerprints were found on the boat but they were never analyzed or the results made public to determine if they matched the Fingerprints of the young couple there were also discrepancies regarding the type of vessel used initially it was reported as a kayak but later information suggested it was a white sailboat with a red inscription in their search for Clues investigators thoroughly examined the backgrounds of Sophia McKenna and Spencer mugford Sophia McKenna was born on March 7th 1996 in North Stonington Connecticut at the time of the incident she was 21 years old and lived in Groen Connecticut USA she was the daughter of Michelle from her first marriage and grew up with her brother Justin and younger sister Grace Sophia was very caring towards her siblings whom she dearly loved as a child Sophia was happy and intelligent displaying unique qualities she was active full of energy and always led a vibrant and fulfilling life however her life was deeply impacted by her parents' divorce when she was around six 7 years old leaving a profound psychological scar during her high school years Sophia was diagnosed with bipolar disorder which caused her depression this mental illness is characterized by drastic mood swings including manic episodes or hypomania Sophia experienced emotional lows such as depression with sadness and Melancholy alternating with Manic episodes of euphoria these mood swings could affect her behavior and Clarity of thought Sophia received treatment including medication and Psychotherapy to manage symptoms however there is no cure for bipolar disorder it presents a challenge for both the patient and their family the illness significantly impacted Sophia's daily life her behavior avior became unpredictable and her life was chaotic she had unstable relationships and the people she interacted with often displayed complex behavior in 2015 Sophia met Austin bright and cheerful she immediately captured the young man's heart he pursued the attractive Sophia beautifully and persistently and they soon started a relationship that lasted 3 years however this relationship was rather unpleasant for both Sophia and her mother Michelle Austin was a problem atic young man somewhat aggressive and used anabolic steroids for Sports making their relationship quite unstable the young couple often argued and yelled at each other even to the point of physical altercations due to her mental health issues Sophia was typically the instigator of these conflicts on several occasions Austin's aggressive outbursts led to injuries to Sophia requiring hospital visits about a month before the incident Sophia discovered Austin's infidelity and decided to end the relationship however they continued to see each other sporadically despite her struggles Sophia tried to move forward she was a very attractive young woman and briefly became a model for a local company advertising their genes this helped her Finance her education she eventually graduated as a massage therapist and found employment at an exclusive Spa called The Red Door in a luxurious Hotel it was here that she met Spencer mugford her 20-year-old colleague Spencer originally from Florida was a sea Enthusiast and an experienced swimmer working as a sailing instructor he came from a loving family who had high hopes for his future Spencer and Sophia quickly bonded over shared interests and similar wavelengths they reportedly dated for some time but neither of their families approved as the young couple was frequently surrounded by trouble according to Michelle Sophia's mother she was deeply concerned about Sophia's well-being especially since Sophia and Austin continued to meet and often consumed alcohol which had become almost a daily occurrence ultimately Sophia's relationship with Spencer did not last and they decided to remain friends the exact reason for this remains unclear though it appears Sophia might have returned to her ex-boyfriend Austin despite this Sophia and Spencer continued to spend a lot of time together both at work and outside of it including on their last day after several days of searching when fisherman discovered Spencer's body his family wrote an obituary in the local media Sophia's family did the same but they continued to hold out hope and kept searching they repeatedly tried to recall the events leading up to The Disappearance attempting to figure out what the young people did that evening and whether they met anyone on their last day however no new information emerged it was unclear if there were any other calls besides the ones Michelle's number from Spencer's phone as his mobile was never found and the police did not provide cell operator records cameras at the Lighthouse and the campus were reportedly not working so there were no video recordings of that night's events it was also revealed that the lighthouse was never checked even though it should have been done by the authorities immediately after the couple's Disappearance in July 2018 Sophia McKenna's close relatives created a Facebook page P titled Searching for Sophia McKenna to keep the case alive in public memory the page served as a platform for sharing information brochures and pleas for any information from the public weeks after The Disappearance a strange incident occurred Michelle received a message from Sophia's social media account requesting money since the police were in possession of Sophia's phone this message raised suspicions suggesting a possible Hacker's involvement the investigation into Spencer's death and Sophia's disappearance hit a dead end the police provided no conclusive findings unofficially several theories about the incident circulated one Theory involved Austin Sophia's ex-boyfriend and his possible involvement in the young couple's disappearance some speculated that Austin might have attacked Sophia and his friends helped him dispose of Spencer their tumultuous relationship known for frequent arguments and physical altercations was was a matter of public discussion Michelle Sophia's mother witnessed several of their disputes a month before The Disappearance serious issues arose when Sophia learned of Austin's infidelity on May 8th 2018 and ended the relationship in what could have been an act of Revenge or a new start Sophia dated another guy bringing him to her apartment Austin infuriated rushed to her apartment where neighbors witnessed him furiously banging and kicking the door hurling insults at Sophia after about 15 minutes of silence thinking Austin had left Sophia opened the door however Austin was still there attempting to push Sophia and enter the apartment fortunately Sophia managed to close the door quickly neighbors heard his threats to cut her throat if she didn't open the door by then police and Michelle had arrived and Austin was arrested the next day May 9th a court order became effective in her statement Sophia mentioned previous attacks by Austin and provided photos of her injuries she expressed fear for her life due to his stalking a restraining order prohibited Austin from being in the same area as Sophia however Sophia later felt guilty and the restrictions were revised now Austin was only prohibited from being in the same apartment as her the man with Sophia at the time refused to disclose his identity and did not cooperate with the police initially Michelle claimed it was Spencer with Sophia but later changed her statement however a colleague Sophia trusted revealed that it was indeed him Sophia and Spencer's colleagues confirmed that the two were in a relationship at the time of their disappearance acting like a couple both at work and outside Witnesses also recounted an incident at the hotel where Austin Sophia's ex showed up at her workplace and publicly threatened her nevertheless Austin and his father participated in the search for the missing couple using a private helicopter and distributed Flyers with their images throughout the city Austin posted on social media asserting that Sophia was his girlfriend for 3 years and that she had no romantic relationship with Spencer just friendship this post seemingly emphasizing Sophia's association with him rather than her disappearance appeared odd to many on July 10th a Memorial Day for Sophia was organized by her family and friends Austin attended the event with Michelle and later posted an deleted message on social media rest in peace baby we'll see each other soon these actions raised eyebrows among acquaintances Austin claimed to authorities that he spent the entire day with Sophia on May 26th and that they continued to meet despite the court order even making plans for the next day a friend of Austin stated that around 3:00 a.
m.
