Quote · Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder
Ep. 117 | Mysterious Missing Children Cold Cases
Where this was said
Tracy's Lies, the Coached Note, and the Missing Voicemail
At 15:16 · chapter starts 14:30
Tracy Bradley gave investigators and the press the same story for 22 years: that George had slept over at her apartment. The truth — that she had gone to his place — only surfaced in a 2023 television special. She blew off multiple meetings with detectives, and in March 2002 she physically shoved an officer who asked her to the precinct, resulting in handcuffs; her lawyer ended the conversation within minutes. The note attributed to Tionda raised its own red flags: family members told Dateline the spelling and grammar were too advanced for a 10-year-old, and Tionda's instinct was always to call — not write. Great-aunt Shaleah was blunt: the person who took the girls was right there coaching Tionda on what to write. A second voicemail allegedly placed the girls with George heading to buy Victoria's birthday cake, but police say they never received it. Family members say they heard it — Tracy's sister even claims to have accessed it through the PIN system — but it disappeared days later. A retired detective pleaded with Shaleah to share a recording she claimed to have, but nothing ever materialised. [1] — Host "The person who took the girls was right there beside her telling her exactly what to write. She was being coached." 15:16
The search for Tionda and Diamond Bradley became one of the biggest missing persons operations in Chicago history. Hundreds of officers, FBI agents, and civilian volunteers combed the South Side's streets, sewers, and abandoned buildings. Investigators ran down close to 100 registered sex offenders and even flew to Morocco — and still came up empty.
