Tabitha McDowell
Here is one of those instances that I need to begin with a disclaimer. I have no idea whatsoever if Tabitha knows anything about Kent's disappearance at all. I am about 100% sure she had nothing to do with it. What I do not know is if she is telling me the complete truth.
Secondly - from the get-go - Tabitha has always been very polite to me. I am including her on this website because she sits right in the center of the bullseye for what the Jacobs have had to deal with in looking for Kent.
I want people to get a sense of the emotional gyrations the Jacobs are going through in trying to find Kent.
It all began with Heather Thrash Monroe. I wrote about her in Chapter 5. Heather stirred the pot two years ago by coming forward to the Jacobs, law enforcement and WTVD-TV by claiming she was at the trailer on Muscat Rd in Hope MIlls on March 22nd when Kent was shot and killed by Pierre Scurlock.
At the time, Heather told me that there was another younger girl there with her but Heather would not tell me the girls name because she was afraid and did not want to get involved.
At the time, we were grateful to Heather for coming forward and sharing her eyewitness account and so we did not press her too hard for the identity of the other girl.
As the years went by our natural frustration swelled and we decided it was high time that Heather tell us who the other girl was.
So began a series of text messages, trips to Taco Bell, visit to her home and slowly, bit by bit, Heather would tell me a little bit more about who this other girl was.
One day, at Heather's home on Arlington Rd in Hope Mills, Heather told me that her friends name was Tabitha, that she lived in Red Springs, was married to a black guy, had two kids but was afraid to come forward.
This went on and on for a few months. I was told that she used to work at Family Dollar on Owen Dr - so I went here but no one heard of her. I kept on pleading with Heather to at least pass along my phone number to Tabitha and let her decide if she wanted to speak with me.
At this point - we did not know how much Heather was BSing us and how much truth she was actually sharing.
Then out of the blue, the phone rings and it was Tabitha on the line! It was pretty emotional for me because the Jacobs and I have been trying to first, identify who she was and second, hopefully get some type of confirmation of Heather's account of March 10th, 2002.
Tabitha basically denied 100% of everything and just stuck close to her story that she did not know why Heather would say such a thing. Then, in mid sentence, the phone cut off. I called right back but the call would not go through. Despite numerous calls over the next few days, I never got her again. It was as if, she had the number disconnected.
I was now back to trying to find her. I even drove down to Red Springs and went inside the Family Dollar down there in the hopes someone might know her...but no such luck.
I got a break when Heather mentioned to me that her mom Cindy, lived in a trailer across the street. I made my way over to meet Cindy and met with her about 4 or 5 times in all. On one of these visits I brought up Tabitha's name and Cindy just came out and said,"Her parents are staying at the Carolina Motor Inn on 301 - just go over there and ask them."
That sounded pretty good to me so I headed over there and sure enough - that is where I met Lea and Dale McDowell. They were staying at the Carolina Motor Inn in some type of arrangement where they bartered maintenance work for discounted lodging.
Anyway - they were very nice to me and told me exactly where their daughter was staying. They were pretty dismayed that there daughter was caught up with prostitutes and the drug crowd. They were unhappy because she was dating interracially and also hanging around prostitutes and drug dealers.
"I wish we could get her away from those people", her dad said, 'but she will never leave them."
So I drive down to her trailer on Wilson Rd but the young woman who answered the door said she never heard of Tabitha and made me think I had the wrong house. So I started canvassing the neighborhood and it became obvious pretty quickly that I was at the right house all along. I was just being lied to.
So I went back to the house a second time and that is when I learned that I did indeed have the right place. Tabitha was not at home - but at least I now knew where she lived.
On my next trip down to her Wilson Rd trailer in Red Springs, I got to meet Tabitha for the first time.
I was struck at how polite and cordial she was to me. She invited me inside and I sat on her couch and honestly re-told her the entire 'Heather" story.
She continued to deny everything and said she had no idea why Heather would say such a thing. She denied knowing Pierre Scurlock but later on she let it slip that she did in fact know Pierre. (I thought to myself at the time that at least Heather was not 100% BS). I told Tabitha that Heather went on TV and said she was at the trailer when Kent was shot and off-camera she told me that Tabitha was there with her.
Tabitha refused to believe any of this and when I told her I still have the video from the TV interview she said, "I'd have to see it to believe it".
I told her next time I come down I would bring my laptop and show her. ""Good, I'd love to see it" she said.
On my next day off from work, I grabbed my laptop and headed down to Tabitha's house. I knock on the door and I was told to wait a minute by a guy at the door. One minute turned into about 15 and then my cell phone rings. It was Tabitha saying she was up in Fayetteville and would not be back for a while. She said in the future I needed to call her first before showing up.
I never believed her story because her car was in the driveway. I pretty much knew she was in the house the whole time.
I had to leave. In this type of endeavor, you get lied to all the time. And I do mean ALL the time. The key is to just stay patient. So I get in my car and I am halfway home back to Hope Mills when the phone rings and it is Tabitha. She was calling to say she was back in Red Springs and I was welcome to come on back.
Whatever. I knew she was lying but I was glad I could at least show her the TV interview with Heather.
So I make my way back to Wilson Rd and Tabitha invites me back into her living room. This time there is a man sitting in an adjacent chair. We met but he was pretty quiet.
I get out my laptop and begin to boot up the machine when out from the back bedroom I see Tabitha's dad walking towards me. This time he was pissed and told me never to bother his daughter again. They had called the cops on me and so I basically walked into a trap.
The cop was wonderful. He did not take sides. He just instructed Tabitha to say to me (while he witnessed it) that she did not want me back on her property ever again and that if I contacted her anymore, I would be arrested for trespassing.
The cop then escorted me outside and got my side of the story. Like I said, he actually handled everything quite well.
I was somewhat amused at Tabitha's dad. Just the previous week he was 'Jay Leno' nice to me and all but begged me for my help in getting his daughter away from "those black boys' to now warning me to stay away from his daughter.
I get it: 'blood is thicker than water'. But he needs to understand that Kent is priority and also - never once did Tabitha ask me to leave her alone. She even invited me back because she wanted to see the TV interview with Heather.
So that was that. I did what I could do regarding Tabitha. Then, the next day - my iPhone starts buzzing letting me know I have a text message. It was from Tabitha and this is what she wrote: (This was my last contact with her)
Secondly - from the get-go - Tabitha has always been very polite to me. I am including her on this website because she sits right in the center of the bullseye for what the Jacobs have had to deal with in looking for Kent.
I want people to get a sense of the emotional gyrations the Jacobs are going through in trying to find Kent.
It all began with Heather Thrash Monroe. I wrote about her in Chapter 5. Heather stirred the pot two years ago by coming forward to the Jacobs, law enforcement and WTVD-TV by claiming she was at the trailer on Muscat Rd in Hope MIlls on March 22nd when Kent was shot and killed by Pierre Scurlock.
At the time, Heather told me that there was another younger girl there with her but Heather would not tell me the girls name because she was afraid and did not want to get involved.
At the time, we were grateful to Heather for coming forward and sharing her eyewitness account and so we did not press her too hard for the identity of the other girl.
As the years went by our natural frustration swelled and we decided it was high time that Heather tell us who the other girl was.
So began a series of text messages, trips to Taco Bell, visit to her home and slowly, bit by bit, Heather would tell me a little bit more about who this other girl was.
One day, at Heather's home on Arlington Rd in Hope Mills, Heather told me that her friends name was Tabitha, that she lived in Red Springs, was married to a black guy, had two kids but was afraid to come forward.
This went on and on for a few months. I was told that she used to work at Family Dollar on Owen Dr - so I went here but no one heard of her. I kept on pleading with Heather to at least pass along my phone number to Tabitha and let her decide if she wanted to speak with me.
At this point - we did not know how much Heather was BSing us and how much truth she was actually sharing.
Then out of the blue, the phone rings and it was Tabitha on the line! It was pretty emotional for me because the Jacobs and I have been trying to first, identify who she was and second, hopefully get some type of confirmation of Heather's account of March 10th, 2002.
Tabitha basically denied 100% of everything and just stuck close to her story that she did not know why Heather would say such a thing. Then, in mid sentence, the phone cut off. I called right back but the call would not go through. Despite numerous calls over the next few days, I never got her again. It was as if, she had the number disconnected.
I was now back to trying to find her. I even drove down to Red Springs and went inside the Family Dollar down there in the hopes someone might know her...but no such luck.
I got a break when Heather mentioned to me that her mom Cindy, lived in a trailer across the street. I made my way over to meet Cindy and met with her about 4 or 5 times in all. On one of these visits I brought up Tabitha's name and Cindy just came out and said,"Her parents are staying at the Carolina Motor Inn on 301 - just go over there and ask them."
That sounded pretty good to me so I headed over there and sure enough - that is where I met Lea and Dale McDowell. They were staying at the Carolina Motor Inn in some type of arrangement where they bartered maintenance work for discounted lodging.
Anyway - they were very nice to me and told me exactly where their daughter was staying. They were pretty dismayed that there daughter was caught up with prostitutes and the drug crowd. They were unhappy because she was dating interracially and also hanging around prostitutes and drug dealers.
"I wish we could get her away from those people", her dad said, 'but she will never leave them."
So I drive down to her trailer on Wilson Rd but the young woman who answered the door said she never heard of Tabitha and made me think I had the wrong house. So I started canvassing the neighborhood and it became obvious pretty quickly that I was at the right house all along. I was just being lied to.
So I went back to the house a second time and that is when I learned that I did indeed have the right place. Tabitha was not at home - but at least I now knew where she lived.
On my next trip down to her Wilson Rd trailer in Red Springs, I got to meet Tabitha for the first time.
I was struck at how polite and cordial she was to me. She invited me inside and I sat on her couch and honestly re-told her the entire 'Heather" story.
She continued to deny everything and said she had no idea why Heather would say such a thing. She denied knowing Pierre Scurlock but later on she let it slip that she did in fact know Pierre. (I thought to myself at the time that at least Heather was not 100% BS). I told Tabitha that Heather went on TV and said she was at the trailer when Kent was shot and off-camera she told me that Tabitha was there with her.
Tabitha refused to believe any of this and when I told her I still have the video from the TV interview she said, "I'd have to see it to believe it".
I told her next time I come down I would bring my laptop and show her. ""Good, I'd love to see it" she said.
On my next day off from work, I grabbed my laptop and headed down to Tabitha's house. I knock on the door and I was told to wait a minute by a guy at the door. One minute turned into about 15 and then my cell phone rings. It was Tabitha saying she was up in Fayetteville and would not be back for a while. She said in the future I needed to call her first before showing up.
I never believed her story because her car was in the driveway. I pretty much knew she was in the house the whole time.
I had to leave. In this type of endeavor, you get lied to all the time. And I do mean ALL the time. The key is to just stay patient. So I get in my car and I am halfway home back to Hope Mills when the phone rings and it is Tabitha. She was calling to say she was back in Red Springs and I was welcome to come on back.
Whatever. I knew she was lying but I was glad I could at least show her the TV interview with Heather.
So I make my way back to Wilson Rd and Tabitha invites me back into her living room. This time there is a man sitting in an adjacent chair. We met but he was pretty quiet.
I get out my laptop and begin to boot up the machine when out from the back bedroom I see Tabitha's dad walking towards me. This time he was pissed and told me never to bother his daughter again. They had called the cops on me and so I basically walked into a trap.
The cop was wonderful. He did not take sides. He just instructed Tabitha to say to me (while he witnessed it) that she did not want me back on her property ever again and that if I contacted her anymore, I would be arrested for trespassing.
The cop then escorted me outside and got my side of the story. Like I said, he actually handled everything quite well.
I was somewhat amused at Tabitha's dad. Just the previous week he was 'Jay Leno' nice to me and all but begged me for my help in getting his daughter away from "those black boys' to now warning me to stay away from his daughter.
I get it: 'blood is thicker than water'. But he needs to understand that Kent is priority and also - never once did Tabitha ask me to leave her alone. She even invited me back because she wanted to see the TV interview with Heather.
So that was that. I did what I could do regarding Tabitha. Then, the next day - my iPhone starts buzzing letting me know I have a text message. It was from Tabitha and this is what she wrote: (This was my last contact with her)