Police in Haralson County, Georgia, say the primary person of interest in the disappearance of a missing mom says he has no idea where she could be.
Seth Odom, 36, remains behind bars on a felony probation violation for a previous conviction of grand theft auto. A woman he reportedly dated, Jessica Victoria Earl, 31, of Tallapoosa, has been missing singe June 8. Odom was allegedly the last person to see Earl. However, upon his arrest last week, Odom immediately requested an attorney and stopped speaking with investigators. Odom is not currently charged with Earl’s disappearance.
On Monday, however, Odom reportedly opened up to authorities and alleged Earl was using drugs the last time he saw her, and that he had “no knowledge” of her whereabouts. Odom reportedly told detectives that he last saw Earl walking into the wooded area in Tallapoosa, a town around 60 miles west of Atlanta, to search for arrowheads.
According to 11Alive, Odom said he last saw Earl on June 8, the day she vanished and activity ceased on her cellphone. Odom explained to police that Earl could still be using drugs and “hiding out.”
CrimeOnline spoke with Earl’s mother, Sandee King, who explained that she felt Odom was lying to cover his tracks. The worried mother said Earl called a friend in a panic the same day she disappeared, afraid that Odom would hurt her.
“She was not on drugs. She called to best friend in the midst of having a panic attack begging for a ride away from there. She was hysterical and the police have already confirmed the phone calls to her friend through her phone records. She wasn’t looking for arrowheads, she was looking for a ride because he was wouldn’t give her the keys back to the car she borrowed from the same friend she called.”
Witnesses also confirmed that Earl and Odom were fighting on the day she disappeared, 11 Alive reports, and that Earl tried to retrieve the car keys and leave when Odom allegedly hid them.
King said that her daughter had gotten a refund check from the IRS for $5,463 four days before she disappeared. Earl reportedly gave Odom $500 to buy her son a 4-Wheeler ATV, but when Odom failed to purchase it and refused to give Earl her money back, the pair got into a fight, according to King.
For weeks, Haralson County authorities, the GBI, and the Paulding-Haralson Drug Task Force searched for Odom, but had no luck locating him. Numerous people have been arrested for allegedly helping Odom evade capture.
Odom’s mother, Deanna Ann Smith, 56, of Heflin, was arrested last week for reportedly giving police a false statement. Authorities also arrested Tyla Toliver, 31, and Candy Chandler, 40, for allegedly giving Odom a ride on June 21 to a residence in Villa Rica, Georgia, with the knowledge that authorities were looking for him. According to the police, Tyler and Chandler never contacted authorities to disclosed Odom’s whereabouts.
Odom turned himself last Wednesday.
While it’s unclear why Odom decided to turn himself in, authorities reported he had a snake bite on his leg with an infected wound when he surrendered. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment before being transferred to jail.
Meanwhile, King arrived to Haralson County from Louisiana on Saturday, in hopes of joining a search party to locate her daughter. King told CrimeOnline, however, that Sheriff Mixon with the Haralson County Sheriff’s Department threatened to throw her in jail, despite private property owners giving her permission to search their land.
According to King, Mixon told her she was “hindering the investigation and will be arrested if you search any property (even if we have the owners permission).” Further, King alleged that Mixon told her to go back to Louisiana and let his officers take care of the search.
CrimeOnline reached out to Mixon, but he was not immediately available for comment.
The GBI is currently offering a $1,000 reward for any information that leads to the whereabouts of Earl. She’s a white female who stands 5-feet-5-inches tall and weighs around 120 pounds. She has brown hair and green/hazel eyes.
[Feature Photo: Seth Odom, Jessica Earl/Haralson County Sheriff’s Department]
