Behind a Utility Cabinet Was an Old Door
The Morgan home backed onto a narrow wooded drainage corridor.
When the subdivision was originally constructed, several temporary utility passages had been built beneath adjoining properties.
Most were sealed before the homes were sold.
The Morgans’ basement still had one.
A heavy storage cabinet had been placed directly in front of it.
Behind the cabinet investigators discovered a small service door.
It opened into a concrete maintenance passage.
The tunnel extended toward the drainage area behind the neighborhood.
Someone could leave Number 28 without appearing on the exterior cameras.
The family had not vanished.
They had escaped.
But Why Did They Leave Dinner on the Table?
Detectives reconstructed the evening.
At approximately 8:39 p.m., the suspicious SUV appeared.
Emily noticed it.
She looked outside.
At some point, she wrote:
HE FOUND US.
Thomas apparently recognized the vehicle or whoever was inside it.
Instead of calling police, he told the family to leave immediately.
They abandoned their phones to avoid being tracked.
Thomas kept his.
The family exited through the basement passage.
But the biggest question remained:
Why did Thomas already know about the tunnel?
