Mountain State Mysteries contains adult content that may not be suitable for all audiences.
The center of discretion is advised. All individuals mentioned in this episode
are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I'm your host Mark Covey and I'm Courtney and this is
Mountain State Mysteries.
The case we're covering today is one of the most requested ones we've ever had.
It's the story of a woman who disappeared on the night of her son's first birthday party.
A case where her family has never stopped fighting for justice.
Of course, I'm talking about the disappearance of Brenda Gale Lambert. I dailed deep into a case
I thought I already knew inside and out, but what I discovered was just the tip of the iceberg.
I've always had questions, the same ones I'm sure many of you have,
and I finally got to ask them. I sat down with Brenda's sisters, Christie and Patricia,
and filmed our conversation, which you can watch on the Mountain State Mysteries YouTube channel,
and trust me, you won't want to miss it. But first, let us share Brenda's story in a way we
never thought we could. A layer deeper than anyone has covered it before. This is the case
of Brenda Gale Lambert. Brenda Gale Lambert was born on December 26, 1969, to Adam Rowe and Mary
Christian in Wilmanson, West Virginia. Growing up, Brenda was the kind of person everyone loved to
be around. In my interview with her sisters, Christie shared a memory of driving around with the
windows down, blasting Bohemian Rhapsody, and headbanging like Wayne and Garth from Wayne's World.
Christie also recounted a hilarious moment from their childhood. Around 3 a.m. when the whole
family was fast asleep, Brenda woke everyone up, claiming a dog had been hit by a car and was lying
in the road. Concerned, they all got up and went outside to look. But there was no dog and no Brenda.
Little did they know, she was hiding behind a bush, waiting for the perfect moment to jump out
with the water hose and spray them off. While started as a prank, quickly turned into an unforgettable
late night water fight. Brenda attended Bramwell High School, but dropped out at the age of 16.
Around this time, she met 20-year-old Raymond Lambert, who worked with her brother Tim at a
chicken plant. It's worth noting that Brenda was 16 when she began seeing Raymond, which is the age
at consent in the state of West Virginia. Not long after they met, Brenda became pregnant with their
daughter, Christa Dawn, a name she chose in honor of her sister, Christie. Brenda and Raymond were
married in 1986 in a small courthouse ceremony. The family lived on Wemmill Hill in the small
community of Blue Whale, located in Mercer County, West Virginia. A few years later, the couple welcomed
a baby boy, Raymond Jr., affectionately called Junebug, on July 26, 1991. In the months leading up
to Brenda's disappearance, her relationship with Raymond had been on and off. In July of 1992,
Brenda asked Raymond to leave, and he moved in with his parents on their 200-acre mountain property.
It's been reported that Raymond had a tendency to lose control, which is said to have lead to
instances of domestic violence. Brenda had actually filed a report claiming that Raymond
had held her against her wheel, put a gun to her head, and threatened to kill her. Before her
disappearance, Brenda was seen with red marks around her neck. Her family believed it looked like
as though she had been strangled, which is considered the ultimate act of control.
On July 10, 1992, Brenda dropped the domestic violence petition she had filed against Raymond,
allowing him to attend their son's birthday party. On July 26, 1992, Brenda was hosting
their son's first birthday party with her entire family in attendance. As we mentioned,
she even allowed Raymond and his family to come during the party. During the party,
Brenda's family noticed that something seemed off. They could tell she was uncomfortable.
You might be wondering, how could Brenda possibly feel uncomfortable at her own son's birthday party
held in her own home? Well, the reason is, her cousin Tammy Love Day decided to show up. Normally,
having a cousin who'd just moved back to West Virginia at your party would be cause for a
celebration. But when that cousin is having an affair with your husband, it's a whole different
story. Shortly before 8pm, the party began to wind down. Originally, it was planned for Brenda to
watch the kids that night, but according to Raymond, she changed her mind. Other party attendees
recalled a conversation where Raymond told Brenda, quote, a mom's going to keep the kids for a couple
of days, end quote. Brenda responded, quote, no, she ain't. It's my son's birthday, end quote.
Brenda warned Raymond that if he didn't keep quiet, she would reveal something about him
and their family that could lend them all in prison for the rest of their lives.
We know that Brenda changed clothes and asked a few family members to stay with her that night.
But unfortunately, no one was able to. Raymond and his family were the last to leave the party,
taking the children with them. According to Raymond, around 9pm, he called Brenda's mom.
Brenda's mom mentioned that she would try to call Brenda later that evening to talk with her.
On the morning of July 27th, Brenda's family gathered on their mom's front porch,
worried because they haven't seen or heard from Brenda. Brenda's mom decided to see
in Patricia to check on her. Around this time, Tammy unexpectedly showed up at Brenda's mom's
house, which was unusual since she rarely stopped to talk with him. When Patricia mentioned she was
going to check on Brenda, Tammy offered to go along and got into the car with her. When Patricia
approached Brenda's front door, she knocked softly, just in case Brenda was inside. When there was no
response, Tammy said, quote, I know a way in, end quote, and went around to the back of the house.
Tammy climbed onto the house, opened a window, and let herself in. The odd thing was that Brenda's
sister had no idea that this particular window was never locked. You can hear more about this and
much more in Mark's interview with Christie and Patricia. Later that morning, Raymond's mom called
him to let him know what was going on. He went to Brenda's house and noticed her car was still there.
The doors were unlocked and the windows were slightly open. When Raymond went inside, he saw
the dishes from the night before were still sitting in the kitchen sink. On Tuesday, July 28th,
Raymond reported Brenda missing at 5.21 p.m. The investigation into Brenda's disappearance
was assigned to Deputy W. O. Lawson. Since neither her family nor Raymond could reach Brenda, Lawson
decided to try for himself. On Wednesday, July 29th, he went to her house and there was still no answer.
On July 30th, Lawson conducted a search of Brenda's home. Unable to contact Raymond for access,
he had to crawl through the same window that Tammy and Brenda's sister Pat had to use earlier.
Inside, Lawson observed that the downstairs was neat and clean, but the upstairs was in disarray.
Clothes were scattered across Brenda's room and the shorts she had been wearing on the
night of the party were on the bathroom sink. When Lawson interviewed Brenda's neighbors,
they all reported the same thing. None of them had seen Brenda since 5.30 p.m. on Sunday. I want
to take a moment to discuss one important detail, the suitcase. Lawson reported finding a suitcase
next to the door stating, quote, the suitcase contained not only clothing and shoes, but also
toothpaste and a toothbrush, end quote. Here's why the suitcase matters. Brenda's sister Pat
said there was no suitcase by the door when she entered Brenda's home. Before the investigation
began, Christie mentioned that too many people were running in and out of the house creating chaos.
However, Pat said when it was just her and Tammy inside the house, the suitcase wasn't there.
This led everyone to believe that Brenda was planning to leave everything and everyone behind.
However, if you listen to Mark's interview with her sisters, you'll hear their perspective on what
they thought about this theory. On July 30th at 10 a.m., Brenda was scheduled to meet with an attorney
to discuss a divorce. Brenda's mom still had important papers for the meeting at her house,
which Brenda needed to pick up. Later that day, Lawson was able to speak with Raymond
over the phone and they scheduled an interview for the following morning. Unfortunately, we only
have a few fragments of this interview between Lawson and Raymond. What time did the party start?
Well, it started late. Trying to get everything fixed and stuff. And my wife, she made another
tape of the little boy. She wanted, we wanted him, you know, just to do what we wanted to do with it.
And she waited until he was finished. I don't know, maybe four or five or maybe even later than that.
I'm really not sure. So the party was over or at? You and your mother was the last ones to leave?
Or did your mother leave with somebody else or? No, my sister, my two sisters was getting the
stuff together. I was getting my clothes together and then my little girl wanted to go. Let's see.
It was me and the kids and mom was the very last ones to leave. Okay. After you left, you took,
where did you go to when you left with your mom? And that's where the interview ends. Did you notice
how nervous Raymond appeared during this interview? Of course, anyone might be nervous in that situation,
but there's a reason I'm highlighting it. You'll understand why later. Like with many missing
person cases involving a spouse, Raymond quickly became a person of interest. During his interview,
Raymond mentioned a man named Mark Cook, who he claimed was Brenda's boyfriend.
Interestingly, none of the documents previously referenced Mark Cook. And there's no history
between Brenda and Mark other than the fact that they knew each other. However, there's no way to
discuss Brenda's case without bringing up Mark Cook. We'll revisit him in just a bit.
As the investigation unfolded, police discovered that Brenda had filed a domestic violence order
against Raymond on July 7, 1992. However, just three days later on July 10, 1992, Brenda called the
police and requested that the petition be dropped stating, quote, we came to an agreement and settled
the dispute between us, end quote. On August 2, 1992, local newspapers, newspaper,
local newspapers, news stations, and radio outlets began reporting on Brenda's disappearance. Soon
after, there were reports of sightings of Brenda in Mercer County. She was allegedly seen at a pawn
shop in the local grocery store. However, all of these sightings were later dismissed as cases
of mistaken identity. Unfortunately, after that, the case began to grow cold. Six months later,
another resident went missing. Mark Cook, the man Raymond claimed Brenda was dating,
grew up in Bramwell, but moved to Florida in the 1980s. He returned to West Virginia in the 1990s
and was living with his mother and her boyfriend in Bramwell. Mark's Florida driver's license
had expired and he didn't have a car, so he relied on hitchhiking, getting rides from friends,
or simply walking to places like Burger King. One night, he disappeared. Mark was at Pedro's bar.
Around 3 a.m., he was seen leaving the bar and walking towards the main road. He was never seen
again. Four days later, on January 18, his mother's boyfriend reported him missing to the Mercer
County Sheriff's Department. It's alleged that Mark had been involved in an argument while at
Pedro's, though the details and the identity of the other party remain unclear. On October
22, 1994, the headlines on the Bluefield Telegraph read, quote, Disappearances Still Probed,
end quote. In it, Daryl Bailey suggested that the Disappearances might be connected. From that
point on, the cases were linked. However, Brenda's family was certain that they weren't connected.
Nine years passed before any new lead emerged. On February 14, 2003, an unidentified female
called the police, claiming that she overheard someone saying that both Brenda Lambert and Mark
Cook were in a pond behind coal motors on Route 52. Bailey was able to get permission to search
the property and drain the pond. The first attempt took place in April of 2003, with help from the
Blue Whale Volunteer Fire Department. Unfortunately, due to water flowing into the pond, law enforcement
came up empty handed. A second attempt occurred in August of 2003, this time with the assistance
of a diver who tried to search the pond. Sadly, this search also yielded no answers regarding
the disappearance of Brenda and Mark. Some believe that Brenda isn't in the pond,
but rather somewhere on the Lambert property. In September of 2022, Brenda Gale Lambert was
declared legally dead. In March of 2023, Brenda's case was featured on an episode of Cold Justice.
Unfortunately, it's not available to watch online at the moment, but we do have the key
interviews for you. Kelly and her team were able to secure interviews with Bonnie, Tammy's mother,
Tammy and Raymond. During Bonnie's interview, she was asked about Tammy being at the party. She
responded, maybe an hour, and she came on down to my sister's where I was at. We didn't see Raymond
that night and he calls about 11pm. That night, wanting to know if we had heard from Brenda.
She didn't take her car, no purse, no shoes, no ring, not nothing, and a woman ain't leaving
without her car and purse. So Raymond called an hour before he showed up to her sister's house,
wanting to know where Brenda was. Kinda sounds like he was crafting his alibi. When Bonnie was asked
what she thought when you couldn't get a hold of Brenda, she said, I was worried and Raymond's
daughter told me daddy came up here and got grandpa and they was on and off the mountain,
almost all till daylight. And she was only five years old when she told me that. Bonnie was asked
if Tammy thought Raymond killed Brenda. Tammy's too scared to ask him any type of thing. He hit
Tammy upside the head with a gun. Tammy said he took her up the holler one time and he was beating
on her. She got out and ran through the bushes until he calmed down because she was afraid he
was going to kill her. But she finally left for good and I was so glad when she got away from him.
I think that saved Tammy's life. During the Cold Justice episode, they also had one source who spoke
to them that said Raymond didn't kill Mark Cuck. Well, Raymond and two other people were standing
around talking and I think someone mentioned killing their woman and someone said, Raymond,
you know all about that, don't you? Raymond said, shut up. Don't be saying crap like that. I didn't
have nothing to do with that. Daddy did it. The person said, well, if daddy did it, you just might
as well did it. The source said Raymond walked off and that was the end of the conversation. He
also told them that he thought she was on Coldell Mountain. Said they had a sawmill up there and said
they heard that that they threw Brenda's body at the sawmill up there. Now, one interview I've been
waiting to tell y'all about is Tammy's interview. Tammy said quote, I mean, yeah, I know y'all are
thinking like this is a married man and woman here you come in the picture and then you probably sit
there and kill her over him and stuff. No, I'm not that type of person. I'd never hurt nobody over
a man. They had problems way before I even came into the picture. I'm not making excuses for me,
believe me. I'm living with it every day that I got with a married man, end quote. She said, I remember
one time Raymond telling me he said that she went to go she was going to vow for divorce and there
was no way that he was going to let her have the house or kids. Raymond was the type of man that
what's his is his and what's mine was his. At the time, I thought she actually ran off. But then
when things are going by like her kids graduating and her mom passing and she didn't come back,
then I started thinking, well, she didn't run off. Tammy said she didn't ask Raymond any questions.
I was scared to death to ask him anything because he was abusive. He would smack you.
He would choke you. He would backhand me with his hand and black my eye. He was taking women to
the house. I called him at work with a hooker. When Tammy was asked if she tried to figure out
what happened to Brenda, she said Raymond's sisters said that Raymond and his dad left the
mountain that night and went to the sawmill. I just remember him telling me in the state of
West Virginia, it's the law that you have to have a body to commit someone, which for one,
that's not true. When asked if Tammy thought Raymond did it, Tammy said quote, I think he's
capable of it to tell you the God's truth. End quote. There was one thing mentioned in Tammy's
interview that shocked me. She told Kelly and her team that when Raymond would lie, he would get
restless. There was one interview that completely shocked me. Court, could you read Raymond's
interview? Yeah. So detectives went to talk to Raymond. He said he hasn't heard from Brenda.
When my kids grow up and they became teenagers, I would have hundered her up with everything I could
just to say, here's your turn. You take the teenagers now. I've had my half. He said he
thought it was funny. Brenda ran off leaving the kids in him with no money. He said his marriage
was like an on and off thing. Quote, I married Brenda because I got her pregnant. And that's the
only reason end quote. He said on the day that she disappeared, quote, she is, you know, in a bad mood.
End quote. When asked if he thought if her mood had anything to do with Tammy showing up, and if
he had already had a relationship with Tammy, he said, quote, I had sex with her a couple of times
before. End quote. He said nothing was hit from Brenda. He said him and Brenda were having sex at
the time. Brenda went missing on a Sunday. He said the last time he had sex with her was on Friday.
He said him and his parents were the last to leave the party because we had to go pick the kids up.
Now, Tammy did say when Raymond lies, he gets restless and stretches, which when he was talking
to the police, he started to get restless around this time. He said there was no domestic violence
that the DVP was to keep him away from the house. He said he never choked, pointed again, or hit
Brenda. When asked if his family still owned the sawmill, he went, uh, that sawmill? No. That his
brother lived up there. When asked if they could search the property for Brenda, he said it was
overgrown and didn't look the same. Since Brenda's disappearance, her mother, father, and daughter have
all passed away. One thing that I truly admire about Brenda's family is that they haven't stopped
searching for answers. Brenda's sister, Christy, has been actively working with the Aware Foundation.
It's been 32 years since the disappearance and murder of Brenda Gale Lambert, and her case remains
unsolved. If you or anyone know any information about the disappearance of Brenda Gale Lambert,
please contact the Mercer County Sheriff's Department at 304-487-8364.
We'll be back with new episodes in February. If you find yourself enjoying Mountain State
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