Mountain State Mysteries contains adult content that may not be suitable for all audiences.
Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host Mark and I'm Courtney and this is Mountain State Mysteries.
The Case We Have For You Today is about a woman who was turning her life around for the
better. This is the story of Chandus Cochran. Chandus Cochran was born on April 27, 1991. Growing
up Chandus had the picture perfect childhood while growing up in Braxton County, West Virginia.
With her mother Becky and her brother Bert, growing up Chandus and Bert had an unbreakable bond.
Sadly, addiction doesn't care about a bond or a fairytale childhood. On Father's Day, in 2010,
Bert sadly passed away due to an overdose at the age of 21. Becky told Eyewitness News, WCHS,
that Bert acted like her father. He took care of her and protected her. The death of her brother
started the downfall in Chandus' life. After an emergency surgery she was prescribed pain
pills which sadly led to a heroin addiction. Two weeks before Chandus' disappearance,
Becky said she saw a change for the better in her daughter. The change she has been praying for.
Chandus was fighting hard to stay clean. She was fighting to turn her life around for the first
time in 10 years. Becky said, quote, I could see that she had gotten her wheel to live and she was
doing great. Her friends all said that they said she was better off than they've seen her since
she lost her brother, end quote. On August 20, 2019, Becky came home and found a letter which
she still has on her kitchen counter. It said, quote, Mom, I took off for a little while. I'm
in good hands. I promise. Be back shortly. Please do not worry. No need to. Call if you need me,
Chand, end quote. After that, Becky started the fight to bring her daughter back home.
Christopher Speese, a man from Gilmore County, is who picked Chandus up that afternoon at her
mom's home in Sutton, West Virginia. Then went to the Birch River area of Nicholas County. Troopers
believed they had the two went there to sell drugs. It is believed that Chandus knew the Birch
River area, but that Speese did not have a lot of connections there. The two end up at the house
of Sam Kelly. Now we just want to add here that Speese was more than just a drug dealer.
He was a sex offender who did not feel the need to register himself as one. He had multiple
warrants out for his arrest for this. Senior Trooper Caleb Harper said they ended up at Kelly's
house around midnight, quote, that was around midnight. They were there for a while. They decided
it was time to leave, end quote. Sam Kelly left his home to go to Go-Mart to get some cigarettes
with his girlfriend, leaving Chandus and Christopher at his home alone. We are 100% sure how well they
knew each other. When the two came back, they saw Chandus and Christopher leaving their home
on foot heading towards the fire department. Sam Kelly said that was the last time he saw them.
However, to Christopher's memory, he can quote, kind of put her in the general area, end quote.
Around 7am on August 21st, Christopher was seen walking along Widendale Road,
just a few miles outside of the Birch River area. The person who saw him walking picked him up.
Courtney, do you want to take a guess on who that person was?
And was it just a random person? I'm not sure. It was actually Sam Kelly.
Wait, what? The man who left him at his house?
Yeah, that's the one. Sam told officers he'd just so happened to spot Christopher walking
while Sam was on his way to work. He said that Christopher was alone and that Chandus was nowhere
in sight. Trooper Kayla Harper said quote, according to Mr. Speese, and what evidence
I've been able to gather from her cell phone records, it appears that her cell phone died
sometime around midnight or sometime after and was never powered back on end quote.
Since then, Christopher has been arrested on charges related to the disappearance of Chandus.
He is serving time on convictions from Braxton, Lewis and Nicholas County for Grand Lawrence
C. Attempt to commit Grand Lawrence C in the failure to register as a sex offender.
Christopher has been interviewed by the West Virginia State Police several times.
For one of those interviews, Becky Cochran was actually there. She said quote, he went through
everything, just the same thing he told the state police. When he got up to leave the room,
I hollered at him and I said Speese, just tell me is Chandus with us or not? He said not.
That's all he said and just walked away quickly. In the weeks following Chandus's disappearance,
extensive searches were conducted throughout Birch River and into the area that Speese was picked
up. Trooper Harper said that him and Speese spent a few days together when he went to go
re-interview him quote. It may have even been his idea to go over there and try to jog his memory.
We spent several days together either talking or me driving him to Birch River and let him look
at things and try to jog his memory and quote. Harper said quote, he can walk you up until one
or two o'clock and he can remember being picked up the next morning. The time in between is something
he tells us he can't recall and quote. Chandus's phone has never been found. However, a resident
of Birch River did find her purse with her identification in the woods near Birch River,
not too long after her disappearance. Becky said the road to finding her daughter has been painful
and confusing but Becky said she will continue to travel it for the truth quote. In my heart,
yes I feel like she is still out there. Maybe I'm just hopeful thinking but I do not feel
a bad feeling in my heart. She said maybe I'm wrong but I have a lot of faith too and I just have
faith she is out there and quote. And instead of us reading the letter to you we've decided to let
you listen to Becky read it. Hello I am Becky Cochran, Chandus Cochran's mother. Chandus has been
missing since August the 20th 2019. As I read this I am in Chandus's bedroom. Chandus's house coat
is still hanging on the bedpost where she left it. It's never been moved. Her room is exactly like
it was when she walked out of it. Christopher Speese came through our home and picked up Chandus
the day she went missing. I was at work. Chandus left a note on the kitchen bar. It said this
note has been laying on the bar ever since she came up missing. It says mom I took off for a little
while. I'm in good hands I promise. Be back shortly please don't worry no need to call me if you need
to. Love you Chand. Chandus was last seen with Christopher Speese at Birch River West Virginia.
Speese says he does not remember anything. I got to speak with Speese about six months ago. I asked
Speese if Chandus was with us or not. Speese said not as he walked out of the room. In my heart I believe
Chandus is still with us. I have strong faith that's what keeps me going. Chandus is all I have left.
Speese needs to be held accountable for Chandus's disappearance. Chandus if you get to see this
you know you are missing love beyond words. Please make it home safe. If anyone has any information
please call the West Virginia State Police at 304-765-2101. Thank you heart broken mother Becky
Cochran please if you have any any information please please get ahold of us. This is a picture of
Chandus that I had posted and a reward offered for valuable information again call 765-2101
or 304-765-2979 that's my phone number. Please help us please thank you. If you have any information
on the whereabouts of Chandus Cochran please call the West Virginia State Police in Sutton,
West Virginia at 304-765-2101. If you would like to do more than just listen to this episode we
have a call of action for you. In the show notes we will link a petition for you to sign to give
Chandus the justice she deserves. Courtney and I have both signed up. Courtney do you have any
final thoughts on this case? I feel it's another case that has been failed. I mean I feel that
there's evidence out there and I just feel that it hasn't been investigated the way that it needs
to be investigated in. I feel Christopher Speese definitely knows what happened to Chandus
and is not really wanting to actually say what happened to her but I mean he's already serving
jail time I mean you know go ahead and confess to it. Really? And you know I just wonder too if
Sam Kelly actually knows what happens. I never thought about that but yeah. And it makes me
wonder about his wife too. I mean it just honestly makes you wonder I mean you can go out there you
can see somebody running but during that time frame what else is your alibi? What else were you doing
at the time that you sent him running? If I seen a woman running from a man I would definitely be
trying to figure out what was going on and going after and see what was actually happening.
Who knows if that was even the truth right there that they were walking or whatever.
You know I mean it's just it's just sad all around and everything and it just honestly
makes you wonder what happened to this poor girl. I mean it was 2019 so ring cameras were a thing then
right? I think they were just starting to come out. So I feel like people would have had them
so I mean you think? I mean they would definitely have security systems out there and I know some
people actually have like cameras up and stuff and I mean especially if it's in the woods or something
of that nature there could be hunting cameras up on like trail cams all this stuff up and everything
and I just I feel that there's been an injustice served and that this hasn't been properly
investigated into as to what we're coming to learn with about every single case that we
cover you know that these cases are not covered that well in things. Mark do you have any final thoughts?
I wish I could say we found this case but in all honesty it found us. We ended up getting a message
on our Facebook page and an email. I actually texted Courtney what was it last week when I saw
the email and I'm like we need to cover this case as soon as possible. The more research I did on the
case the more it didn't make any sense to me. I hate that she said that she was in good hands to her
mom when she wasn't and it makes my skin crawl knowing he was a sex offender and that he wouldn't
register because God only knows what he could have done to her let alone other people in that time frame
and I honestly question how well him and Sam Kelly knew each other because I know for a fact me and
you would not let two people to stay in our house while we left. No God no. Especially to go to
Go-mart however far that is from his house to get cigarettes which it's just like if there was drugs
in the house and they knew it they could have stole them who's to say Sam Kelly could have like he
could have done something to Chandis and is letting Christopher take all the blame for it and all of
this because it's just ugh and how he can remember what happened before and after but not during the
time of her going missing I've never done drugs I don't know about you. No. But I don't know how like
you can just forget a small little period of time that something major happened and it just be so
okay with everyone like I fully believe he knows what happened and I could go on and on about this
case but I do want to say again for everyone listening please sign the petition and visit the
Facebook page for Chandis. Like we said earlier we will have it in our show notes on this episode
and we will link them in the Facebook post for this episode. This is something we can all help with.
I'm not sure if there are other people out there like this but I've always been the type of true
crime consumer who I would not only just listen, wash or read I would always sign a petition
if it was something I believed in and I always wanted to find the answers to help solve the case.
So now as a true crime podcaster I believe we have the platform to do this to help solve cases
and help get the truth out there for the families. Stay tuned for our next episode which is the
season finale of Mountain State Mysteries season two. If you find yourself enjoying Mountain
State Mysteries take a second to follow and rate it on your favorite podcast platform.
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to cover? Email us at MountainStateMysteries304 at gmail.com. For the show notes check out our
website MountainStateMysteriesPodcast.com.