VA VA - Tracy Epps, husband (now dec'd) seen lifting blanket-covered obj into car, Richmond, 3 Mar 2022

[cnmccarthy]

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/lester-epps-obit

• 58-year-old Lester Carlton Epps, of Henrico
• "Officers commanded Epps to drop the firearm. Due to aggressive actions towards the officers by Epps, officers fired their weapons in response and struck him,"
• criminal record that dates back more than 20 years.
• Previous charges include drug possession, larceny, burglary, and traffic violations.

Wife of man shot, killed by police missing
SBM
When asked what type of “aggressive actions” the man made towards the police officers, Chief Smith replied,” “He pointed a gun at the officers. ..."

It’s strange none of his previous crimes were similar to the stand off with police and possible murder of his wife. You’d think he’d have other assault type or DV type charges?

 

[cnmccarthy]

SBM

"That night, there was an intense confrontation in the room and loud banging on the floor. The desk called up and Lester Epps picked up the phone. That was not normal practice. He didn't talk to the attendees," B. said.

...hours later, LC Epps was caught on camera outside the hotel with something wrapped in a blanket and on a luggage rack. He wheeled the object to the trunk of his car.

"The video has him taking the luggage cart out to the car and then putting this object into the trunk," B. said. "So the evidence is this: Why do we have presumed dead? You have the evidence of that [luggage cart], plus the blood that was in the room, on the cart and also in the car."

#more at link

“ That was not normal practice. He didn't talk to the attendees," B. said.”

Wish there was further clarification on this. Does he mean that LC picked up the phone and didn’t say anything? Or that in general LC never interacted with the employees? And if they knew that, does that mean they had been staying in this hotel for a long period of time, enough for the employees to know the habits of each person?

 

[Hollypine]

They had been staying at hotel since November.

 

[SimplyCass]

Lester Epps bringing a luggage cart out the back and lifting an object in a blanket into a car. [..] However, Henrico County Police won’t reveal what exactly was seen in the video.
[...] Butler said the family did not want to watch the video.

Family of missing Henrico woman searching for answers, believe she’s dead | WRIC ABC 8News

So, it seems they think that husband may have moved the body in this way? Do they know his movements from March 3-6? Where he drove the car, where he may have stopped? Cell phone records? Google Maps, if opted in, will show a timeline of where you drove and stopped and for how long. (It's really kind of a weird feeling.)

Without the actual CCTV or more detail about the video, I don't know what we (at WS) can do. She could be literally anywhere.

 

[LuckyJ]

Oh wow! This is heartbreaking

 

[BringTracyHome]

Is anyone interested in helping me? We want to find her asap. We know she is deceased. I am her niece. I will exhaust every avenue I can until I find her.

 

[BringTracyHome]

Lester Epps bringing a luggage cart out the back and lifting an object in a blanket into a car. [..] However, Henrico County Police won’t reveal what exactly was seen in the video.
[...] Butler said the family did not want to watch the video.


He was seen leaving the hotel around 1030 that next morning on March 2nd, and then coming back. He asked front desk staff if they were “paid up” for the following week. He never returned. He was killed the night of March 6th, leaving us 4 days. What we do believe was that he was a paranoid wreck, and our heart tells us she’s in the Varina/ Eastern Henrico area. They drove a gold Kia I believe (I can post a photo) and the car was located after he killed, near where he was. Henrico PD still have the car for evidence. We do know he pawned some items the morning of the 2nd. He was very intimate with the Varina area and back rounds.

police did obtain cell phone pings but said they were too sporadic. We are currently waiting on Google data.

I just want her found.

Family of missing Henrico woman searching for answers, believe she’s dead | WRIC ABC 8News

So, it seems they think that husband may have moved the body in this way? Do they know his movements from March 3-6? Where he drove the car, where he may have stopped? Cell phone records? Google Maps, if opted in, will show a timeline of where you drove and stopped and for how long. (It's really kind of a weird feeling.)

Without the actual CCTV or more detail about the video, I don't know what we (at WS) can do. She could be literally anywhere.

 

[Dargon335]

@BringTracyHome , welcome to WS. Glad to have you here. I would suggest you become a Verified Insider:

Verification Process for Professional or Insider Posters

Remember that here on Websleuths, only Verified Insiders can post without linking supporting articles or LE reports. Unsupported posts fall into the rumor category and are quickly deleted.

If you follow the verification process you can share information with others here that might help in Tracy's case.

 

[YaYa_521]

This is going to be a tough one for LE to solve until/unless they find a reliable digital footprint for either Tracy or Lester. Where in the world do they even begin? I hope LE are appealing for witnesses who might have interacted with Lester from 3 Mar to 6 Mar. Did he eat or shop anywhere? Did he visit anyone or make phone calls to speak with a trusted family member or friend? It might be wise for LE to release whatever information they have regarding the circumstances that led up to the deadly confrontation with Lester on the porch. Have they traced neighborhood cameras to see where he came from when he arrived on the porch? I know that would be a herculean task, but it might be what's necessary to solve this case. Lester was somewhere for 3 days. MOO

 

[LuckyJ]

This is going to be a tough one for LE to solve until/unless they find a reliable digital footprint for either Tracy or Lester. Where in the world do they even begin? I hope LE are appealing for witnesses who might have interacted with Lester from 3 Mar to 6 Mar. Did he eat or shop anywhere? Did he visit anyone or make phone calls to speak with a trusted family member or friend? It might be wise for LE to release whatever information they have regarding the circumstances that led up to the deadly confrontation with Lester on the porch. Have they traced neighborhood cameras to see where he came from when he arrived on the porch? I know that would be a herculean task, but it might be what's necessary to solve this case. Lester was somewhere for 3 days. MOO

These are great questions & thought

 

[Armchair63]

Wife of man shot and killed by Richmond Police now missing

On March 7, officers stopped at Woodspring Suites hotel on Broad Street.

The family said they believed Tracy’s husband is involved in her disappearance.
TE
According to the family, they were informed of video evidence from the hotel that showed Lester Epps bringing a luggage cart out the back and lifting an object in a blanket into a car.
However, Henrico County Police won’t reveal what exactly was seen in the video.

Family of missing Henrico woman searching for answers, believe she’s dead

It’s been over a month since a Henrico woman went missing and loved ones are pleading to the public for help.

www.wric.com

Something transpired between them to cause this. The husband was said to be very possessive. So after His rage went away, the guilt set in and he couldn’t live with what he had done.

Family of missing Henrico woman searching for answers, believe she’s dead

It’s been over a month since a Henrico woman went missing and loved ones are pleading to the public for help.

www.wric.com

 

[hibachai]

SBBM

Crime Insider sources said that video surveillance from the 56-year-old woman's hotel gave detectives evidence that raises questions about her well-being. [snip] Crime Insider sources said detectives believe they found footage of LC prior to the deadly shooting. In this footage, he is said to be seen wheeling a luggage cart in the parking lot of the hotel where Tracy was staying. Tracy hasn't been seen since.
#

Assuming the information from the sources is true...

Was there luggage on the cart? If so, did LE find any luggage with LC or his vehicle after the incident on the porch? I hope they're searching dumpsters & landfills and watching for floating luggage in any nearby waterways. I hate even having to type those thoughts.

My thoughts are with Tracy and her loved ones.

"Butler said, and multiple Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett, that hours later, LC Epps was caught on camera outside the hotel with something wrapped in a blanket and on a luggage rack.

He wheeled the object to the trunk of his car.

"The video has him taking the luggage cart out to the car and then putting this object into the trunk," Butler said. "So the evidence is this: Why do we have presumed dead? You have the evidence of that [luggage cart], plus the blood that was in the room, on the cart and also in the car."

 

[hibachai]

Butler said his sister always dreamed of being buried in a wedding dress, symbolizing a marriage to the Lord.

He said that dress is ready. Now, they just have to find her and give her a proper burial.

Virginia woman's family thinks husband disposed of her body: 'We need to find her remains'

Tracy Epps has been missing since March 3.

www.wtvr.com

 

[YaYa_521]

Butler said his sister always dreamed of being buried in a wedding dress, symbolizing a marriage to the Lord.

He said that dress is ready. Now, they just have to find her and give her a proper burial.

Virginia woman's family thinks husband disposed of her body: 'We need to find her remains'

Tracy Epps has been missing since March 3.

www.wtvr.com

SBM

Family members of Tracy said LC had four days to dispose of their beloved family member. Now, they are pleading for information about where she is. "Please public, if you could just pause and look around. That's what we are asking. We know what happened. We need to find her remains, so we can change this end of humiliation... and give her some dignity," Butler said.
#

This poor family.

 

[tarabull]

Tracy Epps AKA Tracy Butler

Podcast Episode · Missing Persons · 27/11/2022 · 51m

podcasts.apple.com

 

[simlyme]

A year later, Henrico County police continue search for woman

The investigation into her disappearance started after her husband was shot on March 6, 2022.

richmond.com

Where is Tracy Butler Epps? Search for missing woman endures 1 year after she was last seen at West End hotel

Tracy Butler Epps was last seen on March 1, 2022, at the Henrico hotel where friends said she lived with her husband, L.C.

www.wtvr.com

Prayers for the family to be able to put Tracy to rest

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1631391476608278539

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 5, 2023

Friends of Henrico woman still looking for closure one year after she disappeared

One year since 56-year-old Tracy Epps was last seen her friends are still at a loss for words and want closure.

www.nbc12.com

[...]

According to police, Tracy was last seen on March 3, 2022.

She was reported missing three days after an officer tried to notify her that her husband, Lester Epps Jr., was shot and killed by Richmond Police after they claim he pointed a gun at officers.

[...]

Over the last year, Henrico Police have followed up on leads and conducted search missions but have not found Tracy.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 6, 2023

Search efforts continue one year after disappearance of Henrico woman, husband killed in officer-involved shooting

The search continues for a missing Henrico County woman whose husband was killed following an officer-involved shooting last March.

www.wric.com

[...]

“We’re going to follow their lead,” RB, Tracy Epps’ older brother, told 8News on Monday. “They met with us a few weeks ago and told us where they were, what they had, and there were some searched that followed after that meeting.”

... On Monday, loved ones also noted that blood was found at the hotel.

“She’s gone,” RB said. “[You] can come to the conclusion, based on all the circumstantial evidence.”

[...]

“We’ve exhausted every lead that exists with the limited phone data that was available and logical areas to search, based on history of behavior,” he said. “We don’t know where else to search.”

[...]

“We have a lot of people that are eager to help. But it’s hard to, in all good conscience, ask somebody to spend a Saturday or Sunday or whenever they’re available to go search,” he said. “You’re in such a state as you search. You’re looking for any evidence at all, and every tree that you see that’s turned over, every root ball, you’ve got to search behind it. You got to search in it. Every mount of leaves, you think, ‘Maybe it’s there. Maybe she’s there.'”

[...]

 

[Marysmith]

MAR 6, 2023

Search efforts continue one year after disappearance of Henrico woman, husband killed in officer-involved shooting

The search continues for a missing Henrico County woman whose husband was killed following an officer-involved shooting last March.

www.wric.com

[...]

“We’re going to follow their lead,” RB, Tracy Epps’ older brother, told 8News on Monday. “They met with us a few weeks ago and told us where they were, what they had, and there were some searched that followed after that meeting.”

... On Monday, loved ones also noted that blood was found at the hotel.

“She’s gone,” RB said. “[You] can come to the conclusion, based on all the circumstantial evidence.”

[...]

“We’ve exhausted every lead that exists with the limited phone data that was available and logical areas to search, based on history of behavior,” he said. “We don’t know where else to search.”

[...]

“We have a lot of people that are eager to help. But it’s hard to, in all good conscience, ask somebody to spend a Saturday or Sunday or whenever they’re available to go search,” he said. “You’re in such a state as you search. You’re looking for any evidence at all, and every tree that you see that’s turned over, every root ball, you’ve got to search behind it. You got to search in it. Every mount of leaves, you think, ‘Maybe it’s there. Maybe she’s there.'”

[...]

Oh my gosh what an awful situation for her family.