Gretchen Anthony alarmed her loved ones when she texted them saying that she was being rushed to the hospital with COVID 19 and is under coronavirus quarantine. She also said that she was being transported from the hospital to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) so that they could monitor her symptoms and record them.
When her loved ones checked with the hospital that she said she was at, the hospital told them that it had been a while since she’d been a patient there and they weren’t treating her for the coronavirus. However, her car was parked in the parking lot with her valuables still remaining in the car. The hospital also told loved ones how rare it was that patients would get transported to the CDC for research.
That’s when loved ones called the local police force and reported her missing.
The Husband was Mentally Unstable After Divorce
Loved ones suspected that her husband had something to do with her disappearance since they filed for divorce in late February. They were separated and lived in different homes, but the husband was reported to still be mentally unstable after the separation.
A week before Gretchen went missing, the husband was witnessed to be sweating profusely as he was putting black electrical tape on his license plate. When cops questioned him about it, he blamed it on his 12-year-old daughter and refused to get in their car.
They then tried to arrest him again when he slammed the cop’s arm into the door. He was then arrested and released on a $3,000 bail.
What Neighbors Witnessed
Once Gretchen went missing, their neighbor reportedly heard ear-piercing screams followed by Gretchen screaming that something hurt. The neighbor also took pictures of a car backing out of the driveway that belonged to her husband.
Investigators then suspected that Gretchen was murdered by her husband, since Gretchen was last seen at work on March 20th. A neighbor reported last seeing the husband when he went to the house to get his dog, and asked her to watch his cat since his wife was quarantined due to the coronavirus.
When police searched the house, they found towels with blood-red stains on them and small drops of blood in the master bedroom. They also discovered large bleach stains in the garage.
Police then located their cell phones in Texas through cell towers within the state. The New Mexico State Police were able to locate the suspected husband and arrest him as a suspect for murder. Police are still unable to locate Gretchen’s body, but this story will be updated if this changes. He was taken back to Florida where he faces second-degree murder and kidnapping charges.
This All Started with Fake Text Messages in Coronavirus Quarantine
Loved ones were sent text messages through Gretchen’s phone that said she was in quarantine at the hospital due to the coronavirus and was being sent to the CDC for further testing. This meant that the husband used her phone to fake that she was in coronavirus quarantine so that he could try to get away with the murder of his wife. He would then also fake her death, blaming it on the coronavirus so that no one would suspect that he murdered his wife.
When sending text messages, he left tell-tale signs that these messages were suspicious and not from the wife herself. Here are some signs to notice if you suspect that someone is texting as your loved one:
- They give out false information: Just like when the husband posed as the wife saying that she was going to get observed by the CDC, even though its extremely rare for that to happen.
- They don’t sound like themselves: Look out for texting language that your loved ones never use
- They disappear all of a sudden and text you in a calm matter about something alarming that happened: This whole situation was alarming, and instead of calling her family immediately about it she texted them. If she was really in that situation, she would’ve been more freaked out.
- They have someone in their life that seems sketchy: Gretchen’s soon-to-be-ex-husband was obviously mentally unstable and her family knew this, making them want to go to the hospital to double-check she wasn’t in there. When they found out she wasn’t admitted, they immediately knew he had something to do with it.
- They don’t voice call you or FaceTime you: If your loved one is avoiding talking to you with their voice, something more serious could’ve happened. Even if someone is under coronavirus quarantine because they’re sick, they can still call you and use their voice to let you know what is going on.
If you suspect that someone is posing as your loved one, report it to the local authorities immediately to find out what’s going on with them. You can also reverse search the suspect’s information to see if they are who they say they are, or the phone number your loved one is “supposedly using”.