On October 1st, 2003, there was a minor car accident in Naples, Florida. Felipe Santos, aged 24, and his two siblings were involved in a minor accident in which their car collided with another vehicle, sustaining only minor damage. The siblings, who are undocumented Mexican immigrants living in the United States, made an early attempt to settle the matter privately by offering the other driver money and asking them not to call the police. But the other side was persistent, so Deputy Steve Calkins was called to the scene to write up a report. Calkins’ anxiety was palpable, and he made it clear that he was tired of talking to people who were driving without licenses. He then arrested Santos, put him in his patrol car, and fled the scene.
The Santos siblings revealed that their brother Felipe’s release was guaranteed after their employer agreed to do so. Nonetheless, Felipe was noticeably absent and had not been formally processed when they arrived at the detention center. No matter what Calkins did, it didn’t result in Santos going to jail.
The Santos family responded by filing a missing person’s report and a formal complaint. Calkins, the deputy, explained that he had taken Santos to a nearby Circle K because Santos had been cooperative and polite. The case was closed because, despite the family’s doubts, the incident did not violate established protocols for revoking an arrest and releasing a detainee. Sadly, the past has a way of repeating itself…
A mysterious character named Terrance Williams appeared in the story.
Terrance Williams, a 27-year-old resident of the Naples, Florida area, disappeared on January 12th, 2004. His mom went on a mission to find him, and she enlisted the help of friends and family members who looked everywhere for him. Williams’ aunt was able to track down his car, which had been towed from a nearby cemetery at the request of Deputy Steve Calkins, at a local impound lot. It appeared that the vehicle had been abandoned in the middle of the road with no sign of its owner. The keys to the car were forgotten on the ground next to the car. Later conversations with cemetery workers disproved this account. They claimed that Calkins had stopped Williams and arrested him.
There was no official record of Williams’ arrest, and he never showed up at the detention center, despite the testimony of these witnesses. After initially remaining silent, Deputy Calkins has filed a report in which he states that he came across Williams having car trouble. To help Williams out, he offered to drive him to the office. According to Calkins, their exchange ended when he dropped Williams off at a different Circle K.
Witnesses at the graveyard said they saw Calkins leave with Williams and then come back to tend to the car. Unfortunately, there was considerable uncertainty regarding the length of this pause, with estimates ranging from a breezily quick 15 minutes to a sizable 1 hour. Calkins moved the car in the end, but he put it in an awkward spot that still blocked traffic.
Terrance’s disappearance, which occurred in the midst of a complex web of lies, provided numerous leads that had been lacking in Santos’ investigation. While the story of Felipe Santos remains clouded by possible inconsistencies, evidence of lies and violations of police protocol has emerged in the case of Terrance Williams.
At first, Calkins’ claim of a broken car is disproven by evidence showing that it actually worked. Second, Terrance Williams didn’t work for a Circle K. Thirdly, the question arises as to why Calkins alleged the car’s abandonment and the inexplicable presence of the keys on the ground. Fourth, Calkins claimed he checked Terrance’s history despite not knowing his last name or anything about him. However, Williams’ birthdate given in previous conversations disproves this statement. Calkins’ claim that the background check occurred after Williams’ release collapses in the face of no corresponding call being recorded in the system and no sightings of either Calkins or Williams in the surveillance footage.
Subsequently, in an interview with a Sergeant who was familiar with the investigation, as seen on the show “Disappeared,” Calkins avoided answering many questions. His answers started to contradict what he had said before, and he eventually stopped helping out and claimed it was all a coincidence. Investigators deserve praise for their thorough investigation that led to Calkins’ firing. Unfortunately, he managed to avoid legal trouble.
There is a lack of evidence, but many competing hypotheses. The “starlight tour” theory is one such idea that is gaining support. This speculation is motivated by a real-life event that occurred in Saskatchewan a while back. Officers there have a history of arresting indigenous people for minor offenses and then abandoning them in harsh conditions outside the city limits. While such behavior may seem irrational in the middle of summer, it has actually resulted in deaths during the colder months. Is it possible that Calkins followed a similar routine? Moreover, Williams was not properly licensed or registered, which is consistent with the occurrence of such arrests in Saskatchewan. Could this resemblance be the connecting factor between the two scenarios?
This is still just a theory, but it doesn’t rule out the possibility of more sinister behavior. The question of why Calkins didn’t completely erase his tracks raises the possibility of a more sinister outcome, like foul play. However, his actions may be explained by the subtle interplay of entitlement and circumstance.
Despite nearly two decades of effort, little progress has been made in deciphering these mysteries. Notable Hollywood producer Tyler Perry was fascinated by the Williams case after hearing about it on “Disappeared.” He promised to foot the bill for Terrance’s mom’s lawsuit against Steve Calkins a few years down the road. Even though it’s a small measure, it shows that you’re trying to hold someone responsible.
In the absence of definitive answers, the fate of Felipe Santos and Terrance Williams remains an enigma, subject to speculation and uncertainty.
