Mike wasnt. Had a new boyfriend. She was pretty fun. Shes easy to talk to. And lately she seemed to have an admirer. Did he ask kelli for her phone number . Yes. When she suddenly vanished, hundreds joined the search including this perfect stranger. I said, id like to see if i could solve this. He was suspicious about one of the men in kellis life. It is like, dude, i can tell youre lying. But getting the truth wouldnt be easy. I had to get into his mind, see what he was about. What you were involved in was psychological warfare. Uhhuh. He knows where shes at. After a young soldiers mysterious disappearance, one mans personal battle to find her. Do you think hes finally going to reveal to you . Oh, i know he is. Hello and welcome to dateline. Ll Kelli Bordeaux was just starting what she hoped would be a long career in the military, but fate had other plans. One night the young army medic was hanging out at a local bar h when suddenly she vanished. Fearing the worst, friends and family launched a frantic search, but it would take a stranger hell bent on justice to track down the ugly truth behind kellis disappearance. Here is Andrea Canning with deep in the woods. It is closed now, just a decrepit old shack with only the weeds for company. The good times are long gone, back when it was a watering hole for some of the soldiers based at nearby fort bragg. Famous for billiards, beer and karaoke, it was once a popular little public called froggy ra bottoms and it was where private first class Kelli Bordeaux planned to unwind one friday night back in april, 2012, friday the 13th. Kelli was just 23, a mere 51 and barely 100 pounds, but she could hold her own with anybody. Girl power indeed. To her older siblings, matt and olivia, kelli was always the perfect combination of tough and sweet. Bouncy, bubbly, happy, and just trying to have a good time. I think she was always working to get better. She had a driven personality. Kelli also had a big heart. She was warm and generous, always putting others first. She liked to help people that she saw needed help. She wanted them to be better ne because she could help them to be better. Kelli grew up in florida and then enlisted in the army when she was 22. You just wait until i see you. 22 im not playing with you at all. After basic training the army sent her to fayetteville, north carolina. At fort bragg kelli trained as an army medic, one of the most demanding jobs in the military. I think it gave her an opportunity to do Something Better with her life and she wanted to help people. And what was it about being army medic . Thats an intense job. It was something that would push her to her limits. I want to make a career out of it, i want to do my 20 years. Shes like, i really want this to be something. So she would have possibly made a life out of the military. Oh, yeah. De yes, that was the plan. Kellis professional life was on track but her personal life was complicated. Kelli had a husband named Mike Bordeaux. They got married in 2010 before she joined the service but later separated. After some time apart, the couple decided to give it b another shot. So when the army sent kelli to north carolina, she asked mike to come with her. Why did kelli want to save the marriage . I think she didnt want to see it as a failure. She said, im going to give it three months where i devote i am going to make this work. But kelli couldnt make it work. Despite her efforts the marriage was on the rocks. She bought him a oneway plane ticket to florida and he i left. And did she actually use the word divorce . I remember in the Text Messages very clear, like, listen, mike, i have done everything i can for the last mi three months to make it work, i cant do this anymore, like this is it. During her initial separation from mike, kelli started seeing someone else, a guy from her se hometown of st. Cloud, florida, named Justin Thompson. She was just fun. She was easy to talk to. She was always laughing, loving, she never meant anything wrong to anybody. Kelli had a knack of making everyone happy . She was inviting to everyone. If you were there you were part of the party. When she tried to give her marriage work, she gave her space. When mike ultimately moved out, kelli asked justin to move in. Were you in love with kelli . Yes, we were in love. I dont want to be like we were going to get married and have kids because i dont know what t was going to happen, but i know it was our intentions, to b further our relationship. W was home wherever kelli was . Yes. In early april of 2012 justin visited fayetteville to get acquainted with his future homei the couple also hit froggy bottoms. Then justin returned to florida. He would be back in two weeks, i this time for good. Meanwhile, that friday the 13th kelli decided to go to the bar alone. She texted her sister olivia before she left that night and sent this selfie. Ed did she say if she was going with anybody . No, shes like im going to go sing karaoke and not think about work, not think about ra mike, just kind of trying to get away from all of that and relax. Kelli also texted justin about her plans. Justin said he wasnt happy that kelli had gone out alone in a new town she didnt know. Ai i didnt feel like her life was in danger, i just didnt feel like that was a Good Environment. T an what wasnt a Good Environment . The fayetteville area, her by herself. If something was to happen, no one was going to call and say, hey, kelli hasnt come home in a while, nobody knows anything. Vi throughout the evening kelli and justin kept in touch, texting frequently. Anfr everything seemed fine. He said. Olivia meanwhile went to bed early. The next morning did you try to call her or text her . Probably at some point i texted her and said, hey, how was last night, but it wasnt uncommon for us not to talk for a day or two. I just remember, like, let her chill this weekend. But justin said he did wake up to a text from kelli around 1 30 a. M. He said something was strange about it. The verbiage about it didnt make sense. I made it home, im same, ill call you tomorrow. Why would you text me i made it home, im safe, ill call you tomorrow. Yo did you try to call her then . Yes. What happened . It was dead. What were you thinking . Hare it was bad, i knew it was bad. What happened to Kelli Bordeaux . Her family begins to panic. Coming up, what were some of the scenarios running through your mind . That somebody was holding her somewhere. And then police turn their attention to kellis estranged husband. Were they talking divorce . Sb kelli was, mike wasnt. When dateline continues. Snoon snoo and that protects our customers 24 7. 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Her boyfriend, Justin Thompson, knew something was wrong. What was supposed to be a day off was now turning into a day of dread. Not a call, text or tweet from her, he says. I remember talking to my mom. I was like, i dont want to start a storm but im really worried about it because i knew something bad happened. Why did you jump to that conclusion so fast . If you talk to somebody every day and they you cant get hold of them it is no good. Saturday came and went, still nothing from kelli. So on sunday, justin, now frantic, phoned the Fayetteville Police department, urging them to start searching. Nobody would help me. I called them several times. Police policy required a Family Member to call in and provide more personal details on kelli before they could start searching. So the next day justin decided to call the army base instead. I asked them if she showed up. I said it is important, if she didnt show up you need to go to her house. They got back on the phone and said she didnt show up. Army investigators and Fayetteville Police went to kellis apartment. They got inside . Uhhuh. No kelli . No kelli. Is that when everybody starts taking this really seriously. Thats when we started to panic, yeah. Word spread when fort bragg called her estranged husband mike who then phoned her sister olivia. Reliable kelli missed roll call and wasnt at home. I was like, what the hell. Then i started facebooking, started calling her like crazy, trying to find anybody in the army with her, like have you seen her . Did you go out on friday . I was just trying everything. Everything led to nothing, no leads, no clues, no kelli. What were some of the scenarios that were running through your mind . Just that somebody was holding her somewhere. A kidnapping kind of thing. Yeah, i was more concerned she was hurt somewhere and she wasnt able to get to us so we have to get to her. Olivia, matt and mike immediately made plans to all meet in fayetteville. By now the fayetteville pd was all over the case. One of the investigators assigned was veteran homicide detective mike ballard. We knew this could be an endangered person. Why the homicide unit when she has barely been missing. Kelli bordeaux was not a problem soldier, always contacted her family, her friends, and then she just disappears off the face of the earth. Breaking news in the case of Kelli Bordeaux, the fort bragg soldier missing since saturday. The disappearance of the beautiful young army medic was now big news and covered extensively by local media like nbc station wral tv. Right now it is still a missing person case. There is a lot that is not known at this time. Olivia and mike arrived in fayetteville where they took a grim meeting at police headquarters. What did you tell them . That we were hoping for the best but preparing for the worst and they should do the same thing, too. I remember at one point the detectives were trying to take us back to talk to us more and we were walking into a room and it said homicide on the door, and i was like im not going in there. They were like, no, no, this is just the best room. I was like, thats not happening, im not letting that thought in. I have to stay positive. This is an outofcharacter thing to happen to my sister. It is not something that she would do. Olivia quickly became a mainstay on every media outlet in the area. I just want my sister back, you know. I just want to talk to her. Mike bordeaux also went on camera to plead for his wifes return. Please let her come home. Just let her come home. The public, police and military response was intense. It seemed like the whole town turned out to look for kelli. Most of us are military, prior military or spouses, so we are very driven to find one of our own. Search teams numbering in the hundreds combed the fields and thick forests surrounding fayetteville. I searched basically every day i was there, sun up to sundown for the most part, and then it is just searching, searching, searching. This volunteer group started at kellis apartment, but just like police their search turned up nothing. Detectives were also combing through kellis background, her habits, and, most importantly, her circle of family and friends. Everybodys a suspect until we eliminate you. You started with Mike Bordeaux . Mike bordeaux. Kellis estranged husband . Right, and he told me during the interview that they were having some problems and thats what threw me off when he would get on tv, there was no issues. Me and her loved each other very much. And i just appreciate everyone out here helping looking for her. He wasnt being consistent. Were they talking divorce . Kelli was, mike wasnt. Did you see that as a possible motive . Yeah, we had to eliminate Mike Bordeaux. Mike insisted he was in florida when kelli went missing in fayetteville. Even so, police still considered him the primary person of interest. Has her husband been questioned by detectives . Weve had conversation with mr. Bordeaux. Police also needed to have a conversation with kellis boyfriend, Justin Thompson. Little did they know that justin had a huge new lead waiting for them about the night kelli disappeared. Coming up a new possible suspect. He is the last person that is seen with kelli. That was very concerning to us. Why something in his past would trigger even more alarm bells. It certainly was a red flag. When dateline continues. Every time we prerinse we waste up to 20 gallons of water lets skip the rinse. New finish quantum with activeblu technology, designed to clean without prerinsing. Switch to finish and skip the rinse to save water. Police have just told us they have no new leads. Nothing. Kelli bordeaux. Missing soldier Kelli Bordeaux. What happened to Kelli Bordeaux . It was now national news. Suddenly quiet little fayetteville was ground zero for a massive search for a missing army medic. Detectives say information in this case keeps pointing them to look in this area near where she was last seen. Kelli bordeaux had been missing some 72 hours. The chances of finding her were growing slimmer by the day. Investigators have combed through just about every area here in fayetteville as well as in cumberland county. 600 miles away in florida, kellis boyfriend Justin Thompson was talking to detectives, telling them he was home the weekend kelli disappeared. He was not where he said. We checked his phone. Everything checked out with us. Justin told detectives something else, another name to check out. When he and kelli visited froggy bottoms the week before she disappeared they met a chatty guy who worked there named nick holbert. He started talking to us. You get vibes from people sometimes, i could see he was weird. But he says kelli being kelli asked holbert if he wanted to join them for a game of pool. Holbert hung out with them until justin and kelli decided to head home for the night. Did he ask kelli for her phone number . Yes. And . She gave it to him because he worked there. It is always good to have somebody that works at the bar as a friend. That friday the 13th when kelli decided to go back to the bar by herself, justin told detectives she wasnt really alone. She said she arranged to get a ride from nick holbert. I just said be careful. Watch out. I just said this guy, watch out, be careful around him. This guy stuck in your mind . Yeah, hes weird. I dont know what she was doing. Did you say maybe you shouldnt i said it. Go with him . I said it, but i wasnt adamant about it. Im not going to tell her no a thousand times on text message. Kelli made it safe to the bar where she texted justin throughout the night, but then there was the last odd text he received. Justin was sure holbert had something to do with his disappearance and sent the text to cover his tracks. She went out with him and didnt come home. So justin was sure he had something to do with her disappearance and sent the text to cover his tracks. Detectives went to froggy bottoms where they found nick holbert. They discovered he was down on his luck living in the woods behind the bar. They searched his camp site and his car. Not one clue. Holbert also agreed to an interview at the Police Station where he told detectives, yes, he picked up kelli on friday, the 13th, and later dropped her off at the entrance to her apartment complex. Since friday night, no contact with her whatsoever, you dont know where she is at . No. What do you know about her . Nothing, really. Ive known her for, what, six hours all together. Holbert was fully cooperative. Didnt duck one question. If you knocked her down in the car, i need to know about that. No, i did not. Not even touched her . No. So they let him go. If nick holbert was a suspect, he certainly wasnt acting like one. He joined search teams looking for kelli and even spoke on local tv expressing his concern. She seemed like a really nice and cool person, and i mean i hate that shes missing. But Fayetteville Police werent buying holberts story, and now he too was a person of interest along with kellis husband, Mike Bordeaux. Remember, mike said he was home in florida when she went missing, which detectives needed to confirm. Family put him there friday night, friends put him there. His alibi checked out. So now detectives and District Attorney billy west zeroed in on the last person seen with kelli. Everything kept coming back to Nicholas Holbert as the prime suspect. So investigators dug into holberts background and discovered something rather disturbing. He was a registered sex offender and served time in a penitentiary for that. It certainly was a red flag, the fact that he had a prior sex offense and he is the last person thats seen with kelli. That was very, very concerning to us. The da didnt have any evidence to arrest holbert for kellis disappearance, but he did discover holbert was violating the terms of his parole. He was a prior sex offender, and he was not registered properly and he was placed in jail. Sex offender nicholas right where detectives wanted him. Now they could watch holbert, see if he blabbed to a cell mate about what happened to kelli. They also questioned him twice, even took him back to froggy bottoms to jog his memory, but holbert stuck to his same, though sometimes inconsistent story. You caught him in lies but you couldnt crack him . Exactly. By now olivia and matt had left fayetteville and gone home. I remember feeling defeated. We came up here thinking that something was going to happen and it didnt. I dont know. I felt like i didnt sleep for a couple of weeks. It was 24 7 thinking about what happened, what happened, what happened. Detectives and the da seemed so close to an answer. They even had their prime suspect in custody, but weeks passed, months. Holbert stopped talking. You couldnt arrest him . We n