BOMBSHELL IN CASE OF MISSING TEEN GIRL DACARA AFTER CAR FOUND ABANDONED
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.2 • 8.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 September 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
1:30 am, August 23, 2025, surveillance footage shows Dacara Thompson parking her car in Hyattsville. A person who father believes is Dacara is seen walking away from the car, which is facing the wrong way and in is front of a fire hydrant. As she walks away, she uses the key fob to lock the doors as the lights on the car blink. Dacara appears to be alone, nobody is seen walking with or near her as she walks out of frame. That's the last time Dacara was seen.
Now a bombshell arrest in the case after police discover more surveillance footage. According to PGPD, Thompson is seen approaching a black SUV in the early morning hours of Aug. 23. After speaking to the driver, Thompson enters the SUV. The driver then goes to a home in Bowie. Hugo Hernandez-Mendez, of Bowie, Md., arrested on charges of first- and second-degree murder.
Joining Nancy Grace today,
- Randolph Rice - Former Prosecutor and Current Criminal Defense & Civil Attorney at Rice, Murtha, Psoras, website: ricelawmd.com, IG, FB, X: @ricelawmd
- Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker,” featured in hit show: "Paris in Love" on Peacock, www.drbethanymarshall.com , Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, Twitter: @DrBethanyLive
- Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Host: "Mayhem in the Morgue”, Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)
- Brian Fitzgibbons - Director of Operations for USPA Nationwide Security, Leads a team of investigators specializing in locating missing persons, website: www.uspasecurity.com, Instagram: @uspa_nationwide_security, former Marine and Iraq war veteran
- Dave Mack - Crime Stories Investigative Reporter
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:05.0 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. |
| 0:11.0 | A beautiful young teen girl, Dekara missing. Her car found abandoned. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. |
| 0:19.9 | This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. |
| 0:22.7 | How does a teen girl 19 years old just disappear into thin air? I want you to look at this |
| 0:29.4 | video. This video is obtained from a neighbor's surveillance like a ring cam. Take a |
| 0:36.6 | look at this. |
| 0:38.4 | Surveillance footage shows DeCara, parking her car on Jasmine Terrace Highestville. |
| 0:45.7 | Now, her parents are convinced this is Dachara walking away. |
| 0:49.7 | And if you notice, if we could, there you go, see the lights on her vehicle blink? |
| 0:55.7 | She turns and locks her car. |
| 1:00.0 | Now she also parks directly in front of a fire hydrant, clearly marked, do not park here. |
| 1:10.6 | Then we see her walking out of the frame. She is by herself. She is not drunk |
| 1:19.0 | stumbling on drugs. She's walking purposefully forward, even thinking to turn back and with her key fob, lock her vehicle. |
| 1:31.4 | Okay. |
| 1:33.0 | Take a good, long, hard look at this. |
| 1:38.4 | Joining me and I'll start a panel, but first, how did the whole thing start? |
| 1:44.4 | Listen. |
| 1:49.3 | Decarra Thompson is the 19-year-old daughter of Carmen and Daniel Thompson. The youngest of five siblings, Dakara is living with her father for the summer at his home in Lanham, Maryland. |
| 1:54.0 | Around 10 p.m. August 22nd, Dakara tells her dad she's going to run out for a bit, but will |
| 1:58.9 | return shortly. Daniel calls to Cara at 1150, |
| 2:02.5 | but gets no response. So he texts her, telling her he's going to bed. She immediately texted |
... |
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