Zone 7: Jabez Spann - Nine Years Later, Parents are Still Fighting for the Families of Missing People

Jabez Spann was 14 years old when he disappeared from Sarasota, Florida, over Labor Day weekend in 2017. It would be two years before his remains were recovered and his death was ruled a homicide.

In this episode of Zone 7, Sheryl McCollum welcomes back Jabez’s mother, Tawana Spann, and her husband, Joe Spann, to mark nine years since Jabez went missing and renew their call for anyone with information about his murder to come forward. Tawana and Joe discuss the advocacy work they have built out of their grief, including the Jabez Spann Foundation, the Missing Our Voices podcast, and a new initiative called If We Could Speak.

Highlights:

(0:00) Sheryl opens the episode with a call to action for anyone who knows what happened to Jabez Spann

(2:00) Tawana explains the one question she still needs answered about her son’s murder

(5:00) How living without answers can become its own kind of prison for families of missing and murdered children

(9:00) Why Jabez’s disappearance led Tawana to create resources for other families searching for loved ones

(11:45) How Missing Our Voices gives families a place to talk about the people they lost

(14:00) Joe Spann introduces the rapid response readiness kit, and the common misconceptions families can face when someone goes missing●

(17:00) Why organization during the first 72 hours can help families become more proactive in a missing-person investigation

(19:00) How If We Could Speak uses digital avatars to make people stop, listen, and remember the victim

(22:30) Jabez’s digital avatar focuses on the life he should have had and the future that was taken from him

(24:45) Joe appeals to anyone who has information about Jabez’s murder to do the right thing

(27:00) Joe reflects on Tawana’s strength and how she has channeled her grief into helping other families

(33:15) Tawana credits her mother, Lucille Tillery, with helping her turn her anger into advocacy for other families

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Tawana Spann is the mother of Jabez Spann and an advocate for families of missing and murdered loved ones. Through the Jabez Spann Foundation, Missing Our Voices podcast, and other initiatives created in her son’s memory, she works to provide families with practical resources, keep their loved one’s stories visible, and give them a place to be heard. Her husband, Joe Spann, works alongside her as a co-advocate through the foundation.

Related Episode

Who Killed Jabez Spann? | Seeking to Expose a Killer's Secret

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a metro Atlanta police department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than four decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.

Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.

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Sheryl’s new book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Solving the Cold Case of the Flint River Killer’s Daughter, is available now wherever books are sold.

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