Mia Parkson opens by admitting the family did not call police immediately when her father, Adam Parson, failed to return from a morning hike with her fourteen-year-old brother, Eugene. Witnesses saw Adam and Eugene together at River Falls Park until about 11:10 a.m., but dashcam footage at 11:38 a.m. shows Eugene alone on a neighborhood road, triggering a crash as a driver swerved to avoid him. Bystanders later confirmed they did not see Adam with Eugene.

That morning, Mia fielded a breakup call from her boyfriend, Vic, then spotted a boy in Eugene’s yellow shirt running toward their house with an unfamiliar, fast gait. Overjoyed and surprised by his coordination, Mia rushed to greet him, but Eugene shoved her hard, sending her to the ground and twisting her ankle. Eugene ran inside and went to his room.

Choosing not to get up, Mia lay on the lawn, listening as Eugene jumped and vocalized upstairs to self-soothe, noting his unusually high pitch and steady rhythm. She reflected on how much stronger and bigger Eugene had become since a prior incident at Christmas, recognizing potential safety implications as he approached fifteen.

Footsteps approached up the driveway; Mia assumed they were Adam’s, but the person passed without checking on her and entered via the back porch. Drained and nursing her ankle, Mia ruminated on a recent argument with her mother about secretly changing her major and graduating early. She let the sun lull her and fell asleep, with Adam still missing and no call to the police made.