Then, the Hudson family went to check on Darian’s duplex apartment on West Fifth Street– and what they found was chilling.
Every light in the apartment was left on, there were dishes in the sink, and the front door was wide open. Moreover, Darian had left her cell phone behind.
The Stillwater Police Department immediately launched an investigation and quickly ruled out Darian’s closest friends as suspects.
Then, authorities began combing through public transportation records since she did not own a car.
Nonetheless, this was a dead end, and the first break in the case did not come until two months later, in December of 2017.
That month, a man attempted to use Darian’s debit card at an Oklahoma City hotel.
Still, the man claimed he had found the debit card all the way back in October– when he discovered a purse hanging off a concrete sewage pipe at a construction site near Country Club Road and McElroy Road.
Then, numerous construction workers came forward regarding a possible Darian sighting on October 26.
They alleged that a woman fitting her description had been spotted sitting in a wooded area not far south of the construction site.
According to the workers, she had looked like she was waiting for a ride and was wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and possibly a dark-colored coat.
So after learning about the wooded area, authorities launched an extensive two-day search of the region in December.