Brad Davis is the producer of this Friday's episode with Andrea Canning, A Small Town Secret. We sat down with him to get the inside scoop on the report. (Brad's responses have been edited for length and clarity.)
Dateline: How did you come across the case in this Friday’s report?
Brad Davis, Dateline Producer: I’m from Georgia and follow the news there closely. So when headlines last year about a big break in the case popped up, I jumped on the story.
Dateline: Without giving anything away, tell us a bit about the story.
Brad: Tara Grinstead was a beloved teacher and former beauty queen in the tiny town of Ocilla, Georgia. When she suddenly disappeared in October of 2005, the case made national headlines, later inspiring a popular podcast. It became the biggest missing person case in Georgia’s history. Everyone wanted to know: Where was Tara? And when some answers finally came, it would surprise everyone.
Dateline: What was the most unusual location you filmed at for this episode?
Brad: One of Tara’s friends lives on a farm, and I was constantly trying to shoo cows and other animals out of the shots as we were shooting b-roll.
Dateline: What is the one clue we should be on the lookout for?
Brad: Something left on the ground outside Tara’s house.
Dateline: What’s the best thing about working on a story with Andrea Canning?
Brad: Andrea is someone who goes “all-in” on a story and won’t quit until she’s gotten the interviews she wants. Once she has people “in the chair,” she really knows what questions all our viewers want answered.
