Tony Mathis
Appearances
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So, Aiden, let me... Let me jump in here because there's some more to the story and you're not going to know what to ask. She turned 18 at her father's home, which gave her the ability to move out of that home. She remained close to the aunt and uncle of his old fiance because she'd been their babysitter for a long time.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Seth remained close to them even after he and the fiance had broken up, obviously. So Katie moved in at 18 in an upstairs bedroom, and she began to show some interest in Seth. And, you know, it kind of broke my heart because I asked him if he was surprised when she showed the interest in him. And his response to me was, I was. And I said, why?
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And he said, because she could have had anybody she wanted. And I was surprised that she chose me. And I said, well, what, what happened after that? And he said, well, I told her that, that I wasn't interested back at the time. And I said, well, if you were surprised because you felt like you could have had anybody she wanted, then why were you not immediately interested back? And he said, well,
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
she was in a relationship. And I said, okay, so she had a boyfriend. And he said, well, actually she had two boyfriends. And I said, what? And he said, yeah, she had a boyfriend that was about her age. And she had another boyfriend that was older than I was that had a wife and two children.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Well, and what Seth has a problem with is his MO has been not to come out and sling mud. But we've been put in a situation where in order to address some of these outlandish rumors, we've got to dig into the real facts. And unfortunately, the real facts are not pretty. So, you know, we didn't choose this. None of this helps find Sebastian.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
But if we're going to lay all the cards out on the table, then, you know, sometimes you have a two and seven offsuit and the hand's not very pretty.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Well, and we're living in an alternative universe, like we talked about today, Aiden. you don't have to provide proof of the accusations, but you want proof from the person you're accusing that it didn't happen.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
How does that even work?
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Well, in the part of the country that we grew up in, which is southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, it's considered the conservative Bible Belt, the Midwest, the four states. I mean, it wasn't uncommon for your mom or your dad to say that. And the translation there was, if you don't do that, whatever that is, you're going to be in trouble. Yeah. Even as a kid...
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Um, growing up, we didn't look at that as we were actually going to get our ass beat.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
You're going to get grounded. You're going to get your bike taken away, you know, something like that.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
The routine itself was so structured, it was borderline abusive.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So I'm Tony Mathis. I'm an advocate, a friend, a brother to Seth Rogers. Technically, I'm his national spokesperson, but more importantly, an advocate, a friend, and a brother.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So we had a common creator friend that reached out to me and told me that Seth could use some help and some guidance. And when I initially got involved with Seth, I was simply trying to help him come up with a qualified search and rescue team.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Well, and you also have to think, guys, I mean, there's certain things, right? There's certain thresholds that have to be met on a background check to be a crane operator, let's say. There's a higher threshold that has to be met to hold a badge that says deputy sheriff. Right. And if you're kicked off military bases, you're putting your hands on children, you're putting your hands on your wife.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
If any of that is actually documented, we're not talking about rumors. We're talking about reports, charges, et cetera. Right. Seth isn't going to be in the profession that he's in. I mean, at some point you got to use a little common sense.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And it got to the point where Seth was reaching out on a daily basis and asking for advice on different things, predominantly interviews, media, things of that nature. And he started asking me if I would be his spokesperson. At the time, I was involved in another case, and I really wasn't interested in doing that.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
I told Seth that if he could figure out a way to get united with the mom and the stepdad, that I might have a little more interest in being one voice for the entire family.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Seth gave that a very valiant attempt, and it didn't really work out, and it got to the point where I was out fishing one day on a Friday, and Seth called me, and he said, brother, he said, I'm drowning over here, and he said, I really, really need your help, and it doesn't look like it's going to work with Chris and Katie. Could you please just help me? I agreed to help him.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yes. Actually, Aiden, I spoke to the attorney today and the, the plans to get this going are, were done before Sebastian went missing.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Cause that was going to be my next question was, yeah, they, they sparked the conversation up about it again in the winter of 23. Uh, the filing didn't get done by the attorney till may, uh, She was unsure as to whether there was going to be a subchapter S or subchapter C corporation. But as it sits now, it's just a reserved entity.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
It's still not a 501c3 status, whether it be the California entity. I mean, honestly, it's been a dream, right? The dream has not come to reality. The California version nor the Tennessee version. They've never had property. There's never been a dollar go into it or come out of it other than what it's costed to try to get a reservation of namesake.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So, you know, these are dream companies that, you know, he tried to get in place and reserved. And, you know, then at some point you go find somebody that may be willing to help with some property. But, you know, unfortunately, they've never got to that point. And it's just a company.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
I think it was right around the 1st of May of 24. And we've been, we've been attached at the hip ever since then.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yeah, a couple things, Aiden. I would say I have a I have a spreadsheet just for our family's benefit of what I spend when I volunteer to help a certain situation. And I told you on the phone, I think as of our last trip to Tennessee, my wife and I were a little over $17,000 into helping Seth. So not only is there not a financial gain, there's been a significant expense.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Let me clarify that, Aiden. What was happening is Katie's mother's... Be right back. Sure. Okay. Katie's mother's mother, which would be Katie's grandmother, which would be Sebastian's great-grandmother, lived kind of in the same property. They had different structures, but it was all part of the same property there in Virginia. And we know this because we've seen the property, we've been there.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
What would happen is Sebastian, if you remember Katie talking about Sebastian FaceTiming his family members about his pancakes that morning, do you remember that?
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
What would happen is he would FaceTime his great-grandmother. Mm-hmm. who he could legally have contact with, and she would take the phone over and allow her daughter, which was Sebastian's grandmother, to talk to him on FaceTime so that there was no digital trail of her talking to Sebastian.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And we found out that was going on from one of the family members.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
We've given them the information. We had, we had several family members come forward and tell us that, you know, cousins, et cetera, tell us that, uh, that the great grandmother would, would take the FaceTime phone over to her daughter and, and, the grandmother would have, you know, lengthy conversations with Sebastian.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Correct, and I'm not saying that I'm using her making the comment that he loved to FaceTime his family members, and he FaceTimed family members that morning. We don't know whether he FaceTimed her that morning or not, just to be clear. But we know that on a regular basis, he would FaceTime the great-grandmother. She would take the phone over to her daughter, and they would have conversation.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And, you know, if my wife and I weren't helping Seth, we would be doing something else. We would be helping, you know, kids' ball teams or something like that. So it's what we've done for the majority of our married lives. And an interesting thing that you and
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
the other Aiden probably didn't know is that I had been representing Seth for about two months before I found out that he was born and raised about 15 minutes from me. So we actually grew up in the same community around a little town called Joppa, Missouri. Okay. And he was in a little town called Riverton, Kansas, which was literally 15 minutes across the state line.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
You know, Aiden, what, what's rough here is, uh, You know, we have 287 pages of family counseling reports that are not protected. We've been asked not to share the details of those.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
But I can tell you that it's very tough on Seth Rogers to have looked through those reports and through the CPS reports and to be on a platform having to defend himself. That's tough. I don't.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
We've got some questions that we would love to send you to ask Katie when she comes on the show.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yeah. Because I'm sure that the mother and father would love to both take advantage of a platform this size to clear up any misinformation and bring awareness to their missing child, right?
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And think about this. I mean, you have their representative come on, which an equal playing field there would have been for me to come on in response, correct? Yeah. Well, we won up that, and we brought the father on.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So, you know, we ate at the same restaurant there on Sundays. We shopped at the same Walmart. And, you know, it was kind of a... Kind of a neat deal. Went to the same mall. Yeah, shopped at the same mall, you know, that kind of thing. Never crossed paths, but certainly lived right there close to each other.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yeah, we are. Let's get back to this too. If we're to believe what Chris and Katie say, which there's a certain subset of people that believe what they say.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Chris and Katie's own words, Seth is a great father, his biggest cheerleader, et cetera. That's their words. That's not ours. That's theirs. So if we're going to believe what they say, then you have to believe that they believed at some point until this got crazy that he was a good father.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Right. Right. And, you know, before you get into your questions, Aiden, uh,
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And you know one of those PIs is Steve Fisher's old partner.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
one thing that i forgot to to text you about is uh for anybody that has a question uh seth has not moved to oklahoma he's not moved out of his house he's lived in the same house since 2020. he still drives the same pickup we did a live when he came to my house we invited him to spend a few days with our family which has become his family over time and uh
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Well, I mean, here's the biggest injustice, right? Worst time in his life, he meets a girl that he thinks has interest in him. They start dating. He gets the CPS reports sent to him in his email.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So the man falls asleep. She gets in his phone. She emails the CPS reports to herself.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And then the CPS reports end up with other creators, which is why he had to send the first round of cease and desist out because he had a legal obligation to keep those private.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Well, they were, they were filed with Katie, uh, because she was the custodial parent, but, they, they involved, um, That household. That household.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
You had a legal obligation to mitigate damages. Right.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
You know, we wanted to go see some of the places that he grew up and where I grew up and let him meet our folks. And so we had him for a few days in Oklahoma over Christmas. And that was the extent of his big move to Oklahoma.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yeah, and we're not going to go into any of that.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
He was basically threatening to do more harm to Sebastian other than what he had already done, which was to his reputation.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And I can tell you guys, I spoke to Nina, which we all know who she is, and if you heard Nina talk about how Faith feels about Sebastian, I mean, she's heartbroken. She misses him dearly.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
2022, Seth. Was it 2022?
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Now, Aiden, were you asking what ABA man is in the acronym?
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
I mean, it's applied behavioral analysis is what it's for.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Aiden, there was a report filed right before they decided that they didn't want to wait until May to get rid of him.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So there was a report filed.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
I'm not sure if that's the one, but there was one filed right before they started firing off emails to Seth that they were going to basically send him off to one of these behavioral centers. So it appeared to me, in my opinion – to be a retaliation for that report getting filed that they weren't going to wait, you know, four or five more months.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
They were going to go ahead and, and send him off, you know,
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Well, we can't, we can't get in. We can't get into all the family counseling reports.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
But I can tell you in, in jest, it was the abuse that he was suffering there.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yes. And he was having problems at school, uh,
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
know again he just lived a different life over there right i mean you know the the 15 year old child was wearing diapers and you know i mean it it caused a lot of mental issues i mean this kid comes to live with his father and there are no diapers there are no accidents that's what i was going to ask is seth were there were there act did he need these diapers
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And Seth didn't know this, but they start talking to him in 2022 about Sebastian coming to live with him. Hmm. First CPS report was filed on or around the same time in 2022. Okay.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Let me jump in there, Aiden. So he has a sister that lives in San Antonio, and she is a very good steward of money. She knew her brother well enough to know that he was going to be taking time off of work until he found his son. She did not need Chris or Katie's permission to help her brother. Maybe they didn't need a GoFundMe.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So we have a very detailed timeline.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
That's been created that shows cause and effect from the CPS reports for the behavior and the family counseling reports.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And it's a very compelling story, to say the least.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Moving in in May.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Knowing what we know now, no more time than they spent looking for him, they didn't need a GoFundMe. Seth was planning on taking time off of work and he was planning on searching for Sebastian until he found him. And, you know, Seth is he's not a paycheck to paycheck guy, but he's a guy that doesn't have a lot of extra money. He was very blessed.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
I think there was twenty four to twenty five thousand dollars raised in that account. The first couple of months, he had some co-workers that donated some PTO time to him, which they allow them to do in the county. Okay. It amounted to about 23 days. All right. And then, you know, there was probably a couple of month period after that. where he literally went with no income at all.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Well, you guys are losing your audience fast.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yeah. He was talking about fishing and then he lost me.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Aiden, let's just, yeah, let's just, you know, we've laid all the cards out on the table tonight. I think you guys would agree with that. Yeah. So, so let's just continue to lay the cards on the table. You guys have both, both Aiden's have probably had pets at some point, correct? Dogs, et cetera. I have two. Have you ever rescued a dog before?
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So, you know, Seth, you know, we're going to have to get personal tonight to dispel some of these rumors. And some of these things we really didn't choose to get personal on regarding the mother, et cetera. But, you know, he's about $4,000 or $5,000 a month it takes him to survive.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
That's how cats do it. If you rescued, let's just say, a dog, a puppy, et cetera, that's... that's been beat that's been abused whatnot and then you bring it into a good home for a long time when you reach down to pet that dog what does it do skittish runs away or one snaps at you what else does it do uh pees itself pretty frequently there you go that's yeah i i
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Seth, you made the comment that Sebastian had never done anything to harm Faith. And, of course, we know that from talking to Nina. But he had never done anything to harm any child for that matter, had he? No.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
We've got until 8.30 tonight, guys, and we've got to be off by then.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So, you know, if you go a couple of months without an income at all, you know, there's $8,000 to $10,000 of that money. Right. You couple that with the fact that he was buying all of those signs. Those were not donated. He put signs all over Hendersonville. He had two PIs working. One of them was pro bono. The other one was paid. He paid her to the tune of about $3,000.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yeah, forget the fact that he had sensory issues. Forget the fact that he didn't even like going outside in the summer without shoes on because he had stepped in a pile of fire ants. I mean, we're talking about the 25th of February, and even in Tennessee, it's cold.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yeah, in the day.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And he stretched that money all the way out to where even today there's still – Probably a grand in that account.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So, you know, you can imagine over time, you know, we made a trip to Virginia that cost about $1,500 to chase down a lead. I mean, you know, he basically wore the tires off of his truck driving back and forth. He had truck problems. I mean, you know, and what we find interesting is that in every one of these missing children's cases, somebody always sets up a GoFundMe.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
I would like to ask for some prayers for Detective Brandon Carter and Sheriff Craddock. Those guys are working hard. You know, the people that love to say that they just don't have any evidence, I can tell you that that couldn't be further from the truth. These guys are working relentlessly to... bring answers to Seth, to the community, to the family.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And they are going to get to the bottom of this. And quite frankly, I believe it's going to be sooner than later.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Yeah, almost daily. Mm-hmm.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
We do know, but we can't say.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
We also wanted to tell both of you guys that we are eternally grateful for you to lend us a platform of this size to not only clear up a lot of these rumors, but more importantly, to be able to talk about Sebastian.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And it's become very normal. I mean, shoot, I'm even seeing GoFundMe set up for people that need help with their children's sports and whatnot. But what I find ironic is that The people that understand what it takes to look for a missing child are not concerned about that.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
It's the people that are making money off of this child or making money off the drama surrounding the child that are asking the questions. And that's the irony of this.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
Actually, P-Rev came out and cleared that up.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And said that it didn't happen.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
So and we actually have a process now that's in place. I would say right around July after I'd been involved for a couple of months. We have kind of a checks and balances internally to where when Seth has a need, he will come to me and talk to me. And his sister and I, again, we have some common friends from back home. We've gotten to be really close.
The Lore Lads
Clearing the Air with Seth Rogers & Tony Mathis | Podcast Episode 159
And I actually will go to his sister and talk to his sister about what the needs are after I... agree that they're necessary. And then, and then she will reach out to Seth and essentially all three of us talk before, you know, before $50 is sent to him.