Who Is Andy McCauley? New Details On Man Arrested For Murder Of Riley Crossman
Riley was his girlfriend's daughter.
Facebook When a single parent brings a potential new romantic partner into their home, it's nervewracking for everyone. The prospective partner wants to make a good impression on the kids, and the kids worry about how this new person may change their lives. It's something that takes a little bit of adjusting (sometimes more) before everyone feels comfortable again. Unfortunately, we can't always know everything about the people we bring into our home. When Riley Crossman's mother introduced a new boyfriend to her daughter she had only the best of intentions. She had no idea that this boyfriend, Andy (Drew) McCauley, would destroy both of their lives forever. Who is Andy McCauley?
1. Missing Riley
The last time anyone heard from Riley Crossman was on May 6, 2019. The 15-year-old Berkeley Springs, West Virginia resident spent the majority of that night on the phone in conversation with her boyfriend, Haydn Lacy. The last activity that was found on her phone was an attempted video call to Haydn at 5:40 AM on the following morning, May 7th. Then, her phone went dead. That morning at around 7:15 AM, Riley's mother, Chantel Oakley, knocked on Riley's door and got no response. When she opened it and found the room empty, she figured that her daughter was already on her way to school. When the school called her at 3:30 PM to say Riley never arrived, Chantal immediately panicked and call Riley's father and the police to report her daughter missing.
2. The Search
After Riley was officially reported as missing, a massive search got underway in her home state to try and bring the missing girl home. Over 50 volunteers and commissioned members of the law enforcement community from multiple states turned up to help and find one of their own, but on that day they found nothing. In addition to these trained professionals, over 300 people who either knew Riley or simply were eager to help appeared and searched the Morgan County area of West Virginia where they believed she was most likely to be found. The Red Cross and the local Moose Lodge even donated provisions to keep the team of searchers fed and watered.
3. The Remains
Tragically, it was only the day after this huge undertaking to find Riley that the Morgan County Sheriff's Department made a troubling discovery. Near the top of a local mountain, they located a body and they believed it was Riley's. The identification isn't official, but the police are very confident. Riley's family must be in a total state of shock and horror and disbelief. While to some degree finding a body means closure, it doesn't change the fact that Riley's family lost her in a violent and premature way. Thankfully, a recent arrest made in connection with the crime could give them more answers and help the healing process begin.
4. Arresting Andrew
After the body was found, the police arrested 41-year-old Andrew "Drew' J. McCauley, Jr. His connection to the case is an ominous one. You see, Drew knew Riley well because he was apparently dating her mother, Chantel Oakley. This relationship made him an early suspect by police. As the police spent a week looking for Riley, other members on the force were working surveillance on Drew as he went to and from his job. The fact that dating Chantel made him a suspect. When dogs picked up Riley's scent in his truck, he was arrested.
5. Who Is He Really?
A quick Google won't turn up anything remarkable about Drew, who is also known as Andy. According to his Facebook profile, he's been in a relationship with a woman named Denise Farr since 2004, though there do not appear to be any photographs of the couple together. What there are photos of are arguably more disturbing: Drew playing with Denise's children. On Drew's most recent post, which was an update of his profile picture, people were already calling for his head on a spike. That's the difference between murder cases now and those 50 years ago. Now, when a suspect is named they better have their social media on lockdown or else be prepared for the onslaught.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime. For more of her work, check out her Tumblr.