Mom Of Missing Vet: 'I Never Thought He Would Be in Brad's Backyard'

KENNESAW, GA -- More than two weeks after a man was arrested in the death of a missing Army veteran, his mother still can't believe it. Cobb County police apprehended 31-year-old James Bradshaw Clement after he was charged with concealing a death in the missing person investigation of Chase Massner.

On Aug. 1, Cobb County police announced that remains believed to be Massner's were found in the backyard of Clement's former home at 555 Farmbrook Trail in Kennesaw. (SIGN UP: For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. Or if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Things were going by procedure -- until Clement, who told Cobb authorities he would surrender, became a fugitive. The seven days he was on the lam only added to the frustration experienced by Massner's family.

Now, with Clements up to face the legal system, Stephanie Cadena said the whole ordeal is still hard for her to fathom, especially because her son and Clement were friends. "I always tried to think of where he was, or what happened, but I never thought he would be in Brad's backyard," she told WGCL-TV.

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Massner was a 26-year-old husband and father to two children at the time of his disappearance. He was close to Clement and reportedly went to his home one day in March 2014 after having an argument with his wife. He presumably spent the night there, but was never heard from again.

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Cadena said that Clement told her flat out that he had nothing to do with her son's disappearance.

"He sat and told me a long and elaborate story about what they did that night, stayed up all night, talked, very sincere, gave me a hug," she told the TV station.

The mother said that it is now finally time to give Massner a proper burial, which is in the near future.

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