Marissa Maier is the producer of this Friday's episode with Dennis Murphy, The Creek. We caught up with her at her desk to get the inside scoop on the episode. (Marissa's responses have been edited for length and clarity.)
Dateline: Hey, Marissa. Have a second?
Marissa Maier, Dateline Associate Producer: Sure.
Dateline: We know you’re producing this Friday’s Dateline. We have a few questions.
Marissa: Great.
Dateline: Why is this Friday’s episode special to you?
Marissa: Because it’s the first Dateline that I’m producing.
Dateline: How did you come across the case in this Friday’s report?
Marissa: Actually, my co-producer first heard about the case from a tip. Then we found out that the district attorney on the case had been on a number of other Datelines, too.
Dateline: Without giving anything away, tell us a bit about the story.
Marissa: “The Creek” is about a beautiful, bubbly 15-year-old girl, Danielle Locklear, who went missing in March 2014. And what ensued was her family’s very long search for her. And there are many different alleys and avenues they go down -- her family and police -- in trying to find out what happened to her.
Dateline: What was the most unusual location you filmed at for this episode?
Marissa: Probably the creek itself.
Dateline: What is the one clue we should be on the lookout for?
Marissa: There are a lot of clues to be on the lookout for in this story, but one big one that comes to mind is an article of clothing that Danielle wore that was found down by the creek. So pay special attention to that.
Dateline: What’s the best thing about working on a story with Dennis Murphy?
Marissa: What isn’t special about working on a story with Dennis Murphy? From his jokes, to his sayings that you’ve never heard anyone say before. He’s a great dinner companion. Everything.