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Hey, Truth Seekers! Welcome back to Cold Truth, the true-crime podcast where we dig deep into cold cases and, hopefully, find new leads. I'm your host, Alexis Summers, and in today's episode, we're going to talk about Donovan Scott, the main suspect in Darcy's disappearance, and his suspicious past.
So, you won’t believe this, but about six months before Darcy vanished, Donovan was actually the prime suspect in another death. But before we get to that, we need to go back in time to understand exactly who Darcy’s boyfriend was.
Donovan Kevin Scott was born on June 11, 1990, to Ellen and Rueben “Rooster” Scott. His parents were high school sweethearts from San Francisco and got married at age seventeen when Ellen discovered she was pregnant. Rooster dropped out of school and worked as a dock hand while Ellen finished out her senior year, graduating mere days before they welcomed their son. Unfortunately, neither came from supportive families and since they couldn’t afford childcare, they made the decision to have Ellen stay home, which strained their relationship and finances even further. The city was too expensive and getting more expensive every year.
They needed to move.
Just as Donovan was about to enter elementary school, Rooster was offered a position on a crabbing boat up north. It seemed like the fresh start that the young family needed. They settled into a trailer park outside the scenic town of Steam Valley and quickly made friends with the family next door: the Cantrells.
From that day on, Donovan Scott and Darcy Cantrell were inseparable.
Like Darcy, Donovan was searching for a way out. Unlike Darcy, he decided early on that school was his ticket to freedom—specifically school athletics. He had enough raw talent for baseball that by his freshmen year of high school, college recruiters were already sniffing around. But with high school came trouble. Donovan couldn’t seem to stay out of it, and the recruiters moved on to less risky candidates.
As the kids grew, both of their homes became more volatile. Rooster started drinking heavily and quit his crabbing job to open his own recreational fishing charter. Money was beyond tight because Rooster spent every penny he made at the town bars. Ellen worked full-time at a nearby truck stop and cleaned houses on the side to try and make ends meet.
In the eight-year period between the Scotts’ move to Steam Valley and Donovan hitting puberty, records show he and Ellen visited the hospital an astounding total of one-hundred-and-fifty-three times for various injuries. That’s nearly ten visits per year for each of them.
A broken arm— “He fell out of a tree.”
A black eye— “I slipped in the shower.”
A knocked-out tooth— “He crashed his bike.”
Cracked ribs— “I tripped while taking out the garbage.”
Everyone knew what was really happening behind the closed door of their trailer, but like Sissy Cantrell, Ellen never pressed charges against her husband for the abuse. And like Darcy, Donovan never mentioned it to anyone—not even his closest friends, Zak Hendricks and Ash Rawlings, knew how bad it was.
But Darcy knew.
She wrote about Donovan extensively in her diary, which was “accidentally” leaked to the public during the investigation. Little of what she wrote was flattering, especially in the last few turbulent months before she vanished.
Here’s an excerpt from Darcy’s diary entry from April 9th, 2007:
“Van finally won a fight. He knocked Rooster flat-out with his baseball bat. If Rooster ever puts another bruise on his mom, he said he’d kill the fucker. He loves Ellen so much. I wonder if he’d do the same for me if I asked him. I’d give him the bat and watch him bash Dad’s head in, and wouldn’t feel anything. But I don’t think he loves me that much. Sometimes, I think he’d rather bash MY head in.”
Ominous, right?
Well, it gets worse.
Weeks later, Rooster’s boat was found floating off-shore, empty but still running. His body washed up on the beach at Lost Rocks State Park the following day.
Cause of death?
Blunt force trauma to the head.
It had people talking, and even Darcy wondered in her diary if Donovan had made good on his threat.
However, an autopsy showed Rooster’s blood-alcohol level was more than four times the legal limit—a level that would be almost fatal for most people—and the medical examiner ultimately listed the manner of death as accidental. The consensus by investigators at the time was Rooster had taken his boat out while drunk and fell overboard, where he was thrown against the rocks by stormy seas.
Case closed.
But ask anyone in town what happened to Rooster Scott, and you’ll get the same answer: Donovan killed him.
Now, fast forward to Darcy's disappearance, and it seems like Donovan might be the main suspect again. But we'll get to the reasons for that in the next episode, where we'll continue our investigation. Thanks for listening, and don't forget to subscribe for more true crime stories. And as always, stay curious, stay safe, and keep seeking the truth. See you next time!
chapter nine
Three days.
