IDAHO FALLS — After two years with little headway, new evidence has been made public regarding the circumstances around Jed Hall’s disappearance in 2018.

Private Investigator James Michael Terry of Gulf Coast Investigative Solutions, hired by Hall’s parents, has been questioning Hall’s friends and was able to access his online messages.

The evidence released by Terry paints a different picture of Jed Hall than was originally reported. In contrast to the student with good grades who wanted to serve in the military, Hall’s own notes portray himself as a troubled kid uncertain about his future, and who was contemplating murder.

Terry said he has also found evidence that Hall had planned his disappearance months in advance, that he may have committed multiple crimes before leaving, and that he told friends he intended to travel to Canada.

According to security camera footage Terry provided to the Post Register, a man driving the car Hall disappeared in was recorded breaking into American Heritage Charter School. Terry, the Hall family and the Idaho Falls Police Department all said they are confident the man in the video is Jed Hall.

In the video, Hall appears to be wearing kneepads, headphones and combat boots. The footage shows him breaking through a door, going to a locker and placing something inside. According to Terry, Hall left $1,000 for a student he had a crush on before leaving the scene and driving away.

Terry said he also found statements in Hall’s notebook indicating Hall intended to murder a relative of a classmate he believed sexually abused that classmate.

The relative’s residence was targeted in a drive-by shooting the day of Hall’s disappearance, in the early morning. The Post Register is not naming the relative to protect the identity of the alleged drive-by shooting victim and because he was never charged with a crime.

In a copy of the notebook provided to the Post Register, Hall wrote, “He raped and has in essence tortured (her) all her life. I know she will never get better until he is no longer around. She might hate me for doing it, but I want to help her no matter what.”

Idaho Falls Police Department Public Information Officer Jessica Clements said the police department is not searching for Hall as the suspect of a crime, but is investigating his disappearance as a missing person case.

Terry opined that he doubted Hall would face criminal charges for the shooting because he was a minor and because there was little evidence connecting him to the shooting outside of the note.

Two other residents at the house that was shot at said they were informed of the note, but that investigators said Hall may have committed suicide.

Allen Hall, Jed Hall’s father, said he does not believe his son was involved in the shooting, despite the note. He said there were other drive-by shootings reported before and after the incident on Jan. 22.

Within Hall’s notebook were several entries in which he discussed suicide and “RAFH,” which Terry believes is a reference to a bug-out plan.

Hall writes about his concerns that society was becoming like the George Orwell novel “1984,” that mass media had too much influence on people’s opinions and that communism may take hold in the United States.

The notebook also includes writings about faking his death.

“I will do RAFH if illegal acts come up, some major world event or if just something major happens,” Hall wrote.

The notebook also contains a list of supplies, which appear to be meant for survival, including food, medical supplies and camping equipment.

Terry said he has talked to Hall’s classmates, particularly those who did not message Hall on Facebook after his disappearance was reported. He said most were reluctant to talk to him. One of Hall’s classmates mocked Terry, saying Hall would never be found.

Terry did learn, however, that Hall had discussed his plans to disappear months before doing so, and he had mentioned Canada as a possible destination.

Terry also discovered that a detective in Stockton, California, did a search for Hall’s license plate four days after Hall was reported missing. The check was by a detective who did not remember why she looked for the license plate. Terry said the Stockton Police Department told him a check would have likely been because someone had noticed a car with the license plate.

Despite Hall’s suicide notes, both Terry and the police department have doubted he intended to kill himself when he left on Jan. 22, 2018. The fact that the car was never found and that Hall took so much equipment with him seemed contrary to that goal.

At the end of the notebook, Hall writes that he wants to go to a “peaceful place,” and that he’d like to see an ocean cliff.

Allen Hall, a former Idaho Falls Police Department officer, expressed frustration with how the department had handled the case. He said he did not feel the department had communicated with him enough and did not question his son’s friends enough.

Both the police department and Terry said their working relationship had been amicable. Clements said the police department was looking to bring outside help into the investigation and that Terry had drawn new attention to the case.

Gulf Investigative Solutions is offering a $15,000 reward for any information leading to the discovery of what happened to their son. Terry said Hall does not necessarily need to come home.

“He can go to local law enforcement and say, ‘I’m here, leave me alone,’ and it would all be over,” Terry said.

Terry can be reached at 813-993-2242.