Crime Incident

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  She Was Walking Her Dog. Eleven Women Lay Beneath: The West Mesa Bone Collector 20.09.2026 18мин

  She Was Walking Her Dog. Eleven Women Lay Beneath: The West Mesa Bone CollectorOn February 2, 2009, a woman walking her dog on Albuquerque's West Mesa found a human femur in the sand. The excavation that followed uncovered the remains of eleven women and girls and one unborn baby, buried across 92 acres of desert. All of them had vanished from the same city in a tight window between 2003 and 2004. So why did almost no one look for them while it could still have mattered? And why, seventeen years later, is there still not a single arrest?In this episode, we give the eleven their names back one by one: Monica Candelaria, Victoria Chavez, Syllannia Edwards, Doreen Marquez, Veronica Romero, Jamie Barela, Evelyn Salazar, Virginia Cloven, Julie Nieto, Cinnamon Elks, and Michelle Valdez, who was four months pregnant. We follow Detective Ida Lopez, who compiled a list of the missing years before the graves were found and could not get the city to act, and we examine the persons of interest police have named but never charged, from Lorenzo Montoya, who died in 2006, to Joseph Blea, who denies any involvement. We also cover the strange truth that the 2008 housing crash is the reason the bodies were ever found.Person: Eleven women and girls, ages 15 to 32, plus one unborn childDate: Disappearances 2003 to 2004; discovery February 2, 2009Location: West Mesa, Albuquerque, New MexicoCase: Unsolved serial homicides, the largest crime scene in New Mexico historyLegal status: No arrests or charges ever filed; active investigation with a new search warrant served in early 2026 and proposed legislation to test deceased suspects' DNA through CODIS- The femur, the dog walk, and the 92 acre excavation- The War Zone and the disappearances no one connected- Ida Lopez's list of "her girls," surfaced in 2007 and ignored- Montoya, Blea, and the theories that were never closed- The eight women still missing and the $100,000 rewardThe West Mesa Bone Collector case remains unsolved, and tips still go to the Albuquerque Police 118th Street Task Force.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  He Kept Them for Days: The Oakland County Child Killer 18.09.2026 20мин

  He Kept Them for Days: The Oakland County Child KillerBetween February 1976 and March 1977, four children were abducted from the suburbs north of Detroit, held captive for days, and then left along roadsides with their bodies washed and their clothes cleaned. Why did the press call him The Babysitter? Who wrote the anonymous letter naming the killer as "Frank" and then vanished before the meeting? And how does the largest manhunt in American history at the time end with zero arrests in fifty years?In this episode, we follow the Oakland County Child Killer case through the thirteen months that changed Michigan: the abductions of Mark Stebbins, Jill Robinson, Kristine Mihelich, and Timothy King, the nineteen days a ten-year-old was held while a state searched for her, and the last meal that proved the killer was watching a mother's televised plea. Then the long second life of the file: the task force that processed 11,000 tips and disbanded without a suspect, the Christopher Busch lead and his disputed 1978 death, the North Fox Island network theory, the mitochondrial DNA from an unidentified stranger's hair found on two victims, and the families who spent decades suing for their own children's case records.Person: Mark Stebbins, 12; Jill Robinson, 12; Kristine Mihelich, 10; Timothy King, 11Date: February 15, 1976 to March 23, 1977Location: Oakland County, Michigan (Ferndale, Royal Oak, Berkley, Birmingham)Case: Four child abduction murders attributed to the Oakland County Child KillerLegal status: Unsolved and open; no one has ever been arrested or charged in the murders; every named person is a suspect or person of interest only; Michigan State Police reinvestigating with DNA and AI-assisted file review- The winter of fear: how one county rebuilt childhood around a killer- The "Allen" letter, Dr. Danto, and the meeting that never happened- Busch, Greene, Sloan, and Gunnels: what the file alleges and what DNA excluded- The hair in the Bonneville: an unnamed man linked to two crime scenes- The families' FOIA wars and the fifty-year fight for the recordsThe Oakland County Child Killer case remains unsolved, and the Oakland County Child Killer file is still open. Tips: 1-855-MICHTIP.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  Fifteen Feet From Safety: The Keddie Cabin Murders 17.09.2026 19мин

  Fifteen Feet From Safety: The Keddie Cabin MurdersOn a Sunday morning in April 1981, a fourteen year old girl walked fifteen feet from the neighbors' cabin to her own front door to get her church clothes. What she found inside Cabin 28 became one of California's most infamous unsolved cases. How did killers spend that much time in a crowded resort cabin without waking the children sleeping in the next room? Why did they take one twelve year old girl and step past the others? And how did a recorded tip naming the case sit at the bottom of an evidence box for three decades?In this episode, we follow the Keddie case the way investigators still read it today: through the frozen scene itself. We walk the living room detail by detail, the bindings of medical tape and electrical cord, the broken air rifle sight, the unlocked door, and then follow the file across forty five years of institutional failure, from a sheriff who had lived in the murder cabin and quit the case in ninety days, to a hammer pulled from a pond in 2016, to a DNA match that points at a living suspect no one has ever charged.Person: Glenna "Sue" Sharp, 36, her children John, 15, and Tina, 12, and family friend Dana Wingate, 17Date: Night of April 11 to 12, 1981Location: Cabin 28, Keddie Resort, Plumas County, CaliforniaCase: Unsolved quadruple homicide with child abductionLegal status: Open cold case, no arrests or charges ever filed- The scene that investigators still call managed, not frenzied: bindings, staged control, and no forced entry- Three boys found asleep and unharmed in the room next to the killings- Tina Sharp, missing three years, found in 1984 beside an empty surgical tape dispenser- The undocumented anonymous call and the confession that collapsed- The 2016 hammer, the 2018 DNA match, and the suspects who died without answeringThe Keddie Cabin murders remain open, and Plumas County still takes tips. Until someone speaks, the Keddie Cabin murders belong to the room where they began.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  He Never Walked Out: The Brian Shaffer Case 16.09.2026 19мин

  The Cameras Never Saw Him Leave: The Brian Shaffer CaseAt 1:15 a.m. on April 1, 2006, security cameras recorded Brian Shaffer, a 27-year-old Ohio State medical student, riding the escalator into the Ugly Tuna Saloona bar in Columbus. At 1:55 a.m. a camera caught him chatting with two women outside the entrance. No camera ever recorded him leaving the building, and no trace of him has been found in twenty years. How does a man vanish from a building wired with security cameras? Why did the friend who spent the whole night with him refuse a polygraph? And why did his phone suddenly ring five months after he disappeared?In this episode, we treat the Brian Shaffer case the way detectives had to: as a building. We map the Gateway complex exit by exit, from the escalator a detective ruled out with one hundred percent certainty to the unmarked service door leading to a construction area with broken camera coverage, the one route out with no reliable eyes on it. We weigh every theory on the record, accident, voluntary disappearance, and foul play, each with its evidence and its contradictions, and follow the family tragedy that compounded around the search: a mother lost to cancer weeks before, a father killed by a falling branch while still searching, and a brother left to declare Brian legally dead on his birthday.Person: Brian Randall Shaffer, 27, second-year medical student at Ohio State UniversityDate: Night of March 31 to April 1, 2006Location: Ugly Tuna Saloona, South Campus Gateway, Columbus, OhioCase: Unsolved disappearance; no arrest, no charges, no named suspectLegal status: Declared legally dead in 2013 at his brother's request; the Columbus police investigation remains open and assigned at the 20-year mark in 2026, with more than 5,000 tips processed- The 1:55 a.m. footage and the exit-by-exit elimination- The service door, the construction zone, and the camera blind spot- The polygraph divide and Clint Florence's side of it- The phone that rang three times and pinged near Hilliard- The hoax condolence message and the debunked sightingsThe Brian Shaffer disappearance is now twenty years old, and Columbus police still believe someone holds the missing piece.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  The Cameras Followed Her All Night: The Lauren Spierer Case 14.09.2026 19мин

  The Cameras Followed Her All Night: The Lauren Spierer CaseIn the early hours of June 3, 2011, surveillance cameras in Bloomington, Indiana, recorded 20-year-old Indiana University sophomore Lauren Spierer at least four times: entering Kilroy's Sports Bar at 1:46 a.m., leaving at 2:27 without her shoes or phone, stumbling from an elevator at her own building at 2:30, and walking out of an alley at 2:51 a.m. Then the footage stops. No camera ever captured her again. Why did she leave her own building instead of going upstairs? Who punched her companion in the face at Smallwood Plaza? And what happened after the last reported sighting, a friend's statement that she walked away barefoot at 4:30 a.m. toward a corner no lens covered?In this episode, we reconstruct the Lauren Spierer disappearance camera by camera, then follow the investigation through the twelve-hour reporting gap, the ten persons of interest, the polygraph standoff, the nine-day search of 4,100 tons of landfill trash, the 2016 Martinsville dig, and the civil lawsuit a federal judge dismissed because, without knowing what happened to Lauren, no jury could hold anyone responsible. Nobody has ever been charged, and the men who saw her last deny any wrongdoing through their attorneys.Person: Lauren Elizabeth Spierer, 20, Indiana University sophomore from Scarsdale, New YorkDate: June 3, 2011Location: Bloomington, IndianaCase: Disappearance; presumed dead, never foundLegal status: No arrests, no charges, no named suspects; investigation active as of 2026 with 980 supplemental reports and 23 new tips in the past year- The surveillance timeline and the exact minute the digital trail cuts out- Long QT syndrome and why intoxication was uniquely dangerous for Lauren- The family's attributed suspicion and the men's denials and private polygraphs- Theories with owners: overdose and concealment, a stranger, the Messel question- Kilroy's fake ID citation and the campus culture that let her walk alone- Shawn Cohen's 2025 bestseller College Girl, Missing and the new tips it broughtThe Lauren Spierer case is still open. Tips go to the Bloomington Police Department, fifteen years later.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  The FBI Chased the Wrong Story for 13 Years: The Brittanee Drexel Case 13.09.2026 18мин

  The FBI Chased the Wrong Story for 13 Years: The Brittanee Drexel CaseOn April 25, 2009, 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel vanished from Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, on a spring break trip her mother had forbidden. A hotel camera caught her at 9 p.m. By midnight her phone died on a rural road nearly 50 miles south. Why did it take 13 years to charge a man who was publicly named a person of interest in 2012? And how did a traffic ticket written the morning after she disappeared sit unused for over a decade while the FBI announced a trafficking theory that turned out to be false?In this episode, we follow the Brittanee Drexel case from the crowded spring break strip to the swamps of Georgetown County: the friends who never reported her missing, the years of pressure on the wrong people, the 2016 stash house theory built on jailhouse informants, and the 2019 forensic re-analysis that caught the moment her phone went from walking speed to 55 miles per hour. Then the 2022 endgame: Raymond Moody's confession, the recovery of her remains 2.5 miles from his old home, his life sentence, and the reckoning that followed for his girlfriend Angel Vause.Person: Brittanee Marie Drexel, 17, of Rochester, New YorkDate: April 25, 2009Location: Myrtle Beach and Georgetown County, South CarolinaCase: Kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder; remains recovered May 2022Legal status: Raymond Moody pleaded guilty in October 2022, sentenced to life plus 60 years; Angel Vause sentenced in 2025 to 18 years for lying to the FBI, appeal pending; a $700 million civil verdict stands against Moody- The last surveillance footage and the final cell phone ping- The day-one traffic ticket that destroyed Moody's alibi years later- The discredited stash house theory and its cost to the wrongly accused- Cell data forensics: walking speed, then 55 mph- The confession, the burial site, and a mother's 13-year fightThe Brittanee Drexel case shows how a false theory can protect a killer, and why her mother never let the Brittanee Drexel investigation die.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  Two Versions of One Night: The Cyntoia Brown Case 11.09.2026 19мин

  Two Versions of One Night: The Cyntoia Brown CaseIn August 2004, sixteen-year-old Cyntoia Brown shot 43-year-old Nashville real estate agent Johnny Allen in his own bed, took his money, guns, and truck, and was tried as an adult. In 2006 a jury convicted her of first-degree murder and she received a life sentence. But what does a life sentence in Tennessee actually mean? In 2018 the state supreme court gave the answer that ignited a movement: 51 years, minimum, before she could even be considered for release.In this episode, we tell the night of August 6, 2004 twice. First as the prosecution told it in 2006: a sleeping man shot in the back of the head, no weapon found to support self-defense, a completed robbery, jailhouse confessions, and a recorded call in which Brown said she executed him. Then as the clemency campaign asked Tennessee to see it: a state ward lost by its own child services system, trafficked at sixteen by a violent 24-year-old pimp, sold to an adult buyer, and judged as if she had acted freely. Same file, same facts, two verdicts on one girl.Person: Cyntoia Brown, 16, and Johnny Michael Allen, 43Date: August 6, 2004Location: Nashville, TennesseeCase: Homicide and robbery; conviction 2006; clemency 2019Legal status: Sentence commuted by Governor Bill Haslam on January 7, 2019; released August 7, 2019 after 15 years; conviction never overturned; parole supervision runs until 2029- The Sonic Drive-In pickup and the prosecutor's own stipulation- The forensic detail that anchored the state's case for 15 years- The excluded witness and the evidence the jury never saw- #FreeCyntoiaBrown, the 51-year ruling, and a divided parole board- Her life now: author, consultant, and anti-trafficking advocateThe Cyntoia Brown case changed how America talks about trafficked minors in court, and the Cyntoia Brown case is still cited every time a state asks how to judge a child the system failed.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  She Was the Victim. They Put Her on Trial: The Preppy Murder Case 10.09.2026 18мин

  She Was the Victim. They Put Her on Trial: The Preppy Murder CaseHow does a case with a confessed killer end with the dead girl on trial? Why did New York's biggest tabloid run the headline "How Jennifer Courted Death" three days after an eighteen year old was strangled in Central Park? And what happens when the most damning piece of evidence surfaces seven weeks too late?In this episode, we follow the Preppy Murder of Jennifer Levin from the last night at Dorrian's Red Hand to the morning a cyclist found her body behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and through the inverted trial that followed: a killer whose cover stories collapsed one by one, a defense built entirely on his own words, a fabricated "sex diary" that never existed, and a jury that deliberated nine days without a verdict before a mid deliberation plea ended everything. Then we trace the record to today: the full fifteen years served, the second prison term, the 2023 parole, and the mother who turned injustice into thirteen laws.Person: Jennifer Dawn Levin, 18, killed by Robert Chambers, 19Date: August 26, 1986Location: Central Park, Manhattan, New YorkCase: Strangulation homicide resolved by guilty plea to first degree manslaughterLegal status: Chambers served the full 15 years; imprisoned again 2008 for drug sale and assault; paroled July 2023, under supervision until July 2028- The scratches on both sides of his face, the declawed cat, and the cigarette run that unraveled in one afternoon- The "rough sex" defense that prosecutors say described an encounter that never happened at all- The datebook a judge refused to hand over, and the tabloid myth that outran the truth anyway- The "Oops, I think I killed it" party video the jury never saw- Ellen Levin's Justice for All campaign and the New York law that now shields homicide victimsThe Preppy Murder became the textbook case of a system judging the victim instead of the accused. Listen now and hear how the Preppy Murder rewrote the rules it broke.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  The Note They Called a Joke: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders 09.09.2026 19мин

  The Note They Called a Joke: The Oklahoma Girl Scout MurdersOn the night of June 12, 1977, the very first night of summer camp, three young Girl Scouts, Lori Farmer, 8, Michele Guse, 9, and Denise Milner, 10, were murdered inside their tent at Camp Scott near Locust Grove, Oklahoma. Two months earlier, a counselor had found a handwritten note at that same camp declaring a plan to kill three girls in one tent. The camp director called it a prank and threw it away. Why was a written death threat never reported? How did the killer cross a sleeping camp unseen? And why, after the largest manhunt in Oklahoma history, a sensational trial, and a 2022 DNA announcement, is this case still officially unsolved?In this episode, we reconstruct the night hour by hour, from the storm that sent the girls to bed early to the counselor who heard strange sounds near midnight, and then follow the half century of echo that came after: the cave in the hills, the arrest of prison escapee Gene Leroy Hart, the community that sheltered him for ten months believing he was being scapegoated, the acquittal that stunned prosecutors, and the DNA results a sheriff kept quiet for three years.Persons: Lori Lee Farmer, 8; Michele Heather Guse, 9; Doris Denise Milner, 10Date: June 12 to 13, 1977Location: Camp Scott, Mayes County, OklahomaCase: Triple homicide at a Girl Scout summer campLegal status: Gene Leroy Hart acquitted in 1979 and dead ten weeks later; 2022 DNA findings point to Hart as a probability, per the sheriff, not a conviction; officially unsolved- The discarded warning note and the 86 yards between the tent and the nearest adult- The cave evidence, the manhunt, and a community split over Hart's prosecution- Hair that "resembled," disputed glasses, and an alternative suspect the jury heard about- The 1985 civil verdict that cleared the camp's operators- The families who turned grief into Oklahoma's victims' rights lawsThe Oklahoma Girl Scout murders closed Camp Scott forever, and the questions that ended it are still open.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  She Escaped in Handcuffs: Butcher Baker Robert Hansen 07.09.2026 19мин

  She Escaped in Handcuffs: Butcher Baker Robert HansenOn June 13, 1983, a seventeen-year-old girl ran barefoot down the edge of Merrill Field in Anchorage, Alaska, her wrists still in handcuffs, fleeing a bush plane and the mild-mannered baker loading it. Cindy Paulson gave police his name, his house, and his plane, and they let him go. Why did her word count for less than the alibi of the suspect's friend? How did seventeen women vanish from one city over twelve years without anyone connecting the dots? And what was hidden behind an aviation map covered in hand-drawn X marks?In this episode, we follow the Robert Hansen case as a chase: the survivor who ran, and the investigators who finally closed the circle. From pipeline-boom Anchorage, where dancers and sex workers who disappeared were assumed to have moved on, to the Knik River sandbars where hunters found shallow graves with a signature detail, no bullet holes in the victims' clothing. We trace Trooper Glenn Flothe's decision to reopen a discarded complaint, the pioneering FBI profile by John Douglas that matched Hansen line by line, the October 1983 search that uncovered trophies, a ballistics-matched rifle, and the aeronautical chart marked with dozens of X's, and the plea deal that traded a full confession for just four murder convictions.Person: Robert Hansen, the "Butcher Baker"; survivor Cindy Paulson, 17Date: Crimes 1971 to 1983; arrest October 27, 1983Location: Anchorage and the Knik River flats, AlaskaCase: Confessed to 17 murders and more than 30 rapes; convicted of 4 murders plus the Paulson kidnapping and rapeLegal status: Sentenced in 1984 to 461 years plus life without parole; died in custody of natural causes in 2014- The 1971 release that preceded every confessed murder- The women of the Fourth Avenue circuit, humanized by name- The no-bullet-holes clue that tied the graves to one killer- The map's unmatched X marks, still an open question- Robin Pelkey, identified after 37 years, and Eklutna Annie, still unnamedThe Butcher Baker case is closed, but four victims were never found, and one recovered woman still has no name.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  The Road That Kept Taking Them: The Highway of Tears 06.09.2026 20мин

  The Road That Kept Taking Them: The Highway of TearsAlong roughly 720 kilometers of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, women and girls have been disappearing or turning up murdered since 1969. The RCMP officially recognizes 18 cases; Indigenous organizations count more than 40. Why did it take until 1998 for the pattern to even get a name? Why did the first bus service on this corridor arrive only in 2017, and cell coverage only in 2024? And how did DNA preserved for 38 years finally put a name to one killer while seventeen files stayed open?In this episode, we drive the Highway of Tears from the coast inland, stopping where the road makes us stop: Tamara Chipman, a 22-year-old mother last seen near Prince Rupert in 2005; Ramona Wilson, 16, of Smithers, whose mother Matilda has walked the highway in her memory every June for three decades; and Aielah Saric-Auger, 14, found in a ditch east of Prince George in 2006. We follow Project E-Pana from its creation to its quiet defunding, and the 2012 Interpol match tying deceased American offender Bobby Jack Fowler to the 1974 murder of Colleen MacMillen, the pattern's only DNA resolution, along with the documented caveats around his suspected role.Person: Tamara Chipman, 22; Ramona Wilson, 16; Aielah Saric-Auger, 14; Colleen MacMillen, 16; and the wider E-Pana listDate: 1969 to 2006 (official list), with cases continuing afterLocation: Highway 16 and connected Highways 97 and 5, northern British Columbia, CanadaCase: 13 homicides and 5 disappearances on the official RCMP list; 40+ per Indigenous organizationsLegal status: One E-Pana conviction (Garry Handlen, 2019); Fowler named by DNA but never charged; most files remain open and active- The 23 First Nations communities left without transit or cell coverage for decades- E-Pana's rise to 70 investigators and fall to 12- The Fowler DNA match and what it does and does not prove- The Highway of Tears Symposium's 33 recommendations, the Oppal report, and the MMIWG inquiry's 231 Calls for Justice- The tip lines still open and the families still walkingThe Highway of Tears missing women cases remain among Canada's most urgent unsolved files, and the Highway of Tears story is still being written.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  Two Files on One Death: The Kendrick Johnson Case 04.09.2026 19мин

  Two Files on One Death: The Kendrick Johnson CaseOn January 11, 2013, students at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, found 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson dead inside an upright rolled wrestling mat. The GBI ruled his death an accident, positional asphyxia. A pathologist hired by his family ruled blunt force trauma consistent with inflicted injury, and discovered that Kendrick's internal organs were missing, his body packed with newspaper before burial. How did no camera capture his final moments? Where did the organs go? And why does a case closed by the Justice Department, and closed again by the local sheriff, still carry a 500,000 dollar reward?In this episode, we open the Kendrick Johnson case as two parallel files: the official one, built by the GBI, the DOJ and two sheriffs, and the family's, built through three autopsies and more than a decade of lawsuits. We follow the timeline from the 1:09 pm camera footage to the discovery in the old gym, the second autopsy and the missing organs, the 290 hours of surveillance video and its disputed gaps, the three-year federal probe closed in 2016, the cleared brothers the FBI found no evidence against, Sheriff Paulk's 2022 review of 17 boxes of federal files, and the litigation still alive in 2026.Person: Kendrick Lamar Johnson, 17Date: January 10 to 11, 2013Location: Valdosta, GeorgiaCase: Death inside a rolled gym mat at Lowndes High School; officially ruled accidental, disputed by family autopsiesLegal status: No one has ever been arrested or charged; DOJ closed its probe in 2016, Sheriff Paulk closed a reopened review in 2022, and the family's 10 billion dollar federal suit filed in March 2026 is pending, while the case remains active with a 500,000 dollar reward- The camera that could not see the mat corner- The second autopsy, the missing organs and the newspaper- What the DOJ's three-year investigation did and did not conclude- The accused brothers, cleared by the FBI and the sheriff- Two files, thirteen years, and no version both sides can signThe Kendrick Johnson case is still officially active, and the fight over the Kendrick Johnson autopsy findings is not over.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  He Ran Out After One Phone Call: The Rey Rivera Case 03.09.2026 19мин

  He Ran Out After One Phone Call: The Rey Rivera CaseOn May 16, 2006, Rey Rivera, a 32 year old writer and former professional water polo player, took a phone call at his Baltimore home and ran out the door saying he was late for something. Eight days later his body was found inside a locked, disused conference room of the historic Belvedere Hotel, beneath a hole in its roof. His phone and glasses sat near the opening, almost undamaged. Who called him from the switchboard of his employer's parent company that afternoon? Why was a cryptic note taped behind his computer, a note the FBI ruled was not a farewell? And how does a man with a documented fear of heights end up above a rooftop he had no known way to reach?In this episode, we put the three competing explanations on trial before you, the listener: an accidental fall that no official body has endorsed, the Baltimore Police classification of probable suicide that was never formalized as a closure, and the staged homicide alleged by Rey's widow Allison and by Michael Baier, the first homicide detective on the case, who was reassigned three weeks into his investigation. Every claim is attributed, including Porter Stansberry's categorical denial of the allegation that his company obstructed investigators, and the medical examiner's only official ruling: manner of death undetermined.Person: Rey Omar Rivera, 32, writer, videographer and former water polo coachDate: Disappeared May 16, 2006; found May 24, 2006Location: Belvedere Hotel annex, Mount Vernon, Baltimore, MarylandCase: Disputed death; cause blunt force trauma from a fall, manner undeterminedLegal status: Open with Baltimore Police; no arrest, no named suspect and no change of classification as of 2026- The unidentified switchboard call that made him run- The tiny typed note hidden behind his computer and the FBI's analysis- Flip-flops, undamaged glasses and a missing engraved money clip- Detective Baier's staging claim and his abrupt reassignment- The Netflix wave, the tips, and the homework nobody ever didNineteen years later, the Rey Rivera case still has three open verdicts and one unanswered phone call.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  You Will Never Find Him: The Timmothy Pitzen Case 02.09.2026 19мин

  You Will Never Find Him: The Timmothy Pitzen CaseOn May 11, 2011, Amy Fry-Pitzen walked into Greenman Elementary School in Aurora, Illinois, and signed her six-year-old son Timmothy out of kindergarten, citing a family emergency that did not exist. For three days she took him on a farewell tour of everything he loved, a zoo and two water park resorts, before checking into a Rockford motel alone. She was found dead by suicide the next afternoon, leaving a note saying her son was safe with people who love him, and that he would never be found. Timmothy Pitzen has not been seen since.In this episode, we walk the edges of the one question that defines the case: what did Amy do in the roughly six unaccounted hours after she switched off her phone near Sterling, Illinois, with Timmothy audible in the background of her final calls? We follow the forensic geology that reconstructed a treeless meadow from dust under her SUV, the unexplained winter trips she made to that same rural corridor months earlier, the secret email account, the blood evidence that alarmed investigators and was later explained, and the 2019 Brian Rini hoax that put a grieving family through a day of false hope before DNA ended it.Person: Timmothy James Pitzen, 6 years oldDate: May 11 to 14, 2011Location: Aurora, Wisconsin Dells, Sterling and Rockford, IllinoisCase: Missing child; mother died by suicide, never charged; no proof of life, no proof of deathStatus: Open and active with Aurora Police; 15 years marked in May 2026; Timmothy would now be 21- The false emergency and the three-day water park itinerary- The last image at the Kalahari Resort and the phone switched off near Sterling- The meadow reconstructed from the SUV: Lee and Whiteside Counties- The note, the letters, and the child ID card left in Room 108- The 2019 impostor, the only prosecution the case ever producedTips: NCMEC 1-800-THE-LOST or Aurora Police at 630-256-5516. Somewhere, someone remembers that meadow.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  Every Phone in America Knows Her Name: The Amber Hagerman Case 31.08.2026 19мин

  Every Phone in America Knows Her Name: The Amber Hagerman CaseOn January 13, 1996, nine-year-old Amber Hagerman left her grandparents' house in Arlington, Texas, on her bicycle at 3:10 p.m. Eight minutes later, a neighbor watched a man in a black pickup truck grab her off the bike in an abandoned grocery store parking lot and drive away. Four days later she was found in a creek, and investigators concluded she had been kept alive for two days while the whole city searched. Her killer has never been identified. Yet her name is on every phone in the country: the AMBER Alert, credited with rescuing more than 1,100 abducted children, was born from her case, after one Dallas-Fort Worth radio listener asked a simple question: we have alerts for tornadoes, why not for abducted children?In this episode, we follow the Amber Hagerman case in pure chronology: the eight minutes, the lone eyewitness and the truck description that has not changed in 30 years, the storm that washed away the evidence, six false confessions and more than 7,000 tips, the laundromat witnesses police believe never came forward out of fear, the 2021 disclosure of preserved DNA evidence, and the 30th anniversary in January 2026, when her mother spoke directly to the killer: turn yourself in, give Amber justice.Person: Amber Rene Hagerman, 9, of Arlington, TexasDate: Abducted January 13, 1996; found January 17, 1996Location: Arlington, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth)Case: Abduction and murder; origin of the AMBER Alert systemLegal status: Unsolved and active; no suspect ever named or charged; tip line 817-575-8823; $10,000 Oak Farms Dairy reward- The 3:10 departure, the bike ramp, and the eight-minute window- Jimmie Kevil, the only eyewitness, and the black single-cab pickup- Two days alive: what the timeline implies about the killer- Diana Simone's radio call and how the AMBER Alert went national- The 2021 DNA disclosure and the Carla Walker genealogy modelThe system that saves the missing was built on a case nobody solved. Thirty years later, the Amber Hagerman case is still waiting for its own alert to be answered.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  The Neighbor Across the Street: The Origin of Megan's Law 30.08.2026 19мин

  The Neighbor Across the Street: The Origin of Megan's LawOn July 29, 1994, seven-year-old Megan Kanka was lured into the house directly across the street from her family's home in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, by a neighbor who promised to show her a puppy. Jesse Timmendequas had two prior convictions for sexually assaulting young girls and had spent six years in the state's treatment center for repetitive offenders. Her parents had lived on that street for sixteen years and knew none of it, because in 1994 no law required anyone to tell them. Why did the state know everything about that house while the street knew nothing? And how did one murder produce a new law in just 89 days?In this episode, we follow the Megan Kanka case from the night search her killer joined, handing out flyers for the child he had murdered, to his confession one day later and the discovery that detonated under the town: three convicted sex offenders had been living in that one house, invisible to every family on the block. We trace Maureen Kanka's campaign, the fastest legislative sprint in modern memory, the 1997 capital trial, and the honest, still unresolved debate over whether notification laws actually prevent these crimes.Person: Megan Nicole Kanka, 7 years oldDate: July 29, 1994Location: Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New JerseyCase: Abduction, sexual assault, and murder by a neighbor; solved in one day by confessionLegal status: Jesse Timmendequas convicted on all counts in 1997 and sentenced to death; sentence commuted to life without parole in December 2007 when New Jersey abolished the death penalty; he remains imprisoned with no possibility of release- The house that held three convicted sex offenders no neighbor knew about- The killer who joined the search for his own victim- Megan's Law signed in New Jersey 89 days after the murder, federal law in 1996- The penalty phase, the 2007 commutation, and Maureen Kanka's objection- Megan's Place: the murder house demolished and turned into a children's parkThe Megan Kanka case rewrote what every American family is allowed to know about the street where they live.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  The Answer Was in the File: The Jacob Wetterling Case 28.08.2026 19мин

  The Answer Was in the File: The Jacob Wetterling CaseOn October 22, 1989, eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling was biking home from a convenience store in St. Joseph, Minnesota, with his brother and a friend when a masked man with a revolver took him and vanished. For 27 years his fate was unknown. But the man responsible, Danny Heinrich, was questioned by investigators within months of the abduction. They took his shoe prints, his tire impressions, and his hair samples, and then they let him go. His name sat inside a 41,787-page case file for a quarter of a century.In this episode, we run two clocks in parallel: the night of 1989 and the long search that followed, and the 2015-2016 resolution that finally solved the case sideways, through DNA from a different victim's clothing. We follow the porch lights left on across Minnesota, the innocent farmer publicly branded a person of interest while his land was dug up with backhoes, the blogger and the survivor whose citizen work pushed the investigation back to life, and the plea deal that traded a murder charge for the truth: Heinrich confessed in open court and led investigators to Jacob's remains, but no one has ever been convicted of killing him, and no one now can be.Person: Jacob Erwin Wetterling, 11Date: October 22, 1989Location: St. Joseph, MinnesotaCase: Abduction and murder; remains recovered September 2, 2016Legal status: Danny Heinrich confessed under oath in 2016 and was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on a child pornography count; he was never charged with the murder and remains a candidate for civil commitment at release- The 1990 questioning that collected evidence and released the killer- Dan Rassier, the innocent man who lost six years to a label- The Scheierl DNA match and the citizen sleuths who resurfaced the pattern- The plea deal: truth or nothing- The Jacob Wetterling Act and Patty Wetterling's 27 years of advocacyThe Jacob Wetterling case became the sheriff's own four-word verdict: all of us failed.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  Taken From Her Own Sleepover: The Polly Klaas Case 27.08.2026 19мин

  Taken From Her Own Sleepover: The Polly Klaas CaseOn October 1, 1993, 12-year-old Polly Klaas was abducted at knifepoint from her own bedroom in Petaluma, California, during a slumber party, while her mother slept in the next room. Hours later, sheriff's deputies stood face to face with her kidnapper on a rural road and helped him pull his car out of a ditch, never knowing who he was. Why did the all-points bulletin never reach their radios? Why was no criminal record check run on a twice-convicted kidnapper out on parole? And how did a single palm print on a bunk bed rail, useless for two months, finally end one of the largest manhunts in FBI history?In this episode, we follow the Polly Klaas case through one question: how many times was the system one step away from saving her? From the parole release of Richard Allen Davis to the Pythian Road encounter on the night of the kidnapping, from a missed DUI arrest in Ukiah to the near-impossible records chase that found his palm print in a 1985 Modesto booking file, we trace the layered institutional failures behind 65 days of searching, 60,000 tips, and the confession that led investigators to a grave near Cloverdale.Person: Polly Hannah Klaas, 12Date: October 1, 1993Location: Petaluma, CaliforniaCase: Kidnapping and murder; suspect identified by palm print matchLegal status: Richard Allen Davis convicted in 1996 and sentenced to death; upheld by the California Supreme Court in 2009; his petition to vacate the death sentence was denied in May 2024, and the sentence stands under California's execution moratorium- The deputies who freed his stuck car hours after the abduction- The APB that never reached their radio channels- 48 latent prints, one unmatched palm, and a borrowed light source- Dana Jaffe's hillside discovery and a detective's all-night phone hunt- Three Strikes, the Polly Klaas Foundation, and the reforms that followedThe Polly Klaas kidnapping changed FBI forensics and California law, and the questions raised by the Polly Klaas case are still open.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  Ninety Minutes Too Late: The Adam Walsh Case 27.08.2026 18мин

  Ninety Minutes Too Late: The Adam Walsh CaseHow does a six-year-old vanish from a Sears that stood directly across the street from a police station? Why did more than ninety minutes pass before anyone called the police? And how did the confessed killer's own car, with blood on the floorboards, simply disappear from an evidence room?In this episode, we follow the Adam Walsh case from the beginning: a routine shopping trip to the Hollywood Mall in Florida on July 27, 1981, an Atari kiosk, a security guard who put a shy little boy out the wrong door, and the sixteen-day search that ended in a drainage canal one hundred thirty miles away. We trace the drifting confessions of Ottis Toole, the catastrophic loss of the physical evidence that could have proven or destroyed them, the Jeffrey Dahmer detour, and the 2008 announcement that closed the case without a single day in court. Then we follow what the Walsh family built out of the wreckage, because this is the case that rewired how America responds when a child goes missing.Person: Adam John Walsh, 6 years oldDate: July 27, 1981Location: Hollywood, Florida, United StatesCase: Child abduction and murder, closed by police in 2008 and attributed to Ottis TooleLegal status: No one was ever arrested, charged, or convicted; Toole died in prison in 1996, and the 2008 closure was an administrative determination, never tested in court- The store procedure that ejected a timid six-year-old through an unfamiliar exit, alone- The ninety-minute gap before police were called, in an era that told parents to wait days- Ottis Toole's twenty-four confessions, his recantations, and the details he got wrong- The bloodstained carpet and the Cadillac that investigators lost before DNA testing existed- The legacy: Code Adam, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, America's Most Wanted, and the Adam Walsh ActThe Adam Walsh case changed American law, policing, and parenting forever. Listen now to understand why the Adam Walsh case is remembered as the abduction that built the modern missing-children system.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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  She Told Him Not to Call the Police: The Maura Murray Case 27.08.2026 19мин

  She Told Him Not to Call the PoliceOn February 9, 2004, 21-year-old nursing student Maura Murray crashed her Saturn on a dark curve of Route 112 in Haverhill, New Hampshire. A bus driver stopped to help; by his account, she waved him off, saying she had already called AAA, on a road with no cell service. Nineteen minutes after the first 911 call, police found a locked car and no driver. She has never been seen again. Why would she claim to have called AAA on a road with no signal? Where did she go in those nineteen minutes? And why did a full search not begin for 36 hours?In this episode, we rebuild the last four days of Maura Murray's life, the phone call that left her sobbing at her campus security desk, the 3:30 a.m. guardrail crash in her father's car, the false email about a death in the family, the $280 withdrawn from an ATM, and the nineteen-minute window on Wild Ammonoosuc Road where she vanished. Then we follow the case into the rooms where it was fought: the 36-hour delay before a full search, the "voluntary departure" framing that shaped everything, and the Right-to-Know lawsuit that forced New Hampshire to reveal a 2,938-page file, four polygraphs, and a sworn affidavit putting the odds of criminal charges at 75 percent, while a father was handed only 50 pages.Person: Maura Ann Murray, 21, UMass Amherst nursing student and former West Point cadetDate: February 9, 2004Location: Route 112 (Wild Ammonoosuc Road), Haverhill, New HampshireCase: Suspicious disappearance; no body ever foundLegal status: No arrests or charges ever filed; open and active with the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit and FBI ViCAP, with an age-progression image released in 2024- The three phone calls of February 9, and the one that could never have connected- The scent trail that reportedly ended in the middle of the road- The basement excavation, the 2021 bone fragments, and the 2022 search- The fingerprint reported on a CD in her car, alleged, denied, and never charged- A family's fight for a New Hampshire Cold Case CommissionTwenty-two years later, the case remains open, and investigators say one phone call could still break it.To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].