# 2 Hours of True Crime Cases That Feel Too Twisted for TV | 245

An episode of [Lazy Chill True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815534472), 30 May 2026, 2 h 10 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO8515124301.mp3

Join me for 2+ hours of disturbing true crime cases that are too twisted for TV or Netflix. Episode 245 of the true crime podcast btw, and a compilation of five previous videos in this series. 👇 Youtube links: Lazy Chill History Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillHistory Lazy Chill Zone Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillZone 👇 Support My Work: ❤️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lazychillzone 👇Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/lazychillzone/ 👇 Podcast links: ⚡History Video Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/7km5pLWpYWEj1mrPpEfRUr?si=0FHYnZf-Qs2FY1GyLevfig ⚡True Crime Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/0klIz08pAr7wR4we0Ia4sk?si=68qZxCeAQkysXzMZrHE0Iw 🍏 True Crime Podcast on Apple 🍎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lazy-chill-true-crime/id1815534472 unsolved mysteries, true crime, cold cases, unsolved mysteries, missing persons, murder investigation, forensic evidence, serial killers, crime scene analysis, dark history, criminal psychology, real life horror, police investigations, DNA breakthroughs, forensic genealogy, crime documentaries, criminal profiling, mysterious disappearances, solved cases, justice system, law enforcement stories, cold case files, creepy mysteries, true crime storytelling, crime reconstruction, chilling cases, investigative reporting, modern forensics, victim advocacy, unidentified remains, crime scene forensics, cold cases, true crime, true crime solved, 5 true crime cases

## Transcript

[0:00] On a calm September night in 1989, at a convenience store
[0:04] along a lonely highway in North Florida, 36 year old Darlene
[0:08] Messer vanished without a trace. Two days later, a railroad
[0:13] conductor crossing a small bridge made a horrifying
[0:15] discovery. Darlene's crumpled body lay face
[0:19] down in the shallow water below. Her face had been beaten so
[0:23] savagely that identification was nearly impossible, and it was
[0:27] later determined that Darlene had been abducted from her
[0:30] workplace and brutally eliminated.
[0:34] This is the haunting story of what happened to Darlene Messer
[0:37] and the enduring mystery that continues to this day.
[0:43] Darlene was a 36 year old mother originally from Calgary in
[0:46] Canada. In 1987, she moved to Florida to
[0:50] be near a prison pen pal, Charles Messer, who would soon
[0:54] become her husband. Charles was imprisoned for
[0:57] slaying an individual during a robbery and was actually
[1:01] scheduled to get the big state sponsored DP.
[1:05] According to those who knew Darlene, she knew about the
[1:07] nature of his criminal offenses, but she had been led to believe
[1:11] that he was going to get paroled.
[1:15] I'm guessing she didn't know too much about Florida justice, but
[1:18] hey, it was the 80s. By that year, Darlene was living
[1:23] in Lake City and working the overnight shift at a convenience
[1:26] store. Her mother was visiting from
[1:29] Canada at the time, completely unaware of the tragedy about to
[1:32] unfold. Late on September 18th, 1989,
[1:38] Darlene was behind the counter on her usual graveyard shift
[1:42] shortly after midnight. A couple from Georgia stopped in
[1:46] around 12:35 for coffee and snacks.
[1:50] They stayed for about 15 minutes and as they left, they nearly
[1:53] collided with an incoming vehicle, an older, rust colored
[1:57] Pontiac Grand Prix. This was the last car seen at
[2:00] the store before everything went wrong.
[2:03] At about 12:55 AM, minutes after that mystery car arrived, the
[2:09] store's silent alarm went off. Police rushed to the scene and
[2:15] found the place empty and chaotic.
[2:17] Around $100 was missing from the register and money and goods
[2:22] were strewn across the floor, and Darlene was gone.
[2:26] She was packing a Roscoe in her purse, but it appeared that the
[2:30] weapon was simply too far away from her.
[2:33] This suggested that this was a violent and sudden abduction.
[2:39] A frantic search began for the missing clerk almost
[2:41] immediately, with her mother attempting to help in any way
[2:45] she could. Two days later, on September
[2:48] 20th, a train conductor passing over a bridge about 13 miles
[2:52] from the store spotted a body in the shallow water below.
[2:57] Authorities found Darlene lying face down in water under the
[3:00] bridge. She was fully clothed but
[3:03] missing 1 shoe as well as a necklace and an earring.
[3:07] These are items that were potentially lost in the struggle
[3:11] or potentially dark souvenirs taken by the predator.
[3:16] She had been beaten, possibly with a hammer, and the blows to
[3:20] her face were so severe she was almost unrecognizable.
[3:24] I don't usually get into the gruesome details, but here it's
[3:28] important since some have suggested that this hints at a
[3:30] personal grudge against Darlene. And keep that in mind because
[3:35] there were two men who definitely had some serious
[3:38] hatred of her. But I'll get to that in a
[3:41] moment. Evidence on the bridge indicated
[3:45] she was probably eliminated there and her body thrown into
[3:48] the Creek afterward. Investigators also noted an oil
[3:52] stain on the bridge possibly left by the perp's vehicle.
[3:58] Detectives began piercing together leads.
[4:01] The couple who last saw Darlene described the car they
[4:04] encountered, but they couldn't see the driver. 10 days before
[4:08] the slaying, Darlene had reported 2 suspicious men
[4:12] lurking around the convenience store's parking lot.
[4:16] Police responded and arrested the pair, who were armed.
[4:20] These men, known as Bob and Roger, were former Co workers of
[4:24] Darlene's. She had even reported them for
[4:27] theft at a previous job, suggesting A grudge when they
[4:32] were arrested. Bob and Roger were driving a
[4:35] rust colored Grand Prix that leaked oil eerily similar to the
[4:39] car and clues in Darlene's case. Further, the very personal way
[4:44] in which Darlene was eliminated by the perpetrator or
[4:47] perpetrators does suggest a grudge may have been at play.
[4:51] And Bob and Roger definitely had one.
[4:55] Investigators focused on these two men and both denied
[4:59] involvement and claimed they were nowhere near Lake City that
[5:02] night. Ultimately, forensic evidence at
[5:05] the scene suggested they weren't solely responsible.
[5:09] That said, the authorities have speculated that they may have
[5:12] had help from another man, explaining why the forensic
[5:15] situation doesn't line up neatly and they've never been cleared.
[5:22] Another lead pointed to a 31 year old man arrested in
[5:25] Gainesville for a string of convenience store robberies.
[5:28] Around that time, a witness had reported seeing a blue car with
[5:32] a woman screaming near Lake City on the night Darlene disappeared
[5:36] and this suspect drove a blue car.
[5:39] He also had a violent past, and his own wife reportedly made
[5:43] statements implicating him. Police impounded his vehicle but
[5:48] found nothing to tie him to Darlene's abduction.
[5:52] Given Darlene's unusual personal life, detectives considered her
[5:56] husband as well. Charles Messer was in prison at
[5:59] the time, and some speculated he orchestrated an attack from
[6:03] prison out of jealousy. This theory never gained
[6:06] traction, and police found no evidence for it and believed
[6:10] Charles had no role in his wife's death.
[6:14] Others have speculated that her connection to Messer may have
[6:17] made her a target. Under this line of reasoning,
[6:20] she may have been targeted by someone who mess or wronged,
[6:24] either in his criminal career or inside prison.
[6:27] Ultimately, however, there's no proof of this, despite how
[6:31] intriguing the theory may be. On a cold December afternoon in
[6:39] 1990, two 23 year old Steven Clark walked into a public
[6:44] washroom by the seaside and was never seen again.
[6:49] The quaint coastal village of Marsk by the sea in northern
[6:52] England would become the center of a decades long mystery after
[6:56] Stephen vanished without a trace.
[6:59] What began as a routine holiday walk with his mother turned into
[7:03] one of the UK's most perplexing missing person cases.
[7:07] Over 30 years later, Stephen's fate remains unknown, leaving
[7:12] his family and an entire community desperate for answers.
[7:19] Stephen Clark was born in 1969 and grew up in a loving family
[7:23] alongside his parents, Doris and Charles, and a younger sister,
[7:27] Victoria. As a child, he survived a
[7:30] terrible accident where he was struck by a vehicle, an event
[7:33] that left him with serious injuries to his left arm and
[7:36] leg. The damage was permanent.
[7:39] Stephens left arm was largely unusable, and he walked with a
[7:44] pronounced limp for the rest of his life.
[7:47] Despite the challenges stemming from his childhood injuries,
[7:51] Steven was determined to build an independent life in his late
[7:55] teens. His family had spent several
[7:57] years in South Africa before returning to England in 1990,
[8:02] eventually settling in Marsk by the Sea.
[8:07] Eager to improve his prospects, he enrolled in a training
[8:10] program with an organization supporting people with
[8:13] disabilities and developing job skills.
[8:16] During this time, Stephen also began dating a young woman he
[8:20] met through the program. He grew close enough to be
[8:23] invited to her home to meet her parents, a sign that the
[8:27] relationship was becoming meaningful.
[8:30] By the winter of 1992, it seemed that Stephen was on the verge of
[8:35] big things in both his personal and professional life.
[8:40] As Christmas came and went that year, none of his loved ones
[8:43] could have imagined that Stephen's promising life was
[8:46] about to take a tragic turn. The incident occurred on Monday,
[8:52] December 28th, 1992, just after Christmas.
[8:57] Stephen and his mother Doris decided to take an afternoon
[9:00] walk along the beach from their village of Marsk to the nearby
[9:04] town of Saltburn by the sea. The seaside promenade was a
[9:09] familiar spot and an easy outing for the 23 year old and his mom.
[9:15] At approximately 3:00 that afternoon, as they strolled near
[9:19] Saltburn's pier, Stephen told his mother he needed to use the
[9:22] washroom. He headed for the public toilet
[9:25] while Doris went into the adjacent ladies facilities.
[9:28] At the same time. That brief moment a mother and
[9:32] son entering separate bathrooms would be the last time Doris
[9:36] ever saw her son. Steven had vanished in a matter
[9:40] of minutes in a busy area with no witnesses whatsoever.
[9:47] Alarmed and confused, Doris searched the immediate area but
[9:50] found no sign of Steven. It was as if he had evaporated
[9:54] into thin air. When he failed to turn up,
[9:57] Stevens family contacted police to report him missing.
[10:01] The initial search for Steven focused on the coastline and
[10:04] town where he was last seen. Given the proximity to the sea,
[10:09] there was concern he might have had an accident, perhaps fallen
[10:13] from the nearby pier or cliffs, or been caught by the tide.
[10:19] However, extensive searches of the shoreline and surrounding
[10:22] area turned up nothing. No clothing, no clues, and most
[10:28] importantly, no body was ever found.
[10:31] Steven seemed to have disappeared without a trace,
[10:35] leaving behind countless unanswered questions.
[10:40] Adding to the mystery, it was later noted that Steven had left
[10:44] some personal items back home that day, including his wallet,
[10:47] watch, and glasses. These are items he would almost
[10:51] certainly need if he planned on going anywhere for long.
[10:55] These possessions, sitting untouched in his bedroom,
[10:59] suggested that he fully expected to return home shortly, a return
[11:03] that never happened for years. The last confirmed sighting of
[11:08] Stephen remained that fateful moment at the Saltburn public
[11:11] toilets. His family was left in limbo and
[11:14] Doris and Charles insisted their son was happy and had no reason
[11:18] to run away. The idea that he might have done
[11:22] something, or simply left to start a new life didn't square
[11:26] with his personality or circumstances.
[11:29] Stephen had been looking forward to things like a potential job
[11:33] opportunity and his budding romance, making a voluntary
[11:37] disappearance seem improbable. Still, without any evidence of
[11:42] foul play, police initially treated the case as a missing
[11:45] person inquiry. The trail in Saltburn went cold
[11:50] and as the 1990s progressed, Stevens case languished with no
[11:54] breakthroughs. Then, in 2020, this long dormant
[12:01] case was suddenly thrust back into the spotlight.
[12:05] The cold case unit took a fresh look at the file and uncovered
[12:09] new information that raised disturbing possibilities.
[12:13] In particular, detectives revealed that a potential
[12:16] witness had come forward with a significant new sighting.
[12:20] A woman reported seeing a man she believed to be Steven near
[12:24] the Clark family's home in Marsque on the very day he went
[12:28] missing. She recalled this as being
[12:31] sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 that afternoon on December 28th,
[12:36] 1992. And yeah, that's quite a memory
[12:40] on her, recalling the exact time and date she saw someone almost
[12:44] 30 years ago. I can't even remember what I had
[12:48] for breakfast yesterday, but to spoil what happens next, this is
[12:52] going to be part of the basis for charging the parents, but
[12:55] I'll come to that. If accurate, this sighting meant
[13:00] that Steven did make it back from Saltburn that afternoon.
[13:04] This would contradict the long held assumption that whatever
[13:07] happened to him occurred at the seaside toilets.
[13:10] Police stated that they found the report credible and now
[13:13] believe Steven was alive and in the vicinity of his home during
[13:17] that hour on the day he vanished.
[13:20] This revelation shifted the focus of the investigation
[13:23] dramatically and hinted that the original timeline of events
[13:26] might be incomplete. Even more startling was an old
[13:31] clue resurrected from the past. Back in 1999, seven years after
[13:37] Stephen disappeared, an anonymous letter had been mailed
[13:40] to the local police station. The unsigned letter claimed that
[13:44] Stephen Clark was dead and even named a specific person
[13:48] responsible for his death. At the time, officers had logged
[13:53] the letter and discussed its contents with Stevens family,
[13:57] but with no corroborating evidence, the lead went nowhere
[14:01] and faded into obscurity. Now, with the case reopened,
[14:06] detectives made a public appeal in 2020 for the mystery letter
[14:10] writer to come forward. In a surprising turn, the author
[14:15] of the letter did come forward after that appeal and spoke with
[14:18] police as part of the investigation.
[14:23] Authorities haven't disclosed what was learned, but the
[14:26] letter's emergence was one of several factors that convinced
[14:29] investigators something criminal might have happened to Steven.
[14:33] By late 2020, the cold case review had gathered enough
[14:36] evidence and suspicion for the authorities to take drastic
[14:39] action. Citing the total absence of any
[14:43] proof of life for nearly 30 years, detectives formally
[14:46] declared that Steven was likely slain.
[14:49] But then things took a very dramatic and unexpected turn.
[14:53] In September 2020, in a bombshell development that made
[14:57] national headlines in the UK, Stevens elderly parents Doris
[15:02] and Charles Clark were arrested for the crime.
[15:06] The notion that his own mother and father, now in their late
[15:09] 70s, could be implicated in Stevens fate shocked those who
[15:14] knew the close knit family. Police spent days searching the
[15:19] Clark home, digging up sections of the yard and combing through
[15:23] decades old belongings for any hidden evidence.
[15:27] The investigation into Stevens relationships and last known
[15:30] activities took on new urgency as detectives tried to determine
[15:34] if there had been foul play from within the household.
[15:38] After months of scrutiny, however, the case against Doris
[15:42] and Charles didn't materialize. In early 2021, the Crown
[15:47] Prosecution Service announced no charges would be filed due to
[15:51] insufficient evidence. The clerks were fully cleared
[15:54] and released, and ultimately, it remains unclear why the
[15:57] authorities figured that this would be an appropriate charge
[16:01] in the circumstances. Both parents vehemently
[16:06] maintained their innocence throughout, calling the ordeal
[16:09] horrendous and professing that they had no idea what happened
[16:13] to Stephen. In fact, in the wake of their
[16:16] arrest, the couple took the unusual step of inviting a
[16:20] television documentary crew into their lives.
[16:24] They hoped that this would both clear their names and also raise
[16:28] the profile of their son's case. They may have also been hoping
[16:33] to put some serious pressure on the authorities to actually
[16:36] crack the case, given the spectacle that was created with
[16:39] the arrest. However, by the end of 2021, the
[16:44] active investigation wound down again, with no arrests, no
[16:48] answers and a cloud of suspicion dispelled but not fully
[16:52] understood. Over the years, Stephen Clark's
[16:58] case has spawned many theories, each troubling in its own way,
[17:02] and none supported by definitive evidence.
[17:05] One early theory was that Stephen might have suffered an
[17:08] accident by the sea, such as slipping on ice or being swept
[17:12] away by waves near the pier. However, an extensive search
[17:17] never found any trace of him along the coast, and the
[17:20] geography of the region isn't particularly treacherous.
[17:26] Another possibility raised was that Stephen chose to disappear
[17:30] intentionally, perhaps to start a new life.
[17:34] Yet those close to him argue this is out of character and
[17:38] Steven left behind his essential belongings and also was looking
[17:42] forward to upcoming opportunities.
[17:45] This makes it hard to believe he would simply walk away forever,
[17:48] especially since he seems to have been so excited about his
[17:51] new girlfriend and the potential future with her.
[17:56] There's also the grim scenario of a random attacker or
[17:59] abduction. No witnesses have ever come
[18:02] forward to suggest an attack in that busy area, and Steven, at
[18:07] six feet 3 inches, isn't the sort of person predators
[18:10] generally choose to target. Even though he had a visible
[18:14] physical disability due to the accident, he would have still
[18:17] been able to give a hell of a fight.
[18:21] The most persistent theory, and the one pursued by police in
[18:25] 2020, is that foul play by someone close to Steven led to
[18:29] his disappearance. Investigators scrutinize
[18:33] Stephen's inner circle, including family, because
[18:36] statistically, a person is often harmed by someone they know.
[18:41] The anonymous letter from 1999 had explicitly pointed to an
[18:45] unnamed individual's involvement, implying that
[18:49] Stephen was slain and the truth covered up.
[18:54] Ultimately, however, at present all we can say is that his
[18:58] parents have been investigated thoroughly and cleared.
[19:04] As of today, the disappearance of Stephen Clark remains an
[19:08] agonizing unsolved mystery. It's now been more than three
[19:13] decades since that December day and Stevens 53rd birthday has
[19:17] come and gone with no answers. His story continues to haunt the
[19:21] community of Marsque by the Sea, where by all accounts he was a
[19:25] familiar and well liked figure. His parents, against all hope,
[19:29] have publicly stated that they continue to hope that one day
[19:33] he'll simply just walk through the door once again.
[19:39] Imagine walking alone on a misty mountain path in rural Japan.
[19:43] All is quiet until a strange, hunched figure emerges from the
[19:47] trees. Before you can even cry out, the
[19:50] creature speaks and it's your voice uttering the very thought
[19:55] that was forming in your mind. Such is the unnerving encounter
[19:59] with the Satori, A mysterious being of Japanese folklore said
[20:03] to read minds. In Japanese lore, the Satori is
[20:09] described as a monkey like supernatural creature that
[20:12] dwells in remote mountain regions.
[20:15] Travelers trekking along lonely mountain paths or woodcutters
[20:20] working at isolated forest huts may encounter A Satori suddenly
[20:24] appearing on the trail. With its hunched, hairy form and
[20:29] unnervingly keen eyes, the creatures mere appearance is
[20:32] frightening. Yet the Satori's most dreaded
[20:35] ability is even more unsettling. The hallmark of a Satori is its
[20:41] telepathic power to read human thoughts.
[20:44] It will instantly speak a person's thoughts aloud, often
[20:48] finishing your sentences before you do.
[20:51] This means the creature can anticipate every action if you
[20:55] plan to run or to strike it. The Satori already knows, making
[21:00] it nearly impossible to catch by surprise.
[21:03] This psychological terror of having one's private thoughts
[21:07] exposed by a monster makes the Satori especially feared beyond
[21:14] its mind reading. The Satori is also known as a
[21:17] dangerous predator. Legends claim it will hunt
[21:20] humans for sport. However, folklore offers a
[21:23] clever defense against this menace.
[21:26] If a person can manage to do something truly unexpected, an
[21:30] action with no premeditation, it might startle the Satori and
[21:34] send it fleeing in fear. Better yet, the surefire way to
[21:39] survive a Satori encounter is to empty one's mind completely.
[21:44] With no thoughts to read, the mind reading monster becomes
[21:47] confused or bored and eventually wanders off.
[21:52] Of course, achieving such a Zen like state of no mind while
[21:56] facing a hungry Cryptid is easier said than done, which is
[21:59] why most victims in the tales are not so lucky.
[22:04] The Satori's very name hints at its eerie role.
[22:08] In Japanese, Satori refers to sudden enlightenment, an ironic
[22:13] title for a wild mountain monster.
[22:16] Even the prescribed escape from a satori clearing 1's mind
[22:20] entirely mirrors Zen Buddhist practices of attaining inner
[22:24] stillness. In this way, the Satori legend
[22:28] double S as a folk cautionary tale and a subtle spiritual
[22:31] lesson about the power of the ability to empty one's mind.
[22:37] Historically, the Satori entered written folklore during the Edo
[22:41] period, with the first documented recording of the
[22:44] creature coming in a 1712 encyclopedia.
[22:48] Folklorists have offered various interpretations of what the
[22:51] Satori really represents. One theory is that it started
[22:55] out as a mountain commie, a minor deity or spirit of the
[22:59] wild that devolved into a yokai as people lost faith in the old
[23:04] nature gods. Another theory is that the
[23:08] creature grew out of a previous ghostly entity, which was said
[23:11] to haunt mountains and echo words back for clarity's sake.
[23:17] A yokai is a supernatural entity from Japanese folklore, often
[23:21] described as spirits, demons, strange apparitions, or in
[23:26] modern times, as cryptids. They embody the mysterious,
[23:31] eerie, and sometimes playful aspects of the unseen world.
[23:38] Many interpretations of this creature are interwoven with Zen
[23:41] Buddhist lessons, and the stories may not be intended to
[23:45] be taken at face value. One of the most famous Satori
[23:49] legends tells of a lone woodcutter deep in the mountains
[23:52] who is stalked by the creature. Every time the woodcutter
[23:56] conceives a plan whether to flee or to swing his axe, the Satori
[24:01] speaks his thought aloud in a mocking voice, thwarting any
[24:05] chance of surprise. Finally, in desperation, the man
[24:10] stops scheming and simply resumes chopping wood, trying to
[24:14] empty his mind while he chops the wood.
[24:18] Eventually the axe head breaks off and flies into the Satori,
[24:22] eliminating the ape creature on the spot.
[24:25] The tale's implicit moral is that only a truly empty mind can
[24:29] outwit the mind reading Satori, mirroring the Zen teaching that
[24:33] stillness of mind can overcome even great obstacles.
[24:38] Folk traditions are generally less high minded and simply
[24:42] focus on the fact that the Satori wouldn't harm those who
[24:45] live and work respectfully in the mountains.
[24:47] In these stories, the creature preys mainly on outsiders or
[24:52] people who look to exploit the mountain's riches, almost like a
[24:55] guardian spirit of the Highlands enforcing nature's rules.
[25:02] While the Satori is now largely regarded solely as a mythical
[25:05] being, this creature was once accepted as part of the order of
[25:09] the natural world. Interestingly, some have tried
[25:13] to tie the Satori to the case of the Hibigon, an ape like Cryptid
[25:17] which was reported in Japan in the 1970s.
[25:21] Notably though, aside from both being ape like creatures
[25:25] residing in the mountains, the two really have nothing in
[25:28] common at all. Medieval kings often left behind
[25:36] illegitimate children, but few are as enigmatic as Philip of
[25:40] Cognac. Philip was the only acknowledged
[25:43] illegitimate son of King Richard the First of England, better
[25:47] known as Richard the Lionheart. And yet we know remarkably
[25:51] little about him. In particular, the identity of
[25:55] Philip's mother remains an unsolved mystery.
[25:58] Historians have scoured chronicles and records, but no
[26:01] contemporary source names the woman who bore Richard's son.
[26:06] This silence has fueled centuries of speculation and
[26:09] intrigue. Who was she, and why has history
[26:13] forgotten her? But that's not the only mystery
[26:16] that surrounds him, for there are tantalizing clues to suggest
[26:20] that he actually personally haunted down the man responsible
[26:24] for his father's death. Philip of Cognac was recorded as
[26:29] being born around 1180 and had the distinction of being the
[26:33] only known child, either legitimate or illegitimate, of
[26:37] Richard. He grew up during Richard's
[26:41] tumultuous reign, reaching adulthood by the late 1190s.
[26:46] His name of Cognac comes from the Lordship of Cognac in the
[26:50] Charent region of France, a territory that became
[26:53] intertwined with his fate. Richard the Lionheart, famous
[26:58] for his exploits on crusade and in warfare, surprisingly took
[27:02] time to secure a future for Philip.
[27:06] The king arranged a marriage between Philip and Amelia of
[27:09] Cognac, a noble heiress, and Richard's feudal ward.
[27:14] By marrying Amelia, Philip stood to inherit the castle and
[27:18] surrounding estates of Cognac, firmly rooting him in the
[27:21] political landscape of Richard's Dutchie of Aquitaine.
[27:26] This was a strategic match orchestrated by Richard.
[27:29] Amelia's father, Ethier the Fifth, had been Lord of Cognac,
[27:34] and through her, Philip could claim that valuable estate.
[27:38] It appears Richard wanted to provide for his son, perhaps as
[27:42] a loyal vassal in Aquitaine, even though Philip could never
[27:46] inherit the English throne due to his illegitimacy.
[27:50] Unfortunately, the plans didn't fully pan out, to say the least.
[27:54] Amelia of Cognac died young, reportedly in 1199, and the
[27:59] couple had no children. After her death, King Richard
[28:04] retained the castle of Cognac, ultimately granting it to lesser
[28:08] nobleman in his service. Philip's brief taste of lordship
[28:11] ended as quickly as it began. Nevertheless, Philip of Cognac
[28:16] did make a mark on the chronicles, however Faint 1
[28:20] Chronicle by Roger of Howden claims that in 1199, after
[28:25] Richard was slain in battle, Philip avenged his father's
[28:28] death by hunting down the Viscount of Limoge.
[28:31] According to this Imar the 5th, the rebellious Viscount
[28:36] ultimately responsible for Richard's fatal wound, was
[28:40] brought down by his vengeful son, Philip.
[28:44] Howden wrote. Philip, illegitimate son of King
[28:48] Richard of England, slew the Viscount of Limoge in vengeance
[28:52] for his father. No other source confirms this
[28:55] dramatic episode. It may be only a legend, but it
[28:59] shows that Philip's contemporaries knew who he was.
[29:03] In fact, even King John, Richard's brother and successor,
[29:07] noted Philip's status. A12O1 Royal account book cites a
[29:12] significant gift to Philip, son of King Richard.
[29:16] After that, Philip of Cognac disappears from the records.
[29:20] Some have suggested he likely died sometime in the early 13th
[29:23] century, still a young man. That said, the ultimate fate of
[29:29] Richard the Lionheart's only acknowledged son remains a
[29:32] complete mystery. All these details paint the
[29:36] outline of Philip's life, a youth in Aquitaine, A
[29:39] politically arranged marriage, a fleeting role in the violent
[29:43] drama of his father's demise, and then obscurity.
[29:47] Yet amid these facts, one glaring question remains
[29:51] unanswered. Who was Philip's mother?
[29:55] Every mention of Philip carefully omits her name,
[29:58] referring to her only implicitly, if at all.
[30:03] To understand why Philip's mother might be missing from the
[30:06] record, it helps to look at Richard the Lionheart's personal
[30:09] life and attitudes. Unlike many kings of his era, or
[30:14] any era really, Richard had no legitimate children and only one
[30:18] illegitimate child. He married relatively late, at
[30:23] age 34, to Queen Berengaria of Navarra.
[30:28] That marriage produced no offspring, and husband and wife
[30:32] spent much of their time apart. Richard was, of course, famous
[30:36] for his significant time spent abroad fighting in the Holy
[30:39] Land. This lack of an air was a
[30:42] significant issue. Richard's absence of children
[30:46] meant that when he died in 1199, the crown passed to his brother
[30:50] John. Richard's father, Henry the
[30:54] Second, had numerous acknowledged illegitimate
[30:57] offspring, but Richard's case was very different.
[31:01] All evidence indicates that Philip's mother was simply never
[31:04] officially identified. Medieval chroniclers usually
[31:07] mentioned an illegitimate child's mother only if she was
[31:10] notable in her own right, for instance, a high-ranking noble.
[31:15] In Phillips case, every record is silent on her name and
[31:18] background, implying she was not of high rank or political
[31:22] importance. Roger of Howden, who detailed
[31:26] Phillips supposed act of vengeance, likewise gives no
[31:29] hint of maternal lineage. This lack of reference to his
[31:32] maternal line is sometimes used as evidence in support of the
[31:36] act of vengeance against the Viscount by Phillip.
[31:39] After all, if the account was entirely fictional, why not
[31:43] invent A fictional maternal lineage to make the young man
[31:46] seem destined for heroism? Even administrative records like
[31:51] that twelve O 1 Pipe Roll entry from King John acknowledged
[31:55] Philip while keeping his mother anonymous.
[31:58] This anonymity could be deliberate.
[32:01] It's possible that Philip's mother was a commoner or lower
[32:04] status noblewoman whose liaison with Richard was a private
[32:08] matter. If she were a married woman or a
[32:11] daughter of one of Richard's vassals, there may have been a
[32:14] desire to keep the affair discreet to avoid scandal.
[32:18] However, some have speculated that by keeping her name out of
[32:21] official records, he kept the focus on Philip as his son and
[32:26] only that. So, with all the facts laid out,
[32:30] who could she have been? Based on Philip's estimated
[32:34] birth circa 1180, Richard would have been about 22 or 23 years
[32:40] old at the time. Richard spent those years in
[32:44] Aquitaine, ruling as Duke and quelling uprisings among his
[32:49] barons. It stands to reason that
[32:52] Philip's mother was a woman Richard knew in Aquitaine during
[32:55] that period. She might have been from the
[32:57] cognac region or elsewhere in Poitou.
[33:01] Another possibility often floated is that Philip's mother
[33:04] was one of the unnamed women mentioned in tales of Richard's
[33:07] wartime cruelty. Some have suggested that, to put
[33:11] it mildly, Philip's mother was not there of her own accord.
[33:15] Such an origin would be all the more reason not to publicize the
[33:19] mother's name. If the mother was from a noble
[33:22] family, they would hardly want it known what had happened,
[33:25] especially if they were subsequently vassals of Richard.
[33:29] If she was a common woman, such an event would portray Richard,
[33:33] the supposedly pious Crusader king, as a monster, ruthlessly
[33:38] exploiting those he ruled over in the most cruel and evil way.
[33:43] Whatever the case, the true fate of the only known son of Richard
[33:47] the Lionheart, as well as the identity of his mother, remains
[33:52] concealed by the mists of history.
[33:55] Perhaps the most controversial theory is that Philip wasn't
[33:58] actually Richard's son at all. As I mentioned previously, kings
[34:02] of this era got around. That is to say, they got busy.
[34:06] Consistently and thoroughly. Some in the Angevant court and
[34:11] around the high courts of Europe started to question whether
[34:14] Richard preferred the company of men.
[34:17] After all, kings of the era routinely produced innumerable
[34:21] offspring, and something just wasn't adding up.
[34:26] Under this theory, Philip's mother may have been concealed
[34:29] to cover up the fact that Richard either wasn't the father
[34:32] or simply didn't enjoy the process as a king should.
[34:36] Keeping the mother's name under wraps would allow this royal
[34:39] secret to be covered up. However, it's important to note
[34:43] that this is essentially a 12th century rumor that's made it to
[34:47] the present, and there's no direct evidence to indicate this
[34:50] was the case. It was a damp, foggy August
[34:57] morning in 1975 when a father and son set out early for a
[35:02] simple fishing trip on Sherman Lake in Newcastle, ME.
[35:06] The serenity of the water was shattered by a gruesome
[35:09] discovery. At about 8:00, as they prepared
[35:13] to cast their lines, the two fishermen noticed something
[35:16] floating near a bridge. Upon further investigation, they
[35:21] discovered the body of a young woman.
[35:24] The horrified pair ran to a nearby farmhouse to call the
[35:27] police, initially reporting what they assumed was a drowning.
[35:31] But as officers arrived, it became clear this was no
[35:34] accident, but rather the beginning of a mystery that
[35:38] would haunt Maine for decades. A Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff
[35:44] was first on the scene on that August 16th, 1975 morning.
[35:49] He noticed potential signs of foul play and secured the area,
[35:53] then called in The Maine State Police from Augusta.
[35:57] By the time state detectives arrived, a small crowd of
[36:00] onlookers had gathered in shock along the road.
[36:04] The victim's body was found face down by the water's edge, arms
[36:08] outstretched and hair fanned across the shallow lake.
[36:12] She was mostly clothed, and she still wore some jewelry,
[36:16] including a silver bracelet and a small pendant.
[36:19] However, despite these identifying features, no ID was
[36:23] found with her, so her name remained a mystery at the time.
[36:28] As officers pulled the body from the water, the cause of death
[36:32] became grimly apparent. A dark ligature mark encircled
[36:36] her neck and bruises were visible all over her body.
[36:40] The state medical examiner determined she had been in the
[36:43] water less than 24 hours, suggesting the slaying likely
[36:47] occurred the night before. The perp had made little effort
[36:51] to conceal the crime scene, and the young woman had simply been
[36:54] dumped in the lake. In the days after the discovery,
[36:59] the victim still had no name. Investigators canvassed the
[37:03] area, interviewing locals and checking with hotels, campsites
[37:08] and police agencies for any missing person matching her
[37:11] description. Some even theorized she might
[37:14] have been a seasonal waitress or other summer worker passing
[37:18] through. Despite these efforts, no one
[37:21] could identify the young woman. Growing desperate, authorities
[37:25] took a very rare step. They released a post mortem
[37:29] photograph of her face to the media and asked them to
[37:32] broadcast it on the local news and put it in papers.
[37:36] Remarkably, this gamble paid off very quickly.
[37:41] This photograph was published in a Boston newspaper and caught
[37:45] the attention of a family in Massachusetts who immediately
[37:48] recognized the woman. 10 days after the body was found, the
[37:53] young woman was finally identified as 19 year old
[37:56] Florence Lowe's of Brockton, MA. Investigators confirmed the
[38:02] identification through photographs, dental records and
[38:06] jewelry she had been wearing. Florence's family hadn't even
[38:10] realized she was missing at the time.
[38:13] Her mother had spoken with her only about a week before the
[38:15] tragedy, so no missing person report had ever been filed.
[38:20] Florence was recently divorced from her marriage to Richard
[38:23] Paul Lowe's and had moved back to Brockton, where she was
[38:27] living with a roommate. She had worked as a nurse's
[38:32] aide, but by that summer she was between jobs.
[38:35] Importantly, Florence had strong ties to Maine and her father
[38:39] lived in the area near where her body was found.
[38:42] Investigators learned that on August 15th, 1975, Florence left
[38:48] Brockton intending to travel N to visit him.
[38:53] With no car, she likely hitchhiked the roughly 150 mile
[38:57] journey. Sherman Lake lies just off US
[39:00] Route One, a major coastal highway, so the hitchhiking
[39:04] theory neatly explained how a Massachusetts traveler could end
[39:08] up there. Tragically, Florence never made
[39:11] it to her father's house. At some point on her journey,
[39:15] she crossed paths with the perpetrator.
[39:20] Once Florence's identity was known, law enforcement in both
[39:24] Maine and Massachusetts retraced her steps and searched for
[39:27] suspects. Maine State Police detectives
[39:31] teamed up with Brockton police and Massachusetts State Police,
[39:34] following leads in both states. Investigators interviewed people
[39:39] in Brockton who had seen Florence before she left, hoping
[39:42] to learn if she mentioned any travel plans or companions.
[39:46] They looked at everyone in her life, including her estranged
[39:49] husband, for anyone with a possible motive.
[39:53] Initial news reports even indicated that detectives had a
[39:56] few promising leads in Massachusetts.
[40:01] Despite this early momentum, no perpetrator was ever identified.
[40:05] By September 1975, officials acknowledged that the
[40:09] investigation had stalled, with no new developments by 1977, two
[40:16] years after the crime. Police admitted they were still
[40:19] no closer to an explanation than on the day Florence's body was
[40:23] found. Over the years, several theories
[40:29] have surfaced about what happened to Florence Lowe's.
[40:32] The most widely held belief is that she fell prey to a
[40:35] dangerous stranger while hitchhiking.
[40:37] Accepting a ride from the wrong person carried obvious risks,
[40:41] and many suspect that Florence was picked up by someone who
[40:44] then turned violent. Her state of undress suggested a
[40:48] possible indecent assault, though the autopsy couldn't
[40:52] prove it one way or the other. Perhaps a passing motorist or
[40:55] truck driver offered her a ride, then assaulted her before
[40:59] dumping her body. If Florence was slain by a
[41:02] random predator, possibly even a serial offender, solving the
[41:07] case would be incredibly difficult.
[41:11] Further, there's no indication that there was any biological
[41:13] evidence of any kind from the offender left at the scene.
[41:17] Given that this was well before the era of the forensic usage of
[41:21] DNA, it's possible that such evidence simply wasn't even
[41:24] collected. While the very obvious and
[41:29] blatant forms of biological evidence did tend to be
[41:32] collected at this time, less obvious forms often didn't.
[41:36] For instance, if there were skin cells from the perpetrator under
[41:40] Florence's nails, this likely would have gone unnoticed at the
[41:44] time. Another theory is that the
[41:48] attacker wasn't an out of towner at all, but someone who knew the
[41:52] local area or even knew Florence personally.
[41:56] Locals noted that a stranger unfamiliar with Newcastle might
[42:00] not easily find the desolate location where she was dumped,
[42:04] especially in the dark. This fuels suspicion that
[42:08] whoever left her body there knew the area well.
[42:11] Indeed, rumors in Newcastle have long speculated that a local
[42:15] person was responsible. Perhaps Florence accepted a ride
[42:19] from someone she thought she could trust, maybe even an
[42:22] acquaintance, who then betrayed her in the worst way.
[42:26] Investigators have never publicly identified a suspect,
[42:30] and no evidence has confirmed this local perpetrator theory.
[42:35] Still, the idea lingers, leaving many to wonder if the perp was
[42:39] closer to home than anyone realized.
[42:43] Decades later, Florence's slaying remains unsolved, with
[42:47] seemingly little to go on. The case remains open, and
[42:51] Maine's Cold Case Unit continues to review it periodically in
[42:55] hopes of a breakthrough. Unfortunately, we're now 50
[42:59] years out from this horrific tragedy and as time ticks by it
[43:04] becomes less and less likely that the perpetrator will ever
[43:07] face justice. On a cold Friday night in
[43:13] February 2020, year old Angus Shanahan, who went by Gussie,
[43:19] walked out of a Limerick pub and vanished into the darkness
[43:23] without a trace. He left behind 1/2 finished
[43:26] bottle of beer on a doorstep and stepped into a narrow laneway,
[43:31] appearing to vanish into thin air.
[43:34] What began as an ordinary evening out quickly transformed
[43:37] into one of Ireland's most baffling missing person cases.
[43:42] It would take 18 years for any trace of Gussie to surface, and
[43:46] even then, the discovery raised as many questions as it
[43:50] answered. This is the story of Gussie
[43:53] Shanahan's disappearance, a night out gone terribly wrong,
[43:58] and the theories that still swirl around a case that remains
[44:01] unsolved. February 11th, 2000 began like
[44:07] any other day for Gussie Shanahan.
[44:10] He finished his shift at the Dell computer plant in
[44:13] Castletroy that afternoon and headed into Limerick City to
[44:16] kick off the weekend. Gussie stopped by the bank where
[44:21] his father worked to repay a small loan and mentioned his
[44:25] plans for the night ahead. He then grabbed a quick bite to
[44:29] eat and met up with two close friends to begin the evening.
[44:35] Also as a quick aside, Limerick had an incredibly seedy
[44:39] reputation at this time and was known for a significant amount
[44:43] of knifing incidents. My understanding is the
[44:46] reputation of the city hasn't improved much and it's basically
[44:50] the Glasgow of Ireland, but I digress.
[44:55] The trio headed to Cooper's Bar on Saint Joseph's Street, a pub
[44:59] near his friend's apartment. They had a couple of drinks and
[45:03] Gussie was in high spirits chatting with other patrons.
[45:08] By around 9:30, both of his friends had gone back to their
[45:11] apartment, leaving Gussie at the bar on his own.
[45:15] He lingered a while longer and even tried calling a few other
[45:18] friends to join him, but no one was available at that hour.
[45:24] Sometime close to 1030, Gussie left the pub alone, and security
[45:28] cameras captured him crossing the street toward his friend's
[45:30] building. After leaving the pub, a
[45:33] neighbor sitting in a parked car saw Gussie walk up to the
[45:36] apartment door, raise his hand as if to knock, then hesitate
[45:41] and turn away. He set down the beer bottle he
[45:44] was carrying, put on his jacket, and headed off toward a dimly
[45:48] lit alley. Nobody ever saw him come out the
[45:51] other side of that alley and that was the last confirmed
[45:55] sighting of him. When the Shanahans hadn't heard
[45:59] from Gussie by the end of that weekend, they grew alarmed.
[46:03] By Monday morning, February 14th, Bob Shanahan checked his
[46:07] son's bank records and saw no activity since Friday.
[46:11] When Gussie also failed to show up for work that day, the family
[46:15] filed a missing person report and alerted the cops, and a full
[46:18] scale search operation was soon launched in Limerick.
[46:24] Police, family and volunteers scoured the city and surrounding
[46:27] areas for any sign of the missing young man.
[46:31] They retraced Gussie's last known route through the downtown
[46:34] streets and even searched the River Shannon, fearing he might
[46:38] have ended up in the water. Despite exhaustive efforts, no
[46:44] clues turned up. There were no signs of a
[46:47] struggle in the alley where he was last seen, and none of
[46:50] Gussie's belongings were ever found.
[46:54] For the Shanahan family, the pain of not knowing was immense.
[46:58] Gussie's mother, Nancy, was so heartbroken by her son's
[47:01] disappearance that she suffered a stroke, and she died in 2016
[47:07] without ever knowing her son's fate.
[47:10] Despite this, Bob and Gussie's siblings vowed to continue the
[47:14] search for Nancy as much As for Gussie.
[47:17] They kept his story in the public eye through media appeals
[47:21] and persisted in contacting anyone who might help.
[47:25] But now let's step back in time to 2001, because it turns out a
[47:30] John Doe case hadn't been properly connected to Gussie's
[47:33] disappearance. On October 28th, 2001, about 20
[47:40] months after Gussie disappeared, a search team discovered partial
[47:44] skeletal remains on Key Island in the Shannon Estuary.
[47:49] A few bone fragments were recovered, but at the time they
[47:52] couldn't be identified. Early DNA tests failed to link
[47:56] the remains to any known missing person, so the fragments were
[48:00] stored as unidentified and largely forgotten.
[48:06] For 17 years, those bones sat in storage while the Shanahans
[48:10] continued to agonize over Gussie's fate.
[48:14] Finally, in late 2018, advancements in DNA technology
[48:19] provided an answer. A re examination of the Key
[48:23] Island bones matched them to Gussie Shanahan, and in October
[48:27] 2018, the family received official confirmation.
[48:33] In November 2018, the Shanahans were at last able to hold a
[48:38] funeral for Gussie. They laid his remains to rest
[48:41] beside his late mother, Nancy, as the family had always hoped
[48:45] to do. This partial closure also
[48:48] prompted law enforcement to take a fresh look at the case.
[48:51] The authorities opened a complete review of the
[48:53] investigation's original files and appealed again for
[48:57] information, treating the case with renewed urgency.
[49:01] After 18 years of painful uncertainty, there was finally a
[49:06] concrete development. But the question of how Gussie
[49:09] ended up in the river remained unanswered.
[49:15] With confirmation of Gussie's death, the focus turned to how
[49:18] it happened. 1 theory is that his death was a tragic accident.
[49:24] Perhaps Gussie, while walking alone, wandered toward the river
[49:27] and fell in by mistake. However, his family and others
[49:33] doubt this. He was last seen walking away
[49:36] from the water and didn't appear to be overly intoxicated, which
[49:40] makes an abrupt, accidental drowning seem unlikely.
[49:45] Moreover, intensive searches along the Shannon at the time
[49:48] found no trace of him, casting doubt on the idea that he simply
[49:52] slipped into the river that night.
[49:55] Likewise, his family noted that Gussie had no personal problems
[49:59] that might have prompted him to do something to himself.
[50:04] The leading theory, which Gussie's family strongly
[50:07] believes, is that he met with foul play early on.
[50:11] Suspicions arose that he may have crossed paths with
[50:13] dangerous individuals after leaving the pub.
[50:17] Information later emerged suggesting Gussie might have
[50:20] ended up at a house party or gathering in the company of
[50:23] people with violent reputations. The family believes something
[50:28] went terribly wrong, perhaps an argument or assault, and that
[50:32] Gussie was slain and his body dumped into the river when the
[50:37] heat cooled down. Over the years, the Shanahan's
[50:42] have received tips supporting this theory.
[50:45] In one instance, an anonymous caller told Bob Shanahan that
[50:49] Gussie quote ended up in the water that night because he was
[50:53] put there, implying others were responsible.
[50:59] Over the years, there has even been speculation about a broader
[51:02] pattern. Coincidentally, two other young
[51:05] men employed at Dell and Limerick vanished in the years
[51:08] around Gussie's disappearance, though there's been no official
[51:11] connection between the cases. To date, no one has been charged
[51:17] in connection with Gussie Shanahan's disappearance, though
[51:20] his family and the authorities continue to cling to the hope
[51:23] that this Irish cold case will be closed.
[51:29] Jack Quinn's company car was found abandoned at Palm Beach
[51:32] International Airport on April 9th, 1988, and Quinn himself was
[51:38] nowhere to be found. Earlier that day, the security
[51:42] executive had calmly loaded $1.3 million in cash into that car
[51:47] and driven off, only to vanish without a trace.
[51:51] He had pulled off a bold daylight heist and then
[51:53] disappeared into thin air, leaving a mystery that has now
[51:57] endured for nearly 40 years. Jack Quinn was the Vice
[52:03] President and General Manager of Federal Protection Services, a
[52:07] firm providing armed security for banks and businesses.
[52:11] On the quiet Saturday morning of April 9th, 1988, he arrived at
[52:16] the office as usual and nothing seemed to miss as he went about
[52:21] his routine. Unbeknownst to everyone, he
[52:25] spent that morning moving that huge sum of cash from the vault
[52:28] into boxes without attracting any suspicion.
[52:33] After packing up the money, Quinn set his getaway in motion.
[52:37] He placed the looted funds into both his personal car and a
[52:40] company vehicle. Then he asked a Co worker, Harry
[52:43] Goldberg, to follow him to his house under the pretense of
[52:47] dropping off his personal car. Goldberg obliged, and at home,
[52:51] Quinn left behind his personal car with about $100,000 in its
[52:56] trunk and hastily told his wife goodbye.
[53:00] Harry then drove Quinn back to the office, not realizing he had
[53:04] just helped Quinn execute the first stage of the escape.
[53:07] From there, Quinn slipped into the company car, loaded with the
[53:11] remaining cash, and headed for the airport.
[53:16] At Palm Beach International Airport, Quinn parked the
[53:20] company car at around 5:00 that evening and quietly vanished.
[53:25] Investigators later found the abandoned vehicle, but there was
[53:29] no record of Quinn boarding any flight or taking a taxi from the
[53:32] airport that night. When Quinn failed to come home,
[53:36] his wife grew anxious and called around, but no one knew where he
[53:40] was. By the next morning, she
[53:43] discovered the cash he'd left in their car, along with a letter
[53:46] from Quinn. In the note, he confessed he had
[53:49] done quote something wrong and said he couldn't face the
[53:53] consequences of his actions. His wife, realizing she had been
[53:58] abandoned and not wanting to arouse any suspicion that she
[54:02] was in on it, immediately turned everything over to the police.
[54:07] Quinn's family would soon discover a variety of extremely
[54:10] concerning things about Old Jack, and they would learn that
[54:13] he wasn't the man they thought he was.
[54:15] At home, Old Jack was living a Burt Reynolds lifestyle on a Mac
[54:19] Davis income. And yes, in case that one was a
[54:22] bit too obscure, that's my Simpsons reference for this
[54:26] video. Wait, scratch that.
[54:30] I'm not limiting myself to just one.
[54:33] There's going to be at least one more in this video, so strap
[54:35] yourself in and feel the G's. As police and federal agents
[54:41] delved into Quinn's background, a significant pattern of
[54:44] deception emerged. This wasn't the first time money
[54:47] had vanished on Quinn's watch, and the company suspected him in
[54:51] prior cash shortages, though nothing was proven.
[54:55] Somehow, despite these issues, he was able to keep his job
[54:59] regardless, which is questionable considering what he
[55:02] did. Even his home life held numerous
[55:07] red flags. For instance, his wife once
[55:09] found a hidden stash of cash in their car, which Quin
[55:13] essentially explained away by telling her it was just resting
[55:17] there until being returned. Investigators also discovered
[55:21] Quinn had been living very far beyond his means.
[55:24] Despite a modest $35,000 salary, he was renting A10 acre horse
[55:29] ranch, an extravagant expense that made little sense unless he
[55:33] had an illicit income. He was also in serious financial
[55:37] trouble, owing the IRSA large sum and facing potential jail
[55:42] time for unpaid taxes. As a result of Quinn's crime,
[55:46] his company nearly went under Federal Protection Services, was
[55:50] barely able to stay afloat after losing $1.3 million, and
[55:54] eventually had to file for restructuring.
[55:58] Additionally, the $1.3 million he took was in unmarked ordinary
[56:04] bills and was essentially untraceable by authorities.
[56:09] This means that, unlike most heist situations like this, he
[56:13] essentially had no trouble using small quantities of cash at any
[56:17] given time. Investigators uncovered another
[56:22] personal angle as well. You've heard the expression,
[56:25] let's get busy. Well, this is a dude who gets
[56:29] bizzy. Quinn was laying pipe
[56:32] consistently and thoroughly in the month before the theft.
[56:36] He often left home at 5:00 but didn't arrive at work until
[56:40] hours later, leading police to conclude he was seeing a
[56:43] girlfriend during those early hours.
[56:46] This raised the possibility that he didn't plan to run away
[56:49] alone. He might have intended to start
[56:51] a new life with his mistress. With Quinn gone and few clues to
[56:57] follow, authorities turned to the public for help.
[57:01] In December 1988, Unsolved Mysteries featured the case,
[57:06] prompting a flood of tips from viewers.
[57:09] To put it in context, in the hours after the broadcast, over
[57:14] 1000 phone calls came in about the case, but only a few
[57:18] provided leads that investigators deemed worth
[57:21] checking. Notably, it's important to
[57:24] remember that the reach of Unsolved Mysteries in the 80s
[57:27] and 90s was astronomical, pulling 10 million viewers an
[57:30] episode in America and Canada combined.
[57:36] People claim to spot Quinn all over, including a couple of
[57:39] reports of a man in Cozumel, Mexico with a younger woman, but
[57:43] none of these sightings could be confirmed.
[57:46] Tips came from as far away as Australia, but every lead
[57:50] ultimately turned cold. Finally, in 1992, a significant
[57:56] clue surfaced when the authorities traced Quinn to
[57:58] Houston, TX, after discovering he had obtained a driver's
[58:02] license there under an alias. The thumbprint on the
[58:07] application matched Quinn, proving he had resurfaced
[58:10] briefly to establish a new identity.
[58:13] Further, he had stolen the identity of a known relative of
[58:16] Quinn, further confirming his identity.
[58:21] Yet by the time agents reached the address on the license,
[58:25] Quinn had already moved on. He had used a rented mailbox in
[58:28] Houston as a drop, then disappeared again, slipping
[58:32] through authorities fingers once more.
[58:35] After that, near Miss Jack, Quinn's trail went cold.
[58:39] He remained on the FBI's wanted list, but no confirmed sightings
[58:43] have occurred since the early 1990s.
[58:46] Investigators suspect he may have quietly resettled under
[58:49] another identity, possibly in Hawaii or Maryland, based on
[58:54] scattered hints. Notably, Jack Quinn is fluent in
[58:58] Spanish, and some believe that he made off from Mexico from
[59:01] Texas. But to this day, Jack Quinn's
[59:04] whereabouts remain unknown. Many believe Jack Quinn got
[59:10] exactly what he wanted, a clean getaway and a fresh start.
[59:14] This theory holds that he meticulously planned his escape
[59:18] and is potentially still at large somewhere.
[59:21] He had a huge head start, untraceable cash, and likely
[59:25] false identities prepared. Indeed, the evidence of the
[59:30] Texas driver's license and known aliases supports the idea that
[59:34] he successfully reinvented himself.
[59:37] If alive, Quinn could have quietly integrated into another
[59:41] community under a different name over the decades.
[59:45] He may have spent his stolen fortune over the years while
[59:48] keeping a low profile. Others theorize that Quinn's
[59:53] escape may have ended in tragedy or betrayal.
[59:57] Perhaps he fell victim to someone who wanted the stolen
[59:59] money for themselves, or he encountered danger while on the
[1:00:03] run that led to his demise. At one point, investigators even
[1:00:08] wondered if Quinn never left Florida at all, suggesting his
[1:00:12] wife might have been involved in a double cross.
[1:00:15] Under this theory, his wife eliminated him.
[1:00:18] And then turned over a fragment of the cash to the police to try
[1:00:22] to frame herself as the good guy.
[1:00:25] However, this idea was discounted once evidence showed
[1:00:28] Quinn was alive years later in Houston.
[1:00:33] Still, it's quite possible that he met with foul play after
[1:00:36] almost being caught in Houston. Some have theorized that he may
[1:00:41] have paid some bad hombres to transfer him in the loot South
[1:00:44] of the border down Mexico Way. Under this theory, in the
[1:00:49] process of transporting him, the nature of the cargo was found
[1:00:53] out and Jack Quinn was eliminated and the unmarked cash
[1:00:57] disappeared. Of course, this theory is
[1:01:00] entirely speculative, though given the amount of illicit
[1:01:03] traffic between the two countries, it doesn't seem
[1:01:06] entirely implausible. Almost 40 years later, the
[1:01:12] disappearance of Jack Quinn remains A compelling financial
[1:01:15] unsolved mystery. On December 17th, 1967,
[1:01:23] Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt dove into the surf at
[1:01:27] Cheviot Beach in Victoria and vanished without a trace.
[1:01:31] The disappearance of a sitting national leader during the tense
[1:01:35] Cold War era no less stunned the nation and captured the world's
[1:01:40] attention. In the days and years that
[1:01:44] followed, Holt's fate became one of Australia's most intriguing
[1:01:48] mysteries. It spawned official
[1:01:50] investigations as well as a whirlwind of conspiracy theories
[1:01:54] ranging from plausible to downright bizarre.
[1:01:59] Harold Holt was a strong swimmer and an outdoorsy, adventurous
[1:02:02] figure, so a midday swim was nothing out of the ordinary for
[1:02:06] him. On the morning of December 17th,
[1:02:09] 1967, Holt was relaxing near his holiday home in Portsea,
[1:02:14] Victoria, after wrapping up the year's final cabinet meeting a
[1:02:18] few days prior. That day he drove with a small
[1:02:22] group of friends to Cheviot Beach, a secluded spot on the
[1:02:26] Mornington Peninsula known for its rough surf.
[1:02:30] Among the party were Holt's neighbors, Marjorie Gillespie
[1:02:34] and her daughter, along with two family friends, Martin Simpson
[1:02:38] and Alan Stewart. The Prime Minister, then 59
[1:02:43] years old, was keen to cool off in the ocean.
[1:02:47] As they arrived, they noticed the sea was particularly
[1:02:50] turbulent, and witnesses later described the tide as the
[1:02:54] highest they had seen. The waves were noted to be up to
[1:02:58] 8 feet high, and there was a powerful undertow churning the
[1:03:02] water. Despite these intimidating
[1:03:06] conditions, Holt reportedly brushed aside concern he had
[1:03:10] often swum at Cheviot Beach in choppy conditions and even told
[1:03:14] his press secretary on another occasion, half jokingly, not to
[1:03:19] worry about his risky hobby specifically.
[1:03:23] He even joked that there was no chance he would be pulled out to
[1:03:26] sea in the undertow. With characteristic confidence,
[1:03:31] Holt declared he knew the beach like the back of his hand and
[1:03:34] headed straight into the surf without hesitation.
[1:03:37] Simpson and Stewart followed him in at first, but quickly thought
[1:03:41] better of it. Simpson stopped when the water
[1:03:44] reached his knees, feeling a strong undercurrent that made
[1:03:47] waiting further dangerous. Stewart tried to swim after
[1:03:51] Holt, but was caught by a strong undertow and turned back after
[1:03:56] realizing how powerful and frightening the current was.
[1:04:00] The others watched Holt boldly continue swimming into deeper,
[1:04:03] choppier waters. Marjorie Gillespie particularly
[1:04:07] kept an eye on him as he moved further out from shore, at one
[1:04:12] point noticing the water around him appeared to be boiling with
[1:04:16] turbulence. And you may wonder why I'm
[1:04:19] specifically highlighting Marjorie here.
[1:04:22] And, well, stay tuned. But it's basically what you're
[1:04:26] thinking. Then in an instant, to the
[1:04:31] surprise of no one and everyone all at once, Harold Holt was
[1:04:34] gone. 1 moment he was visible in the surf, and the next the
[1:04:39] turbulent sea had seemingly swallowed the Prime Minister up.
[1:04:44] He didn't cry out or signal any distress as he disappeared, and
[1:04:48] according to Gillespie's account, there was no indication
[1:04:52] he was in trouble. Realizing something was terribly
[1:04:56] wrong, the group on the beach began to panic and get to high
[1:04:59] ground to look for any sign of him.
[1:05:03] The disappearance of a national leader triggered an immediate
[1:05:06] and intense response. Local police, naval divers and
[1:05:11] rescue teams were mobilized with astonishing speed.
[1:05:15] Within an hour of Holt's last sighting, helicopters were
[1:05:18] patrolling over the coastline and professional divers tethered
[1:05:22] to safety lines were battling the surf.
[1:05:25] By nightfall, nearly 200 personnel had descended on
[1:05:28] Cheviot Beach to join the search.
[1:05:31] It quickly became the largest search and rescue operation in
[1:05:34] Australian history outside of times of conflict.
[1:05:40] Searchers combed the shoreline, waters and rocky coves for any
[1:05:44] trace of the Prime Minister, using boats and aircraft to
[1:05:48] survey a wide area. However, despite their massive
[1:05:52] mobilization, there was no sign of Holt whatsoever.
[1:05:57] Australia was left reeling at the unthinkable reality that its
[1:06:00] Prime Minister had simply vanished in the ocean.
[1:06:06] Over the next few days, the search continued with unwavering
[1:06:10] determination but dwindling hope.
[1:06:13] Conditions remain perilous. The sea was described as a
[1:06:16] washing machine, with heavy swells, turbid water and strong
[1:06:21] riptides hampering divers efforts.
[1:06:24] At one point, a small rescue boat even capsized in the rough
[1:06:28] seas, underlining the risks rescuers faced.
[1:06:34] Also, just as a quick aside, this really underlines how
[1:06:38] irresponsible the Prime Minister was being.
[1:06:42] He had to know that by engaging in a highly risky activity like
[1:06:45] this, he'd likely also be endangering future potential
[1:06:48] rescuers if something went wrong.
[1:06:52] In general, I prefer when world leaders don't engage in risky
[1:06:56] personal hobbies while serving in office.
[1:07:01] As the first day turned to night and then to the next morning,
[1:07:04] officials grew grim about the likelihood of finding Holt
[1:07:07] alive. On December 18th, amid Gale
[1:07:11] force winds and driving rain, an ABC radio bulletin somberly
[1:07:16] announced there was no meaningful chance of finding
[1:07:19] Holt alive. Indeed, the operation had
[1:07:23] shifted from a rescue to a recovery mission by that point.
[1:07:27] After about 5 days, the large scale search was scaled back on
[1:07:31] December 22nd due to the lack of results and persistent dangerous
[1:07:36] weather. The official search was finally
[1:07:39] called off on January 5th, 1968, three weeks after Holt's
[1:07:44] disappearance, with authorities acknowledging that the ocean had
[1:07:48] claimed his life. In the immediate aftermath, the
[1:07:53] Australian government and public had to grapple with the shock
[1:07:56] and the practical implications of Holt's loss.
[1:08:00] Just two days after he went missing on December 19th, 1967,
[1:08:06] Harold Holt was officially removed from office and the
[1:08:09] Deputy Prime Minister was sworn in as caretaker leader.
[1:08:13] A memorial was attended by dignitaries from around the
[1:08:16] world, including President Lyndon B Johnson and Britain's
[1:08:20] future King Charles the Third. Despite the enormous media
[1:08:26] attention and public grief, the government initially decided not
[1:08:30] to hold a formal public inquiry or coroner's inquest into the
[1:08:33] incident. Instead of an inquest, a joint
[1:08:37] report was prepared by the Commonwealth and Victoria Police
[1:08:41] and submitted in January 1968 to document what was known.
[1:08:47] This report, based on witness statements and the extensive
[1:08:51] search operation, concluded there was no indication of
[1:08:54] anything sinister. Holt's last day had followed a
[1:08:58] normal routine, his demeanour was unremarkable and he had
[1:09:02] knowingly gone swimming in hazardous conditions.
[1:09:07] The report surmised that the turbulent surf and RIP currents
[1:09:10] at Cheviot Beach simply overwhelmed him.
[1:09:14] To explain why a body never washed up, investigators noted
[1:09:17] several possibilities. Holt's remains could have been
[1:09:21] carried far out to sea by powerful tides, consumed by
[1:09:24] notoriously unfriendly Australian marine life, or
[1:09:28] lodged in underwater crevices along the shoreline.
[1:09:33] In short, the official view was that Holt's death was a
[1:09:35] misadventure of the sea, not a matter of foul play.
[1:09:40] The Australian government, accepting this conclusion,
[1:09:43] deemed no further inquiry necessary at the time.
[1:09:48] Even as officials settled on a straightforward explanation,
[1:09:52] many people found it hard to accept that a Prime Minister
[1:09:55] could simply vanish in broad daylight due to an accident.
[1:09:59] The extraordinary nature of Holt's disappearance, occurring
[1:10:02] in an era rife with espionage and communist paranoia, meant
[1:10:07] that conspiracy theories flourished in its wake.
[1:10:10] In the absence of a body or definitive proof, speculation
[1:10:14] filled the void. Over the years, a colorful array
[1:10:18] of theories and rumors have emerged attempting to explain
[1:10:22] what really happened to Harold Holt.
[1:10:25] These range from sober conjectures to wildly
[1:10:28] imaginative fantasies, and I'm going to start off with the most
[1:10:32] absurd mainstream theory and work to what may be the actual
[1:10:36] sad reality. Perhaps the most infamous theory
[1:10:41] is that Holt didn't drown at all, but was abducted or picked
[1:10:44] up by a Chinese submarine. In this narrative, Holt was
[1:10:49] allegedly a spy for Red China who needed to be extracted
[1:10:53] suddenly. According to this tale, on the
[1:10:56] day of his disappearance, Holt rendezvoused with a Chinese
[1:11:00] Midget submarine lurking off Chevy at beach.
[1:11:04] No evidence of foreign submarines was ever found,
[1:11:08] though this theory remains a staple of the folklore that
[1:11:10] sprung up around Holt. Under this theory, Holt lived
[1:11:15] out the remainder of his life in China, never again returning to
[1:11:19] his homeland. Notably, some conspiracists have
[1:11:23] pointed out that this theory may have intentionally been made to
[1:11:26] look silly to distract from what really happened to the
[1:11:29] Australian Prime Minister. Another conflict flavored theory
[1:11:35] speculates that the Central Intelligence Agency was somehow
[1:11:38] involved in Holt's demise. Proponents of this theory
[1:11:42] suggest that Holt might have been wavering in his support for
[1:11:44] the Vietnam War and was perhaps on the verge of pulling
[1:11:48] Australia out of the conflict. The conspiracy claims that the
[1:11:52] CIA arranged to remove Holt before he could change course on
[1:11:56] Vietnam. That said, there's no solid
[1:11:59] evidence whatsoever that Holt planned to reverse policy, nor
[1:12:03] any evidence of CIA involvement. Some have theorized that Harold
[1:12:09] Holt staged his own disappearance to start a new
[1:12:11] life, perhaps driven by personal or romantic reasons.
[1:12:15] This line of speculation gained traction from the fact that Holt
[1:12:19] was revealed to have had extramarital affairs.
[1:12:22] In particular, it was widely rumored and later confirmed that
[1:12:27] Holt had a long time intimate relationship with Marjorie
[1:12:30] Gillespie, the friend from the beach that day.
[1:12:34] This fueled gossip that Holt might have faked the whole thing
[1:12:37] to run off with a lover. One version even suggests he
[1:12:41] arranged for a boat or submarine to pick him up after he
[1:12:44] disappeared under the waves so that he could secretly escape
[1:12:47] overseas with his mistress. It's a dramatic story, but there
[1:12:52] is no evidence to support any aspect of it.
[1:12:55] And Marjorie Gillespie never appeared with a new German
[1:12:58] boyfriend named Helmut Holzheimer.
[1:13:02] A more somber hypothesis that arose in some circles was that
[1:13:06] Holt's passing was actually something much sadder.
[1:13:09] Australia in 1967 was facing mounting protests over its
[1:13:14] involvement in the Vietnam War, and Holt personally was under
[1:13:17] pressure as his government's popularity waned.
[1:13:21] Some wondered if the Prime Minister, feeling politically
[1:13:24] embattled, chose to go out on his own terms by just swimming
[1:13:28] until he couldn't swim anymore. Notably, he absolutely loved the
[1:13:32] water and swimming was his favorite activity.
[1:13:35] Further, some have suggested that it seemed like he was in
[1:13:39] unnaturally good spirits given how choppy the water was and the
[1:13:43] danger he faced. Nearly 6 decades later, the
[1:13:49] disappearance of Harold Holt continues to fascinate.
[1:13:52] In Holt's case, the most logical explanation is also the
[1:13:56] simplest. He overestimated his ability to
[1:13:59] conquer a very dangerous ocean spot and paid with his life.
[1:14:04] All available evidence and official investigations support
[1:14:07] the conclusion that Holt drowned due to natural causes.
[1:14:11] That said, personally, the theory that he went for one last
[1:14:15] swim, going out in a blaze of glory at his favorite spot,
[1:14:19] seems like it could potentially be accurate.
[1:14:26] On a chilly evening in March 1974, a quiet Pittsburgh suburb
[1:14:31] was shaken by a terrible discovery.
[1:14:33] Police found the lifeless body of 23 year old Annette Tokarz
[1:14:37] lying in a shallow Creek in Hopewell Township.
[1:14:41] The young woman had been forcefully drowned, a brutal end
[1:14:45] that sent shock waves through the community.
[1:14:48] For Tokarz's family, it was the beginning of a nightmare that
[1:14:52] police now officially claim has been solved.
[1:14:56] And as you may have guessed from my phrasing, I'm not entirely
[1:14:59] convinced. But we'll get to that.
[1:15:04] The tragedy unfolded on March 6th, 1974.
[1:15:09] That night, Annette crossed paths with fate in the most
[1:15:12] devastating way. She had been out that evening,
[1:15:16] and according to one acquaintance, she was last seen
[1:15:19] leaving a local bar with an unidentified man.
[1:15:24] When she didn't return home, concern grew quickly.
[1:15:28] The next morning, police officers made a grim discovery
[1:15:31] in Hopewell Community Park. They found Annette's body face
[1:15:35] down in a shallow Creek within the park grounds.
[1:15:40] Investigators determined that she had been forcibly held
[1:15:43] underwater until she drowned. The serene park, normally a spot
[1:15:48] for picnics and neighborhood gatherings, was now a chilling
[1:15:52] crime scene cordoned off by yellow tape.
[1:15:57] Unfortunately, Annette's family learned of her death in the most
[1:16:00] heartbreaking and impersonal way from a television news report.
[1:16:05] Her mother was watching the nightly news when the announcer
[1:16:08] spoke of an unidentified young woman found dead in Hopewell
[1:16:12] Township. Realizing with horror that it
[1:16:16] might be her missing daughter, Annette's mother was soon
[1:16:19] confronted with the unthinkable confirmation.
[1:16:22] The family's worst fears were realized at the morgue when they
[1:16:26] identified the Jane Doe as Annette.
[1:16:31] In the immediate aftermath of the slaying, local law
[1:16:34] enforcement sprang into action, determined to find whoever was
[1:16:38] responsible. Detectives interviewed friends,
[1:16:42] acquaintances, and witnesses who had seen Annette in her final
[1:16:45] hours. Early on, one name caught their
[1:16:49] attention, Cornelius McCoy. McCoy was a man who knew Annette
[1:16:56] and had reportedly seen her on the night of March 5th, 1974,
[1:17:00] just hours before her body was found.
[1:17:03] He told police that he last saw Annette leaving a bar with
[1:17:06] another man, which immediately made McCoy both a key witness
[1:17:10] and a potential suspect. In fact, for a time,
[1:17:15] investigators focused on McCoy as the prime suspect.
[1:17:21] Despite their suspicions, police in 1974 struggled to build a
[1:17:25] case against McCoy or anyone else.
[1:17:28] The forensic science of the era was primitive by today's
[1:17:31] standards. Investigators had to rely on old
[1:17:35] fashioned detective work, interviews, alibis and
[1:17:39] circumstantial clues. McCoy claimed he was innocent,
[1:17:44] and indeed, he had told police that Annette left with another
[1:17:47] man, hinting that someone else might be responsible.
[1:17:53] Detectives followed other leads, too.
[1:17:56] They took note of Annette's on and off boyfriend, a man named
[1:18:00] Wilkie Sims, who was interviewed at the time.
[1:18:03] Sims told police he hadn't seen Annette in two months and that
[1:18:07] he had been out of town in West Virginia when she was slain.
[1:18:11] Notably, it appears that this alibi wasn't meaningfully
[1:18:14] checked out at the time, which you're going to want to keep in
[1:18:17] mind for later. With no physical evidence to tie
[1:18:23] anyone to the crime and conflicting accounts of
[1:18:25] Annette's last movements, the case hit a wall.
[1:18:29] The police lacked the proof needed to charge McCoy, Sims or
[1:18:33] anyone else, and as the months went by, the trail grew colder.
[1:18:40] As 1974 turned into 1975 and then into the late 1970s,
[1:18:45] Annette Tokarz's case languished without resolution.
[1:18:50] The community of Hopewell Township was unnerved that the
[1:18:53] perpetrator hadn't been brought to justice, but Leeds were
[1:18:56] virtually non existent. Annette's family continued to
[1:19:00] grieve and wonder, keeping her memory alive even as the
[1:19:04] investigation stalled and the case officially went cold.
[1:19:10] The cops continued to believe that Cornelius was likely,
[1:19:14] though not certainly responsible, given that he was
[1:19:17] the last person who had seen her.
[1:19:19] Cornelius passed away around 2007, taking any secrets he had
[1:19:24] with him to the grave. With McCoy dead and no new
[1:19:29] information, it seemed the truth of what happened that night in
[1:19:33] 1974 might never be known. But Annette's case was never
[1:19:38] completely forgotten. Her sisters and other loved ones
[1:19:42] carried the hope that someday they might get answers.
[1:19:45] They held on to the idea that Annette's life mattered and that
[1:19:49] someone out there knew what happened.
[1:19:52] Little did they know it would take over 5 decades and a new
[1:19:57] generation of detective work before that hope was apparently
[1:20:00] realized. The stage was set for what has
[1:20:04] been claimed to be an extraordinary breakthrough.
[1:20:08] However, it would require advancements in science and the
[1:20:11] sheer persistence of a detective who refused to let the case stay
[1:20:15] cold. In 2017, a seasoned investigator
[1:20:21] named Patrick Young came across Annette Tokarz's case file while
[1:20:25] working at the Beaver County Detective Bureau.
[1:20:28] Young, who had been in law enforcement since the mid 1990s,
[1:20:32] had a passion for cold cases and a knack for uncovering long
[1:20:36] buried clues. When he learned about Annette's
[1:20:39] unsolved slaying, he was intrigued and moved.
[1:20:43] Here was a 23 year old woman whose life had been brutally cut
[1:20:47] short and for over 40 years no one had answered for the crime.
[1:20:52] Young made a decision that would change everything.
[1:20:55] He would dedicate himself to finding out who ended the life
[1:20:58] of Annette. Chief Detective Young carefully
[1:21:03] reviewed the old case notes, photographs and reports.
[1:21:07] He noted the names of the people involved, including Cornelius
[1:21:11] McCoy and Walton Sims, and the dead ends that earlier
[1:21:15] detectives had faced. One thing in the file stood out
[1:21:18] to him, a leopard print coat that Annette had been wearing on
[1:21:22] the night of her death. That coat had been collected as
[1:21:26] evidence back in 1974. Thanks to careful preservation,
[1:21:31] it remained intact in the police archives.
[1:21:35] Young wondered if modern forensic technology could reveal
[1:21:38] something that 1970s science could not.
[1:21:42] The original investigators had no way to test the coat for DNA.
[1:21:46] But now, decades later, that was about to change.
[1:21:52] Detective Young sent Annette's clothing and other preserved
[1:21:55] evidence for advanced forensic testing.
[1:21:58] In the lining of that leopard print coat, analysts discovered
[1:22:02] a stain that yielded a small quantity of DNA.
[1:22:06] It was a stunning find, and if the Authority's theory is
[1:22:10] accepted as correct, it's essentially A genetic
[1:22:13] fingerprint left behind by the perpetrator.
[1:22:18] Given the nature of the stain, investigators believed it likely
[1:22:21] came from the perpetrator during a violent encounter.
[1:22:26] This was the first major piece of physical evidence in the
[1:22:29] case. However, there was a catch.
[1:22:32] When the forensic team tried to analyze the DNA for
[1:22:35] identification, they ran into limitations.
[1:22:39] They couldn't extract a full DNA profile and thus weren't able to
[1:22:42] use the CODIS database to search for matches.
[1:22:48] Instead of being discouraged, Young took a more manual
[1:22:50] approach. His first thought was to re
[1:22:53] examine the prime suspect from decades earlier.
[1:22:56] By 2017, McCoy was deceased, but Detective Young located some of
[1:23:01] Mccoy's surviving relatives and asked for DNA cheek swabs.
[1:23:07] If McCoy had been the perp, his family members would share some
[1:23:10] genetic markers with the DNA from the crime scene.
[1:23:14] Mccoy's family members were eager to prove his innocence,
[1:23:17] and the results were conclusive. There was no match whatsoever.
[1:23:22] The unknown DNA didn't appear to come from McCoy, effectively
[1:23:26] ruling out the man who had once been the prime suspect.
[1:23:32] By the early twenty 20s, investigative genetic genealogy
[1:23:36] had emerged as a powerful tool for solving cold cases.
[1:23:40] Detective Young decided it was time to try what was then still
[1:23:44] an unconventional approach on Annette's case.
[1:23:47] This genealogical research LED Detective Young to several
[1:23:51] individuals who turned out to be relatives of the person who left
[1:23:55] DNA on Annette's coat. Using those genetic leads, Young
[1:24:00] built out family trees and zeroed in on a particular family
[1:24:04] name that kept appearing Sims. This was a familiar name from
[1:24:09] the original case file. In fact, Wilkie Sims, Annette's
[1:24:13] ex-boyfriend, had been mentioned in the 1974 investigation notes.
[1:24:20] Detective Young now had a strong circumstantial case pointing to
[1:24:24] Sims. However, solid proof was needed
[1:24:27] to conclusively tie the DNA to him.
[1:24:31] There was an immediate complication.
[1:24:33] Sims couldn't be interrogated or asked for ADNA sample because he
[1:24:37] had died in 2015, but even death wouldn't let him escape
[1:24:41] scrutiny. Young found that Sims had
[1:24:44] children, and one of them could potentially provide the key to
[1:24:47] confirm his guilt. In 2023, armed with a court
[1:24:52] order, the detective obtained adna sample from one of Walton
[1:24:56] Sims's sons. Young sent the two samples, one
[1:25:00] from the crime scene and one from the relative, to a
[1:25:03] laboratory for analysis. The waiting period was tense,
[1:25:08] but the results were definitive. Wilkie Sims had left the genetic
[1:25:12] material there. Beaver County authorities
[1:25:15] publicly named Walton Sims, the former boyfriend who had long
[1:25:19] been in the case files Shadows, as the perpetrator.
[1:25:25] OK, so if you're a regular viewer of any of my channels, I
[1:25:28] suspect you may already have guessed that I was going to add
[1:25:31] some additional commentary at the end of this segment.
[1:25:34] Personally, I have a lot of problems accepting that Wilkie
[1:25:37] Sims did it, and I suspect this wouldn't have been said
[1:25:41] officially if the man was still alive at the time.
[1:25:47] Although investigators link the coat DNA to The Sims family,
[1:25:51] Wilkie Sims was a documented ex-boyfriend of Annette's and
[1:25:54] everyone accepts this to be fact.
[1:25:57] This offers a straightforward and potentially innocent
[1:26:00] explanation for his genetic material to appear on her
[1:26:03] clothing. Normal consensual contact could
[1:26:07] easily explain how this sort of biological material ended up on
[1:26:11] the coat. Further, there's no evidence to
[1:26:16] indicate that this biological material actually came from the
[1:26:19] night of the attack. Wilkie Sims claimed that he was
[1:26:23] in West Virginia at the time, and if the biological evidence
[1:26:27] was found fresh with evidence of an indecent assault, this would
[1:26:31] be entirely different. In that case, I think the
[1:26:36] evidence would be sufficient to say that he was likely the
[1:26:38] responsible party, but that's not the evidence as it's
[1:26:42] presented to us. Crucially, there's nothing
[1:26:47] whatsoever in the way of independent corroboration to
[1:26:50] make this theory work. For example, there's no reliable
[1:26:54] eyewitness placing Sims with Annette that night.
[1:26:58] Further, yet, there are no other forensic links tying him to the
[1:27:01] scene whatsoever. Given those gaps, a jury could
[1:27:05] reasonably accept innocent explanations for the DNA and
[1:27:09] conclude the evidence doesn't eliminate reasonable doubt.
[1:27:13] However, here, of course, there never will be a jury and the
[1:27:17] evidence will never be subjected to the rigors of a trial based
[1:27:21] on the evidence alone. I just simply don't see that
[1:27:25] there's enough here to stop investigating this case.
[1:27:29] It's very possible that the true monster that attacked Annette
[1:27:32] that night can now rest easily knowing the case is fully
[1:27:35] closed. Anyway, this isn't the first
[1:27:40] time I've seen this sort of weak logic applied to cold cases
[1:27:43] where the supposed perpetrator is already deceased.
[1:27:47] It offers a convenient excuse to close out a cold case while
[1:27:51] placing the blame on someone who can no longer say anything to
[1:27:54] counteract what the authorities say.
[1:27:57] It may give some comfort to the families involved, but upon
[1:28:00] closer examination in a case like this, it shouldn't since
[1:28:05] there would have never been enough evidence to convict Sims.
[1:28:13] Imagine you're a traveler in southeastern Kansas in the early
[1:28:16] 1870's. The country still has the fresh
[1:28:20] scars of conflict, and the promise of a new life of 160
[1:28:25] acres to call your own has pulled you W The landscape
[1:28:29] around you is an immense, unforgiving Prairie.
[1:28:32] It's a lonely expanse where homesteads are scattered like
[1:28:35] islands in a sea of grass, and your nearest neighbor might be
[1:28:39] miles away. This is Labette County, a place
[1:28:43] carved out of land recently seeded by the Osage Nation, a
[1:28:47] place defined by both boundless opportunity and profound
[1:28:51] isolation. Your journey follows the Great
[1:28:56] Osage Trail, a path worn into the earth, first by migrating
[1:29:00] Buffalo, then by Native American tribes, and now by the wagons of
[1:29:04] settlers like yourself. It's a vital artery of westward
[1:29:08] expansion, but it's also a place of great danger.
[1:29:13] The weather is harsh and unpredictable, with tornadoes,
[1:29:17] blizzards, and floods that can erase a homesteader's dreams
[1:29:20] overnight. Violence is a constant threat,
[1:29:24] whether from conflicts with displaced tribes or from the
[1:29:28] battle hardened American men who now worked their way onto the
[1:29:31] frontier. In this vast emptiness, people
[1:29:35] simply vanish, and when they disappear, the Prairie keeps
[1:29:40] their secrets. As dusk begins to settle,
[1:29:45] casting long shadows across the plains, you spot a light.
[1:29:49] It comes from a small one room cabin, a welcome sign of life in
[1:29:53] the desolate landscape. A crude hand lettered sign above
[1:29:57] the door reads Groceries. This is the Bender Place, a
[1:30:02] wayside inn offering the promise of a hot meal, supplies, and
[1:30:07] most importantly, a safe place to rest for the night.
[1:30:13] For a weary traveler, it seems like a sanctuary, a fragile
[1:30:17] outpost of civilization where the unspoken code of frontier
[1:30:21] hospitality offers a moment of peace.
[1:30:24] You approach unaware that the trust you're about to place in
[1:30:28] these strangers is the last mistake you'll ever make.
[1:30:31] This humble cabin wasn't a refuge, it was a slaughterhouse.
[1:30:35] And for at least a dozen travellers, this beacon of hope
[1:30:39] on this great migratory trail was the end of the line.
[1:30:44] This is the disturbing story of the Benders, a supposed family
[1:30:48] of innkeepers who committed horrific actions before
[1:30:52] performing one of American history's greatest vanishing
[1:30:55] acts. To understand the horror that
[1:31:00] unfolded in Labette County, one must first try to understand the
[1:31:04] perpetrators. But the Bender family itself is
[1:31:08] an enigma, a collection of four individuals whose true
[1:31:11] identities, origins, and relationships remain a mystery.
[1:31:17] They presented themselves as a simple homesteading family, but
[1:31:21] they were a carefully constructed criminal conspiracy,
[1:31:24] a human machine where each member played a specific and
[1:31:27] deadly role. The patriarch, John Bender
[1:31:31] Senior, was a man of about 60, described by those who met him
[1:31:35] as a repulsive and brutish figure.
[1:31:38] He was a giant of a man with piercing eyes and a sullen I'll
[1:31:43] tempered demeanor. Like the other members of this
[1:31:46] so-called family. He claimed to be from Germany.
[1:31:50] As with all the members of the family, it remains unclear what
[1:31:53] their true origins were, as German was commonly spoken
[1:31:57] across Central and Eastern Europe.
[1:32:00] And to get in my 1 mandatory Simpsons reference per video, no
[1:32:04] one who speaks German could be an evil man, right?
[1:32:10] His wife, Elvira Bender, was around 55 and equally disliked
[1:32:14] by her neighbors, who called her a she devil.
[1:32:18] Unfriendly and sinister, she was rumoured to have slain previous
[1:32:22] husbands before arriving in Kansas and she dabbled in folk
[1:32:26] magic, claiming to be a medium who could cast spells.
[1:32:31] While she claimed not to understand English, a moment of
[1:32:34] rage during a confrontation later revealed her command of
[1:32:38] the language was far better than she led on.
[1:32:43] The younger generation presented a stark contrast.
[1:32:46] John Bender Junior, about 25, was handsome and spoke English
[1:32:50] well, though with a German accent.
[1:32:53] He had a peculiar habit of laughing without cause, which
[1:32:57] led many in the community to suspect there was something
[1:33:00] wrong with him. This perception, whether genuine
[1:33:04] or an act, made him seem harmless and non threatening, a
[1:33:08] perfect disguise for the violence he was capable of.
[1:33:14] The public face and undisputed star of the operation was Kate
[1:33:18] Bender, around 23 years old. She was universally described as
[1:33:23] beautiful, intelligent and intensely charismatic.
[1:33:27] She was fluent in English and was the only member of the
[1:33:30] family who actively engaged with the surrounding community.
[1:33:35] Kate was the family's lure, and her chosen bait was
[1:33:38] spiritualism. In an era when communicating
[1:33:42] with the dead was a popular and widespread belief, Kate
[1:33:46] advertised herself as a powerful psychic, healer and spiritualist
[1:33:51] medium. She distributed Flyers and gave
[1:33:54] lectures claiming she could cure blindness and deafness with the
[1:33:58] laying on of hands, contact the spirits of the deceased and
[1:34:02] locate lost possessions. Her lectures also promoted
[1:34:06] radical ideas like free love, which, while scandalous, only
[1:34:11] added to her notoriety and drew curious visitors to the family
[1:34:15] inn. And by curious travellers, I
[1:34:18] mean men travelling alone who definitely thought they had a
[1:34:21] chance with this frontier cutie. Kate's persona was the perfect
[1:34:27] tool for disarming travellers and she was basically the
[1:34:30] honeypot that lured victims in. With her charm and supposed
[1:34:34] supernatural gifts, she could win their trust.
[1:34:38] This would draw them into intimate conversations where
[1:34:41] they would reveal their travel plans and most importantly,
[1:34:46] their financial situations. The very foundation of this
[1:34:52] group was built on lies. While they were widely believed
[1:34:55] to be German immigrants, no official documentation of their
[1:34:59] origins or even their real names has ever been discovered.
[1:35:04] The name Bender itself, while a fairly common German name, was
[1:35:09] almost certainly an alias. Even their family ties were
[1:35:14] likely a complete fabrication. Neighbors reported that the
[1:35:18] intimacy between John Junior and Kate seemed more like that of a
[1:35:22] husband and wife than siblings. The reason for doing this was
[1:35:26] also a part of their ruse. In a society built on the family
[1:35:30] unit, the image of a family run in offered a veneer of safety
[1:35:34] and respectability that was crucial to their predatory
[1:35:37] success. The Bender's genius for evil was
[1:35:42] not just in their deception, but in their engineering.
[1:35:46] They transformed their humble one room cabin into a highly
[1:35:50] efficient machine capable of quote UN quote processing
[1:35:55] guests. The cabin was a simple wooden
[1:35:58] structure measuring about 16 by 24 feet.
[1:36:02] Inside they had made a simple but critical modification.
[1:36:07] A large heavy canvas wagon cover was hung from a rope, splitting
[1:36:11] the single room in 2. The front area was the public
[1:36:15] face of their operation, a small general store and a dining room
[1:36:19] where travelers could get a meal.
[1:36:22] The area behind the curtain was the family's private quarters,
[1:36:26] but its true purpose was to serve as a blind from which to
[1:36:29] launch their ambush. Their modus operandi was a
[1:36:34] chillingly refined process. After Kate identified A suitable
[1:36:39] victim, usually a man traveling alone with significant money, he
[1:36:43] would be invited to dinner and given the seat of honor at the
[1:36:46] table. This seat wasn't a gesture of
[1:36:49] hospitality, it was a tactical position.
[1:36:53] It placed the guest with his back directly against the canvas
[1:36:56] partition, perfectly silhouetting his head for the
[1:36:59] attacker waiting behind it. As the unsuspecting traveller
[1:37:05] ate his meal, captivated by Kate's charm and conversation,
[1:37:09] one of the male benders would slip behind the curtain.
[1:37:12] At the right moment, the attacker would swing a heavy
[1:37:15] hammer, striking the victim on the back of the head with
[1:37:18] crushing force. Beneath the victim's chair or
[1:37:22] immediately beside it was a concealed trap door.
[1:37:27] The stunned or dead man was immediately dropped through the
[1:37:30] opening into a dark stone lined cellar that was 6 feet deep.
[1:37:35] This allowed for the instant removal of the body from the
[1:37:38] main room, minimizing mess and the risk of discovery should
[1:37:42] another guest arrive. The body was then stripped of
[1:37:46] every valuable before being disposed of.
[1:37:51] Under the cover of night, the bodies were removed from this
[1:37:54] subterranean abattoir and buried in the family's two acre
[1:37:57] vegetable garden and apple orchard just north of the cabin.
[1:38:02] In a particularly macabre detail passed down through local lore,
[1:38:06] it was said that Elvira Bender used the apples from the trees
[1:38:10] growing over her victims graves to bake pies for future
[1:38:13] travelers. The Bender's reign of terror
[1:38:18] lasted for nearly two years, from May 1871 to the spring of
[1:38:23] 1873. During that time they eliminated
[1:38:26] at least a dozen people, though the true number may be much
[1:38:30] higher. Their victims were the forgotten
[1:38:32] travellers of the frontier, men whose disappearances created
[1:38:36] distant ripples of concern, but no organized alarm until it was
[1:38:41] far too late. After all, Kate was an expert at
[1:38:45] finding men who were very far from home and whose
[1:38:48] disappearances wouldn't be noticed for months or even
[1:38:50] years. The case that finally brought an
[1:38:54] end to the Bender's slaughter began with the disappearance of
[1:38:57] George Newton Longcore and his 18 month old daughter, Mary Ann
[1:39:02] in the winter of 1872. A recent widower, Longcore, was
[1:39:08] traveling back to Iowa and was carrying a significant sum of
[1:39:11] money when they vanished. Long Core's former neighbor from
[1:39:16] Independence, a physician named Doctor William York, became
[1:39:20] concerned and set out to find them in the spring of 1873.
[1:39:25] Doctor York's search led him along the Osage Trail and
[1:39:29] inevitably to the Bender Inn, where he, too, disappeared.
[1:39:35] The attack on Doctor York was the Bender's final overreach.
[1:39:39] For two years, they had preyed on the anonymous and the
[1:39:41] transient, individuals whose disappearances could be easily
[1:39:45] dismissed. Dr. York, however, was a
[1:39:49] prominent man and more importantly, his brother was
[1:39:53] Colonel Alexander York, a Kansas State senator.
[1:39:58] Unlike the families of other victims, Colonel York had the
[1:40:01] influence, resources and unwavering determination to
[1:40:05] mobilize a search and demand answers.
[1:40:10] In March 1873, Colonel Alexander York arrived at the Benders Inn,
[1:40:15] methodically retracing his brother's last known movements.
[1:40:19] During his initial questioning, the family deployed their well
[1:40:23] practiced deception. They admitted Dr. York had
[1:40:26] stopped there, but insisted he'd continued on his way.
[1:40:31] They casually suggested he might have fallen victim to an attack
[1:40:34] by a local tribe or by highwaymen, common and
[1:40:37] convenient explanations for such disappearances.
[1:40:42] Kate, the master manipulator, pretended to be deeply concerned
[1:40:46] and offered to hold a seance to contact his spirit.
[1:40:50] Telling the Colonel to return another day.
[1:40:53] She let him know that he needed to come back alone in what was a
[1:40:56] brazen attempt to make the investigator their next victim.
[1:41:01] But Colonel York was not easily fooled, and he sensed A profound
[1:41:05] evil in the small cabin and left deeply suspicious.
[1:41:10] His doubts were confirmed when he learned of another traveler,
[1:41:14] a woman who had recently fled the inn in terror after Elvira
[1:41:18] threatened her with a knife. York returned, this time with an
[1:41:24] armed posse of men that definitely weren't clowning
[1:41:27] around. The confrontation was tense, and
[1:41:31] Elvira's subsequent explosion of rage shattered her facade as a
[1:41:36] simple woman who couldn't speak English.
[1:41:39] This outburst further solidified Colonel York's conviction that
[1:41:43] the family was hiding a dark secret.
[1:41:46] But in the end, nothing happened.
[1:41:48] Yet as York's investigation intensified, the wider
[1:41:53] community, already on edge from the string of disappearances,
[1:41:57] reached a breaking point. A town meeting was convened
[1:42:02] where dozens of local men gathered to decide on a course
[1:42:05] of action. They resolved to obtain a
[1:42:08] warrant and conduct a search of every single homestead in the
[1:42:12] Township. In an act of astonishing
[1:42:15] audacity, the Bender men were also present at that meeting.
[1:42:19] They sat among their neighbors, listening as the community
[1:42:23] organized the very search that would inevitably unearth the
[1:42:26] bodies buried in their own garden.
[1:42:29] It was a final, desperate gamble to appear innocent, an attempt
[1:42:33] to deflect suspicion that was doomed to fail.
[1:42:38] The benders knew the moment the vote was taken that their time
[1:42:41] was up. They could perhaps deceive a
[1:42:44] lone questioner, but they couldn't survive a systematic
[1:42:49] official search of their property.
[1:42:52] Sometime in the days following the meeting, under the cover of
[1:42:55] the vast Kansas night, they packed what they could,
[1:42:59] abandoned their homestead and vanished.
[1:43:04] Their escape was discovered a few days later when a neighbor
[1:43:07] noticed their farm animals were starving and the inn was eerily
[1:43:10] silent. Unfortunately, a spell of bad
[1:43:14] weather delayed a formal investigation, giving the
[1:43:17] benders A crucial head start of nearly a month to disappear into
[1:43:21] the American frontier. When the search party finally
[1:43:26] forced their way into the abandoned Bender cabin in early
[1:43:29] May 1873, they were met with a scene of hurried departure and
[1:43:34] an overpowering stench of death. The source of the odor was
[1:43:38] quickly traced to a trapdoor under a bed which had been
[1:43:42] nailed shut. After prying it open, they
[1:43:45] peered down into the stone lined cellar.
[1:43:49] The pit was empty of bodies, but the floor was caked with so much
[1:43:52] clotted blood that it had soaked deep into the earth below,
[1:43:57] irrefutable proof that this had been a place of slaughter.
[1:44:03] The search then moved outside to the family's small apple orchard
[1:44:07] and vegetable garden. The ground in the orchard was
[1:44:10] soft and appeared to have been recently disturbed.
[1:44:14] The men began to probe the soil and it wasn't long before they
[1:44:18] made their first horrific discovery, the body of Doctor
[1:44:21] William York buried in a shallow grave.
[1:44:25] The news spread and a full scale excavation began.
[1:44:30] Over the next day, the searchers unearthed a graveyard.
[1:44:33] One by one, they uncovered the remains of at least 10 more
[1:44:37] people, including George Longcore and his infant
[1:44:40] daughter. The story of the Benders House
[1:44:44] of Horrors became a national sensation.
[1:44:47] Newspapers from New York to Chicago sent reporters to the
[1:44:50] remote Kansas Prairie, and their lurid accounts of the Devil's
[1:44:54] Kitchen captivated the public. These accounts took the already
[1:44:59] horrific realities and added new fictionalized elements in an
[1:45:03] effort to sell more papers. After fleeing their farm, the
[1:45:09] Benders Trail quickly went cold. Investigators found their
[1:45:13] abandoned wagon near the town of Thayer, just 12 miles to the
[1:45:17] north, but from there, the trail vanished completely.
[1:45:22] A massive manhunt was launched and the Kansas governor offered
[1:45:26] a $2000 reward, a fortune at the time for information leading to
[1:45:31] their capture. What happened to the benders
[1:45:35] remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Old
[1:45:38] West, a narrative vacuum that has been filled with two
[1:45:42] powerful and competing theories. The first is that they simply
[1:45:46] got away. In the vast, unmapped expanse of
[1:45:50] 19th century America, it was entirely possible for four
[1:45:54] people to change their names, split up, and begin new lives
[1:45:58] without a trace. This theory is bolstered by the
[1:46:02] numerous false sightings and wrongful arrests that plagued
[1:46:05] investigators for decades. In 1880, a couple in Nebraska
[1:46:10] was arrested and even confessed, but they were soon exposed as
[1:46:14] imposters. In 1889, two women were arrested
[1:46:19] in Michigan and extradited to Kansas on suspicion of being
[1:46:23] Elvira and Kate, only to be exonerated when their alibis
[1:46:27] proved solid. These incidents reflect a
[1:46:30] public, desperate foreclosure, but they also highlight how
[1:46:34] easily the fugitives could have blended back into society,
[1:46:38] either in America or elsewhere. The second, more pervasive
[1:46:44] theory is that the benders met a swift and brutal end at the
[1:46:47] hands of a vigilante posse. According to this version of
[1:46:51] events, a group of enraged neighbors caught up with the
[1:46:54] family shortly after they fled. They dispensed their own form of
[1:46:58] frontier justice, forcing confessions from the benders
[1:47:02] before eliminating them. While no physical evidence
[1:47:06] supports this story, it aligns with the harsh realities of the
[1:47:10] frontier, where communities often took the law into their
[1:47:13] own hands when official channels failed.
[1:47:17] The secrecy of such an extrajudicial act would neatly
[1:47:20] explain why no one ever came forward to claim the substantial
[1:47:23] reward. Today, more than 150 years
[1:47:29] later, the search for answers continues and who the benders
[1:47:33] were and what happened to them remains a historical, unsolved
[1:47:36] mystery. In the early hours of August
[1:47:41] 26th, 2006, an eerie scene awaited at a remote fire lookout
[1:47:47] cabin in the forests of Alberta in Canada.
[1:47:50] A pot of water was left boiling on the stove, its owner nowhere
[1:47:54] to be found. Outside on the wooden steps,
[1:47:58] investigators noted what appeared to be a smear of blood,
[1:48:01] a silent testament that something had gone terribly
[1:48:04] wrong. This was the home of 70 year old
[1:48:07] Stephanie Stewart, a veteran wildfire spotter stationed alone
[1:48:12] atop the Athabasca lookout tower near Hinton.
[1:48:15] That morning, Stephanie had vanished without a trace,
[1:48:19] leaving behind only unsettling clues and a mystery that has
[1:48:23] endured for nearly two decades. Stephanie Stewart wasn't a
[1:48:30] typical 70 year old by any means, and she appears to have
[1:48:33] been more active than most people in their 20s or 30s.
[1:48:37] Friends described her as amazingly fit for her age.
[1:48:40] She had cycled solo across Canada and summited Mount
[1:48:44] Kilimanjaro in her late 60s. A mother of one and an avid
[1:48:48] reader and crafter, Stephanie split her year between winter
[1:48:52] months in Canmore, a city in Alberta, and summers in the
[1:48:56] wilderness. For 18 seasons she worked as a
[1:49:01] wildfire spotter for Alberta's Forestry Service, and for the
[1:49:05] last 13 of those years she returned each spring to the same
[1:49:09] lookout. This was the Athabasca Tower in
[1:49:12] William Switzer Provincial Park. There, perched on a high Ridge,
[1:49:17] she lived in a small cabin at the base of a 40 foot
[1:49:20] observation tower. Every day she climbed the tower
[1:49:24] ladder to scan the rolling foothills and boreal forest for
[1:49:27] smoke. It was solitary work, and
[1:49:31] Stephanie was the only human for miles, but she relished it.
[1:49:37] On the night of August 25th, 2006, Stephanie spoke with
[1:49:41] family by phone around 9:00 and everything seemed normal.
[1:49:45] By the following morning, however, alarm bells were
[1:49:48] ringing. Stephanie failed to make her
[1:49:50] scheduled radio check in a mandatory safety call she
[1:49:54] reliably made each morning at 8:30 to confirm all was well.
[1:49:59] When repeated calls to her cabin went unanswered, her supervisor
[1:50:02] grew concerned. The supervisor tried phoning the
[1:50:06] lookout several times. Strangely, someone did answer,
[1:50:10] but each time the receiver was picked up, the person on the
[1:50:13] other end immediately hung up without a word.
[1:50:17] After a few such attempts, the line went dead entirely, as if
[1:50:21] the phone had been unplugged mid ring.
[1:50:24] This bizarre phone behavior greatly alarmed Stephanie's
[1:50:27] supervisor, who knew she was always dutiful with
[1:50:30] communications. Fearing the worst, he drove out
[1:50:33] to the Athabasca Tower site that morning.
[1:50:38] Arriving by roughly 9:00 AM, the supervisor found an ominous,
[1:50:42] perplexing scene. Stephanie's pickup truck was
[1:50:46] still parked outside the cabin, ruling out the possibility that
[1:50:49] she had driven off. Inside the small dwelling.
[1:50:53] A pot of water was boiling away on the stove, untended, as if
[1:50:57] Stephanie had stepped out briefly and intended to return
[1:51:01] at any moment. A quick search of the area found
[1:51:05] no sign of the woman, and a complete sense of dread overcame
[1:51:08] the supervisor. Noticing some out of place
[1:51:11] details, the supervisor contacted the Royal Canadian
[1:51:15] Mounted Police immediately, and Stephanie was formally reported
[1:51:18] missing. Investigators processing the
[1:51:23] cabin soon discovered that a few personal items were missing from
[1:51:26] Stephanie's quarters, notably her bedding. 2 pillows with blue
[1:51:31] pillowcases, A burgundy bed sheet, and a Navajo pattern
[1:51:35] duvet were gone, as was Stephanie's gold wristwatch.
[1:51:41] These items were absent, despite no sign of a struggle inside.
[1:51:45] Outside the cabin, however, a troubling clue turned up.
[1:51:49] There were traces of blood on the steps of the cabin, and they
[1:51:53] appeared to be quite fresh. Authorities have never released
[1:51:57] full details about the blood evidence, but its presence
[1:52:00] strongly indicated that some violence had occurred at the
[1:52:03] site. All signs appeared to point to 1
[1:52:07] overwhelming conclusion. Stephanie Stewart was abducted
[1:52:11] by an unknown person or persons that morning.
[1:52:16] News of Stephanie's disappearance spread fast and an
[1:52:19] enormous search operation was launched in the rugged foothills
[1:52:22] around the Athabasca Lookout. Search and rescue teams and Park
[1:52:27] Rangers, alongside hundreds of volunteers combed through dense
[1:52:31] forest looking for any trace of the missing fire spotter.
[1:52:36] Helicopters buzzed overhead and tracking dogs sniffed for clues
[1:52:40] on the ground. Searchers scoured a radius of
[1:52:43] several kilometers around the tower, but nothing definitive
[1:52:46] was found. It became one of the largest
[1:52:49] search efforts in Alberta's history, yet it turned up
[1:52:52] painfully little. Notably, investigators treated
[1:52:57] the site as a potential crime scene from the start due to the
[1:53:01] suspicious circumstances surrounding Stephanie's
[1:53:03] disappearance. They noted the totality of
[1:53:06] evidence was inconsistent with any voluntary departure.
[1:53:10] The fact that Stephanie left behind her truck, her keys, and
[1:53:14] even her morning coffee heating on the stove suggested she had
[1:53:18] fully intended to remain there for her day's work.
[1:53:21] Further, the missing bedding suggested that it may have been
[1:53:25] used to move Stephanie out of the cabin.
[1:53:28] Unfortunately, despite thorough forensic work, no definitive DNA
[1:53:33] or fingerprints leading to a suspect were publicly reported.
[1:53:37] Authorities did state that evidence at the scene convinced
[1:53:41] them Stephanie had been the victim of a slaying, even though
[1:53:44] her body was not found. With the case unsolved, various
[1:53:51] theories have emerged over the years about what might have
[1:53:54] happened to Stephanie Stewart. Some are grounded in
[1:53:57] investigative leads, while others are the product of
[1:54:01] armchair detectives puzzling over the scant evidence.
[1:54:06] The most widely accepted theory is that an unknown person
[1:54:09] approached Stephanie's cabin, likely in the early morning, and
[1:54:13] harmed her in the course of a robbery or assault.
[1:54:17] Perhaps someone driving along the highway took a detour up to
[1:54:20] the lookout, either hoping to find valuables or seeking
[1:54:23] shelter, and encountered Stephanie.
[1:54:26] The boiling water on the stove hints that she might have
[1:54:29] invited a visitor inside for tea or coffee, as she often did with
[1:54:33] guests not realizing the danger. In this scenario, something
[1:54:39] turned violent and the perpetrator hurriedly removed
[1:54:42] Stephanie before fleeing. The fact that the phone line was
[1:54:46] abruptly disconnected during the supervisor's calls suggests the
[1:54:50] intruder was present at 8:30 that morning and panicked when
[1:54:54] the phone rang. Another variant of this theory
[1:54:58] suggests that Stephanie actually fell victim to someone she knew.
[1:55:02] This theory explains why she would have opened her door for
[1:55:05] this unknown individual. For instance, if a park Ranger
[1:55:10] had knocked on her door, she likely would have had no reason
[1:55:13] whatsoever not to welcome him in, not knowing what his intent
[1:55:17] was. That said, this Ave. has been
[1:55:22] pursued and as far as we are aware, based on information made
[1:55:26] public, no one in the Park Service is a suspect.
[1:55:32] Over time, speculation has focused on a few possible
[1:55:36] suspects, including one particularly notorious name,
[1:55:40] Travis Vader. Vader is a central figure in a
[1:55:43] high profile Alberta criminal case.
[1:55:46] In 2010, he slew an elderly couple during a robbery, then
[1:55:50] burned their RV and hid their bodies in the wilderness.
[1:55:54] Given that Vader targeted senior citizens and was known to be
[1:55:57] involved in theft and violence, some have wondered if he could
[1:56:01] have crossed paths with Stephanie.
[1:56:03] In 2006, investigators noted that Vader was apparently in the
[1:56:08] vicinity of Hinton around the time Stephanie disappeared,
[1:56:11] fueling theories of his involvement.
[1:56:14] However, it's crucial to stress that Vader has never been
[1:56:18] charged or officially linked to the Stewart case.
[1:56:22] The Vader theory remains speculative, possibly a case of
[1:56:26] criminal coincidence, but it highlights the kind of human
[1:56:29] predator who could have been responsible.
[1:56:34] Notably, because Stephanie was in the wilderness, some
[1:56:37] initially wondered if a bear or other large animal could have
[1:56:40] attacked and dragged her away. This idea was thoroughly
[1:56:44] investigated and dismissed, as the authorities found zero signs
[1:56:47] of an animal encounter. Further, a bear, for instance,
[1:56:52] wouldn't carefully unplug a phone or remove bedding to cover
[1:56:54] its tracks. That's just not what bears do,
[1:56:58] since they aren't worried about covering up their transgressions
[1:57:02] or whether a jury will convict them for a crime.
[1:57:07] In the months and years following 2006, as the case
[1:57:11] remained unsolved, Alberta's Forestry department took
[1:57:14] concrete steps to improve safety and security at all fire lookout
[1:57:19] towers. Where once lookout sites were
[1:57:22] relatively open, they're now secured with locked gates and
[1:57:25] perimeter fences to keep intruders out.
[1:57:28] Notably, the signs directing tourists to these lookouts were
[1:57:32] removed, making them harder to find.
[1:57:35] The occupants of these fire lookouts have also been advised
[1:57:38] not to let in any guests and to essentially treat any visitor as
[1:57:42] potentially hostile. To this end, the cabins
[1:57:47] themselves were retrofitted with stronger steel doors,
[1:57:50] shatterproof glass windows, and improved locks.
[1:57:55] Notably, brush and trees around each site were cleared to
[1:57:59] eliminate hiding spots and give workers a clear line of sight
[1:58:03] when someone approaches. At present, no trace of
[1:58:09] Stephanie Stewart has ever turned up, and her case remains
[1:58:12] a chilling National Park mystery.
[1:58:16] On a cold December night in 1975, a young Texas woman named
[1:58:21] Pepper Reed said her goodbyes to family after the Christmas
[1:58:25] holiday. She was 23 years old and visibly
[1:58:28] pregnant. Excitedly talking about the baby
[1:58:31] she would soon welcome, Pepper told her family she planned to
[1:58:35] move to California with her boyfriend, a decision that at
[1:58:39] the time seemed like the start of a new adventure.
[1:58:43] But that winter farewell would tragically be the last time
[1:58:46] anyone in her family ever saw her.
[1:58:50] In the decades that followed, Pepper Reed's disappearance
[1:58:53] became a haunting mystery. For nearly 50 years, there were
[1:58:58] no answers until an astonishing forensic breakthrough tied
[1:59:02] Pepper's fate to one of America's most notorious cold
[1:59:05] cases. Born in 1952, Pepper was raised
[1:59:11] in the Houston area and had family who cared deeply about
[1:59:14] her. In late 1975, Pepper introduced
[1:59:18] her family to a new boyfriend, a man named Terry Rasmussen, and
[1:59:23] revealed she was expecting a baby with him.
[1:59:27] During the Christmas of 1975, Pepper spent time with her
[1:59:31] relatives in Texas, appearing happy and hopeful about moving W
[1:59:36] for a fresh start. Shortly after the holiday,
[1:59:40] Pepper left Texas with Rasmussen to begin their new life in
[1:59:44] California. Unbeknownst to her loved ones,
[1:59:48] this move marked the beginning of a dark journey from which she
[1:59:51] would never return. Pepper's family never met the
[1:59:56] baby she was carrying, nor did they hear from Pepper again
[2:00:00] after she departed Texas. At first, they may have hoped
[2:00:03] that Pepper was simply busy settling into life in
[2:00:06] California, or that she had chosen to break ties and start
[2:00:10] over. As months turned to years with
[2:00:13] no contact, however, the family's concern grew into
[2:00:17] dread. That said, Pepper was an adult.
[2:00:21] And there was nothing to indicate that anything had
[2:00:23] actually happened to her, so the authorities weren't too
[2:00:26] concerned. What Pepper's family and the
[2:00:31] authorities couldn't have known in 1975 was that the man she
[2:00:36] left with, Terry Rasmussen, would go on to be an infamous
[2:00:40] serial predator. Rasmussen was an Air Force
[2:00:43] veteran turned nomadic electrician who had a knack for
[2:00:47] adopting new identities and slipping away from trouble
[2:00:51] wherever he went. People in his orbit,
[2:00:54] particularly women and children, seemed to vanish under
[2:00:58] mysterious circumstances. Rasmussen cycled through aliases
[2:01:02] like Bob Evans, Curtis Kimball, and others to cover his tracks,
[2:01:07] leaving a trail of shattered lives across multiple states.
[2:01:11] Notably, when he met Pepper, Rasmussen had recently walked
[2:01:15] out on his wife and children in Arizona, though it's highly
[2:01:19] unlikely that Pepper knew this fact.
[2:01:23] By the late 1970s, Rasmussen was living in different places
[2:01:27] around the country, often working blue collar jobs.
[2:01:31] He spent time in Phoenix and Houston and eventually
[2:01:34] California, moving frequently to stay ahead of suspicion.
[2:01:40] Over the years, investigators would link Terry Rasmussen to a
[2:01:44] string of gruesome crimes. He was the prime suspect in the
[2:01:48] disappearance of at least two women he'd been romantically
[2:01:51] involved with, including Pepper, and he was confirmed to have
[2:01:55] slain others. His known victims include a
[2:01:58] California chemist named Yun Soon June and a New Hampshire
[2:02:03] woman named Morales Honeychurch, along with her two young
[2:02:07] daughters. By the time law enforcement
[2:02:10] finally identified Rasmussen's deadly trail, he had already
[2:02:13] perished in prison in 2010, taking many secrets with him.
[2:02:20] While Pepper's family agonized over her unexplained absence, an
[2:02:25] apparently unrelated mystery was brewing nearly 2000 miles away
[2:02:29] in the quiet woods of New Hampshire.
[2:02:32] In November 1985, a hunter exploring Bear Brook State Park
[2:02:38] stumbled upon a large 55 gallon metal drum hidden among the
[2:02:43] trees. Inside, wrapped in plastic, were
[2:02:47] the badly decomposed bodies of a young girl and a woman.
[2:02:51] The case went cold for years, and then 15 years later, in May
[2:02:56] 2000, a shocking second discovery was made.
[2:03:02] Not far from the first sight, another rusted barrel was found
[2:03:06] containing the skeletal remains of two more girls, estimated to
[2:03:10] have been toddlers. Investigators now realize they
[2:03:13] were dealing with four victims in total, an adult female and
[2:03:18] three young children, all hidden in the woods near Bear Brook
[2:03:22] State Park. For decades, the identities of
[2:03:26] the Bear Brook 4 remained unknown.
[2:03:29] In the early 2000s, forensic testing determined that the
[2:03:33] adult woman and two of the girls were maternally related, while
[2:03:37] the third little girl wasn't. In 2017, a breakthrough in DNA
[2:03:42] analysis revealed a clue the mysterious third child was the
[2:03:47] biological daughter of Terry Rasmussen himself.
[2:03:51] This was the first indication that the Bear Brook slayings
[2:03:54] were connected to Rasmussen, and by extension, it hinted that
[2:03:58] Pepper Reed's long lost child might be among the victims.
[2:04:03] Still, the little girl's name and her mother's identity were
[2:04:06] unknown, leaving Pepper's fate unknown as well.
[2:04:12] Meanwhile, the other 3 victims in the barrels were eventually
[2:04:15] identified through genetic genealogy in 2019.
[2:04:20] They were Morales Honey Church and her two daughters, Marie
[2:04:23] Vaughn, age 7, and Sarah Mcwaters, age 11 months.
[2:04:29] Honey Church had been Rasmussen's girlfriend after
[2:04:32] Pepper, and she was last seen alive in late 1978, introducing
[2:04:37] Rasmussen to her family in California.
[2:04:40] Shortly after this introduction, all three of them vanished
[2:04:43] without a trace. By 2023, nearly 40 years had
[2:04:49] passed since Pepper Reed disappeared and one of the Bear
[2:04:53] Brook children was still unidentified.
[2:04:56] The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit, working with non profit
[2:04:59] DNA sleuths, again turned to genetic genealogy to crack the
[2:05:03] case. Advanced DNA testing had already
[2:05:07] confirmed the little girl's paternity, so genealogists
[2:05:10] needed to find her mother. Using samples from the child's
[2:05:14] remains, they combed through distant cousin matches and built
[2:05:19] a massive family tree of about 25,000 people stretching back
[2:05:24] centuries. It was an investigative needle
[2:05:27] in a haystack. But finally, the persistence
[2:05:30] paid off. Researchers hit upon an old
[2:05:33] obituary from 2005 that mentioned a surviving daughter
[2:05:36] named Pepper Reed. This was the Eureka moment that
[2:05:40] the investigators had been hoping for.
[2:05:43] The family line in the obituary matched the genetic profile of
[2:05:46] the unknown child, and the team realized that Pepper Reed had to
[2:05:51] be the missing mother they were looking for.
[2:05:56] With Pepper identified as the mother, detectives rapidly
[2:05:59] searched birth records in California during the mid 70s.
[2:06:03] Sure enough, there was only one baby girl born at the right time
[2:06:07] with a mother named Reed and a father named Rasmussen.
[2:06:11] In Orange County, California, a birth certificate from 1976
[2:06:17] revealed a baby named Raya Rasmussen, daughter of Terry
[2:06:21] Rasmussen and Pepper Reed. Rhea had been born in early
[2:06:25] 1976, which fits the timeline of Pepper's pregnancy when she left
[2:06:30] Texas. Sadly, Rhea only lived a short
[2:06:34] life, and the authorities believe her father ended her
[2:06:37] life sometime in the late 70s. With all the other victims of
[2:06:43] the Bear Brook slayings identified, Pepper Reed's
[2:06:46] whereabouts remain the final troubling question.
[2:06:50] Authorities now believe Pepper likely met the same fate as her
[2:06:53] daughter, but they have yet to find her body or definitive
[2:06:57] proof. Pepper was last seen alive in
[2:07:00] California in the late 1970s after moving there with
[2:07:04] Rasmussen. It's presumed that she was slain
[2:07:08] sometime after her daughter's birth in 1976 and before
[2:07:12] Rasmussen resurfaced with new victims in 1978.
[2:07:18] One prevailing theory is that Rasmussen quickly eliminated
[2:07:21] Pepper to gain full control of baby Rhea and took the toddler
[2:07:25] with him when he entered a relationship with Honey Church.
[2:07:28] Under this theory, it's thought that he manipulated at least one
[2:07:32] woman by tricking her into thinking he was a widower single
[2:07:36] dad who was raising his daughter on his own.
[2:07:40] If this theory is correct, Pepper's slaying likely occurred
[2:07:44] in California, and her remains could be anywhere between Texas
[2:07:49] and the Golden State, given his travels.
[2:07:52] Despite extensive searches, no unidentified remains have yet
[2:07:55] been linked to Pepper. Another theory based on
[2:08:01] Rasmussen's pattern is that Pepper's disappearance was part
[2:08:04] of a broader series of crimes that spanned multiple states.
[2:08:09] Investigators note that between 1974 and 1985, Rasmussen popped
[2:08:15] up in various other states, including New Hampshire,
[2:08:18] Arizona, Oregon and Virginia, often under fake names.
[2:08:24] For example, in 1981, another girlfriend of his, Denise Boden
[2:08:29] of New Hampshire, went missing and was never found.
[2:08:34] Rasmussen then fled that state with Denise's infant daughter in
[2:08:37] tow before abandoning the child in California.
[2:08:42] This idea supports the speculation that he was tricking
[2:08:45] women into believing he was a widowed single dad.
[2:08:50] Notably, some are hanging upon the extremely faint hope that
[2:08:54] Pepper herself may be alive. It's theoretically possible that
[2:08:58] Rasmussen threatened her and then stole Rhea, perhaps telling
[2:09:03] her that he would eliminate the child if she went to the
[2:09:06] authorities. Personally, though, I don't buy
[2:09:09] this theory for a moment, since Rasmussen's modus operandi
[2:09:13] indicates that he wouldn't leave anyone alive who he considered a
[2:09:17] loose end. Today, Pepper Reed's case is
[2:09:22] officially an open investigation.
[2:09:26] Ultimately, my personal belief is that Pepper is likely one of
[2:09:30] the nation's innumerable Jane Doe cases At present, we'll
[2:09:34] probably have to wait until a breakthrough in one of these
[2:09:37] cases connects Pepper to that still unknown Jane Doe.

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