Episodi

  • The child's handprints pressed into the mud that stopped the search

    The child's handprints pressed into the mud that stopped the search
    Oct 15 2026
    A lineman finds a child’s handprints at the waterline one morning, pointing into the creek - how did that discovery expose them?

    The child's handprints pressed into the mud that stopped the search

    In this episode, we follow the timeline of a winter search in Fenwick National Forest after a woman disappears from a creek drainage, and a puzzling new clue appears that no one expected. How did a set of fresh, small handprints one mile downstream alter the searchers’ actions and the official file?

    Person: Beverly York
    Date: December 10-12
    Location: Sutter Creek drainage, Fenwick National Forest
    Person: Amy Stevens
    Person: Tom Brierly

    - Beverly was last seen at 2:40 p.m. on December 10, placed on the west bank of Sutter Creek by Marcus Ogle.
    - Search and rescue tracked Beverly’s scent to the water’s edge; the scent trail stopped at the bank with no continuation.
    - At 8:15 a.m. on December 12, lineman Wade Tucker discovered two fresh child-sized handprints pressed into the mud facing the current.
    - The handprints were 1.1 miles downstream from where Beverly’s scent ended; no child had been reported missing in the area.
    - Brierly’s dogs later found a scent 200 yards downstream and, 300 yards upstream from that point, a laced left boot lodged under a submerged root on the east bank.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 min
  • A trail camera filmed her walking - and boots waited

    A trail camera filmed her walking - and boots waited
    Oct 14 2026
    A trail camera caught her leaving the creek - twelve days later she was found barefoot and boots nearby. How did that expose them?

    A trail camera filmed her walking - and boots waited

    In this episode, we follow the circumstances around a routine day hike that became a baffling disappearance and partial return. We lay out the movements on the trail, the search timeline, and the odd physical evidence that refuses easy explanation: what happened between the creek crossing and the boots on the rock?

    Person: Valerie Weber
    Date: November 5-17, 2019
    Location: Coldwater Ridge Wilderness, Harwick County, eastern Oregon
    Event: Day hike, missing person search, trail camera footage
    Status: Found alive on November 17 after search was called off

    - Valerie Weber left for a planned 4.6-mile Sentinel Notch day hike at dawn; her truck was found running with keys in the ignition roughly 12 hours later.
    - Dog teams traced scent indicating she crossed the creek at mile 3.1 then returned to the same bank and walked upstream instead of continuing toward Sentinel Notch.
    - Search and rescue ran an 18-square-mile grid with 34 personnel and four dog teams for eight days before calling the active search on November 13.
    - A trail camera at mile marker 11 recorded her moving days after the search had been called off - footage reviewed two days later by a Forest Service technician.
    - On November 17 at 6:23 AM a runner found Valerie sitting barefoot against a boulder, conscious, with boots placed side by side on a flat rock four inches of snow away and no tracks leading to or from them.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 min
  • The Unlaced Boots That Ended the Search

    The Unlaced Boots That Ended the Search
    Oct 13 2026
    A volunteer EMT is found seated by a roadside vault with one boot unlaced - how did that expose them?

    The Unlaced Boots That Ended the Search

    In this episode, we follow the baffling case of Angela Barrett and the search teams who scoured Harmon National Forest after she disappeared from camp. The episode covers the timeline, the search methods, and the anomalies that haunted responders - how could she end up by a utility vault with no memory of the route?

    Person: Angela Barrett
    Date: October 9-15
    Location: Harmon National Forest, Sallow Creek drainage, Dellwood substation
    Person: Judith Barnes
    Person: Travis Kohler
    Person: Pete Munden

    - Judith Barnes found Angela seated upright against a concrete vault on October 15 at 8:20 a.m., rifle across her knees, one boot off.
    - Search and rescue had covered 340 acres, deployed dogs twice, and completed concentric grid rings from the last known camp without finding her.
    - Owen Bray and his dogs picked up partial boot prints that stopped at a seasonal creek; scent ended on the far bank on October 11.
    - An orange hunting vest matching Angela’s size was found hung neatly on a trail marker inside the search perimeter on day three, but the dogs registered no scent.
    - At the trailhead on October 10 Deputy Ken Farris noted Travis Kohler’s boots were fully unlaced when he returned from the hike.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    24 min
  • The inReach trace climbed the wall - then cut out

    The inReach trace climbed the wall - then cut out
    Oct 12 2026
    A lone hiker’s inReach trace climbs a 280-foot granite wall-then the signal stops 60 feet below the summit. How did that expose them?

    The inReach trace climbed the wall - then cut out

    In this episode, we follow the recorded breadcrumb trail of Angela Osborne as it moves from trail into the vertical granite of Harrow Wall and then abruptly ends. What do the device data, her gear list, and the search dogs’ behavior together suggest about what happened that afternoon?

    Person: Angela Osborne
    Date: September 10-19, 2019
    Location: Harrow Wall, Crestline National Forest
    Person: Kevin Marsh
    Person: Phil Decker

    - Angela entered Crestline National Forest alone on September 10 with a standard solo-thru-hike kit and a Garmin inReach clipped to her left shoulder strap.
    - The inReach logged steady positions for three days, then on September 13 at 2:40 p.m. reached the base of the 280-foot Harrow Wall and paused for 22 minutes.
    - After the pause the track moved upward, ascending the west face for 34 minutes with lateral drift matching known crack systems and paused on a narrow outcrop 60 feet below the plateau summit at 4:11 p.m.
    - Angela carried no technical climbing equipment: no harness, rope, protection hardware, or helmet, and wore trail-running shoes rather than climbing footwear.
    - On September 19 SAR handler Phil Decker brought two scent dogs; given a fleece liner from Angela’s pack, both dogs searched the Wall base, did not alert there, and pulled away following a scent corridor east-northeast.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    25 min
  • The twenty‑fourteen map in her pack misdirected the search

    The twenty‑fourteen map in her pack misdirected the search
    Oct 11 2026
    A missing hiker’s signed topo map turns up in her pack-an edition she never owned. How did that map expose them?

    The twenty‑fourteen map in her pack misdirected the search

    In this episode, we follow the search for Rebecca Stewart after she leaves a trailhead and vanishes for eighty hours, while puzzling details about a map and a shelter log complicate the timeline. What did the map beside her pack-and the cabin entry-reveal about where she had actually been?

    Person: Rebecca Stewart
    Location: Greer Bald wilderness; Ardmore Falls; Denny's shelter
    Date: August 8-12
    Status: Missing for eighty hours; found alive but disoriented
    Coordinator: Ranger Roy Bishop

    - Rebecca tracked the same Greer Bald quadrangle map for eight years, annotated in pencil and used every week at her map-reading club.
    - The cabin log at Denny's shelter recorded a signed entry for "R. Stewart, Ardmore Falls - orange fleece, gray braid, topo map" on the morning of August 9.
    - Search teams followed Stewart's planned loop from the Spur Nine connector through Harlan Notch along Greer Bald ridgeline, guided by her filed itinerary.
    - A volunteer found Stewart's red internal-frame pack thirty feet into brush south of the Spur Nine junction, placed upright between laurel stems as if set down deliberately.
    - A folded twenty-fourteen edition topo map, clean of her usual pencil annotations but bearing her name and Ardmore Falls, was tucked in the pack-an edition she had never owned.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    24 min
  • The skillet turned off a burner - she left barefoot

    The skillet turned off a burner - she left barefoot
    Oct 10 2026
    A woman in remote Harrow Creek leaves a hot skillet on the stove, zips her tent and walks out barefoot - how did that expose her?

    The skillet turned off a burner - she left barefoot

    In this episode, we follow the discovery that launched a forty-day search and the small, uncanny details that drove it forward. What did the turned-off burner and missing boots tell searchers about what happened next?

    Date: July 11, 2011
    Location: Ridgeline Flat, Harrow Creek Wilderness
    Person: Tammy Weber, 24
    Person: Doug Fenn, 57
    Event: Solo work rotation and missed twice-daily check-in calls

    - A cast-iron skillet sat cooling on an unlit burner with a half-cooked pork chop surrounded by solidified grease.
    - The tent was zipped shut and the campsite showed items neatly in place: a packed backpack, sleeping bag, headlamp, and a small first-aid kit.
    - Both boots were found side by side on the tent floor as if their owner had simply stepped out barefoot.
    - Tammy had a strict seven-month routine of calling twice daily at 6 AM and 6 PM to confirm a neighbor gave insulin to her diabetic dog.
    - Her last call at about 5:40 PM said someone had arrived at camp; the 6 PM check-in never came and a teammate reported her missing the next morning.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 min
  • The blue filter Cynthia set upright that stopped the dogs

    The blue filter Cynthia set upright that stopped the dogs
    Oct 9 2026
    A blue water filter sits upright in a sandstone niche three feet off the trail as a solo hiker’s scheduled call never comes-how did that expose them?

    The blue filter Cynthia set upright that stopped the dogs

    In this episode, we follow the discovery that set a search in motion: a deliberately placed blue Katadyn water filter found in Harrow Fork Canyon while its owner is missing. We trace the route Cynthia filed, the initial search actions, and the puzzling breaks in the physical record that kept rescuers and a retired tracker working to piece together what happened.

    Person: Cynthia Rafferty
    Date: June 13-14, 2011
    Location: Harrow Fork Canyon, Saddleback Rim Wilderness, southeastern Utah
    Person: Erin Casey
    Person: Philip Doyle

    - Cynthia, a 47-year-old experienced solo hiker from Moab, filed a route and failed to make her Wednesday 5:45 a.m. check-in call.
    - A blue Katadyn filter was found upright, lid tightened, in a sandstone niche 1.2 miles from the trailhead on June 14 at 11:30 a.m.
    - Cynthia’s car remained at the trailhead and Marcus Webb, listed emergency contact, notified dispatch at 2:00 p.m., prompting SAR activation.
    - Two dog teams tracked south from the trailhead past the niche and stopped abruptly at mile 2.4 with scent that could not be explained by terrain or wind.
    - The official search report records three unexplained anomalies in the canyon and notes an 18-year-old historical parallel others initially overlooked.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    25 min
  • The trail marker that turned sent her into the gully and cost nine hours

    The trail marker that turned sent her into the gully and cost nine hours
    Oct 8 2026
    A sketchbook waits at a trailhead before its owner arrives, an orange trail marker flips and sends her into a drainage gully-how did that expose them?

    The trail marker that turned sent her into the gully and cost nine hours

    In this episode, we follow the timeline and decisions of a routine May outing that became a nine-hour survival and search. We trace Cynthia Lewis’s ritual markers, the rotated orange blaze, witness accounts, and the unanswered questions that kept rescuers and friends puzzling: what exactly happened between mile 1.8 and the gully?

    Person: Cynthia Lewis
    Date: May 11, 2019
    Location: Harrow Creek Trail, Dellman National Forest
    Event: Sketchbook left as a returning marker and a rotated orange trail blaze
    Status: Found alive after nine hours in a drainage gully

    - A sketchbook was placed upright on the Harrow Creek trailhead sign at 7:10 AM and was dry despite morning dampness.
    - Cynthia Lewis left home later and arrived at 7:52 AM to retrieve that same sketchbook as a prearranged returning marker.
    - Cynthia had a ritual of leaving small objects to mark places she planned to return to; a trout lily sketch in the book ties her to mile 2.1.
    - Volunteer Marcus Webb checked the orange blaze at 9:45 AM and found it correctly oriented; thirty-five minutes later it was rotated, directing a left turn into the drainage gully.
    - Search and rescue found Cynthia at 6:47 PM, sheltered under a sandstone overhang, rain jacket wrapped around her sketchpad and with mild hypothermia.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 min