Episodi

  • Locked Line, Dead Phone, Signal at 2:47 AM

    Locked Line, Dead Phone, Signal at 2:47 AM
    Jul 29 2026
    Locked Line, Dead Phone, Signal at 2:47 AM

    A dead telephone line recorded a returned signal at 2:47 AM on May 5, 2019, even though the junction box had been disconnected six months earlier; what could have triggered a line test in a physically disabled system? A motel room that hadn’t been rented in seven months contained a face-down handset and a printout that said only "Line test - signal returned." How are that log entry, a ringing heard down the hall, and a notebook note connected?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events as recorded and remembered: the system log, the motel owner's account, and the guest who woke to a distant ring and wrote in the dark. We trace where each piece of evidence was found and ask what mechanism could produce a signal on a dead line.

    Person: Gregory Myers
    Location: Saguaro Rest Motel, State Route 93, Calvary Flats area, Nevada
    Date: May 5, 2019 (log timestamped 2:47 AM)
    Owner: Phil Ochoa (motel owner for 14 years)
    Entry: "Line test - signal returned" printed in system queue

    - The phone in room fourteen was face-down on the nightstand with the cord coiled tight.
    - Room fourteen had been taken out of service and its line disconnected at the junction box on October 18 (six months earlier).
    - The system printed a single-page log entry timestamped five minutes before 3:00 AM saying "Line test - signal returned."
    - Gregory Myers, two doors away in room eight, woke "just before three in the morning," counted four rings, and wrote one sentence in his notebook.
    - Kevin Ochoa, a network infrastructure worker, confirmed the line was "physically dead" and that the returned-signal entry should not have been possible.

    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.
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    22 min
  • The Envelope That Knew the Flood Before It Happened

    The Envelope That Knew the Flood Before It Happened
    Jul 28 2026
    The Envelope That Knew the Flood Before It Happened

    Fear that history can be lost in a single night - fourteen boxes of nineteenth-century letters turned to pulp before dawn - and a sealed envelope arrived eight days earlier describing the exact failure that caused it. Who sent a typed document dated April 5, 2011 that named the valve, the staircase, and the very collections that would be damaged, and why did one predicted detail still not make sense?

    In this episode, we walk through the timeline from the envelope’s discovery to the flood itself, laying out the maintenance notes, the buried culvert, and the staff actions that followed, and ask how an unfiled warning and a moved ledger changed what survived.

    Person: Todd Fitzgerald
    Date: April 14, 2011
    Location: Mossfield University Special Collections sub-basement
    Event: Drainage valve bracket failure causing flood
    Item: Manila envelope dated April 5, 2011

    - 1:44 AM on April 14, 2011 was the recorded time the valve bracket failed.
    - Fourteen boxes of nineteenth-century correspondence were destroyed before dawn.
    - Biscuit the golden retriever found the sealed envelope on April 9, 2011 at the uprooted birch tree.
    - The envelope contained eleven sheets typed on a manual typewriter dated April 5, 2011.
    - Todd Fitzgerald had moved the Hartwick ledgers approximately two feet higher in September 2010.

    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.
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    22 min
  • Dry Suitcase Eight Miles Downriver - What Did David Do On The Ferry?

    Dry Suitcase Eight Miles Downriver - What Did David Do On The Ferry?
    Jul 27 2026
    Dry Suitcase Eight Miles Downriver - What Did David Do On The Ferry?

    A dry, locked, dark green hard-shell suitcase was found upright on eight inches of exposed sand on a fast, swollen river - bone dry despite being eight miles downstream; the building access log shows no one opened the storage unit after David placed that very suitcase there two weeks earlier. How did an object stored and accounted for in a locked unit end up dry on a sandbar, and what happened during the Meridian Ferry crossing that might explain it?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline from February 22 to March 5, 2011, including building access records, ferry crew observations, and the suitcase discovery, to present the unresolved gap in memory and evidence that still puzzles investigators. Could the Meridian Ferry crossing on March 3 be the key to the suitcase’s impossible journey?

    Person: David Do
    Date: February 22, 2011 (storage entry) and March 3-5, 2011 (ferry crossing and discovery)
    Location: Picker's Bend on the Carver River
    Event: Meridian Ferry crossing from Orren to Bellhaven, March 3, 2011
    Witness: Chris Polk (deckhand) and John Andrews (discoverer)

    - The suitcase was found upright on eight inches of exposed sand at 4:15 AM on March 5, 2011, with no water on it.
    - David Do's key-card recorded entry to the first-floor storage room on February 22, 2011; no further openings of that unit were recorded until March 5.
    - The Carver River was running four to six miles per hour and swollen from snowmelt at the time the suitcase was found.
    - The Meridian Ferry left Orren at approximately 9:50 PM on March 3, 2011; the crossing takes 14-18 minutes and the deck was glazed with ice.
    - Ferry deckhand Chris Polk observed David Do on the open deck moving toward the stern "with purpose" during that crossing; an impact was later heard from the stern.

    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.
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    22 min
  • A Sealed Tank Fills Itself: The Serano Cistern Mystery

    A Sealed Tank Fills Itself: The Serano Cistern Mystery
    Jul 26 2026
    A Sealed Tank Fills Itself: The Serano Cistern Mystery

    He found roughly four thousand gallons of water in a sealed concrete cistern in the middle of a drought, with soil cracked and stock ponds empty for 143 days - so how did it appear and then quietly lose 380 gallons without anyone touching the lid? This episode follows that impossible water, the lab results that ruled out the ranch’s well and surface sources, and the single eight-inch gap in the seal that might be the only clue.

    In this episode, you will hear the timeline of discovery, the measurements taken by a reporter and a rancher, and the laboratory analysis that showed elevated calcium carbonate and low sulfate - pointing to an unmapped source. What could an underground or hidden pathway look like when four thousand gallons arrive and then begin to pass through a sealed tank?

    Person: Russell Callahan
    Date: February 11, 2019
    Location: eastern draw, Serano ranch, Presidio County, Texas
    Event: discovery of cistern full to within 6 inches of the lip (about 4,000 gallons)
    Analysis: water sample showed low sulfate and elevated calcium carbonate

    - Ground had not received meaningful rainfall for 143 days prior to discovery.
    - The concrete cap measured about three feet across with a silicone seal intact on three sides.
    - The northern silicone gap ran roughly eight inches long and up to three millimeters wide.
    - Reporter Richard Reed measured an eleven-inch drop over six days, equal to about 380 gallons lost.
    - The ranch’s active production well draws from the Rustler aquifer at 310 feet, but its profile did not match the cistern water.

    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.
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    16 min
  • The Looming Sound: Secrets Buried Under Hollowell Mill's Walls

    The Looming Sound: Secrets Buried Under Hollowell Mill's Walls
    Jul 26 2026
    The Looming Sound: Secrets Buried Under Hollowell Mill's Walls

    Cold air, an abandoned mill, and a sound so precise it was logged as "sounds like a loom"-two residents heard a three-beat rhythm through Hollowell Textile Mill's walls in January 2019; what had been sealed inside for thirty years, and why did the noise only appear below 15°F? Which record was right about the mill's interior: the salvage manifest saying all machinery was removed, or an asbestos inspector's 1989 sketch showing a turbine housing still bolted in the basement?

    In this episode, we follow the field reports, the local memories, and the conflicting documents that turned a brief note into a long mystery. Listen to how two witnesses, city records, and a decades-old abatement sketch converge on the same question: what exactly remained inside Hollowell Mill and what made that loom-like sound?

    Person: Alan Harrison
    Date: January 21, 2019
    Location: Hollowell Textile Mill, Brinnell, Ohio
    Temperature: 11°F
    Document: Asbestos abatement sketch dated October 1989 showing a turbine housing

    - January 9, 2019 at just after 9:00 PM, Gina Wallace heard a three-beat rhythm coming from the mill's south wall and listened for about two minutes.
    - January 21, 2019 at approximately 9:15 AM, Alan Harrison recorded the sound in a field report as "sounds like a loom" while standing at the northeast corner.
    - The mill closed in 1989 and official salvage manifest from that late summer stated all machinery had been removed and floor bolts ground flush.
    - An inspector identified as D. Corbin prepared and initialed an October 1989 site sketch showing a turbine housing still bolted to its concrete pad in a sub-grade chamber in the northeast basement.
    - The loom-like sound can only be produced in sustained temperatures below 15°F, a threshold met in at least 22 of the 31 winters since the mill closed.

    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.
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    23 min
  • The Woman in the Fishbowl: Dead, Dining, and a Nine‑Minute Gap

    The Woman in the Fishbowl: Dead, Dining, and a Nine‑Minute Gap
    Jul 26 2026
    The Woman in the Fishbowl: Dead, Dining, and a Nine‑Minute Gap

    A cold December morning photograph shows a woman in Nora's Diner's corner "fishbowl" booth wearing a pale blue cardigan - the exact outfit of Edna Marsh, who died in October 2017 - and ordering Edna's regular breakfast. How did a woman who'd been dead for over two years appear to be eating at 6:22 AM when the kitchen log records the meal plated at 6:31 AM?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events captured by a retired postal worker's camera, diner staff recollections, and the digital point-of-sale records, and we follow the one remaining discrepancy that refuses to be explained: the nine‑minute gap between the photograph and the plated meal.

    Person: Edna Marsh
    Date: October 2017 (death)
    Location: Nora's Diner, Route 7, Fennick, Ohio
    Event: Photograph taken December 11, 2019 at 6:22 AM
    Status: Kitchen log shows plating at 6:31 AM

    - The photograph was taken by Dale Cooper, a retired postal worker, on December 11, 2019 at 6:22 AM.
    - Edna Marsh regularly sat in the fishbowl booth for more than 40 years and ordered "two eggs over-easy, white toast, two sausage patties, black coffee with one sugar."
    - Edna Marsh died of a stroke and was found in October 2017.
    - The diner's point-of-sale log shows a ticket for the Edna order rung at 6:18 AM on December 11, 2019, entered by waitress Jessie Polk.
    - The diner's kitchen log indicates the eggs from that order were not plated until 6:31 AM, leaving a nine-minute discrepancy with the photograph.

    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.
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    20 min
  • The Second Photo: What Appeared on Timber Notch in 90 Seconds

    The Second Photo: What Appeared on Timber Notch in 90 Seconds
    Jul 26 2026
    The Second Photo: What Appeared on Timber Notch in 90 Seconds

    A perfectly ordinary disposable camera captured two photos of the same cliff face ninety seconds apart-one empty, the other showing a dark-coated figure standing 260 feet above the road on a ledge with no visible route. The image was developed at a Rexall photo counter where the technician and his manager were both stopped cold; what could appear on a granite wall in under two minutes with no signs of climbing gear?

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events from a November morning in 2003 through the moment the prints were picked up, outlining the people, places, and evidence involved - and the single unanswered question that sent a retired civil engineer back to his atlas: how did that figure get there?

    Person: Roy Padgett
    Date: November 7, 2003 (photos taken) and November 9-10, 2003 (prints picked up and noticed)
    Location: Timber Notch Pass overlook, Garnet Fork, eastern Sierra foothills
    Age: Roy Padgett was 54; Judith Andrews was 15; Leon Tate was 22
    Distance: Figure stood approximately 260 feet above the road cut

    - Roy Padgett walked the same four-mile route at 6:45 a.m. roughly 3,200 times over eleven years.
    - He had used a disposable Fuji camera with about six or seven frames left when he stopped at Timber Notch.
    - The two relevant frames were taken about ninety seconds apart from the same position at the overlook.
    - The Rexall photo technician, Leon Tate, had three years' experience and immediately sought manager Diane Koss after seeing the strip.
    - The cliff face in the photos rises roughly 300 feet from the road cut, with the figure appearing on a ledge with no accessible route from the ground.

    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.
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    20 min
  • Seven Purple Blooms in Frozen Water - Who Secretly Kept the Promise?

    Seven Purple Blooms in Frozen Water - Who Secretly Kept the Promise?
    Jul 26 2026
    Seven Purple Blooms in Frozen Water - Who Secretly Kept the Promise?

    The sight of seven purple larkspur stems standing upright in liquid that hadn't frozen at 19°F turned a quiet Nebraska cemetery into a puzzle: no tracks, no footprints, only a jar that seemed to breathe. Who left living flowers on Plot 114, and why did that single act tie together decisions stretching back eighteen years?

    In this episode, we follow the reporting trail and personal histories that converge on that winter morning, tracing how a retired pilot's carefully saved seeds, an elderly widow's offhand wish, and a young volunteer's secret actions led to the jar at Glenhollow - what chain of choices made that moment possible?

    Person: Mark Osborne
    Person: Gloria Burns
    Person: Vernon Ault
    Person: Edna Creel
    Person: Linda Larsen

    - At 6:15 AM on a Saturday in November, county grader operator Mark Osborne found seven purple flowers in a mason jar at Plot 114.
    - The temperature the night before had dropped to 19°F, yet the water in the jar remained liquid and moved when Osborne lifted it.
    - Vernon Ault died in July 1993 in his greenhouse on Ferris Road; he stored larkspur seeds labeled "Consolida ajacis - violet, dark" and never planted them after his death.
    - Edna Creel entered Darby Senior Residence in March 2011 at age 81 and mentioned in September that she wished someone would put flowers on Vernon's grave.
    - Linda Larsen, then 22, began volunteering Wednesdays, checked out two books on larkspur and cold-hardy annuals three days after Edna's remark, and her mother Patricia Larsen filed a one-day permit for the Ault greenhouse in October.

    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.
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    19 min