Episodi

  • She Left a Lunchbox - Four Words That Unmasked Her Captor

    She Left a Lunchbox - Four Words That Unmasked Her Captor
    Aug 5 2026
    She Left a Lunchbox - Four Words That Unmasked Her Captor

    A yellow lunch box frozen in mud at minus eleven Celsius held a folded note whose second line read just four words: WADE IS NOT HIS NAME. That single message named a false identity, pointed to a storage unit two blocks from the credit union, and left an open question: how did a routine life turn into a carefully timed abduction that Monica Powell planned to outsmart?

    In this episode, we tell the story of the evidence left behind and the investigative steps that followed, from the greenway where a friend found the box to the business records that dissolved a suspect's name - can a discarded lunchbox and a four-word note lead police to a captor?

    Person: Monica Powell
    Date: January 2011
    Location: Crestfall River greenway
    Case: Missing person turned identification of captor
    Detective: Jessica White

    - The lunch box was a yellow Sunny Days brand discontinued since 1994, found pressed into frozen mud near a fence post.
    - The temperature the night the box was placed was minus eleven Celsius (eleven below zero).
    - Monica Powell had been missing less than forty-eight hours when the note was found; she had been missing since the previous Friday evening.
    - Monica had lived in Harwick for twenty-two years and was fifty-four years old in January 2011.
    - A business account under the name Dalton Mechanical Supply opened in June 2010 used the name Travis Carr; the entity was a shell with an Indiana PO box and no tax filings.

    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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    20 min
  • Barefoot on Frozen Ground: How Julie Left a Number and Survived

    Barefoot on Frozen Ground: How Julie Left a Number and Survived
    Aug 4 2026
    Barefoot on Frozen Ground: How Julie Left a Number and Survived

    A barefoot woman stood on frozen grass at 19°F with a phone number written on the sole of her foot in black permanent marker - a forty-second act that became the key to a nine-day survival story. How did a 22-year-old, held in a concrete room with no windows, build a way out with only a marker, a memorized number, and a sheet of paper passed at a community meeting?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Julie Olson’s last text at 17:47 on December 2, 2009 to the moment a utility worker spotted her on Dresser Avenue, asking how details like a broken rear door latch and a broken brake light connect to the question of who watched her routines and planned her disappearance.

    Person: Julie Olson
    Date: December 2-11, 2009
    Location: Cutter Lane (apartment), Dresser Avenue (discovery)
    Age: 22
    Investigator: Detective Edward McCarthy

    - Temperature at the yard on December 11, 2009: 19 degrees Fahrenheit.
    - Last text from Julie to roommate at 17:47 on December 2, 2009: “heading to Norma's, back by nine, leave the hall light on.”
    - Time Detective McCarthy had been awake when he received the case: 41 hours.
    - Age of utility worker identified on both Cutter Lane and Dresser Avenue routes: 51 years (Larry Thorpe).
    - Julie’s car found on Cutter Lane next morning with purse and phone inside and rear right brake light broken.

    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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    19 min
  • He Left a Toy on the Dock - How He Outsmarted His Captor

    He Left a Toy on the Dock - How He Outsmarted His Captor
    Aug 3 2026
    He Left a Toy on the Dock - How He Outsmarted His Captor

    Cold dawn, a dry child's drawing board on a wet dock, and a man who measured time by the tide: Todd Anderson walked away for four years at 5:45 a.m., vanished inside a seven-minute gap, and turned a toy into a rescue signal-how did he turn a magnetic board into a lifeline?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the 5:47 a.m. trail-camera image on November 10, 2011 to the discovery four days later aboard the boat Marguerite at Pier Seven, and we trace the small, precise clues Todd used-the toy, a zip tie, and tidal patterns-to communicate his location; could the details he noted about his captor explain how he escaped?

    Person: Todd Anderson
    Date: November 10, 2011
    Location: Pier Seven, Calloway Basin Marina
    Status: Found alive in forward berth of boat Marguerite
    Occupation: Parts estimator at Halverson Supply

    - Todd left his house at 5:45 a.m. every morning for four years, walking a two-mile out-and-back route to Survey Stone.
    - A trail camera recorded him entering the western end of Varnell Lakefront Trail at 5:47 a.m.; thirty-five minutes later it recorded no return.
    - A child's magnetic drawing board was placed on the dock around 5:30 a.m. and found dry while the surrounding wood was soaked with dew.
    - Todd wrote a tactile message on the board: "TODD ANDERSON. HELD ON BOAT. PIER 7. LORI KNOWS MARINA."
    - He freed his left hand from a loosely fitted zip tie on the second night and used tidal timing to estimate the hour within fifteen minutes.

    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
  • The Single Shoe That Broke a Quiet Man's Life

    The Single Shoe That Broke a Quiet Man's Life
    Aug 2 2026
    The Single Shoe That Broke a Quiet Man's Life

    A single black Oxford, size ten and a half, was found upright on a remote trail eleven miles from town-laces tied, undisturbed, three-quarters of a mile from the nearest paved road. Within six hours it was identified as belonging to Richard Holt and within eighteen days a man was arrested; how did one shoe unravel a life and lead straight to a suspect?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the shoe’s discovery to the investigative leads it produced, detailing the routines, evidence, and people involved that pushed the case forward. How did clay on the sole connect a remote trail to a specific pickup truck and to the man who knew Richard?

    Person: Richard Holt
    Date: April 14
    Location: Sutter Flats trail
    Investigator: Neil Vogel
    Evidence: clay on shoe sole matched pickup bed debris

    - Richard Holt was sixty-three years old and lived alone at fourteen Mercer Street.
    - The shoe was found by Dennis Novak at 7:42 a.m, on April fourteenth while walking his dog Chunk.
    - The shoe was a black Oxford, size ten and a half, laces tied, standing upright with no second shoe nearby.
    - The shoe was identified as Richard Holt’s within six hours of its discovery.
    - Within eighteen days of the discovery, investigators had a man in handcuffs.

    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
  • He Counted 112 Footsteps - How a Hex Nut Saved Him

    He Counted 112 Footsteps - How a Hex Nut Saved Him
    Aug 1 2026
    He Counted 112 Footsteps - How a Hex Nut Saved Him

    A man listening to footsteps counted exactly 112 during the busiest hour above his concrete cell, and a rusted hex nut and a zip-lock bag traveled a quarter mile through a drainage channel to reach a river trotline - but who sent them and why did the number matter? What Warren Simmons was counting became the single clue that broke open an eight-day disappearance.

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Warren's regular Tuesday routine to the moment Christine Moore found the bag on the Sallow River, and trace how small, everyday details - a hex nut, a torn grocery paper, one hundred and twelve scratches - connect to his survival and the police entry that changed everything. How did a count of footsteps and a nearly dried pen become the key to his escape?

    Person: Warren Simmons
    Date: September 11, 2019
    Location: 408 Teller Street basement
    Person: Christine Moore
    Investigator: Ryan Myers

    - Warren was 24 years old in summer 2019 and lived on Quarry Street.
    - Christine called in the bag found at 7:58 AM; police forced entry at 10:05 AM.
    - Warren was last seen on camera at 8:33 AM; his phone went dark at 8:47 AM.
    - He counted 112 footsteps during the busiest hour he could hear through the floor.
    - He wrote his name, an address, and the number 112 on torn grocery paper with a nearly dried black felt-tip pen.

    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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    20 min
  • The Bishop Left Standing: How Two Men Vanished Into One Farm's Secret

    The Bishop Left Standing: How Two Men Vanished Into One Farm's Secret
    Jul 31 2026
    The Bishop Left Standing: How Two Men Vanished Into One Farm's Secret

    A single hand-carved white bishop was found upright on a concrete drainage cap in a remote field - three days before a local man, Alan Pruitt, disappeared and weeks after another neighbor, Eugene Tarver, went unreported. Who pushed that bishop through a cinder-block gap, and why did it land standing like a message meant to be found?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the drainage cap discovery to the missing-person reports and the land records that pointed investigators toward a nearby parcel, asking how two men ended up inside a building no one had expected them to be in and what the bishop reveals about their fate.

    Person: Alan Pruitt
    Age: 48
    Date: August 8, 2019 (last seen at hardware store camera)
    Person: Eugene Tarver
    Age: 53
    Date: May (left rented room in late May; no missing report for nearly eleven weeks)

    - The chess piece was found on August 14, 2019, sitting upright on a concrete drainage cap near a rusted stock gate.
    - Alan Pruitt’s truck was found in the hardware store parking lot ticketed at 7:00 a.m. the morning after he went to the store.
    - The store camera showed Alan walking in at 8:45 p.m. on August 8, 2019, but did not show him leaving.
    - Todd Richardson purchased the Pickett Creek parcel in 2017 and was 41 years old at the time of the discovery.
    - Alan carved the bishop on the fifth day of his captivity using a loosened pine baseboard and the concrete floor edge as a file.

    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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    23 min
  • The Watch in the Dirt: How a Volunteer Hid a Captor

    The Watch in the Dirt: How a Volunteer Hid a Captor
    Jul 30 2026
    The Watch in the Dirt: How a Volunteer Hid a Captor

    A cheap Casio watch, face-up in the dirt with a cracked crystal and an alarm set for 6:30 PM, sat six inches from a septic tank lip on Carmichael Road - placed, not dropped - and it broke a five-day blind stretch in a missing-persons case; who would oil a barn door and leave a watch as a deliberate clue? What did the partial palm print and the volunteer in an orange vest reveal about the man who vanished and the person who never expected to be found?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the last confirmed sighting to the moment the watch turned up outside an abandoned poultry barn, tracing the details that reshaped the investigation and asking how routine habits and small objects can expose hidden intentions.

    Person: David Schultz
    Age: 32
    Location: Pelham
    Event: Watch found on Carmichael Road
    Person: Wade Bowers, 41

    - David left work at 5:50 PM and was seen on camera leaving a grocery store at 6:12 PM on July 9.
    - David’s Casio watch had a blue rubber band, a cracked crystal, and an alarm set to 6:30 PM for his diabetic beagle’s insulin reminder.
    - Neighbor Frank Esper found the dog scratching at the apartment door the morning after David disappeared; the insulin kit was untouched.
    - The watch was found by septic contractor Gordon Hensley on the morning of July 14, face-up and still running, about four miles east of Pelham.
    - A volunteer search on July 13 included a man logged as Wade Bowers, 41, wearing an orange vest and photographed near the tree line observing rather than searching.

    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
  • inside. Prior contractor access in 2017. Osman saw Hansen's truck in Denise's driveway twice

    inside. Prior contractor access in 2017. Osman saw Hansen's truck in Denise's driveway twice
    Jul 29 2026
    inside. Prior contractor access in 2017. Osman saw Hansen's truck in Denise's driveway twice

    A small, stapled sandwich bag hidden under a footbridge contained an index card with eleven faint words that led detectives to a woman locked in a basement for nine days-how did routine details like a 2017 water‑heater permit and a neighbor’s sighting turn into the clue that changed the case? What exactly connected the permit floor plan, the third mailbox with a red flag, and the padlocked basement door?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of discoveries from the morning Todd Zeller found the bag to the deputies who followed its directions, covering the key documents, sightings, and search actions that guided investigators toward the house on Tillman Spur Road-what evidence tied Glenn Hansen to the property and the timeline of Denise’s disappearance?

    Date: June 9, 2019
    Person: Denise Fitzgerald
    Location: Elmhaven Nature Preserve (bag found) and Tillman Spur Road (house)
    Person: Glenn Hansen
    Event: 2017 permit to replace a water heater

    - Bag location: stapled to underside of a footbridge railing, 1.5 miles from nearest house
    - Note content: eleven faint words reading “Gray house Tillman Spur Road third mailbox red flag up”
    - Finder: Todd Zeller, age 53, found the bag at 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2019
    - Neighbor sighting: Patricia Osman saw Hansen’s truck in Denise’s driveway twice (recorded in transcript)
    - Basement condition at house: hasp on the outside padlocked, no signs of forced entry

    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