Episodi

  • The Folded Coat: Why Crystal Ford's Glove Was Missing

    The Folded Coat: Why Crystal Ford's Glove Was Missing
    Oct 12 2026
    The Folded Coat: Why Crystal Ford's Glove Was Missing

    A folded camel coat was found inside a locked steel utility panel on January 14, 1973, with a single white glove tucked into the right pocket and the left glove missing-no blood, no note. Who had access to the padlocked enclosure on the Pallister Grain south wall, and why was the coat folded so carefully?

    In this episode, we walk through the timeline and evidence from Crystal Ford's disappearance, from her routine life and last confirmed sightings to the locked enclosure where her coat was discovered, asking whether the missing left glove and unforced lock hold the answer.

    Person: Crystal Ford
    Date: January 14, 1973
    Location: Pallister Grain south wall, Decker Avenue
    Age: 26
    Investigator: Detective Ray Purcell

    - Coat discovered by meter reader Bruce Cook at 8:15 AM on January 14, 1973.
    - Coat was camel, folded neatly, with the right white glove in the right pocket and the left glove missing.
    - The steel panel was secured by a barrel bolt inside and a keyed padlock outside; the lock showed no signs of forced entry.
    - Two keys existed for the enclosure: one held by building maintenance Glen Ott and one on Bruce Cook’s seven-key ring; neither man placed the coat.
    - Crystal Ford was last seen publicly on January 3, 1973, at the Depot Grill between 7:20 and 7:40 AM, ordering black coffee and a toasted English muffin with grape jelly.

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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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    20 min
  • The Road That Hid a Ring: Poker, Lies, and a Pipe Burial

    The Road That Hid a Ring: Poker, Lies, and a Pipe Burial
    Oct 11 2026
    The Road That Hid a Ring: Poker, Lies, and a Pipe Burial

    A county road swallowed a sealed steel pipe for thirty-two years before a ring and three initials - M.A.D. - pointed straight to a missing man; what exactly was buried beneath Route Nine and who had the power to hide it in plain sight? The discovery included a Glenview State class ring from 1971 and remains buried four feet, eleven inches below the shoulder - but how did no one connect the road, the contractor, and the last poker game for decades?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries, the original missing-persons investigation, and the public records that finally linked a burial under Route Nine to the people who maintained that stretch of road; how did those records answer the question that went unanswered for thirty-two years?

    Person: Mark Anthony Draper
    Date: December 13, 1990 (last known contact)
    Location: Route Nine, near mile marker 11
    Status: Remains recovered December 3, 2022; deceased approximately thirty years
    Case: Missing person reopened and identified from remains

    - The steel pipe was 8 inches in diameter and buried 4 feet 11 inches below the surface.
    - The recovered ring was a university signet from Glenview State, class of 1971, engraved inside with the letters M.A.D.
    - Mark Draper was 48 years old in December 1990 and had worked 11 years at Halloran Supply.
    - The poker club met most Thursdays and included four named members: Bobby Crane, Ed Atwell, Phil Torres, and Vernon Parker.
    - Route Nine was being worked on by a contractor called Parker Grounds; the excavator operator who found the pipe was Scott Henning.

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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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    19 min
  • The Red Handbag That Broke a 40-Year Silence

    The Red Handbag That Broke a 40-Year Silence
    Oct 10 2026
    The Red Handbag That Broke a 40‑Year Silence

    A red leather handbag sat in a drainage ditch eleven miles inside Pettifer State State for forty years, clasp still fastened and forty dollars and three singles folded inside. How did an item that should have rotted away survive Virginia freeze-thaw cycles long enough to point back to a disappearance that had been quietly shelved?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events and the evidence recovered from the scene to show how a single object reopened a long-dormant case. Who was Brenda Whitfield, why did her spiral notebook matter, and what silenced two witnesses for decades?

    Person: Brenda Whitfield
    Date: Disappearance on November 14, 1982
    Location: Alder Mill Road and Fenner Street, Mabry, Goode County, Virginia
    Event: Red handbag found November 2022 in Pettifer State State
    Case: Missing person investigation opened by Det. Roy Pettiford

    - The red leather handbag contained exactly $40 and three one-dollar bills when found.
    - The handbag was discovered half-buried at the eastern edge of Pettifer State State, eleven miles inside the woods, on a November afternoon in 2022.
    - Brenda Whitfield was 31 years old and worked 6 a.m.-2 p.m. at Merritt Textiles before she disappeared.
    - Two witnesses, Marcus Webb (16) and Doris Fenn (44), originally described a heavyset white man in a green canvas jacket and a dark pickup with its hood up near Alder Mill and Fenner.
    - A receipt found roughly 30 yards from that corner showed a purchase at 5:38 p.m. of a fix-a-flat aerosol and a quart of motor oil, with a partial carbon-card imprint showing four visible digits.

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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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    19 min
  • The Handbag, the Cab Receipt, and the Murdered Title Examiner

    The Handbag, the Cab Receipt, and the Murdered Title Examiner
    Oct 9 2026
    The Handbag, the Cab Receipt, and the Murdered Title Examiner

    A calm life of habit concealed a violent mystery: a brown leather handbag sat buckled in three inches of Orvus Creek water for twenty-six years with a bank book showing $4,312 last updated September 22, 1993. A microfilm cab fare of $9.40 for a 43-mile trip didn’t add up - was that tiny discrepancy the thread that unraveled a closed missing-person case?

    In this episode, we lay out the facts pulled from records, family testimony, and the creekbed discovery to show how one number and one abandoned handbag reopened what many had accepted as a voluntary disappearance. How did a title examiner’s routines, a newly filed will, and a strange cab receipt connect to her vanishing?

    Person: Carol Schultz
    Age: 52
    Occupation: Title examiner at the Durr law office
    Date last seen: September 29, 1993
    Discovery: Handbag found on Orvus Creek bank in fall 2019

    - Bank deposit book last entry dated September 22, 1993 with balance $4,312.
    - Cab fare recorded as $9.40 for a 43-mile ride to Indianapolis International Airport.
    - Carol worked eleven years at the Durr office and arrived at work at 7:45 each morning.
    - Carol’s 1988 Pontiac was found October 3 in the long-term lot at Indianapolis International Airport, 43 miles south of Fetler.
    - A will dated September 15, 1993 named Nancy Reed sole beneficiary of apartment contents, a savings account, and a one-eighth interest in 40 acres worth about $11,000.

    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
  • The Sneaker in the Wall: How Pelham Cove Hid a Secret for 21 Years

    The Sneaker in the Wall: How Pelham Cove Hid a Secret for 21 Years
    Oct 8 2026
    The Sneaker in the Wall: How Pelham Cove Hid a Secret for 21 Years

    A tied size-seven canvas sneaker, a laminated library card legible after two decades, and a folded square of heavy-gauge dark-green plastic were discovered inside a sealed cavity in the Pelham Cove seawall after the nor'easter of September 14, 2023 - all untouched by water for twenty-one years. Who placed those items in the wall, and how do they upend the presumed accidental drowning of Erin Webb in 2002?

    In this episode, we tell what was found, who Erin Webb was, how her disappearance unfolded in September 2002, and which three unresolved anomalies in the original investigation - a rolled-down car window, unprepared sample bottles, and a geographic inconsistency - kept the case open in surprising ways. What do those small wrongnesses mean when viewed together?

    Person: Erin Webb
    Date: September 8, 2002
    Location: Pelham Cove, Maine
    Case: Presumed accidental drowning
    Discovery: September 14, 2023 seawall cavity

    - A size-seven canvas sneaker with laces knotted in a neat bow was found on a stone shelf inside a sealed cavity roughly three feet wide and two feet tall.
    - A laminated library card was recovered beside the sneaker and remained legible after approximately twenty-one years.
    - A folded square of heavy-gauge dark-green plastic lay beneath the sneaker and library card with no water damage to the laces.
    - Erin Webb was forty-four years old on the morning of September 8, 2002, and worked as a seasonal marine biology technician for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
    - Erin’s Subaru was found at the south-end boat launch on the morning of September 8, 2002, with the driver’s window rolled all the way down despite her beagle having died in spring 2001.

    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
  • Seiko Stopped at 11:47: Who Hid Tammy Sharp's Watch?

    Seiko Stopped at 11:47: Who Hid Tammy Sharp's Watch?
    Oct 7 2026
    Seiko Stopped at 11:47: Who Hid Tammy Sharp's Watch?

    A stopped Seiko watch, hands frozen at 11:47, was found buckled and intact inside a septic tank decades after Tammy Sharp died - but a mechanical watch would have run until its spring exhausted, meaning someone placed it there before it stopped. Who deliberately set that small clock on Ridgecrest Road, and what does its timing reveal about the night of August 18-20, 1992?

    In this episode, we lay out the documented timeline, witness statements, and the misfiled records that reopened the case, and we follow how a routine land-records request and a maintenance technician’s photographs brought the watch back into the record. Could a detail as small as a stopped watch change the official conclusion about Tammy’s death?

    Person: Tammy Sharp
    Date: August 20, 1992 (body found)
    Location: Ridgecrest Road property
    Status: Case initially ruled suicide; file closed September 1992; reopened after records discovered
    Event: Watch recovered July 2022 inside septic tank

    - Tammy Sharp was 28 years old and twelve credits short of completing a nursing program when her body was found.
    - The Seiko had a gold case, brown leather strap, intact crystal, and was buckled when found in the septic tank.
    - Witness Jerry Aldrich reported seeing a blue Ford pickup without headlights on Ridgecrest Road between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. on August 18, 1992, noting plates with letters C and L.
    - Patrice Nolan reported seeing a heavyset white man in a dark work jacket walking toward the Sharp house about half an hour after the pickup sighting.
    - Three witness statements from the night Tammy died were misfiled and only discovered after a land records request nearly thirty years later.

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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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    20 min
  • The Dry Shoe on the Riverbank: The Ransom That Revealed Him

    The Dry Shoe on the Riverbank: The Ransom That Revealed Him
    Oct 6 2026
    The Dry Shoe on the Riverbank: The Ransom That Revealed Him

    A single dry white canvas sneaker wedged in a water-oak root on a soaked Sassafras River bank stopped an officer cold - it stayed dry despite four hours of rain and no overhead cover, and that impossible detail would take thirty-one years to unravel. That dry shoe eventually linked two missing boys across thirteen years, a garage two miles from a family home, and a partial thumbprint that technology finally read; how did one shoe hold so many secrets?

    In this episode, we tell the story as presented in the case files and the memories of those who kept them, following the disappearance and return of a nine-year-old, the ransom that followed, and the long trail of overlooked evidence that refused to be forgotten - what finally made the pieces fit?

    Person: Gregory O'Brien
    Date: July 3, 1991
    Location: Dunmore, Pennsylvania
    Event: Typing-ransom note demanding $14,000
    Investigator: Carl Voss

    - Gregory O'Brien left home between 2:15 and 2:45 PM on July 3, 1991 and did not arrive at the corner store.
    - A typed ransom note demanding $14,000 was mailed July 5, postmarked Carbondale, with instructions to leave a bag in the dumpster behind Riverside Lanes by midnight July 9.
    - Martin O'Brien borrowed most of the $14,000, left the bag at the dumpster as instructed on July 9, and the recovered bag was empty and wiped clean.
    - Gregory was found on the front steps of the Dunmore Public Library at 6:00 AM on July 13, ten days after his disappearance.
    - Terry Bowers, a 34-year-old mechanic, was in the shared basement utility space of neighbor Patricia Ellwood for about 40 minutes in mid-June and his tow truck was seen parked near Caldwell and Merritt on the afternoon of July 3.

    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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    18 min
  • The Lemon Wedge That Opened a Locked Door

    The Lemon Wedge That Opened a Locked Door
    Oct 5 2026
    The Lemon Wedge That Opened a Locked Door

    A single lemon wedge moved from the bottom of a sweet tea to the rim of a red cup - and a locked front door swung open one inch at 6:47 AM on June 14, 2001. That small, strange detail sat in an evidence log for eighteen years while a young phlebotomist's unexplained disappearance grew cold; what did that lemon wedge really mean?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from Cynthia Callahan’s nightly routine to the initial investigation and the long period of stagnation, and we follow the faint trail that reappeared decades later: how did a routine file migration and a storage unit finally connect to this case?

    Person: Cynthia Callahan
    Date: June 14, 2001
    Location: 412 Cutter Mill Road
    Age: 22
    Occupation: Phlebotomist

    - Cynthia stopped at Burnside Gas and Grill around 7:15 AM the morning of June 13, 2001 and ordered a large sweet tea and cookies.
    - The red Burnside cup with a lemon wedge was placed on the porch railing at 412 Cutter Mill Road.
    - At 6:47 AM on June 14, 2001 a 15-year-old newspaper deliverer, Kimberly Vickers, tossed a paper at the front door and the door swung open one inch.
    - Detective Lowell Hatch initially recorded the scene as a likely domestic incident and ruled out forced entry.
    - By December 2001 the case was marked inactive and the lemon wedge remained an unexplained entry in the evidence log.

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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