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  • Sentry Peak's Beacon: Why the Light Was On When She Vanished

    Sentry Peak's Beacon: Why the Light Was On When She Vanished
    2026/07/25
    Sentry Peak's Beacon: Why the Light Was On When She Vanished

    A bright emergency beacon flashed in full daylight over Sentry Peak the morning a seasoned Forest Service lookout disappeared, though that light was only supposed to run at night; the tower’s door was latched from the outside, boots were neatly lined under the cot, dishes stacked, and the logbook’s last entry at 9:14 PM was written in an unfamiliar blue ink-so why was the beacon cycling and where did she go?

    In this episode, we walk through the timeline and concrete scene details from that morning, revisit the last written entry and who noticed the oddities, and follow search-and-rescue and investigative leads as they try to reconcile a methodical woman’s routine with the baffling discrepancies left behind-what sequence of small, explainable errors and deliberate actions could produce such an unresolved disappearance?

    Person: Crystal Wagner
    Date: July 11, 2019
    Location: Sentry Peak lookout tower
    Age: 46
    Investigator: Terry Davis

    - Beacon panel was set to continuous operation though it was supposed to run on an overnight timer.
    - Logbook's last entry time-stamped 9:14 PM on July 10 and written in blue ballpoint ink.
    - Crystal’s usual Pilot G-2 black pen was missing from its slot; a leftover blue pen was later found in a desk drawer.
    - Tower door was latched from the outside and Crystal’s trail runners were gone while her heavy boots remained under the cot.
    - Satellite communicator was powered off and the emergency beacon was still flashing at 7:42 AM when paper carrier Alice Rogers noticed it.

    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 分
  • Warm Boot, Double Knot: How Michelle Came Back Missing Memories

    Warm Boot, Double Knot: How Michelle Came Back Missing Memories
    2026/07/25
    Warm Boot, Double Knot: How Michelle Came Back Missing Memories

    Warm, buried, and tied-searchers found a size seven coral trail runner at mile marker eleven that felt as if someone had just taken it off; the laces were pulled tight in a double knot though the last person to tie them had left only a single knot. What happened in the nine days between a limping hiker and a boot dug out of winter gravel, and who tied that knot?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Michelle Simmons leaving the Pelham County animal shelter to the discovery on Forest Road Seven-Echo, tracing witness accounts, search-and-rescue evidence, and the unresolved question of how that boot came to be double-knotted.

    Person: Michelle Simmons
    Date: June 14-19
    Location: Coldspring Trail and Forest Road Seven-Echo, Pelham County
    Status: Missing for four days before boot discovery; case spans nine days in the high country
    Search coordinator: Megan Tillman

    - Michelle Simmons was 28 years old, 5'4" and 130 pounds.
    - She left the shelter at 10:17 AM on June 14 and signed the trail register at 8:41 AM for an ~11-mile north ridge loop.
    - Dennis Prada encountered Michelle at ~2:15 PM, wrapped her right ankle with an elastic bandage, and relaced her boot with a single-knot pattern.
    - Chris and Anne Fowler saw Michelle sitting on the trail at ~3:45 PM about two miles from the trailhead; her right boot was off and the ankle was swollen, and she declined help.
    - At 7:52 AM on June 19, Richard Henderson found a warm, dry women's right trail runner (size 7, faded coral) buried in gravel at mile marker 11; the laces were tied in a tight double knot.

    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 分
  • The Signal in the Culvert: How a Beacon Led Her Home

    The Signal in the Culvert: How a Beacon Led Her Home
    2026/07/25
    The Signal in the Culvert: How a Beacon Led Her Home

    A steady 457 kHz pulse - the universal avalanche-transceiver tone - was heard echoing from a corrugated culvert at 6,200 feet while the nearest snowpack was 1,300 feet above; what was broadcasting an avalanche beacon from a dirt drainage pipe, and how did it become the key to finding a missing backcountry skier? Who was sending that signal, and why had no one thought to look there?

    In this episode, we follow the search for a missing skier and the unexpected clue that changed everything. You’ll hear how routine equipment checks, a pared-down gear decision, and a lineman’s curiosity converged to answer the question left by the pulsing tone in the culvert.

    Person: Crystal Fleming
    Date: May 7-14, 2019
    Location: Vanner Cirque / Sill Creek drainage, Hollenbeck Range / Forest Service Road Seven-Bravo / Ridgecrest, Idaho
    Event: Missing backcountry skier and subsequent search
    Status: Signal detected in culvert led to breakthrough after seven days

    - Crystal Fleming was 56 years old in May 2019 and had skied backcountry terrain in central Idaho for 20 years.
    - The tone heard in the culvert was a 457 kilohertz pulse repeating every second, the frequency of avalanche rescue transceivers.
    - The pulse was detected at 6,200 feet elevation while the nearest recorded snowpack was 1,300 feet higher.
    - Crystal’s truck remained at the Sill Creek trailhead on the evening of May 7 with an orange emergency bivy bag and extra layers visible on the back seat.
    - Alan Weaver heard the pulsing signal while inspecting a transmission line on Forest Service Road Seven-Bravo on the morning of May 14, 2019.

    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 分
  • He Walked Down a Mountain He Couldn't Possibly Have Walked Down

    He Walked Down a Mountain He Couldn't Possibly Have Walked Down
    2026/07/25
    He Walked Down a Mountain He Couldn't Possibly Have Walked Down

    A composition notebook, sealed in plastic and written in freezing temperatures, was found wedged beneath a trailhead kiosk miles from where a missing hiker with a fractured leg was last known to be - the final entry stops mid-sentence. How did Randy Sawyer, injured above 7,000 feet and immobile in subfreezing nights, get that notebook to the trailhead?

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events, search operations, and the puzzling physical evidence gathered between April 9 and April 16, 2019, to explore the unresolved movement that baffled search-and-rescue teams. Can the field notes, boot prints, and a single fire ring explain who - or what - moved the notebook down the mountain?

    Person: Randy Sawyer
    Date: April 9-16, 2019
    Location: Harrow Creek trailhead and Pelton Shelf, above 7,000 feet
    Status: Missing; fractured left fibula and bivy shelter found on Pelton Shelf
    Coordinator: Amanda Mueller

    - The notebook was found at 6:15 AM on April 14, 2019, wedged beneath the log retaining wall at the Harrow Creek trailhead.
    - Temperature had dropped to 28°F three nights prior to the notebook's discovery; pages were still legible inside a clear plastic bag.
    - Randy Sawyer left his truck at Harrow Creek trailhead on April 7 with keys in the wheel well and a written itinerary under the windshield wiper.
    - A signal fire with fresh ash and a single size 11 boot print was found on the northeast boulder field edge of Pelton Shelf by volunteer Frank Odum.
    - Bloodhound Hector tracked scent 2.1 miles along the main Harrow Creek trail and stopped at a granite slab and rocky ford where the scent abruptly ended.

    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 分
  • She Left a Note Pointing Up-Found Alive, No Footprints Below

    She Left a Note Pointing Up-Found Alive, No Footprints Below
    2026/07/25
    She Left a Note Pointing Up-Found Alive, No Footprints Below

    Cold and baffling: a sealed orange bivouac sack, a full water bottle, an energy bar and a pencil note timestamped 11:20 - all sitting on a granite shelf with unbroken snow in every direction. How did a meticulous 38-year-old GIS technician named Laura Powell leave gear at 9,100 feet with no footprints below, and why did her note tell searchers to look above the couloir?

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events from Laura Powell’s last known phone call through the twelve-day Kessler Range search, describing the scene found by Ruth Bowers, the initial field evidence, and the constraints that kept teams from reaching the upper boulder fields. What do the single boot print, a used hand-warmer, and the dogs quitting at the creek tell us about where Laura went?

    Person: Laura Powell
    Date: March 15-March 23
    Location: Kessler Range, granite shelf at 9,100 feet
    Status: Found alive after nine days alone in the cold
    Occupation: GIS technician

    - An orange bivouac sack was found sealed and unused on a flat rock shelf with no surrounding footprints.
    - A folded pencil-written note in a zip-lock bag was timestamped 11:20 and instructed searchers to look above the couloir.
    - Laura’s last outgoing phone call was to her sister on March 14 at 15:47 and lasted nine minutes.
    - Search and Rescue recorded between 14 and 17 inches of new snow overnight before teams could reach upper terrain.
    - Search dogs quit at the mile-three creek crossing, with handlers reporting scent channeled down the drainage and flowing into the creek.

    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 分
  • The Stones Flipped Themselves: How She Came Back Frozen Alive

    The Stones Flipped Themselves: How She Came Back Frozen Alive
    2026/07/25
    The Stones Flipped Themselves: How She Came Back Frozen Alive

    Cold, uncanny, and inexplicable: a 40-foot circle of basalt slabs on a mountainside were flipped pale-side up in still, -3°F air with no wind, and a 61-year-old geology professor who had vanished the night before was later found alive-how could the stones flip themselves and leave no trace of struggle?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the Wednesday night phone call to the discovery at first light, laying out the documented observations, witness actions, and the physical scene on Brewer Slope to ask the question that drove the search: what happened on that northeast-facing talus at 9,200 feet that night?

    Person: Amy Thorpe
    Age: 61
    Location: Brewer Slope, Cascabel Valley (approximately 9,200 feet)
    Date: February 9, 2015
    Observer: Clifford Taylor

    - Every flat basalt slab inside a roughly circular 40-foot diameter area was flipped pale-side up.
    - Overnight air temperature recorded as negative three degrees Fahrenheit with no wind or precipitation.
    - Amy Thorpe was a 61-year-old geology professor, 5'4", 140 pounds, who routinely worked the Brewer Slope every February.
    - Thorpe's Subaru was found at the turnout and her blue daypack was located on the slope before sunrise.
    - Search-and-rescue coordinator Dean Hayes photographed the disturbed circle for about 40 minutes before allowing 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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    20 分
  • The Dry Boot on the Granite Shelf: Melissa's Unanswered Footprint

    The Dry Boot on the Granite Shelf: Melissa's Unanswered Footprint
    2026/07/25
    The Dry Boot on the Granite Shelf: Melissa's Unanswered Footprint

    Cold and deliberate: a dry, double-knotted hiking boot with a balled wool sock was found upright on a granite shelf above the river after two days of sleet - and it did not belong to Melissa Nelson. How does a lone, perfectly laced boot appear miles from any linked missing-person report and remain unresolved in an evidence locker?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events from the morning Melissa vanished to the discovery that refuses to fit the survival story most people expect. You’ll hear what was found at the river, who searched, and why that single dry boot keeps the case open: what happened at the Stairsteps that winter day?

    Person: Melissa Nelson
    Age: 26
    Location: Stairsteps on Coldwater Fork, Morrow County
    Date: January (Saturday morning, 9:15 AM sighting)
    Status: Boot held in Morrow County Sheriff’s evidence locker; unresolved

    - Melissa’s fishing rod lay in the gravel at the river’s edge while her vest and both wading boots sat on the boulder beside it.
    - Dave Pruitt saw the opposite bank empty at approximately 9:15 AM and reached a signal to call 911 at 10:04 AM.
    - Scott Wallace arrived at the trailhead with eight personnel and two dog handlers at 11:30 AM and had coordinated search and rescue in Morrow County for more than eleven years.
    - Four days after Melissa was pulled out of the wilderness alive, Lori Jensen found a single hiking boot upright on a granite shelf above the waterline; it was dry and double-knotted with a wool sock inside.
    - Searchers checked five counties and could not match the dry boot to any missing-person report; the boot remains in evidence and unexplained.

    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 分
  • Five-inch Handprints, One Missing Morning: The Aldama Riddle

    Five-inch Handprints, One Missing Morning: The Aldama Riddle
    2026/07/25
    Five-inch Handprints, One Missing Morning: The Aldama Riddle

    Cold river silt held two fresh handprints, each 4.9 inches wide, with walls still sharp at 5:40 AM on December 4, 2019 - yet no child or adult was reported missing in Cibola County that morning. Two days later a 48-year-old geography teacher, Kent Perry, was found alive two-point-eight miles up a canyon with a core temperature of 89°F and no memory of the hours after parking at Mesita Ford - how do these two anomalies connect?

    In this episode, we take you through the sequence of events from the first discovery on the Aldama River to the search that followed, laying out the physical record and the people who found it. What happened between Kent Perry’s parked truck and his appearance in Piedra Fría Canyon, and why were perfectly formed small handprints left on the same riverbank the same morning?

    Person: Kent Perry
    Date: December 4, 2019
    Location: Aldama River / Mesita Ford / Piedra Fría Canyon
    Status: Found alive with no memory
    Reporter: Marvin Roberts (supplemental report dated January 2020)

    - Two handprints in the western bank silt were found at 5:40 AM, each 4.9 inches wide with sharp impression walls and no frost crystals.
    - Kent Perry, age 48, was found two days later, 2.8 miles up a canyon, with a core body temperature of 89°F.
    - Perry had parked his truck at Mesita Ford with a topographic map opened to the Aldama corridor, a half-eaten bag of pretzels, and his school bag on the passenger seat.
    - Marvin Roberts, an 11-year veteran of Cibola County search and rescue, documented the anomaly in a supplemental report dated January 2020 before the case was closed.
    - The two bloodhounds ran approximately 0.25 miles south along the river western bank, stopped at a 30-foot-wide lava shelf with no soil, then sat because the trail ended.

    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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    17 分