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  • The Orange Cap on the Dash Proved He Left Her Alone

    The Orange Cap on the Dash Proved He Left Her Alone
    2026/10/30
    A dry orange swim cap on a locked pickup dashboard at Harlan Bay flips the search and witnesses' timeline. Who saw it and what did it expose?

    The Orange Cap on the Dash Proved He Left Her Alone

    In this episode, we follow the moments, routines and records around the morning Debra Tate vanished from Harlan Bay and the object that changed investigators' view of what happened. How did a bright orange swim cap on a mariner’s dashboard invert the search grid, witness timeline and a crucial text message?

    Person: Debra Tate
    Date: March 9, 2019
    Location: Harlan Bay / Sutter Cove Marina
    Witness: Harvey Callahan (dock attendant)
    Event: orange swim cap found on dashboard of locked pickup two days after disappearance

    - Debra swam Harlan Bay regularly, wore a bright orange cap so boats could see her, and trained there through every season.
    - Mercer, Debra’s diabetic cat, had an unbroken insulin schedule at 6AM and 6PM that Debra had never missed in seven years.
    - Dock attendant Harvey Callahan kept a hand-drawn site sketch in his glovebox noting “swims Tues/Sat dawn, solo when partner cancels,” an update made after the irrigation job.
    - Callahan logged his skiff leaving the marina at 6:55AM, before Sandra Odom’s cancellation text, and his round trip in the log totaled 57 minutes.
    - A witness saw a woman in an orange cap enter the water at 7:10AM from eighty yards away in fog, returned at 7:40AM to find no one, and did not call anyone.

    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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    15 分
  • The handwritten tow card that sent him away

    The handwritten tow card that sent him away
    2026/10/29
    A man vanishes from a roadside and a single boot is found by a frozen creek; how did a handwritten tow card expose him?

    The handwritten tow card that sent him away

    In this episode, we follow the timeline and decisions that shaped the early investigation into Kent Fitzgerald’s disappearance and the clues that kept detectives focused on the wrong theory. What did a handwritten roadside card and one phone call reveal about where the inquiry went off course?

    Person: Kent Fitzgerald
    Date: February 6, 2019
    Location: County Road Nine; Dale Osborne Trail (Millhaven Township Park)
    Status: Missing
    Investigator: Frank Larsen

    - Kent’s car was found with a flat rear tire and a handwritten tow card under the windshield wiper; he called the number on that card at 6:41 a.m.
    - The tow card belonged to Scott Whitfield, who said he arrived around 7:10 a.m. in a white Chevrolet pickup and left after saying Kent needed a tow.
    - A 73-second voicemail from Kent recorded at 2:14 a.m. was interpreted as a goodbye and anchored investigators in a self-harm theory.
    - A single size ten left boot was found standing upright in frozen mud beside a creek culvert five days later, with no second boot, no blood, and no drag marks.
    - Full phone records revealed 47 consecutive Wednesday-night calls from Kent to his mother, showing the 2:14 a.m. message fit a routine rather than a farewell.

    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
  • The Open Logbook That Faked Her Midnight Location

    The Open Logbook That Faked Her Midnight Location
    2026/10/28
    A truck idles with an open logbook that pins driver Holly Davis at midnight - but her bowling scorebook is blank. How did that fake locate her?

    The Open Logbook That Faked Her Midnight Location

    In this episode, we follow the first hours after a Peterbilt is found idling at a rest area with its logbook open and the driver missing. We trace the small, habitual records Holly kept - and the discrepancies that make investigators ask who could mimic her entries and why.

    Person: Holly Davis
    Date: January 8, 2011 (truck found)
    Location: Millhaven Rest Area, I‑74 westbound
    Occupation: Owner‑operator truck driver
    Person: Melissa Burke

    - Michael Sanders found Holly’s Peterbilt idling with engine warm and cab empty at 6:20 AM.
    - The logbook was open to an 11:52 PM entry from the night before that matched Holly’s handwriting at first glance.
    - Holly’s personal bowling scorebook, kept in the glovebox and updated at fuel stops, had no entry for Friday.
    - Holly’s cell phone was left in the cab with its battery removed, under the passenger seat.
    - Document examiners later identified different ink and subtle letter differences in entries after 9:00 PM on January 7.

    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
  • The ink mark on the left heel that let his mother identify the shoes

    The ink mark on the left heel that let his mother identify the shoes
    2026/10/27
    A county surveyor finds two dress shoes on untouched snow behind a wedding barn, one with an ink mark his mother recognizes-how did that expose them?

    The ink mark on the left heel that let his mother identify the shoes

    In this episode, we follow the early days of a missing person case after a 23-year-old leaves a wedding and never returns. Listeners will hear what was found behind the venue, who noticed it, and the gap investigators pursue: why someone would stage shoes on pristine snow.

    Person: Larry Duncan
    Date: December 7, 2019 (wedding); December 19, 2019 (shoes found)
    Location: Harlan Ridge Event Barn, Crestfield County; drainage easement behind north wall
    Person: Sandra Duncan
    Person: Dean Petersen

    - Larry left a wedding without his coat and was seen walking toward the parking lot but never seen leaving by the lot camera.
    - Venue staff assumed Larry had left; no cars exited the lot between 6:00 and 8:30 PM.
    - A bilco-style exterior door on the barn’s north wall did not appear on the site map provided to investigators.
    - A county surveyor, Dean Petersen, found two dry, clean dress shoes placed heel-to-heel on undisturbed snow twelve days after the wedding.
    - Sandra Duncan identified the shoes by a small ink mark on the left heel that Larry had made in college.

    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
  • The checkmark that lied and hid where Vicki Coleman went

    The checkmark that lied and hid where Vicki Coleman went
    2026/10/26
    A teacher’s lanyard is pulled from a septic riser-how did a wrong checkmark hide where Vicki Coleman went?

    The checkmark that lied and hid where Vicki Coleman went

    In this episode, we follow the timeline and documents surrounding Vicki Coleman’s disappearance from a school field trip and the small physical clues that drew investigators back to the bus and its paperwork. How did ink and a lanyard become the trail that might expose what happened?

    Person: Vicki Coleman
    Date: November 9, 2011 (field trip); November 17, 2011 (lanyard found)
    Location: Dellwood Nature Preserve; Harlan Creek Elementary; Sutter Grade Road
    Age: 38
    Role: Fourth-grade teacher at Harlan Creek Elementary

    - A septic contractor, Jean Griffin, opened a sealed riser on November 17 and found a school lanyard with Vicki Coleman’s name eight days after she vanished.
    - The field trip left at 8:10 AM with 22 children, three adults (including Vicki), and driver Todd Dixon; a return headcount at 2:15 PM on a printed list recorded everyone present.
    - Vicki’s husband Paul relied on a one-word "bridge" text as a private check-in; the message never arrived that afternoon and Vicki’s car and phone were found at the school with the engine cold.
    - Todd Dixon signed out of his custodial shift at 2:45 PM and wrote himself a task that was not assigned; his entry showed evidence of having been rewritten over a dry correction.
    - The return headcount sheet showed Vicki’s return checkmark pressed deeper and written in ink that did not match other marks; a document examiner confirmed the ink anomaly.

    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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    15 分
  • The Reading Glasses Placed Twelve Feet Up That Cost Five Search Days

    The Reading Glasses Placed Twelve Feet Up That Cost Five Search Days
    2026/10/25
    A pair of reading glasses placed twelve feet high in a nature preserve points to a deliberate act - how did that expose them?

    The Reading Glasses Placed Twelve Feet Up That Cost Five Search Days

    In this episode, we follow the disappearance of Jennifer Porter and the strange trail her case left behind, from a hospital waiting room to a tree branch in Deller Creek Nature Preserve. What did a pair of glasses twelve feet up reveal about who had been there and why it stalled the search for five days?

    Person: Jennifer Porter
    Date: October 9, 2019 (last seen)
    Location: Deller Creek Nature Preserve
    Age: 62
    Person: Dennis Vail

    - Jennifer vanished from a hospital waiting room on the evening of October 9, 2019; her car remained in the parking area.
    - A neighbor, Ruth Lawson, had introduced Jennifer to Dennis Vail at a kitchen table seven days before her disappearance.
    - A parking lot camera captured Dennis Vail’s truck moving east toward Deller Creek at 8:05 p.m. the night Jennifer vanished.
    - On October 14 a retired mail carrier, Terry Slater, found Jennifer’s prescription reading glasses resting on a thin branch twelve feet high with no disturbed bark below.
    - Detective Ronald Sullivan recorded that the glasses appeared to have been intentionally placed, shifting the investigation’s focus to a deliberate act.

    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 fillet knife plunged into the gunwale that proved she vanished

    The fillet knife plunged into the gunwale that proved she vanished
    2026/10/24
    A fisherwoman’s fillet knife is found driven into her boat’s gunwale as the skiff drifts in calm water - how did that prove she vanished?

    The fillet knife plunged into the gunwale that proved she vanished

    In this episode, we follow the timeline and people tied to Jean Cooper’s disappearance from her nineteen-foot skiff, the Maren Lee, and trace the small, concrete details investigators used to rebuild her last hours. What did the knife, the missed routines, and the harbor records reveal about where she went and who was nearby?

    Person: Jean Cooper
    Date: September 9, 2011
    Location: Calloway Basin / Dellhart, Oregon
    Vessel: Maren Lee, 19‑foot aluminum skiff
    Investigator: Paul Hunter

    - Jean Cooper ran the Maren Lee solo, kept an exact daily routine including a 6:45 radio check and Tuesday coffee at the Dellhart Diner.
    - On September 6 she missed the diner for the first time in over a year, a break in routine that the lead investigator marked as a boundary.
    - The boat returned at 10:47 a.m. under no power with the anchor line coiled and Jean absent; Clifford Crawford first spotted it from the dock.
    - Jean’s fillet knife was buried blade‑first in the starboard gunwale, driven deep into seasoned timber but with no blood on the knife or boat.
    - Harbor log entries show Jean signed out at 5:10 a.m. and the harbormaster, Douglas Christensen, filed a hazard notice the day before about debris near an east channel marker buoy.

    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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    16 分
  • The appointment card that unmasked Brenda Burke's van thief

    The appointment card that unmasked Brenda Burke's van thief
    2026/10/23
    A laminated appointment card from Brenda Burke’s sun visor turns up in a frozen ditch a quarter mile from her locked house-how did that expose them?

    The appointment card that unmasked Brenda Burke's van thief

    In this episode, we follow the timeline and local details around Brenda Burke’s disappearance and the small clues that redirected a stalled investigation. How did a single appointment card found in a ditch become the hinge that reopened the case?

    Person: Brenda Burke
    Date: August 9, 2019 (disappearance)
    Location: Elden Road, Holbrook Falls, Ohio
    Person: James Bowers
    Event: Laminated appointment card found February 14, 2021

    - Brenda left work at 5:20 p.m. for her Thursday-night card club and never arrived; her house was locked from the inside with purse, keys, and phone left inside.
    - An HVAC contractor, James Bowers, had installed a unit in Brenda’s garage two years earlier and kept a service copy with her garage-door code in his truck.
    - A white HVAC-style van was logged on Elden Road at 4:45 p.m., forty-five minutes before Brenda returned home.
    - Six weeks after Brenda vanished, bus-terminal footage from Youngstown suggested a sighting that shifted the investigation’s focus away for fourteen months.
    - On February 14, 2021, a road-grader operator struck a laminated appointment card face-up in a frozen ditch a quarter mile from Brenda’s house, with no footprints around 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