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  • The Locked Campsite: She Vanished Inside a Frozen Fire Closure

    The Locked Campsite: She Vanished Inside a Frozen Fire Closure
    2026/09/10
    The Locked Campsite: She Vanished Inside a Frozen Fire Closure

    A perfectly intact campsite appeared twelve feet inside a locked federal burn closure on December 9, 2019 - a dome tent zipped shut, a folding chair with ash on the armrests, a paperback book held open by a rock, and frost riming every surface, yet no footprints between the fence and the site. How could a campsite materialize inside a sealed burn closure with a padlock untouched and no one walking in or out?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that began when Amanda Taylor, a meter reader, found the campsite and trace how that anomaly pulled search-and-rescue teams, materials scientists, and probability analysts into a fourteen-month inquiry. What did investigators learn about Beverly Casey’s disappearance that made this campsite so central to the case?

    Person: Beverly Casey
    Date: October 14, 2018 (last seen); December 9, 2019 (campsite found)
    Location: Bracken National Forest, inside federal burn closure near Thumb Rock
    Status: Missing; fourteen-month investigation launched
    Event: Locked burn closure campsite discovery

    - Beverly Casey retired July 2018 after 28 years as a licensed practical nurse and was 62 the summer she retired.
    - Beverly left her house on Calloway Street at approximately 5:00 AM on October 14, 2018 with a handwritten note on the passenger seat reading "Back by dark. B.C."
    - Beverly’s Subaru was found on Marker Road around October 25, 2018 with pine duff on the hood and tire tracks estimated to be at least seven days old.
    - Inside the Subaru was a sealed, unused water filter still in its original packaging on the back seat.
    - On December 9, 2019, Amanda Taylor found a dome tent zipped shut and a cold firepit twelve feet inside a locked federal burn closure with no footprints between the fence and the campsite.

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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 分
  • He Sat Like A Scarecrow: The Coat That Shouldn't Be There

    He Sat Like A Scarecrow: The Coat That Shouldn't Be There
    2026/09/09
    He Sat Like A Scarecrow: The Coat That Shouldn't Be There

    A man sits by a guardrail like a scarecrow, coat buttoned wrong, unable to say his name - found twenty-four years old on the edge of Tamarack National National after a hike where his packed rain shell and gloves were never used. Two scent dogs tracked a clean line for 1.25 miles then stopped dead in a dry draw; two days later his daypack was found hung from a branch two miles beyond that point. What happened between the scent wall at Cold Spring Draw and the pack on Ander Top?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the last confirmed sighting at the Tamarack trailhead to the launch of search-and-rescue, the scent dog corridor, and the discovery of the hung pack; we present the known facts and leave the unexplained gap between the dogs’ stop and the pack’s location as the central question.

    Person: Norman Jensen
    Age: 24
    Location: Tamarack National National; pack found ~2 miles northeast of Cold Spring Draw
    Date: Last seen Saturday, November 9; search launched Tuesday, November 12; pack found Wednesday, November 13
    Status: Found sitting at edge of forest; pack recovered intact

    - Norman drove 47 miles three times a week to work at an equipment rental yard and kept a strict schedule feeding two Nigerian Dwarf goats at 6:00 AM and 4:30 PM.
    - Last confirmed sighting was around noon on Saturday, November 9, when coworker Frank Alcott saw Norman loading at the Tamarack trailhead and waved.
    - Overnight temperatures fell to 19°F by 2:00 AM as an unexpected Arctic air mass moved in on Friday night.
    - Two trained scent dogs tracked Norman’s scent northward for nearly 1.25 miles and then both stopped simultaneously at Cold Spring Draw, a dry seasonal drainage.
    - A gray external-frame daypack was found hanging from a broken branch at chest height about two miles northeast of the scent-loss point containing an unused rain shell, two wrapped granola bars, gloves never worn, an empty water bottle, and a phone with a dead battery.

    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
  • The Cairn Line: Woman's Stone Message Leading Into Silence

    The Cairn Line: Woman's Stone Message Leading Into Silence
    2026/09/08
    The Cairn Line: Woman's Stone Message Leading Into Silence

    A line of thirty-seven carefully spaced cairns was Marie Rafferty’s last visible message in a November-cold forest - each stone placed about 300 feet apart on a bearing aimed eleven miles into roadless country. Why would an experienced hydrology technician who fell in a frozen streambed stop leaving a scent trail at mile three while cairns continued beyond the break?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the phone call that ended normally to the discovery at the Talloway Creek trailhead, detailing what was found on the ground and the questions search teams confronted. Could those precision-placed stones be a route, a plea, or something else entirely?

    Person: Marie Rafferty
    Date: October 9-14 (call on October 9; incident October 12-14)
    Location: Talloway Creek trailhead and roadless Drover corridor
    Distance: 11 miles to the point the cairns pointed toward
    Cairns: 37 stones spaced approximately 300 feet apart

    - Marie spoke for 42 minutes with her brother Kevin on October 9 at 9:15 p.m.
    - Temperatures dropped 20 degrees Fahrenheit in six hours on October 12 with two inches of wet snow above 6,000 feet.
    - Marie slipped and slid approximately 20 feet down a frozen channel and then walked nearly 100 yards inside the streambed to exit.
    - Dogs on the search reached mile three where the scent trail ended abruptly while 34 additional cairns stood beyond that point.
    - Ranger Pete Carver left a courtesy notice on Marie’s gray pickup on October 13 after it sat in the trailhead lot for more than one night, not reporting it as missing.

    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 Folded Jacket Below the Trail: Where Did Cynthia Go?

    The Folded Jacket Below the Trail: Where Did Cynthia Go?
    2026/09/07
    The Folded Jacket Below the Trail: Where Did Cynthia Go?

    A dry rain jacket, folded with sleeves tucked neatly underneath and marked "C. McCARTHY," was found four hundred vertical feet below the nearest trail on a granite ledge called the Spinner Shelf - four and a half miles from the trailhead - with no boot prints or path leading to it. Who left a perfectly folded jacket in a place no one could have walked to, and where was Cynthia McCarthy when it arrived?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline and the concrete evidence from the trail register to the photograph that launched a search, asking how a careful, experienced hiker who planned trips by weather could vanish while leaving a single, meticulously folded jacket behind.

    Person: Cynthia McCarthy
    Date: September 8-9, 2017
    Location: Spinner Shelf on the Sennick River, four and a half miles downstream from nearest trail crossing
    Status: Missing
    Occupation: Dental hygienist

    - The jacket was found at 7:14 a.m. on September 9, 2017, by Douglas Hall, a local fisherman, on the Spinner Shelf.
    - The Spinner Shelf is four hundred vertical feet below the nearest trail and four and a half miles from that trail crossing.
    - The jacket was dry and folded flat with sleeves tucked underneath; Cynthia's name "C. McCARTHY" was written on the collar in black marker on white athletic tape.
    - Cynthia signed the trailhead register at 8:10 a.m. on September 8, 2017, listing the Pennick Loop for one night out and wrote the entry twice, with the destination crossed out on the second line.
    - Diane Wagner, with nineteen years in Ridgeline County Search and Rescue, had the jacket on a table by 8:40 a.m. and made three calls before 9:00 a.m. to determine how the jacket arrived.

    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
  • A dry topo map lay under a soaked dead woman's palm

    A dry topo map lay under a soaked dead woman's palm
    2026/09/06
    A dry topo map lay under a soaked dead woman's palm

    A single, impossible detail - the topographic map under Frances Dempsey's right palm was structurally uncreased and completely dry while everything around her was soaked - stopped the deputy medical examiner cold on August 9, 2011. The paper map bears a pencil circle marking a point roughly 200 meters north of her body; why that circle was there and how the map stayed dry remain unanswered. What did Frances find beyond the mapped routes, and what did searchers miss?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline of Frances Dempsey's last known movements, the search and rescue efforts that traced her to Rim Notch, and the physical evidence that refused to fit the expected story. How did a meticulous, experienced hiker with a precise hand-drawn sketch end up where no published map had accurately drawn the terrain?

    Person: Frances Dempsey
    Date: August 6-9, 2011
    Location: Aldene River side of the Laramie Bench range; near Donner Lake and Brecker Peak
    Status: Body found by Melissa Quinn in a gravel drainage on August 9, 2011
    Case: Unresolved anomalies in search evidence and terrain mapping

    - Frances signed the Donner Lake Trailhead register at 5:51 a.m. on August 6, 2011; that is the last confirmed record of her alive.
    - A second register entry, "T. Burris" at 6:08 a.m. the same morning, listed a non-working phone number and an untraceable name.
    - Frances's hand-drawn sketch annotated a low point along the ridge at approximately 10,800 feet, cutting about 1.5 miles off the longer route through Fenwick Saddle.
    - Dog teams tracked Frances's scent steadily past the four-mile split to Rim Notch, where the scent trail ended at roughly 10,800 feet.
    - The topographic map found under Frances's right palm was folded flat with its north edge up, structurally uncreased, and completely dry despite the surrounding ground being wet from overnight rain.

    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
  • Wren Hollow at 11:14 p.m.: The Lookout Who Walked Away

    Wren Hollow at 11:14 p.m.: The Lookout Who Walked Away
    2026/09/05
    Wren Hollow at 11:14 p.m.: The Lookout Who Walked Away

    At 11:14 p.m. a lookout who never missed a check-in wrote a single, strange line: "Wren Hollow, something moving, not deer" - a place name she claimed never to have heard and that did not appear on any maps she carried. How did Patricia Young, found alive eleven days later eight miles northeast of the tower with a fractured fibula and no memory, name the exact drainage where she was found?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Patricia's last routine radio call to the discovery of the hidden logbook entry, detailing the conditions at the Sentinel Knob tower, the search procedures, and the baffling scent break that stopped tracking dogs cold. What happened between her precise evening routine and the moment she walked into the dark toward a name she said she'd never heard?

    Person: Patricia Young
    Date: July 16, 2012
    Location: Sentinel Knob cab, 8,200 feet, Morrow National Forest
    Event: Eleven-day disappearance; found eight miles northeast under a rock overhang
    Status: Alive when found; fractured fibula and severe dehydration

    - Patricia logged one entry at 8:47 p.m. noting clear skies, southwest wind 12 mph, and 61 degrees.
    - At approximately 11:14 p.m. she wrote "Wren Hollow, something moving, not deer" in less controlled handwriting.
    - The access road, Rim Service Drive, is nine miles of single-lane gravel from the tower to the roadhead.
    - Search-and-rescue volunteers numbered twelve on the initial team assembled about nine hours after the tower was checked.
    - Tracking dogs followed a scent for about 1.5 miles before stopping at a bench where a mineral-rich seasonal seep disrupted the scent.

    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 Left His Boots in the Lot - Found 36 Hours, 1.5 Miles Away

    He Left His Boots in the Lot - Found 36 Hours, 1.5 Miles Away
    2026/09/04
    He Left His Boots in the Lot - Found 36 Hours, 1.5 Miles Away

    Fog had soaked every surface in Calder National Forest except for the ground beneath a single pair of dry boots left in a gravel lot at 7:47 a.m. - and the truck they matched was parked, keys inside, a mile from where a hiker would later be found alive after 36 hours. What happened between a planned solo overnight and a missing man whose boots sat alone in the wet - and why did two different witnesses describe the same clothing miles apart in impossible time?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline and the people involved as the search unfolds and evidence is pieced together to ask the question that opened the case: how does an experienced, prepared 28-year-old hiker vanish from a trail and reappear injured in terrain people “never notice”?

    Person: Ross Schmidt
    Date: June 13-18, 2019
    Location: Calder National Forest, Fenwick Lake area
    Status: Found alive, injured
    Witness: Diane Bailey

    - Boots: Merrell Moab size 11, coyote brown, receipt in the glove box of a 2013 Ford Ranger
    - First sighting: Mark and Susan Finley saw a man 4 miles from trailhead around 2:00 p.m., arm pressed to chest, favoring right leg
    - Second sighting overlap: Tim Burrell saw a gray-and-green-clad figure at Calder National (7 miles) at 3:40 p.m., a pace inconsistent with the earlier sighting
    - Discovery detail: Boots were dry while surrounding gravel was wet from overnight fog; boots placed after fog lifted
    - Search timeline: Diane Bailey called the ranger station at 8:02 a.m.; the case required five days, a search-and-rescue team, and forensic boot leather examination

    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
  • The Signal on the Road: Why a Buried-Beacon Blinked Alone

    The Signal on the Road: Why a Buried-Beacon Blinked Alone
    2026/09/03
    The Signal on the Road: Why a Buried-Beacon Blinked Alone

    A lone avalanche transceiver blinked amber on a road sign at 6:14 AM on May 9, 2019, transmitting a buried-alive signal into empty air 6,900 feet up with the nearest snowpack 1,300 vertical feet above - so why was it there with no skier attached? Who left a precise route note warning of considerable north-aspect hazard and then vanished from her planned return time?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the trailhead register to the pullout photo that redirected a search, tracing the routine habits and careful planning of the missing skier and the moment that pulled rescuers off their initial assumptions. What link connects a laminated routine card, a photo taken by a sixteen-year-old delivery driver, and an orange flash seen high on Ember Ridge?

    Person: Frances Rafferty
    Date: May 7, 2019 (reported overdue), May 9, 2019 (device photographed)
    Location: Pinnaker Valley Road pullout; Ember Ridge / upper Ember cirque
    Status: Missing
    Event: Avalanche transceiver found blinking amber on a signpost at 6:14 AM

    - Crystal Hunt photographed the transceiver at 6:14 AM on May 9, 2019.
    - The device was transmitting at 6,900 feet of elevation with the nearest snowpack 1,300 vertical feet above.
    - Frances Rafferty was reported overdue at 4:30 PM on May 7, 2019; entry showed planned return at 3:00 PM.
    - Frances had 22 seasons on Ember Ridge and noted "Considerable, north aspects above 8,500" in the trail register at 7:02 AM.
    - Roy O'Connor had eight people and two avalanche dogs at the trailhead by 6:00 PM on May 7, 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