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  • The Cake in the Pines: Why 63 Acres Emptied Overnight

    The Cake in the Pines: Why 63 Acres Emptied Overnight
    2026/11/02
    The Cake in the Pines: Why 63 Acres Emptied Overnight

    A single white cake with seven burned candles, sealed under a glass dome and tagged June 9, sat untouched forty feet into the loblolly pines - and the sixty-three-acre community that once lived nearby had vanished. How did a caretaker with fabricated credentials, a dissolved holding company and a date called the Calculation lead to an entire property emptying overnight?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events discovered after Eugene Rice's morning walk led deputies to Renewal Ground, detailing the arrivals, the shifts in authority and the financial moves that preceded the disappearance. What did the change from Abiding Ground Holdings to Continuing Shore LLC mean for residents like Carol Donnelly, and why did it coincide with the caretaker Marvin Petersen's disappearance?

    Person: Eugene Rice
    Location: Renewal Ground, Decker County, North Carolina
    Date: June 14, 2019
    Case: Covenant of the Remaining Day
    Person: Marvin Petersen

    - A white cake with blue frosting and seven burned candles was found sealed under a glass dome on a rock forty feet into the pines.
    - The grocery tag on the cake base read June 9, and the dome had been wiped clean of prints with no footprints leading to it.
    - Renewal Ground was a sixty-three-acre property east of Calloway Flats where Marvin Petersen had been caretaker since 2011.
    - Carol Donnelly moved to Renewal Ground in spring 2017 and signed a power of attorney transferring financial control to Abiding Ground Holdings, receiving an $80 monthly allowance.
    - Abiding Ground Holdings was dissolved in spring 2018 and residents' documents were migrated to Continuing Shore LLC with a new tax identification number.

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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
  • Ledger in the River: How a Pastor Stole a Town's Inheritance

    Ledger in the River: How a Pastor Stole a Town's Inheritance
    2026/11/01
    Ledger in the River: How a Pastor Stole a Town's Inheritance

    The morning Roger Petersen found a waterlogged spiral-bound notebook stamped "Abundant Path Fellowship - Stewardship Record. Year Four" on May 11, it listed 41 names and dollar amounts totaling $1,218,000 - every entry marked CLEARED. Whoever threw the ledger into the Sullen Fork River did not want it found; who would risk that much exposure, and why was a town's money traced to one man's signatures?

    In this episode, we tell how a newcomer called Melvin Gardner set up "Restoration Circles" and a Stewardship Record in Hartwell, how Dennis Collins signed without reading paragraph nine, and how that buried clause gave Gardner co-authorization over accounts - leading to an unauthorized $40,000 withdrawal and a waterlogged ledger that prompted a sheriff's investigation. What else did the river reveal about the Fellowship's finances and the families who joined?

    Person: Roger Petersen
    Date: May 11 (before six in the morning)
    Location: Sullen Fork River, two miles south of Hartwell, Indiana
    Amount: $40,000 unauthorized transfer from a Collins Ag account
    Total listed: $1,218,000 across 41 names

    - The ledger cover read "Abundant Path Fellowship - Stewardship Record. Year Four" and page 47 listed 41 names with dollar amounts totaling $1,218,000.
    - Roger Petersen found the waterlogged spiral-bound notebook on the Sullen Fork River and called the Dellard County Sheriff's Office within the hour.
    - Deputy Chris Mabry, aged 26 with two years on the job, photographed each waterlogged page to preserve the ink.
    - A Stewardship Record drafted by Alan Pryce contained paragraph nine granting co-authorization, which Dennis Collins signed in August of Year One without reading.
    - Six weeks after signing, $40,000 cleared from a Collins Ag account with Gardner's signature authorizing the transfer.

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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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    24 分
  • The Seven Lost Passports: How Stillwater Hid Its Guests From the World

    The Seven Lost Passports: How Stillwater Hid Its Guests From the World
    2026/10/31
    The Seven Lost Passports: How Stillwater Hid Its Guests From the World

    A forest-green duffel with seven current passports sat upright against a white oak, visible and sheltered, forty feet inside Stillwater’s campus boundary - found by a county surveyor at 7:00 AM on April 14th. Seven passports belonged to seven people whose stamped departure dates ranged between eleven months and two years earlier; who placed the bag where a casual worker would find it, and why was it arranged to be discovered? What does that staged discovery reveal about how Stillwater controlled contact with its guests?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the discovery to the backgrounds and routines of the missing guests, the structure of the Stillwater program, and the records and staff accounts that later outlined what occurred on campus. We reconstruct how Crystal Gray’s decision to extend her stay became one piece of a larger pattern and ask how a wellness campus came to hold people beyond their stamped departures.

    Person: Crystal Gray
    Person: Gregory Dixon
    Location: Tanner Mill Road, Stillwater campus boundary
    Date: April 14 (passports found at 7:00 AM; sheriff called at 7:18 AM; investigators arrived by 10:00 AM)
    Event: Seven current passports recovered in a forest-green canvas duffel placed upright against a white oak forty feet inside campus boundary

    - Crystal Gray was 27 years old and a licensed physical therapist who arrived at Stillwater in March, roughly two years before the passports were found.
    - Crystal paid a deposit of $4,200 for a 12-day grief and nervous system recovery program and agreed to extend her stay after a private meeting with Dixon.
    - Gregory Dixon was 51, opened Stillwater about six years before the passports were found, and introduced a "continuance option" in the program’s third year.
    - The passports’ stamped departure dates had passed between eleven months and two years prior to April 14, when the bag was discovered.
    - Melissa Griffin, a county surveyor, found the bag at 7:00 AM on April 14 while mapping a property line and called the sheriff at 7:18 AM.

    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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    25 分
  • The Yellow Boot on Meridian Acres: How a Pastor Stole Lives

    The Yellow Boot on Meridian Acres: How a Pastor Stole Lives
    2026/10/30
    The Yellow Boot on Meridian Acres: How a Pastor Stole Lives

    A single yellow child's rain boot, size four, upright on a rusted grain wagon, led deputies to an empty farmhouse where fourteen adults and several children had vanished-no cars, no phones, and sixteen unopened family letters left in a drawer. How did a lay preacher turn grief support into a closed community, move at least $63,000 from members into his personal account, and silence correspondence until one boot broke the silence?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the first encounter at a grief meeting to life at Meridian Acres, describing the community’s routines, the money transfers labeled "outreach materials," and the discovery that prompted a sheriff’s response-what finally exposed the control and where did the funds go?

    Person: Norman Jenkins
    Person: Stanley West
    Location: Meridian Acres, Teller Township, Calvert County, Illinois
    Date: March 2019 (discovery)
    Event: $63,000 transferred from Common Provision to West’s personal account

    - The boot was found by septic contractor Donald Gallagher at 7:00 AM on the third Tuesday of March, 2019.
    - Fourteen adults and several children had left a farmhouse with sixteen unopened family letters in a drawer and no cars or phones.
    - Norman Jenkins signed a power of attorney transferring approximately $41,000 into a group account called Common Provision in February 2018.
    - Between February 2018 and January 2019, $63,000 left Common Provision in eleven transfers all coded as "outreach materials."
    - The communal schedule at Meridian Acres began at 5:30 AM and included two- to three-hour formation sessions in an ochre-painted bedroom covered in single-hand scripture.

    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 31 Sealed Letters That Unraveled the Quiet Cult of Aldermoor

    The 31 Sealed Letters That Unraveled the Quiet Cult of Aldermoor
    2026/10/29
    The 31 Sealed Letters That Unraveled the Quiet Cult of Aldermoor

    A rusted mailbox in Aldermoor Park hid thirty-one sealed, stamped letters addressed from the same six-bedroom house - written weekly for fourteen months and never mailed. Who was writing them, why were they never sent, and how did a routine birdwatcher's discovery expose a group of eleven adults living under a system of quiet control?

    In this episode, we trace the chain of small decisions and neighborhood ties that connected a helpful young volunteer to a man presenting false credentials, and we follow how a welfare check and a photographed stack of envelopes led to questions the town could no longer ignore. What did those letters reveal about life inside Four Orchard Terrace?

    Person: Sarah Sheridan
    Person: Norman Graham
    Person: Eric Underwood
    Location: Four Orchard Terrace, Casswell, Ohio
    Date: February 11, 2019

    - 31 sealed envelopes were found stacked inside a rusted mailbox at the north edge of Aldermoor Park.
    - The envelopes were written every Thursday night for 14 consecutive months but were never mailed.
    - Eleven adults lived full-time in a six-bedroom house rented in Eric Underwood’s name at Four Orchard Terrace.
    - Norman Graham, age 22, had joined the Aldermoor Circle in April 2017 and moved into the house by autumn 2017.
    - Eric Underwood was 39 and had a 2012 civil court judgment ordering him to pay approximately $14,000 for falsifying qualifications.

    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 分
  • He Walked In to Be Healed - Found Jar Said "He Tried To Leave"

    He Walked In to Be Healed - Found Jar Said "He Tried To Leave"
    2026/10/28
    He Walked In to Be Healed - Found Jar Said "He Tried To Leave"

    Cold and isolated, a sealed Mason jar left on a porch contained a Nevada driver’s license, a wedding ring, and a block-letter note: "HE TRIED TO LEAVE." How did a thirty-seven-year-old licensed practical nurse sign himself into a $4,200 residential program and later end up running barefoot across frozen Nevada scrub at night?

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that led George Cole to enroll at the Clearwater Recovery Institute, the claims made by its founder Grant Olson, and the contradictions uncovered by investigators and records. How did fabricated credentials, a sixty-page participation agreement, and a strict thirty-day language fast shape what happened to Cole-and why was the ranch empty when the jar was found?

    Person: George Cole
    Person: Grant Olson
    Date: January 18, 2011
    Location: Calloway Ranch, eastern Nevada
    Amount: $4,200

    - George Cole was 37 years old when he enrolled in November 2010.
    - Cole surrendered his ID, phone, wallet, and car keys per a signed 60-page participation agreement.
    - Paragraph 31 of the agreement authorized the Institute to hold personal documents for the duration of enrollment.
    - The program required a 30-day language fast prohibiting outside contact and phone calls.
    - Grant Olson claimed mentorship by Dr. Phillip Vance, who records show died in 1994 and was not a clinician.

    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 分
  • The Lanyard in the Snow: How a Grief Group Became a $250K Fraud

    The Lanyard in the Snow: How a Grief Group Became a $250K Fraud
    2026/10/27
    The Lanyard in the Snow: How a Grief Group Became a $250K Fraud

    A forgotten lanyard from 1983 found in the snow led to a closed grief group that collected $250,000 in contributions while occupying an abandoned youth camp without permission - but whose money actually disappeared? What did one man at a folding table with decades-old registration forms do with the names he read?

    In this episode, we follow the formation of the Pine Watch, how members were recruited from church grief groups, the unauthorized occupation of Brightwater Youth Camp, and the slow unraveling that raised questions about stewardship and fraud - and whether any of the $63,000 contributions and other funds were used as promised.

    Person: Kimberly Bailey
    Location: Brightwater Youth Camp, Callen Township, Morrow County
    Date: December 11, 2019
    Amount: $63,000 (from one member's life insurance)
    Status: Occupied without authorization

    - Kimberly Bailey found a lanyard from 1983 stuck in a snowplow blade at 7:40 AM on December 11, 2019.
    - The Brightwater Youth Camp had been abandoned since the original operators defaulted in 2009 and gated by the county.
    - Thirty-one adults were living inside the camp's gates during Pine Watch's occupation.
    - Marcia Padgett joined Pine Watch in February 2014 and contributed $63,000 from her late husband's life insurance as a "stewardship contribution."
    - Steven Pruett observed Kevin Wright reading and marking decades-old camp registration forms in spring 2016, noting Wright's interest in families still in central Ohio.

    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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    24 分
  • Locked Drawers, Broken Promises: Inside the Commons at Dray Hollow

    Locked Drawers, Broken Promises: Inside the Commons at Dray Hollow
    2026/10/26
    Locked Drawers, Broken Promises: Inside the Commons at Dray Hollow

    A solitary gunmetal filing cabinet sat in the middle of Fenwick Road on November 4, 2014 - top drawer open, three drawers locked - and those locked drawers would later become federal evidence in a case about ten people who handed over savings to one man. What was hidden in those drawers, and why was the cabinet abandoned in the road, points to a larger question about trust, forged documents, and a dissolved promise of shared ownership.

    In this episode, we tell the sequence of events that brought ten residents to a co-housing project on Fenwick Road, the documents and claims that convinced them to invest, and the discoveries that undermined those claims - culminating in the photograph of the cabinet and the legal records it would touch. How did a brochure, a measured leader, and a forged attorney letter lead ten people to give thousands and move to a field in central Ohio?

    Date: November 4, 2014
    Location: Fenwick Road, Paxton County, Ohio
    Person: Wade Owens
    Person: Judith Dalton
    Amount: $6,000

    - Ten residents moved into the Commons at Dray Hollow across seven structures arranged around a central fire pit.
    - Judith Dalton contributed $6,000 of approximately $8,000 in total savings and moved in December 2013 at age 24.
    - Contributions per resident ranged from $4,000 to $12,000; Phil Acosta contributed $12,000 and was 55 years old.
    - In August 2013, an amended Delaware LLC operating agreement was executed naming Wade Owens sole member, replacing the Member Equity Charter.
    - A letter printed on Columbus estate attorney Frank Mercer’s old letterhead was presented to residents but later confirmed to be fabricated.

    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 分