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  • She Wrote Her Jailers' Map in Mud - Found Alive, Eleven Days Later

    She Wrote Her Jailers' Map in Mud - Found Alive, Eleven Days Later
    2026/11/01
    She Wrote Her Jailers' Map in Mud - Found Alive, Eleven Days Later

    A mason jar on a trail held a folded brown paper that read "Christine Nelson, alive" and listed trains, bells, a whistle and the smell of grain - sounds turned into a map scraped in mud that sent two dozen officers racing before eight a.m. What did a 44-year-old medical billing administrator trust would be found in time, and who had watched her for hours before she vanished?

    In this episode, you will hear the sequence of calls, cameras and a fabricated roadside-assistance ruse that traced a dark van from a gas station to Christine's block, and the puzzling gaps investigators faced as they followed the muddy clues and phone records. How did Christine end up where she did without anyone seeing a thing?

    Person: Christine Nelson
    Age: 44
    Date missing: April 26, 2019
    Found note discovery: May 7, 2019 at 6:41 AM
    Investigator: Detective Lori Long

    - Christine's phone logged an incoming call at 3:42 PM on April 26 that lasted 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
    - A dark van was recorded southbound on Calumet at 2:17 PM the same day and passed Wexler Avenue twice, including at 4:51 PM with plates caked in mud.
    - A neighbor's doorbell camera captured the van on Wexler Avenue at 4:51 PM on April 26.
    - Cell tower data placed the Clearway Auto Aid number's signal inside the Wexler Avenue block at 4:40 PM and static there for 31 minutes.
    - Kelsey, Christine's 23-year-old daughter, found the house with a cutting board half-chopped and Christine's phone on the kitchen table at 8:40 PM on April 26.

    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
  • Locked Thursday: How One Notebook Led to Her Rescue and His 31-Year Sentence

    Locked Thursday: How One Notebook Led to Her Rescue and His 31-Year Sentence
    2026/10/31
    Locked Thursday: How One Notebook Led to Her Rescue and His 31-Year Sentence

    A single composition notebook hidden under a bent sheet of corrugated metal led investigators to a rented unit rigged with a cot, a bucket, six sealed nutrition bars and a ring of drag marks on the concrete floor-yet there was no body and no crime scene. How did a padlock, a vendor badge, and a meticulous log of dates and observations connect a missing accounts-receivable clerk to a man with inside knowledge of her schedule?

    In this episode, we walk through the discovery that changed a missing-person file into a criminal case, following the timeline from Kathleen Mueller’s last recorded check-out to the notebook’s recovery and the evidence found in Unit Four; what did those details reveal about the perpetrator’s planning and how did they point to a single suspect?

    Person: Kathleen Mueller
    Date: April 6 (last seen), April 18 (notebook found)
    Person: Alan Stroud
    Location: Pelham Industrial Drive, Unit Four
    Investigator: Detective George Sawyer

    - Kathleen Mueller last clocked out at 5:17 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, and never arrived at Norris Avenue for her weekly visit.
    - Her gray Honda Civic was found the next morning in a hardware store parking lot 2.5 miles from her office with her wallet on the front seat and her phone missing.
    - The composition notebook was found under corrugated metal on April 18 and had “ALAN STROUD” written on the front cover in large, careful letters.
    - Unit Four’s rear padlock was an unfamiliar black combination lock and was found cut on the morning of April 18; the unit contained a cot, a bucket, a case of bottled water, a battery lantern, and six sealed nutrition bars.
    - Alan Stroud, age 41, was a sales representative for Kellner Roofing Supply who visited Kathleen’s unit roughly twice a month and called ahead to confirm her availability.

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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 分
  • The Sock, the Reflector, and the Mistaken Abduction That Broke Kellner Falls

    The Sock, the Reflector, and the Mistaken Abduction That Broke Kellner Falls
    2026/10/30
    The Sock, the Reflector, and the Mistaken Abduction That Broke Kellner Falls

    Fear of a calm routine breaking into something planned and deliberate: a white athletic sock and an orange road reflector stamped with the number 14 were the only things out of place when Jean Mueller vanished from her kitchen on March 13, 2011 - yet she walked out of a basement six days later eight miles away. What did that sock and reflector signify, and how did a man aiming for someone else end up taking Jean?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the unlocked back door and loosened strike plate to the calls asking for a name that did not exist, and trace the investigative trail that led to Jean reappearing and an arrest at Route Nine. How did months of quiet preparation culminate in a mistaken abduction?

    Person: Jean Mueller
    Date: March 13, 2011
    Location: Kellner Falls (house) and Route Nine basement (recovery), eight miles south
    Person: Marvin Dixon (arrested)
    Investigator: Detective Lisa Smith, Harwick County Sheriff's Office

    - Jean Mueller was 55 years old when she disappeared on the morning of March 13, 2011.
    - Two items were on her kitchen table: a clean white athletic sock and an orange road reflector stamped with the number 14.
    - Neighbor Brenda Evans called 9-1-1 at 8:47 AM on March 14 after finding Jean's back door unlocked and the house undisturbed.
    - The back door's strike plate had its screws deliberately loosened sometime between October 2010 and March 2011.
    - Jean walked out of a basement room on Route Nine on March 19, 2011, and Marvin Dixon was arrested on-site without resistance.

    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 Library Book in the Tree: Secret Plea Leads to Captor

    The Library Book in the Tree: Secret Plea Leads to Captor
    2026/10/29
    The Library Book in the Tree: Secret Plea Leads to Captor

    A dog pulls a woman off the trail to reveal a library book wedged in a cedar tree with pages scored by handwriting - one name, one address, one phone number, and a single desperate word: PLEASE. The trail had been open only six days, the address led to a vacant property nine miles southeast, and the book could not have arrived by accident - who placed it there in sub-freezing darkness, and why was Grant Holt missing at the same time?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries and the small, concrete clues that tied a quiet twenty-two-year-old volunteer to a puzzling disappearance, asking whether a checked-out field guide and a hidden plea in a tree were the thread detectives needed to follow.

    Person: Grant Holt
    Date last seen: February 6
    Location of car: Ridgeline Road parking lot, less than 40 feet from Sycamore Fork trailhead
    Book: North American Migratory Birds, Meade County Public Library; checked out January 29, renewed once, due February 3
    Volunteers at briefing: 41

    - The book was found in the fork of a cedar tree, spine outward at eye level, with handwriting scored through to the back of the page.
    - The single-word plea "PLEASE" appeared alongside one name, one address, and one phone number inside the book.
    - Grant Holt was last confirmed seen leaving the hardware store at approximately 2:30 PM on February 6.
    - His gray Nissan remained parked in the Ridgeline Road lot for three days while Grant made no calls, transactions, or digital activity.
    - Sandra Fitch recorded Grant's volunteer attendance for 14 consecutive months with zero absences before he missed his Thursday shelter shift.

    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
  • The Receipt in the Bag: How Lisa Searched for Her Own Rescue

    The Receipt in the Bag: How Lisa Searched for Her Own Rescue
    2026/10/28
    The Receipt in the Bag: How Lisa Searched for Her Own Rescue

    A sealed Ziploc bag with a gas station receipt and three blue-ink words - QUINN, SILO, four - was tied to an anchor and found on the Cotter River bank in January 2019, a place with no road access and no reason for a dry paper to survive there. Who placed that receipt in the water and why did the name Quinn appear on it?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Lisa Coleman's last known movements through the discovery of the receipt and the parallel threads of the community search and the detectives tracing a dark green Dodge Grand Caravan; can the receipt point to where Lisa was taken and who was involved?

    Person: Lisa Coleman
    Date: January 9, 2019
    Location: Cotter River (four miles south of Route Twelve bridge)
    Witness: Victor Reyes
    Event: Dark green Dodge Grand Caravan seen at 5:41 PM

    - Receipt found sealed inside a child-sized Ziploc bag tied to an anchor weight on a trotline on the Cotter River bank.
    - Receipt back contains three words written in blue ballpoint ink: QUINN, SILO, four.
    - Lisa Coleman was last seen on surveillance entering the Level One stairwell at 5:03 PM with groceries; she did not reach her car.
    - A dark green Dodge Grand Caravan was captured on camera turning south onto Brixton Road at 5:41 PM the same afternoon.
    - A dark green Caravan paid $22.14 in cash at the Fill-Mart on Brixton Road at 11:48 PM that night; the receipt remained in a jacket pocket.

    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
  • Basement Note Found: How a Folded Paper Saved Paula Sheridan

    Basement Note Found: How a Folded Paper Saved Paula Sheridan
    2026/10/27
    Basement Note Found: How a Folded Paper Saved Paula Sheridan

    A folded paper tucked under a metal survey pin led to a basement, a name, and the four-word line "basement, still here" - a precise clue placed where nobody should have been looking. That single note triggered a search that uncovered a week-long survival and a trail pointing to a man who had followed her; how did a ballpoint pen in a cardigan and a mapped property become the difference between life and death?

    In this episode, we tell what was discovered, what investigators pieced together from footage gaps and witness statements, and how a county surveyor's find reopened a missing person case and answered the question: who put the note where it needed to be, and why?

    Person: Paula Sheridan
    Date: December 4, 2019
    Person: Emily Becker
    Location: Tulloch Flats
    Person: Donald White

    - Paula Sheridan was sixty-two years old and retired after thirty years as a licensed practical nurse.
    - Emily Becker found a folded piece of paper under the cap of a metal pin at 9:47 AM on December 11, 2019.
    - The note named a man, gave directions to a house, and included the line "basement, still here."
    - Paula's car was found at Garvey's Garden Supply at 11:40 AM on the day she disappeared, engine off and tote bag on the passenger seat.
    - A sheriff's investigator had visited the front porch of the house four days before the note was found and left without entering.

    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
  • Scratched Window, Toll Number, and the Woman Who Outsmarted Darkness

    Scratched Window, Toll Number, and the Woman Who Outsmarted Darkness
    2026/10/26
    Scratched Window, Toll Number, and the Woman Who Outsmarted Darkness

    Danger tightened around a scratched basement window: three pieces of information - a name, a toll booth number, and a mile marker - pressed into mineral dust became the turning point in a disappearance that lasted eleven days. How did a twenty-four-year-old pharmaceutical lab technician write her own rescue instructions from inside a locked room, and what older crime did those scratches unravel?

    In this episode, we trace the timeline from the last confirmed image of Megan Underwood to the discovery in a rural Indiana basement, detailing the clues that led investigators from a phony utility van to a paid-in-advance rental and a forgotten voicemail containing a lockbox code. Can the sequence of deliberate choices and false identities reveal who planned and executed the abduction?

    Person: Megan Underwood
    Age: 24
    Last confirmed sighting: 11:47 AM at a parking garage on Second Street
    Investigator: Detective Richard Rafferty, 17 years experience
    Van sign: "Consolidated Water Systems" (no business registration)

    - At 7:14 AM on the eleventh day missing, a septic worker saw letters scratched in dust on a basement window.
    - The window inscription included a name (Megan Underwood), a toll booth number, and a mile marker.
    - Megan last texted Brianne Novak at 5:58 AM on Saturday, November 9, and fed her rabbit Tuck before leaving.
    - Security camera footage captured Megan's Honda Civic pulling out at 11:47 AM; her phone last pinged a tower at 12:03 PM in the western industrial corridor.
    - On November 6, someone posing as an Indiana Rural Electric technician called property manager Scott Duvall and received a lockbox code: 4712.

    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 Library Book That Saved a Man: Found in a Cottonwood Fork

    The Library Book That Saved a Man: Found in a Cottonwood Fork
    2026/10/25
    The Library Book That Saved a Man: Found in a Cottonwood Fork

    Fear and relief collide: a library book wedged nine feet up in a cottonwood fork, sealed in a zip-lock bag with a ten-digit phone number on white athletic tape, led to a man found alive after twelve days missing - but who threaded the book through a pump station ventilation slit and why?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning a bird photographer discovered the book to the four-hour rescue that followed, outlining how small tools, routine habits, and a dated library due date became the clues that answered one central question: how did Kenneth Whitley make himself found?

    Person: Kenneth Whitley
    Date: October 2-14, 2009
    Location: pump station near the Gellen River, cottonwood scrub on Kettner Road
    Topic: abduction and survival using a library book
    Status: missing for twelve days, found alive

    - The book was wedged nine feet off the ground in a cottonwood fork and sealed inside a zip-lock bag.
    - A strip of white athletic tape across the cover had a ten-digit phone number written in ballpoint pen.
    - The book had been due back to the Aldgate Public Library on October 13, 2009, one day after Kenneth disappeared.
    - Kenneth was held inside a locked concrete pump station with a horizontal window slit about four inches high and fourteen inches wide.
    - Kenneth used an eight-inch length of wire bent from a broken equipment bracket to thread the bagged book through the slit over the course of one night.

    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