Épisodes

  • The Running Machine: Why a Combine Hid a Man's Murdered Body

    The Running Machine: Why a Combine Hid a Man's Murdered Body
    Sep 25 2026
    The Running Machine: Why a Combine Hid a Man's Murdered Body

    A combine ran itself through eleven acres at dawn while a man who was last seen alive four nights earlier lay dead three feet deep in a drainage ditch on the neighboring property. The machine burned a quarter of a full tank overnight, the farm gate chain was looped around the wrong post, and no one was at the controls-so how did Will Sullivan end up buried where no one expected?

    In this episode, you’ll hear the timeline and on-the-ground details from the morning the combine was found running and the weeks that followed as deputies and search teams tried to answer that question. We trace the movements of the machine, the missing fuel, the altered gate, and the last known sightings that preceded Will’s disappearance.

    Person: William Sullivan (Will)
    Date: June 13-14, 2011
    Location: Aldermoor Farm, Renner County, Nebraska
    Status: Deceased; body found three feet deep in a drainage ditch on neighboring property
    Investigator: Deputy Aaron Finch; Detective Judith Rafferty (Renner County Sheriff’s Office)

    - The combine was first observed moving at 6:15 AM on June 14, 2011.
    - The machine had consumed one quarter of a full fuel tank by the time it was shut down.
    - The east field showed irregular, overlapping loops covering eleven acres.
    - Will Sullivan was twenty-eight years old and had been seen stacking tables at First Lutheran Church four nights before.
    - Will’s pickup, phone on the seat and wallet in the cupholder, remained parked beside the equipment barn overnight.

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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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    16 min
  • The Shortcut That Turned a Routine Walk into a Graveyard Mystery

    The Shortcut That Turned a Routine Walk into a Graveyard Mystery
    Sep 24 2026
    The Shortcut That Turned a Routine Walk into a Graveyard Mystery

    An ordinary Saturday walk ended with a canvas tote balanced on a surveyor's stake more than a mile from home and no disturbed dew around it - a detail that meant whoever left it had come and gone in the dark. When Gail Olson disappeared after a 2:17 p.m. grocery run on May 7, 2011, her phone, car and unlocked door were found inside; why did she turn toward a new greenway she never used, and who moved her tote without leaving tracks?

    In this episode, you will hear how a single wrong turn toward the Sycamore Flat Greenway redirected a routine loop, the timeline that followed from the last confirmed camera image to the discovery of Gail's tote, and the early leads detectives pursued to answer what happened on that afternoon.

    Person: Gail Olson
    Date: May 7, 2011
    Location: Sycamore Flat Greenway / Prentiss Court, Dunmore
    Status: Missing (last confirmed image alive at 2:17 p.m.)
    Investigator: Detective Rhonda Dalton

    - Last confirmed image: 2:17 p.m. on May 7, 2011, leaving Fielding Street Market carrying a grocery bag and a canvas tote.
    - Found items: canvas tote containing a Dunmore Senior Center lanyard with Gail's photo ID, a grocery receipt dated May 7, a tube of hand cream, and her house keys.
    - Tote location: propped against a surveyor's stake at the 1.2-mile mark of the Sycamore Flat Greenway, discovered May 9 at 7:40 a.m.
    - Tote condition: dry and sitting upright with undisturbed dew around its base, indicating it was placed after midnight.
    - Household scene: Gail's phone on the kitchen table, car in the garage, front door unlocked, and a half-full cold coffee cup on the counter when officers arrived.

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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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    16 min
  • The Dry Bag Hung in the Creek: Who Knew Gail?

    The Dry Bag Hung in the Creek: Who Knew Gail?
    Sep 23 2026
    The Dry Bag Hung in the Creek: Who Knew Gail?

    A dry canvas duffel bag, carefully tied and hanging beneath the waterline, led investigators to a Polaroid of Gail Duncan - twenty-two and missing less than twelve hours. Who placed a dry bag underwater, and why did a casual comment at a library craft night become the clue that unraveled her last day?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline from Gail clocking out at Patsy's Diner to Kenneth O'Connor finding the bag in Calloway Creek, and trace the people, places, and odd details that point to a planned disappearance. How did a pallet in an alley, a suspicious acquaintance from a library group, and a last cell-tower ping three miles southeast connect to Gail's disappearance?

    Person: Gail Duncan
    Date: April 8-9, 2004
    Location: Calloway Creek / Calloway Bend
    Person: Kenneth O'Connor
    Person: Paul Serrano

    - At 6:15 AM on April 9, 2004, Kenneth O'Connor found a dry, tied canvas duffel bag hanging from an iron anchor post in Calloway Creek.
    - Inside the bag was a Polaroid photograph showing two young women; one was identified as 22-year-old Gail Duncan.
    - Gail clocked out of Patsy's Diner at 9:03 PM on April 8, 2004, and sent Paul Serrano a text at 9:08 PM saying “heading home, will call later.”
    - Gail’s phone last registered at 9:21 PM on a cell tower three miles southeast of Calloway Bend.
    - A wooden pallet had been propped against the back door latch of the alley behind Patsy's Diner sometime the week before her disappearance, allowing the door to be pushed open without a key.

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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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    16 min
  • The Goggles, the Paper, and the Uncapped Syringe: What Took Megan?

    The Goggles, the Paper, and the Uncapped Syringe: What Took Megan?
    Sep 22 2026
    The Goggles, the Paper, and the Uncapped Syringe: What Took Megan?

    A county surveyor found amber swim goggles in eight inches of water with a sharply folded training schedule tucked inside the left lens - the paper was dry and folded as if placed there by hand. Three days earlier Megan Vogel’s car, phone and wallet were left at the lake lot while at home an uncapped, pre-drawn insulin syringe sat on her kitchen counter for a diabetic dog; how do these precise, contradictory details fit together?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline and the physical evidence recovered from Pelican Flats, the uncollected car in the lot, and the uncapped syringe on Megan’s kitchen counter to trace what the three days before discovery reveal about her disappearance. Which of the routine facts are actually deliberate signals, and who benefits from them?

    Person: Megan Vogel
    Date: March 11 (goggles found at 7:40 AM)
    Location: Pelican Flats, western arm of Lake Carver
    Status: Missing (last seen Saturday morning)
    Case: Halverson County disappearance

    - Amber-tinted competitive swim goggles found in eight inches of water at 7:40 AM on Tuesday, March 11.
    - A Halverson Masters Swim Club training schedule was folded with sharp creases and placed inside the left lens; “Megan Vogel” handwritten across the top.
    - Megan’s Subaru was last seen leaving her driveway at 8:17 AM on Saturday; wallet on passenger seat and phone in cupholder.
    - An uncapped, pre-drawn syringe of insulin for her diabetic miniature schnauzer was left on her kitchen counter where she had set it before departing Saturday.
    - Megan swam five mornings a week, arriving at the pool by 5:15 AM, and had driven to Pelican Flats on Saturdays for four years.

    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 min
  • No Footprints in the Snow: The Morning Susan Vanished

    No Footprints in the Snow: The Morning Susan Vanished
    Sep 21 2026
    No Footprints in the Snow: The Morning Susan Vanished

    Cold coffee, an open back door, and a yard of untouched snow: Susan Hall disappeared from 4 Birchcroft Lane on a night when the storm stopped at 3:00 AM and no footprints led away. The last phone ping was minutes after midnight and her voicemail to a friend that week was unusually emotional - what happened between that 12:04 AM signal and the empty yard?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline inside Susan's home, the phone records and the routine she kept for decades, and the clues that push investigators from a tidy domestic scene toward deeper questions. How do a missed appointment, a fabricated plumber call, and an untroubled snow-covered lawn fit together?

    Person: Susan Hall
    Age: 61
    Location: 4 Birchcroft Lane
    Date: February 14, 2014 (last phone activity at 12:04 AM)
    Investigator: Detective Amy Long

    - Snow stopped falling at 3:00 AM on February 19, 2014, and the ground outside was smooth and unbroken.
    - Brenda Cook arrived for a septic pump call at 8:15 AM and called 9-1-1 at 8:22 AM upon seeing the open back door.
    - Susan left a 53-second voicemail to Joyce on February 13 at 11:47 PM with a calm, grateful tone.
    - Susan called her workplace at 7:50 AM on February 14 to say she would not be in because she was "waiting for a plumber."
    - Phone records show Susan's last signal near Birchcroft Lane at 12:04 AM on February 14, with no outgoing calls or texts afterward.

    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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    14 min
  • The Yellow Trout Lily: Clues in a Cold January Disappearance

    The Yellow Trout Lily: Clues in a Cold January Disappearance
    Sep 20 2026
    The Yellow Trout Lily: Clues in a Cold January Disappearance

    The morning was twenty-two degrees when a fresh trout lily blossom - cut clean and placed on a laminated wildflower guide opened to its own page - sat on the driver’s seat of an idling Kenworth at mile marker 114; the flower does not grow in Ohio in January. Who left a deliberate message in a running truck at 6:48 a.m., and why was Brenda Whitfield gone by the time the cab was checked?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from a routine 6:15 a.m. check-in at a Pilot Travel Center to the moment the empty cab was discovered, detailing the people, the stop locations, and the forensic oddities that shaped the first ten days of the response. How did a logbook entry, a half-eaten granola bar, a silenced phone and a transplanted spring blossom become the clues that led investigators back through surveillance gaps and linked to an unsolved disappearance two hundred miles away?

    Person: Brenda Whitfield
    Age: 26
    Occupation: Commercial truck driver
    Last verified check-in time: 6:15 a.m.
    Discovery time at rest stop: 6:48-6:51 a.m.

    - Brenda’s phone last pinged a cell tower near the Crestburg Pilot at 6:19 a.m. and never registered near mile marker 114.
    - The Kenworth at mile marker 114 was idling with lights on and nobody inside when Lisa Petersen arrived at 6:48 a.m.
    - A laminated field guide was opened to the yellow trout lily page with a real trout lily blossom placed on the driver’s seat.
    - Detective Steven Baker arrived at the cab before 7:30 a.m., photographed the scene and pulled the logbook entry from the truck.
    - A botanist from the state agricultural extension later confirmed the trout lily was real, cut from a living plant with a clean stem, and not native to Ohio in January.

    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 min
  • The Dry Shoe in the Locked Shed: Who Waited Eleven Years?

    The Dry Shoe in the Locked Shed: Who Waited Eleven Years?
    Sep 19 2026
    The Dry Shoe in the Locked Shed: Who Waited Eleven Years?

    The sight of a single right dress shoe, perfectly dry on a damp shed carpet, turned a routine wedding night into a disappearance that began in a twenty-minute window - and the man who took him had been waiting eleven years. A fourteen-year-old found the shoe at 5:00 AM; the shoe belonged to 48-year-old Donald Padgett, last seen between 5:10 and 5:40 PM the previous evening. Who placed that dry shoe inside a locked shed through a four-inch-open window, and why wait eleven years for that moment?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from a wedding reception at Harmon Pines Country Club to the storage shed discovery at dawn, mapping witness sightings, forensic details about the shed window, and the immediate investigative leads - including footprints and an intact padlock - that raise the central unanswered question about the eleven-year wait.

    Person: Donald Padgett
    Age: 48
    Date last seen: December 8, 2017
    Finder: Valerie Doyle, age 14
    Discovery time: 5:00 AM on December 9, 2017

    - Padgett was seen at the bar at 5:10 PM and at the fire pit at 5:20 PM; by 5:40 PM he was gone.
    - Padgett's dinner jacket was left draped over the back of his chair with his phone in the jacket pocket and his wallet missing.
    - The shed's carpet was damp from a roof leak while the right dress shoe, size eleven, was completely dry and standing upright on a folded banquet chair.
    - The shed's main padlock was intact with no forced entry; a side casement window set 4.5 feet up was open about four inches with a freshly stripped pivot screw.
    - Partial footprints matching Padgett's size were found near the east fence line less than a 90-second walk from the fire pit, with no drag marks or broken branches.

    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 min
  • The Shoe in the Ditch: Badge 23 and a Vanished Path

    The Shoe in the Ditch: Badge 23 and a Vanished Path
    Sep 18 2026
    The Shoe in the Ditch: Badge 23 and a Vanished Path

    A single size seven canvas sneaker, laces tied and tongue neatly folded, was found in a drainage ditch eleven miles from the Orvell County Natural History Museum with visitor badge number 23 tucked in its toe-dated the day before and issued to a woman who vanished within 24 hours. Who left the shoe on a vehicle-only road with no trail or houses nearby, and why was it placed like a deliberate message?

    In this episode, we follow the morning the plow operator photographed the shoe and the county investigator unfolded a timeline that refused to fit normal disappearances, from the undisturbed museum badge log to a debit-card purchase miles away after the field trip ended. What do the odd details-the badge removed before scanning, the car left overnight, and the transaction at 3:41 p.m.-reveal about Marilyn Coleman’s last known movements?

    Person: Marilyn Coleman
    Date: November 6-8, 2011
    Location: Tillson Road; Orvell County Natural History Museum
    Case: Missing person, badge number 23
    Investigator: Douglas Hicks

    - Shoe found at 6:14 a.m. on November 7 by county plow operator Connie Cook, photographed at 6:14 and reported at 6:19
    - Visitor badge number 23 dated November 6, laminated, placed inside the toe of the shoe
    - Badge 23 removed from the badge tray before the Vance Elementary field trip and not scanned at the front desk
    - Marilyn prepared 25 badges the night before; 22 assigned to students, badge 23 was hers
    - Debit card used at 3:41 p.m. on November 6 at Orvell Quik Mart, $6.14 for coffee and hand lotion, while her car remained in the museum parking lot

    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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    14 min