Épisodes

  • She Called Him at Dawn: The Disappearance of Frances Schmidt

    She Called Him at Dawn: The Disappearance of Frances Schmidt
    Aug 7 2026
    She Called Him at Dawn: The Disappearance of Frances Schmidt

    A leather handbag was found hanging five and a half feet high from a chain-link fence post the morning after Frances Schmidt made a four-second phone call that went straight to voicemail - the last electronic trace of her life. Why did a 44-year-old woman who left for work at 7:15 AM every weekday call a pest control number at 6:48 AM on a road she never used, and what did a note pressed to her front door the night before have to do with it?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline from the unreturned four-second call to the discovery of Frances’s intact belongings and the witness who saw a pest control van idling near the access road. Follow the details that link a morning routine, a returned call, and a bag hung deliberately on a fence - and ask what drew Frances to that pond road at dawn.

    Person: Frances Schmidt
    Age: 44
    Date: May 13
    Location: retention pond access road, six blocks east of Culver Street
    Last phone event: four-second outgoing call to Meridian Pest Services at 6:48 AM

    - Frances left for work at 7:15 AM every weekday and frequented Eula's diner on Thursdays, ordering a coffee and short stack with a $5 tip.
    - The outgoing call at 6:48 AM went to voicemail and the last cell tower ping was approximately 6:50 AM near her Culver Street block.
    - Her packed tote bag, washed mug, and watered garden inside the townhouse suggested she planned to return; her car remained in the driveway on May 15.
    - The leather handbag was hung on a fence post cap 5.5 feet high with wallet, keys, and dead phone inside, placed deliberately and undisturbed.
    - A resident, Patricia Coe, saw a white van with magnetic pest control placards idling at the access road gate at about 7:15 AM on May 13.

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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
  • Warm Coffee at 5:40 AM - How Jessica Vanished from Trivia Night

    Warm Coffee at 5:40 AM - How Jessica Vanished from Trivia Night
    Aug 6 2026
    Warm Coffee at 5:40 AM - How Jessica Vanished from Trivia Night

    A warm diner cup found at 5:40 AM, a 1.1-mile gap from where Jessica sat at trivia the night before, and a locked door with no camera footage of her leaving - who planned the perfect disappearance? What did a white cup with an orange sun, still warm on concrete steps, reveal about where Jessica went between 9:44 and ~10:07 PM?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Jessica Lawson’s last confirmed sighting at the Sundown Diner to the moment a fourteen-year-old paperboy photographed a warm cup on Depot Road, tracing the small-town routines, the people at her table, and the early investigative choices that twisted a routine missing-persons case into something less ordinary. How did a routine Wednesday trivia night become the start of a fourteen-day unraveling?

    Person: Jessica Lawson
    Date: April 9, 2016
    Location: Sundown Diner on Heller Avenue / Storage unit on Depot Road
    Detective: Valerie Watson
    Finder: Leon Burns, age 14

    - Jessica was 28 years old and a licensed accountant who had not missed a Wednesday trivia night in 14 consecutive months.
    - Camera footage captured Jessica arriving at the Sundown at 6:51 PM and showed Patrice leaving at 9:44 PM while Jessica remained at the table.
    - Between 9:44 PM and approximately 10:07 PM, Jessica left the diner with her phone, wallet, and keys in her tote bag and did not return; her car remained in the parking lot all night.
    - A white Sundown Diner cup with an orange sun was found warm on the second concrete step of a self-storage facility 1.1 miles from the diner at 5:40 AM on April 9, photographed by 14-year-old Leon Burns.
    - Detective Valerie Watson, age 37, took the case at 7:45 AM on April 9; Prosper Creek Police Department had nine officers and a chief.

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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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    18 min
  • Fifty Feet of Water, Two Bodies, One Plumber's Secret

    Fifty Feet of Water, Two Bodies, One Plumber's Secret
    Aug 5 2026
    Fifty Feet of Water, Two Bodies, One Plumber's Secret

    The open water should have been a gray smear without them - but prescription goggles were found dry on a lifeguard tower step fifty feet from shore, with a paper towel tucked inside containing a phone number in blue ink. Who left a dry set of goggles at Pelican Flats and why did that number lead investigators to a plumber days before a man vanished?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from a meticulous daily routine and a disappearing swimmer to the phone records that pulled a stranger into the case, asking whether a small pattern in a notebook and one prepaid call could explain what happened in those fifty feet.

    Person: Brian Bennett
    Date: March 8, 2014 (disappearance) and March 19, 2014 (goggles found)
    Location: Pelican Flats, Darro County, Florida
    Person: Gordon Jenkins
    Investigator: Detective Peggy Sharp

    - Brian Bennett was fifty-four years old and had kept an unbroken feeding log for his tortoise for six years, with the last entry on March 8, 2014 at 5:20 a.m.
    - Brian routinely swam parallel to shore no more than forty or fifty feet out and always exited at the same gap in the sea grape hedge.
    - His prescription goggles were found dry on the lowest step of the lifeguard tower on March 19, 2014 with a paper towel folded into one lens holding a phone number in blue ink.
    - A prepaid phone purchased the day before Brian’s disappearance made four calls in three days, three of them to Gordon Jenkins, including one on the evening of March 7, 2014.
    - Gordon Jenkins, age forty-one, had worked inside Brian’s bungalow twice in 2013, including one visit when Brian was at work and the door was left unlocked.

    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 min
  • The Voicemail That Sounded Like a Farewell - Wallet on Dennison Road

    The Voicemail That Sounded Like a Farewell - Wallet on Dennison Road
    Aug 4 2026
    The Voicemail That Sounded Like a Farewell - Wallet on Dennison Road

    A routine Wednesday call turned into a two-minute forty-second voicemail that Sandra Clark later said "sounded like a farewell," and forty-three dollars, a Missouri license, and a gas receipt were found perfectly centered on a concrete pad eleven miles northeast of Ardell City - with no footprints in the frost. How did a young man with a perfect attendance record vanish between a grocery warehouse parking lot and a gravel easement, and who deliberately placed that wallet where no one had walked?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Philip Clark's last voicemail at 11:59 PM on February 4 through the phone ping at the Route Nine county line and the discovery on Dennison Road, tracing the ordinary moments that led to an unresolved disappearance. Can the sequence of small, concrete facts - car sounds, a gas stop, a centered wallet - reveal what happened to Philip?

    Person: Philip Clark
    Date: February 4 (voicemail 11:59 PM)
    Location: Dennison Road concrete equipment pad, eleven miles northeast of Ardell City
    Status: Missing
    Item: Wallet containing Missouri license, $43, bank card, library card, gas receipt dated February 4

    - Philip was 22 years old and had a perfect attendance record at a grocery distribution warehouse for fourteen months.
    - He left a voicemail to his mother at 11:59 PM on February 4 that lasted 2 minutes and 40 seconds.
    - Five minutes after the voicemail, his phone pinged a cell tower at the Route Nine county line, moving toward Dennison Road.
    - On the morning of February 6 at 7:42 AM, utility worker Crystal Berry found Philip's wallet centered on a concrete pad with no footprints in the surrounding frost.
    - The wallet contained a Missouri license, a gas station receipt dated February 4, $43, a bank card, and a library card.

    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
  • The Sixty-Second Vanish: Coffee Cup, Idling Truck, No Return

    The Sixty-Second Vanish: Coffee Cup, Idling Truck, No Return
    Aug 3 2026
    The Sixty-Second Vanish: Coffee Cup, Idling Truck, No Return

    A steaming paper coffee cup sat balanced on the driver-side mirror of a running Peterbilt at 6:06 a.m. in 15°F air-yet the driver was gone, her wallet with $214 inside, phone charging, logbook current to the minute. How did Marilyn Long step away for what she expected to be sixty seconds and never return?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Marilyn’s last known stops and messages to the small but telling clues left in her cab, and we track the call records and dispatch logs that don’t add up. What happened in those sixty seconds, and who answered the forty-second call that left no record?

    Person: Marilyn Long
    Age: 38
    Occupation: Owner-operator truck driver
    Date: January 9
    Location: Piney Flats rest area, bay six

    - Truck: Peterbilt 389 with running lights on and engine idling when found at 6:06 a.m.
    - Coffee: paper cup with plastic lid snapped on, still steaming in 15°F air.
    - Cash: wallet in door pocket containing $214.
    - Call: last outgoing call at 12:38 a.m, to Calhoun Freight dispatch lasting 40 seconds.
    - Time gap: driving time from last fuel stop (exit 41) to Piney Flats estimated at 7 minutes; logbook current to the minute.

    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 min
  • The Upright Shoe: How a Wedding Chair Hid a Kidnapper

    The Upright Shoe: How a Wedding Chair Hid a Kidnapper
    Aug 2 2026
    The Upright Shoe: How a Wedding Chair Hid a Kidnapper

    An ivory satin heel, size seven, stood perfectly upright in winter mulch five days after the last rain - and Gloria Hamilton had been missing for eleven days. That single dry shoe led investigators from a wedding reception through a propped fire door, a cash-purchased prepaid phone, and a man no one at the reception could identify - so how did a wedding chair become the hiding place for a kidnapper?

    In this episode, you will hear the sequence of events from the Whitmore Hotel reception to the first detective on the case, why the propped fire door went unnoticed for days, and how one witness and a stray shoe connected to a prepaid phone and an idling car to change the investigation. What exactly tied the shoe, the door wedge, and the man in the dark suit to Gloria’s disappearance and eventual discovery?

    Person: Gloria Hamilton
    Age: 62
    Event: Missing from niece’s wedding reception
    Location: Whitmore Hotel north corridor and service path
    Investigative lead: Upright ivory satin size seven shoe found in mulch

    - Last confirmed photo of Gloria was taken at 5:06 PM at the wedding, arms around the bride.
    - Gloria was at the bar by 6:30 PM and ordered two sparkling waters from bartender Scott Ellison.
    - A fire door on the north corridor had been propped open with a rubber wedge since 4:00 PM and went unchecked through two events and three staff shifts.
    - A witness, Nora Fitch, saw a heavyset man in a dark suit standing near the fire door and later saw a woman on the gravel service path through the door’s glass.
    - A cash-purchased prepaid cell placed a call from a gas station two miles from the Whitmore at 6:19 PM and was located near the north service road at 7:02 PM before going dark.

    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 min
  • The Dry Boot at Colton Marsh: Why Frances Didn't Return

    The Dry Boot at Colton Marsh: Why Frances Didn't Return
    Aug 1 2026
    The Dry Boot at Colton Marsh: Why Frances Didn't Return

    A single dry left boot, standing upright on rain-soaked concrete after six hours of rain - an impossible detail that kept Detective Peggy Underwood awake and turned a routine field trip into a missing-person mystery. Eleven days after Frances Bauer left Keller Elementary at 1:52 p.m. carrying a child’s orange backpack, her body was found in a drainage culvert at Colton Marsh and questions about a lost headcount, a missing camera sighting, and a green pickup truck remained. How did Frances vanish between a recorded exit and a confirmed return, and what did that dry boot really mean?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Frances’s Thursday morning routine through the field trip and the subsequent investigation. You’ll hear the concrete facts investigators used - the checked name that shouldn’t have been, the blank minutes on surveillance, and the discovery eleven days later - and the central unresolved idea that kept the case open: where did those missing minutes lead?

    Person: Frances Bauer
    Date: November 10, 2011
    Location: Colton Marsh Nature Preserve
    Status: Body found in drainage culvert eleven days after disappearance
    Investigator: Detective Peggy Underwood

    - Frances Bauer left Keller Elementary at 1:52 p.m. on November 10, 2011, carrying a small orange child’s backpack.
    - Surveillance at the school recorded her walking toward the parking lot at 1:52 p.m., but the parking-lot camera did not capture her arrival in the following twelve minutes.
    - Four headcounts by adults on the field trip each returned twenty-two children, but Emma Cortez’s name was checked despite school records showing she was absent.
    - Eleven days after her disappearance, a state environmental inspection team found Frances’s body in a drainage culvert at the northern edge of Colton Marsh.
    - The night before Frances vanished it had rained for six hours, yet her left boot was found standing upright and dry on the concrete.

    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 Bracelet on the Branch: Why Nancy Vanished for Twenty-Six Days

    The Bracelet on the Branch: Why Nancy Vanished for Twenty-Six Days
    Jul 31 2026
    The Bracelet on the Branch: Why Nancy Vanished for Twenty-Six Days

    A hospital ID bracelet issued six days earlier was found fastened inside the sleeve of a pale sage green cardigan hung deliberately on a beech branch 22 miles from the hospital - and Nancy Vickers had never been to those woods. How did a woman last seen leaving a hospital corridor at 2:31 PM on October 3, 2012, send a final text two days later and then vanish without appearing on a nearby security camera?

    In this episode, you will hear the timeline from the hospital corridor footage to the discovery of the cardigan and bracelet, the stalled search while a locked Honda Civic sat in a lot for seven days, and the puzzling cellphone tower ping near Merchant Street. What sequence of events connects the waiting blue pickup, the silent phone, and the cardigan hung like a deliberate message?

    Person: Nancy Vickers
    Date: October 3, 2012 (last seen), bracelet issued October 27, 2012
    Location: Calhoun County; cardigan found on a trail 22 miles from the hospital
    Status: Missing (disappearance spanned 26 days until resolution)
    Case: Hospital corridor footage, a seven-day-unnoticed parked car, and a bracelet found on October 9

    - Nancy was 48 years old and had worked 17 years in the same orthopedic billing office.
    - Hospital exterior camera captured her arriving at 2:08 PM and interior footage shows her leaving the waiting room at 2:31 PM carrying purse and jacket.
    - Her gray Honda Civic remained locked in the hospital short-term lot for seven days with no keys or note.
    - A final text reading “Running a few minutes behind, sorry.” was sent at 9:39 AM on October 6; tower records show a last ping a block and a half from the Food Shelf.
    - A dark blue Dodge pickup idled in the Food Shelf alley from 9:41 to 9:48 AM on the morning of her last confirmed activity.

    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