Vanished (Vanished)
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| 10 Nov 2018 | S1 Ep1: Vanished: Amelia Earhart Trailer | 00:02:02 | |
Following the disappearance of aviation icons Amelia Earhart, Fred Noonan and their Lockheed Electra 10E in 1937, the world speculates on their fate; creating multiple theories to explain their vanishing over the Pacific Ocean. In 2018, documentarian Chris Williamson begins an investigation over a decade in the making. Shortly after his investigation begins, he soon finds there’s much more to this story than anyone ever thought possible. The first scripted podcast from ChrisEvan Films, Inc. “Vanished: Amelia Earhart” brings together a full audio drama production from the team that brings you the “Chasing Earhart Podcast”. | |||
| 06 Jan 2019 | S1 Ep1: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "What Makes a Legend?" | 00:36:43 | |
Episode One "What Makes a Legend?" features guests J.A. Kiehl and Susan Butler as they discuss Amelia's upbringing in the quaint Midwestern town of Atchison Kansas, her schooling through college and her experiences as a nurse in Canada during the war. In this debut episode of our new limited series, we try and answer the question; are legends born or made? Be sure to subscribe to "Vanished: Amelia Earhart" on all major podcast platforms. And don't' forget to head to iTunes and leave us a review; it really helps! Enjoy the show! SHOW NOTES
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| 20 Jan 2019 | S1 Ep2: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "A Thousand Ways to Die in the Sky" | 00:28:58 | |
Episode Two "What Makes a Legend?" features guests Doug Westfall and Boyd Kelly as they discuss the early days of aviation, the aeronautical environment in that time and how Amelia Earhart was introduced to aviation; where she would make an impact that's still felt to this day. SHOW NOTES: | |||
| 02 Feb 2019 | S1 Ep3: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Destiny" | 00:45:07 | |
“I’m more or less mortgaging the future to go on. But what are futures for?” Welcome back to Atchison, Kansas and Vanished: Amelia Earhart. In the first two parts of this journey, we’ve gotten to know Amelia Earhart as a little girl; spending her youth here in Atchison, before venturing out into the world with her family and then on her own. The times were tough then and a young Amelia Earhart had been bitten by the aviation bug and was wading into the unknown skies to begin a career that would send shockwaves into the aviation world that are still felt to this very day. Tonight’s episode is all about that career. Before we get to the shocking end that has been clouded in mystery for over eight decades, we’re going to talk about Amelia’s rise to legendary status in American history. Amelia didn’t just tap the glass ceiling when she burst onto the scene. She shattered it. Records were set, goals were achieved, a unique career was crafted, and a destiny was realized. SHOW NOTES
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| 17 Feb 2019 | S1 Ep4: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "The Red Sun" | 00:36:55 | |
"Aviation, this young modern giant, exemplifies the possible relationship of women and the creations of science. Although women have not taken full advantage of its use and benefits, air travel is as available to them as to men." Welcome back to Vanished: Amelia Earhart. Tonight I take a little break from the midwest and travel to Morro Bay, California; one of my very favorite spots in the world. When we started this series there was never a question as to whether or not we'd discuss an organization that Amelia Earhart held very close to her heart. We just had to get the right people to do it, and tonight we have them. While the show thus far has covered all of the ways that Amelia Earhart was different from her fellow colleagues, tonight, I thought we'd try a different approach. After all, during the golden age of aviation, there was one organization that brought all of the pioneering women of aviation together for a greater cause. Well...ninety-nine of them at least. SHOW NOTES
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| 02 Mar 2019 | S1 Ep5: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "August 18th 1929" | 00:31:55 | |
“The men you know, have been somewhat worried about such a long flight for us. They seem to have visions of us smashing up all over the countryside. So the thing for us to do is to prove that their fears have been foolish.” Welcome back to Vanished: Amelia Earhart. A question to kick off tonight’s show. What are some dates that you remember in your life? Maybe a wedding anniversary, or the birth of your child or a date that something significant happened in your life; positive or negative. There are a few dates in the life of Amelia Earhart that would qualify as important. How about, January the 3rd, 1921 the day that Amelia started flying with Neta Snook? October the 22nd, 1922 Amelia broke the altitude record; rising to 14,000 ft. June the 17th & 18th 1928 Amelia became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger; the Friendship flight. That started it all. How about July the 2nd 1937? The day AE and Fred Noonan disappeared? We’ll get to that. But there’s another date that is synonymous with Amelia Earhart and quite a few others in fact. A date that not too many people know about. Tonight, we’re gonna learn all about this date. The women’s air derby. August the 18th 1929. Time to race. SHOW NOTES
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| 16 Mar 2019 | S1 Ep6: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "The Start of Something New" | 00:30:20 | |
"That plane; the entire project; the mission was a Purdue mission. If it's ever recovered, it belongs to us." Normally, I start each part of the show by telling you where I’m at. Tonight, I just can’t do that. My location has to remain unknown except for this. I’m somewhere in the northwest. A tease I know but I had to make a promise to the people that let me come here that for now, it would remain anonymous. In the first four parts of this series, we’ve covered a lot of ground. And I’ve promised you that all of this information we’ve covered is going to tie in. Tonight, it starts to do just that. In just a few short years, Amelia Earhart has become a household name. She’s reached the zenith of her popularity and at this point, she’s nearly at icon status. That’s arguable. In 1935, just under two short years before she would vanish into thin air, she began an unlikely partnership with Purdue University. This was an aspect of her life that she had been waiting for; a chance to get in on the ground floor and directly influence the women of the time. AE relished her short time there, and as we’ll learn tonight, she looked forward to expanding that role when she returned from the world flight. Tonight, we take you back to 1935 and West Lafayette Indiana to discuss “the start of something new” for Amelia Earhart. Something started, that unfortunately for her, and us was never finished. SHOW NOTES
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| 31 Mar 2019 | S1 Ep7: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "The Changing" | 00:58:43 | |
Spring has arrived. Finally. It’s been a long and brutal winter in Atchison, Kansas. The interesting thing about Spring is that it signals a rebirth. Winter brings death, Spring brings that death back to life. And the birds' chirp. Which is always nice. Six episodes down in this series and tonight things start to shift. When last we left her, Amelia Earhart had an idea. And that idea was to fly around the world at the equator. Because of her connection to Purdue University she now had her vessel. A state-of-the-art Lockheed Electra 10E that was dubbed “the flying laboratory”. There are also a couple of characters that enter Amelia’s life at this point. Characters that will forever be etched into history alongside her. One especially. Tonight, we discuss the first leg of her world flight and where that leg took her; Hawaii. All was well, spirits were up, and it seemed like Amelia Earhart was well on her way to adding “world flyer” to her already huge list of career accomplishments. Then, shortly after 5:40 Am on the morning on March 20th, 1937 everything changed. On takeoff, at Luke field, Amelia Earhart ground-looped her aircraft. We’ll talk a lot about this tonight. Pay close attention to the testimony throughout this episode. In the end, you decide. Did Amelia Earhart make a potentially fatal error on takeoff? Or was something else at play? Chasing Earhart may be wrapping up, but our investigation is just beginning. SHOW NOTES:
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| 14 Apr 2019 | S1 Ep8: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Trial by Jury" | 01:54:09 | |
"It’s time to take this entire case; all 82 years of it and burn it all down." When we decided to do this series not too long ago, the first question that I asked was how do we approach a case like this in a way that hasn’t already been done? And how can we make it interesting and fun even? The idea for what you’re about to hear came to me almost a year ago and it took us almost a year to produce a single part of this series. As we stand right now, we’ve journeyed through Amelia Earhart’s childhood, her adolescent years, her time in Canada after the war, her introduction to aviation and her extraordinary career. We’ve looked at causes that meant a lot to AE such as the Ninety-Nines, the air derby of 1929 and her extraordinary ties to Purdue University. And when last we left her, Amelia experienced failure, not for the first time in her life, but on a stage and a level that was unlike anything she’d ever faced to that point. I’ve poured over this case for a little over 15 years now, and I’ve spoken to some of the top minds in the world regarding what happens next. Some of those minds disagree with each other. Aggressively at times. There are aspects of this case that begin on the day AE and Noonan disappeared; July the 2nd 1937. And there have been constant developments to this day. One thing is for certain. What’s been done up to this point hasn’t yielded any results. At the end of part seven, I told you that you were all about to take part in the trial of the century. Tonight, that trial begins. We can’t look at this thing with a business as usual approach. It’s time to shake things up. It’s time to get under some people’s skin. It’s time to take this entire case; all 82 years of it and burn it all down. Strap yourselves in because we’re all in till it’s over. Time to swear in. SHOW NOTES:
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| 28 Apr 2019 | S1 Ep9: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Last Flight" | 01:16:58 | |
"If they never find her, having her life end with a mystery is still fascinating; in fact, it might be the most fascinating ending that you can have in this case." On June 29th, 1937 a tired Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan touched down in Lae New Guinea having reached the 3-quarter mark of their record attempt at circumnavigating the globe. Long days of flight had brought AE and Noonan to the likes of Brazil, Dakar, Bangkok, and Darwin Australia just to name a few. Though she was anxious to complete her long journey and fly into the record books, the next day, June 30th, 1937 AE sent a telegram to her husband, George Palmer Putnam that read “RADIO MISUNDERSTANDING AND PERSONNEL UNFITNESS. PROBABLY WILL HOLD ONE DAY”. What these personnel problems meant has been debated for many years. Were they related to Fred Noonan? Whatever the issues might have been, AE didn’t let them derail her plans – she and Noonan took off from Lae on July the 2nd 1937 at 10 AM local time. It was the last that anyone would ever see them. While Earhart's plane was in the air, the Coast Guard cutter Itasca was waiting to guide her into Howland island. However, due to AE’s friend Gene Vidal no longer being at the Bureau of Air Commerce to direct subordinates to smooth her way — some of the ship's communications were on bandwidths that she didn't have the ability to receive. There were other difficulties: a radio direction finder on Howland that would work with Earhart's higher-bandwidth equipment required batteries, which were drained by the time she was in the area. Fourteen hours and 15 minutes into her flight, the Itasca received a first, somewhat garbled transmission from Earhart about "cloudy weather." Though the messages themselves would grow clearer, their content remained worrying, as when Earhart radioed, "We must be on you but cannot see you." She apparently only received one message from the ship, though the Itasca had been transmitting for hours. While continuing to broadcast — the radio strength of her communications indicated she was close — Earhart remained unable to see Howland Island. The weather around Howland was clear, but there are reports of clouds about 30 miles northwest. And if Earhart had flown into clouds and bad weather along the way, it could have prevented Noonan from taking the sightings he needed to navigate precisely (the charts he was using were also not entirely accurate). Earhart's last transmission, made 20 hours and 14 minutes into her flight, indicated they were going to continue "running north and south." The plane never made it to Howland. Tonight, we dive into the events that occurred while AE and Noonan were at Lae, some controversial and some head scratching. We’ll also climb aboard the Electra with AE and Noonan and try to unravel the beginnings of one of the greatest mysteries of all time. What actually happened to Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan? Tonight, the trial continues as we bring someone to the stand that you’ll never see coming. Time to go to work. SHOW NOTES:
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| 13 May 2019 | S1 Ep10: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "18,000 Feet" | 02:45:13 | |
"Until we have that plane in my mind there are other possibilities; even if the witnesses on the stand today say 'highly improbable' that may be so but until we find her plane; until we find her resting place I think that there's always other possibilities." July the 2nd 1937 is a day clouded in judgment. Many people believe that it was the last day in the remarkable lives of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. For those people, and everyone investigating this case, their investigations begin on that day. In part six of the show, we talked about specific dates and the importance of those dates in our lives. What if you knew when the last day of your life would be? Would you wanna know? Would you wanna know how your life would end, or would you want to go fearless into the horizon as Amelia and Fred did? In part 10 of our series, we’re going to lay the foundation of the greatest mystery of all time. Every crime has a crime scene. And every crime has evidence. Tonight, we’re gonna lay the evidence for this story out; and at the end of day three of the trial you’ll know exactly what that evidence is, and just how heavily that evidence is leaned on by the experts that are called to testify before you. Tonight, for the very first time, we’re gonna put the first of five remarkable theories in front of you; our jury. It’s time to unravel July 2nd, 1937 with witness testimony from crash and sink. SHOW NOTES
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| 28 May 2019 | S1 Ep11: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Left for Dead" (Part One) | 04:23:01 | |
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| 28 May 2019 | S1 Ep12: Vanished Amelia Earhart "Left for Dead" (Part Two) | 02:50:57 | |
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| 18 Jun 2019 | S1 Ep12: Vanished Amelia Earhart "A Simpler Explanation" | 04:26:11 | |
"It's so hard to identify it because you're looking at the ghost of the air-frame; you're looking at the coral that has grown around the structure and that structure is gone."
Crime scenes might be the running theme for this trial. But here’s a scenario that I want to explain to people who aren’t familiar with this case. It’s an easy visual; so, follow me. Imagine you’re a detective called in to investigate a murder. Let’s say in this case the victim is a woman and the likely suspect is her husband; a domestic situation gone terribly wrong. When you arrive at the crime scene; let’s say it’s the home of this couple, one thing is obvious; there’s no body. At the crime scene there’s multiple pieces of evidence to investigate; it looks like there may have been a struggle of some kind, maybe you find a little blood; you might even find a murder weapon; all solid evidence yet no body in sight. Then suddenly, you learn that a body of a woman was discovered several miles away in an alley that appears to have several similarities to your apparent victim. Here’s the question. Do you investigate the body? Or do you ignore it and try to prove your case based solely off the crime scene? Tonight, we’re going to talk about a theory that’s been at the forefront of the investigation into the vanishing of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. And this theory happens to have a body. And that body is none other than that of an airplane carrying multiple similarities to the plane they vanished in almost 82 years ago. It’s time to dissect the third of five theories with experts, evidence and testimony for the Buka hypothesis.
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| 02 Jul 2019 | S1: "Dear Amelia" | 00:03:20 | |
On this 82nd anniversary of the vanishing of Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan, we bring you a special message from Chris Williamson & the Chasing Earhart Project.
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| 07 Jul 2019 | S1 Ep13: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Prisoner" (Part One) | 04:01:06 | |
"There are theories and there is truth. And this is the truth at last."
What happened to Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan? Were they simply lost at sea like the United States government claimed, or did they fly to Nikumaroro or maybe reverse course just over their halfway point to Buka? As of part 13’s release, we’ve just passed the 82nd year since their vanishing and still; we’re no closer to the truth. In the early 1960’s CBS correspondent Fred Goerner began digging. In what turned into an exhaustive pursuit of the truth, Goerner’s search turned over information that the world wasn’t ready to believe. Sometimes, you don’t have to go out looking for a story. As tips began pouring in, Goerner summarized that the idea of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan being in the hands of the Japanese might be much more than an alternative explanation. After his investigation was over, and he’d immersed himself in the story and talked to dozens and dozens of witnesses, Fred Goerner published “The Search for Amelia Earhart” which became a national best seller sitting on the New York Times best seller list for 6 months; a feat not repeated since. For Goerner there was no mystery. There was only the truth. Tonight, we’ll hear from over 25 of the documented eyewitnesses throughout the Marshall Islands, Saipan and the United States military that were stationed there. All of this leads to a single important question. Is the Japanese capture hypothesis truly “the truth at last”? The time has come. The most requested piece of our trial is upon us. It’s time to hear witnesses, evidence and experts for Japanese capture.
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| 25 Aug 2019 | S1 Ep14: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Prisoner" (Part Two) | 02:43:43 | |
“I think everyone that looks at that photo can agree that the two individuals in it are Caucasian. My question for the jury is if they aren’t Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan, who were they? There are people that say well there were probably other white people there. No; there were no other white people there and I have the source documents from the Navy to prove it.”
What makes a good story? Is it in the details? Or the way that someone tells it? There’s a story that’s been told for over 50 years now. And it’s remained the same. Amelia Earhart, Fred Noonan, and their Lockheed Electra 10E were in the Marshall Islands and Saipan. Fred Goerner believed it. Thomas Devine believed it. And modern-day investigators like Dick Spink, Les Kinney, and Mike Campbell believe it. So did members of the US military that were stationed in Saipan after the events of the war. Tonight, we finish painting this picture for you. And my partner Jennifer brings in for the first time, a witness for the defense that will offer a counterbalance to everything we’re presenting. And we’ll bring in some heavy hitters that might drop a fact or two that will blow your mind. Get ready. We’re back with continuing testimony for Japanese capture. SHOW NOTES
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| 02 Oct 2019 | An Exciting Announcement From Your Hosts! | 00:04:57 | |
| 04 Oct 2019 | Vanished Sleepy Hollow Trailer | 00:02:27 | |
| 24 Oct 2019 | S2 Ep1: Vanished Sleepy Hollow: The Discovery | 00:28:52 | |
A new relic is discovered in Sleepy Hollow that could break an over 200-year-old cold case wide open. A never before seen diary entry from Katrina Van Tassel will bring attorney Jennifer Taylor and investigator Chris Williamson back together to unravel a new chapter in one of the most famous vanishings of all time.
Vanished Sleepy Hollow Part One features the voice talents of:
Vanished Sleepy Hollow was written by Cyris S. Slate, Jennifer Taylor & Chris Williamson. Music by Dane Gerous Schmidt and art by Desdymona Howard. | |||
| 31 Oct 2019 | S2 Ep2: Vanished Sleepy Hollow: The Vanishing | 01:25:03 | |
As the diary page of Katrina Van Tassel garners worldwide attention, an investigation on both sides of the story begins. Attorney Jennifer Taylor and investigator Chris Williamson interview experts on both sides of the spectrum and a trial with testimony from both the Van Brunt and Van Tassel families takes place...
Vanished Sleepy Hollow Part Two features the voice talents of:
Vanished Sleepy Hollow was written by Cyris S. Slate, Jennifer Taylor & Chris Williamson. Music by Dane Gerous Schmidt and art by Desdymona Howard. | |||
| 14 Nov 2019 | S1 Ep14: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Enter Irene Bolam" | 02:11:02 | |
In 1965, Major Joseph Gervais was invited to speak at a gathering of retired pilots. While he was there, he was introduced to Mrs. Irene Bolam by one of Amelia Earhart's closet friends, Viola Gentry. Gervais felt he instantly recognized her as an older version of Amelia Earhart and commenced to research her past. Using Gervais' research, author Joe Klaas documented his assertion in his book Amelia Earhart Lives released in 1970. Bolam denied being Earhart, filed a $1.5 million lawsuit and submitted a lengthy affidavit refuting the claim. The book's publisher McGraw-Hill pulled Klaas' book from the market shortly after it was released, and court records indicate they made an out of court settlement with her after she refused to give a set of fingerprints to the court upon her victory.
On Bolam's death, Gervais sought permission to photograph and fingerprint the body, but permission was denied.
After Amelia Earhart Lives was published in 1970, three additional books were subsequently published that continued to support the Irene Bolam hypothesis as it’s come to be known. Those books were titled, Stand by to Die by Robert Myers and Barbara Wiley, Amelia Earhart Survived by Colonel Rollin C. Reineck (2003), and in January 2016, Amelia Earhart: Beyond the Grave by W. C. Jameson was published. The authors of these books continued to promote the theory that Bolam and Earhart were one and the same.
Shortly after the passing of Irene Bolam in 1982 researcher and author Bob Meyers, who we mentioned earlier and who had known Amelia Earhart as a young teenager had multiple conversations with Irene’s closest friend and confidant Diana Dawes about the role that Irene played in the repatriation of Amelia Earhart. Recently courtesy of aviation pioneer Ann Holtgren Pellegreno who herself completed Amelia’s world flight in a Lockheed 10 we received those tapes. Conversations never before heard by the general public. Until now.
Friends of Amelia Earhart like Bob Meyers, Art Kennedy and many of the Zonta believed that Amelia Earhart returned and that Irene was Amelia. While denying it on public platforms, Irene herself played coy about her background and past in private; even going so far as to tease family and friends that there was more to her than meets the eye. Irene’s own son Larry Heller stated emphatically that when Irene passed away in 1982, the woman pictured on the funeral program was not the woman who raised him. Check the links in the show notes for tonight’s episode for the photo of Irene Bolam that Joe Gervais took on that day in 1965. You won’t’ find any photos of that same woman prior to 1940. That’s because according to the theory, that woman didn’t exist before 1940. At least not as Irene. For most people, this theory is the most far-fetched of all the many theories in this case. Most people wouldn’t give a platform to such an idea. But we’re not most people. Tonight, we return and theory five is finally upon us.
Exit Amelia Earhart. Enter Irene Bolam.
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| 18 Dec 2019 | Introducing "In Defense of Liberty" Starring Jennifer Taylor | 00:02:30 | |
On New Year's Day, "Vanished" co-host Jennifer Taylor debuts her brand new podcast with the first two episodes of "In Defense of Liberty"!
Check out the trailer for "In Defense of Liberty" and subscribe to the show on all major podcast platforms now! | |||
| 06 Jan 2020 | S1 Ep15: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Legacy" | 00:18:31 | |
Our journey is over. We created something that I didn’t know that we could. And we did it together. And now as I look back on everything that we accomplished, I can finally move forward into an exciting future. One of hope. One of faith. And one where the skies are the limit. I think Amelia would appreciate that.
So, goodbye Amelia & Fred. Wherever you are... | |||
| 06 Jan 2020 | S1 Ep16: Vanished Amelia Earhart: "Epilogue" | 00:54:51 | |
The epilogue of season one. A reflective interview of Chris Williamson conducted by Jennifer Taylor.
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| 26 Apr 2020 | S2: Vanished John Wilkes Booth Announcement Teaser | 00:01:53 | |
This story begins with the most famous assassination in history. After he fired the bullet that murdered Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth went on the run. A run that most say ended 12 nights later when he was cornered in a tobacco barn in Virginia.
But there are many that believe that night in Virginia wasn’t the ending at all. In fact, it was only the beginning. ”Vanished John Wilkes Booth" features attorney Jennifer Taylor & podcaster Chris Williamson. In season 2, audiences will follow along as they investigate the 12 day manhunt for Booth, the events that took place on the night of April 26th 1865 and determine whether Booth died that night as a result of wounds suffered by Union Soldiers or whether or not Booth was one step ahead of the nationwide hunt and was able to devise a plan that would allow him to vanish and live on for another 40 years.
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| 23 Oct 2020 | S2: Vanished Jack the Ripper Announcement Teaser | 00:01:15 | |
In autumn of 1888, the world was rocked by the savage murders of five women in Whitechapel London. The investigation into those murders spawned a worldwide obsession that continues to this very day.
Join returning cohosts, criminal defense attorney Jennifer Taylor and investigative podcaster Chris Williamson as they travel back to Whitechapel to try and answer the question that has alluded history for over 120 years. Just who was Jack the Ripper?
Vanished, season 2. The first of four all new investigations begins on Halloween. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast player.
Vanished is a ChrisEvan Films Production Vanished is part of the "Straight Up Strange" Podcast Network Album Art Illustration 50399190 © Alancotton | Dreamstime.com | |||
| 01 Nov 2020 | S2 Ep1: Vanished: Jack the Ripper "The Autumn of Terror" | 02:08:07 | |
Amongst so much death, darkness and despair in Whitechapel, London the murders of five women during the autumn of 1888 sent shockwaves across the world that are being felt to this very day. The perpetrator, or perpetrators, who took the lives of these five was never brought to justice.
He simply vanished into the darkness. You are about to embark on a journey with us to go find him. So grab your gas lamp and come along with us, as we seek justice for Polly, for Annie, for Elizabeth, for Catherine and for Mary Jane. But keep the light close, and guard your heart. As we enter the abyss together, perhaps it's appropriate to quote Dante's words scrawled on the gates of hell. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." This is Vanished: Jack the Ripper LINKS
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| 15 Nov 2020 | S2 Ep2: Vanished: Jack the Ripper "Ripperology Part One" | 01:59:19 | |
Ripperology
ripper + - ology
In part one we laid the foundation for this case. That’s important. After finishing that, it's now time to dive into our investigation. And that starts with asking a fundamental question. Just who was Jack the Ripper? In order to find that out we have to look at the multitude of suspects in this case. We have to examine each one and ask the questions that need to be asked. We have to talk this all out with people that have a broader expertise than we do. There are dozens of suspects in this case. And that doesn’t make our job any easier. But, it does make for a very interesting process. Let’s go to work. This is Vanished: Jack the Ripper. LINKS
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| 29 Nov 2020 | S2 Ep3: Vanished: Jack the Ripper "Ripperology Part Two" | 02:54:36 | |
Ripperology
ripper + - ology
Investigating a historical mystery is hard. All of the witnesses are deceased, all of the physical evidence is gone. The documents and files have been lost. Even the scene of the crimes has changed; Whitechapel isn’t the same as it was in 1888. This seems like such an impossible task. FBI profiler John Douglas attempted to provide advice to investigators; at the conclusion of his report analyzing the Whitechapel murders. He said “Jack the Ripper would be best suited to be interviewed in the early morning hours; he would feel more relaxed and secure to confess to the homicides. He would feel more relaxed to express himself by writing about his motivation to kill the women. He would not be visibly shaken or upset if accused of the homicides. However he would be psychologically and physiologically stressed if confronted with the fact that he became personally soiled by the victim's blood." But this report was written in 1988; over a hundred years after the murders were committed. We can’t interview suspects; not directly at least. We are chasing a ghost. The witnesses in this case must speak to us through their letters, and their journal entries. Through media reports and other documents that they left behind. This investigation is ongoing. So far we’ve covered five suspects, but we still have a long way to go. Welcome back to Vanished: Jack the Ripper. LINKS
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| 16 Dec 2020 | S2 Ep4: Vanished: Jack the Ripper "Trial by Jury" | 02:49:26 | |
On New Years’ Eve 1888, a body was found floating in the Thames at Chiswick. A channel known historically by locals as “the quiet river”. Upon inquisition into the finding, it was said that the body had been in the river for a month. Maybe more. Five days after the body was discovered, the Acton, Chiswick, and Turnham Green Gazette reported on the inquest into the person found in the river and featured the testimony of the subject’s brother. It read in part:
“The deceased was 31 as of his last birthday. He was a barrister-at-law, and an assistant master in a school at Blackheath. The witness heard from a friend on the 11th of December that the deceased had not been heard of at his chambers for more than a week. The witness then went to London to make inquiries, and at Blackheath he found that the deceased had got into serious trouble at the school, and had subsequently been dismissed. That was on the 30th of December. The witness had the deceased's personal effects searched where he resided, and found a paper addressed to him. The Coroner read the letter, which was to this effect: - "Since Friday I felt I was going to be like mother, and the best thing for me was to die." The witness, continuing, said “the deceased had never made any attempt on his life before. His mother became insane in July last. He had no other relative.”
The jury at the inquest into his death duly returned a verdict of suicide by drowning "whilst of unsound mind."
We’ve come a long way, and now I believe we’ve reached the end.
Welcome back to Vanished. Tonight we put who I believe to be the man responsible for the Autumn of Terror on trial. Our investigation ends here with witnesses, evidence and experts for the Crown VS. Montague John Druitt.
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| 30 Dec 2020 | S2 Ep5: Vanished: Jack the Ripper "The End of the Beginning" | 01:50:18 | |
This is the end. And frankly I’m relieved to be through it. To be honest, when we first decided we’d venture outside the Amelia Earhart case, I had doubts. I still do if I’m being completely honest. But starting with Jack the Ripper was a good experiment for me. It tested my emotional ability to get through a case like this and come out the other side.
You’ve had a couple of weeks to digest the trial, the evidence and the testimony and now the time is almost at hand for you to render your decision. Who do you think was Jack the Ripper? And does it even matter? Are the legacies of the victims what we should really be discussing here? Jack the Ripper is an enigma. A faceless man. A man without an identity. Or maybe a man with several. I know what I believe. Now, as always it's up to you. But before we leave you to decide we have one more person that we feel you need to hear from. And what she has to say might change the way you look at Montague John Druitt and the man behind this unspeakable evil forever. Welcome back to Vanished and our final episode on Jack the Ripper. LINKS
SHOW NOTES & FURTHER READING
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| 10 Jan 2021 | S2 Ep6: Vanished: John Wilkes Booth "The Greatest Story Never Told" | 01:09:22 | |
What you’re about to hear really started for me a few years ago. I was just about to leave Los Angeles for our big family move out to the midwest. I was in the Los Angeles Public Library looking through some microfilm on Amelia Earhart when I stumbled back a little too far and found the contents of an 1862 Valentines’ note to Lucy Lambert Hale; a prominent Washington D.C. socialite. That’s right. Everything you’re about to hear, started with a Valentine.
The contents of the note read like something out of a period romance film but with just a pinch of darkness. The words jumped off the page. Here’s what it said.
“My dear Miss Hale, were it not for the License with a time-honored observance of this day allows, I had not written you this poor note. … You resemble in a most remarkable degree a lady, very dear to me, now dead and your close resemblance to her surprised me the first time I saw you. This must be my apology for any apparent rudeness noticeable. To see you has indeed afforded me a melancholy pleasure, if you can conceive of such, and should we never meet nor I see you again believe me, I shall always associate you in my memory, with her, who was very beautiful, and whose face, like your own I trust, was a faithful index of gentleness and amiability. With a Thousand kind wishes for your future happiness I am, to you, a stranger.
The, at the time anonymous letter captivated Miss Hale, and that captivation went from 0 - 60 when she learned that the note had been written by none other than John Wilkes Booth; the man that three years later would commit the most famous assassination in all of history.
As I sat there pondering what I’d just read one of the librarians came over to me and said “you found the Hale note”. I remember telling her how I’d always been fascinated by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and by John Wilkes Booth in particular. And then she hit me with a question that I’ve been wondering about to this very day. “Did you know the FBI still holds an active investigation into the fate of John Wilkes Booth?” And that question has taken us to Oklahoma. Since that day in Los Angeles in 2017 I’ve been piecing together a story that I’ve gone over and over and over in my head. A story that, as history has recorded it, contains love, betrayal, tyranny, rage, murder, secret burial plots, modern day trials, the birth of the FBI, mummy's, and a history altering conspiracy that the world isn’t ready to believe. And that’s before we got to it. Season 2 rolls on from Oklahoma, this is part one of Vanished: John Wilkes Booth. LINKS
SHOW NOTES & FURTHER READING
THE UNION
THE CONFEDERACY THE BOOTH FAMILY THE CONSPIRATORS
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| 24 Jan 2021 | S2 Ep7: Vanished: John Wilkes Booth "They Can Only Hang Me Once" | 04:04:24 | |
I’ve been investigating historical mysteries for a long time. And everything always begins with a story.
It’s hard to look at our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln as controversial. But he was. As much as he’s now revered the world over for his acts during his presidency, there were many people that stood in opposition of Lincoln and the Union. When we think of Lincoln, we often think about his end; the assassination that we’ll be covering so deeply during this series. But what you might not know is that the assassination that would be successfully carried out in 1865 wasn’t the first attempt on his life. Four years earlier, there was another attempt. And the story behind this one is something out of a summer blockbuster movie. But every bit of it is real. In order to get to the ending, and everything beyond, we need to start at the beginning. Tonight, we lay out all the events that begin on April the 14th 1865 and end 12 days later in a tobacco farm in Virginia. Or do they? As our split investigation continues on from Oklahoma and Austin, here’s the big question. If John Wilkes Booth did vanish that night in 1865, he must have had help. So, who helped him? Could it be that Booth was simply the tip of the spear that pierced the Union? Is it possible, maybe even probable that the figure calling the shots was in Lincoln's own cabinet? A man that would have the most to gain from the assassination of the president? And was his potential collusion influenced by the most famous assassin in all of history? Welcome back to Vanished. This is part 2 of our series on John Wilkes Booth. LINKS
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| 07 Feb 2021 | S2 Ep8: Vanished: John Wilkes Booth "X Marks the Spot" | 02:30:35 | |
I have a lot of heavy lifting to do.
In part 3 of our series on John Wilkes Booth, my investigation is in full swing. Joined by a world class guest list, I dive into the case head first in an effort to understand how and why Booth might have escaped, the complex introduction of DNA into the case, and the first trial that took place on this case a little over a quarter century ago. Welcome back to Vanished. This is part 3 of our series on John Wilkes Booth. LINKS
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| 21 Feb 2021 | S2 Ep9: Vanished: John Wilkes Booth "Trial by Jury" | 04:04:59 | |
It's easy to make extraordinary claims when they're unchallenged. But that's about to change. A few episodes back, I encouraged you to jump down this rabbit hole. And now, I'm here to help you climb back out. Welcome to the fourth episode of our series on John Wilkes Booth.
Trial by Jury. LINKS
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| 27 Feb 2021 | S2 Ep10: Vanished: John Wilkes Booth "Epilogue" | 01:23:35 | |
And now we’ve reached the end. In part 4 I mentioned that we’ve covered this case, in essence, two times. The John Wilkes Booth story represents, for me, a very big struggle for the show because we had to change the structure midway through research, and just before we were set to launch an entire season based on the case you just heard. And now, it’s reflection time.
As we exit our journey into 1865 and John Wilkes Booth I found it only fitting to end with the first round table discussion we’ve ever done on this show. And it features the creators and writers of the hit podcast "1865" Erik Archilla and Steven Walters along with myself and Jen and a returning Dave Taylor as we discuss our coverage of this case, the assassination of Lincoln, the radicalization of John Wilkes Booth, and how the events of 1865 service as a striking parallel to what we’re all living through right now, in modern times. LINKS
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| 24 Nov 2021 | S2 Ep11: Vanished: DB Cooper " November 24th, 1971" | 01:25:58 | |
Welcome back. Anniversaires are fun. And if you’ve followed this show you know that we kind of make a big deal of those around here. January 5th, 1939; after vanishing over the pacific ocean alongside her navigator Fred Noonan, icon Amelia Earhart is declared dead in Absentia. August 31st, 1888, the body of Mary Ann Nichols was discovered at 3:40 AM in Whitechapel...officially beginning Jack the Ripper’s “Autumn of Terror”. April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth leading to a nationwide manhunt just after the end of the Civil War.
Remembrance of those dates is important because they tell stories. Stories that have been expanded upon and investigated thoroughly to this day. And that brings us to tonight. Not too many people can become historically associated with a verb. But our next subject can. 50 years ago tonight, a still unidentified man skyjacked a commercial airliner, demanded a $200 thousand dollar ransom (a little over 1.3 million today), and jumped out of that airliner into the darkness never to be seen again. He has no ending and no beginning. He existed for only a few short hours, and in that time, he committed the perfect crime. His name is only an alias, but it’s become the most famous alias in all of aviation history.
Tonight, we have a first for this show as we release our entire series on one very special anniversary. 50 years ago, an unassuming man jumps into history. He’s become a ghost. But now, perhaps finally, we’ll have a name to go with that ghost.
Oh, you thought we were done? We’re just getting started.
Welcome back to Vanished. And part one of our three-part series for DB Cooper.
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| 24 Nov 2021 | S2 Ep12: Vanished: DB Cooper "A Dark Horse" | 03:34:22 | |
Happy Thanksgiving, and welcome back to Vanished.
In part one of our series, alongside our guests, we discussed the mindset, the story, and the legend of DB Cooper. We also discussed the science being worked on the two largest pieces of physical evidence that we have in this case. And I know what you’re thinking. That’s all great, but who was DB Cooper? And what about all these suspects? In part two, we continue our journey into the vortex with series advisor and returning guest Darren Schaefer as we discuss some of the standout suspects in this 50-year-old cold case. We’ll also hear from newcomers and giants in this investigation. Lastly, I’ll introduce you to an investigator that has been quietly working on a suspect that he believes has been hiding in plain sight. A suspect with a background that you won’t be able to believe.
Let’s go to work. This is part two of Vanished: DB Cooper.
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SUSPECT RUNDOWN
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| 25 Nov 2021 | S2 Ep13: Vanished: DB Cooper "Trial by Jury" | 02:20:54 | |
If you made it this far, you’re probably in till it’s over and I commend you. We’ve covered a lot of ground so far in a very short time. And now in our final segment together, we take it all the way. But before we all enter the courtroom together, we have a few more stops to make and a few more experts would like to weigh in. The story of DB Cooper is a complex one taking twists and turns at every possible opportunity. And it’s about to get crazier. As I ramped up my investigation into this case and into the possibility that we may have found our guy, some new information made its way forward as it always seems to do in these cases. If you know me, you know that no matter what happens, I’m always about forwarding the progress. And tonight we do just that. From the skies above Portland to the shores of Tena Bar, we wind down our series with new evidence that strengthens the case for Braden and a bombshell call to arms that could have continuing effects on this case for years to come. Let’s get back into it. The conclusion of our investigation into DB Cooper begins now.
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| 24 Mar 2022 | S2 Ep14: Vanished: Henry Every "All Hail the Pirate King" | 02:21:37 | |
When we were last together, we spoke of DB Cooper, and the only unsolved case of air piracy in US history. Tonight, we take piracy to a whole new level.
In the late 1600’s, in just a two year period, a single man would lead a mutiny aboard a ship named Charles the second, become the captain elect of that ship, and go on to have the most successful pirate career of anyone that ever lived. Like Cooper, he has no beginning. In fact, modern day scholars can’t even agree on when he was born.
After the most successful raid of his short career, this man would vanish into thin air, leading to the first worldwide manhunt and a trial that would have an absolutely shocking ending. You really gotta hand it to those pirates boy. They don’t stand on ceremony, especially Henry Every. No this guy disappears into the vast oceans with a treasure that today could be worth north of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Legend says that Every became so successful that he lived out his days in a legendary pirate city on Madagascar where the streets were paved in gold, and the riches were so vast, he need never be concerned with money again.
Others, tell a different story.
One thing’s for certain. No one ever found him. Maybe more importantly, no one ever found the treasure.
The end of season 2 is upon us.
Finally, it’s time to set sail. This is Vanished: Henry Every.
[Stay till the end of the show for a very special treat from Technofunkboy] LINKS
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| 19 Sep 2022 | S3 Ep1: Vanished: Judge Crater "The Missingest Man in New York" | 00:38:14 | |
August 25th, 1930, was the first day of the New York Supreme Court's fall term. But its newest judge didn't show up for court. Justice Joseph Crater's lifelong ambition was to be a judge. By all accounts, he was ecstatic at his recent appointment to the bench by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. But his seat on the bench this day was inexplicably empty. In fact, no one had seen justice crater in 19 days, when he cleaned out his office, cashed a couple of checks for a fairly large sum of money, had dinner with a friend then got into a taxi, never to be seen again.
He left behind a frantic wife, a veritable harem of mistresses, and a brewing political scandal, but no solid evidence as to where he might have gone, or what might have happened to him. Could justice Crater have been the victim of the political machine, blackmail, or his own hubris? Was this the work of organized crime or a random act of violence? Or did he simply walk away of his own volition and start a new life in Chicago, California, or Canada? Season 3 has arrived. Welcome to Vanished: Judge Crater. Links
Show Notes & Further Reading
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| 07 Oct 2022 | S3 Ep2: Vanished: Judge Crater "Judge Crater, Call Your Office" | 01:56:21 | |
Disappearances are always hard to understand.
Most of the time, we’re looking for someone that was taken from us against their will. Sometimes, they’re a mystery that we can’t explain. Every once in a while though, the disappearance is voluntary, and maybe that’s what we’re dealing with here. Was Judge Joe Crater murdered? Or did he stage an elaborate exit leaving his wife, friends, and colleagues scratching their heads in frustration? On the night of August the 6th 1930, Crater stepped out of a well-known steak house and into a cab on the streets of New York never to be seen again. Or, maybe not. In part two of our series, we’ll dig deeper into those questions, and we’ll try to make sense of the timeline leading up to August the 6th. Season 3 continues as we welcome you back to Vanished: Judge Crater. Links
Show Notes & Further Reading
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| 14 Nov 2022 | S3 Ep3: Vanished: Judge Crater "Good Time Joe" | 00:55:01 | |
The dive into this case has been unmeasurable. What I thought was a case that wouldn't interest me at all, has now become an obsession.
Funny how that works out. As we wind down our investigation into the vanishing of Judge Joe Crater, we thought it would be beneficial to bring in an expert on the case to educate us all on what researching Crater is like, and how it changes you as a person. Tonight, as we end our series, we’re joined by Stephen Riegel, Author of Finding Judge Crater: A Life and Phenomenal Disappearance in Jazz Age New York to help us dissect August 6th, 1930, as well as Crater’s mindset, actions, and perhaps the reasons behind those actions. No matter what you think about what happened on August the 6th, I think we can all agree that Judge Joe Crater, should go down in history as one of the most influential disappearance cases of all time. For now, let’s wrap things up. This is part three of our series on Judge Crater. Links
Show Notes & Further Reading
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| 18 Mar 2023 | S3 Ep4: Vanished: Zodiac "Sick of Living, Unwilling to Die" | 02:57:15 | |
The upscale neighborhood of Presidio Heights; in the north side of San Francisco - is a whole world unto itself. You can get anywhere in the city 30 minutes from here. Walking distance to Golden Gate Park with stunning views of the bay. Today, it’s known as one of the safest neighborhoods in Northern California.
In downtown San Francisco, the sounds of the sirens fill the neighborhoods. In the late 1960’s, the city was a beacon of peace, light, and freedom to love anyway you wanted. What a time to live. In 1967, RollingStone was created among the inspiration of music that dominated radio, and every corner of the city. As important as that was, the city served as ground zero for civil rights battles, anti war demonstrations and the rise of the black power movement. The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by brothers Charles and Michael De Young. And it’s a massive part of our next story. But we’ll talk about that later. The 60’s weren’t all love and light though. One story made things really dark. A story that loomed over the country and the world like a storm that just wouldn't stop coming. A still unidentified man, relentlessly stalked the San Francisco bay area, striking abject terror into the hearts of it’s citizens for years to come. When all was said and done, our next subject claimed the lives of five victims and has been reportedly credited with up to 32 more, all the while, taunting newspapers, and the media with his crimes. Sound familiar? We’ve covered a lot of bad people on this show. Serial killers, hijackers, pirates, and assassins. But only one of them is known world wide by a symbol and single name that still fascinates and horrifies everyone that’s ever investigated him. Welcome back to Vanished, and our multi part investigation into the man known only as Zodiac. LINKS
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| 03 Apr 2023 | S3 Ep5: Vanished: Zodiac “Many Undiscovered Victims” | 02:56:19 | |
You ever heard the phrase slippery slope? Well, we’re all on one right now. This is what it’s like. An overload of information coming at you in rapid succession. Maybe that’ll be a looming theme over this season. So, in the interest and perhaps celebration of speed, Jen and I have decided to hold our thoughts on the case for a discussion that will come at the end of our series in a format we’ve only done once before on this show.
Zodiac has been hiding behind a mask and a moniker for far too long - using them as way to inflict power over the victims he choose to bring unspeakable harm to. Now it's time that we take back that power. Welcome back to Vanished and our multi part series on the man known as Zodiac. LINKS
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| 19 Apr 2023 | S3 Ep6: Vanished: Zodiac "Trial by Jury" | 03:06:31 | |
Despite countless investigations and numerous suspects over the years, the identity of the Zodiac Killer remains a mystery to this day. But what would it take to try this case in modern times? In order to build a strong case, new looks at Zodiac would need to start with a deep dive back into the original evidence, including potential DNA samples, fingerprints, and any other forensic evidence that might have been overlooked in the past - and that’s what we’re trying to do here.
In recent years, one suspect has started to attract the attention of a few modern day investigators, and that attention is beginning to shift the focus back to a man that holds a very interesting position in the case as we’ve come to know it. Tonight, we’re going to unpack a story that might be a little head scratching at first, but as you’ll hear, the theory we’re about to put forth, has roots that run very deep into Zodiac mythology. In fact, it has a lot to do with a suspect that, if you’re familiar at all with this case, you’ll know. But there's a twist to this story - one that plays right into the Zodiac’s potential motives by playing directly to the ego that seemed to be at the center for every decision he ever made. When we started our look at this case, I really didn’t know where it would take us. After hearing what you’ll hear tonight, I’m more convinced than ever that we have identified the Zodiac killer. Or maybe I should say Zodiac killers. Welcome back to Vanished. This is a trial by jury for Don Cheney and Arthur Leigh Allen. LINKS
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| 02 May 2023 | S3 Ep7: Vanished: Zodiac "Epilogue" | 00:28:20 | |
Welcome back to a very different part 4 than we thought we’d have. I guess that’s how it goes in these cases right? When you follow the evidence, wherever it leads, sometimes what it uncovers, or doesn’t may surprise you.
Trial by Jury is now behind us, and if you’re listening to this, hopefully you’ve made your own conclusions about what was presented during that part of the series. Does it compel you? Are you convinced? Maybe we were able to present enough of a case to make you want to consider the fact that the man known as the Zodiac, wasn’t one man at all. At any rate, we’re leaving San Francisco - off to other cases. But we couldn’t leave without giving you our final thoughts on what we took from trial, and discussing the toll that we deal with in creating this show for you, our audience. It’s not without its risk, and as you’ll soon discover, it’s not without fallout. This is the epilogue for our series on the man known only as Zodiac. | |||
| 21 May 2023 | S3 Ep8: Vanished: Amy Johnson "Skyfall" | 01:06:23 | |
It’s January 5th 1941, the skies are gray and filled with water, ready at any minute to pour down to the Earth below. Amy Johnson, whom many people referred to as the British Amelia Earhart, is soaring through the air, her eyes fixed on the horizon, her heart beating with excitement and trepidation. Little does she know that she’s about to live the final moments of her life.
Up to this point, the flight has been uneventful, but as Johnson approaches the Thames Estuary, she begins to encounter poor weather conditions. This is, as they say, where story ends and theory begins. The exact cause of the accident that led to Johnson's death is still unclear. But in recent years, an alternate explanation to what history says happened that day has been offered. And it’s one that calls to a more tragic ending to one of aviation’s biggest icon’s. A woman’s name you’ve likely never heard of….until now. Welcome back to Vanished. This is Amy Johnson. LINKS
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| 27 Nov 2023 | S3 Ep9: Vanished: The Mary Celeste "Abandoned Ship" (Live) | 01:04:56 | |
It’s December 5th, 1872. The waters of the Atlantic are cold and desolate. Unforgiving.
A British brigantine, the Dei Gratia sits about 400 miles east of the Azores when crew members spot a ship that seems to just be bobbing on the endless waves - lifeless in an ocean that seems to never end. The Captain of the Dei Gratia, David Morehouse was surprised when he discovered that the ship his men were seeing, was none other than the Mary Celeste - a brigantine that left New York City eight days earlier bound for Genoa, Italy. Surely, they should have made it by now, he thought. Something must be wrong. Under the order of Captain Morehouse, the Dei Gratia changes course in an attempt to investigate the seemingly abandoned ship. Upon arrival at the Celeste, Morehouse sends a search party that includes first mate Oliver Deveau and second mate John Wright to board the brigantine and begin a search. Among the many strange things that the De Gratia crew discovered upon boarding the ship, was that her vessels were set, her cargo intact, but her crew of ten, including Captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife, and their two-year- old daughter was nowhere to be found. Below deck, the ship’s charts and maps were a mess, but present. It’s only lifeboat was missing, and one of it’s two pumps had been strangely disassembled. There was over a 6 month supply of both food and water, but no one aboard the ship to consume it. The absence of life aboard the Celeste immediately fueled rumors and speculation, that still send shivers down the spines of some of modern day’s most seasoned nautical investigators. Again, under orders of Captain Morehouse, the crew of the Dei Gratia took control of the abandoned ship and sailed it 800 miles to Gibraltar where a British court convened a salvage hearing to determine if the spoils of the Mary Celeste would be divided up amongst the crew of the Dei Gratia under maritime salvage insurance law. The case wouldn’t be so cut and dry though, as the attorney general in charge of the inquiry, Frederick Solly - Flood, suspected that foul play may have played a part in the mysterious vanishing of the ship’s crew. That is where tonight’s story begins. Welcome back to Vanished. This is the Mary Celeste. LINKS
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| 10 Feb 2024 | S3 Ep10: Vanished: Amelia Earhart "Summer 2019 (Part 2)" | 00:39:48 | |
On July 5th 2020, we walked away from the Amelia Earhart case as a team. After over a year of recording and almost two years in production, we ended what I thought was the final conversation we’d have on this show regarding Amelia Earhart.
Well, you know how that goes….. 2 weeks ago, on January 26th, a very intriguing sonar image of what appears to be an aircraft 16,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific was revealed by Tony Romeo and Deep Sea Vision - a team that had been searching in that area for any remnants they could find of the holy grail of aviation. Sometimes, when you’re searching for a needle in the biggest haystack on the face of the earth, you produce a miracle. Tonight, for one night only, we return to our audience and re-open the case that we left over 4 years ago. Suddenly, it’s the summer of 2019 again. And Jen Taylor hasn't missed a step. This is a line I never thought I’d say again. Welcome back to Vanished. This is Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan. LINKS
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| 14 Jul 2024 | S3 Ep11: Vanished: Jesse James "St. Joseph, Missouri April 3rd 1882" | 01:19:31 | |
Some of the stories we cover for this show take a toll. You get into something, and you think it’s for a little while, and you end up being swallowed by your fascination and taken down rabbit holes you never thought you’d be in. Over the years, we’ve received a ton of requests for us to cover one story in particular. Ever since we took that pit stop in 1865 to visit the story of John Wilkes Booth, the fever has been burning. Our next story is a monster with so many twists and turns, that theory and fact seem to have become transparent. What a fun place to begin.
It's important to us to convey the history of our subjects in a way that allows our audience a deeper understanding of their historical significance. Perhaps no other case will convey that better than our next subject. We’re about to explore the life, legacy, infamy and history of perhaps the biggest outlaw in all of history. This is the story of what happened (or didn’t) on April 3rd, 1882 in St. Joseph, Missouri and how a figure clouded in polarization could become even more polarizing after his death, when in 1951, another man arrives on the scene in Granbury Texas, far from where he made his name, claiming to be the real Jesse James. What happens when theory casts a shadow on history? He’s known by many names. Icon. Outlaw. Legend. Robinhood. Murderer. But who was Jesse James, really? And could his story have lasted far longer than history officially records? Oh, and one more thing. If Jesse James was ever in Granbury, maybe he ran into a certain other figure that we’ve discussed extensively on this show. You’d be surprised at what you uncover when you follow the evidence, wherever it leads. Welcome back to Vanished and our multi part series on the outlaw Jesse James. LINKS
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| 04 Aug 2024 | S3 Ep12: Vanished: Jesse James "Print the Legend" | 03:54:55 | |
You know what’s really wild? I recorded the intro for this episode six times - and not because I kept flubbing the wording. But because that’s how many times this case has changed directions on us since we started our investigation. In the short time we’ve been working on this case, I’ve learned facts, heard some amazing stories, which you’ll all get to hear soon, and continually been in awe of just how misunderstood this man has become.
Jesse James was a lot of things. Much more than an outlaw, as you’ll hear later. Tonight, we’re joined by a world class guest list from all over the James case to help us dissect his story, one of the most incredible stories we’ve ever heard. If Vanished ever had a campfire episode, tonight would be it. As you’ll soon discover, Jesse James was a lot of things. In fact, Jesse James, was a lot of people. Thomas Howard. John D. Howard. William Campbell. And even a self proclaimed Englishman named Charles Lawson. You’ll also learn that Jesse was so good at staging vanishing acts and assuming identities that he’d be able to live full on lives with everyone around him never suspecting a thing. Tonight we’re gonna do two things. One, we’re gonna tear down a legend, and second, we’re going to ask you to answer a single question, really. Did Jesse James stage one final vanishing act? One that enabled him to live another 70 years? Exit Jesse James. Enter J. Frank Dalton. Welcome back to Vanished This is our conclusion on the outlaw Jesse James. LINKS
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