A troubled marriage leads to divorce and a bitter custody battle, with two young children caught in the middle. In 2011 Julia Birukova and her two children, 4-year-old Maile and 2-year-old Sky were living in an apartment in Redmond, Washington. On November 6, 2011, Julia and her children were up early. Sky was sick, and she needed to take him to the hospital. She bundled the children into her brother’s car that she was borrowing, and headed to the Overlake Medical Center. But they never...

No new episode this week, so in celebration of the release of The Tortured Poet's Department, Taylor Swift's new album, and the song, "Florida," we're re-releasing the episode on Richard Hoagland, the Indianapolis family man who walked away from his wife and kids in 1993 and decided to re-invent himself in-- you guessed it-- Florida. --- Richard Hoagland was a successful family man who lived with his wife and two sons in a suburb outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. On February 10, 1993, he...

On December 17, 2022, 19-year-old Kadin Black had dinner with the family he was staying with, the Foust Family. Their son, Ethan, was one of Kadin’s best friends, and the family had taken him in after Kadin had a fight with his father. Though Kadin wasn’t living at his father’s house, he had plans the next day to go over and exercise his dogs. But Kadin never showed up. When Kadin’s father, Maurice, couldn’t get in touch with him, he called the Fousts. The father, Chris Foust, said that...

2022 was a rough year for Kadin Black. The popular high school athlete had moved from Pennsylvania to Maryland with his mother, but had recently moved back to his father’s house in Pennsylvania so that he could be closer to his friends. The move, however, came with its own set of challenges. Fights at school led to him being expelled, and a fight with his father led to an arrest, a psychiatric hold, and needing to find a new place to live. Thankfully, the family of one of his childhood...

When 17-year-old Brianna Maitland didn’t make it home after her shift as a dishwasher at The Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont, it took nearly a week before police started an investigation. While Brianna was initially dismissed as a troubled runaway, her family knew that something much worse had happened to her. Tips began pouring in, along with the rumors that you typically find in small towns. But one rumor in particular seemed to have some weight: that Brianna was being held...

It’s one of the most perplexing missing persons cases in Vermont’s history. On March 19, 2004, 17-year-old Brianna Maitland finished her shift as a dishwasher at the Black Lantern Inn, in Montgomery, Vermont. It was already after 11 pm, and Brianna told co-workers she needed to get home to get some sleep before her shift at a different restaurant the next morning. She only made it about a mile before something horrible happened. It was several days before people in Brianna’s life realized...

When Cory Bigsby reported his 4-year-old son Codi missing on January 31, 2022, his story didn’t seem to add up. According to him, that morning he put Codi to bed around 1 am and checked in on him at 2, but when he woke up around 8:30 am, he found his son’s bed empty. Codi Bigsby was missing, along with his Spider-Man flip flops. Hampton Roads police took Cory down to the station for questioning and eventually arrested him on multiple charges of child neglect. Cory remained in jail for...

This is a re-release of our episode covering Cory Bigsby's Indictment. It was originally published in June 2023. 4-year-old Codi Bigsby was reported missing on January 31, 2022, when his father, Cory Bigsby, said he woke up and found his son’s bed empty. A search immediately ensued, and police took Codi’s father, Cory, down to the station for questioning. This interview turned into an interrogation that spanned days and led to Cory being arrested on multiple charges of child neglect. Since...

This is a re-release of our original episode on Codi Bigsby from March 2023. 4-year-old Codi Bigsby was reported missing on January 31, 2022, when his father said he woke up and found his son’s bed empty. A search immediately ensued in their Hampton, Virginia neighborhood, and police took Codi’s father, Cory, down to the station for questioning. This interview turned into a brutal interrogation that spanned days and led to Cory being arrested on multiple charges. Are police correct in...

On the afternoon of January 16, 1973, five-year-old Anna Waters had just returned home from kindergarten. The storm that had wreaked havoc in her San Mateo, California town had finally stopped, and she wanted to go play in the backyard. Her mother, Michaele, gave her permission, and Anna pulled on her rain boots and went outside. After about 10 minutes, alarmed by the silence out back, Michaele went to check on her daughter. But little Anna was gone. An investigation quickly ensued, with...

After dealing with a breakup and the sudden loss of her mother, Gretchen Fleming found herself back in her hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia. She was staying with family as she tried to get herself back together and figure out her next move. On December 3, 2022, Gretchen told her family that she wasn’t going to be home that night, and she headed out to a local bar. After going to a second bar with a friend, Gretchen walked out and was never seen again. Did the friend, who later...

On June 12, 2023, 13-year-old James Yoblonski packed three bags, took his father’s cell phone, and walked out of his home at 12:52 am. He put his belongings into his father’s van, got in, and drove away. The next morning, the van was found abandoned on the highway near Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin, over 25 miles from James’s Reedsburg home. A search of the state park immediately commenced, and clues that James left behind made many think that this missing person’s case would...

Imagine your daughter stops responding to your calls. You know this isn’t like her. Your mother’s instinct knows that something is wrong. Your other daughter agrees that her sister would never just ignore them. You go to the police for help, but you receive none. This is the nightmare that Anita King has been living On March 24, 2020, Anita and her daughter, Pepita Redhair had lunch together before Anita dropped her off at the home she was sharing with her boyfriend, Nicholas Kaye. It was a...

On Our Watch Season 2: New Folsom is a deeply-reported narrative podcast series from KQED. It follows the stories of two correctional officers in an elite unit who pay a high price for exposing corruption and abuse by their fellow officers. It’s a story about broken promises and unwritten rules. It’s a story about who gets hurt when the system that promises to keep us safe is bent on protecting itself. Host Sukey Lewis and co-reporter Julie Small piece together an explosive narrative through...

Phoenix Coldon wanted to spread her wings. After being homeschooled for years, she was ready to be out on her own. After she turned 18, she entered college at the University of Missouri and moved out of her parents’ house. Her junior year found her back in her family’s deeply religious household, however, and Phoenix began to flounder. On December 18, 2011, she left home and got into the Chevy Blazer that she was sharing with her parents. She made a phone call, drove off, and never returned....

This week marks 18 years since Jennifer Kesse disappeared in Orlando, Florida. This week, we're re-releasing our 2022 episode on her case in hopes of helping her name stay out there. Jennifer's parents, Joyce and Drew Kesse also released a statement about their daughter and the current status of their investigation, which we are reading in full before the episode. If you would like to donate to the Kesse's GoFundMe to raise money for their investigation into their daughter's abduction, you...

On June 16, 1990, 52-year-old Trevaline Evans put a sign on the door of her antique shop saying, “be back in 2 minutes.” The Llangollen, Wales resident popped over to a nearby store and bought an apple and a banana, then disappeared. There were sightings of a woman matching her description around town at different points that afternoon and evening, including one that said she was speaking to a well-dressed man. But she never went back to re-open her store. As the investigation into...

"While I am gone, remember – everyone is together in thoughts and prayers and time passes quickly. Have faith in me, yourself, everyone." That was just part of a cryptic note that 23-year-old Leah Roberts left her roommate before she packed up and headed out on a journey of self-discovery. On March 9, 2000, Leah set off from her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, and headed west, following in the footsteps of her literary hero, Jack Kerouac. The idea of a spontaneous trip fit in with Leah’s...

This is our top listened-to episode of 2023! Thank you so much for downloading and sharing this interview between Kona and Danielle's sister, Bonnie. We plan to do more interviews with family members this season, so if you'd like to talk to us about your missing loved one, reach out at [email protected]. We'll be back soon with season 5! ----- 99% of missing people in America are found. But then there’s the 1%. Some of the unfound get extensive news coverage, community support,...

On May 15, 1957, 30-year-old Lawrence Bader decided to go fishing. The Akron Ohio-based salesman had been having a rough go of it in his business recently, and Lawrence needed an afternoon to relax. He rented a boat and set off on the calm waters of Lake Erie. Three hours later, a brutal storm hit. The next morning, Lawrence’s battered boat was found, but there was no Lawrence. The Coast Guard said that the lake had been so rough that no man could have survived after going overboard....

Imagine getting into a relationship that is so controlling, that you begin to lose touch with your friends and family. The isolation, while gradual at first, becomes so complete, that it takes nearly three years before anyone realizes that you’ve gone missing. As unbelievable as it may sound, that’s exactly what happened to Fawn Mountain. Fawn was in a relationship with a woman named Heather Dibert, and she was so far under Heather’s control, that she eventually lost all ties to the outside...

“Go no farther. There’s nothing in this cave worth dying for.” Those were the words printed on the sign at the entrance of an underwater cave in Vortex Springs, Florida. Despite this plaintive warning and the drawing of the Grim Reaper that accompanied it, many divers of differing skill levels failed to heed these words in search of adventure. On August 18, 2010, 30-year-old Ben McDaniel was seen entering the water in his scuba gear. He was never seen on land again. What was at first assumed...

It’s been called the most confounding missing children's case in Canadian history. On March 24, 1991, four-year-old Michael Dunahee was with his family at a local elementary school in Victoria, British Columbia, where his mother was playing flag football. He asked if he could go play on the playground, which was right by the football field. Michael’s mother said yes, but that he had to stay right there until his father arrived. But when Michael’s father went to collect the little boy, he was...

We’ve covered the cases of over 100 missing people since this show started. Oftentimes, these stories remain mysteries. Other times, we get some answers, and in a rare few, some form of justice. These stories stay with us long after we stop recording, and I try to keep up with any news that may break. This week, I’d like to share some updates with you on a few of the cases we’ve covered: the disappearances of Michael Vaughan, Alicia Navarro, and Codi Bigsby. Buy the ebook! - And Then They...