The Vanished Podcast

Aaron Watkins was just 18 years-old when he vanished from New Jersey on November 11, 2007. Aaron had a tough childhood going from a home with his mother and siblings into foster care and eventually being adopted by a very strict, religious family. Before he disappeared, he was struggling to figure out where he fit in this world and who he belonged with. On November 11, 2007, he made a series of phone calls to those close to him and then the Jeep he was driving was found abandoned on the Driscoll Bridge. What happened to Aaron? Did he jump that day? Did take off and start over somewhere else? Did someone make his disappearance look like a suicide?

21-year-old Jennifer Wix and her 2-year-old daughter, Adrianna, have been missing for almost 13 years. Before they vanished, they had been living in rural Robertson County, Tennessee with Jennifer's boyfriend, Joey Benton, and his family. Joey was the last known person to see Jennifer and Adrianna. Their case has been reclassified as a homicide case but no one has ever been charged. Jennifer's mom, Kathy, spoke with me about the details surrounding their disappearance and also what it is like to have both a daughter and granddaughter go missing.

Rachel was just 19 when she vanished while jogging in her quiet neighborhood in Georgetown, Texas. Fifteen years later, her disappearance is still a mystery. Many people witnessed Rachel running that morning but no one witnessed what happened to her. Was she abducted by a stranger or did someone she know have a motive to harm her? There will be a memorial run for Rachel this weekend. You find more information here: http://www.active.com/georgetown-tx/running/distance-running-races/rachel-cooke-memorial-run-2017 For more information on the free self-defense class: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/williamson-county-sheriffs-office-self-defense-academy-for-children-tickets-28865611822

Kelsie Schelling has been missing since February of 2013. She had recently found out that she was expecting and while she was excited to become a mom, the father of her child, Donthe Lucas, was not so thrilled. She texted an ultrasound picture to Donthe shortly before she vanished. Upon seeing the photo, he encouraged her to travel from Denver down to Pueblo to visit him. Supposedly, he had a surprise that he wanted to show her. Kelsie made the trip to Pueblo but she never made it home. She left behind a trail of text messages and her car was seen on multiple surveillance videos in the Pueblo area. Where is Kelsie and why has no one been prosecuted?December 2017 Update: Donthe Lucas has been charged with Kelsie's murder. Read more here: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/donthe-lucas-charged-with-first-degree-murder-in-kelsie-schelling-disappearanceMarch 2021 Update: On March 8, 2021, Donthe Lucas was found guilty of first degree murder.

On August 7, 1997 Casey told his father and a co-worker that he had been threatened by some loggers. Casey and his father set-up a meeting for the following weekend to discuss what was going on. He left his shift at the Waffle House at 4:30am on the 8th and was last seen later that morning at a gas station in Marshall, Texas. His Isuzu truck was later found abandoned with bullets scattered all over the floor. Was Casey being scammed and finally caught on? Who would have had the motive to harm Casey? We will explore those questions in this episode of The Vanished.

Aliayah Paige Lunsford was just 3 years old when she vanished from her home in Weston, West Virginia on September 24, 2011. She had been sick with flu like symptoms and when her mom, Lena, went to take her temperature, she realized that Aliayah was missing. Sadly, after five years, no trace of Aliayah has been found.

Lexy Anne Stacy was a kind-hearted and independent-thinking young woman raised by two loving parents in Colorado's eastern plains. At 21, Lexy's BFF was her mother, Cindy, and she had three years in at the Westminster Walmart, where was named Employee of the Month, was well-liked, and made easy friends. Very much her own person, Stacy's tattoo sleeves and make-up heavy aesthetic were extensions of her vibrant and cheerful personality. But Lexy's technicolor world dimmed after she met Daniel Perkins on her 21st birthday. Perkins, a self-professed erudite and ladies' man, soon wreaked havoc in the Stacy household, driving a wedge between Lexy and her parents, and eventually Lexy and her friends. In the spring of 2015, Perkins gave Lexy a laptop to pawn because he didn't have an ID. What he didn't tell her was that he'd stolen it from her friend's house. Soon, a felony warrant was issued for her arrest. Things only got worse. Despite his previous failures as a criminal, Perkins robbed a bank in late May 201

16 year-old Enrique Rios and 17 year-old Elijah Moore are friends and attend a construction training program together through their school. Enrique was last seen at his home in Esparto, California on the evening of October 17, 2016. A few weeks later, on November 4, 2016, Elijah vanished after cashing his check at California Check Cashing in Woodland, California. Their families have struggled to get law enforcement and the media interested in their cases. After speaking with their families, we reached out to Derrica Wilson, president of Black and Missing Foundation, for some assistance. The families have started a tip line. If you have any information, please call 530-270-9221.

Call with Lieutenant Lance Burnham

Donald Messier is as vanished as vanished gets. The 34-year-old Vermont native was on the rebound in October 2006 following a painful divorce. On the night of Oct. 14, 2006, Donnie went to Waitsfield, to enjoy himself at another of the epic parties thrown by a longtime buddy. Those there that night say Donnie left the party by himself between midnight and 2:30 a.m. on October 15, 2006. No one has seen him or his big-red pickup since. Over the following weeks, forests were searched and waters dredged, but the mystery behind Donnie's whereabouts only deepened. After giving it their half-hearted best, Vermont State Police determined Donnie wasn't a victim of foul play, suspecting he skipped out on the only life he's known or, perhaps, killed himself in the backcountry. For the last 10 years, his family has believed otherwise. "I have heard some 'interesting' stories about how [he] just dropped off the face of the Earth with [his] truck," Donnie's father wrote on Facebook on Oct. 15, 2014. "Those responsib

In this final installment of Amos Mortier's story, Vanished producer Nathan Comp gives us a peek into the evidence he says points to someone other than Big Jake Stadfeld, who police have eyed as their main suspect for the last 12 years. Former Det. Shannan Morgan, who headed the investigation into Amos's disappearance for nearly eight years, gives her reasons for fingering Stadfeld over all these years, despite the fact that nothing came from her probe. In this jaw-dropping finale to our four-part series on Amos Mortier's befuddling disappearance, you have a front-row seat to a missing person investigation run amok.

Margie Milutinovich has searched for her son, Amos Mortier, since he went missing on Nov. 8, 2004. After questioning tracts of the investigation in the local press, Fitchburg, Wisconsin detective Shannan Sheil-Morgan all but cut Margie out of the loop. As state prosecutors launched a secret John Doe investigation into the circumstances around Amos's disappearance, Margie was left in the dark about whether anything was even being done to find her son. Her relationship with law enforcement only deteriorated over time as Margie learned important leads weren't being followed up, as people she suspected of being involved went unquestioned, and as detective Morgan herself made unprofessional comments, such as blaming the investigation for "ruining [her] marriage." A feature-length documentary film called "What Happened to Amos?" is currently in production. The documentary follows The Vanished producer Nathan Comp's decade-long effort to help Margie find the truth about her son's disappearance. Nathan has shared

Amos Mortier vanished on November 8, 2004. Rumors relating to Amos's whereabouts begin to swirl and his core group of friends fall under a cloud of suspicion, as the investigation ramps up. The double-life Amos led comes into clearer focus as those closest to him get caught up in the unrelenting motions of justice –– or in this case, perhaps, injustice. Her is the link for the trailer and kickstarter for What Happened to Amos? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/817430160/what-happened-to-amos

Amos Mortier has been missing for over a week when searchers make an emotional discovery a few doors down from his Lacy Road residence. Rumors relating to Amos's whereabouts begin to swirl and his core group of friends fall under a cloud of suspicion. As the investigation ramps up, the double-life Amos led comes into focus as those closest to him get caught up in the unrelenting motions of justice –– or in this case, perhaps, injustice.

Amos Mortier's friends were puzzled when he stopped returning calls the week of Nov. 8, 2004, but that was a small mystery compared to the mystery they stumbled into when they entered his unlit house in the swampy outskirts of Madison, Wisconsin. In this first installment of a special three-part series, The Vanished probes the circumstances around the 12-year-old mystery that has confounded everyone from the small town detective on up to the DEA special agent who gave the case a special assist.

What happens when a young woman from Illinois returns to the small Kansas town that chewed her up and spit her out once already? Megan Foglesong was a warm and energetic girl raised in a loving two-parent home in Oneida, IL, a small Midwestern town that, with its population of 750, must have felt like a big city compared to Alden, Kansas, population 148. But sometimes its in the small towns people find the biggest problems. In Alden, Megan became BFFs with her biological mother, Pam, who was unsettlingly competitive with her daughter. Together they drank, chased men, and took selfies in the bathroom together. But it wasn't all fun and games, especially once love struck a fearful tone, spurring her hasty return home after discovering those who love you can really hurt you the most. But once the bruises healed and her heart had warmed, Megan began to miss the party down in Bleeding Kansas, so she returned to Alden, to mom, to love... to be loved. Then one day –– and no one knows what day it was –– she was gone.

In Episode 47, What Happened to Bradley?, we take you to Coliseum and State, the intersection of two boulevards in Fort Wayne where, around 10 p.m. on Nov. 19, 2004, two men were struck by a 2004 Dodge Stratus that ran a red light. The driver of the Stratus fled and has never been identified. Investigators assumed Bradley Dale Ross was behind the wheel. After all, the vehicle belonged to his fiancée, Sarah. But Bradley’s sister tells The Vanished that he would never have dropped off the grid as many believed he has, not with a child on the way. In this episode, show producer, Nathan, and The Vanished host and creator, Marissa, grapple with a timeline that doesn’t line up as neatly as it should. Things get stranger still when we called detective Cary Young and realized a missed connection may have allowed a murder to slip through the cracks.

24 year-old Jacob Tipton was last seen in Berea, Kentucky on April 23, 2016. Two weeks later, his vehicle was found over two hours away, abandoned in a cemetery in rural Hart County, Kentucky. Jacob's mom, Tonja, spoke with me for this episode.Update- On March 17, 2020, one of Jacob's family members posted that his remains have been recovered. No other information is available at this time.

Cody headed to Pollock Pines, California for his college summer break. When he got there, he found that the cabin had been robbed. He last spoke with his mom on June 6, 2014 right before heading out for a hike. A massive search began the next day but no trace of Cody has ever been found. His parents moved to Pollock Pines to search for him and tragically, their home was destroyed in a fire just three months later, on Cody's 24th birthday. Cody's parents, Vern and Cyndi, shared their story with me for this episode.

Deanne Hastings vanished from Spokane, Washington on November 4, 2015. I interviewed her brother, Carson, for this episode. Deanne's story is full of bizarre twists and turns. Was she drugged and kidnapped like she claimed to grocery store employees? A man is currently incarcerated for using her credit cards after her disappearance but Deanne is still missing.