She Goes By Jane

In 1977, a young female hitchhiker catches a ride from a man who offers to bring her to her home. Within an hour, the man murders her and leaves her body to be found by a group of blackberry pickers a few days later. She has no identification on her. Though it’s not long before they pinpoint him as the murderer, but he doesn’t know her name. Investigators spend years trying to identify her, eventually giving her the name Precious Jane Doe in the hopes that it will help people remember her. In another case solved by investigative genetic genealogy, we highlight the case of Lisa Roberts, formerly known as Precious Jane Doe. This week our guest reader Heather Morris who is best known for her comedic breakout role as Brittany S. Pierce on FOX’s hit series, Glee. She is currently recurring as Judy in the CBS hit comedy So Help Me Todd and is executive producer and writer on the dark comedy Podcast The Bystanders available on all podcast platforms. Morris has appeared in numerous indie films including the upcoming comedy Cora Bora starring Meg Stalter and Manny Jacinto and voiced the role of Katie the Mammoth in the Multimillion dollar franchise Ice Age: Continental Drift. Aside from a successful career as an actress, Heather is an incredibly established dancer who began her career with Beyonce and currently travels the country teaching for HEAT Dance Convention Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our May 2024 selection is the fiction book Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1968, the body of a young woman was found in rural Pennsylvania. She’d been shot to death. Months later, another young woman is found just a few miles away. Their only connection? They wore the same leather sandals. It will take nearly fifty years and an online database dedicated to missing and unidentified persons to identify who they are. But even with this development in their case, their murders are still unsolved. This week our guest reader is Kelsey Wang is a Chinese-American actress who can be seen on television, film, and theatre. She is a graduate of Duke University and Yale School of Drama’s Summer Conservatory. Her television credits include Magnum PI, The Young and the Restless, and Netflix’s Daredevil. Her theater credits include the U.S. Premiere of Chimerica at the Studio Theater in Washington, D.C. and Pan Asian Repertory Theater's production's Off-Broadway production of A Dream of Red Pavilions. You can follow her on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and untwidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August 1993, a man walks into a police station and gives a statement about the disappearance of 16-year-old Sequoya Vargas. In it, he details the brutal assault and murder of the teenager, placing blame for these on his two friends. This statement of what happened to Sequoya will be just one of many that’s given over the years by the three men. They’ll be full of contradictions and blame, but one thing will be certain, Sequoya didn’t survive her encounter with these men. This week our guest reader Tonantzín Carmelo, the award winning actress, voice artist, and choreographer playing lead and supporting roles for film, television, video games, theater and more. Her credits include a series regular as Paara on NBC’s La Brea, Touching Ground in the BBC Mini series The English, Kendra Daniels in the original video game Dead Space, and Shayla Stonefeather in the independent film Imprint. In addition, she has guest starred on a number of TV shows including The Rookie, Animal Kingdom, Undone, American Dad and Spirit Rangers. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. In this episode we highlight Where’s Sequoya? by Dove Johnson, Sequoya’s sister. It’s available on Amazon. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1993, 16-year-old Sequoya Vargas hitchhikes with a friend to her friend’s home. Later that evening, the man who gave them a ride asks her to go to his cousin’s house to watch movies. She never returns home. Despite this being out of character for her, the police brush aside her mother’s pleas to search for her daughter, sending her family and friends on their own quest to find out what happened to Sequoya that night. This week our guest reader Tonantzín Carmelo, the award winning actress, voice artist, and choreographer playing lead and supporting roles for film, television, video games, theater and more. Her credits include a series regular as Paara on NBC’s La Brea, Touching Ground in the BBC Mini series The English, Kendra Daniels in the original video game Dead Space, and Shayla Stonefeather in the independent film Imprint. In addition, she has guest starred on a number of TV shows including The Rookie, Animal Kingdom, Undone, American Dad and Spirit Rangers. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. In this episode we highlight Where’s Sequoya? by Dove Johnson, Sequoya’s sister. It’s available on Amazon. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Detective Lorie Howard was once told that the only way the case of the unidentified woman she was working on would be by the grace of god. This gave her the name Grace Doe and she was known by this for years until she was finally identified as Shauna Garber. A few weeks ago, investigators made public new information, filling in gaps in Shauna’s story including an update to her name and revealing what happened to her the night she was murdered. This week we’re joined by actress Teryl Rothery. Four-time Leo-nominated Rothery is best known and loved for her portrayal of Dr. Janet Fraiser on Showtime’s “Stargate: SG-1” and her starring role opposite Andie MacDowell in the Hallmark Channel Original Series “Cedar Cove.” Rothery can most recently be seen recurring in Amazon’s “Upload.” and Netflix’s “Virgin River.” You can find Teryl on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tot Tran Harriman survived the Vietnam War. She witnessed history when she was evacuated on the last boat out of Saigon before it fell. She lived through being held in a refugee camp in Pennsylvania along with 20,000 other refugees. And made a life for herself in Maine, raising three children, starting new businesses, and helping other refugees. But in 2001, she also became one of America’s missing women. This week our guest reader is actor, writer, and producer Porter Duong whose work showcases stories within the Asian narrative and diaspora. She is a first generation Vietnamese-American, born to refugees of the Vietnam War and the proud daughter of her mother, a gifted singer who found her way to freedom as one of the many "boat people." Her first lead role in the independent film, Touch, garnered a Best Actress and Audience Choice Award. A groundbreaking story of the dynamics of an immigrant family and their identity in America while navigating the afterlife of war. It opened in Vietnam to rave reviews, despite concerns regarding the complicated relationship with the Communist government. She has had significant roles on Emmy award winning shows such as NBC’s This is Us and HBO’s Silicon Valley. Her nonprofit work through The Chimaera Project aims to support and fund women and nonbinary filmmakers. Porter is currently working to publish a collection of poems and short essays woven by love and grief, dedicated to her late mother. You can find Porter on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a hot summer’s day in 1992, 63-year-old Bessie Kutnak goes to look for her missing cattle near her home in Cameron, Texas. Witnesses say she seemed disoriented and was seen asking for directions before she disappeared. When family members realized she was missing, a full-scale search of her began, but no trace of her was ever found. This week our guest reader is actress Catherine Mary Stewart. Perhaps the most recognizable title on Catherine’s resume is the classic comedy, Weekend at Bernie’s where she starred as the lead, Gwen. She has also starred in Days of Our Lives as Kayla Brady, in The Last Starfighter, and Mischief. She has also starred in the television mini-series Hollywood Wives, New Amsterdam, Limitless, and White Collar along with many roles on Hallmark, Lifetime and in independent movies. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our March 2024 selection is the novel The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 11, 2007, a 31-year-old Carma Purpura was last seen getting into the cab of a truck driver at a rest stop near Indianapolis. The next day, he’s arrested in Nashville under suspicion he’s involved in the murder of another woman. Inside his cab, investigators find Carma’s phone and credit card and so much of Carma’s blood detectives are certain Carma is no longer alive. Four years later, a skull along with some other remains are found in Kentucky. With few clues to go on, she becomes one of the state’s unidentified women. Even though it takes five more years to identify her as Carma, it brings some amount of resolution to her case. This week our guest reader is comic Jann Karam whose numerous TV credits–stand up performances and series acting roles–include repeat appearances on both The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman, HBO’s legendary 13th Annual Young Comedians’ Show, How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life), Comics Unleashed, The Arsenio Hall Show, Norm, Mad About You, Politically Incorrect, Dr. Katz, and many others. She was a regular sketch player in the last incarnation of The Carol Burnett Show and, in the now classic Seinfeld episode “The Switch.” Her latest claim to fame—bantering with comedy genius Larry David during her two co-starring roles on both season 11 and 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm She’s released three successful comedy albums—Live at the Blue Loon and Same Guy, DifferentShirt, most recently, Live at the Wren Theater, and taped her own documentary special, Beyond the Set. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our March 2024 selection is the novel The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Valentine’s Day in 1991, a young woman is seen hitchhiking along US 1 in the Florida Keys. The next morning, a pair of windsurfers find her body in a densely wooded area. She’d been beaten to death before being strangled with her own bikini top. For years this young woman was known only as Valentine Doe, named for the last day she was seen alive. But investigators never give up on her case, utilizing new tactics and techniques to identify her. This week our guest reader is Patricia Rae, a dynamic Latin American actress and producer born and raised in New York City, currently based in LA. She starred in John Polson’s cult classic “Swimfan” and starred in a major supporting role in the Academy Award nominated film, “Maria Full of Grace”. She also recurred on “All Rise” on OWN for three seasons as Judge Delgado. Her long list of television credits include NCIS: Los Angeles, Blue Bloods, The Mentalist, and Chuck. She is currently co-hosting podcast “Believe This” on Spotify with Chris Crimy, from the Scientology survivors podcast “Come Get Sum”. Patricia also produces the cooking segments “Cooking With Patty” that can be viewed on instagram and her youtube channel @cookinguppatty. You can also find her on X and Facebook. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our March 2024 selection is the novel The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2001, the Green River Killer was finally caught, ending one of the most horrific eras in the Pacific Northwest and ending a decades long investigation dedicated to identifying this mnan. Convicted of 49 murders, this man confessed to even more, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. It would take over twenty more years to identify three of his young victims with the most recent being identified in 2024. This week our guest reader is actress and creative Tabitha Brownstone who is originally from Los Angeles. As an actress Tabitha’s credits include Kaljillionaire, Domino, The Middle, and The Real O’Neals, to name a few. As a creative, Tabitha wrote and produced her own live comedy show, having sold out five consecutive shows during the Fringe Festival, later touring abroad in Europe and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She also co-created and starred in Fickle, a series that was acquired by two streaming services. You can find her on Instagram and TikTok. You can also find her podcast “Overthinking It With Liz and Tabitha” here. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our March 2024 selection is the novel The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When he spoke of what happened to his daughter Shelley, Ed Sikes said, “It was a crash course in good and evil.” In 1986, when Shelley was 19, she was working as a waitress at a popular restaurant in Galveston. The night she disappeared, she left work and headed to her boyfriend’s house, but Shelley never made it there. Based on eyewitness accounts and, eventually, the confessions of her killers, investigators were able to piece together a pretty detailed account of what happened that night. The one thing they don’t know? Where Shelley is now. This week our guest reader is actress Gus Birney. Gus can currently be seen in her second season starring opposite Courteney Cox in the Starz series SHINING VALE, for which she received a Saturn Award nomination. This past year she also made her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated revival of THE SIGN IN SIDNEY BRUSTEIN’S WINDOW. She can currently be seen returning to the BAM stage in the New York premiere of OUR CLASS. Her other television credits include Apple TV’s Dickinson, Spike TV’s The Mist, and on Insatiable, Blue Bloods, Bull, Jessica Jones, Instinct, Law & Order: SVU, and Chicago Med. You can follow Gus on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our February 2024 selection is the true crime book The Hunt for Brianna Maitland by Greg Overacker. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

McDonald County, Missouri. In 1990, a woman and her husband find the remains of a woman near an abandoned house. She’s been bound, her hands and legs tied behind her back. With no identification on her, and no one coming forward to claim her, she becomes one of America’s unidentified women and is given the name Grace Doe, because it will be only through the Grace of God that her identity will be returned to her. And, for over thirty years, that’s true. Until one day, science, and a determined detective, give her her name back. This week we’re joined by actress Teryl Rothery. Four-time Leo-nominated Rothery is best known and loved for her portrayal of Dr. Janet Fraiser on Showtime’s “Stargate: SG-1” and her starring role opposite Andie MacDowell in the Hallmark Channel Original Series “Cedar Cove.” Rothery can most recently be seen recurring in Amazon’s “Upload.” and Netflix’s “Virgin River.” You can find Teryl on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our February 2024 selection is the true crime book The Hunt for Brianna Maitland by Greg Overacker. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cleveland, 1934. A man collecting firewood along the shores of Lake Erie is startled to find the partial remains of a woman. Though investigators are able to determine that she was brutally murdered, they are unable to identify the woman, naming her the Lady of the Lake instead. What they didn’t know yet was that the next four years the Cleveland area would be terrorized by a man they called the Cleveland Torso Murderer or the Butcher of Kingsbury Run who left a wake of sadistic murders behind. Even now, 90 years later, he, along with many of the victims, have never been identified. This week our guest reader is Dee Wallace who played the role of Mary in E.T., The Extraterrestrial, as well as in 10, The Howling, Cujo, and The Frighteners. With over 250 film credits to her name, Dee is one of the most prolific actresses in Hollywood. She has five series and hundreds of commercials under her belt and has just concluded her 560th segment of her live radio show, Conscious Creation. As a writer, Dee is the author of six books on the art of self-creation. Her latest release is BORN: Giving Birth to a New You (Briton Publishing). You can find Dee on Instagram and Facebook. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our February 2024 selection is the true crime book The Hunt for Brianna Maitland by Greg Overacker. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1969, 21-year-old Linda Peogeot and her daughter, Lori Mae, leave a department store with all the supplies they need to celebrate the little girl’s third birthday party happening the next day. And there, in the parking lot, they’re abducted by a man in broad daylight with witnesses just feet away. This abduction spurs a nationwide manhunt as investigators race to get Linda and Lori Mae back to safety. Liz Moore is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Long Bright River, which was a Good Morning America Book Club pick and one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2019, as well as the acclaimed novels Heft and The Unseen World. A winner of the 2014-2015 Rome Prize in Literature, she lives in Philadelphia. You can follow Liz on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our February 2024 selection is the true crime book The Hunt for Brianna Maitland by Greg Overacker. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In southern Texas, there’s a strip of highway that runs between Houston and Galveston. From the 1970s until today, it’s a place where many women and girls have gone missing or were murdered. Most of these crimes are unsolved and this area has become known as the Texas Killing Fields. But nestled along Interstate 45 in League City, Texas, is a 25 acre field where this name originated. There, between 1984 and 1991, the bodies of four young women were found in this field. Two were identified immediately, but two more spent 30 years known only as Jane and Janet Doe until one day, that changed. This week we’re joined by actor Briana Evigan who has been on a quest to give a voice to the voiceless, shine a light on darkness and create a positive impact. She co-founded MoveMe Studio, a woman-led production company creating inspiring media that compels action. Briana has a successful career in film, TV, music, and dance. Her first foray into Hollywood was everyone’s favorite dance film Step Up 2: The Streets and the reinstalment Step Up 5: All In. Her TV career includes starring in From Dusk Till Dawn, Trooper, and Longmire. To follow Briana’s incredible advocacy work, follow her on Instagram and Facebook. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our January 2024 selection is the thriller Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dorothy Arnold, a young socialite, vanished without a trace in 1910. Born into wealth and privilege, Dorothy's life seemed idyllic, but her family didn’t support her aspirations to become a writer nor her budding romance with a man named George Griscom Jr., both of which she kept hidden from her family. With her disappearance, a tangled web of theories emerges, including rumors of elopement, a clandestine abortion, and even suspicions of sex trafficking. This week we’re joined by Sharon Lawrence who was recently a series regular role in the Paramount + series Joe Pickett. Previously she starred in On Becoming a God in Central Florida, Home Before Dark , Rebel , Criminal Minds, Shameless, The Ranch, and Sugar. Sharon continues to be recognized from her multiple Emmy nominated and SAG Award-winning portrayal of Ada Sylvia Costas Sipowitz in NYPD Blue and as Izzy's Mom on Grey’s Anatomy. Her 5th EMMY nomination came in 2021 as Lead Actress in a digital series The Gaze. Sharon is the Second Vice President of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. You can find Sharon on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our January 2024 selection is the thriller Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When 30-year-old Pah Pow leaves her apartment, the only witness is her young son who says she left with a man he recognized but whose name he didn’t know. Her family thought she was with family, her family thought she was with friends. This mistake meant nearly a week passed before anyone realized Pah was missing. An immigrant from Thailand, Pah lived with her husband and children in Aberdeen, South Dakota. She has been missing since April 2016. This week, we’re joined by Rainbow Dickerson, the proud daughter of a brave Thai mother who came to the United States during the first small wave of Thai immigrants in the 1960’s. Rainbow is also of Rappahannock and Caucasian descent and is honored to lend her voice to this project. She became a TIFF Rising Star for her work in the feature, BEANS, for which she also received other awards and nominations. She can be seen next in Netflix’s live-action, Avatar: The Last Airbender, premiering February 22nd, 2024. Other selected screen credits include Gone, Chicago Fire, and Banshee. In addition, Rainbow has performed on Broadway and at many of the country’s top theatres, recently closing an Off-Broadway run of Manahatta at The Public Theatre in NYC. Other favorites include the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, American Players Theatre, and Native Voices. Rainbow currently resides on unceded Tongva/Gabrieleno territory, also known as Los Angeles, CA. Represented by Liberman Zerman Management. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our January 2024 selection is the thriller Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keiosha Felix is just fifteen years old when she disappears from Duson, Louisiana. Out on a weekend pass from a facility for pregnant and parenting teens, she’s set to visit her paternal aunt on the weekend of April 28-29th, 2012. On April 30th, she’s reported missing. Her paternal aunt and cousin said she left the night before with someone they didn’t see. Later, her cousin will say that she heard from Keiosha after April 30th which is used as evidence that she is a runaway, having left her aunt’s home with the intention of not coming back. Very little information is available about the last time Keiosha was seen, but her young child is moved to state care and she stays labeled a runaway for nearly two months. Her maternal aunts, though, know she wouldn’t have left on her own without her child whom she loved dearly. One aunt maintains that Keiosha didn’t like going to her paternal aunt’s because of her paternal aunt’s boyfriend. By summer, Keiosha is relabeled as a missing person and swiftly following this four individuals including her paternal aunt, her aunt’s boyfriend, her cousin, and the boyfriend’s brother are arrested. Despite this, upheaval in the Duson police department leaves the lead investigator on suspension with pay, the police chief lodging accusation after accusation after his own employee while rumors swirl about his own connection to Keiosha’s paternal relatives, and the case floundering as one by one those arrested are let go. Keiosha’s case becomes less about a young kid missing from home and more about the ensuing drama. Still, her story is a stark reminder of how we treat stories of young Black girls and teen moms. Keiosha deserves to have her story told, and her family deserves answers. People and Cases Mentioned in this Episode: Keiosha Felix (unsolved missing persons case) Michaela “Mickey” Shunick (solved missing persons case and solved murder case) Lisa Pate (solved missing persons case and solved murder case) Danielle Thibodeaux (unsolved case) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Got married. Leaving town. Will not be back. Don’t worry. Babe.” That’s what the telegram read that Beverly Sharpman’s parents received the night of September 11, 1947. But, according to her mother, there was one problem: Beverly wasn’t seeing anyone at the time. This, and the unanswered questions surrounding her disappearance send one mother on a decades long quest to find her daughter. This week, we’re joined by American voice actress Susan Bennett. Susan, a former backup singer for Roy Oribson, is best known as the female American voice Apple’s Siri personal assistant since the service was introduced on the iPhone 4S and remained the voice of Siri until the iOS 7 update. You can find Susan on Instagram and Facebook. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our January ‘24 selection is the true crime book The Hunt for Brianna Maitland by Gregory Overacker. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. To see Vanessa’s latest film projects, check out Birdy & Bean Films. Show Notes “Got married. Leaving town. Will not be back. Don’t worry. Babe.” That’s what the telegram read that Beverly Sharpman’s parents received the night of September 11, 1947. Just the evening before, on September 10, seventeen-year-old Beverly had told her mother that she wanted to confide something to her. By the time her mother returned with cups of tea for them both, Beverly had evidently reconsidered and went to bed without revealing her secret. The next day, Beverly Sharpman went to her high school to register for classes and, once back home, snuck out of the house with just a small suitcase in tow. The telegram she sent her parents was dispatched from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station not far from her home in Philadelphia. Her mother believed that the telegram had to be sent by someone else because, as far as her parents and friends knew, Beverly wasn’t dating anyone. And, Beverly’s message contained one clue, it said that she “got married,” but investigators were unable to find a marriage certificate in her name. Soon, though, evidence began to stack up that Beverly actually had chosen to leave her family. She had withdrawn money from her account in advance and quit her job, telling co-workers that she planned to go to Chicago. It’s also believed that she bought a train ticket to Chicago on the day she disappeared. Still, her mother spent the rest of her life looking for Beverly and so, like many missing person’s cases, Beverly’s story is as much a family’s story and how this disappearance fundamentally changed all of their lives. People and Cases Mentioned in this Episode: Beverly Sharpman (unsolved missing person case) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Ohio, a black woman’s body is found beneath a bridge and labeled Victim #8. In New York, a black woman found dead inside a storage tote will become known as Peaches for the heart shaped peach tattoo on her breast. And in Georgia, a black woman’s bones are found in the underbrush by a man walking his dog. Like many women of color who came before and after them, their stories fade from news coverage - if they’re covered at all. What is missing white woman syndrome and how does it translate to unidentified bodies cases? We explore the stories of nine unidentified black women from across the United States and spanning over seventy years in order to find out what happened and why media coverage matters. This week, we’re joined by Wendy Williams and Beth Williams, hosts of the award-winning true crime podcast Fruitloops. Fruitloops was born out of their desire to create a podcast with diverse voices covering diverse stories. You can listen to Wendy and Beth on Fruitlioops, now with over 200 episodes, wherever you get your podcasts including as part of the Evergreen lineup of podcasts. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our December ‘23 selection is the thriller Have You Seen Her by Catherine McKenzie. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon. To see Vanessa’s latest film projects, check out Birdy & Bean Films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices