Cascadia Crime & Cryptids

Forced entry, a violent assault, a DNA match that was kept quiet?  We now know who murdered Ivah McDonnell, but we don't why.  Nor we do know why it took so long.  Rest in Peace, Ivah. Sources https://keprtv.com/news/local/closing-in-on-a-cold-case-murderer https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article302106274.html https://www.dailyfly.com/2025/03/14/franklin-county-sheriffs-office-iden...

We turn to the wayback machine for our next case - the 1915 murder of Harry Minto, officer of the law and prison warden of the Oregon State Penitentiary.   Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Minto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Francke https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Minto_(Oregon_pioneer) https://web.archive.org/web/20110514165001/http://egov.oregon.gov/DOC/OPS/PRISON/osp_histo...

Case starts at 5:35 :)  Where is Laurie Partridge? If you have any information regarding Laurie's case please contact the Spokane County Sheriff's Office at 509-477-4760, or Crime Check at 509-456-2233.  Sources https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/laurie-lynn-partridges-disappearance-mystery-50-years-later/293-cc8a60ff-0f82-47a7-83a3-ff5ebd908861 https://charleyproject.org/case/laurie-lynn-par...

Lesner Cardenas has been missing since the afternoon of 5/29/25 in the Mount Shasta area of Northern California.  His phone has not been active since he disappeared.   Lesner is a 21 year old Latino male with brown eyes, black hair, and brown skin.  He is 5 foot 5 inches tall, between 140 and 155lbs.  We do not have a description of the clothing he was last seen in aside from the detail that he ha...

Nearly a decade ago, Denny Poole attempted to walk over 40 miles to another town from Dawson Creek, British Columbia and vanished after separating from his friend.  What happened to 14 year old Denny?  If you have any information about Denny Poole please contact the Dawson Creek RCMP at 250-784-3700 and reference case 3026-1547. If you wish to remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers as per...

We've got a couple ghosty stories from our OG episode topic list - CWU students and faculty, is your university haunted?  Sources https://www.yoursourceone.com/columbia_basin/ghostly-legends-at-cwu-exploring-the-haunting-mysteries-of-kamola-hall-in-ellensburg/article_ed9d55b6-97df-11ef-9f7a-df971d24ffcd.html https://cwuobserver.com/13984/opinion/the-coolest-ghoul-in-school/ https://www.wahauntedho...

CW: This episode discusses medical child abuse.  If you're familiar with the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case, this will sound sadly familiar.  The crimes of Sophie Hartman thankfully did not go on nearly as long, but still inflicted years of pain on a little girl Hartman had adopted.   Sources https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/renton-mom-accused-of-medical-child-abuse-sues https://law.justia.com/cases/f...

It's been almost 50 years - who killed Karen Etta Whiteside? Sources https://www.eugene-or.gov/4880/Cold-Cases https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29365250/karen-etta-whiteside https://ktvl.com/newsletter-daily/cold-case-investigators-hope-dna-will-help-solve-decades-old-eugene-murders https://kval.com/news/local/he-saw-something-thats-been-in-the-same-photo-for-30-years https://www.oregonlive.com...

Once upon a time, Oregon blew up a whale carcass on the beach near Florence.  The news broadcast of the event has now been viewed millions of times all over the world.  If you needed a palate cleanser, we got you.   Sources Video of the broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whale https://web.archive.org/web/20220527115433/https://tourism.ore...

What happened to Jeffrey Surtel?  If you have any information regarding the disappearance or the death of Jeffrey Surtel, please contact the RCMP at 604-826-7161, Police File # 2007-5465.  As always you can also contact CrimeStoppers if you would like to remain anonymous.  Sources https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Jeff_Surtel https://people.com/human-remains-found-washington-16-years-...

Rio is described as a white female, 5'6" and 215 lbs, (missing flyer shows 5'5 and 205 lbs) with brown shoulder length hair and blue eyes. She has a scar on her left forearm and a mole above her lip.  She was last seen wearing blue jeans. Some sources also mention a black Seattle Seahawks jacket, but her family has stated they are unaware of the existence of this jacket.  If you have any informati...

What happened to Giovanna Tyler?   If you have any information on Giovanna's case, please contact your local FBI (field office phone numbers are all available online - just stay on the line and you'll get an operator), the Tacoma Police Department at 253-591-5506, or CrimeStoppers. Sources https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/giovanna-tyler https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/giovanna-tyler/@@download....

The gruesome murder of Mary Ellen Stackhouse rocked her San Jose, CA neighborhood in 1963, and her attacker should have been in some kind of custody years prior to ever meeting her.  Sources Practice to Deceive , Ann Rule https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-mary-ellen-st/36091999/?locale=en-US https://www.seattlepi.com/local/sound/article/ONE-WOMAN-TWO-STORIES-Thomas-goes...

A twenty-minute window holds the answer we still don't have: who killed Sandra Albiani? Sources https://humboldtgov.org/2772/Unsolved-Cases https://kymkemp.com/2022/06/09/unguarded-a-security-guards-murder-remains-unsolved-on-the-twenty-fifth-anniversary-of-her-death/ https://www.northcoastjournal.com/052799/news0527.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/627826270/?match=1&terms=Sandra%20Albiani h...

The last in Caro's Tahoe miniseries (but not the last of Tahoe content!) takes us to the Cal-Neva Hotel, a property that has changed hands many times, been host to celebrities, mobsters, politicians, and more over the years, and most recently, inspired a 2018 film featuring some folks you might be familiar with!   Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe are the most famous of the folk said to occasionall...

Who killed beautiful, joyful art student Euarchol Wanchipan?  Her case has been cold since 2017. If you have any information, please call the VIIMCU information line at 250-380-6211, or if you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222- TIPS.  Sources https://www.earthsoption.com/obituaries/Euarchol-WANICHPAN?obId=22723963 https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/victoria-suspiciou...

What happened to Ruthie Fawn Kindness? If you have any information about this case, please contact the Auburn Police Department at 253-931-3080. Sources https://wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Kindness_Ruthie-1.pdf https://charleyproject.org/case/ruthie-fawn-kindness https://www.facebook.com/rkindness1 https://www.facebook.com/wheres.ruthie https://www.yakimaherald.com/case-of-missing-washin...

Kind of a cryptid + Indigenous legend story time for this one - the Washoe legend of the great bird of Lake Tahoe, The Ong.  Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washoe_people https://issuu.com/communityinkinc/docs/northwoodstahoe_novdec_finalproof2/s/27883 https://nevadamagazine.com/issue/november-december-2019/11677/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ong_(Washoe_folklore) https://visitlaketahoe.com...

We wouldn't even have this case to present if Utah's justice system hadn't victim-blamed and fucked up so badly - twice.  Rest in peace Gladys Hensley, Janice Dickinson, Geraldine Toohey, and Caysie Sorensen.   Sources https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/crime/2022/02/03/eugene-oregon-police-solve-cold-case-murders-identify-serial-killer-1980/6639734001/ https://www.eugene-or.gov/CivicAlerts....

Continuing the Tahoe miniseries, we tell the tales of the water babies/pawapicts of Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washoe_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Babies https://www.native-languages.org/water-babies.htm https://www.britannica.com/topic/Great-Basin-Indian/Social-organization https://www.heraldextra.com/news/2006/apr/29/mysterious-monsters-inhab...

What happened to Cynthia Martinez?  Cynthia is described on her NamUs page as 4'8" - 5'4" and 120-140 lbs. Another flier states she is 5'1" and 135 lbs. She has brown hair and brown eyes, and has pierced ears. Again, she was last seen wearing black lace up booties, fake eyelashes, and a black flowered romper. She has several tattoos listed below: "Trust No One" - collarbone "Dominguez" - chest "Fa...

Is there a giant serpent living in the depths of Lake Tahoe?   Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahoe_Tessie https://www.latimes.com/style/la-os-tessie3may03-story.html https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/dark-shapes-in-the-lake-tahoe-tessie-legend-remains-alive-for-visitors/ https://www.moonshineink.com/tahoe-news/tahoe-myths-tessie-and-the-man-eating-lake-bird-ong/ https://medium.com/@tr...

Sara brings us the truly chaotic case of Gary Krueger and his alarming laundry list of crimes.   Sources https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/family-lives-in-fear-a-year-after-attempted-home-invasion/ ​​ https://unsolved.com/gallery/mike-emert/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/very-bad-men-realtor-vietnam-vet-video_n_2022102 https://unresolved.me/mike-emert https://www.kiro7.com/news/seattle-un...

Sara brings us the incredible survival story of Autumn Veatch - not a story that spawns from a crime, but an inspiring story of a young woman who simply did not give up.  Getting Out Alive by Tara Ellis (book on Autumn's story) Sources https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/appreciate-the-little-things-says-teen-survivor-of-plane-crash/ https://www.ajc.com/news/photos-teen-autumn-veat...

Content warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of abuse against a child that resulted in that child's death - please use caution when listening.  If you know anything about the disappearance of Hannah Kobayashi, please contact Crimestoppers or the LAPD.  Update on the Arely Proctor murder trial: An article from The Independent clarifies that Judge Hanley Chew has indeed ruled that Cla...