Missing in the Carolinas

In October of 1997, a guard named David Ghantt at Loomis Fargo, Inc. in Charlotte decided to see if he could get away with robbing the company of $17 million dollars. Unfortunately, he involved several other people in his plan, and while he absconded to Mexico with a small amount of cash, this unusual cast of characters began spending the remaining millions so quickly they attracted the attention...

Renee shares a conversation with Shellie Taylor, the Local History Program Specialist at the Iredell County Public Library. They discuss the mysterious case of Virginia Sneed, a young woman who died in police custody in Asheville in 1939. Because she refused to give her name, no one knew her true identity until months after her death. Shellie also talks about Ruth Horton, an Iredell County woman w...

In November of 1986, 28-year-old Mary Kathryn Ennis disappeared from the home she shared with her young son in Hillsborough, N.C. While everyone who knew the single mom insisted she never would have willingly left her son, the search yielded few clues besides her vehicle located a short distance away. Two years later, prison inmates would be the key to solving this mysterious case. We'll also disc...

In 1999, fresh out of Harvard University, Helen Zuman began seeking out a place where she could practice communal living and learn more about organic farming and homesteading. The place turned out to be Zendik Farm in Western North Carolina. When she left five years later, she slowly realized the leader had been operating the farm as a cult. Learn more about Helen Zuman Check out Helen's memoir, M...

There have been many cases of murder by poison in North Carolina. Renee shares the stories of Sandy Coulthard, whose husband used arsenic to slowly poison her in High Point, Eric Miller, whose wife utilized her position as a research scientist to access arsenic that she then used to kill him in Raleigh, and Stacy Hunsucker, whose husband allegedly used the active ingredient in Visine eyedrops to m...

Over the past five years, Missing in the Carolinas has shared stories of missing people and perpetrators of crimes who were struggling with their mental health. Today's episode revisits stories of people missing while on spiritual journeys, battling relationship issues, adolescents seeking help at a residential treatment center, a family feud that ended up with nine people dead, and two shoote...

Renee discusses the allure of the true crime rabbit hole and how and why she's covered specific cases on Missing in the Carolinas throughout the years. Episodes mentioned here: Ep. 28-Unresolved in North Carolina Ep. 35-A Murder in Salisbury and a N.C. Expat Becomes a Killer in Panama Ep. 43-The Story Behind "The Staircase" Ep. 44-Thoughts on "The Staircase" Ep. 54-The Murd...

Inspired by the television show "City Confidential," Renee looks at the murders of three women in Wilmington, N.C., Peggy Carr, Theresa Fetter, and Lisa Maves, along with two men who disappeared, Charles Kuebler and Gaston Callum. Show Notes: Check out the podcast "Strictly Stalking" with Jaimie Beebe and Jake Deptula. Skincare by SkinxErin Use code MISSINGCAROLINAS10 for 10 pe...

In 1968, a killer terrorized the small town of Gaffney, S.C. before calling the local newspaper editor and anonymously confessing to his crimes. Thanks to concerned citizens who went out looking for a teenager who'd been abducted, police were able to apprehend the killer, who became known as The Gaffney Strangler, before he could hurt anyone else. But he had a secret to confess--he'd kille...

Renee discusses four people who went missing while on vacation. Learn about the decades-long mystery of Jane and Jock Doe from South Carolina, New York resident Brittanee Drexel, who went missing after a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., Judith Smith, who went missing from Pennsylvania and was discovered months later in North Carolina, and the murders of Ohio residents Wesley and Bonnie Mah...

In July of 1993, 26-year-old Kristin Lodge-Miller went out for an early-morning run in Chapel Hill and was murdered before she made it home. Years later, when 22-year-old Eve Carson was abducted and murdered from her home while studying at UNC in March 2008, the community couldn't help but compare the two crimes, committed by young men whose previous crimes should have already put them behind...

On July 10, 1985, 55-year-old Curtis Bane and 24-year-old Thaddeus Hayes were supposed to spend the afternoon putting up a fence on a piece of property Curtis has purchased near Durham. When they never returned home that night, Curtis's wife found his truck and tractor still at the work site, keys still inside, but there was no sign of the two men. It would take three years before the families...

In Ep. 130, Renee shared the details of the 1972 triple homicide of the Durham family in Boone, North Carolina. This week features an interview with Terry Harmon, author of the book "Convoluted," which details the details of the crime and the investigation that spanned more than 50 years. Show Notes: Check out Terry Harmon's book . Want to try out Riverside FM for all your podcasting...

On a snowy night in February of 1972, three members of the Durham family were murdered in their Boone home. The scene of the crime left many to wonder if the Durhams, who owned a local car dealership in town, were the targets of a professional hit. In 2022 authorities announced the crime had finally been solved, but questions remain. Check out "Convoluted" by Terry Harmon Show Sponsors:...

Renee shares a reading of her award-winning short story, "The Polaroid," which was inspired by the Tara Calico disappearance from New Mexico in 1988. Show Sponsor: Skincare by SkinxErin Use code MISSINGCAROLINAS10 for 10 percent off your order.

Renee pulls information from previous episodes to discuss four serial killers from North Carolina--Terry Alvin Hyatt, John Wayne Boyer, Lesley Eugene Warren, and Henry Louis Wallace.

In 1971 Patricia Mann and Jesse McBane attended a Valentine's Day dance in Durham, heading out afterwards to spend some time alone at a nearby spot popular with locals. When they didn't return, their friends grew worried and searches ensued. When they were found deceased a few weeks later, it was evident they had been victims of a senseless double homicide. Fifty-four years later, the case has not...

In 1991, 84-year-old Mabel Seymour walked away from a nursing home in Chatham County. A year later, two workers discovered the deceased body of an elderly woman by the side of a road in Petersburg, Virginia. A note found with her body said her name was "Wilma." But as news about the undentified woman in Virginia began to spread across the South, some wondered if the two women were one in the same....

January is National Stalking Awareness Month, and while most victims know their stalkers, in rare cases a person may be targeted without even knowing it. In the spring of 2002, 23-year-old Stephanie Bennett was found murdered in her apartment. After her body was discovered, neighbors at her apartment complex came forward to report they had seen a mysterious man looking into Stephanie's window in t...

In 1973, 19-year-old UNC-Asheville student Virginia Marie Olson was murdered in the botanical gardens near campus. Despite many leads and suspects, the case was never solved. Brian and Cameron Santana never forgot about this case, and their new book uncovers details that have never been released to the public and a look into the prime suspect. Find "A Murder on Campus: The Professor, The Cop, and...

Renee reviews Valerie Bauerlein's book, "The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty" and shares five new things she learned about the Murdaugh family after reading it. Show Notes: Cover art by Mackintosh Multimedia Sound Editing by Daniel Roberson Show Sponsors: Skincare by SHOPxErin https://shopxerin.com/ Use code MISSINGCAROLINAS10 for 10 percent off your order Rene...

Renee discusses podcast growth for the year, as well as which episodes received the most streams and how she gets her ideas for certain episodes. Show Notes: Cover art by Macintosh Multimedia Sound Editing by Daniel Roberson

In 1981, three men invaded a private residence and home of "root doctor" Edward "Doc" Harkless. In the next several hours, they murdered him and three other people in the Columbia, S.C. home, leaving two survivors. It appeared Doc was murdered because of a large amount of cash he kept in a locked safe, but did his line of work also have something to do with the crime? We also give an update to Sus...

The Missing in America Project helps provide the remains of veterans with honorable burials, but it takes a team of volunteers to do so. We share some of the recent stories from the nonprofit. In 1980, Jeffrey Mays and Ted Wall set out on Jeffrey's boat off the coast of Cape Hatteras. No trace of the men or the boat was ever found, but Jeffrey's family believes he could still be alive. Another Con...

In 1933, 64-year-old widow Mary Ravenel was discovered mortally wounded in an affluent area of Charleston. Despite their best attempts, police could not figure out who would have wanted to murder her. An auto mechanic thought he could make some quick cash by abducting Hubbard Harris, Jr., the son of a prominent man in Columbia, but the plan quickly went off the rails. Renee's Digital Course on Pod...