Missing in the Carolinas

In 2015, a brutal quadruple homicide left the small community of Pendleton, South Carolina stunned. Could a close family member have been responsible? Earlier that year, in the same town, 1-year-old Leonna Wright went missing from the apartment she lived. While police suspect they know what happened to the young girl, justice has been difficult to obtain in the case. Renee's Digital Course on Podc...

Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like to run your own ghost tour? North Carolina resident Rachel Workman is living the dream firsthand after taking over Ghosts of Davidson in the college town of Davidson, North Carolina. We chat with Rachel about why she decided to get into this business, what she loves about it, a little of the local history, and some of her favorite and scariest gho...

When 30-year-old mother Mary Ann Willis meets a charismatic airman stationed in Myrtle Beach in 1992, she quickly learns his claims of love were just a facade. Dara Watson is engaged to the man of her dreams until she unexpectedly goes missing in February 2012. What happened on the final days of her life is something her loved ones will never truly know. Renee's Digital Course on Podcasting: https...

In 2015, 28-year-old Ashley Pegram goes missing from South Carolina after meeting up with a man she met on a dating app. When she doesn't return home, her family turns to the communication on messaging apps on her phone to help determine what happened to her. A Virginia Tech student lures a 13-year-old to her death by messaging through the Kik app, which attracts millions of teenage users with lit...

In 2008, 52-year-old Bonnie Lou Irvine went missing in Cornelius, N.C., and police soon learned she had arranged to meet a man she met on Craigslist before she disappeared. In 2020, 39-year-old Andy Banks set out for an appointment to sell his Range Rover, and quickly dropped out of sight. He had also met his potential buyer in the online classifieds section of a website. Renee's Digital Course on...

In 1992, 23-year-old Michael Hunter was found deceased in his northwest Raleigh apartment. When police take a closer look, they realize a lethal injection of Lidocaine caused his death, and his roommate, medical student Joseph Mannino, admits to injecting him with antihistamines to ease migraine symptoms. But the investigation reveals a motive for murder within a contentious love triangle. We also...

As part of Suicide Prevention Month, Renee discusses four deaths attributed to suicide. One involved an elderly man who may have had a psychotic break, a successful doctor and her husband who died of a double suicide, a whistleblower who died unexpectedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and one death that may have been the result of mental health issues and strain from an abusive relationship...

Twenty-seven-year-old Jeni Gray heads out for an early-morning walk in Boone, N.C. and disappears on September 24, 1989. Law enforcement is still continuing their search for the young woman when a runner named Leigh Cooper from Appalachian State University is abducted and sexually assaulted. What her assailant tells her during the attack might finally explain what happened to Jeni. Renee's Digital...

In 1992, a 13-year-old from Hickory, North Carolina went missing from her home and was discovered murdered a few weeks later. Around the same time, three older women known to have high-risk lifestyles went missing and were found deceased. While two men were eventually arrested in those three deaths, no one was ever charged in the death of Isis Denise “Dee Dee” Dawkins. We also share an update on t...

In the 1980s, televangelist Jim Bakker had grown an impressive broadcasting empire along with his wife, Tammy Faye. Their organization, PTL, built a Christian-theme park on the border between North and South Carolina and the two lived a lavish lifestyle. But behind the scenes, the Bakkers were struggling with marital issues, hoping that material possessions would fill the empty places still in the...

Eric Rudolph spent five years on the run before being captured early one morning while searching for food in Murphy, N.C. Investigators spent the next few years learning more about what turned him into a bomber as he led them to hundreds of pounds of dynamite he'd stashed in the mountains of North Carolina. As he prepared to go to trial in 2005 for the bombing of an abortion clinic in Birmingham,...

The secluded mountains of North Carolina turned into an excellent place to hide for a man named Eric Rudolph, who was charged with a series of bombings in 1996 and 1997, including one that injured hundreds of people in Centennial Park at the Atlanta, Ga. Summer Olympics. Who was the elusive "mountain man" and how did he evade capture for five years? Renee's Digital Course on Podcasting: https://ww...

In 1989, the town of Edenton, North Carolina was rocked when children at the Little Rascals Day Care Center began accusing the owners, Bob and Betsy Kelly, of molesting them. Over time, seven people would be arrested on hundreds of charges that occurred over a three-year-period. What really happened in Edenton, and in two similar landmark cases in California in the early 1980s? Sponsors: Renee's D...

The national parks in North Carolina attract numerous visitors each year, but they can also be treacherous if you aren't well prepared for your trip. We discuss the case of Frances Apperson, a 67-year-old who went missing after heading out for a solo hike at Linville Falls, 48-year-old Michael Hartley, who went missing in Spruce Pine on a foraging trip, Barry Hertel, who disappeared after a quick...

This episode provides case updates on Blake and London Deven from Fayetteville, Madalina Cojocari from Cornelius, and the official cause of death from a child at Trails Carolina this past spring. We also share the story of Enrique Roman-Martinez from Fort Bragg, who went missing during a camping trip with fellow soldiers from the Army in May 2020. Show Sponsors: Renee's Digital Course on Podcastin...

Doris Duke was barely a teenager when her father, James Buchanan Duke, died and left her the bulk of the fortune he created through the American Tobacco Company and Duke Power. She was no ordinary socialite, though. Doris helped quadruple the family fortune, but her life was not without its challenges. Did she intentionally kill her interior designer in 1966 and get away with it? And what about th...

In July of 1990, 41-year-old Pamela Hoy had dinner with her estranged husband in Burlington, N.C. and packed her van in preparation for an upcoming dog show. She disappeared that night, and while her remains were found months later, the case has never been solved. Seven-year-old Jennifer Patterson went missing after going to visit some neighborhood children in Spring Lake, N.C. in June of 1991. Co...

An update on the Madalina Cojocari missing persons case from Cornelius, North Carolina. We also take a look at Crystal Morrison, who went missing from Concord in 2012, Marty Teague's disappearance from Statesville in 2018, and the 1983 South Carolina cold case of Lisa Thompson and Russell Anthony. Show Sponsors: Renee's Digital Course on Podcasting: https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.ht...

A true crime podcast is nothing without its guests. For our 100th episode, Renee takes a look back at some of the conversations she's had with true crime authors, advocates, and historians over the past four years. Show Sponsor: WOW! Women on Writing Renee's Digital Course on Podcasting: https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/classroom/ReneeRoberson_Podcasting.php

College is a time for young people to explore their individuality and take on new responsibility. This episode examines the still-unsolved missing persons cases of Jason Knapp, Virginia "Ginni" Wood, and Martin Roberts. Missing in the Carolinas will return with a new episode next week.

Renee takes a look at some of the factors that cause a person to go missing with specific examples from past episodes. Plus, she shares the case of Samantha Josephson, who disappeared outside a bar in South Carolina after getting into a car she thought was her Uber. Link to study about prevalence of violence in missing and unidentified persons cases: https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/how-prevale...

It's always suspicious when a newlywed who turns up murdered or deceased in an accident has a spouse who stands to collect a large life insurance policy. This was the case of Lucille Rinaldi, who was murdered in 1963, and Brenda Anderson, who drowned mysteriously in 1965. We also take a look at one of Chapel Hill's oldest cold cases, the murder of 71-year-old Rachel Crook. Co-Writer: Mia Roberson...

In 1984, 7-year-old Carrie Wilkerson was brutally murdered in her stepmother's home in the early morning hours. A year later, Jean Fewel was abducted and murdered as she was walking to school. Were the two crimes connected? With the community still processing these murders, three students from UNC, Perry Zimmerman, Sharon Stewart, and Freshteh Golkho were killed all within the same year. What was...

Twenty-three-year-old Andy Sigmon was last seen on April 5, 2016 near a historical landmark almost an hour away from his home. What compelled him to go to that location, and what happened after he disappeared into the woods after talking to several different people? Blake and London Deven, two adopted children from Fayetteville, N.C. (now ages 17 and 27) have not been seen in years and police and...

On the afternoon of July 30, 1965, 21-year-old Suellen Evans was taking a summer session at the University of North Carolina when she was attacked and murdered in the Coker Arboretum. While police quickly utilized bloodhounds and organized group searches to help find the murder weapon, their efforts failed confirm a solid suspect or turn up any other leads. The case remains cold, but Suellen's hom...