For the first post in this subreddit, I want to start with an intriguing story that not many people know about. GPNF has had a fair share of missing persons cases, a few of which I hope show up in this subreddit.
Maureen "Anu" Kelly is a fairly recent case, having disappeared on June 9, 2013. She was on a camping trip at Canyon Creek Campground located inside of GPNF. On the evening of, her friends say that they were sitting around the campfire together when Maureen got up, removed all of her clothes, and ventured into the forest on a "spiritual quest"...
Investigators were able to find footprints crossing Canyon Creek and up an embankment, but were then lost, and canines were unable to trace any scent. She is still missing today with no more evidence since then.
https://preview.redd.it/kzdf5zgksd871.png?width=218&format=png&auto=webp&s=34758cc97ecb2315249fc6afad7dbdb1f97965d6
I know we’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but Braden Kelly was a monster.
I can say that now. After years of therapy with someone who specializes in treating trauma and abuse. But, if you’d asked me about him even two or three years ago—already years after the incident—I would have sounded like any other member of his Kool-Aid-drinking, ride-or-die fan club.
I would have told you, without a hint of sarcasm, that Braden Kelly was a genuine gift to mankind. That if you were lost, or your home life was bad, or you just couldn’t seem to find your place in the world, Braden would make room just for you. That everyone was welcome at Braden’s table.
I would have told you that he was handsome, charismatic, friendly. Popular, but with friends in every stratosphere. That his brilliant blue eyes would sparkle with mischief, and his smile could melt ice cream in Antarctica. And that when he sat down and talked with you, he would make you feel like the only person in the world.
I would have told you that no one was an outcast in Braden’s eyes. No matter how life had treated them before crossing his path.
In my case, I was adopted. Left in the care of my paternal aunt and her husband when I was six.
A New York winter took my parents.
I know my aunt and uncle tried, in their way, to make sure I still had contact with my mom’s side of the family—the First Nations side—but they didn’t really understand. To my aunt and uncle, family separated by distance meant catching up over Facebook, and holidays and too much food.
To me, though, half of my entire identity was trapped behind a cultural barrier that couldn’t be replaced with seasonal updates and dinners.
But I was far too young to explain that to them.
I had a hard enough time explaining the bullying.
Understandably, because of this—the bullying—I learned to avoid making waves. I made sure to agree with the crowd and leave my concerns and misgivings unspoken. I kept my head down as much as I could so I didn’t make any more trouble for myself.
You know, beyond the stuff I couldn’t change.
Eventually, with nothing to counter what was beaten into me by my peers, I learned to hate myself through their eyes.
I drifted between worlds, untethered and unloved.
Especially by myself.
I was a perfect target for someone like Braden. When I could barely find something to love in myself, he was there, lifting me up higher than I could even imagine.
So even if his jokes were a little ignorant, or his moods wer
... keep reading on reddit ➡In 2006, 41-year old Maureen Fields lived in Pahrump, Nevada with her 56-year old husband, Paul, and worked as a bank teller. On Valentine’s Day, Maureen showed up to work, but everyone noticed she seemed perturbed. She would not go into any specifics about what was bothering her, but stated: “Something’s going to happen”. The following morning, Maureen failed to show up for work at 8:30 AM, so her co-workers called Paul at home. He claimed Maureen had left the house at 8:00 AM to drive to work, but didn’t know where she was. Paul went to the police station to ask if there were any reported accidents involving Maureen’s vehicle, a green 2004 Hyundai. Paul would later claim he attempted to report Maureen missing, but was told he’d have to wait at least 24 hours, but the deputy on duty said Paul only inquired about possible accidents and never mentioned his wife at all.
On February 16, Maureen’s green Hyundai was discovered abandoned in the Mojave Desert in Inyo County, California, over 20 miles west of Pahrump. The vehicle was parked nearly 120 feet away from the highway in close proximity to Death Valley. The keys were in the ignition, the driver’s seat was fully reclined, and Maureen’s purse, still containing her wallet and credit cards, was left behind. Maureen’s eyeglasses and slippers were underneath the gas pedal, a .22-caliber rifle was in the back seat, and there were multiple bottles of prescription drugs, including an empty bottle of Xanax. A blanket with small traces of blood and vomit was on the ground outside. There was initial speculation that Maureen wandered off into the desert and committed suicide by overdosing, but the empty Xanax bottle had been completely wiped clean of fingerprints. Furthermore, there was also unidentified male DNA on a pair of knotted pantyhose inside the vehicle. Suspicious fell upon Paul Fields, as his marriage to Maureen was falling apart and she appeared to be afraid of him. Maureen had even told friends and family: “If I ever disappear, tell police Paul did it”. Paul believed Maureen staged her own disappearance, but no else besides Paul could confirm seeing Maureen alive after she left the bank on Valentine’s Day. Paul’s alibi was that he spent the evening of the 14th at home with Maureen, but his cell phone records from that night showed him making a call to an acquaintance which pinged off a cell tower. The location of this tower seemed to place Paul on the other side of town when the call was made.
Police c
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hi everyone! There are a lot of moving pieces in this crazy story I stumbled upon, so I'll be bolding any names that will reoccur or be significant in this case.
Background and Victim Information
Kelly Dae Wilson was 17 during the winter of 1992. Kelly was a senior at Gilmer High School, and stood out with big, curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and well as being tall and thin at 5'7". Kelly was originally from Natchitoches, Louisiana, but had recently relocated to Gilmer, Texas to live with her mother and step-father. She settled into the groove of her new home, and struck up a relationship with a known on-again-off-again boyfriend, Christopher "Chris" Michael Denton.
While her hair is naturally brown, she had dyed it prior to her disappearance, and it was starting to grow out and show her roots. Kelly wore a lot of jewelry, and she was reported to be wearing a gold dome ring, a gold emerald ring, a gold diamond inset Mexican eagle coin ring, a gold pinky ring, a gold chain bracelet, a gold watch and triangle earrings.
Disappearance
On January 5th, 1992, Kelly walked out of her job at Northeast Texas Video on the square in Gilmer. She had closed the store at around 8:30 p.m. with the nightly deposit in hand. At the end of her shifts, she would typically head to the bank right around the corner from the store to drop off the store's deposit. The Gilmer National Bank had a drive-through window, then located in what is now the Upshur County Tax Assessor-Collector's Office. Here is a screenshot of these locations.
After the locked up the store with her manager, Joe David Henry, he bid her goodnight and reportedly saw her standing by her car as he drove away in his truck. She was last seen wearing cut-off stonewashed jeans, a purple rugby shirt with red, gold, and white insignia, and brown loafers. Later, Henry would comment, "At first I thought maybe she just stayed out all night. I really got concerned, because she was scheduled to work at noon. When she didn't show up, I began to be concerned."
The bank's security cameras showed than an individual did make the night deposit f
... keep reading on reddit ➡Could you do a video about the disappearance of Maureen "Anu" Kelly? She went missing from the Canyon Creek campground in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state in 2013. She literally went into the woods on a "spiritual quest" naked and barefoot, wearing only a fanny pack containing a knife, matches and a compass. As far as I know, she hasn't been found. I was always afraid I'd find her body since I was always in the woods around the area she went missing.
And down the rabbit hole I went. I've seen this case mentioned a few times on here and elsewhere but I've never come come across a proper write-up. Kelly's Charley Project page gets some things wrong and omits some interesting details so I thought I'd try my hand at a case summary.
Kelly left her home on Fenimore Street in Lynbrook, NY early in the evening on June 12, 1984. Her family expected her back by 10 PM like they had agreed. It was still light out when Kelly walked out of the house (around 7-8 PM) and out of their lives. A neighbor saw her and waved as Kelly made her way to the nearby Shell gas station on the corner of Merrick Road and Earle Avenue (a 20-30 min. walk) where she met up with a girlfriend, Gail, 18. The pair was stood up by a couple of guys who were supposed to join them there and parted ways at about 9.30 PM.
According to Gail, Kelly declined to come along to her boyfriend's house (who lived close by) and instead decided to walk to the Captain Video arcade, a short distance to the west on the corner of Merrick Road and Nieman Avenue (a 10 min. walk). It was in the gas station parking lot that Gail saw her friend for the last time. No one at the arcade remembered seeing Kelly that night. Somewhere along the short stretch of Merrick Rd., the ground opened up and swallowed her.
Kim, another friend of Kelly's, remembers Gail telling her a different story. In this version of events, as relayed by Kim, Gail was picked up by some people Kelly didn't like. When she wouldn't get in the car with them they drove off and left her behind. Gail never mentioned a car to the police. The detective in charge of Kelly's case in '84 described Gail as not being very cooperative with the investigation.
Kim revealed this to a reporter years later. It was news to the original lead investigator. Either she was never interviewed by the police (unlikely as she was one of Kelly's close friends), told them a different story or spoke to Gail only after the police had already interviewed her. Or there was never a car.
Some articles claim that it was the gas station attendant, Paul, who saw Kelly last and that she told him where she was going.
Kelly, 15, had at one point been in a messy on-again, off-again relationship with John Kogut, 20, whom she apparently met at the Venetian-blind factory where she worked part-time. Kelly's friends described him as her boyfriend and told police that he was p
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Where are Robert Harris Kelly Sr. and Kristopher Sean Kelly?
On May 16, 2004, 17 year old Kristopher Sean Kelly and his 58 year old father Robert Kelly Sr. left their home together on off Chena Pump Road in Fairbanks, Alaska. They would not return home that night, and the pair were never seen again Another of Robert’s sons noticed the disappearance of his father and Kristopher, and reported the two missing after 13 days. Apparently, the aforementioned son had stopped by where Robert and Kristopher were living, and found the doors unlocked and the family dog left unattended.
It was not until June 1st that the next detail of the father and son’s disappearance came to light. The white 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass that the two owned was found at the Bentley Mall in Fairbank. The car had seemingly been abandoned, and there was no evidence that placed Kristopher and Robert at the scene.
A few days after the car was discovered, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Robert Kelly Sr. It turned out that Robert was actually scheduled for a court appearance on allegations of driving with a suspended license, and he missed the court date. Still, the arrest warrant was futile as no one heard from Robert or Kristopher since May 16th. What happened on the day of Robert and Seans disappearance
So what happened? I don’t know. There isn’t a lot of information available about the two men or the circumstances around their disappearance.
[Charley Project Page for Kristopher Sean Kelly] (http://charleyproject.org/case/kristopher-sean-kelly)
[Charley Project Page for Robert Harris Kelly Sr.] (http://charleyproject.org/case/robert-harris-kelly-sr)
Two men have been arrested in London over the 2007 disappearance of Doncaster teenager Andrew Gosden.
South Yorkshire Police and the Metropolitan Police jointly detained the two men on 8 December 2021 but the arrests have only just been made public.
A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of kidnap, human trafficking and the possession of indecent images of children, and a 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of kidnap and human trafficking. Both have now been released under investigation while enquiries continue.
Andrew Gosden, who would be 28 now, disappeared in September 2007. The then 14-year-old boarded a train from Doncaster to London, with CCTV cameras capturing him when he arrived at Kings Cross Station. That was the last known sighting of Andrew, and since then no information about his movements have been corroborated by police.
At the time he lived with his parents and sister in the Balby area of Doncaster, and withdrew £200 from his bank account on a day when he was supposed to be in lessons at McAuley Catholic High School. He bought a one-way train ticket to the capital.
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Andy Knowles said: “Our priority at this time is supporting Andrew’s family while we work through this new line of enquiry in the investigation. We are in close contact with them and they ask that their privacy is respected as our investigation continues.
“We have made numerous appeals over the years to find out where Andrew is and what happened to him when he disappeared. I would encourage anyone with any information they have not yet reported to come forward.”
Following the extremely useful initial post about this case here: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/7hssxd/unresolved_disappearance_what_happened_to_thomas/
I wanted to update anyone interested, that Casefile:True Crime podcast, released an episode regarding this: http://casefilepodcast.com/case-85-tom-brown/
It's such a peculiar case to follow. I honestly hope that there will be a breakthrough soon.
Summary: New podcast episode about the disappearance of Thomas Kelly Brown
Maureen Farley was raped and murdered in Cedar Rapids, IA in 1971.
Her murder was solved this year using DNA taken from a relative of the suspect, George Smith, who died in 2013 at age 94.
From the article:
The Cedar Rapids Police Department Cold Case Unit has successfully identified and confirmed suspect George M. Smith in the homicide cold case of Maureen Brubaker-Farley. The body of 17-year old Maureen Brubaker-Farley (DOB 07/04/1954) was found September 24, 1971, in a wooded ravine off Ely Rd SW. Through years of investigation and with the use of DNA technology, investigators determined that the unknown suspect DNA profile developed in this case was that of George M. Smith. As a result of the investigation, the Homicide Cold Case of Maureen Brubaker-Farley will be closed, with no prosecution, as George M. Smith is deceased.
Chief of Police Wayne Jerman states, “No matter how much time has passed, our officers are committed to seeking out justice for all victims of violent crime as well as their families. I am extremely proud of the generations of Cedar Rapids Officers that contributed to bringing this once cold case to a resolution. I would also like to specifically recognize the contributions of our current Cedar Rapids Police Departments Cold Case Unit. Those individuals are Investigator Matt Denlinger, retired DCI Special Agent JD Smith and retired CRPD Police Lieutenant Ken Washburn.”
Case Synopsis
17-year old Maureen Brubaker-Farley (DOB 07/04/1954) moved to Cedar Rapids in the summer of 1971. She moved into an efficiency apartment at 522 10th St SE and began working at a local diner located at 836 First Ave NE. Farley was last seen alive on the morning of September 17, 1971. When Farley hadn’t arrived to work on September 20, her employer reported her as missing. Farley’s apartment was searched and found relatively undisturbed with her vehicle parked in the lot behind the building. At this point there was no evidence to suggest what happened to Farley.
On September 24, 1971, two teenage boys spotted Farley’s body lying on the trunk of an abandoned junk car in the wooded ravine just off Ely Rd SW near the landfill. That landfill site is now Tate Cummins Park. Farley was partially clothed with no shoes and clean feet. The evidence shows that Farley was carried and placed at this location after she died. An autopsy was conducted and it was determined that Farley had been hit in the head
... keep reading on reddit ➡
A local theatre is doing RENT and Little Shop of Horrors for their upcoming season and I’m trying to find 16-32 bars of a song that could be a fitting audition for both Maureen and Audrey. This theatre has everyone audition in front of all the directors at once and so we only get to audition with one song. I’m not the greatest at finding audition pieces and could really use help! Any ideas?
Thank you!
I have searched every end of the internet for this movies version of Maureen McGoverns song.
You can hear this song when the boombox guy briefly plays it when The Chosen One and Betty meet in the temple, just before he throws a ninja star to change the song to Black Betty by Ram Jam.
Edit: IMDb doesnt have the correct song listed in the movies soundtracks. All songs listed have hyperlinks except The Morning After by simply, Frankie.
Hello, I am back with another cold case from the Gem State. Today, I will be covering a case that has received quite a bit of local attention, and has bled into some nationwide coverage as well. I have had several requests to cover this case, but had to wait to meet the sub’s six-month requirement. And, frankly, I was hoping this case would be solved before meeting such an awful milestone.
Michael Joseph Vaughan [DOB: 06/24/2016] is a five-year-old boy from Fruitland, ID. Fruitland is a small town with a population of about 5,000. It is located right on the Idaho/Oregon border- it takes less than 10 minutes to travel from Fruitland, ID to Ontario, Or. Michael lives with his mother, Brandi Neal, his father, Tyler Vaughan, and an 18-month-old sister. He also has some older half-siblings from one of his parents’ previous relationships. He is described as a friendly, curious boy who loves camping, monster trucks, and playing in the mud. He was outgoing- he frequently asked to play with the other children in his neighborhood.
On the evening of July 27, 2021, Brandi when to work, so Tyler stayed behind to watch the children at their shared home on SW 9th St. Reportedly, Michael walked to the neighbor’s house to ask if he could play with their kids. The neighbor declined his offer, and alleges that they watched Michael walk back to his house. This is the last confirmed sighting of Michael. Within this time frame (approx. 6:40pm- sunset is around 9:15pm in western Idaho that time of the year), Tyler reports that he was changing his sister’s diaper (which he reports was a particularly messy diaper, therefore taking longer to change than normal) and ordered pizza. It was during those 5-10 minutes that Michael went missing.
It was reported that Tyler immediately called Brandi, frantic, when he couldn’t find Michael. Brandi reported that as soon as she got that called, she told her coworker, who let her leave work early to go home. Tyler had already alerted the police, as when Brandi arrived home, there were already police officers and concerned neighbors surrounding the area, searching for the missing boy. A missing person’s alert was sent out shortly after 8:00pm that evening. The dogs tracked Michael’s scent up to a piece of farmland to the right of Michael’s house and near the road, and it abruptly stopped. There are several cornfields near his house, and they would have been almost ready for harvest in late August. However, this particular field is flat and g
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hi guys! I found the following post on Facebook and I thought to bring it here because on Facebook it went unnoticed (it has only 16 'likes'). The original poster is Sherri Lynn Snider, one of the daughters of Diane Theresa Francis, a woman who vanished in thin air almost 20 years ago.
Update 1: Sherri is on Reddit and she is reading our comments, so if you have further questions you can talk directly to her. This is Sherri: u/ssnider0615
Update 2: Sherri's message (I'm pinning it here for more visibility):
ssnider0615 · 40 min. ago
Thank you all again so much for commenting and reaching out with words of wisdom, advice and love. My mother would not even believe how far I’ve come and how wide spread her name currently is. I’m beside myself with all the appreciation for you Guys ❤️ 🥺
This being said, let's move forward.
According to Charley Project, Sherri's Mom was last seen by her daughters in Melbournce, Florida sometime in June 2003. She was arrested for trespassing in Jacksonville, Florida on November 27, 2005, and was last seen when she was released the next day. This is the last indication of her whereabouts. At the time of her disappearance, she had a "high risk" lifestyle and was transient throughout southeast Florida.
She has never been heard from again, and her daughters hired a private investigators who was unable to locate her. A former boyfriend reported Francis missing in 2015. Few details are available in her case, but her determined daughter has spent years piecing together every clue she could find.
This is Sherri Lynn's original FB post (edit: I removed the link because it breaks the sub's rules) where she tells the whole story. Maybe these details can help someone remember something and come forward with the missing pieces of this puzzle. Or maybe they can inspire the sleuths to join Sherri Lynn in her search for answers.
This is Sherri Lynn's original post, copy/pasted:
My Mother; Diane Theresa Francis
{In this document; I try my best to relive and walk you through my mother's life as I saw it and how other loved ones of hers have seen it throughout the years. They have helped me fill in the huge gaps, but there are many missing pieces that I still don't know. Remember, I was only 4 years old when the issues with Child Protective Services in Florida started and only 9 years old the last time I physically laid eyes on my mother.
*My mot
... keep reading on reddit ➡One of the most covered unsolved cases in a college town, the disappearance of Lauren Spierer at Indiana University is still cold 10 years later.
Lauren Spierer was a junior at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, studying apparel merchandising in 2011. A native of Scarsdale, New York, Lauren had a tight group of friends on and off campus. That makes her now-10-year disappearance even more baffling.
Lauren's case has received a lot of media attention since she went missing, including national coverage from the likes of Nancy Grace and People Magazine. But there are still so many unresolved questions from that night, including the biggest—where is Lauren?
The day Lauren went missing. On the late evening of June 2nd, 2011, Lauren was seen leaving her apartment with a friend, David Rohn. The two went to another mutual friend’s apartment, Jay Rosenbaum. Lauren, David and Jay had plans to meet up with Jay’s neighbor, Corey Rossman. There were approximately 10 people at Corey’s apartment with reports of heavy drinking and drug use. By midnight, David heads back to his apartment at Smallwoods Plaza and per surveillance footage, he isn’t seen leaving the apartment again around 11AM the next morning.
By 1:46AM, Lauren goes to Kilroy Sports Bar and is later seen leaving the bar with Corey Rossman by 2:27AM. Lauren leaves behind her shoes at the bar because the bar has a sand- covered patio. After leaving the bar, there is a lot of back and forth from various friends homes before she is last seen:
- By 2:30AM Lauren and Corey are seen at Smallwood Plaza but are confronted by Zach Oates, and 3 others who are concerned about Lauren. Zach Oates and Corey have a verbal altercation before Zach punches Corey in the face.
- Lauren and Corey leave Smallwood Plaza. A security camera shows Laurnen and Corey exiting the alley near Smallwood at 2:51AM and walking toward the 5 North Townhomes–where mutual friends live.
- When they re
Ive always been curious on the ending of 3, was the scene where Sidneys door opening by itself, was it the wind or was it Maureens ghost watching over Sidney?
On January 5, 1992, 17-year old Kelly Dae Wilson finished her shift at Northeast Texas Video in Gilmer, Texas. She was planning to drop off the day’s receipts at a night deposit drive-thru window at a bank around the corner, and was last seen standing outside her car at around 8:30 PM by the store’s owner, Joe Henry. Kelly vanished without explanation and her vehicle was found in the store parking lot with one of the tires slashed. The surveillance camera at the bank showed Kelly’s vehicle driving to the night deposit window and dropping off the receipts minutes after she was last seen, but the footage was so grainy that it was impossible to confirm if Kelly was actually driving. The footage also made it look like there might have been a second person inside the vehicle.
In January 1994, after a special prosecutor named Scott Lyford was assigned to investigate the case, a grand jury indicted eight people for Kelly’s abduction and murder. These events were set in motion years earlier when the Texas Department of Human Services started investigating a backwoods family named the Kerrs for allegations of child abuse and molestation. In total, 15 children connected to the family would be removed from their homes and placed in foster care. However, the children were coerced into sharing stories of Satanic ritual abuse which involved the ritualistic murder of babies. It eventually got to the point when one of the children described witnessing the murder of Kelly Dae Wilson. While her remains were never found, she was supposedly abducted by a Satanic cult, who proceeded to hold her captive on the Kerr family property to be sexually abused and tortured for nine days before she was ritualistically dismembered.
Even though there was no forensic evidence to support this story and the case hinged entirely on unreliable eyewitness testimony, murder indictments were handed down against Eugene and Geneva Kerr, the elderly patriarch and matriarch of the family; their son, Wendell Kerr, and his wife, Wanda Hicks Kerr; Wendell’s brother, Danny Kerr; and two family friends: Roger Don Holeman and his wife, Tammy Jo Smith. The eighth defendant turned out to be Gilmer Police Sergeant James York Brown, who had investigated Kelly’s disappearance for the past two years. Brown was implicated after Danny Kerr’s wife and one of the children identified him as being a member of the cult. Shortly before his indictment, Brown had uncovered evidence placing Wendell Kerr in New York duri
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