WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>This podcast is based on information sourced primarily from police

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<v Speaker 1>and media reports, but certain names and other identifying details

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<v Speaker 1>may have been changed or altered for privacy and security reasons.

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<v Speaker 1>While the events in cases discussed are based on real investigations,

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<v Speaker 1>some aspects may be simplified for time and for narrative purposes.

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<v Speaker 1>Voice actors have been used to read from statements or documents.

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<v Speaker 1>All information presented is intended solely to inform and raise awareness.

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<v Speaker 1>Hosts may discuss theories regarding the cases examined in this podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>but such discussions are not intended to and should not

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<v Speaker 1>be considered by the listener to be legal conclusions. All

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<v Speaker 1>persons discussed are considered innocent until proven guilty in a

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<v Speaker 1>court of law. Listener discretion is advised.

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<v Speaker 2>This is Chief Anna Lally. Welcome to Somebody Knows Something,

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<v Speaker 2>a podcast from the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Unit.

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<v Speaker 2>In this podcast, we will shed new light on cold

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<v Speaker 2>cases in the city of Elgin by sharing untold details

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<v Speaker 2>and by encouraging anyone with information to come forward. You

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<v Speaker 2>will come along with real cold case detectives as they

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<v Speaker 2>investigate active cold cases in real time and seek justice

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<v Speaker 2>for the victims and closure for their families. We believe

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<v Speaker 2>that the Elgin Police Department and our community can work

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<v Speaker 2>together to bring closure to cold cases because we know

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<v Speaker 2>that in these cases, somebody knows something.

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<v Speaker 3>Hello, and welcome to Somebody Knows Something. The Elgin Police

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<v Speaker 3>Department Cold Case Podcast. My name is Detective Andrew Houghton,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm Detective.

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<v Speaker 4>Chris Hall, and I'm Detective BETHS Derek Err.

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<v Speaker 5>On our last episode, we walked our listeners through our

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<v Speaker 5>family tree project and we discussed that we needed specific

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<v Speaker 5>DNA for Wayteria's family, called mt DNA. We also appealed

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<v Speaker 5>to our listeners to consider providing DNA to law enforcement

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<v Speaker 5>to help with the enormous backlog of unidentified people and

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<v Speaker 5>name us and to help solve cold cases.

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<v Speaker 3>We ended our last episode by telling our listeners we

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<v Speaker 3>had finally located some extended family for Wayteria who agreed

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<v Speaker 3>to assist us with this case and agreed to provide

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<v Speaker 3>to the DNA that we need for Wyteria's investigation. For

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<v Speaker 3>this episode, Beth is joining us as we work further

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<v Speaker 3>on the case and travel to Tennessee to collect that DNA.

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<v Speaker 3>But before we hit the road, let's talk a little

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<v Speaker 3>bit about the last time Elgin Police worked on this

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<v Speaker 3>case back in twenty fourteen, and how that connects back

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<v Speaker 3>to the Wayteria's home state of Tennessee.

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<v Speaker 5>As our listeners know, Wyteria had a lot of ties

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<v Speaker 5>to Tennessee. She was born and raised there, had her

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<v Speaker 5>first child there, and as we recently learned, actually lived

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<v Speaker 5>there briefly in nineteen seventy six. With the nearly four

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<v Speaker 5>month time window we have, she could be in Illinois

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<v Speaker 5>or Tennessee or other neighboring states. So when we do

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<v Speaker 5>our name as search for her, we plan to include

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<v Speaker 5>Tennessee and neighboring states in our search. Plus, after visiting

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<v Speaker 5>the Joliet Motor Hotel, we know that some of the

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<v Speaker 5>tenants at that property also went to another hotel that

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<v Speaker 5>the Zema family owned in Texas, So we now need

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<v Speaker 5>to consider Texas and other states between Illinois and Texas

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<v Speaker 5>as well.

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, we do, and coincidentally, when we were doing our

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<v Speaker 4>family tree research, we learned that Whitteria did have some

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<v Speaker 4>extended family in Texas. We even spoke to some of them,

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<v Speaker 4>but they were on her paternal side, so they didn't

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<v Speaker 4>meet the mt DNA requirements that we have, but because

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<v Speaker 4>we know that she had family connections in Texas, that

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<v Speaker 4>area might be another viable option for her.

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<v Speaker 3>That's true, so we obviously are going to consider Texas

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<v Speaker 3>now for a few reasons. When we filtered name US

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<v Speaker 3>in search to include Illinois and the states that border

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<v Speaker 3>US plus Texas and Tennessee, we discovered nearly three hundred

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<v Speaker 3>potential sets of unidentified remains could be an option for

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<v Speaker 3>our case. And thanks to Beth, as Chris said, we

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<v Speaker 3>recently learned that Whitteria also was living in Tennessee in

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<v Speaker 3>nineteen seventy six, but as we read the case file,

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<v Speaker 3>we also learned that the police did some additional digging

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<v Speaker 3>there back in twenty fourteen.

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<v Speaker 4>Back in twenty fourteen, the Elgin Police Department was validating

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<v Speaker 4>Whititia's entry into leeds to assure that she was still

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<v Speaker 4>listed as missing. Leads validations are something that we conduct

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<v Speaker 4>annually to ensure that people in the system are updated

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<v Speaker 4>with new information, were removed when needed, and so that

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<v Speaker 4>we make sure that the entry still exists. As you

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<v Speaker 4>said earlier in the season, Whiteityria's original leads entry had

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<v Speaker 4>an error which wasn't discovered for months, so she actually

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<v Speaker 4>wasn't listed in the system for nearly a year.

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<v Speaker 3>When Elgin conducted our annual review for her case in

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<v Speaker 3>twenty fourteen, officers came across some activity related to a

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<v Speaker 3>small estate affidavit that was filed in nineteen ninety seven

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<v Speaker 3>with her name on it. Police learned that the affidavit

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<v Speaker 3>involved her house on Hammond Avenue in Aurora, and so

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<v Speaker 3>an officer began to look into that paperwork to determine

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<v Speaker 3>if she had simply come home and just never been

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<v Speaker 3>taken out of leads. Quite frankly, that's something that does happen.

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<v Speaker 3>When we started this unit, we had several cases that

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<v Speaker 3>Matt and I reviewed from the early two thousands that

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<v Speaker 3>were listed as cold cases, but we were able to

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<v Speaker 3>close several of them fairly quickly. We discovered that a

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<v Speaker 3>simple typo in a name or an alias for a

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<v Speaker 3>person meant that. In one case, for example, our missing

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<v Speaker 3>person was actually arrested in Chicago a few days after

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<v Speaker 3>that she was reported missing, so we were able to

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<v Speaker 3>track her down and determined that she was no longer

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<v Speaker 3>a missing person. She was simply never taken out of

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<v Speaker 3>leads because her name was misspelled and she didn't have

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<v Speaker 3>contact with the police again after that, it can really

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<v Speaker 3>be something that trivial or simple. That's why annual validations

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<v Speaker 3>and follow up is so important.

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<v Speaker 5>Yes, and you guys also had another case involving the

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<v Speaker 5>juvenile who had been listed as missing runaway as well,

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<v Speaker 5>but that juvenile had returned home and the family just

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<v Speaker 5>never notified the police. In that case, the missing juvenile

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<v Speaker 5>stayed in leads for a number of years because he

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<v Speaker 5>never had contact with law enforcement until you guys actually

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<v Speaker 5>started looking into him again. So because in twenty fourteen,

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<v Speaker 5>police were hoping that maybe why Teria had simply shown

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<v Speaker 5>back up in the months or years after her disappearance

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<v Speaker 5>as well, and that no one even bothered to notify

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<v Speaker 5>the police. However, in order to investigate that possibility, they

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<v Speaker 5>had to do some digging.

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<v Speaker 4>The Elgin Police reached out to the King County Clerk's office,

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<v Speaker 4>but they didn't have a record of who filed the

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<v Speaker 4>court paperwork related to the nineteen ninety seven Affidavid, so

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<v Speaker 4>police turned to the attorney on record for the case. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 4>that paperwork was another debt on police learning that the

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<v Speaker 4>court proceedings related to the Affidavid were from twenty thirteen,

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<v Speaker 4>and that the activity was simply Wriitteria's name being removed

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<v Speaker 4>from the deed on the family home in Aurora after

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<v Speaker 4>her husband Wayman passed away on August fifteenth of that year.

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<v Speaker 5>We should also add that the twenty fourteen Elgin Police

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<v Speaker 5>Department report also revealed that Weyman moved back to Tennessee

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<v Speaker 5>later in life, so both he and Waityia still had

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<v Speaker 5>pretty strong ties to that area and there still is

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<v Speaker 5>some extended family in Tennessee for them both to this day.

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<v Speaker 3>During that validation process back in twenty fourteen, police also

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<v Speaker 3>called and spoke with a family member about the deed

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<v Speaker 3>and about Whitteria. The family member confirmed the police that

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<v Speaker 3>Wayteria was in fact still missing, but this family member

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<v Speaker 3>also told Pally something new. According to that family member,

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<v Speaker 3>in the years after Whitia's disappearance, Weyman reportedly told his

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<v Speaker 3>children that Whiteria had simply gone back to Tennessee. When

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<v Speaker 3>we learned that, it made us question why Wyman would

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<v Speaker 3>say that.

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<v Speaker 4>We came to four potential conclusions for that statement. One,

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<v Speaker 4>Weyman was simply protecting his children and concocting a story

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<v Speaker 4>for them and the rest of the family, so that

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<v Speaker 4>they thought Whiteeria was okay, even though he actually had

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<v Speaker 4>no idea where she was. Two Wyman knew that Whititiia

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<v Speaker 4>went back to Tennessee in nineteen seventy six, and that

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<v Speaker 4>was what he was referencing. Three Whititia actually went back

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<v Speaker 4>to Tennessee or four Wayman knew she didn't go back

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<v Speaker 4>to Tennessee, but told people that anyway for some other reason.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and we have to say that it certainly is

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<v Speaker 3>possible that he was correct. Maybe she did move back

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<v Speaker 3>to Tennessee in nineteen eighty two or nineteen eighty three.

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<v Speaker 3>But regardless, for the reason of his alleged statement to family,

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<v Speaker 3>Tennessee becomes that much more in play when it comes

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<v Speaker 3>to unidentified remains, and we feel that any state between

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<v Speaker 3>Illinois and Tennessee is also an option. So again, that's

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<v Speaker 3>why we want to take a regional approach to this

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<v Speaker 3>case rather than a local or statewide approach when it

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<v Speaker 3>comes to unidentified human remains. For Whyteria's investigation, we.

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<v Speaker 5>Should add that in twenty fourteen, police didn't quit once

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<v Speaker 5>they talked to family and reviewed information about the affidavit

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<v Speaker 5>with Wayteria's name on it. Elgiin Police also contacted the

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<v Speaker 5>chief medical Examiner for the state of Tennessee and determined

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<v Speaker 5>that no death certificate was issued in Witeria's name in

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<v Speaker 5>that state, and we know that there isn't one here

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<v Speaker 5>in Illinois. Police also reached out to the FBI in

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<v Speaker 5>Tennessee to search for any records involving Wlyteria, but came

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<v Speaker 5>up empty handed. Again, there were no contacts in Tennessee

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<v Speaker 5>at all, and the FBI was unable to locate any

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<v Speaker 5>information about Waitteria.

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<v Speaker 4>Unfortunately, that's where the twenty fourteen version of this investigation

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<v Speaker 4>grinded to a halt. Yet again, name us did exist,

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<v Speaker 4>but the problem was police needed something to compare to

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<v Speaker 4>the hundreds and potentially thousands of unidentified and unclaimed remains,

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<v Speaker 4>but in Wateria's case, they didn't have anything. Plus, police

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<v Speaker 4>didn't know about or start using genetic genial to identify

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<v Speaker 4>people for a few more years. However, we are now

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<v Speaker 4>in twenty twenty six and we have access to newer technology,

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<v Speaker 4>so we're hoping that familial dana might just be the

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<v Speaker 4>key to finding Wateria Jones.

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<v Speaker 5>As we alluded to the last episode, we finally have

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<v Speaker 5>family members who are alive, meet the criteria we need

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<v Speaker 5>and are available to meet with us for this case.

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<v Speaker 5>So that is a huge development. Andrew, why don't you

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<v Speaker 5>tell our listeners how we track down an extended family

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<v Speaker 5>member and what actually happened recently in our investigation that

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<v Speaker 5>is leading us to travel all the way to Tennessee.

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<v Speaker 3>Sure. So, over the course of several months, I messaged

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<v Speaker 3>numerous people through ancestry dot com, and the three of

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<v Speaker 3>us basically started cold calling numbers for different people who

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<v Speaker 3>we thought were potentially family members for Whyteria. At first,

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<v Speaker 3>we made contact with a few promising family members, but

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<v Speaker 3>as we spoke to them, we learned that they were

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<v Speaker 3>either paternal relatives or researchers doing independent research on behalf

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<v Speaker 3>of various families online. Then we got lucky. An extended

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<v Speaker 3>paternal relative for Waitia returned to message that I left

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<v Speaker 3>and spoke with me about our request. As you can imagine,

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<v Speaker 3>this family member, who asked that we not use their name,

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<v Speaker 3>initially thought our message might be a scam, but they

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<v Speaker 3>checked us out, reviewed our website and confirm that we

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<v Speaker 3>actually were who we said we were.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, and I think that again, having our website and

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<v Speaker 4>information publicly available is a huge help. People can review

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<v Speaker 4>our cases, see pictures and short bios of us, and

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<v Speaker 4>confirm that we are legitimately who we say we are

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<v Speaker 4>when we call our message them. I know that in

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<v Speaker 4>many cases we've even sent text messages or online messages

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<v Speaker 4>to try to track people down. A lot of times

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<v Speaker 4>we will include our tip line, our email, and our

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<v Speaker 4>website so they can review those before deciding to call

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<v Speaker 4>back or text us.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and the website helps in another way too. When

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<v Speaker 3>this family member called, I was off duty, but I

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<v Speaker 3>recognized the Tennessee area code that popped up on my

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<v Speaker 3>cell phone. I immediately answered and spoke with this caller

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<v Speaker 3>from Tennessee who believed that they were potentially related to Whyteria.

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<v Speaker 3>After going over their background, we were able to confirm

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<v Speaker 3>that they were a maternal relative of her, so that

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<v Speaker 3>was a huge step. This family member also told me

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<v Speaker 3>that they had visited our website and looked at a

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<v Speaker 3>picture that we have listed for White Tia. When they

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<v Speaker 3>saw her, they said, oh my goodness, because a close

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<v Speaker 3>relative of theirs looked so similar to Materia. It literally

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<v Speaker 3>took their breath away.

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<v Speaker 5>That's the power of pictures that is why we want

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<v Speaker 5>to have these pictures of the victims and missing people

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<v Speaker 5>we have listed in our case docket, and people actually

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<v Speaker 5>see them, it makes an enormous difference. They become a

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<v Speaker 5>real life person and not just statistic or a name

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<v Speaker 5>on a page. Having that picture might have been what

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<v Speaker 5>got this relative to call us back and ultimately agree

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<v Speaker 5>to help us in the case for sure.

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<v Speaker 4>And that relative told Andrew that they absolutely wanted to

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<v Speaker 4>help in this case. They literally didn't even know why

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<v Speaker 4>Tyri existed, they had never heard of her, but they

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<v Speaker 4>wanted to help. And so we recently took a trip

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<v Speaker 4>to Tennessee to meet that person who we found after

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<v Speaker 4>months of research into Hyteria's extended family tree.

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<v Speaker 6>All Right, we've just crossed into Tennessee over the Kentuctive

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<v Speaker 6>Order here.

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<v Speaker 7>In the car about eight hours and met this year

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<v Speaker 7>with us as well.

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<v Speaker 8>Yep, And we were heading down to meet with one

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<v Speaker 8>of the extended family members that we were able to

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<v Speaker 8>locate through our family tree. So we're hoping that this

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<v Speaker 8>person will be able to give us at least one

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<v Speaker 8>sample of the DNA that we need.

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<v Speaker 5>They're about twenty minutes or so, just north of Nashville.

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<v Speaker 4>Just outside the city limits.

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<v Speaker 8>So.

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<v Speaker 7>Will be there momentarily.

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<v Speaker 6>Just finished up with the family members of Criteria, should

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<v Speaker 6>say the extended family members of myeteria.

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<v Speaker 7>They were extremely gracious and very helpful.

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<v Speaker 8>Yeah, it did not want to record for the podcast, which,

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<v Speaker 8>as we've said the past, is somewhat common sometimes.

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<v Speaker 7>In these cases. We thought we were meeting with just

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<v Speaker 7>one person because that's what.

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<v Speaker 8>We've been coordinating with, but they were able to reach

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<v Speaker 8>out to another family member from the air here and

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<v Speaker 8>that person also came to meet with us. So we

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<v Speaker 8>now have two options of our DNA.

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<v Speaker 7>So that's really helpful.

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<v Speaker 8>That's what we were needing in the end, So we

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<v Speaker 8>thought we were getting one today and we got two,

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<v Speaker 8>so that's really great.

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<v Speaker 6>Yeah, I would say that this current step for this

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<v Speaker 6>case is essential. So this is a major file marker

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<v Speaker 6>for Criteria's case. So happy with the results.

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<v Speaker 4>We're very grateful to them for being able to help

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<v Speaker 4>us out. And as we talked to them, they said

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<v Speaker 4>obviously they didn't know her, but they said in the end,

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<v Speaker 4>it's family and they want to do whatever they tend

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<v Speaker 4>to help out. I'm sorry to help give some closure

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<v Speaker 4>possibly to this case.

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<v Speaker 7>Yeah, we sat and talked for fairly extended time just

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<v Speaker 7>about the case.

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<v Speaker 8>They wanted to know a little bit more about her

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<v Speaker 8>and the investigation and kind of what happened, and you know,

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<v Speaker 8>kind of gives you a little bit of faith in

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<v Speaker 8>humanity again when you have somebody that says, I never

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<v Speaker 8>knew this person even exists, but because they're family, I

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<v Speaker 8>want to do what's right for them, and so we're

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<v Speaker 8>gonna we are going to meet with you. We are

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<v Speaker 8>going to give you this DNA because we want her

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<v Speaker 8>to be at rest. Is kind of what they said,

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<v Speaker 8>you know, she deserves to be at peace if this

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<v Speaker 8>can help, and we're obviously hoping it will. But it's

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<v Speaker 8>just really nice to have, you know, people that come

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<v Speaker 8>out that have never even met her or knew she existed,

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<v Speaker 8>and they want to know about her and they want

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<v Speaker 8>to want to help her and her family.

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<v Speaker 4>She can't trust us, right, we don't know that, they

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<v Speaker 4>don't know y, So it was nice.

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<v Speaker 7>For them to be able to meet with us and lesson.

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<v Speaker 8>Yeah, so we will take our DNA back today and

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<v Speaker 8>start working on getting it uploaded in the name us.

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<v Speaker 7>I can see if this moves forward for us. We're

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<v Speaker 7>really hopeful that.

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<v Speaker 8>This is going to be kind of the biggest step

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<v Speaker 8>this case has had in the last forty plus years. YEP.

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<v Speaker 5>I just have to say again that the fact that

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<v Speaker 5>these family members helped us, even though they had never

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<v Speaker 5>met or even knew Whyteria existed, is very moving. They

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<v Speaker 5>wanted to help because they believed that it was the

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<v Speaker 5>right thing to do for Wateria, and as Beth hat said,

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<v Speaker 5>they were open enough to trust us as well. I

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<v Speaker 5>think that one big part of us doing this podcast

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<v Speaker 5>is to try to continue to build that trust with

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<v Speaker 5>the community and to signal to people that we are

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<v Speaker 5>here to help. We want to solve these cases, not

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<v Speaker 5>just for stats or numbers to clear out a case,

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<v Speaker 5>but because it's the right thing to do, and because

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<v Speaker 5>Wateryia deserves that. She deserves a thorough look at her case,

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<v Speaker 5>and she deserves to have someone take the time to

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<v Speaker 5>really search and do the work to try to bring

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<v Speaker 5>her home.

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<v Speaker 4>We also hope that as we've gone through Wayteria's story,

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<v Speaker 4>that this case inspires other people to consider working with

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<v Speaker 4>law enforcement by sharing cases like Wateria's and by joining

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<v Speaker 4>forces with groups like Jedmatch, who Andrew and Chris mentioned

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<v Speaker 4>in our last episode when more people who get involved

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<v Speaker 4>in highlight cases like these on social media, the better,

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<v Speaker 4>because there are so many cases of missing people, especially

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<v Speaker 4>women and children, who neither voice is heard. Putting cases

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<v Speaker 4>like Wateria's in the limelight can help our case, but

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<v Speaker 4>it can also potentially help other cases by generating community

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<v Speaker 4>interest and by educating people on steps that they can

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<v Speaker 4>take to help us solve cold cases.

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<v Speaker 3>With our DNA finally collected, we are now waiting for

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<v Speaker 3>the next steps in this case, but we feel that

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<v Speaker 3>we are much further along than when we started this investigation.

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<v Speaker 3>We can now confidently say we were updating Waiitia's case

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<v Speaker 3>from nineteen eighty two all the way to twenty twenty six.

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<v Speaker 4>We will continue to review potential leads in this case,

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<v Speaker 4>and we again ask that anyone in the public with

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<v Speaker 4>information contact us. I think that we all feel that

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<v Speaker 4>we have made some big strikes in this case, but

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<v Speaker 4>Waitia's story still isn't over.

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<v Speaker 5>Next episode, we will wrap up season three by revisiting

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<v Speaker 5>all of our theories and by recapping the entire season

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<v Speaker 5>of this investigation. We will also be uploading the familial

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<v Speaker 5>DNA as we collected again the next chapter of this case.

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<v Speaker 5>We are hopeful that the updates we have made, especially

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<v Speaker 5>when it comes to DNA, will help us bring Maiteria home,

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<v Speaker 5>but we still need your help, so please, as we've

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<v Speaker 5>stated before, contact us with any information that you have

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<v Speaker 5>about Wateria or her case. You could have the missing

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<v Speaker 5>piece of information that we need to solve this case,

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<v Speaker 5>because we know that in this case, just like all

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<v Speaker 5>of our other cases, somebody knows something.

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<v Speaker 2>If you or anyone you know has information about this

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<v Speaker 2>case or any other cold case in Elgin, please contact

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<v Speaker 2>the Elgin Police Department Cold Case email at cold Case

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<v Speaker 2>tips at elginil dot gov or the cold case tip

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<v Speaker 2>line at eight four seven two eight nine cold. You

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<v Speaker 2>can also review cold case information on the Elgin Police

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<v Speaker 2>Department's cold case page at www dot elgincoldcases dot com,

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<v Speaker 2>where every cold case, homicide, and missing person's case is

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<v Speaker 2>listed with photographs and information about each case