WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:04.879 This podcast is based on information sourced primarily from police 2 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:09.519 and media reports, but certain names and other identifying details 3 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:14.359 may have been changed or altered for privacy and security reasons. 4 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:19.679 While the events in cases discussed are based on real investigations, 5 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:24.879 some aspects may be simplified for time and for narrative purposes. 6 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:29.839 Voice actors have been used to read from statements or documents. 7 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:36.159 All information presented is intended solely to inform and raise awareness. 8 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:41.039 Hosts may discuss theories regarding the cases examined in this podcast, 9 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:45.880 but such discussions are not intended to and should not 10 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:51.399 be considered by the listener to be legal conclusions. All 11 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:56.799 persons discussed are considered innocent until proven guilty in a 12 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.920 court of law. Listener discretion is advised. 13 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:05.719 This is Chief Anna Lally. Welcome to Somebody Knows Something, 14 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:09.280 a podcast from the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Unit. 15 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:12.599 In this podcast, we will shed new light on cold 16 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:16.359 cases in the city of Elgin by sharing untold details 17 00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:20.439 and by encouraging anyone with information to come forward. You 18 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.280 will come along with real cold case detectives as they 19 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:26.799 investigate active cold cases in real time and seek justice 20 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:30.400 for the victims and closure for their families. We believe 21 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:33.159 that the Elgin Police Department and our community can work 22 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:36.640 together to bring closure to cold cases because we know 23 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:39.480 that in these cases, somebody knows something. 24 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.319 Hello and welcome to Somebody Knows something. The Elgin Police 25 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:52.239 Department Cold Case Podcast My name is Detective Andrew Howton. 26 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:56.200 Non Detective Chris Hall. One of the past several episodes, 27 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:00.159 we have traveled to Elgin, Juliette, Aurora, and Chicago as 28 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:03.840 we seek more information in Wayteria's case. Now we want 29 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:06.359 to look at the forensic options that we have moving forward. 30 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:09.080 For this episode, we turn our attention to a group 31 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:13.159 called the National Missing and Unidentified Person System, or as 32 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:16.800 we call NamUs, which is currently the only national repository 33 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:21.360 for missing, unidentified and unclanned persons in the country. We 34 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:23.879 are hoping that this system might just be exactly what 35 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:35.000 we need to bring Whyteria Jones on. NamUs has an 36 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:38.159 online database that has a public facing portion and a 37 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:41.560 law enforcement only portion. The public can use the site 38 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:45.319 to search for information. That public facing portion provides limited 39 00:02:45.319 --> 00:02:48.759 information viewable to the public. Law enforcement section that we 40 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:52.439 can access has much more additional information that isn't public 41 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:56.080 and It allows police to track cases, update cases, and 42 00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:59.560 conduct searches. Using nam US, police can also use case 43 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:03.120 specific information to search for other missing persons cases and 44 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:07.400 unidentified remains cases to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies 45 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:10.199 around the country. From the very beginning of this case, 46 00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:12.919 one of our major goals has been to upload DNA 47 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:16.319 for wayteria and search databases to determine if she has 48 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.960 already been found but not identified, and even if she 49 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.680 has not been located. We want to have DNA available 50 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:25.639 for future detectives in the event that one day she 51 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:26.599 has finally found. 52 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:29.560 Name is the story begins. Back in two thousand and three, 53 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:32.639 the National Institute of Justice began funding major efforts to 54 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:36.080 maximize the use of DNA technology within the criminal justice system, 55 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:39.840 specifically in cases of missing and unidentified persons. In two 56 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:42.439 thousand and five, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, 57 00:03:42.520 --> 00:03:46.080 Robert McCallum, Junior, created the National Missing Person's Task Force 58 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:48.919 in an effort to improve law enforcement's ability to access 59 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:52.680 information and solve missing and unidentified person's cases. From that 60 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:56.639 task Force, NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System 61 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:57.400 was born. 62 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:02.360 NamUs launched two different systems, the Namous Unidentified Persons or 63 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:05.479 UP database in two thousand and seven and the Names 64 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:09.080 Missing Persons or MP database in two thousand and eight. 65 00:04:09.400 --> 00:04:12.080 Then in two thousand and nine they combine both systems 66 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:15.919 for automatic case comparisons between the Missing Person's database and 67 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:18.079 the Unidentified Person's database. 68 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:22.360 Since two thousand and nine, the database has grown exponentially. 69 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:25.920 NamUs has also expanded to include analytical and case support, 70 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:29.360 fingerprint comparison, and in twenty twenty two they established the 71 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:34.240 FBI Forensic Genealogy Searching Partnership. So NamUs can and does 72 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:36.879 assist law enforcement in a number of different ways. While 73 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:40.040 we will not be using forensic genetic genealogy or FGG 74 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:43.000 in the usual sense, in this particular case, we will 75 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.519 be using familial DNA in a slightly different way. 76 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:50.079 Forensic genetic genealogy traditionally involves a case in which there 77 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:53.279 is an unknown offender or victim. Police can use the 78 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:55.800 DNA from the unknown person and upload it to the 79 00:04:55.879 --> 00:05:00.120 various genealogy databases where they can search for distant relatives. Then, 80 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:04.560 once they identified distant relatives, genealogy experts backtrack to try 81 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:08.079 to identify the source of the DNA through extensive family trees. 82 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:11.319 A lot of listeners to our podcast have probably heard 83 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.519 about the Golden State Killer case in California and about 84 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.839 how police in that case used forensic genealogy in twenty 85 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:22.240 eighteen to identify Joseph James DiAngelo as the serial rapist 86 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:25.439 and murderer who terrorized the state of California in the 87 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:28.920 nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties. But what many people don't 88 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:30.959 know is that the Golden State Killer case is not 89 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:34.360 actually the first case where police used that technology. 90 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:38.079 Four years before the Golden State Killer was identified, police 91 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:40.160 in Phoenix, Arizona, were working on a cold case that 92 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:42.199 was over twenty years old and it involved a serial 93 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:45.319 killer the media had dubbed the Canal Killer. On November eighth, 94 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:48.240 nineteen ninety two, twenty two year old Angelo Brasso was 95 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:50.279 attacked and murdered as she wrote her bicycle along the 96 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.879 Arizona Canal in Phoenix, Arizona. Then just under a year later, 97 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:56.759 in September of nineteen ninety three, seventeen year old Melanie 98 00:05:56.759 --> 00:05:59.439 Burness was also murdered in the same area. Both young 99 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:02.000 women were sid actually assaulted, and DNA later connected them 100 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.720 both to the same suspect, but police had no idea 101 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:06.600 who that suspect was for over twenty years. 102 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:10.519 By twenty fourteen, police and both girls' families had still 103 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:14.439 not given up so when Colleen Fitzpatrick, a forensic scientist 104 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.879 and genealogist, suggested that they attempt to identify the offender 105 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:21.959 using genetic genealogy, the Phoenix Police Department agreed. By January 106 00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:25.720 of twenty fifteen, they had identified an offender, Brian Patrick Miller, 107 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:28.600 and ultimately confirmed that he was the man who killed 108 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:31.839 both Angela and Melanie. Brian is currently on death row 109 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:34.680 in Arizona for his crimes, but we should add that 110 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:37.839 Miller is also widely suspected of abducting and murdering thirteen 111 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:41.279 year old Brandy Myers. Myers had disappeared just outside Miller's 112 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:44.439 apartment in Phoenix on May twenty sixth, nineteen ninety two. 113 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.439 If you have any information about Brian Patrick Miller or 114 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:51.079 Brandy Myers case, please contact the Phoenix Police Department at 115 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:54.759 Coldcasehomicide dot PPD at Phoenix dot gov. 116 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:58.399 Even before the Golden State killer case, police also use 117 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.680 investigative genetic genealogy in a different way. They used it 118 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:06.720 to identify previously unidentified victims. In the critically acclaimed podcast Bearbrook, 119 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:09.720 which was released in twenty eighteen, host to Jason Moon, 120 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:12.920 walks listeners through the investigation of four people were murdered 121 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:15.920 and found in barrels in Bearbrooks State Park in New Hampshire. 122 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:18.160 The first barrel, containing a woman and young girl, was 123 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:21.000 found in nineteen eighty five, then in two thousand a 124 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:23.680 second barrel with two more young children was also found 125 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:26.759 in the same state park. Throughout the season, Moon describes 126 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:29.600 that the four victims' identities were unknown until twenty nineteen, 127 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:34.000 when investigators identified three of them using FGG technology. Because 128 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:36.680 the case had ties to California, an investigator there began 129 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:39.240 working with New Hampshire on the case. He quickly determined 130 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:41.639 that the same technology could be used to identify unknown 131 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.680 suspects as well. So while the Golden State Killer case 132 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:46.399 gets a lot of media credit for being the first 133 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:49.680 time police used genetic genealogy the Solfa case, it likely 134 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:51.920 would not have happened without the New Hampshire case, which 135 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:54.560 was coordinated between law enforcement on both coasts, and it 136 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:56.759 also would not have happened without the Phoenix case, which 137 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:58.879 was tied up in appeals for a number of years. 138 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:01.959 It really is a testament to interagency cooperation and police 139 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.959 around the country embracing new technology and cold cases. 140 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:08.720 Yes, it certainly is. And because of this technology and 141 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:12.120 because of the cooperation between the public, civilians and law enforcement, 142 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:15.319 people like Brian Patrick Miller and Joseph DiAngelo are sitting 143 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:18.439 in prison for their crimes. And because of this technology, 144 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:22.439 people like Mary Lice, Elizabeth Honeychurch and her children, Marie 145 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:26.800 Elizabeth Vaughan, Sarah Lynn McWaters and Raya Resmussen have been 146 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:30.439 identified as the victims found in Bearbrooks State Park. Countless 147 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:33.000 other offenders and victims have also been identified as the 148 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:35.720 police continue to use this cutting edge technology to solve 149 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:37.440 cases that are decades old. 150 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:40.519 For our case, we are using familial DNA, but in 151 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.279 a different way. In New Hampshire police had four sets 152 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:45.879 of unidentified human remains and they had no idea who 153 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:49.159 they were, so they collected DNA standards from those unknown victims, 154 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:52.960 uploaded them to databases and reverse engineered a family tree 155 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:55.840 to help identify them. In our situation, we know that 156 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.519 why Teria is missing and that there are multiple sets 157 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:01.519 of unidentified human remains that could be her, but we 158 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:04.200 don't have any DNA, so we need to build out 159 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:06.919 a family tree on our own to identify potential candidates 160 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:10.480 for familial DNA, collect that DNA and then starts for 161 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:12.840 potential unknown human remains, and we could link back to 162 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:15.879 her using that DNA standard. The problem is there's a 163 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:22.080 huge number of unidentified remains around the country. 164 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:29.519 Namos's website lists that there are over twenty five thousand 165 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:34.080 open missing persons cases, over fifteen thousand unidentified remains in 166 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:37.519 over twenty one thousand unclaimed remains in the United States. 167 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:40.720 Since its inception, NamUs has helped resolve over seventy five 168 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:44.320 thousand cases in total, but thousands still remain unsolved. 169 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:47.200 The number of cases that NamUs has helped resolved is 170 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.720 certainly impressive, but agencies and other groups should continue to 171 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:53.200 think about NamUs as an option for cases. Because the 172 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:56.960 National Crime Information Center notes between twenty seven and twenty twenty, 173 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:59.519 an average of six hundred and sixty four thousand, seven 174 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:02.039 hundred seventy six people are reported missing in the United 175 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:04.720 States each year, and the US Department of Justice also 176 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:07.399 noted that there are over four thy four hundred unidentified 177 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:10.440 bodies that are recovered annually. Then you have the twenty 178 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:13.639 eighteen Census of Medical Examiners in Corners report, which documents 179 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:16.440 that there are over eleven thousand sets of unidentified remains 180 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:19.480 simply sitting at corners offices and medical examer's offices around 181 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:21.919 the country. When you add all those numbers together, you 182 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:24.240 have a really staggering number of both missing people and 183 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:27.240 unidentified sets of human remains around the United States. 184 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:31.120 Those numbers are truly staggering. When you look at NamUs 185 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.559 more closely, they currently have over four hundred missing persons cases, 186 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:38.919 over four hundred unidentified persons, and over ninety unclaimed remains 187 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:41.519 here in Illinois alone. So we have to at least 188 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:44.679 consider that Wyteria could be one of those unidentified people 189 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.240 here in Illinois. But because of the huge time gap 190 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:49.360 that we have in her case, we also have to 191 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:52.360 consider that she could potentially be one of the thousands 192 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:56.039 of identified remains in nearby states or even across the country. 193 00:10:56.919 --> 00:10:59.120 The problem is we don't have DNA in the system yet, 194 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:02.039 so we can only look at possible biological sex and 195 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:05.120 race and age and physical descriptions When we filter for 196 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:08.039 potential comparisons for Wayteria right now, and a system is 197 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:09.840 only as good as the information that's put into it. 198 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:12.519 Some sets of human remains in the system might not 199 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:16.279 be marked as female or as black slash African American. Instead, 200 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:19.240 many of them are listed as uncertain or not provided 201 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:21.679 or other. While we can at least get a general 202 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:24.600 idea of potential candidates for comparison, it is entirely possible 203 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:26.759 that a set of human remains that's marked uncertain for 204 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:30.879 race or unsure for biological sex could be Whyteria. That's 205 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:33.639 why we need DNA to start a more comprehensive search 206 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:40.200 in this case. Well, here in Elgin, we've spent the 207 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:42.600 last year assuring that all of our missing person cases, 208 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:45.519 including our cold cases, are listed in NamUs because it's 209 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:47.480 the best way for us to track them and determine 210 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:49.879 if they are unidentified remains that have been recovered that 211 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:52.720 might match one of our cases. When we started our investigation, 212 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:56.240 we had five cold cases active in NamUs. Obviously Whyteria 213 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:58.440 is listed in there, but we also briefly talked about 214 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:02.159 Franco Loyo Manor esqe A Lante Martinez, Chad Smith, and 215 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:05.159 Darren Wood in our bonus episode back in March. We 216 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.519 are happy to report that just days after our bonus 217 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:10.120 episode aired in March, Cook County Sheriff's Department in Metro 218 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:13.759 Police located Chad Smith alive in Chicago. Chris helped reunite 219 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:15.679 him with his mother, and we removed him from our 220 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:18.639 caseload and from Leeds. So our Nameus cases and our 221 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.080 cold case files now include four people as of the 222 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:23.879 date of this recording. Those people are why Teria Jones, 223 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:27.519 Darren Wood Maynor, Escalante Martinez, and Franco Loyo. 224 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:31.320 Other area people that we've talked about in past episodes 225 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:34.159 of our podcast are also included in Name Us. There's 226 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:36.840 Deborah McCall, who was sixteen years old when she disappeared 227 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:39.879 in Downers Grove in nineteen seventy nine. Andrew Matt talked 228 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:42.960 about her in season one because her disappearance is potentially 229 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:46.000 linked to an area serial killer named Bruce Lundall. Then 230 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:48.600 there's Barbara Gluker, whose case we are still working on 231 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:52.159 today with Mount Prospect, and girls like April Rose Zane 232 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:55.480 and Sarah Elizabeth Avon, who we mentioned in episode four. 233 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:59.120 We also listened multiple young black women and girls. Last episode, 234 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:01.720 Who Were Awesome, missed from Chicago in the nineteen eighties, 235 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:04.320 and they are listed in NAMES two along with thousands 236 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:06.320 of other women, men, and children. 237 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:09.879 People like Keana Galvin from South Elgin and Lisa Stebeck 238 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:13.039 and Stacy Peterson, who we briefly mentioned in our Joliet episode, 239 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:16.080 are also included in the Missing Person's database in NamUs. 240 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:18.639 All three women are pretty well known cases here in Illinois, 241 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:21.279 and they're all still missing. I think one staggering thing 242 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:23.120 that both of us have found is that there are 243 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:26.840 just so many people, especially young women and girls, listed 244 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:29.919 in NamUs. It's truly heartbreaking. And there's one more young 245 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:32.559 woman we'd like to briefly discuss here in our podcast 246 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:35.399 who's an area of missing girl and is also listed 247 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:38.840 in NamUs. She also had links to season one this podcast. 248 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:50.679 Twenty six year old Kimberly M. Shanders disappeared from Carpentersville, Illinois, 249 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:53.039 in nineteen eighty seven. We didn't mention her case in 250 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:55.360 season one, but we had some tips come in during 251 00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:57.600 that season which mentioned her, and there are some odd 252 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:01.240 coincidences that link her to season one. For starters, Kimberly 253 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:03.200 was a twenty six year old white female who was 254 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:05.559 last seen at the meadow Vale Shopping Center in April. 255 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:08.240 Just like twenty three year old Karen Sheeper's only Kimberly 256 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:10.759 vanished in nineteen eighty seven and Karen disappeared in nineen 257 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:14.000 eighty three. Also, just like Barbara Lucert, Kimberly left her 258 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:16.279 house and planned to go to a concert before she disappeared. 259 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:20.639 Coincidentally, Kimberly had also traveled in Nashville, Tennessee, just a 260 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:23.879 month prior to her disappearance because she loved country music 261 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.559 and dreamed of moving to Nashville for the music scene. 262 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:29.559 Being a music fan, she entered a local radio station 263 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:32.720 contest and won two tickets to see Chris Christofferson in 264 00:14:32.840 --> 00:14:36.200 concert in Meryllville, Indiana. Kimberly did not have a car, 265 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:38.039 but she did have one hundred and twenty dollars in 266 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:40.799 travelers checks when she left to head to Indiana on 267 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:44.279 April twenty fourth, nineteen eighty seven, but she never cashed 268 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:46.519 those checks and Kimberly never came back. 269 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:49.399 Police were never able to prove if she actually did 270 00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:51.320 make it to the concert, but they do believe that 271 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:53.600 she likely made it to Merylville because an employee at 272 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:56.320 the Meryllville Holiday n told police that Kimberly had asked 273 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:59.360 about a bus that would go back to Chicago. Unfortunately, 274 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:01.799 he told her that such a bus existed, because, according 275 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:03.480 to him, the only bus at that time ran on 276 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:05.559 local routes and didn't go all the way to Chicago. 277 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:08.799 Similar to why Tiia's case, police have never been able 278 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:12.120 to confirm if Kimberly bought a bus ticket in Maryllville, Indiana, 279 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:15.720 or anywhere else. The companies back then didn't keep records 280 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:18.399 of passengers. Plus we now know that she didn't cast 281 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:20.960 your travelers checks, so if she did buy a ticket, 282 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:22.799 she may have paid cash for it, and there's no 283 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:25.759 paper trail at all for that purchase. Kimberly, like many 284 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:28.559 other girls in the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties, just 285 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:29.399 simply vanished. 286 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:33.159 Kimberly Shanders was approximately five foot one to five foot 287 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:35.000 two inches tall, weigh one hundred and ten to one 288 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:37.399 hundred and fifteen pounds, and had brown hair and brown 289 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:39.960 eyes when she disappeared in nineteen eighty seven. She also 290 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.960 wore glasses and at pierced Ears. We encourage our listeners 291 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:45.320 to check out Kimberly's case and other area cases on 292 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:48.200 NamUs where you can read about the cases, see pictures 293 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:50.440 of the missing people, where you can find contact the 294 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.120 agency working on each case. If you have information on 295 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.759 Kimberly's case or any other area missing person case, please 296 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:59.279 contact us and we can help find the right agency 297 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:00.919 for you to talk to brig your case. 298 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:11.639 While our hope is that updating Whyterius case with DNA 299 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:15.080 could lead to an identification, it isn't a certainty. Kimberly 300 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.240 Shanders had meilial DNA and dental records and NamUs, and 301 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:20.480 so does Barbara bluecurt and a number of our other 302 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:23.240 cold case missing people as well, but they are all 303 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:26.480 still missing names. Is just another tool, But we believe 304 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:29.320 that updating Whyteria's case and using this tool is one 305 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:31.240 huge step that we definitely need to take. 306 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:34.120 Yeah, And while it might not guarantee that we find 307 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.879 her in twenty twenty six, once that DNA is uploaded, 308 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:39.720 it's there for future investigators too. Maybe we won't find 309 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:42.480 Wayteria during this current investigation, but over the past few months, 310 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:46.200 neighboring agencies have found skeletonized remains in places like Baker's Lake, 311 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:49.639 Forest Preserve in nearby Barrington and Raceway Woods in Carpersville. 312 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:52.039 As police around the state and country work to identify 313 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:55.320 newly discovered remains, it is entirely possible that remains from 314 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:57.600 around the country or around the area could be found 315 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:01.519 years later and identified as Waiteria because we uploaded familial 316 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:03.039 DNA during our investigation. 317 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:07.160 Absolutely and in fact, human remains found in twenty twelve 318 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.400 along I ninety four and Cicero Avenue were identified in 319 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:13.160 February of twenty twenty six as sixty four year old 320 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:16.400 Ronald M. Reischer because Illinois State Police were able to 321 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:19.880 get DNA from a relative. This technology can and has 322 00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:23.720 solved cold cases, and a future set of unidentified remains 323 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:26.799 found even decades from now could be compared to DNA. 324 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:30.480 For Wateriia's family, she deserves to be found and identified 325 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:33.680 and placed at rest. Getting DNA for this case is 326 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:35.680 the best chance to do that moving forward. 327 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.160 Kimberly's case and Wayteria's are the types of investigations that 328 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:41.359 certainly make us think that we should be considering areas 329 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:44.359 outside of Elgin and Kane County for potential human remains 330 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:47.319 for Wahteria. As we said she could literally be anywhere 331 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:49.400 in the country because she was missing for four months 332 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:52.240 before she was reported missing, and she had ties to Tennessee, 333 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:55.079 potentially to Texas and other states that we haven't mentioned before, 334 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:04.759 so we have to cast a large net for her. 335 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:10.039 Let's start with Tennessee. We know that why Terry had 336 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:12.480 ties there because she was born there, she had family there, 337 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:15.519 and she lived there briefly in nineteen seventy six. And Tennessee, 338 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.319 just like Illinois, has a number of cases involving missing people. 339 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:20.640 With that in mind, when it comes to missing persons, 340 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:22.680 as we've said in other episodes, we want to highlight 341 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:24.640 as many of those cases as we can, even if 342 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.519 they're not technically ours. One group that we've met since 343 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.960 we launched our podcast is the creators and hosts of 344 00:18:29.960 --> 00:18:33.240 a podcast called Missing in Hushtown. They, similar to us, 345 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:36.200 use this platform to discuss missing person cases, but do 346 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:38.720 so in rural Tennessee, and a percentage of their revenue 347 00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:41.319 goes directly to the family and their cases. In fact, 348 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.119 the sister of one of the missing people for their 349 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.400 first season actually works alongside the host on the podcast. 350 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.000 For season one, Missing in Hushtown discussed the disappearance of 351 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:52.400 a twenty one year old Jennifer Wicks and her two 352 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:55.880 year old daughter, Adriana in March twenty fifth, two thousand 353 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:58.960 and four. They were reportedly last seen in Cross Plains, Tennessee, 354 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:02.039 which is a small town roughly forty miles north of Nashville, 355 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:05.680 in the company of Jennifer's boyfriend, Joey Benton. Both Jennifer 356 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:07.200 and her daughter are still missing. 357 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:10.839 For season two, the group covered the disappearance of eleven 358 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:14.720 year old Bethany Murkowski from Jackson, Tennessee area. Bethany was 359 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:17.960 reportedly lasting at Old Hickory Shopping Mall in Jackson, Tennessee, 360 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:20.680 on March fourth, two thousand and one. She has described 361 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:23.359 as four foot eight inches tall, ninety five pounds, and 362 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:25.839 she was lasting wearing a green shirt, blue jeans, and 363 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:28.920 black shoes. The state of Tennessee now honors the children 364 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:30.799 who are missing and the families who are still waiting 365 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:34.359 for answers on Tennessee Missing Children's Day every March fourth, 366 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:36.720 the anniversary of her disappearance. 367 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.200 We know that these cases are not our cases, but 368 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.799 these are young women and children who matter and who 369 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:45.319 are missing. We've had the pleasure of meeting the hosts 370 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.519 of Missing in Hushtown and Jennifer's sister, and we decided 371 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:50.559 that if we can use this platform to generate some 372 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:53.720 more attention for their case, that's exactly what we should do. 373 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:56.920 So we encourage listeners to our podcast to check out 374 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:00.200 Missing in Hushtown and again encourage listeners to start the 375 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:02.759 name of database from missing people in your own area. 376 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.200 You might just have some information that could help close 377 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:08.119 some other cases, even outside of Elgin, And if we 378 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.839 can help some other agency or some other family members, 379 00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:18.200 we certainly want to do that. All the way back 380 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:21.640 in nineteen eighty three, police spoke with Byteria's family, but 381 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:24.359 like we've said before, DNA was something that was not 382 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:28.039 comprehendible even back then. Over the years, Elgin Police have 383 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:31.480 attempted to get access to fingerprints and downal records for Wayteria, 384 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:33.480 but we've never been able to locate any of those, 385 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:35.839 and so if a set of human remains were recovered 386 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:38.240 in the nineteen eighties or nineteen nineties or even the 387 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:40.720 two thousands, we'd have no idea and there's no way 388 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.440 to link those remains to Wayteria. Plus, this case was 389 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:46.359 never updated with Familia DNA over the past few years 390 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.319 because quite frankly, we didn't have a unit doing this 391 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.440 full time. Our own policies have been updated to reflect 392 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:55.559 changes in technology, and we now attempt to collect DNA 393 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:58.680 within a set timeframe. So our hope is we don't 394 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:01.680 have any cases slipped the crew, and we upload everything 395 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:03.880 as soon as we can with the newest technology that 396 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:04.559 is available. 397 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:07.480 Yeah, and like you said, with the advent of more 398 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:10.480 advanced DNA technology, there's more options now that we can 399 00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:13.240 use to try to link missing people to unidentified remains. 400 00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:15.799 But again for this case, we have a huge problem. 401 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:19.319