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 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:48.040 Hello and welcome to Somebody knows something. The Elgin Police 25 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:52.000 Department Cold Case Podcast. My name is Detective Andrew Howden. 26 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:56.200 And I'm Detective Chris Hall. Last episode, we broke down 27 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.200 the original case report for why Tia Jones's disappearance in 28 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:02.439 the fall of nice. We also detailed that she was 29 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.400 seeking treatment at the Elgin Mental Health Center, living at 30 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:08.680 the Douglas Hotel in downtown Elgin, and we also explained 31 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:10.840 that there was a huge time delay for this case. 32 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.240 With a huge gap in time and unlimited information from 33 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:17.479 nineteen eighty two to nineteen eighty three, we will face 34 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.879 unique challenges in this case, and we do anticipate that 35 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:23.680 this case will take us to other cities outside of 36 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.800 Elgin as we continue our search for Waitiria Jones. 37 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:30.240 In this episode, we will start our investigation here in 38 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:33.240 Elgin with several sites that are related to Waitia and 39 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:36.400 her disappearance. The first location is the site of the 40 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:40.000 Douglas Hotel, the same location where in nineteen seventy seven, 41 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:42.919 witnesses sat in the courtyard as Casey Cow's was murdered 42 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:45.599 in the alleyway just outside. Could this location be the 43 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:47.400 scene of another crime five years later. 44 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:49.319 Well, we're going to try to find out. 45 00:02:56.919 --> 00:03:00.159 The Douglas Hotel was originally a premier private hotel called 46 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:03.439 the Fox Hotel. Built in nineteen twenty five. It contained 47 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:06.520 one hundred and twenty five modern fireproof rooms and an 48 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:10.039 elite dining room. It was one of two downtown hotels 49 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:12.680 here in Elgin, and in his nineteen eighty four book 50 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:15.919 Elgin and American History, E. C. Alft wrote that the 51 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:19.360 Fox Hotel was the city's premier accommodation. In fact, the 52 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:22.680 Fox Hotel predates one of Elgin's most famous buildings, the 53 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:25.759 Elgin Tower Building, which was not built until nineteen twenty 54 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:28.400 nine and sits just two blocks to the southwest of 55 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:29.319 the Douglas Hotel. 56 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:31.759 The Elgin Tower Building is one hundred and eighty six 57 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:34.840 feet tall and has fifteen stories. In nineteen twenty nine, 58 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:37.199 the Art Deco style building became the city's first so 59 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:40.000 called skyscraper and housed the Home National Bank and Home 60 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:42.680 National Savings and Trust. But the Fox hotel had been 61 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:45.120 around for four years already it was welcoming guest to 62 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:48.199 the industrial hub that was nineteen twenties Elgin. In the 63 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:52.240 early nineteen hundreds, Elgin was growing. The Elgin National Watch Factory, 64 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:55.120 located near downtown, was the largest producer of fine watches 65 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:58.479 in the United States, and the Elgin Sweeper Corporation was 66 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:02.199 founded when John Murphy and Elgin invented the first motorized 67 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:05.759 street sweeper in nineteen fourteen. Other factories like the Woodroff 68 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:08.319 and Edwards Foundry, which was the site of Guadalupe Alanus's 69 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:11.400 murder in nineteen seventy one from Season two, also employed 70 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:14.360 hundreds of workers, and area railways connected Elgin to major 71 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:18.360 hubs like Galina and Chicago. In short, business was booming 72 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:20.439 in Elgin, so hotels began to pop up to handle 73 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:22.240 that influx of visitors into the city. 74 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:26.319 The Fox Hotel enjoyed nearly fifty years of prosperity, but 75 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.800 like many other businesses in downtown Elgin, especially after the 76 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.160 Elgin National Watch Company closed in nineteen sixty five and 77 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:36.279 the economy waned, the hotel sadly began to fall in 78 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:39.879 hard times. By nineteen seventy five, the once elite hotel 79 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:42.879 became housing units for the Elgin Mental Health Center, with 80 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:46.519 the once fancy hotel rooms housing over one hundred outpatients 81 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:49.959 for the center. Sometime in nineteen eighty two, why Tia 82 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.240 Jones became one of those tenants when she moved into 83 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:55.519 what was once called the Fox Hotel but was now 84 00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:58.199 known as the Douglas Hotel on the corner of Douglas 85 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:01.560 and Division Streets in downtown Elgin. The US Public Records 86 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:05.000 Index from nineteen fifty to nineteen ninety three lists Waititiia 87 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:08.399 as a residence at the Douglas Hotel address on May first, 88 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.639 nineteen eighty two, so we do know that at least 89 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:14.160 by May of nineteen eighty two, she was living there. 90 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:17.360 Then on October first, nineteen eighty two, the hotel closed 91 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:19.439 its stores for good. I would add that the cover 92 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:21.519 art for this episode is actually from January fifth, of 93 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:24.279 nineteen eighty three, and it depicts people boarding up the property. 94 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:26.879 An article in the Daily Courier News noted that the 95 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:29.800 hotel closed in September and at that time housed about 96 00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:31.959 forty patients from the Elgi Mental Health Center. It sat 97 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:33.720 vacant for a number of years until the City of 98 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:36.360 Elgin purchased the property and converted it into forty five 99 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:39.680 affordable housing apartments for senior citizens in nineteen ninety two. 100 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:42.680 The exterior of the four story building looks almost identical 101 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:44.560 to pictures we have seen from the Fox Hotel from 102 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:47.480 the early nineteen twenties, but the interior has certainly changed 103 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:50.839 and updated drastically, especially since nineteen eighty two when it closed. 104 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:54.240 As listeners also know, the courtyard outside remains almost identical 105 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:55.959 to what it looked like in crime scene sketches from 106 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.480 nineteen seventy seven, when Casey Cow's was murdered there. 107 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:01.959 Owners of the whole hotel reportedly searched the hotel just 108 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:04.560 after it closed to ensure that all the tenants were out, 109 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:07.360 and police also searched the property for this case, but 110 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:11.319 that search came months after Waitia vanished. In March of 111 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:14.480 nineteen eighty three. One of Waitiia's daughters was concerned that 112 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.040 Waititiia could still be in the abandoned hotel, and the 113 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.480 Elgin Police documented her call in a report. Here's the 114 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:24.000 actual police report for that search. The report is edited 115 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:27.720 and redacted for clarity and to protect the identity of witnesses. 116 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:33.000 On March twenty eighth, nineteen eighty three, Youth Officer Berg 117 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:37.759 spoke with Wyitia Jones' daughter by phone. She has no 118 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:41.519 further information, but expressed the family's concern that Waititiia was 119 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:45.879 laying dead and undiscovered in the abandoned Douglas Hotel building. 120 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:50.800 Officer Berg advised her that he had spoken with who 121 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:54.120 had inspected the building prior to it being sealed, and 122 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:58.279 that he had indicated that was impossible. However, on March 123 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:02.519 twenty eighth, nineteen eighty three, Youth Officer Berg and Detective 124 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:06.439 Gonzales gained access to the hotel through the Bazos cleaner's 125 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:11.360 entrance and thoroughly checked the building, finding nothing. Case remains active. 126 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:19.839 We decided that even though the property is different than 127 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:22.639 what it was in nineteen eighty two, visiting the physical 128 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:25.199 building would be useful. We first looked to see if 129 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:27.920 we could visit the hotel with the original owners, just 130 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.759 like Andrew Matt did with PM Bentley's in Season one, 131 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:35.040 but the original owners, Chester and June Zeema, are both deceased. 132 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:37.759 June died in two thousand and one and Chester died 133 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:40.160 in two thousand and eight. However, one of their sons, 134 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:42.879 who was quoted in the original police report as saying 135 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:46.360 that he saw Waitia around that time when the hotel closed, 136 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.040 is still alive, so we reached out to him. 137 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:51.959 That witness has since retired and moved out of state. 138 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:54.480 While he did remember the Douglas Hotel and told us 139 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:56.439 that he did sometimes work there in nineteen eighty two 140 00:07:56.519 --> 00:07:58.959 or nineteen eighty three, he didn't really recall anything about 141 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:01.920 Waiteria's case. He did remember that the hotel was closed 142 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:04.040 in nineteen eighty two and that a number of tenants 143 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:06.680 were patients from the older mental health center, but beyond that, 144 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:08.399 he didn't really have a lot of new information to 145 00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:09.439 provide us. 146 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:12.360 We also asked about any old records for tenants or 147 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:15.480 any other similar records, but as you can imagine, records 148 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:19.120 that old do not appear to have been retained. And unfortunately, 149 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:22.000 because he didn't recall anything about this case, he also 150 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:24.680 could not recall what bus stop he told police he 151 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:27.000 saw Withateria at nineteen eighty two. 152 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:29.040 It does at least make some sense that he may 153 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:31.560 not recall this incident. It was a random question from 154 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:34.200 law enforcement over forty years ago for a family member 155 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.399 of the owners. The fact that he didn't recall why 156 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:38.519 Kyria's name or anything about this case is not that 157 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:40.960 shocking to us. It would be nice to know what 158 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:43.600 bus stop he reportedly saw her at, and anything else 159 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.000 that he might remember, But we are talking about something 160 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:49.039 that happened over forty years ago, and unfortunately we don't 161 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:50.919 have the former owner to walk us around the building 162 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:53.919 to see what's changed. Even so, we plan to continue 163 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:55.519 working to see if we can track down records for 164 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:57.559 the hotel from the nineteen eighties if they still exist, 165 00:08:58.080 --> 00:08:59.679 and we certainly are not writing out the theory that 166 00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:02.559 something could have happened to Waitia at the Douglas Hotel. 167 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:05.480 As of the date of this recording, we have not 168 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:08.559 been able to gather much new information about Waitteria. If 169 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:10.799 she had a roommate she planned to go somewhere else 170 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:12.960 when she moved out, or what she was wearing when 171 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:15.159 she left, what bus stop she was at, or what 172 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:18.240 type of belongings she had. So basically we're still at 173 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.399 square one when it comes to her time at the 174 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:21.240 Douglas Hotel. 175 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:23.960 Yeah, and as we said in our last episode, that's 176 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.639 one reason why we chose this case for season three. 177 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:28.960 We desperately need information from the public to try to 178 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:31.679 piece together more information on Waiteria's time here in Elgin, 179 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:34.519 So if you know anyone who lived at the Douglas Hotel, 180 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:37.279 who worked at the Douglas Hotel, who worked at the 181 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:41.200 Elger Mental Health Center, or knew Wayteria specifically in any capacity, 182 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.120 please contact us. We'd love to know more about what 183 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:48.000 she was like, any friends she had, relationships that she had, 184 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:51.320 and any other information about her time here in Elgin. 185 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:54.919 Well. 186 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:57.679 Even though we don't have the prior owner available, we 187 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:00.360 decided that going to the actual hotel building would be 188 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:03.279 useful for this case. So this past week, Andrew and 189 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:06.000 I headed over to the Douglas Hotel with Detective Stairker 190 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:08.639 to see the place where Waetiria lived while she was 191 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:10.120 in Elgin Well. 192 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:12.360 We came in the courtyard from where Casey Cowsbys was 193 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:14.159 and the lobbies are pretty good area. 194 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:15.759 Yeah, the front. 195 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:16.559 Deska is down here too. 196 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:18.960 I would assume this is maybe. 197 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:21.159 Where it was in nineteen eighty two D three. 198 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:25.360 Also, yeah, that makes the most sense. And wait, look 199 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:27.720 at the stairway, it's all marble. They have to be 200 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:29.879 original with the hotel from nineteen twenties, I would think, 201 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:32.519 I know, the Fox Hotel was pretty swinky back then. 202 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:36.000 Yeah, it was a mere hotel. Why don't we head 203 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:37.200 up and let's take a look at the rest of 204 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:42.000 the mob All right, so it's four total Florence, but 205 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:44.759 the basement was kind of just an electrical room. There's 206 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:47.559 sort of these two different wings, and all these walls 207 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:50.039 are drywall. I mean, back in the twenties this would 208 00:10:50.039 --> 00:10:50.559 have been plaster. 209 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:52.399 You wouldn't have had drywall back in. 210 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.759 Nineteen twenty when the building was built. We don't know 211 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:56.759 what it would have been in the eighties, but it's 212 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:58.000 certainly been updated since then. 213 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:01.639 Yeah, we know that the update and there's new electrical 214 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:05.039 there's new plumbing, and the city converted completely from multiple 215 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:07.320 hotel rooms into multi room units. 216 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:08.600 Well I'm not very. 217 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.639 Intall, but it is a little claustrophobic in here. 218 00:11:10.679 --> 00:11:12.799 The ceilings are really low as you come up the 219 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:16.840 steps to each floor. But we don't know which room 220 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:19.960 she was in, right, we don't even know which floor. 221 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:20.559 I don't think. 222 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:22.200 Yeah, it's right. 223 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:24.559 Hopefully we can get more records as we keep looking 224 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:26.600 into this, but it would be nice to know which 225 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:30.200 floor she was actually on, and it's pretty important. 226 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:31.399 If she had a roommate too. We don't even know 227 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:33.200 if she was by herself. 228 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:37.639 It definitely is a pretty interesting old building, though you 229 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:40.799 can see small things like the stairway that really show 230 00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:43.080 the age and how old this building really is. 231 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:45.519 Yeah, if you look out the front door, I mean 232 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:48.080 we came in through the courtyard, but when you come 233 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:50.440 out onto Division Street, you're basically writing downtown here. So 234 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:53.159 there had to be a bus stop nearby. Yeah, I 235 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.960 would say it's pretty critical. 236 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:57.320 We definitely need to know where the bus stops were. 237 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:00.120 Hopefully we can find some more riders on there, but 238 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:01.600 at least we have to see the building a bit. 239 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:03.480 I know it's different than it both back then, but 240 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:06.759 I'll keep working on getting some more information about the building. 241 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:09.159 But I'm glad we're able to at least come see it. 242 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:22.240 Beth will continue to help gather records and information about 243 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:24.559 the building itself, and as we laid out in episode one, 244 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.159 one theory is that something could have happened to Whiteria 245 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:30.559 at the hotel, or maybe she never even left the property, 246 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:33.320 but ownership and police did do a thorough search, and 247 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.039 we have at least one witness who claims that he 248 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:36.159 saw Waiteria. 249 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:36.480 At a bus stop. 250 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:39.080 Well, it's possible that something happened at the hotel or 251 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:41.320 here in Elgin. So far we don't have evidence of that, 252 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.399 and we feel pretty confident that her remains were not 253 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.320 concealed in the wall, or the basement or some other 254 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.720 area of the actual building. Like you said, Chris, in 255 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:49.600 nineteen eighty two, the city didn't just throw up some 256 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:51.720 new paint on the walls of this hotel. They completely 257 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:54.480 gutted the interior and renovated. So it's much less likely 258 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:56.919 that some concealed remains would be in the hotel, and 259 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:59.039 if they were, it seems more likely that they would 260 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:01.639 have been located during a extensive renovations. 261 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:04.399 Very true, I had mentioned that it was rehabbed when 262 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:06.480 we were out there, but listeners should know that the 263 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:08.799 property was converted from the one hundred and twenty five 264 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:12.240 total hotel rooms into forty five apartments with new electric, 265 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:16.000 plumbing and other updates. So it does seem unlikely that 266 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.279 some concealed remains would be missed. And the hotel was 267 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:21.879 close to the main bus stops and train station, so 268 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:25.159 let's consider those options. We continue our investigation here in 269 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:26.000 downtown Elgin. 270 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:34.559 We traveled over to the Douglas Hotel, but because a 271 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:37.000 worker from the hotel told police in nineteen eighty three 272 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:39.120 that he last saw Waiteria at a nearby bus stop, 273 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:41.159 we started doing research on the bus stops and the 274 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:44.279 bus station in town. Currently, the main bus terminal on 275 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:46.960 Highland Avenue is the main bus hub for downtown Elgin, 276 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.720 but during a recent visit to the Algin History Museum, 277 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:52.399 we learned that bus terminal did not open until nineteen 278 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:55.600 eighty five, so Waiteria clearly did not walk there. 279 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:58.200 We even looked into the weather for the last week 280 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:00.720 of September and the first week of Octave as well. 281 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:03.399 He was cool all week, with a light drizzle or 282 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:06.799 rain almost every day from Monday September twenty seventh through 283 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:09.840 Monday October fourth. The day that the owner thought he 284 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:13.600 saw Wayitiia was on or about October first, which was 285 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.200 also a Friday, but we can't be certain that it 286 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:19.320 was exactly October first. We only know that that day 287 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:21.080 was the day that the tenants had to be out 288 00:14:21.080 --> 00:14:21.639 of the building. 289 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:28.919 If Waityria was waiting for a bus near the Douglas Hotel. 290 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:31.559 We also learned from the Elgin History Museum that there 291 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:34.200 was a bus stop at nine North Grove Avenue, which 292 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:36.159 is near the Elgin Tower Building and just about a 293 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:38.759 block from the hotel, so it's possible that she could 294 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:40.440 have walked just down the street to top a bus. 295 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:43.080 We also reached out to Beth's dad, who was a 296 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:46.080 retired lieutenant from the Algerin Police Department. He confirmed that 297 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.519 the bus stop was on Grove. He said that the 298 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:51.399 buses would drive south on Grove and pick up passengers, 299 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:54.519 then turn east onto Chicago Street. That the buses would 300 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:57.919 also come north on Grove and turned west onto Highland Avenue. 301 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.559 Both streets are still one way streets, so that's how 302 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:02.799 the downtown bus traffic was laid out back in the 303 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:07.519 nineteen eighties. We should also note that the train lines 304 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:09.840 were just across the river as well, just a few 305 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.159 blocks from the hotel, so we will need to consider 306 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:14.559 train travel as a viable option as you work through 307 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:15.080 this case. 308 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:16.639 Yeah, I agree. 309 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:19.080 I think that if she was seen outside and was 310 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:21.159 actually at a bus stop or heading to a bus 311 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:23.639 stop and had luggage with her, she likely planned to 312 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:27.240 travel somewhere, possibly home or a Joliette based on witness statements, 313 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:28.879 or maybe she had some other place in. 314 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:30.480 Mind if she did leave Elgin. 315 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:34.440 But there's one more place in town that we want 316 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:36.399 to describe in this episode before we move on to 317 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.639 other cities, because Waiteria did receive care from a facility 318 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.440 while here in town. That location is called the Elgin 319 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:43.320 Mental Health Center. 320 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:55.519 The Elgin Mental Health Center began as the Elgin State 321 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:59.240 Hospital and the Northern Illinois Hospital, an asylum for the insane. 322 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.360 The state of Illinois broke ground along what is now 323 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:05.279 called Illinois Route thirty one, just south of what is 324 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:09.159 now Illinois Route twenty in eighteen seventy and opened the 325 00:16:09.159 --> 00:16:12.840 first portions of that facility in eighteen seventy two. The 326 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:15.360 building finally was completed in eighteen seventy four. 327 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:18.639 The son of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church 328 00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:21.159 of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, was committed there 329 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:23.480 in eighteen seventy seven, and he actually died there in 330 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:26.759 nineteen oh four. Also in nineteen forty five, a man 331 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.960 named Emmanuel Bronner, the founder of an organic soap company 332 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.159 called Doctor Bronner's Magic Soaps was arrested and committed to 333 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.000 the hospital while speaking at the University of Chicago. He 334 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:39.519 reportedly received shock treatments, but later escaped and fled to California. 335 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:42.360 There's all sorts of odd and interesting history around Elgin 336 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:44.360 if you know where to look, and the Elgin Mental 337 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:47.000 Health Center is no exception to that much. 338 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:49.919 The original hospital is gone, but the Elgin Mental Health 339 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.159 Center still operates today, mostly housing forensic patients who have 340 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:57.519 been deemed unfit to stand trial and order committed to 341 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:01.200 the state. This facility is where White came for treatment 342 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:05.160 in nineteen eighty two, also receiving outpatient care and ultimately 343 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:08.920 moving into the Douglas Hotel. So basically, the Elgin Mental 344 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.160 Health Center is the only reason she ended up in 345 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:13.680 Elgin and the only reason she is now a missing 346 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:17.400 person on our caseload. If it didn't exist, why Tia 347 00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:20.000 probably would never have come to Elgin in the first place. 348 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:23.119 So we decided to drive up to the facility just 349 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:25.359 to see the place that brought Wateria to Elgin. 350 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:27.480 Thin can go straight. 351 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.240 It's in that little book, one of the books I 352 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:33.119 was looking at it. It was called like the Northern 353 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:36.519 Illinois Hospital for the Insane. 354 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:37.400 I think is what it was titled. 355 00:17:39.319 --> 00:17:39.519 Such. 356 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:41.599 Yeah, back in like eighteen seventy. 357 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:46.839 I think that's the first time I've seen that good 358 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:47.519 jam person. 359 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:51.279 Now what I mean, that's the first time I've seen 360 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:53.640 that building in person. I mean, ye had a big 361 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:54.359 circle tower. 362 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:57.079 I think I read that the people that built Urina 363 00:17:57.119 --> 00:18:06.039 Towers also designed that building. See wonder that big like 364 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:08.599 theater that we saw that the history museum is still 365 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:08.960 out here. 366 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:10.200 If they twit that building down. 367 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:12.680 I thought one of them said it caught on fire. 368 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:14.119 I don't know if that was the one or not. 369 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:17.880 That the smokestacks. I mean, this place was its own city. 370 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:20.720 I read it was like a hundred I want to 371 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:22.240 see one hundred and fifty acres. 372 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.559 Yeah, that's crazy. 373 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:26.559 Maybe I'm writing the wrong thing, but. 374 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:31.720 It's like it's own little towns. 375 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:33.039 Some cottages in the back end. 376 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:35.160 There used to be other buildings out here too that 377 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.960 are obviously gone. 378 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:40.400 Yeah, a lot of these have been closed. 379 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:43.400 It seems like I know we're still waiting on records 380 00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:47.359 from the mental Health center, but it seems like maybe 381 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:49.559 she got carre out here first and then was moved 382 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:51.640 over to the Douglas hotel, or maybe she was just 383 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:53.519 in the Douglas Hotel the entire time. It's hard to 384 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.680 tell until we get I. 385 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:58.079 Would guess she was getting dreaming here initially. Right, Well, 386 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:00.480 like my day I was saying that, like once they 387 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:06.880 started releasing people out into back into mainstream society, society, 388 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:09.759 they didn't have a place to sa she's But I 389 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:11.680 would guess she's probably still getting some sort of treatment, 390 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.519 right or right she would have moved back to rural 391 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:15.240 you would think. 392 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.319 Yeah, she was getting the Fox Value Mental Health Center treatment. 393 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:21.279 But hopefully we'll get those records soon. 394 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:23.640 They'll be able to tell us how long she was 395 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:27.240 here and if she was physically out here before she 396 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.200 was moved. 397 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:31.720 It's just taking a long time to get those kind 398 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:32.519 of records. 399 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:39.799 Yeah, it's an interesting little building. 400 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:42.559 Yeah, it's definitely an interesting property. 401 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:47.319