Unsolved Mysteries - General Discussion

[iMonrey]

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He could not have jumped off that roof and landed in the way that he did. 

I'm not sure I buy into the dynamics of that. While I agree it's weird enough to question I can't completely rule out the possibility that Rey managed to fling himself off that roof in such a way that he landed as he did. Like if he'd taken a running leap at the window, perhaps. Who knows. I keep coming back to the fact that there must be a reason the police determined it was a suicide and the evidence does suggest he had some mental health issues.

[Cristofle]

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I keep coming back to the fact that there must be a reason the police determined it was a suicide

To be honest, for me this is pretty much as meaningless as the family insisting it can't be suicide, because there are just too many cases - including somewhat more obviously the Lady in the Lake - of the police deciding very quickly on a narrative and building everything around it, instead of keeping an open mind. And clearly, this declaration of a suicide bothered at least one of the responding officers to the point of him participating in the Unsolved Mysteries video, and he seemed most stuck on the evidence just not making any sense. Namely that Rey couldn't have had more than forty feet - and not of a clear area, of a mess of a roof with air ducts and the like everywhere - in flip flops that were not found on the roof, so the suggestion would be that he jumped in these flip flops, one of which had a broken strap, and somehow cleared another forty-five feet to land in a directly vertical manner, and again somehow releasing his phone and glasses in a way that left them untouched right outside that hole before he went through. Every other location he could have jumped from seemed to be a non-starter - the roof of the garage could never have resulted in such damage to the body and to be on the side ledge of the building, he would have had to enter through someone's personal property and fit through a very small half-window to get out there. I just cannot see how he could have made such an incredible leap, in flip flops, and gone down in such a straight and vertical fashion. 

 

[truthaboutluv]

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The Jack Wheeler case: I can't help but wonder if his bipolar disorder was escalating and/or a degree of dementia was setting in. His memory issues - not remembering where he parked his car, general directions - give me pause.

That's pretty much exactly what I believe happened. From the smoke bomb in the under construction home, which we know he was angry about, to the mess at his home, the wandering around the parking garage, the confusion, I think Jack may have either gone off his meds unbeknownst to his wife or forgotten to take them, and was spiraling in those last days.

And my guess is he ended up in a bad part of town where he unfortunately crossed paths with some shady characters who beat him up and then dumped him in a bin, where the garbage truck, unbeknownst to the driver, picked it up and then the body ended up in the landfill.

I know the argument is there were too many valuable things on him for it to have been a random mugging. But there are evil people in this world who hurt people just for the fun of it. So it didn't have to be someone interested in mugging Jack. Just some mean, sadistic asshole who beat up an old, vulnerable man for kicks. Either way, a sad story.

 

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there was that moment when her brother was talking about the possibility of someone he knew having something to do with her death, and he was like, "I can't control that. I'm sorry it happened at all, I wish it'd been me." That struck me as a rather...weird thing to say.

What made me side-eye, was the almost dismissive way he said, "I'm sorry, I can't control that" when admitting that yeah, he had been involved in shady shit and so it was entirely possible someone wanting to harm him could have killed her. I felt like he tagged on the "I wish it was me" to seem more broken up than he actually was, but his tone didn't match what he was saying.

For someone he claimed to love so much, was his favorite sister (of course she was, since she was bailing him out) and he was so upset by her disappearance, he seemed awfully indifferent to the notion that he could have been the cause of whatever happened to her. And the way he said whoever did what to her should go to jail just didn't seem believable to me.

I don't know, I just didn't entirely buy what he was selling. I actually think the nephew or cousin or whatever is innocent and if JoAnn was killed, the brother is the one involved or knows something. And I do think, for the record, she was murdered. The smoking gun for me is where the body was found. By all accounts, all the experts and the marine guys who searched the water, confirmed that it was highly unlikely the body washed all the way there, especially for that time of year. Especially since the marine guard started searching the water for her so quickly.

Then there was the woman in the church insisting the parking lot was empty when she left, strongly suggesting the car left and then came back, and multiple people confirming hearing the alarm go off, when they were still in the church. And then those shoes she was wearing. If JoAnn was going to kill herself, considering she apparently thought to leave her purse in the car, she'd have likely taken off those boots, making it easier for her to walk through the snow and get into the water. 

The Jane Doe case was definitely the creepiest episode for me, not least of all because they kept showing her post-mortem body. Like the fuck? The biggest sticking point for me was this woman getting a hotel room with no ID whatsoever. I mean, just how? I hope they fired that hotel employee. And then a whole two days later is when they decide to go ask her for a credit card for the file. After you've already made a woman stay there with no proof from her that she had any means of paying. No ID, passport, deposit payment, etc. I mean I know this was a pre-9/11 world but my goodness, it was 1995, not the 1950s. 

In any case, this definitely seemed like someone in some kind of international organized crime, hence the no ID or any form of identification, since she likely was always using aliases. My guess is she also likely changed her looks often - different hair color, shorter or longer hair, etc. which may also explain no one recognizing the sketch posted around because it's probably not how she looked when her family last saw her. Or maybe she was an orphan, which might give some explanation to how she ended up in the life she did, and why there was no one to claim her all these years. 

Whatever this was, it was definitely a strange story - the missing labels, no makeup, brush, lotion, etc. that most women would typically travel with and instead an entire bag of ammunition. Okay then. And while I can definitely see the evidence of why it's unlikely she shot herself with the way the gun was in her hand, it is odd that the door was double locked from the inside. Of course the international agent guy did say that's actually not difficult for spies to get past and the hotel employee did leave a window of 15 minutes when he went to get help, for someone to have exited the room, unseen. 

The tsunami episode was very sad but I definitely lean towards the people being very traumatized (understandably) and a lot of the incidents was a case of PTSD. No words about Lester's case. Like many, that one had me WTF'ing a lot. As someone else noted, yes, it's good to create a program for non-violent offenders to help prepare them for a life after prison. But Lester was serving a life sentence. That mutherf'er was on death row and only got reversed to a life sentence because of the Supreme Court ruling. In other words, there was never supposed to be a life after prison for Lester. He was supposed to and should have died in jail. So why he was even in that program in the first place, was already bullshit. 

Finally, the missing two babies. Definitely sounds like a case of stealing kids for sale on the black market. That said, with the second incident, I hate to imagine an 11 and what was it, 6/7 year olds could lie that well as to fool law enforcement, but it is awfully strange that they were so adamant to want to play with the woman's son. And then the kid goes missing. That was just strange. It did seem like someone coaxed them with something to go play with the kid, so they could lure the child away. But again, would they be so slick at that age to not squeal. Odd. 

Edited October 26, 2020 by truthaboutluv

[Cristofle]

5 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

The Jane Doe case was definitely the creepiest episode for me, not least of all because they kept showing her post-mortem body. Like the fuck?

I get it, because they have no images of her in life (again, can I just express how infuriating it is that no one pulled the security footage), but it is upsetting. Not so much her hands (I too was struck by their pristine condition and the bizarre placement of the gun), but it's very upsetting to see her face. 

Again, what strikes me about this case as someone who has experience working in a hotel is just how poorly the hotel staff handled everything and how I can't help but think it may have been deliberate, as in at least a couple staff members took money to look the other way. Like, I wonder what did the night auditor think? Nowadays the night audit is usually done via software and she would have been immediately spotted, but it was still a practice in the 90s, AKA checking the accounts of all registered guests. How did she make it through seemingly at least two night audits?

[North of Eden]

Next up Oslo Mystery Woman

I was wondering when the "Secret Agent" card was going to be invoked and it came at the 28 minute mark and they ran with it.

But in the end I think its a simple case reflecting the fact that sometimes in life some people realize they just don't have it in them to see another sunrise of loneliness, sadness or desperation and they make the ultimate escape. No blood splatter...just a fluke.

Credit to the journalist...he's the real deal in his dogged pursuit of the truth but I do have to wonder what kind of clout that he has to get a body exhumed just like that.

As for the hotel policies not being followed...why not at the time simply ask the desk clerk why they didn't follow protocal.

An episode like this does reveal the shortcomings of the new format...this wasn't a full hour kind of story and would have been right at home as a twenty minute segment on the old series. I was getting antsy during what seemed like a 10 minute segement of the four men speaking Norwegin recreating the shooting in the hotel room. Way to long.

Lastly the Mayor of Verlaine was surely making the most of his 15 minutes of fame during that interview. He seemed to be having the time of his life.

[ByaNose]

The Lady in the Lake. Um, the brother knows something or knows who did it. He didn’t look the least upset during the interview and the “I'm sorry, I can't control that" was the least remorseful thing a family member could say is a huge red flag. I do question if the car was moved or not but we’ll never know for sure.

John Wheeler case seems to me just a case of dementia or Alzheimer’s. You don’t go around all over town in that state of mind with your shoe off and having lost everything but can’t recall where. It’s very helpful that all the security footage is so clear and shows a timeline. Maybe, someday the security cameras will pick up voices, too. I know that’s even more of Big Brother watching but I just wonder if it would help in cases like these. 
 

I love Unsolved Mysteries. 

[Ellaria]

Sigh...I get frustrated about the way that this show presents some of these cases. They seem to look for every reason to link deaths to government conspiracies, mob hits, espionage, etc without strong supporting evidence. Alternatively, I think that mental illness and emotional instability play a role in many of these mysteries.

Also, in many of these cases, law enforcement either didn't respond quickly enough, didn't properly investigate all possibilities or mishandled/overlooked evidence. The actions of law enforcement play a role in why some of these cases are still a "mystery." Equally, some of these deaths occurred so long ago that current methods/aids of crime solving may not have been available or widely used.

Anyway, onto to the new mysteries...

21 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

From the smoke bomb in the under construction home, which we know he was angry about, to the mess at his home, the wandering around the parking garage, the confusion, I think Jack may have either gone off his meds unbeknownst to his wife or forgotten to take them, and was spiraling in those last days.

And my guess is he ended up in a bad part of town where he unfortunately crossed paths with some shady characters who beat him up and then dumped him in a bin, where the garbage truck, unbeknownst to the driver, picked it up and then the body ended up in the landfill.

I know the argument is there were too many valuable things on him for it to have been a random mugging. But there are evil people in this world who hurt people just for the fun of it. So it didn't have to be someone interested in mugging Jack. Just some mean, sadistic asshole who beat up an old, vulnerable man for kicks. Either way, a sad story.

Exactly! Jack's bipolar disorder played a role on his death (manic episode, not taking meds, etc). He appeared to be agitated, disoriented and likely met up with evil people. He was beaten and thrown in a dumpster. The argument that attackers wouldn't put a body in a dumpster is a stretch.

 

21 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Whatever this was, it was definitely a strange story - the missing labels, no makeup, brush, lotion, etc. that most women would typically travel with and instead an entire bag of ammunition. Okay then. And while I can definitely see the evidence of why it's unlikely she shot herself with the way the gun was in her hand, it is odd that the door was double locked from the inside. Of course the international agent guy did say that's actually not difficult for spies to get past and the hotel employee did leave a window of 15 minutes when he went to get help, for someone to have exited the room, unseen. 

A very strange story! There should be a lot of questions about the role of hotel personnel, starting with the lack of ID/credit card upon check-in. I also think there is information lost to time (25 years ago) and inadequate or unsophisticated police work. I don't buy the international spy theory. While the position of the gun in her hand is strange, I still do not rule out suicide. Perhaps she was a high class call girl and met up with a violent man. For me, the saddest part of this story is that she is still unidentified and seemingly without family or friends who mourn her.

 

While I have not done any additional research into either of these cases, this show does not always present all of the information available. In the Rey Rivera and Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes cases, there is a considerable amount of information available in articles and podcasts. Some of the information conflicts with what is described in the show. In other instances, it expands upon it. Regardless, what we get in an episode is not the sum total of information or investigation.

Obviously, these are stories about people that have died tragically with grieving family and friends left behind. The fact that their deaths are unresolved is heartbreaking. In one of these episodes it was stated that "someone out there knows something" and that applies to ALL of these cases. There are people running around that can help solve these mysteries and provide closure in every instance.

Edited October 26, 2020 by Ellaria Sand

[SoMuchTV]

Regarding the Oslo hotel victim. Maybe I missed something, but do they even know that the woman found shot was even the same person who originally checked in?  Definitely seemed like it would have benefited from security footage and questioning of the person who checked the guest in. 

[Cristofle]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

Regarding the Oslo hotel victim. Maybe I missed something, but do they even know that the woman found shot was even the same person who originally checked in?  Definitely seemed like it would have benefited from security footage and questioning of the person who checked the guest in. 

Interesting question! Especially since we are lacking security footage to say one way or the other.

While her hand being pristine is extremely unlikely if she shot herself in the head with a 9mm, what really got me was the way the gun was in her hand, the hold of it. It's a powerful gun; my uncle taught me how to shoot one before I decided I hated guns. You just would not be able to get the strength you'd need in your hand to fire it, especially anywhere vaguely where you are shooting, including your own face. Given that the woman did not check in alone, there was an entire 15 minutes between when the gun was fired and when anyone came back around that room, and it seems the door could have easily been closed locked that way, just not so easily opened up again, I think it's far more likely someone was in the room than that she severely bent the laws of physics. 

[iwantcookies]

I am curious what happened to Christopher and Shane who got kidnapped in 1989. Where are they? Their poor moms. Nothing was ever found.

 

I think they were killed or stolen by a woman who wanted a baby. 
 

 

 

 

[foxfreakinmulder]

On 10/25/2020 at 6:08 PM, Cristofle said:

Again, what strikes me about this case as someone who has experience working in a hotel is just how poorly the hotel staff handled everything and how I can't help but think it may have been deliberate, as in at least a couple staff members took money to look the other way.

Or, I was thinking she's used that hotel before maybe the clerk knows her so that's why no credit card or ID was needed. But didn't the police question the hotel clerk and if so what was his/her explanation?

I believe Jack climbed in the dumpster himself and was hit by the forks on the truck so that's what caused the blunt force trauma. I think this because he wasn't robbed. It was sad watching him wonder around like he was but I was curious about the hoodie we see wearing on the last video of him, where did that come from because he has on a jacket on the hallway video.

The lady in the lake was murdered and probably thrown off a bridge down river from the church. I thought her brother was suspicious and/or her cousin who she had the argument with on the phone and told her daughter if anything happened to her to look at him. He was a cop? so I believe he would have the best chance of getting away with it. Money makes people do crazy things.

I love this show and wish they had more episodes per season.

If anyone is interested "Buzzfeed Unsolved" did an episode about a man found on a beach back in the 50's (can't remember the year) but he also had all the tags removed from his clothes and no ID on him only a rolled up piece of paper tucked away in a small hidden pocket in his pants and they've never found out who he was. Pretty interesting the lady in the hotel reminded me of this.

[Annber03]

6 minutes ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

Or, I was thinking she's used that hotel before maybe the clerk knows her so that's why no credit card or ID was needed. But didn't the police question the hotel clerk and if so what was his/her explanation?

This is what I was wondering, too. Or even if she hadn't used the hotel before, maybe she knew the person who worked there some other way. If there is any truth to the theory that she was involved in some kind of weird secretive international spy thing or whatever, that could certainly explain a few things about her being able to get past without going through those protocols. Maybe she got checked in some other way instead.

I dunno. Definitely one of the strangest parts of that story, which is saying something. 

[Shorty186]

Regarding Rey Rivera and how where he landed could somehow make sense, my question is, why would someone who wants to kill themself do that? Wouldn't you just step off the building? To me, you wouldn't take a running start unless you were trying to jump over or onto something. It's not like I research suicides, but I would think it's about doing something physically "easy." And also something that would cause a quick death.

Which is why I don't think Joanne was a suicide either. It seems like she would have injured herself a lot before even getting to the icy waters. Also, given how much she loved her family, I don't see how she wouldn't have left her children a note.

[Annber03]

5 minutes ago, Shorty186 said:

Regarding Rey Rivera and how where he landed could somehow make sense, my question is, why would someone who wants to kill themself do that? Wouldn't you just step off the building? 

Yeah, that's what I kept thinking when I first heard that story, too. There were plenty of windows throughout that building, and the rooftop as well. He could've just dropped right off of one of those to the sidewalk straight below if he really wanted to. 

[Cristofle]

5 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

I am curious what happened to Christopher and Shane who got kidnapped in 1989. Where are they? Their poor moms. Nothing was ever found.

I think they were killed or stolen by a woman who wanted a baby. 

 

My first gut reaction, and man I hope I am wrong, is that they were likely killed by a pedophile. They're so close in age and that tends to be a very specific preference 😞 I do wonder how NOTHING was ever found, though? That would suggest an experienced killer if they are dead, and if there were ever any more cases like that, or any cases beforehand that were similar, the episode didn't mention it. I hope they were taken by someone who took care of them; it's just so rare in stranger abductions. 

I pray their mothers get some answers. To have nothing to go on for 30 years...beyond unbearable. 

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Regarding Rey Rivera and how where he landed could somehow make sense, my question is, why would someone who wants to kill themself do that? Wouldn't you just step off the building?

Another good point. Why would he bother? Any way he went off that roof would have been fatal; why on earth would he make some running jump for it? He may have had some mental problems (or he may not have; while it was weird that note was taped to the back of a computer or something, the exercise itself is supposedly not uncommon in creative writing workshops and it would not make sense to anyone else), but he was still a functioning adult, he gave no indication of being completely delusional or anything. 

[foxfreakinmulder]

7 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Yeah, that's what I kept thinking when I first heard that story, too. There were plenty of windows throughout that building, and the rooftop as well. He could've just dropped right off of one of those to the sidewalk straight below if he really wanted to.

This is why I don't buy the suicide theory. I believe he was murdered in the building he was found and either the hole was already there or made to look like a way his body fell. The area around the hole was staged in my opinion with the glasses and shoe. I don't  buy he jumped off that building for one second. It's strange how many people actually do get away with murder 😞

[MaggieG]

The Eubanks case made me angry. He shot that poor girl, went home to get ready to go dancing, went back and finished her with a brick because she was still alive. Horrible. Like many posters have said, I can't believe he was part of a program like that when he was serving a life sentence. And the fact that for 20 years, they thought there was a warrant out but really there wasn't! That poor family.

[ABay]

I've only watched the first 2 of the new batch and skipped most of the posts above about the others to read after I see the rest. That's all preamble in case someone else already said this about the woman in Oslo. When Oslo, Norway appeared on screen and the story was about an unidentified woman, I thought it was going to be about Isdal Woman. I listened to a podcast about it..last year? Really interesting.

[Cristofle]

4 hours ago, MaggieG said:

The Eubanks case made me angry. He shot that poor girl, went home to get ready to go dancing, went back and finished her with a brick because she was still alive. Horrible. Like many posters have said, I can't believe he was part of a program like that when he was serving a life sentence. And the fact that for 20 years, they thought there was a warrant out but really there wasn't! That poor family.

I'm a big believer in prison reform, but what on EARTH was this policy?? To allow a violent criminal, a child killer, sentenced to life in prison, to go out unsupervised? That is just insane. And my sympathy for parents who actively help their violent children escape justice is fairly limited, so I was disgusted with his father. 

[Ellaria]

Just watched the episode about JoAnn Romain. Yet another instance of police not conducting a thorough investigation and jumping to conclusions.

I question if she committed suicide but not because the family says "no way." (The response of loved ones is often unreliable, in horrific circumstances like this.) I agree with the speculation that walking into freezing cold water in high heels late at night is an unlikely scenario. Also, if she walked into the water at the location indicated, how did her body travel elsewhere if there was no current? Why did her car move (presuming that the eye witness reports are correct)? How did the car move if the car keys were in her pocket? How much gas was left in the car? Was there any attempt to track movement of her car (use of surveillance cameras)?

As with most episodes of this show, a lot of detail was left out. There is conflicting information about a spare set of car keys as well as the initial contact between Grosse Point police and her daughter, Michelle. The car was also reportedly registered to Michelle. There are also eye witnesses who *may* have seen people with JoAnn by her car that night. (I say *may* because these eye witnesses were never properly followed up with. Perhaps police thought that they were unreliable, as eye witnesses often are).

It's also curious that the PI hired by the daughters believes that Tim was not involved but no evidence is offered to support that belief. I understand that the show cannot accuse someone without evidence. However, Tim was brought into the story because JoAnn was in a dispute with him and may have been afraid of him but then that line of investigation is closed off. 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Ellaria Sand

[blixie]

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But didn't the police question the hotel clerk and if so what was his/her explanation?

No they just took it at face value it was a suicide and so there wasn't too much follow up into why she was allowed to take up a room w/o id. I think it was only later on (seemed like a couple of weeks) when a lot of weird stuff piled up (apparently the lack of "bottoms" and underwear really blew everyones minds) that they even asked for video. I think there is some parts missing for sure to the overall story, as one of the talking heads either the former spy guy or cop mentioned that she had been "living" in the hotel room. Living is really different than "staying". That made me briefly think she had loaned the room long term and the night desk just recognized her and gave her the key to the room, with minimal paperwork/no id. But more likely she either she paid the desk person off, or there was someone working there in intelligence as well who shut down any questions, when that was allowed to happen. 

It is really really strange how similar her story is to that of the Isdal Woman, both in Norway, and even both using Belgium as their cover story, and both being pegged as East German. Her case seems more said though, and it's really wild that Norway doesn't allow people to use DNA/Ancestery databases in Jane Doe cases. Like I could see if you were looking for a criminal, but just trying to ID someone? Weird. 

[txhorns79]

On 10/28/2020 at 6:36 AM, Cristofle said:

I do wonder how NOTHING was ever found, though? That would suggest an experienced killer if they are dead, and if there were ever any more cases like that, or any cases beforehand that were similar, the episode didn't mention it. I hope they were taken by someone who took care of them; it's just so rare in stranger abductions. 

Why would anything have been found?  These kids vanished in the middle of a huge city.  I'll admit I have no experience in kidnapping children or disposing of bodies, but I'd have to think in 1989, if you wanted to make a small child disappear in New York City, it would not have been all that difficult.  How many abandoned buildings existed in Harlem at the time?  How hard would it have been to transport either child to some other part of the city before anyone even knew they were gone?  My only point being that a lack of evidence is not apropos of anything, IMO.       

[Cristofle]

16 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Why would anything have been found?  These kids vanished in the middle of a huge city.  I'll admit I have no experience in kidnapping children or disposing of bodies, but I'd have to think in 1989, if you wanted to make a small child disappear in New York City, it would not have been all that difficult.  How many abandoned buildings existed in Harlem at the time?  How hard would it have been to transport either child to some other part of the city before anyone even knew they were gone?  My only point being that a lack of evidence is not apropos of anything, IMO.       

It's not hard to transport a child somewhere else quickly in NYC, I wouldn't think, or at least wouldn't have been in 1989 (there are a lot more cameras around now). Also, it's not unlike NYC is incredibly far from bodies of water where you could dump a body. Still, someone who would have been very inexperienced and therefore might have panicked often isn't as successful at covering up a crime, especially because kids in that age range are probably not the easiest to control once they realize they've truly been taken from their families. But there also is the possibility that the similarities are coincidences and they were taken/killed by different people for different reasons. How close in age they are and that they were taken from the same park on the same day of the week is a pretty striking coincidence, but there would have been so many children in that park every day in 1989, so it's possible. 

[txhorns79]

1 hour ago, Cristofle said:

Still, someone who would have been very inexperienced and therefore might have panicked often isn't as successful at covering up a crime, especially because kids in that age range are probably not the easiest to control once they realize they've truly been taken from their families.

I would say there are so many places where a body could be dumped, or evidence could be left that the chances of finding anything, when you have no real idea where to look, would be slim.    

[Cementhead]

I watched the lady in Oslo episode 2 nights ago and it is still haunting me; probably because they kept showing her face over and over.  

The one point that has really been bugging me since watching was how the gun shot went off immediately after the hotel security employee knocked on the door.  This is so beyond weird to me.  So, was she sitting there on the bed that whole time with gun- in- hand?  And finally pulled the trigger because of the knock?  Same goes for the murder theory. Was the someone else who was in there with her just standing there with gun- in- hand, waiting to shoot her and then did so then because of the knock at the door?   What if security had not knocked on the door that day? 

No other guests heard the gun go off?  And opened up their door to look out into the hallway?  Called down to reception to report it? 

Also, as mentioned by other posters, the fact that she was able to stay there without hotel reception following proper protocol and obtaining her credit card information for billing purposes, what the hell?  There's definitely more to the story there.  So many unanswered questions!

Lastly, and this is probably going to make me come off sounding really weird because it is contrary to what the rest of you are saying, but whether she was murdered or died by suicide, I don't think she would want her identity to be revealed.  To go along with the theory that she was a spy or something like that, she did everything possible to hide her identity so I am not so sure finding out who she really was is needed; especially since that spy expert guy said that her family would have been contacted and taken care of by the government she was working for.  In this particular case, I can't help but feel that we should let 'sleeping dogs lie' as the saying goes.  I just feel somewhat protective of her and her privacy for some bizarre reason.  Probably because they kept showing her poor face; it made it that much more personal.

But this one will stick with me for days.

[Cementhead]

On 10/22/2020 at 4:07 PM, iMonrey said:

Couldn't even finish the Japan Tsunami one. Yes, the stock footage of the event was devastating, but this story just felt out of place. The "ghost" stories were anecdotal and mundane, even the stuff of urban legends.

I agree!  I just started watching this series a few days ago and have been watching the episodes back-to-back and this one definitely feels out of place.  While it started out interesting, I stopped watching it with about 20 minutes left to go last night because it started to feel like a chore. 

[CrystalBlue]

14 minutes ago, Cementhead said:

I agree!  I just started watching this series a few days ago and have been watching the episodes back-to-back and this one definitely feels out of place.  While it started out interesting, I stopped watching it with about 20 minutes left to go last night because it started to feel like a chore. 

The case of the tsunami ghosts doesn't really fit the UM mold that I remember, but it was interesting just to see daily Japanese life being played out.  I liked the monk.

[CrystalBlue]

4 hours ago, Cementhead said:

I watched the lady in Oslo episode 2 nights ago and it is still haunting me; probably because they kept showing her face over and over.  

The one point that has really been bugging me since watching was how the gun shot went off immediately after the hotel security employee knocked on the door.  This is so beyond weird to me.  So, was she sitting there on the bed that whole time with gun- in- hand?  And finally pulled the trigger because of the knock?  Same goes for the murder theory. Was the someone else who was in there with her just standing there with gun- in- hand, waiting to shoot her and then did so then because of the knock at the door?   What if security had not knocked on the door that day? 

No other guests heard the gun go off?  And opened up their door to look out into the hallway?  Called down to reception to report it? 

Also, as mentioned by other posters, the fact that she was able to stay there without hotel reception following proper protocol and obtaining her credit card information for billing purposes, what the hell?  There's definitely more to the story there.  So many unanswered questions!

Lastly, and this is probably going to make me come off sounding really weird because it is contrary to what the rest of you are saying, but whether she was murdered or died by suicide, I don't think she would want her identity to be revealed.  To go along with the theory that she was a spy or something like that, she did everything possible to hide her identity so I am not so sure finding out who she really was is needed; especially since that spy expert guy said that her family would have been contacted and taken care of by the government she was working for.  In this particular case, I can't help but feel that we should let 'sleeping dogs lie' as the saying goes.  I just feel somewhat protective of her and her privacy for some bizarre reason.  Probably because they kept showing her poor face; it made it that much more personal.

But this one will stick with me for days.

My theory is that Oslo Lady was an orphan and grew up in some orphanage or foster care system in Eastern Europe.  If she was working for a government as an operative and they wanted to get rid of her for some reason, I don't think they would notify anyone of her death.  Big cover up here.

[Annber03]

9 hours ago, Cementhead said:

The one point that has really been bugging me since watching was how the gun shot went off immediately after the hotel security employee knocked on the door.  This is so beyond weird to me.  So, was she sitting there on the bed that whole time with gun- in- hand?  And finally pulled the trigger because of the knock?  Same goes for the murder theory. Was the someone else who was in there with her just standing there with gun- in- hand, waiting to shoot her and then did so then because of the knock at the door?   What if security had not knocked on the door that day? 

No other guests heard the gun go off?  And opened up their door to look out into the hallway?  Called down to reception to report it? 

These are good questions! Definitely something else to mull over. 

[txhorns79]

On 11/13/2020 at 1:33 PM, CrystalBlue said:

The case of the tsunami ghosts doesn't really fit the UM mold that I remember, but it was interesting just to see daily Japanese life being played out.  I liked the monk.

Oh no, original Unsolved Mysteries had many, many episodes about ghosts, aliens, etc. 

[Annber03]

7 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

Oh no, original Unsolved Mysteries had many, many episodes about ghosts, aliens, etc. 

Yep :D. The ones about supposedly haunted places or people seeing ghosts or whatnot were always some of my favorite segments. 

[LadyChatts]

On 11/16/2020 at 4:57 PM, Annber03 said:

Yep :D. The ones about supposedly haunted places or people seeing ghosts or whatnot were always some of my favorite segments. 

Especially in the Robert Stack era.  Nothing beat creepy than him walking through some dimly lit haunted house/restaurant/club/whatever, with his creepy voice, the creepy music, and creepy effects.  Two of the ones that will always stick out was the house that was haunted after a couple bought bunk beds for their kids (and the haunting stopped when the bunk beds were removed from the home), and the house in Nevada where two families discussed their respective hauntings.  

I'm trying to play catch up on the episodes (this format isn't really doing it for me) but I did watch the Stolen Kids episode.  I had run across missing persons stories before about those two boys, so I was curious if this episode would shed any new light on it.  Like many, I am hoping that the boys were taken by either someone who wanted a child of their own, or were taken as part of some black market adoption ring.  I do think it's a weird coincidence that both boys lived in the same apartment complex, went missing from the same playground, within months of each other.  I'd be surprised if the cases weren't connected.  I'd love to see UM cover some other decades old cases.  We had an unsolved Jane Doe case that was solved a few years ago thanks to the internet site Web Sleuths.  Getting new sets of eyes and ears and perspectives may be what it takes to solve these cases.  

[Annber03]

58 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Especially in the Robert Stack era.  Nothing beat creepy than him walking through some dimly lit haunted house/restaurant/club/whatever, with his creepy voice, the creepy music, and creepy effects.  Two of the ones that will always stick out was the house that was haunted after a couple bought bunk beds for their kids (and the haunting stopped when the bunk beds were removed from the home), and the house in Nevada where two families discussed their respective hauntings.  

I remember one where they talked about the supposed ghost of Resurrection Mary haunting a cemetery in...Chicago, I want to say it was? And in the reenactments, they showed someone driving by and seeing her ghost, and there was a black void where her face was supposed to be. That one always freaked me out.

I also remember seeing one about a woman who claimed to see her husband's ghost still lurking around their home, and how she found that comforting, because it meant he was still with her in some way. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Robert Stack had a fascinating life, and it was great reading.  The book about his life was called  Straight Shooting. 

I remember some of the early episodes, including one about adults just walking away from their lives, and how many did that.   

Edited November 19, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[MaggieG]

16 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I remember one where they talked about the supposed ghost of Resurrection Mary haunting a cemetery in...Chicago, I want to say it was? And in the reenactments, they showed someone driving by and seeing her ghost, and there was a black void where her face was supposed to be. That one always freaked me out.

I also remember seeing one about a woman who claimed to see her husband's ghost still lurking around their home, and how she found that comforting, because it meant he was still with her in some way. 

Yes, I remember that story too! Guys would pick her up to give her a ride and once they drove to the cemetery she would disappear from the back seat. It was Chicago. 

[MerBearStare]

On 11/18/2020 at 11:15 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I remember some of the early episodes, including one about adults just walking away from their lives, and how many did that. 

It's crazy how so many people got away with it too. No internet, credit card use was not that frequent, less surveillance. When my sister and I were born (1977 and 1982), you weren't legally required to get your baby a social security number, so we didn't get one until the mid to late 80's. Adults back then could just go in and apply for a new social security number and it wouldn't be seen as odd. 

One thing I learned from the OG UM was just how monstrous early to mid century social services was. One story that made me cry was this old man talking about how when he was a kid - in the 20's or 30's, I don't quite remember - his mom put him up for adoption in NY and NY social services just put him and a bunch of other children on a train headed to the west coast and the train would make stops through out the country and adoptive parents would just show up at the train station and pick a kid they wanted. And they got to take the kids home with them! Seemingly no background checks or being able to follow up on the child's welfare. This poor man was looking for his sister, who his mom did not put up for adoption, and sadly he died without ever meeting her. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Orphan trains they talked about were the only way to get actual orphans, or abandoned children homes.  Otherwise they stayed in orphanages, and the orphanages were awful then.    A cousin of my dad's was adopted off of an orphan train, was raised in a good home, and was a member of the family.   Many others didn't have a good outcome.   When this happened, children who lost a parent or both parents were often fostered out.  That happened to my grandmother and her three siblings, and only one had a good home, the others were workers from a very young age, and treated horribly. 

[LadyChatts]

On 11/17/2020 at 10:38 PM, Annber03 said:

I remember one where they talked about the supposed ghost of Resurrection Mary haunting a cemetery in...Chicago, I want to say it was? And in the reenactments, they showed someone driving by and seeing her ghost, and there was a black void where her face was supposed to be. That one always freaked me out.

I also remember seeing one about a woman who claimed to see her husband's ghost still lurking around their home, and how she found that comforting, because it meant he was still with her in some way. 

Resurrection Mary scared me as a kid when I watched that episode.  I remember a scene where she ran across the street and almost got "hit", and then just stared at the driver with a blank expression on her face.  I had friends who lived down the street from the cemetery in my hometown, and when I'd spend the night there, I was always freaked out to look out the window, thinking I was just going to see random ghosts running up and down the street.  

Quote

One thing I learned from the OG UM was just how monstrous early to mid century social services was. One story that made me cry was this old man talking about how when he was a kid - in the 20's or 30's, I don't quite remember - his mom put him up for adoption in NY and NY social services just put him and a bunch of other children on a train headed to the west coast and the train would make stops through out the country and adoptive parents would just show up at the train station and pick a kid they wanted. And they got to take the kids home with them! Seemingly no background checks or being able to follow up on the child's welfare. This poor man was looking for his sister, who his mom did not put up for adoption, and sadly he died without ever meeting her. 

A lot of times the re-enactments they did were brutal.  It really made me feel for those kids and families, some of whom seemed to have loving homes, but were just very poor. 

In watching old Robert Stack episodes, I ran across one lost loved story that always made me sad.  It was about a man named Victor Simon who, as a baby, was adopted by a very unloving family, who made him sleep in the barn when he got older and do grueling chores.  They openly said they didn't love him or want him, and neither did his biological family, and that's why they got rid of him.  His adopted family soon abandoned him as well and he become a ward of the state.  He wasn't good in school because he suffered from depression, but someone at the school told him that that they knew his real parents, and if he did well and graduated, his biological parents would be there at his graduation ceremony.  So he applied himself to graduate, and said he spent the whole ceremony looking in the audience, wondering which couple were his parents.  When he was called to get his diploma, he realized that they weren't there.  Eventually he discovered that his biological mother died at child birth, and his father had been in an accident at that same time and unable to care for him on top of his other siblings.  So it sounds like a sad chain of events that led to him being put up into foster care in the first place, and then to get adopted parents like that.  In addition, what he thought was his original last name was actually misspelled, and he thinks that was why he couldn't find his parents sooner, and that his father may not have been able to find him, since he was only in foster care when he was given up by his father.  I looked up this case, and it looks like Victor found some of his extended family-the siblings he had had already passed away, as did his father, but he did find other relatives, including some overseas.  It sounded like he died before getting to meet any of them, though, but I like to think he took some comfort in knowing that his family didn't purposely get rid of him and wanted him.

Edited December 20, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Annber03]

10 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Resurrection Mary scared me as a kid when I watched that episode.  I remember a scene where she ran across the street and almost got "hit", and then just stared at the driver with a blank expression on her face.  I had friends who lived down the street from the cemetery in my hometown, and when I'd spend the night there, I was always freaked out to look out the window, thinking I was just going to see random ghosts running up and down the street.  

Ha, I know the feeling! There's a cemetery downtown here where I live, and there's a row of houses that are across the street from it. When I was a kid, anytime we drove through that part of town, I always used to wonder what it'd be like living across the street from a cemetery, and wondered what those people did at, like, Halloween or something :p. 

That story you shared about the guy who'd been given up for adoption is heartbreaking as hell. I'm glad he was able to find some of his extended family-hopefully he's managed to forge some nice bonds with them. 

One time, on the Farina-hosted version of the show, I saw a story from my town about a couple who'd gotten together when they were teenagers in the '70s, and she got pregnant. But her father didn't approve of the relationship, or her raising a child so young, so they broke up and she gave the baby up for adoption.

Years later, the couple reunited as adults and started up their relationship again, and eventually got married. They'd always wondered what happened to their child, and decided to share their story on the show. After the segment aired, someone watching called in, and they were able to ultimately reunite with their daughter in the end 🙂. Turned out she'd been raised in a good home after being adopted, and by this time, she was now married with a couple kids of her own. The reunion was shown on TV and everything. 

It was rather surprising to see that story, because it seems anytime my town gets mentioned on national TV, it's for the Jodi Huisentruit case. So it was quite nice to see a story from here that actually had a happy ending for a change. 

[LadyChatts]

32 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Ha, I know the feeling! There's a cemetery downtown here where I live, and there's a row of houses that are across the street from it. When I was a kid, anytime we drove through that part of town, I always used to wonder what it'd be like living across the street from a cemetery, and wondered what those people did at, like, Halloween or something :p. 

That story you shared about the guy who'd been given up for adoption is heartbreaking as hell. I'm glad he was able to find some of his extended family-hopefully he's managed to forge some nice bonds with them. 

One time, on the Farina-hosted version of the show, I saw a story from my town about a couple who'd gotten together when they were teenagers in the '70s, and she got pregnant. But her father didn't approve of the relationship, or her raising a child so young, so they broke up and she gave the baby up for adoption.

Years later, the couple reunited as adults and started up their relationship again, and eventually got married. They'd always wondered what happened to their child, and decided to share their story on the show. After the segment aired, someone watching called in, and they were able to ultimately reunite with their daughter in the end 🙂. Turned out she'd been raised in a good home after being adopted, and by this time, she was now married with a couple kids of her own. The reunion was shown on TV and everything. 

It was rather surprising to see that story, because it seems anytime my town gets mentioned on national TV, it's for the Jodi Huisentruit case. So it was quite nice to see a story from here that actually had a happy ending for a change. 

Jodi Huisentruit is a case I'm obsessed with.  I feel like the answer to her abduction is right there, and some day someone will figure it out, and everyone will wonder how they overlooked it. 

There was a story similar to yours that took place in a city about an hour from where I grew up-teenage couple where the girl got pregnant, except she was white and the father/her boyfriend was black.  This was back in the 50s, so not only did she have the stigma of being an unwed teenage mother, but having a mixed race baby on the way on top of it.  She was actually living with her boyfriend at the time when she found out she was pregnant, but when her parents found out, they had boyfriend arrested on rape charges, and I think kidnapping as they claimed their daughter was with him against her will (she denied both charges).  She was sent to a home for unwed mothers and was forced to give the baby up to social services.  She and her boyfriend continued seeing each other and were even going to run away together to get married and try to get their daughter back.  Her parents did anything and everything they could to keep them apart, including even having her arrested for disobeying them.  It's sad, because she was going to be sentenced to a juvenile facility for a few years, but was forced to give her baby up for adoption and they said she'd get a reduced sentence as a result.  She was eighteen at this point, and I think was told after the fact that legally she was an adult, so she didn't have to give her baby up, and basically her parents couldn't tell her what to do anymore.  She was released after a months, and went looking for her boyfriend-unfortunately, she found out he was harassed to the point of being run out of town.  The couple each married other people, but reunited years later, and even though they were still married to other people, got the blessing of their significant others to try and find their daughter.  They were able to do so, and it sounds like she had a good life.  I actually wonder, though, how long these happy endings last.  Like, do they stay in touch afterwards, or do they eventually part ways?  I don't know if I want to know.  

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Jodi Huisentruit is a case I'm obsessed with.  I feel like the answer to her abduction is right there, and some day someone will figure it out, and everyone will wonder how they overlooked it. 

I agree. I think there's somebody out there who knows a lot more than they're letting on, and they're the ultimate key to solving that mystery. Just a matter of if and when they decide to finally talk. 

That story with the couple that you shared is so bittersweet-that poor couple, her being shunted away and him having to deal with the racism and being driven out of town over it and everything. Awful. Just awful. I'm glad they were able to meet up again years later, though, and work together to find their daughter and know she was okay. 

It's interesting, too, how many stories on this show involve teenage/unwed mothers. I remember a lot of stories like this surrounding women who got pregnant by boyfriends who later went into the service and whatnot. For as often as people like to paint the '40s/'50s as the more "innocent, squeaky clean" days, it's clear that these kinds of stories were far more common than many realized or wanted to admit. 

Quote

I actually wonder, though, how long these happy endings last.  Like, do they stay in touch afterwards, or do they eventually part ways?  I don't know if I want to know.  

Good questions! I'm curious about that, too. I like to think that most of them still keep in touch on some level. And fortunately, nowadays, technology has made it that much easier to stay in contact as well. 

[LadyChatts]

https://people.com/crime/michaela-joy-garecht-cold-case-abduction-man-charged-with-her-murder/

Not sure who remembers this case from UM, but a man has been charged in the abduction and murder of Michaela Garecht.  She was a young girl who went to a nearby store with her friend on their scooters and parked them by the doors; when they came out, one of their scooters had been moved near a car, and when Michaela went to get it, someone pulled her into that car.  The segment on UM wasn't very long, but it was a case that I always remembered.  UM did a story once, too, that talked about other young girls in Michaela's age range and I think even in the general area of her hometown that went missing (I think some were found murdered) and they thought might be connected to the same person.  Wonder if this guy is responsible for any of those?

Edited December 23, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Annber03]

I do remember that story, yeah! I was a little kid when I first saw that segment and it freaked me out, for obvious reasons. 

Oh, wow. 32 years-such a long time to wait for answers. I'm so glad they've finally caught someone-I hope this brings some peace to her family, and the friend who was with her that day, after all this time. 

[Emily Thrace]

On 10/26/2020 at 5:51 PM, Ellaria Sand said:

Sigh...I get frustrated about the way that this show presents some of these cases. They seem to look for every reason to link deaths to government conspiracies, mob hits, espionage, etc without strong supporting evidence. Alternatively, I think that mental illness and emotional instability play a role in many of these mysteries.

Also, in many of these cases, law enforcement either didn't respond quickly enough, didn't properly investigate all possibilities or mishandled/overlooked evidence. The actions of law enforcement play a role in why some of these cases are still a "mystery." Equally, some of these deaths occurred so long ago that current methods/aids of crime solving may not have been available or widely used.

Anyway, onto to the new mysteries...

Exactly! Jack's bipolar disorder played a role on his death (manic episode, not taking meds, etc). He appeared to be agitated, disoriented and likely met up with evil people. He was beaten and thrown in a dumpster. The argument that attackers wouldn't put a body in a dumpster is a stretch.

I wonder if the person who killed Jack was a veteran. They attacked him and then saw his ring and felt guilty so they stuffed him in the dumpster. Also the one thing Newark has is a VA hospital and a couple other big medical centers maybe Jack went to get help and ran into someone in a similarly bad way. 

[North of Eden]

Just watched the missing tots one.

I truly believe the boys are out their alive and hopefully well. We can only hope they see this and start to suspect something is amiss. Shane's snatching was especially heartbreaking in that he was her miracle (and apparently) only child and then to lose him like that. I would suspect though that Shane didn't vanish as quickly as presented...rather that there was probably a good bit of flirtation going on with the man on the bench next to the mother and she lost track of him....

From a production standpoint I couldn't help thinking that while these boys were being snatched. UNSOLVED MYSTERIES at that time was either still a series of specials with the likes of Karl Malden or was in its fledgling first season. To think the boys have been missing the entire lifespan of the series.

Also I want to mention that there still are not enough re-enactments and when they do I was very dissapointed in the one where the mother of Shane was shown running about looking for him. They didn't even try to rent out period cars to put in the background. That never would have happened on the Stack version of the show. Such laziness I've come to expect from  flashbacks to an earlier time on any INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY show but  when you have the pedigree of UM...you don't chintz out and do that.

[MerBearStare]

15 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Such laziness I've come to expect from  flashbacks to an earlier time on any INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY show but  when you have the pedigree of UM...you don't chintz out and do that.

Not to get too far off topic, but OMG this bugs the shit out of me. I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices it. I was watching I think Fear Thy Neighbor and the episode took place in the 80s and I was just like, "80s kitchens didn't have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances!" 

[LadyChatts]

22 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Just watched the missing tots one.

I truly believe the boys are out their alive and hopefully well. We can only hope they see this and start to suspect something is amiss. Shane's snatching was especially heartbreaking in that he was her miracle (and apparently) only child and then to lose him like that. I would suspect though that Shane didn't vanish as quickly as presented...rather that there was probably a good bit of flirtation going on with the man on the bench next to the mother and she lost track of him....

From a production standpoint I couldn't help thinking that while these boys were being snatched. UNSOLVED MYSTERIES at that time was either still a series of specials with the likes of Karl Malden or was in its fledgling first season. To think the boys have been missing the entire lifespan of the series.

Also I want to mention that there still are not enough re-enactments and when they do I was very dissapointed in the one where the mother of Shane was shown running about looking for him. They didn't even try to rent out period cars to put in the background. That never would have happened on the Stack version of the show. Such laziness I've come to expect from  flashbacks to an earlier time on any INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY show but  when you have the pedigree of UM...you don't chintz out and do that.

I really hope that the boys are out there and alive, and will one day find their way home.  I like to think a lot of children that go missing as babies/toddlers were taken because someone wanted a child of their own.  I know it probably isn't the case for all of them, but I do hope it's the case here.  Watching Shane's mother break down was really hard to watch.  I can't imagine all these years (decades) that have gone by, and there's nothing.    

In general, I'm having a hard time getting used to the new format.  I've been re-watching old Robert Stack seasons, and putting the Robert Stack effect aside, I just like it so much better.  This new format just reminds me of any crime show.  I wish they'd go back to showing multiple stories in one episode.  And I'm going to assume not having period pieces is likely a budget issue.  Or maybe they just figure that newer viewers won't care.  But there was something special about a case that was decades old, and reenactments taking you back to that time frame and looking realistic.  It just adds a nice touch.  I mean, when I see a crime story that has someone missing in from the 70's, and people in the reenactment are on cell phones trying to call them-they can at least try to not make it look so modern.  

In other news, another old Unsolved Mysteries case got solved, thanks again to a genealogy database match.  This was the 1982 murders of Bobbie Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee, two Colorado women who disappeared on the same night while hitchhiking (they went missing at different times, and I don't think they knew each other).  The case got to be known as the Orange Sock Murders, because Annette had on a pair of orange socks that night, and one orange sock was found with her, and the other orange sock was found near Bobbie's body.

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/crime/you-cant-walk-away-a-colorado-double-murder-and-the-chase-for-closure-before-time-runs-out

ETA: Oh, and another old case that was never solved (surprisingly) but a woman in search of her biological father used one of those DNA databases, and discovered he was none other than William Bradford Bishop.  He was the man who murdered his wife, kids, and mother, then drove their bodies to a secluded area, dumped them in a pit he dug, and set them on fire.  He's never been caught, and Unsolved Mysteries interviewed a colleague of his who claimed to have spotted him in Italy after the murders. 

This woman that made this discovery about her natural father apparently was the result of an affair he had prior to going on his killing spree.  I'm sure finding out your father is actually on the FBI's Most Wanted list was quite the shock.  

https://www.wral.com/adopted-woman-finds-her-biological-father-on-the-fbi-most-wanted-list/19558490/

Edited March 8, 2021 by LadyChatts

[North of Eden]

4 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

 

In general, I'm having a hard time getting used to the new format.  I've been re-watching old Robert Stack seasons, and putting the Robert Stack effect aside, I just like it so much better.  This new format just reminds me of any crime show.  I wish they'd go back to showing multiple stories in one episode.  And I'm going to assume not having period pieces is likely a budget issue.  Or maybe they just figure that newer viewers won't care.  But there was something special about a case that was decades old, and reenactments taking you back to that time frame and looking realistic.  It just adds a nice touch.  I mean, when I see a crime story that has someone missing in from the 70's, and people in the reenactment are on cell phones trying to call them-they can at least try to not make it look so modern.  

 

Yeah...take away the theme song and the opening credit with the ghostly Robert Stack and you have basically any program on INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY meshed with drone shots ala MAKING A MURDERER. I would kill (pun intended) for them to bring back the old format...I would guarantee it would be even more succsseful. What's more (some may think this sacriligous) but with the blessing of Robert Stack's family they should hire a voice impressionest like Rich Little to do off camera narration in Robert Stack's voice a bill it as a tribute to our beloved Robert Stack.

7 hours ago, MerBearStare said:

Not to get too far off topic, but OMG this bugs the shit out of me. I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices it. I was watching I think Fear Thy Neighbor and the episode took place in the 80s and I was just like, "80s kitchens didn't have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances!" 

Oh hell yeah...you're not alone...if you're going to do it...do it right!

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, North of Eden said:

Yeah...take away the theme song and the opening credit with the ghostly Robert Stack and you have basically any program on INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY meshed with drone shots ala MAKING A MURDERER. I would kill (pun intended) for them to bring back the old format...I would guarantee it would be even more succsseful. What's more (some may think this sacriligous) but with the blessing of Robert Stack's family they should hire a voice impressionest like Rich Little to do off camera narration in Robert Stack's voice a bill it as a tribute to our beloved Robert Stack.

Oh hell yeah...you're not alone...if you're going to do it...do it right!

There's no replacing Stack, but there have been other hosts of Unsolved Mysteries besides him.  It doesn't matter who they bring on, the man will still be a legend.  America's Most Wanted is rebooting with the non-John Walsh host in Elizabeth Vargas, but I still plan on watching the new shows.  But I agree that having someone do even a voice over would give this show more of the Unsolved Mysteries feel that I'm use to.  I liked having multiple stories in one episode.  I get the logic that having one story means they can give more information, but the shorter segments meant they got to the point, and were edited that made it more mysterious and like something shady happened (which, as I've discovered through the years in researching old cases, probably wasn't the case). 

If we get a season 2, I'd love for them to really cover old cold cases.  It's been great seeing decades old cases being solved thanks to advancements in technology, and maybe profiling those stories yet to be solved would help them get there.  

[Dr.OO7]

On 3/7/2021 at 3:56 PM, LadyChatts said:

In other news, another old Unsolved Mysteries case got solved, thanks again to a genealogy database match.  This was the 1982 murders of Bobbie Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee, two Colorado women who disappeared on the same night while hitchhiking (they went missing at different times, and I don't think they knew each other).  The case got to be known as the Orange Sock Murders, because Annette had on a pair of orange socks that night, and one orange sock was found with her, and the other orange sock was found near Bobbie's body.

That's spectacular. I truly thought that they'd never find the guy. I'd have loved to see the look on that bastard's face when the cops came to arrest him. I'm sure that after 39 years, he figured he'd gotten away with it.

Let's hope they solve the Rhonda Hinson case next. That's yet another that has haunted me ever since I saw it.

I wonder how many murderers out there are shaking in their boots thanks to this new genealogy technology, knowing that there's a good chance that it's only a matter of time before the police come for them.

Edited March 15, 2021 by Dr.OO7