The disappearance of Michelle Diaz happened at the worst possible time in a small town with limited resources and in a media environment desperate for information about a different case altogether. 

So although her death would eventually lead to uncovering the true volume of horror committed by the Rest Stop Killer, she would, sadly, become a footnote in the larger story. 

Michelle Diaz was anything but a footnote to her family and those who loved her most.

This is her story.

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly. 

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly BTS info and profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent 

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Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

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It was Mollie Miller who alerted me to the death of Gary Pugh. It was Mollie Miller who said the Rest Stop Killer was back, who said the Palmer family was involved somehow, and that the police were covering for them. 

And yet, she now refused to talk. 

Something was happening in Ridgewood, and on Thursday Dec. 14, 2023, I went home for the first time in nearly 30 years to figure it out. 

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly. 

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly BTS info and profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent 

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Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

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Curiosity is a dangerous thing. Kingscreek is a weekly horror semi-anthology podcast, with weekly episodes. Follow Damien Bachman as he reads through his late uncle's old research, centered around the strange and paranormal occurrences in Kingscreek, Washington.

Case A-95: Serial Roadside Phenomena (Fall 1997)

Recording Date: 09/16/08

Content Warnings:

- Animal Death

- Animal Body Horror

Starring Thomas S Dennis as Damien Bachman

Written, Edited, and Directed by Thomas S Dennis

Produced by James Makepeace

Score by Kai After Kai

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The killer disappeared for nearly 30 years. Police thought he moved or was caught or just decided to call it quits, which happens occasionally with serial killers.

Then Gary Pugh was abducted from a quiet street in Ridgewood on December 11, 2023, and discovered dead in the valley just hours later.

The Rest Stop Killer had never left. 

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime story told weekly. 

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly BTS info and profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent 

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Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

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When Len Macy arrived in San Francisco in 1967 for the Summer of Love, he was immediately tempted by the cults and charismatic narcissists who preyed on young people at the time. 

Charles Manson. Jim Jones. Synanon. They were everywhere.

But it was Mitch "Moon" McDaniel that would lure Len to Ridgewood, where he would soon find himself alone and forgotten. Until a killer started dumping bodies just yards from his front door.

This is the story of suspect #2: Len Macy.

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime story told weekly. 

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly BTS info and profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent 

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Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

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Three Ridgewood men have been abducted and murdered, their bodies found in a valley on the outskirts of town. And the same man found two of them. This is Daniel Palmer Jr., a millionaire housing developer who owns the valley land.

On the nights of each murder, Palmer said he was home, hosting fund-raisers for local politicians. People saw him each night, vouched for him. But are his alibis as airtight as he claims? Is it possible to slip away from a large party, murder men, and then simply slip back into the party as if nothing happened?

Both Detective Jones and I put his alibis to the test.

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime story told weekly. 

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly BTS info and profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent 

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One man built a flamethrower and patrolled the town’s sewer system, positive the killer lurked underground. A posse of women formed an armed vigilante group and roamed the streets at night. Neighbors reported other neighbors to police. Kids called the tip line on their teachers. 

As Ridgewood waited for the killer to strike again, mass hysteria settled over the entire town. But then, just as suddenly as they began, the murders stopped. The case went cold. 

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime story told weekly. 

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly BTS info and profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent 

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After the abduction and murder of Bobby Briggs on Jan. 20, 1996, Ridgewood exploded. There was a killer among them, taking men. Off busy streets. Stomping them to death.

Just as it has done all over the country for ages, panic set in. And Ridgewood would never be the same.

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime story told weekly. New episodes every Wednesday.

Find behind the scenes details or join our true crime and criminal profiling reading group at our Patreon page -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent -- hope to see you there!

Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The similarities between the abduction of Bobby Briggs and one Zodiac survivor were so striking that Detective Jones had to check it out. 

Briggs was kidnapped in the middle of Ridgewood, on a busy thoroughfare. And yet, there were no witnesses or signs of a struggle. It was as if he simply vanished.

When Detective Jones inspected his truck, she knew what happened. She had seen this before. With the Zodiac killer.

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime story told weekly. New episodes every Wednesday.

Find behind the scenes details or join our true crime and criminal profiling reading group at our Patreon page -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent -- hope to see you there!

Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With the discovery of a third body in the valley just off Interstate 80 in Ridgewood, police realized the killer emerged every other Saturday night. Only this time, instead of abducting a man at Hunter Hill rest stop, he was in Ridgewood.

Anyone, it seemed, was fair game now.

Crime Adjacent is the never-ending true crime story told weekly. New episodes every Wednesday.

Find behind the scenes details or join our true crime and criminal profiling reading group at our Patreon page -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent -- hope to see you there!

Crime Adjacent is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.