In 1986, four-year-old Jessica Gutierrez disappeared from her South Carolina home in the middle of the night, leaving behind only a few strange clues and a single chilling statement from the sister who slept beside her... Her sister insisted that a man in a “wizard hat” carried Jessica away. After massive searches and years of dead ends, Jessica’s case refused to fade from the community’s memory. This episode breaks down what happened that night, the troubling investigation that followed, and the decades-long fight to uncover the truth.

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Sources:

https://www.lexingtonscsheriff.com/news-releases/man-sentenced-to-life-in-1986-cold-case-child-abduction-murder

 https://www.abccolumbia.com/2024/02/08/jury-finds-thomas-mcdowell-guilty-of-murdering-kidnapping-4-year-old-girl

 https://www.wistv.com/2024/02/08/prosecutors-present-impactful-evidence-jurors-day-3-thomas-mcdowell-murder-trial

 https://www.wistv.com/2024/02/08/state-defense-rest-thomas-mcdowell-murder-trial-day-4

 https://www.lexingtonscsheriff.com/news-releases/suspect-arrested-in-1986-child-kidnapping-killing

 https://www.wcax.com/2022/01/07/child-kidnapping-killing-cold-case-coming-close-police-arrest-suspect-35-years-later

 https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/thomas-mcdowell-charged-in-1986-murder-of-jessica-gutierrez

 https://www.koat.com/article/jessica-gutierrez-man-arrested-1986-kidnapping-murder/38700491

 https://truecrimenews.com/2024/02/09/south-carolina-jessica-gutierrez-thomas-mcdowell-kidnapping-murder-missing-child-lexington-county

 https://www.lexingtonscsheriff.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2024-Annual-Report-FINAL2.pdf