Season 3 of Somebody Knows Something — the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Podcast — opens a brand new case: the 1982 disappearance of Wyteria Jones.
Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall introduce listeners to Wyteria, a Black woman from rural Tennessee whose family roots stretch back to the Civil War Era. After moving north to Illinois, Wyteria found herself in Elgin in the spring of 1982, staying at the Douglas Hotel while receiving mental health treatment. When the hotel closed that October, she walked out with her luggage — and was never seen or heard from again.
What makes this case especially challenging? Her disappearance wasn't reported to police until January 1983, nearly four months later. The case file is thin. And the detectives are left with more questions than answers: Where was she going? Did she make it there? And why did she stop cashing her government checks and contacting her children — forever?
In this season opener, the detectives share what little is known, lay out five working theories, and make a direct appeal to the public for help. If you knew Wyteria, lived at the Douglas Hotel, or have any information about her whereabouts in the fall of 1982 — somebody knows something.
Tips can be submitted at www.ElginColdCases.com or by calling the Cold Case tipline at 847-289-COLD.

Bonus Episode – Still Missing

As the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit heads into 2026 and prepares for Season 3 of Somebody Knows Something, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall are taking stock of every open missing persons case in their files — and asking the public for help finding answers for families still waiting. The unit is also growing. Detective Beth Sterricker brings nearly two decades of Elgin Police experience to the team, and Sergeant Matt Vartanian — co-host of Season 1 — is back, this time overseeing the Cold Case Unit as part of his new role in the Major Investigations Division. Four people are still missing. Their families are still waiting. Franco Loyo was 61 years old when he walked north along N. Airlite Street in Elgin on the evening of April 19, 2023, and was never seen again. Listed as missing and endangered, his case will officially become a cold case in April 2026 — but his family isn't waiting for a label. Maynor Escalante-Martinez was just 16 — an unaccompanied minor placed with a sponsor family in Elgin — when he was reported missing on June 29, 2021, after allegedly leaving with a man claiming to be his uncle. He would be 20 years old today. Whether he left safely or not, no one has been able to confirm it. Chad P. Smith was reported missing in February 2021 after his family hadn't heard from him since December of 2020. Unconfirmed sightings have placed him on the south side of Chicago, but his whereabouts have never been verified. His mother is still in Elgin. She is still looking. Daren Wood was 24 years old when he stopped by his mother's east-side Elgin home in July 2017 and promised he'd be back in two days. He never came back. Eight years of investigation, including cross-referencing his case against unidentified remains in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, has yet to bring his family closure. There is one piece of good news. Willie Wilder, previously on the unit's caseload after disappearing in December 2021, was found alive in South Elgin in September 2025 — proof that these cases can be resolved. But behind the four open cases is a fifth that goes back even further. In the fall of 1982, Wyteria Jones was last seen near the Douglas Hotel in downtown Elgin and vanished. Hers is the oldest cold case missing persons investigation in the unit's files, and she will be the focus of the full Season 3 investigation launching in March. Someone out there knows something about each of these people. If you have information, contact the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit at [email protected], call 847-289-COLD, or visit www.ElginColdCases.com.

In this final episode of the season, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit lay out the investigation into Renee’s murder in 1979, release new information about the case, and discuss potential links between Renee’s murder and the serial killer group known as the Ripper Crew. They also close out the season and remember all 27 homicide victims from 1970’s Elgin.

On November 23, 1979, the day after Thanksgiving, Renee Cruz Tovar decided to stay home while her roommate went out on a date.  The following morning, November 24, 1979, her roommate returned home and found Renee murdered in their apartment.  In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit meet with family members and friends of Renee to learn more about her brief life and the impact her tragic death had on the Elgin community.

Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit continue their investigation into the disappearance of Barbara Glueckert as they meet with retired Mount Prospect Detective Mike Nelson who worked on Barbara Glueckert’s case for over two decades. They also speak with a listener who contacted the cold case tip line to report an  experience she had with Thomas Urlacher when she was just 16-years-old in the early 1970’s for the first time in over 50 years.

During “Season One: Where Is Karen?” Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian researched the previous tenant of Karen Schepers’ apartment, Thomas Urlacher.  They found that while he was not involved in Karen’s disappearance, he was the prime suspect in the disappearance of 14-year-old Barbara Glueckert from nearby Huntley, Illinois on August 21, 1976. In Part 1 of this two-part investigation, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit discuss Urlacher’s links to Karens’ case and meet with Barbara Glueckert’s family to learn about her and the impact that her disappearance has had on her family and on her community.

On June 30, 1971, a 35-year-old foreman at the Woodruff and Edwards Foundry, Guadalupe Alanis, was murdered while working in downtown Elgin.  Detectives Andrew Houghton and Chris Hall of the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit review Guadalupe’s case and discover that it has links to two other Elgin murders.