The Vanished Podcast

On May 9, 1991, a police officer from the Lynnwood, Washington Police Department responded to a call about a missing person. The call came from Thanh Phung, and he told police that his 19-year-old daughter, Nguyet Thu Phung, or Wiki as most people called her, did not come home from work that day. He said that her boyfriend had picked her up early that morning and that by 11 AM, her employer had called Wiki’s mother to ask if everything was okay after Wiki hadn’t shown up for work. The events of May 9 would unfold to reveal more information about what may have happened to Wiki that day and lead to only a handful of ominous conclusions.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Wiki Phung, please call the Lynnwood Police Department at 425-670-5600.

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October 21, 1973, was a Sunday. Typically, 32-year-old Virginia Erickson would attend church on Sundays, where she played the piano. But on that particular Sunday, Virginia and her husband, David, were going hunting instead. Virginia and David's nephew picked up their six children that morning from their home in Sweet Home, Oregon, and brought them to church. When the children returned, their mother was gone. David never reported his wife missing. Virginia had previously maintained consistent contact with her family in Washington, but they also stopped hearing from her. Disturbing information would later surface about what was happening inside the Erickson home, information that could be the motive behind Virginia Erickson's disappearance.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Virginia Erickson, please contact the Linn County Sheriff's Office at (541) 967-3950.

If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.

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Sometime in March 1976, 20-year-old Brian Vargo vanished from Austin, Texas. He had unenrolled from all of his classes at the University of Texas at Austin at the end of February, just a few weeks prior to his disappearance. He indicated in his application to unenroll that he intended to return to classes in the summer quarter of 1976. However, Brian seemingly vanished into thin air and has not been seen or heard from since. His story is one of soul-searching and a young man who seemed to be looking for an independent identity as an adult, finding his own way in life. Whether or not he ever achieved that goal and what happened to him remains a mystery.

If you have any information about Brian’s disappearance, please call the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5210.

If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.

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Last week, we brought you the first installment of Casi Pogue’s story. You learned about Casi’s life, struggles, and how she disappeared after leaving a hospital in Greenville, South Carolina, on July 5, 2020. Casi was spotted exiting the facility that evening and speaking to someone in a van. She even entered the van for a few minutes but then got out and left the area alone on foot. Who was that man in the vehicle? You heard last week that the police were never able to identify him. But Casi’s family told us that after she disappeared, their suspicions began to shift elsewhere, to someone close to Casi.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Casi Pogue, please contact the Greenville Police Department at (864) 271-5333. If you want to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers at 864-23-CRIME (864-232-7463).

If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.

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It was the July 4th holiday weekend of 2020 when 40-year-old Casi Pogue found herself in the emergency room at Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. She had been there not just once but twice throughout the weekend. The second time, Casi was taken by EMS after neighbors found her acting disoriented. On the evening of July 5th, Casi left the hospital. Casi was spotted on surveillance video walking away from the facility. She spoke briefly to a man inside a van in the parking lot, even getting inside the vehicle before exiting and walking away alone. After she walked out of view of the hospital cameras, Casi Pogue was never seen or heard from again. More than three years later, what happened to Casi remains a mystery.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Casi Pogue, please contact the Greenville Police Department at (864) 271-5333. If you want to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers at 864-23-CRIME (864-232-7463).

This episode was sponsored by:

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If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.

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This episode originally aired on June 15, 2021. Over the last two weeks, we’ve continued to tell you the story of the disappearances of Angela Mack and her son, Mikey. Yesterday, you heard an expert fire investigator discuss the plausibility of the theory that Angie and Mikey were burned in Clarence Krusen’s home furnace. Was it possible that their bodies were completely destroyed, leaving no physical evidence to be recovered? Today we’re bringing you the final episode in this series. We’re going to take a look at all of the other characters and moving parts in this story. In the end, we’ll leave you with a question: did Clarence Krusen kill Angela and Mikey and burn their bodies as investigators say he did? Or is there a possibility something else happened, that there is truth in many of the persistent rumors in Salem, Arkansas? Could this case have an entirely different ending and remains anything but solved?

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If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form: http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/case-submission/.

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This episode originally aired on June 14, 2021. Today, we’re taking a look at another aspect of the developments in this case, the furnace that law enforcement alleges Clarence Krusen used to dispose of Angie and Mikey. Is this theory even possible?

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If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form: http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/case-submission/.

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This episode originally aired on June 8, 2021. In early April, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office announced that they had solved and closed the 2002 disappearances of 20-year-old Angela Mack and her son, Thomas “Mikey” Rettew. Our last episode explored the dramatic turn of events in Angela and Mikey’s mysterious disappearances since we originally aired their story in March. Today, we’re continuing our dive into this incredible, still developing story. "The Dead Man" explores who Clarence Krusen was, his criminal history, and many attempts to adopt children from struggling parents.

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If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form: http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/case-submission/.

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This episode was originally published on June 7, 2021.

Three months ago, we brought you the story of the disappearance of Angela Mack and her son Thomas "Mikey" Rettew from a small town in northwest Arkansas. No one knew who had seen Angela and Mikey last or under what circumstances. Our records requests with law enforcement were ignored, and our efforts to conduct an in-depth interview with the investigator were denied. Then, in a bizarre plot twist that seemed almost stranger than fiction, the investigating agency announced that the disappearances had been solved and the case closed almost exactly one month after we aired the original episode. But is the case closed and the mystery solved? We'll let you decide.

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Listen ad-free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad-free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/thevanished

If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form: http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/case-submission/.

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This episode first aired on March 8, 2021. Angie and Mikey’s story was challenging to cobble together from bits of memories, letters, and tiny threads of verifiable information regarding when they were last seen and who they were with. When we published this story, we had no idea what was about to happen next, and that a case where we began with almost nothing would then turn into an entire series. We wanted to share their story again this week because they are still missing. However, law enforcement has since closed their case because they believe they know what happened to Angie and Mikey. We will drop one episode each day this week to help spread awareness about this young mother and son who vanished without a trace, and the world seemed to move on without ever noticing. 

In 2002, 20-year-old disappeared Angela Mack disappeared from the small northern Arkansas town of Salem. It may have been September, but some people say it was later in the year. She wouldn't be reported missing for many months, or maybe even years. Her four-year-old son, Thomas "Mikey" Rettew, also vanished, but missing persons flyers note that he disappeared from Missouri and the date he was last seen is uncertain. Supposedly, there is a photo of Mikey that is date stamped well after September 1, 2002, but nobody knows for sure. In fact, no one seems to know when or where Angela and Mikey were last seen, or who was the last to see them. Today's episode brings into focus the stories of two people who appeared to simply stop existing, and it seemed as though there were never any real search efforts put forth to find them. Their loved ones hope that a renewed interest in the case will help them find out what happened to Angie and Mikey.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Angela Mack or Thomas Rettew, you are asked to call The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or 1-800-843-5678.

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