The Vanished Podcast

26-year-old Johnathan Lee Hamilton left his home in Houston, Texas on May 2, 2015. Two days later, he showed up a couple hours away in the town of Bastrop, Texas. He abandoned his vehicle in a Best Buy parking lot, it had run out of gas. Several people in the town of Bastrop, including police, interacted with Johnathan that day and then he simply vanished without a trace. In this first part of Johnathan’s story, we’re going to dig into the days leading up to his disappearance up until the last time that he was reportedly seen on May 4th. 

If you have any information about the disappearance of Johnathan Lee Hamilton, you can send tips on Facebook through Johnathan Lee Hamilton Missing or you can contact the Bastrop Police Department at (512) 332-8600 or (512) 332-8603 or you can even mail it to them anonymously at 104 Grady Tuck Ln, Bastrop, TX 78602.

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2019 UPDATE- In July of 2019, a jaw bone was recovered in the area where Johnathan went missing. On August 23, 2019, Johnathan’s family was notified that the dental comparison was a match.

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Mahfuza Rahman left Bellevue hospital in New York City after her shift ended on December 8th, 2015. The following day, she attended a class at Hunter College. After that, she was never been seen or heard from again. Unfortunately, she wasn’t reported missing until March of 2016. 

If you have any information, you can contact the Bronx Homicide Squad at (718) 378-8083 or anonymous calls can also be made to NYPD Crime Stoppers 1-800-577-TIPS. If you would like to follow Mahfuza’s case, please join theFacebook group called Justice for Mahfuza Rahman. 

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18-year-old Desirea Ferris left her home in Liberty, Missouri on May 1st, 2017. She had planned on hanging out with her sister and some friends. It was also her mom’s birthday and she had promised to be home to celebrate but that never happened. The activity on Desirea’s phone stopped in the early morning hours of May 2nd and her family hasn’t seen or heard from her since. They have been able to narrow down the areas of her last cell phone pings but searches of those areas haven’t lead to any clues. There are some horrible rumors circulating about what happened to Desirea that night but no one will talk about where she might be. 

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Desirea Ferris, you can contact the Liberty Police at 816-439-4701. There is a tip hotline and that number is 816-474-8477. You can call Spike with tips at 816-462-2139. There is also a PO Box that you anonymously send in tips to:

Bring Desirea Home

PO Box 886

Kearney, MO 64060

You can follow this case on Facebook: Bring Desirea Ferris Home

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Madeline Jones and her 8 month old son, William, disappeared from their Mesa, Arizona home on June 15th, 2017. The following day, her father, Roland "Alex" Jones called 911 to report that they were missing. Leading up to their disappearance, Madeline and her ex-husband had gone through a nasty divorce and custody battle. The court had just awarded joint custody to William’s father, Jacob. A witness has come forward claiming to have seen Madeline dye her hair and dress William as a girl shortly before disappearing. All court documents and police reports referenced in this episode can be found in the Facebook group Missing: Bring Baby William and Madeline Jones Home.

UPDATE: After this podcast first aired, Cassie and Roland "Alex" Jones were arrested on September 27, 2017. William and Maddie were located safe on October 2, 2017.

For reference, the important people mentioned in this episode include:

Jacob Gouchenour - William's father

Madeline "Maddie" Jones - William's mother, missing since June 15, 2017.

William Jones-Gouchenour - The son of Jacob and Madeline, missing since June 15, 2017.

Cassie Jones - The mother of Maddie Jones.

Roland "Alex" Jones - The father of Maddie Jones.

Kelci - Maddie's friend.

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Sixteen-year-old Devin Bond left his home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in the early morning hours of March 31, 2017. There was a sighting of Devin later that morning and his phone last pinged in the same area. Extensive searches have been conducted looking for Devin but no trace of him has ever been found. If you have any information about the disappearance of Devin Bond, please contact the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office at (615) 898-7770. If you’re interested in following Devin’s case on social media, please follow the Facebook group called Bring Devin Home.

November 2019 Update: A new search was conducted in the area where Devin’s phone last pinged and human remains were located. On 11/13/19, Devin’s mom, Heather, confirmed that the remains located had been identified as her son.

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

25-year-old Kevin Mahoney vanished after leaving his friend's home in Fargo, North Dakota on an October night in 1993. For many years, the police department assumed that Kevin had just walked away from his life. A few years ago, a cold case team looked over his file and now they believe that Kevin was the victim of foul play. If you have any information about the disappearance of Kevin Mahoney, please contact the Fargo Police Department at 701-241-8281.

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Chris Turner disappeared from Las Vegas, Nevada in August of 2016. You heard Chris's story in Episode 83. Many people listened and decided to come forward with information. Three days after Part 1 aired, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department decided to close his case without making contact with Chris. Warning: this episode contains language and subject matter that may be offensive to the LGBT community.

AUGUST 2020 UPDATE- On August 4, 2020, Chris Turner’s family was notified that his remains had been recovered and identified via DNA testing. “Christopher's remains were found. I will give more details when we get them. Thank you to EVERYONE who helped us in the last four years. Please give my family privacy at this time. -Dawn (Chris’ Mother).”

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19-year-old Christopher Winkler disappeared from Burlington, Wisconsin on February 16th, 1987. That evening, a friend had stopped by Chris’s home and noticed that Chris seemed to be nervous and sweating. Later that night, Chris knocked on a friend’s door looking for help but his friend’s grandfather told him to leave. After that, Chris vanished. Do you know what happened to Chris Winkler? If you have any information, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 888-636-9330 or the We Help the Missing Anonymous Tip Line at 866-660-4025. You can follow Chris's case on Facebook at Help Find Missing - Christopher James Winkler.

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28-year-old Daniel O'berg was last seen inside a Safeway grocery store in Sweet Home, Oregon on April 23, 2017. He was inside the store with another man while a third man waited outside in Danny’s car with his two beloved dogs, Misa and Koda. After that, Danny, his dogs and car all disappeared. In this episode, you will hear from Danny's dad, Ken, and also Andrea from Bring Our Missing Home. If you have any information about the disappearance of Danny Oberg, please call the Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4141. If you would like to remain anonymous, you can call the Bring Our Missing Home 24-hour anonymous tip line at 810-294-4859. You can also email Andrea at [email protected]. You can follow Danny's case on Facebook at Hope & Justice for Danny O’berg. 

For more information about our sponsors, please visit: http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/sponsors/.

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

Christopher and Lisa Mae Zaharias were abducted by their mother, Susan, on November 20th, 1987. Their father, Louis, has spent nearly 30 years searching for them. In Part 1, you heard from Philip Klein from Klein Investigations. In this second part of the story, you will from Christopher and Lisa's father, Louis Zaharias. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Christopher, Lisa Mae or Susan, please call Klein Investigations at (409) 729-8798 or 1-800-THE-LOST. You can also submit a tip through the Facebook page Help Find the Zaharias Children.

http://www.findzahariaskids.com/welcome.html

For more information about our sponsors, please visit: http://www.thevanishedpodcast.com/sponsors/.

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