How a 'cult' took hold in the small town of Neche, North Dakota   In the summer of 2024, reporters C.S. Hagen and Drew Trafton presented a reporting series and two-part documentary highlighting the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, a Christian sect that began in the U.K. in the 1800s and has since branched out globally. The PBCC also has historic ties to the small town of Neche, North Dakota.   Former members report that the church is responsible for a wide range of misconduct, from money laundering schemes to complicity with sexual assault.    For this first in a three-part audio series, C.S. and Drew sit down with Trisha Taurinskas to discuss their reporting and give listeners a glimpse inside the church, what it believes and the accusations of its former members.

A former 'cult' member describes sexual assault and forced separation from family   According to former members, the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has operated for years in the small town of Neche, North Dakota, using fear and the separation from family to keep its members in line.   In this episode, the second in a three-part audio series, we hear from a former PBCC member who experienced numerous incidents of sexual assault as a young girl and was shunned from her community and family when she made the choice to leave the church as an adult. Also, reporters Drew Trafton and C.S. Hagen discuss the methods of control the church uses.

A helping hand to former Plymouth Brethren members   In the last of this three-part audio series, host Trisha Taurinskas interviews Carman Drever, a former member of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and outspoken critic of the church.   Drever shares her experiences within the church and goes into detail about the PBCC's control over its members, who face separation from their family if they step out of line. Since leaving the PBCC, Drever has devoted her energy to providing information and resources to other former cult members who often have no other place to turn.

This episode provides the full hour-long interview with Timothy Crosby, the main suspect in the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith. The in-person interview is conducted by Forum reporter Trisha Taurinskas at the secure Moose Lake Sex Offender Program facility in January 2024. 

 

Trisha Taurinskas can be reached at [email protected]

 

Questions related to this interview can be directed to Trisha -- or left as a review in Apple Podcasts.

 

You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series. 

This is part 7, the final episode in the series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.

 

In this episode, we explore new information brought to light through listener contributions, including potential suspects and insight into the day Belinda went missing. 

 

We also discuss Belinda's troll necklace, which contained a white stone. A white jewelry stone was recovered from Timothy Crosby's home during the 2009 search warrant execution. Is there a connection? Find out in this episode. 

 

Finally, we hear from Belinda's siblings about who Belinda was, and the impact her disappearance had on the entire family. 

 

You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series. 

 

If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at [email protected] 

 

This is part 6 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.

 

In part 6 of this series, reporter and host Trisha Taurinskas sits down to interview the main suspect, Timothy Crosby, at the secure Moose Lake Sex Offender Treatment Program facility, where he is locked up indefinately. 

 

This episode we examine how Belinda's investigation led to Timothy Crosby's involuntarily commitment as a dangerous sexual offender and a danger to society. 

 

To learn more about what was discovered during Belinda's investigation, listen to this episode. 

 

You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series. 

 

If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at [email protected] 

 

This is part 5 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.

 

In this part of the series, we explore the cold case review of Belinda's case, which took place from 2008 to 2014. During that time, investigators with the Wright County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota BCA and the FBI conducted a number of thorough searches in their effort to find Belinda. 

 

Those searches included the execution of multiple search warrants, the use of cadaver dogs, excavations and more. 

 

To find out what they discovered, listen to this episode. 

 

You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series. 

 

If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at [email protected] 

 

This is part 4 in an ongoing series on the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.

 

In part 4 of this series, we explore an alleged confession related to Belinda's disappearance. 

 

In January 2002, the Wright County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota received a call from a woman who claimed she had information about a confession in Belinda’s case. 

 

The woman told investigators her sister was riding in the back of a truck one to two years prior when she heard their aunt say Belinda’s distant cousin confessed to the crime at some point between 1987 and 1989 while drunk.

 

The distant cousin arrived at the aunt’s house and allegedly told her that he and a friend forced Belinda into their car while she was walking down the road on a dark and foggy night. Then, he claimed things “got out of hand,” according to the case file.

 

To learn more about what investigators did next, listen to this episode. 

 

You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series. 

 

If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at [email protected] 

 

This is part 3 in an ongoing series on the disapperance of Belinda Van Lith, and the investigation that followed.

 

In part 3 of this series, we explore the criminal history of Timothy Crosby, the main suspect in the disappearance of Belinda Van Lith. 

 

After being released from a state insitution for sexually violent individuals for the December 1974 kidnapping and sexual assault of a young woman, two more women escaped from Timothy Crosby. 

 

In 1983, a young woman escaped from his vehicle after being held at knifepoint. In 1987, Timothy Crosby held a young woman captive in his St. Paul apartment for 16 hours. The young woman, who endured hours of violent sexual assault, threw herself out of Timothy Crosby's apartment window. Two men witnessed her escape, and authorities were called in. 

 

For the full details on Timothy Crosby's criminal history, listen to this episode. 

 

You can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series. 

If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at [email protected] 

 

We had originally planned to produce four episodes in this series. But, because we continue to uncover and receive new information and insight, we are expanding the series. This episodes includes a preview of what's to come. 

We will be picking up this series with a new, extended episode next week. Until then, you can find all of our work on this case at inforum.com/Belinda. There, you’ll discover our print stories that accompany every podcast episode. Those stories include images from the casefile, and photos of Belinda, Timothy Crosby and others mentioned in this story. You can also visit our Facebook Group, The Vault: True Crime from the Upper Midwest to discuss the case with others who are listening or reading the series. 

If you have any information related to this case, email Trisha Taurinskas at [email protected]