Vanished

Disappearances are always hard to understand. 

Most of the time, we’re looking for someone that was taken from us against their will. Sometimes, they’re a mystery that we can’t explain. Every once in a while though, the disappearance is voluntary, and maybe that’s what we’re dealing with here. 

Was Judge Joe Crater murdered? Or did he stage an elaborate exit leaving his wife, friends, and colleagues scratching their heads in frustration? On the night of August the 6th 1930, Crater stepped out of a well-known steak house and into a cab on the streets of New York never to be seen again. Or, maybe not.

In part two of our series, we’ll dig deeper into those questions, and we’ll try to make sense of the timeline leading up to August the 6th. Season 3 continues as we welcome you back to Vanished: Judge Crater.

Links

Finding Judge Crater: A Life and Phenomenal Disappearance in Jazz Age New York by Stephen J. Riegel 

The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A Novel by Ariel Lawhon

 Joseph Force Crater Becomes the Missingest Man in New York @ History

Vanishing Point: The Disappearance of Judge Crater, and the New York He Left Behind by Richard J. Tofel 

Joseph Force Crater @ Wikipedia 

August 25th, 1930, was the first day of the New York Supreme Court's fall term. But its newest judge didn't show up for court. Justice Joseph Crater's lifelong ambition was to be a judge. By all accounts, he was ecstatic at his recent appointment to the bench by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. But his seat on the bench this day was inexplicably empty. In fact, no one had seen justice crater in 19 days, when he cleaned out his office, cashed a couple of checks for a fairly large sum of money, had dinner with a friend then got into a taxi, never to be seen again.

He left behind a frantic wife, a veritable harem of mistresses, and a brewing political scandal, but no solid evidence as to where he might have gone, or what might have happened to him. Could justice Crater have been the victim of the political machine, blackmail, or his own hubris? Was this the work of organized crime or a random act of violence? Or did he simply walk away of his own volition and start a new life in Chicago, California, or Canada?

Season 3 has arrived.

Welcome to Vanished: Judge Crater.

Links

Finding Judge Crater: A Life and Phenomenal Disappearance in Jazz Age New York by Stephen J. Riegel 

 Joseph Force Crater Becomes the Missingest Man in New York @ History

Vanishing Point: The Disappearance of Judge Crater, and the New York He Left Behind by Richard J. Tofel 

Joseph Force Crater @ Wikipedia 

When we were last together, we spoke of DB Cooper, and the only unsolved case of air piracy in US history. Tonight, we take piracy to a whole new level. 
In the late 1600’s, in just a two year period, a single man would lead a mutiny aboard a ship named Charles the second, become the captain elect of that ship, and go on to have the most successful pirate career of anyone that ever lived. Like Cooper, he has no beginning. In fact, modern day scholars can’t even agree on when he was born. 
After the most successful raid of his short career, this man would vanish into thin air, leading to the first worldwide manhunt and a trial that would have an absolutely shocking ending. You really gotta hand it to those pirates boy. They don’t stand on ceremony, especially Henry Every. No this guy disappears into the vast oceans with a treasure that today could be worth north of hundreds of millions of dollars. 
Legend says that Every became so successful that he lived out his days in a legendary pirate city on Madagascar where the streets were paved in gold, and the riches were so vast, he need never be concerned with money again. 
Others, tell a different story. 
One thing’s for certain. No one ever found him. Maybe more importantly, no one ever found the treasure. 
The end of season 2 is upon us. 
Finally, it’s time to set sail. This is Vanished: Henry Every.

[Stay till the end of the show for a very special treat from Technofunkboy]

 SHOW NOTES & FURTHER READING 

“Enemy of All Mankind” by Steven Johnson @ Amazon

“The Most Successful Pirate You’ve Never Heard Of” @ History

“The Elusive Henry Every” @ The History Press

Proclamation for Apprehending Henry Every Alias Bridgeman 

“Silver Coins Unearthed in New England May Be Loot From One of The Greatest Crimes in History” @ Livescience 

If you made it this far, you’re probably in till it’s over and I commend you. We’ve covered a lot of ground so far in a very short time. And now in our final segment together, we take it all the way. But before we all enter the courtroom together, we have a few more stops to make and a few more experts would like to weigh in. The story of DB Cooper is a complex one taking twists and turns at every possible opportunity. And it’s about to get crazier. As I ramped up my investigation into this case and into the possibility that we may have found our guy, some new information made its way forward as it always seems to do in these cases. If you know me, you know that no matter what happens, I’m always about forwarding the progress. And tonight we do just that. From the skies above Portland to the shores of Tena Bar, we wind down our series with new evidence that strengthens the case for Braden and a bombshell call to arms that could have continuing effects on this case for years to come. Let’s get back into it. The conclusion of our investigation into DB Cooper begins now. 

LINKS

"Paratrooper of Fortune: The Story of Ted B. Braden - Vietnam Commando, CIA Operative, Congo Mercenary, and just maybe D.B. Cooper" by Drew Beeson

"Sky Ghost: The D.B. Cooper Report" by Eric Ulis 

The DB Cooper Letters @ History.com

Happy Thanksgiving, and welcome back to Vanished.

In part one of our series, alongside our guests, we discussed the mindset, the story, and the legend of DB Cooper. We also discussed the science being worked on the two largest pieces of physical evidence that we have in this case. And I know what you’re thinking. That’s all great, but who was DB Cooper? And what about all these suspects? In part two, we continue our journey into the vortex with series advisor and returning guest Darren Schaefer as we discuss some of the standout suspects in this 50-year-old cold case. 

We’ll also hear from newcomers and giants in this investigation. Lastly, I’ll introduce you to an investigator that has been quietly working on a suspect that he believes has been hiding in plain sight. A suspect with a background that you won’t be able to believe. 
Let’s go to work. This is part two of Vanished: DB Cooper.

LINKS

"DB Cooper and Flight 305: Reexamining the Hijacking and Disappearance" by Dr. Robert Edwards

"Paratrooper of Fortune: The Story of Ted B. Braden - Vietnam Commando, CIA Operative, Congo Mercenary, and just maybe D.B. Cooper" by Drew Beeson

Robert Rackstraw 

Richard McCoy 

Lynn Doyle Cooper 

William Gossett 

Kenny Christensen 

Sheridan Peterson 

Duane Weber 

Barbara Dayton 

Welcome back. Anniversaires are fun. And if you’ve followed this show you know that we kind of make a big deal of those around here. January 5th, 1939; after vanishing over the pacific ocean alongside her navigator Fred Noonan, icon Amelia Earhart is declared dead in Absentia. August 31st, 1888, the body of Mary Ann Nichols was discovered at 3:40 AM in Whitechapel...officially beginning Jack the Ripper’s “Autumn of Terror”. April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth leading to a nationwide manhunt just after the end of the Civil War. 
Remembrance of those dates is important because they tell stories. Stories that have been expanded upon and investigated thoroughly to this day. And that brings us to tonight. Not too many people can become historically associated with a verb. But our next subject can. 50 years ago tonight, a still unidentified man skyjacked a commercial airliner, demanded a $200 thousand dollar ransom (a little over 1.3 million today), and jumped out of that airliner into the darkness never to be seen again. He has no ending and no beginning. He existed for only a few short hours, and in that time, he committed the perfect crime. His name is only an alias, but it’s become the most famous alias in all of aviation history. 
Tonight, we have a first for this show as we release our entire series on one very special anniversary. 50 years ago, an unassuming man jumps into history. He’s become a ghost. But now, perhaps finally, we’ll have a name to go with that ghost. 
Oh, you thought we were done? We’re just getting started. 
Welcome back to Vanished. And part one of our three-part series for DB Cooper.

LINKS

Tena Bar Money Find 

Money Analysis 

"Finding DB Cooper: Chasing the Last Lead in America's Only Unsolved Hijacking" by Marty Andrade

"DB Cooper World prepares for the 50th Anniversary of this iconic skyjacking" by Bruce Smith 

And now we’ve reached the end. In part 4 I mentioned that we’ve covered this case, in essence, two times. The John Wilkes Booth story represents, for me, a very big struggle for the show because we had to change the structure midway through research, and just before we were set to launch an entire season based on the case you just heard. And now, it’s reflection time. 

As we exit our journey into 1865 and John Wilkes Booth I found it only fitting to end with the first round table discussion we’ve ever done on this show. And it features the creators and writers of the hit podcast "1865" Erik Archilla and Steven Walters along with myself and Jen and a returning Dave Taylor as we discuss our coverage of this case, the assassination of Lincoln, the radicalization of John Wilkes Booth, and how the events of 1865 service as a striking parallel to what we’re all living through right now, in modern times. 

LINKS

"Satisfied" performed by Amber Farndon

"Donald Trump's presidency is ending a lot like Andrew Johnson's" @ The Hill

It's easy to make extraordinary claims when they're unchallenged. But that's about to change. A few episodes back, I encouraged you to jump down this rabbit hole. And now, I'm here to help you climb back out. Welcome to the fourth episode of our series on John Wilkes Booth.

Trial by Jury.

LINKS

"Satisfied" performed by Amber Farndon

"The Escape & Suicide of John Wilkes Booth" by Finis L. Bates @ Amazon

"Relatives press fight to reopen Booth grave Appeals court will study bid to confirm whether body is Lincoln assassin's" @ The Baltimore Sun

"John Wiles Booth Descendants Seek to Exhume Body" @ The Chicago Tribune

"Body of Lincoln's Killer is Left in Grave" @ The Tampa Bay Times

"Did Booth Actually Get Away" Original Article @ USA Today 

I have a lot of heavy lifting to do.

In part 3 of our series on John Wilkes Booth, my investigation is in full swing. Joined by a world class guest list, I dive into the case head first in an effort to understand how and why Booth might have escaped, the complex introduction of DNA into the case, and the first trial that took place on this case a little over a quarter century ago.

Welcome back to Vanished. This is part 3 of our series on John Wilkes Booth.

LINKS

"Satisfied" performed by Amber Farndon

"The Assassin's Accomplice: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln" @ Amazon

"Who is the Real John Wilkes Booth?" @ Amazon

"The John Wilkes Booth Mummy That Toured America" @ History

I’ve been investigating historical mysteries for a long time. And everything always begins with a story.

It’s hard to look at our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln as controversial. But he was. As much as he’s now revered the world over for his acts during his presidency, there were many people that stood in opposition of Lincoln and the Union. When we think of Lincoln, we often think about his end; the assassination that we’ll be covering so deeply during this series. But what you might not know is that the assassination that would be successfully carried out in 1865 wasn’t the first attempt on his life. Four years earlier, there was another attempt. And the story behind this one is something out of a summer blockbuster movie. But every bit of it is real. In order to get to the ending, and everything beyond, we need to start at the beginning.

Tonight, we lay out all the events that begin on April the 14th 1865 and end 12 days later in a tobacco farm in Virginia. Or do they?

As our split investigation continues on from Oklahoma and Austin, here’s the big question. If John Wilkes Booth did vanish that night in 1865, he must have had help. So, who helped him? Could it be that Booth was simply the tip of the spear that pierced the Union? Is it possible, maybe even probable that the figure calling the shots was in Lincoln's own cabinet? A man that would have the most to gain from the assassination of the president? And was his potential collusion influenced by the most famous assassin in all of history?

Welcome back to Vanished. This is part 2 of our series on John Wilkes Booth.


LINKS

"Satisfied" performed by Amber Farndon

"The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President--and Why It Failed" @ Amazon 

"The Unsuccessful Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln" @ Smithsonian 

"Abolitionist John Brown is Hanged" @ History

"The Web of Conspiracy" by Theodore Roscoe @ Amazon 

"A Conspiracy Theory to End All Conspiracy Theories: Did John Wilkes Booth Act Alone?" @ Rollingstone 

"John Wilkes Booth Killed Lincoln, but Who Killed John Wilkes Booth?" @ Vice 

"The Escape & Suicide of John Wilkes Booth" by Finis L. Bates @ Amazon 

"A Piece of Crutch" @ Lincoln Conspirators 

"Historical Vertebrae, a Sideshow Mummy and the Lingering Mystery of John Wilkes Booth" @ PBS