0:01

We have two dogs in our home. Aria

0:03

is a two-year-old puppy who definitely

0:06

needs help with her portions. And

0:08

Nala is a ten-year-old dog who is living

0:10

a great life and we want to keep

0:12

feeding her well so she can hang in

0:14

there with us for a lot longer. The

0:17

farmer's dog makes it easy to keep

0:19

them healthy, which can give you more

0:21

quality years with them. The

0:23

farmer's dog makes and delivers

0:25

fresh, healthy dog food. It's

0:27

recommended by vets, nutritionally balanced

0:29

and made from human-grade ingredients

0:32

in safe, clean kitchens. It's

0:34

the best option for dogs at all

0:37

life stages. It doesn't matter if your

0:39

dog is young or old. It's

0:41

always the right time to begin investing in

0:43

their health, helping you live

0:46

more healthy, happy, and full

0:48

years together. You can

0:50

get 50% off your

0:53

first box at

0:55

thefarmersdog.com/vanished. Let the

0:57

farmer's dog know we sent you. Use

0:59

our code or click podcast after you

1:01

sign up for your first box. If

1:04

you consume a lot of true crime, you

1:07

might have heard about the case of Mindy Dodd,

1:10

or at least one like it. It's

1:12

the classic story of a housewife who pushed

1:14

too far, snaps, and murders

1:17

her husband. The scary music

1:19

swells and the story ends neatly.

1:22

The housewife is locked away. But

1:24

what if that's not the whole picture? This

1:28

is Mindy Dodd. I was just touching base with

1:30

you, hon. You can give me a call

1:32

at your convenience. Talk to you later. Bye-bye.

1:37

I guess I was about to find out.

1:40

I'm Slesia Stanton. Join me

1:42

as I take a deep dive into Mindy

1:44

Dodd's case on my podcast, Truer Crime. Search

1:47

Truer Crime in your podcast app to follow the

1:49

show. The

2:00

views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely

2:02

those of the podcast author or

2:20

individuals participating in the podcast

2:23

and do not represent those of

2:25

TenderfootTV or their employees. This

2:27

podcast also contains subject matter which may

2:29

not be suitable for everyone. Listener

2:32

discretion is advised. The

2:40

vanishing point, the last known

2:42

location, it's an

2:44

investigative priority in any missing person's

2:47

case. But sometimes logistically

2:49

getting there is easier said than

2:51

done. The terrain

2:53

of the Hoopa Reservation and the

2:55

surrounding area is remote and sometimes

2:57

treacherous. And as we learned

3:00

in the last episode, in the case

3:02

of Sumi-Wan, sometimes there can be challenges

3:04

in pinning down someone's exact location, especially

3:07

when so much time has passed. But

3:09

when the location is clear, it

3:11

often times holds the answers to what really happened.

3:21

In March of 2020, a woodcutter went to

3:23

work just off Deerhorn Road in Hoopa. After

3:26

a few days without word from him, his

3:29

family became concerned. Soon

3:32

after the announcement of his disappearance, his

3:34

daughter received a text message from an

3:36

anonymous number. The

3:40

sender demanded a cash ransom in exchange for

3:42

her father. We have

3:44

a screenshot of those messages. The

3:47

first was sent in all caps. life

4:00

if you ever provoke me, I will him

4:03

and drop his lifeless body off the road." These

4:06

attacks were then followed by this message in

4:08

all lower case. Sending

4:11

you a proof is as easy as anything. You

4:13

also need to know he's a bit sick right

4:16

now. He's also refused to eat. You

4:18

have to do this real fast so I can have him

4:20

dropped off at the nearest gas station for you. We've

4:25

talked a lot about the epidemic of

4:27

missing and murdered indigenous women, but it's

4:29

not just women who go missing here.

4:32

These attacks were regarding Virgil Bussell Jr.,

4:34

a member of the Hoopa Valley tribe.

4:38

And that's our next message. I'm

4:42

Célicia Stanton and this is Up and Vanished

4:44

Presents, The Vanishing Point. Our

5:31

team is in the MMIP office in Hoopa, where

5:34

they're set to meet their next interviewee. I've

5:38

always felt his pain if he got hurt

5:40

or something. One time

5:42

when he got in a car right at Kenny Brokage

5:44

Lake and the next morning I

5:46

couldn't walk on my leg. This

5:49

is Verna, the twin sister of 52-year-old

5:51

Virgil Bussell Jr. Virgil

5:53

went missing in March of 2020. Throwing

5:57

up for them, he lured into the

5:59

water. Now

6:01

it's like way different, because

6:04

he's not here. When

6:07

talking about her twin brother, you can

6:09

sense that Verna still very much feels

6:11

a profound connection to him. It's

6:14

clear that his absence has left a huge void

6:16

in her life. Recalling

6:19

their final communications, she's said that

6:21

her worries first started when she

6:23

hadn't heard from him in over

6:25

two weeks. It

6:27

was something that had happened because he usually

6:30

stops by. And so I made

6:32

a post on Facebook, has

6:34

anybody seen her for my brother? It's been two and

6:36

a half weeks since I've seen him. Shortly

6:39

thereafter, Virgil's truck was discovered in the

6:42

woods. But Virgil himself was

6:44

nowhere to be found. And

6:46

then my niece, she replied to my post and

6:48

said that she was cutting wood with her dad

6:51

and they seen his truck up

6:53

at Dearhorn. There

6:56

was a load of wood in the back of his truck that

6:58

it was just being tossed in round

7:00

and my brother doesn't load his truck

7:03

like that. He loaded his truck

7:05

with wood that was cut and stacked from the front

7:07

to the back. And that's how I know that it

7:10

wasn't him who loaded the truck. Virgil

7:14

ran his own wood cutting business and he

7:17

uses flatbed truck regularly for work. It

7:20

was something that Verna tells us her brother usually

7:22

did on his own. Beyond

7:25

the discovery of the truck and the piles

7:27

of wood tossed in the bed, there were

7:29

a few other suspicious discoveries. Virgil's

7:31

keys and jacket were found inside the vehicle.

7:34

The windows were left rolled down and his

7:37

chainsaw was nowhere to be

7:39

found. It was

7:41

nighttime when we've located the

7:43

truck and I

7:45

used someone's phone to call Tribal

7:47

Security for a search and rescue.

7:51

I'm a county sheriff before I went down but there

7:55

wasn't really no investigation as

7:57

far as I know. really

8:01

investigated everything they would have

8:03

found something. On

8:05

April 9, 2020, Humboldt

8:08

County Sheriff's Department, in partnership with the

8:10

Special Services Unit Search and Rescue Team

8:12

and Volunteer Fire Department, conducted a

8:14

two-day ground search in the area that the

8:16

truck was discovered. They

8:18

also conducted a K-9 search. Neither

8:21

would yield results. While

8:23

the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office has not

8:26

ruled out file play and Virgil's disappearance,

8:28

locals are confident that evidence near Virgil's

8:30

truck confirms it. They

8:32

said that one of the places where my brother was

8:34

cut in wood, he could

8:36

tell that there was a

8:39

struggle and that they drug

8:41

a body. There's a trail that led

8:43

right down to this person's house. I

8:46

know that there had to be more than one person.

8:49

My brother was pretty strong and he

8:52

was pretty smart and they either got

8:54

him when he was asleep or they

8:57

might have caught him once his head's all red

8:59

in. An

9:01

independent news outlet, Red Headed Black Belt,

9:03

which focuses on stories in and around

9:05

Humboldt County, also corroborated speculation that a

9:07

body was dragged into a wooded area.

9:11

They reported that the family is

9:13

collaborating with an MMIP activist,

9:15

Jesse Armstrong. Armstrong

9:18

recruited Caverne Hodgen, a Northern California

9:21

tracker who has helped families find

9:23

loved ones, to analyze the site

9:25

where the truck disappeared. According

9:28

to Armstrong, Hodgen saw signs of a

9:30

physical struggle near the grove where Bustle

9:32

was believed to have been felling trees

9:35

and parallel drag marks from there

9:37

indicating a body was dragged. A

9:40

tracker reports being able to track the

9:42

drag marks to the home of a

9:44

person the family considers a suspect. Based

9:47

on these findings, Bustle's family is

9:49

fearing the worst. It's

9:52

been three years now since

9:54

he's been gone. What do you think

9:56

happened to him? I believe it.

10:00

He got his head shot off. I

10:04

heard it was over a girl. Basically,

10:06

we cut him up and put him in a

10:08

wood chipper wheel. I hope that's

10:10

not true. What

10:12

Verna says is that she heard that

10:14

incident happened over a girl and

10:17

that he was cut up and put in a wood

10:19

chipper. This is not

10:21

the first time the teams heard this. Oh,

10:24

Virgil? Oh, Virgil Bussell? Mm-hmm. That's

10:27

Frank Subart, the man that we spoke

10:30

to at the end of the road regarding

10:32

Emily Risling's disappearance. Oh,

10:34

man. I've heard a lot of stories I heard he

10:36

was put inside of a

10:39

chipper, spread out all over.

10:42

Why would someone want to hurt Virgil? I

10:45

don't know. Virgil was a pretty tough fella.

10:47

Mm-hmm. So he'd have to

10:49

catch him by surprise. So this

10:52

person or this being or whatever, this

10:55

meeting disappears pretty strange.

10:58

Mm-hmm. Aside

11:02

from just small-town talk, Virgil's

11:04

family started receiving real tips.

11:07

There was an anonymous phone call

11:10

here. The anonymous

11:12

caller claimed that Virgil's body could be located

11:14

between a set of mile markers off the

11:16

highway. The police looked into

11:18

it, and they did find a

11:20

body, but it wasn't Virgil's. Do

11:24

you feel like you were in danger at all,

11:26

or if family members are in danger? Yes.

11:29

I do believe in the beginning

11:32

it was really, really so unsafe,

11:35

and I kind of still do, because

11:37

the ones that supposedly

11:40

cleaned up the mess and did something

11:42

with my brother's body, she

11:45

still saw it was blind. It's

11:47

place where I stay. Verna

11:51

says she believes that the group of people

11:53

responsible for Virgil's disappearance live

11:55

close by. It's

11:58

unclear whether police have looked into these folks. With

12:01

the case being active, the details of

12:03

the investigation are closed to the public. However,

12:06

Verna believes that someone from that group

12:08

took issue with Virgil, and

12:10

she claims on more than one occasion that

12:12

a member of this group has tried to

12:14

intimidate her and keep her from speaking out.

12:19

And she was trying to lower

12:21

me down, down to

12:23

her house where her dad and

12:25

her brother, were responsible

12:27

for his disappearance, and

12:29

he's the one that is the one that

12:32

killed him. I

12:34

heard there were maybe ransom texts

12:36

and threats made after the missing

12:39

person report. Somebody

12:41

had texted my niece, which

12:43

is Virgil's daughter, saying that

12:45

they had him and they wanted ransom.

12:49

Verna is referring to the same text messages you

12:51

heard at the beginning of the episode. Text

12:54

would do more than 10 hours and you're just

12:56

responsible. I swear on my wife, if you ever

12:58

provoked and dropped his lifeless body off the road.

13:02

No leads ever came of these messages. Law

13:06

enforcement declined to provide us with a comment

13:08

on the text messages, but a 2020 article

13:11

from ABC 7 News published a response

13:13

from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office. This

13:17

unfortunately is a common scam that has

13:19

occurred for several missing persons cases. Users

13:23

typically access the missing persons information

13:25

from shared posts on social media

13:29

and use it to scam missing persons

13:31

families. Eventually,

13:33

Virgil's daughter texted the anonymous number

13:35

back. You're

13:37

sick. You don't have my dad. You're

13:40

pulling the sick fucking game to get money. Fuck

13:42

you. So

13:48

the people that you

13:51

believe are responsible

13:53

for Virgil's disappearance,

13:56

tell me who those people are. On.

14:00

Most of them are gone. Dead.

14:03

Can you describe, like, what that group of

14:06

people is like? Cold

14:08

hearted. Their

14:10

conscience is feared. Like

14:13

with a hot iron, because they don't have no remorse.

14:16

Disappearances like Virgil's create rumors

14:19

that often muddy investigations constrain

14:22

law enforcement's already limited resources.

14:25

And unless someone comes forward, his

14:28

family may never find answers. Now

14:32

it's, like, way different. Because

14:35

he's not here. But

14:38

I know that he's

14:40

still with me. If

14:42

you could share a message with Virgil right

14:45

now, what would you say? I

14:49

tell him that I'm sorry. And

14:55

that I love him and his and it was all my heart. Until

15:01

we see you again. Each

15:14

new disappearance in Hoopa pushes the

15:17

previous one deeper into obscurity. Over

15:20

time, these unsolved cases grow

15:22

colder and colder, and then

15:24

the MMIP's office bulletin board

15:26

is a haunting testament to

15:28

this tragic cycle. As

15:31

the team packs up to leave, they take

15:33

one final glance at the board. And

15:36

there, hidden amongst the many cases,

15:39

they stumble upon a post that has clung to

15:41

the board for far too long. Picture

15:54

this. You just booked a trip to Italy

15:56

after hours of research and are finally ready

15:59

to immerse in Italian culture.

16:01

But when it comes to learning the

16:03

local language, you're bogged down with too

16:05

much information to comprehend any of it.

16:07

We get it! Learning a new language

16:09

can be tough. That's where Rosetta Stone

16:12

steps in. Rosetta Stone is the most

16:14

trusted language learning program used by millions

16:16

worldwide. It's not just an app or

16:18

desktop software. It's a complete immersion in

16:20

the language you want to learn. Say

16:23

goodbye to translations and hello to thinking,

16:25

speaking, and living in that language. So

16:27

use Rosetta Stone to prep for that

16:29

upcoming trip to Italy and effortlessly embrace

16:31

the language with the confidence of a local.

16:33

Don't put off learning that language. There's no

16:36

better time than right now to get started.

16:38

For a very limited time, all listeners

16:40

can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50%

16:42

off. That's 50% off unlimited access

16:46

to 25 language courses for the rest

16:48

of your life. Redeem your 50% off

16:51

at rosettastone.com rs10

16:53

today. The NFL regular season

16:55

is wrapping up, but there's still time to

16:58

get in on the action with FanDuel, America's

17:00

number one sportsbook. Right now, new customers get

17:02

$150 in bonus bets, guaranteed,

17:05

when you place a $5 bet. That's

17:07

150 bucks in bonus

17:09

bets, win or lose. The app is

17:12

so easy to use, and there are

17:14

so many different ways to bet, like

17:16

live same-game parlays, find bets in the

17:18

new explore tab, make a parlay in

17:20

the parlay hub, the best way to

17:23

find popular parlays and more. So visit

17:25

fanduel.com slash stream and make your first

17:27

bet a layup. FanDuel, official partner of

17:29

the NFL. Must be 21 plus in

17:31

prison in Ohio. First online real money

17:33

wager only. $10 first deposit Must be 21 plus in present in Ohio. First online real money wager only. $10

17:35

first deposit required. A bonus issued is

17:37

now withdrawable bonus bets that expire 7

17:40

days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms

17:42

at sportsbook.fandool.com. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. According

17:49

to the FBI, 5,295

17:52

indigenous women were reported

17:54

missing. A majority of

17:56

the cases in our database were actually mothers

17:59

of children. And so the loss

18:01

of Native American women are 10

18:03

times more likely to be murdered

18:05

than any other ethnicity. Humboldt

18:11

County Sheriff's Department information bulletin August

18:13

13th, 1991. Detective

18:16

Dee Walker. The

18:19

Humboldt County Sheriff's Department is currently

18:21

investigating a missing persons report on

18:24

Andrea Chick White. Andrea

18:26

was last seen on Highway 299 at

18:28

Blue Lake, California on July 31st, 1991.

18:33

Carrying with her was a black leather jacket

18:35

and a spalding white and black duffel bag.

18:38

In the bag was a purple skirt,

18:40

black sweater, black spandex tights with lace

18:43

at the ankle, and black satin pumps.

18:46

If found, please notify the Humboldt

18:48

County Sheriff's Department. August

18:57

16th, 1991. Detective Dee Walker. The

19:02

Humboldt County Sheriff's Department is continuing

19:04

to investigate the disappearance of Andrea

19:06

White. Additional

19:08

information has been developed that White

19:10

was hitchhiking eastbound just east of

19:13

the Blue Lake exit. White

19:15

was known to be at that location about 1.30

19:17

pm. White

19:19

had told several people she met that day that

19:21

she was returning home. As

19:24

of this time, no family members,

19:26

friends, or acquaintances have seen Andrea

19:28

White since the July 31st

19:31

sighting on Highway 299. September

19:39

4th, 1991. Detective Walker. Andrea

19:44

White has now been missing 35 days

19:46

with no confirmed contact with any

19:48

family member. The Sheriff's

19:51

Department now believes that foul play

19:53

is strongly indicated in White's disappearance.

20:02

So my first memory, well,

20:04

I guess I was probably

20:07

seven or eight years old. This

20:10

is Hupa tribal member, Ali Hausler of the

20:12

Two Rivers Tribune. I

20:14

remember my uncle came

20:16

to the house. I remember it was in the

20:18

evening time and he was worried because

20:21

his wife, Chick White, hadn't come home.

20:24

And in the days that followed and she

20:27

still didn't come home, we didn't hear from

20:29

her. It was really unlike

20:31

her to leave her children. And

20:33

I just I was a child at the

20:35

time and I remember nobody knew what to do. And

20:38

that was my first memory

20:41

of hearing about a woman that

20:43

I knew being missing. As

20:48

we know from the sheriff department's bulletin, Andrea

20:50

Chick White was last seen over 30

20:52

years ago after hitchhiking to Eureka.

20:56

When she was, I think, nine months old, she

20:58

was walking and talking. And

21:00

I remember one of our cousins, she would

21:02

just laugh all the time and say, oh,

21:05

she looks like a little chickie. So

21:07

chickie is her nickname, but everybody

21:10

calls her Chick. This

21:12

is Anna White, Andrea's older sister.

21:16

Chick was a beautiful young lady,

21:18

a great mother. When

21:20

I think of her, all I can think of

21:22

is Chick and her kids. That was the most

21:24

important thing in her life. Prior

21:27

to Chick's disappearance, her partner passed away.

21:30

And unfortunately, she'd end up losing

21:32

guardianship of her children due to substance

21:34

abuse. She was fighting

21:36

hard to get clean and regain custody of

21:38

them. In fact, when she

21:40

was last seen, she was actually hitchhiking back from

21:43

a court appearance. She was

21:45

just so innocent and pure and

21:47

trusting. So I wondered if that

21:49

was anything to do with her

21:52

missing status. It's

21:54

worth noting that with this area being so remote,

21:56

hitchhiking is fairly common. Hupa

21:59

is situated an hour away from the

22:01

nearest major city. And moreover,

22:03

as we've previously mentioned, this county

22:05

grapples with the highest rates of

22:08

poverty in the nation. And

22:10

I think a lot of that and

22:12

just the different hardships on the reservation

22:15

for everyone is dysfunctional

22:17

family systems, alcohol

22:19

and drugs, and chip

22:21

issues were very compounded with

22:24

our family situation

22:27

and those issues on the grass.

22:31

And I know she was in an auto accident. She

22:34

had been drinking. That's

22:36

what she was hitchhiking back and forth to

22:38

Eureka to go to court. Anna

22:41

later learned that a woman approached police with a

22:43

tip about the day Andrea went missing. That

22:46

local woman said she gave Andrea a ride

22:49

and let her out by an off-ramp on the way to

22:51

Hoopa. And when I found

22:53

out about that lady, I called

22:55

the County Investigator and I wanted

22:57

to talk to that lady. And

23:01

the detective said she does not want

23:03

to be contacted by the family or

23:05

anyone. And I thought that was a

23:07

little bit strange. The

23:09

Two Rivers Tribune wrote, the

23:11

woman who dropped her off on Highway

23:13

299 provided her name and information to

23:15

the police. According to

23:18

white sister Anna, the woman asked the

23:20

police to keep her identity anonymous. And

23:23

that's the status part of everything. It

23:25

seems like she just vanished. We don't

23:27

have a clue of where

23:29

she could be. Everything's

23:33

open-ended. Three

23:38

years old when it first happened, I

23:40

do have memories of family in

23:43

the house, like staying over and I'm pretty

23:45

sure that's when it happened. We

23:48

spoke with Andrea's youngest son, Arnold. He

23:51

doesn't remember much about his mother. Most of his memories come

23:54

from the stories that his friends and family have shared.

23:57

She was a free bird and energetic. spirit.

24:01

And I remember I woke up in the middle of the night and I

24:04

go into the living room and I see my

24:06

family sleeping on the couches, you know, because they're

24:10

there for support. And

24:12

I remember looking and all the the doors

24:15

probably looking for my mom, you know, and

24:17

my dad, he was in one of our corner

24:19

rooms and I remember looking into there even and

24:22

I didn't see her so I just kept going trying

24:25

to find her but

24:28

that's probably one of the only memories that

24:30

I could recall being that young. The

24:33

whole topic subject alone was like the

24:36

elephant in the room that nobody talked

24:38

about ever. It's

24:41

pretty tough. I

24:45

just hate not having answers

24:47

to questions. And

24:50

for the longest time I felt like the

24:53

shortfalls and stuff like that. I'd always like, well

24:55

maybe it's because, you know, she wasn't

24:57

there. Maybe there's something I missed out on in

25:00

my childhood or something but I used to

25:02

have a lot of talks with myself like

25:05

that because of it. But

25:08

trying to just come over, you know, and

25:12

look at it from a

25:14

different angle. Pretty much just accept it

25:17

for what it is. That's all I can do. I

25:21

could let it stress me out every day.

25:24

But I just try to take one day at a time and

25:27

be positive as I can. Since

25:31

his mother's disappearance, Arnold has heard many

25:33

rumors and stories about what may have

25:35

happened to her. There's only

25:38

so many things that could happen with

25:40

somebody who's hitchhiking. They either got

25:42

picked up and murdered

25:45

or she's being

25:47

kept alive against her own will. There

25:52

was a guy who stayed in Arcata. His last

25:54

name is Ford. It was a

25:56

pretty big story here in Humboldt because he lived in

25:58

Humboldt and he would do like

26:01

long-haul truckings and he used to

26:03

pick women up along the highway and he

26:05

finally confessed in 97 to women

26:08

that he murdered and

26:11

when he turned himself in he had like a

26:13

woman's breasts cut off inside his coat. We

26:16

were kind of curious if they ever did

26:18

investigate that. November

26:20

3rd 1998 36 year old Wayne Ford walks

26:24

into the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office in

26:27

Northern California. He has a severed woman's

26:29

breasts in his jacket pocket. Ford

26:32

tells police he is charged with

26:36

raping, torturing, and murdering four

26:38

women. While

26:43

one of Ford's victims was a local

26:45

from Eureka, it's not clear

26:47

if law enforcement suspected that Andrea's

26:50

disappearance may be tied to Ford.

26:52

There was however another person

26:54

in the community who many folks

26:56

are suspicious of. Someone

26:59

who should have been the protector. Selling

27:07

a little or a lot.

27:10

or a lot. Shopify

27:12

helps you do your thing, however you

27:14

cha-ching. Shopify is the global commerce platform

27:16

that helps you sell at every stage

27:18

of your business. From the launch your

27:20

online shop stage, to the first real-life

27:23

store stage, all the way to the

27:25

did we just hit a million orders

27:27

stage. Shopify is here to

27:29

help you grow, whether you're selling

27:31

scented soap or offering outdoor outfits.

27:33

Shopify helps you sell everywhere, from

27:35

their all-in-one ecommerce platform to their

27:37

in-person POS system. Whatever you're selling,

27:40

Shopify has got you covered. Shopify helps

27:42

you turn browsers into buyers with the

27:44

internet's best converting checkout. 15%

27:47

better on average compared to other leading

27:49

commerce platforms. And sell more

27:51

with less effort thanks to Shopify

27:53

Magic, your AI-powered all-star. Shopify powers

27:55

10% of all e-commerce in

27:57

the US. And Shopify is

27:59

the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and

28:02

Brooklyn and millions of other entrepreneurs of

28:04

every size across 175 countries. Plus,

28:08

Shopify is a worthy- 24-7 Health is there

28:10

to support your success every step of the

28:12

way. Because businesses that grow, grow with Shopify.

28:14

Sign up for a $1 per month trial

28:17

period at shopify.com/Odyssey

28:19

Podcast. All lowercase. Go

28:21

to shopify.com/Odyssey Podcast now

28:23

to grow your business

28:26

no matter what stage

28:28

you're in. shopify.com/Odyssey Podcast.

28:32

Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford and I'm the founder

28:35

of Meaningful Beauty. When Dr.

28:37

Sabah and I decided to do a

28:39

skincare line together, he said to me,

28:41

we are gonna give women meaningful beauty.

28:43

And I said, that's exactly right.

28:45

We want to give women meaningful

28:47

beauty, which means each and every

28:49

product is meaningful. It has a reason

28:52

to exist. It's efficacious. You're gonna get results

28:54

and then you just go out and live

28:56

your life. Meaningful Beauty.

28:59

Confidence is beautiful. Learn

29:01

more at meaningfulbeauty.com. Imagine

29:06

the softest sheets you've ever felt. Now

29:08

imagine them getting even softer over time.

29:10

I'm here to tell you about Bolin

29:12

branch sheets. In a recent customer survey,

29:14

96% replied that

29:16

Bolin branch sheets get softer with

29:19

every wash. They're made from the

29:21

rarest organic cotton and designed to

29:23

get even softer over time. Try

29:25

their sheets with a 30-night guarantee

29:27

plus 15% off your first order

29:29

with code Odyssey. So head to

29:31

B-O-L-L and branch.com today. Exclusions apply.

29:33

See site for details. Besides

29:43

rumors about serial killer Wayne Ford,

29:46

there was another person wrapped up

29:48

in rumors about Andrea's disappearance. If

29:53

you're comfortable answering this, do you know there was a

29:55

connection between your mom and my

29:58

grandma before she passed away? She

30:00

mentioned this, that he

30:03

had raped my mother, him and

30:05

one of his coworkers. Anna

30:10

White also heard this story years ago. Andrea

30:13

told her that she was picked up by two

30:16

Humboldt County Sheriff's deputies, taken over

30:18

the hill on Highway 299 and raped. After

30:23

she allegedly reported the assault to

30:26

HC-SL, we're censoring the name

30:28

of this individual because, despite a

30:30

slew of allegations and legal charges made against

30:32

him, we couldn't find any record

30:34

of White's case. Was

30:38

a deputy sheriff, who

30:40

was a sheriff's victim, and

30:44

had a reputation of breaking

30:46

into women's houses and

30:49

committing sexual acts or attempting

30:51

to. And,

30:54

Jick was picked up

30:56

by him and sexually

30:58

assaulted, but nothing was

31:00

ever done. They

31:03

questioned, but

31:06

he was the suspect, I guess, or

31:08

enough to question about the whole situation.

31:12

And I don't know if that was the family

31:14

wanted him questioned or not, but

31:16

apparently he had alibi and he was cleared.

31:20

I know you could search his name up

31:22

on Google and it pops up his case

31:24

that he had here. And the

31:26

pretty much allegations were that he was either

31:29

molesting or raping

31:32

two younger girls. We

31:41

found those articles and records online. In

31:44

2020, a Sovereign Body Institute study

31:46

revealed this individual faced multiple accusations

31:49

of child abuse and sexual assault.

31:52

Despite the numerous reports, he remained in

31:54

his role as sheriff's deputy. He'd

31:57

eventually be brought to trial, and while the first would

31:59

end in a mystery, trial, on

32:01

August 25, 1990, he was

32:03

found guilty of child molestation.

32:06

Four months later, the judge overturned the

32:08

conviction. The case

32:11

was slated for retrial, but the young

32:13

survivor, quote, could not withstand the mental

32:15

health impacts of testifying a third time.

32:19

Lour's article also mentions this deputy.

32:22

One of the police officers that allegedly raped

32:25

White was accused of sexual abuse on multiple

32:27

occasions. There are other girls

32:29

that he had raped too, David said, but

32:31

I think my mom was the only one that was

32:33

trying to come forward and press charges. According

32:37

to Anna, the police officer came from a

32:39

well-to-do family. There were rumors of people

32:41

that he would follow around. He was a

32:43

predator. This

32:45

is not an isolated event. While

32:48

the team was in Hupa, we heard a

32:50

lot about police misconduct and distrust of law

32:52

enforcement. Here's

32:55

what Ali told us. Where

32:57

people have the lack of confidence in our police

32:59

and that ride you took to get here from

33:02

town, you got to take that ride to go

33:04

to jail. And there's historical

33:06

stories of women being sexually

33:08

assaulted by officers on that drive,

33:11

of people being beat on that drive. I think

33:13

Laura has heard some of those stories too. Laura

33:16

actually wrote about this issue for the paper. A

33:20

report compiled by the York Tribal Court and

33:22

the Sovereign Bodies Institute and MMIW in California

33:24

found that out of 165 cases studied, around

33:26

one in five were victims of police

33:30

brutality or lethal neglect. A

33:33

law enforcement officer in Humboldt County who spoke

33:35

on the condition of anonymity vehemently agreed that

33:37

Native people have long been abused by the

33:40

police system. Humboldt

33:43

County Sheriff's Office would not directly comment

33:45

on these allegations. During

33:47

our interview with Sheriff Hansel, he acknowledged that

33:50

he is aware of prior concerns, stressed

33:52

that he is working hard to rebuild trust

33:54

and foster positive relationships with the community.

33:58

So, when it comes to Andrea, We

34:00

continued to ask ourselves, what

34:02

made her a target? What

34:04

factors make her and individuals like

34:07

her more vulnerable to victimization? I

34:10

think a lot of the focus is on

34:12

women because they're more vulnerable when it comes

34:14

to defending themselves

34:16

or being put in situations

34:18

where they feel disempowered. I

34:22

was reading a story last night about a woman

34:24

who she said she had

34:26

consensual sex with a truck driver who

34:29

gave her a ride. But

34:31

when I actually finished reading the story, I

34:33

was like, that wasn't consensual at all. She

34:36

was hitchhiking. He picked her up and

34:38

he made her feel like she

34:40

had to provide either drugs or

34:43

sex or she was

34:45

either going to get beat up and left

34:47

alongside the road. I'm like, that's not consensual.

34:50

But in her mind, as a native

34:53

woman, she felt like it

34:55

was consensual because she agreed to it at

34:57

that time. But really, when you read the

34:59

story, it was like, no,

35:01

that wasn't consensual. I

35:03

mean, yeah, she wasn't forcibly right, but

35:06

she was put in the situation

35:08

where she was vulnerable, highly vulnerable.

35:14

It's been over 30 years since Andrea

35:16

Trichbite went missing. But still,

35:19

as much as it pains them, her

35:21

sister, her son, and the rest

35:23

of her family, they've come to

35:25

believe in the importance of sharing Andrea's

35:27

story. With

35:29

missing and murdered women in

35:32

general, or people, I think

35:34

it's always just not enough information being

35:36

spread around. If

35:39

you have information about somebody who

35:41

has family that's missing or murdered,

35:43

come forward with your information. Because

35:46

even if it sounds crazy, anything could lead

35:48

to something. One of them could be that

35:51

crazy thing that you hear and that's actually

35:53

true. I just

35:55

hope that we're coming to a space of

35:57

healing and we're still in the the

36:00

beginning phases of just establishing what

36:02

MMIW is. I think the more

36:04

that we do this,

36:08

the more comfortable we'll get at it and

36:11

the more awareness we'll bring, we miss

36:15

her, we'll bring her home and

36:18

we're never going to give up. Our

36:21

team embarked on a 300-mile drive

36:23

to Covelo. They planned

36:25

to look into yet another missing person's

36:28

case. While leaving

36:30

Jupa, they pull over on the side of

36:32

the busy highway where Andrea Cech White was

36:34

last seen. A National

36:36

Geographic photograph published in 2022 shows Arnold,

36:40

Andrea's son, standing at this

36:42

very location. He's

36:44

at a grassy median, backlit by the

36:47

sun and surrounded by little wild flowers.

36:50

In his hands he holds a photo in remembrance

36:52

of his mom. Behind

36:55

him, the traffic whips by. No

36:58

one stops. Time moves

37:00

on. It's the same

37:02

today. But

37:05

there's still time for change. Not

37:08

all cases feel as cold

37:10

as Andrea's. Like

37:13

this next case in Covelo, California,

37:15

they're the lead suspect and

37:18

this time he's named. Next

37:26

time on The Vanishing Point. I

37:30

hadn't seen her for two weeks before she went

37:32

missing. She called me on the

37:34

7th and said, Mommy, whatever

37:36

you do, don't open the door

37:39

for anybody at Covelo. Right

37:41

there I was like, D is what's going on and she had

37:43

that, I called her phone right back and I just

37:46

went straight to voicemail and I kept

37:48

calling and I kept doing the same thing. So I

37:50

never got a hold of her again. Point.

38:01

This six-part series is released weekly, absolutely

38:03

free, but if you want to

38:06

listen to it ad-free, subscribe to

38:08

Tenderfoot Plus at tenderfootplus.com or on

38:11

Apple Podcasts. The

38:17

Vanishing Point is a production of Tenderfoot TV

38:19

in association with Odyssey.

38:22

Felicia Stanton is our host. The

38:25

show is written by Meredith Sedmon, Alex

38:27

Vespasad, and Jamie Albright. With

38:30

additional writing assistance by Felicia Stanton,

38:33

executive producers are Donald Albright and

38:35

myself Payne Lindsey. Lead

38:37

producer is Jamie Albright, along with

38:39

Meredith Sedmon. Editing by

38:42

Alex Vespasad. Additional editing

38:44

by Sydney Evans. Supervising

38:47

producer is Tracy Kaplan. Additional

38:49

production by Laura Frater and Ali

38:51

Hossler. Research by Laura

38:53

Frater and Taylor Floyd. Artwork

38:56

by Byron McCoy. Original

38:58

music by Makeup and Vanity Set.

39:01

Mixed by Dayton Cole. Thank you

39:03

to Orin Rosenbaum and the team at

39:05

UTA, Beck Media and Marketing, and

39:07

the Nord Group. And a special thanks to

39:10

Greg O'Rourke, the KIDE

39:12

91.3 radio station in Hoopa,

39:14

the Two Rivers Tribune, and all of

39:17

the families and community members that spoke to us.

39:20

For more podcasts like The Vanishing Point,

39:22

search Tenderfoot TV on your favorite podcast

39:24

app or visit us

39:26

on our website at tenderfoot.tv. Thanks

39:28

for listening. One

39:41

March 16, 2000, two sheriff's

39:43

deputies were shot in Atlanta. Jamil

39:45

Alameen, a Muslim leader and former

39:47

Black power activist, was convicted. But

39:50

the evidence was shaky and the whole truth didn't

39:52

come out during the trial. My

39:55

name is Mosey Secret. When I started

39:57

investigating this case in my hometown, I uncovered...

40:00

a dark truth about America. He

40:03

said to me, you

40:05

want me to take care of them, you know, for

40:07

not not doing some opinion or something like

40:09

that. I said, no, what you talking about?

40:11

But I had no idea who he,

40:15

you know, who he had become. That's how he approached

40:17

you. You know, he meant when he said that. Yeah.

40:21

I'm thinking murder in

40:24

a minute, you know, I think that's what he was thinking.

40:28

From Tenderfoot TV, Campside Media and

40:30

I Heart Podcast, Radical is

40:33

available now. Listen for free

40:35

on the I Heart Radio app, Apple

40:37

Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

40:50

Almost every kid here has an absolute

40:52

horror story. I don't even know

40:55

how to explain it. Even

40:57

in the redwoods of the Pacific Northwest,

41:00

Hoopa Valley grapples with a crisis, a

41:03

series of unsolved disappearances spanning

41:05

decades. And we've been hearing about

41:07

a lot of them. I've been following

41:09

your new season about Ashley Lawrence Brown. I'm sure

41:11

you may have been contacted regarding the name of Aliyah Heavy Runner.

41:14

Many of the missing and murdered are indigenous

41:16

persons. And we wondered what

41:19

factors make this tribal land a

41:21

place where people just vanish. So

41:24

we started looking into it. People

41:26

seem to be very hesitant to come forward

41:28

because they're scared for their own

41:30

safety. You don't know if she was

41:32

trafficked. You don't know if she was

41:34

murdered. What's even more crazy

41:37

is that person, whoever did it is

41:39

probably someone we all know. From

41:42

Tenderfoot TV, I'm Felicia Stanton, and

41:44

this is The Vanishing Point, an

41:47

up and vanish series. Available

41:49

now. Listen for free on Apple Podcasts.