The Vanished Podcast

This episode originally aired on July 17, 2023. Jim Lewis was a decorated veteran who had recently retired after serving in the United States Army for 25 years. Jim and his wife, Patsy, purchased a home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which was intended to be their forever home, after having moved around the US and the world for many years. They were finally putting down their roots, and Patsy was able to start hanging those pictures on the walls. However, it didn't even last a year, as in October 1982, Jim pulled out of the driveway, headed to a job interview in Vero Beach, Florida, and never came home. The police were convinced that Jim had willingly abandoned his family, and they showed no interest in investigating. His family did what they could on their own, but that wasn't bringing them any solid answers. Then, Jim's car was found months later at the local airport in Fayetteville. It had been parked there since October 6, 1982, three days after Jim left, supposedly to drive to Florida. None of it seemed to make sense to his family. He always cared for them and wouldn't have left them this way. Over the years, some clues have been revealed that could point to an outcome no one ever saw coming.If you have any information about the disappearance of James Lewis, please contact the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office at (910) 323-1500.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramTwitterPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode originally aired on July 10, 2023. On October 3, 1982, 42-year-old James Lewis left his home in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Jim told his family he planned to drive to Vero Beach, FL, for a job interview. Jim was a decorated veteran who had recently retired from the Army. He was a skilled pilot looking for something to do in the next phase of his life post-retirement. Jim was interviewing for a position ferrying airplanes from a dealer in Florida to buyers. After Jim left, his family never heard from him again, something that was very unusual for Jim. Months later, in January of 1983, Jim’s wife received a call from a local airport, stating that his car had been parked there since early October, just days after her husband had vanished. Had Jim actually driven to Florida? Had he taken a flight somewhere? Why was his car at the airport? These questions have haunted his family for more than 40 years.If you have any information about the disappearance of James Lewis, please contact the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office at (910) 323-1500.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramTwitterPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In September 2023, 45-year-old Eleanore "Ellie" Halverson and her mother, Roxanne, drove to a mental health facility in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She was planning to check in for treatment. Outside the entrance, Ellie said goodbye to her mother and daughter, as neither of them were allowed to accompany her inside.Roxanne expected she would hear from her daughter within a few days, once Ellie had settled in and was granted phone privileges. But as time passed with no word, a sense of unease set in. Then she learned that Ellie had never officially checked into the facility, and no one had seen or heard from her. Fearing the worst, Roxanne reported Ellie missing in Grand Rapids.Then, on November 4, Ellie was spotted on surveillance footage in Northhome, MN. Ellie's family believed she was likely with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Geno. Police eventually tracked Geno down in rural Itasca County. He told investigators they had argued one night in early November, and Ellie had stormed off into the freezing Minnesota darkness. That was the last time he claimed to have seen or heard from her.This November will mark two years since Ellie vanished. Her family is still searching, haunted by unanswered questions and desperate for the truth about what really happened that night.If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Eleanor “Ellie” Halverson, please contact the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office at 218-326-3477. If you wish to remain anonymous, call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or visit CrimeStoppersMN.org. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office Gaagige-Mikwendaagoziwag Reward Fund tip program is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information.If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org for confidential support 24/7.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramTwitterPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week, you learned about Jonathan Hoang, his quiet and structured life, and how he disappeared from his family’s home in Arlington, Washington, at the end of March 2025. On the evening of March 30, Jonathan asked to sleep in the downstairs guest bedroom because the sound of the treadmill was bothering him. In hindsight, a few details from that conversation were slightly unusual, but nothing raised alarm. By the next morning, everything had changed. His mother went to wake him for school and found that Jonathan was gone. His iPad and headphones were missing, but his phone and jacket, which he never left home without, were still in the house.Search teams combed the neighborhood and nearby areas. Surveillance footage was gathered from neighbors, but Jonathan was not visible on any of the cameras. No one reported seeing him, and no physical trace of Jonathan was ever found. As time passed, his family began to believe he was not just lost, but that someone may have taken him.Since Jonathan has autism and is considered an endangered missing person, his family expected law enforcement to treat the case with urgency. Instead, they encountered one obstacle after another. They continued searching, but much of the work fell on them and members of the community who offered support without having access to the tools or authority that law enforcement holds.At the center of all this is a disconnect. Jonathan’s family is certain he could not have simply walked away and started a new life. He needed daily support and structure. Yet from their perspective, law enforcement seems to have built a narrative that he did exactly that.This week, we will examine what happened after the initial searches ended, the investigation, the community response, and a recent development that has brought new hope, possible sightings of Jonathan in Kirkland, Washington.You can follow the family’s search efforts on social media at Help Us Find Jonathan Hoang - Endangered & Missing Person.A $100,000 reward is currently available for information. If you see Jonathan, please call 911. If you have any information about the disappearance of Jonathan Hoang, contact the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office at 425‑388‑3393 or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or use the P3 Tips App to remain anonymous.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramTwitterPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A young man named Jonathan Hoang mysteriously disappears from his home in Arlington, Washington, sparking a desperate search by his family and community. The podcast explores Jonathan's close bond with his sister and the emotional impact of his autism diagnosis. As they dive into the peculiar circumstances of his vanishing, listeners feel the family's anguish and frustration over the search's challenges. The narrative highlights the importance of understanding and advocating for individuals with differing abilities while shedding light on the anxieties surrounding safety in the community.

The haunting mystery of Ruth Egnoski's disappearance is explored through fragmented memories and shocking new police documents. Letters to her family raised unsettling questions about her choice to vanish. Personal dynamics, including allegations of familial abuse, complicate the narrative. Witness accounts reveal troubling interactions hinting at deeper secrets. An intriguing suitcase uncovered adds another layer to the puzzle. As the search continues, the uncertain fate of Ruth leaves the family and listeners questioning what truly happened.

Robert Ignosky, brother of missing woman Ruth Egnoski, shares poignant memories of his sister and the long-lasting impact of her disappearance on their family. He recounts the confusion and frustration of the unsolved case, detailing the uninvestigated leads and chilling discoveries linked to Ruth, including a mysteriously appearing Social Security card. The conversation reveals the emotional turmoil faced by the family and their ongoing quest for answers, ultimately shedding light on the neglected nature of missing persons cases.

Over the past two weeks, you’ve heard the story of David Shier, who vanished from Trinidad, Colorado, in February 2022, and the exhaustive search that followed. Despite the urgency, no clues surfaced. Dave's family was forced to reexamine every detail, lead, and possibility.On the morning of Dave's disappearance, he asked his wife to drive him to meet someone about a property. But who was that person? Why was his truck parked oddly, so unlike him? And what about the neighbor’s report of a white truck at the house around the time he disappeared?From the beginning, Dave’s loved ones felt law enforcement had dismissed his case as a medical emergency, simply an older man who had wandered off and passed away. However, for the family, when they didn't find him during the searches, they believed he deserved a thorough investigation.The last confirmed sighting was a trail camera image of Dave walking away from his home. For more than a year, the case stayed cold. Then, something unexpected happened. A grave was opened in Starkville Cemetery. It was supposed to contain one man, who had also been missing, but inside were two bodies.The coroner claimed both were buried in 2019, well before Dave vanished, but the man who performed the exhumation, a seasoned professional, said the second body seemed too intact to have been in the ground that long. That stopped the Shier family in their tracks.Dave’s wife watched the exhumation footage and couldn’t shake the bad feeling that overcame her when she noticed the outline of legs in a body bag that looked familiar. Could it be Dave? Could he have been buried without anyone telling his family?No matter who the second body was, what was unfolding at the cemetery disturbed the family deeply. The secrecy, inconsistencies, and lack of care were unacceptable. They believed no one should be buried without dignity, and no family should be left in the dark. So the Shiers acted, fighting for truth, transparency, and change.Last week, you heard how the Colorado Bureau of Investigation opened an inquiry into what happened in Las Animas County. This week, we take you inside that investigation, what it uncovered, how it ended, and where it leaves the Shier family now on their quest for answers.If you have information about the disappearance of David Shier, please contact the Las Animas County Sheriff's Office at 719-846-2211.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week, in Part 1 of David Shier’s story, you heard about his sudden and unexplained disappearance from Trinidad, Colorado, on February 11, 2022. Dave’s wife recalled that he asked her to drive him somewhere because a person had called about a property. She didn’t know more than that, but Dave was frustrated with her because she already had plans to run errands for one of their daughters. She last saw him around 11 AM, and when she returned later that afternoon, Dave was missing.When Dave didn’t return and no one had heard from him, his family reported him missing. Given his age and the unusual circumstances, law enforcement took the case seriously and launched immediate search efforts. A snowstorm that night forced them to pause, but searches resumed the following morning and continued for months, even years.Clues began to surface: the unusual positioning of Dave’s truck, and a report of a white vehicle spotted near the home. Then came a crucial discovery, a neighbor’s trail camera footage, which law enforcement initially overlooked due to technical limitations. The neighbor eventually found an image of Dave walking away from the property around noon on the day he vanished. That footage is the last known sighting of him.Despite extensive efforts, no trace of Dave was found, and the case went cold. Then, more than a year later, there was a strange twist in the case when the local coroner came under fire after the body of a man was exhumed, a man who had been considered a missing person for several years, and they found two bodies inside the grave where there was only supposed to be one. Suddenly, David Shier’s case was back in the spotlight, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation launched a broader inquiry into potential misconduct in Las Animas County.In this episode, we follow the strange and disturbing developments that brought new attention to Dave’s case, and explore the question: could he be the second person buried in that grave?If you have any information regarding the disappearance of David Shier, please contact the Las Animas County Sheriff's Office at 719-846-2211.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On February 11, 2022, David Shier disappeared from his home in Trinidad, Colorado. That morning, his wife, Rosemarie, saw him around 11 a.m. before she left home to run some errands. When she returned later that day, David was gone. She tried calling him, but he didn’t answer. She also reached out to friends and family, but no one had seen or heard from Dave. As the hours passed and Dave failed to return home, the family decided it was time to report him missing.Dave's truck was still parked at home, so it was assumed that he may have left on foot, possibly heading to his workshop in the neighboring town of Starkville. Deputies went to the shop and gave the area a quick look, but there was no sign of him there. They combed the path between his home and the workshop, but still no clues. Later, it was discovered that a neighbor’s trail camera captured Dave walking away from his property on the day he vanished, but it wasn’t enough to tell where he was going or what may have happened next. Despite extensive searches of the surrounding area, not a single trace of David Shier was ever found.For a while, it seemed like the case had gone cold. But about a year later, something unexpected happened, something that brought David’s name back into the spotlight. The county coroner came under scrutiny by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation after being accused of improper secret burials, misuse of funds, and shocking misconduct.At first, it sounded like a completely unrelated scandal, but something shocking and unexpected happened that prompted the investigation. While exhuming the body of one man, investigators found a second body buried in the same grave. A body that wasn’t supposed to be there. For the Shier family, the possibility that it could be Dave was chilling. The mystery surrounding Dave's disappearance only deepened, leaving his loved ones with more questions than answers.If you have any information regarding the disappearance of David Shier, please contact the Las Animas County Sheriff's Office at 719-846-2211.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.