When Jaime and Ben bought their first home in Lamar, Arkansas, a charming 1800s fixer-upper with two chimneys and a wraparound porch, they were thrilled to start their new life. But soon after moving in with their kids, strange things began to happen. What started as small, unexplained events grew harder to ignore, leading the family to wonder if their dream home might be haunted.

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Elin Lantz Lesser joins us to talk about a cold case that haunted Texas for more than four decades, the 1974 murder of Carla Walker. Recently solved through DNA and genetic genealogy, Elin, host of America’s Crime Lab, walks us through how new science finally brought answers to a case that had gone cold for over 40 years.

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For nearly two decades Alec Couros has been the target of scammers on the internet. A professor and public speaker from Canada, Alec discovered in 2007 that his photos were being stolen and used in romance scams. Since then, his face has been used thousands of times to con victims around the world.

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Sarah and Josh were a young couple in Boston, raising two boys and building a happy life together. But one night, everything changed. After bringing their 3-month-old to the ER with a fever, a series of events spiraled out of control, ending with both their children taken from their home in the middle of the night, without a warrant. Their story exposes how a system meant to protect kids can tear a family apart.

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This week, Patia tells the story of the Trenchcoat Robbers, Ray Bowman and William “Billy” Kirkpatrick, a notorious duo who evaded capture for two decades. It’s believed they robbed at least 28 banks in the United States. Patia uncovers new details about their crime spree and even speaks with someone personally connected to the story.

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When Ellen was in college, she was kidnapped after leaving her shift at Applebee’s. She recounts the terrifying hour that followed as she was driven around the city, unsure if she would make it out alive.

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This week Hannah answers a listener’s question about a man named Tommy Lee Buckley and his “Treasury Gate” scheme— a web of corruption, secret bank accounts, government conspiracy, and a billion dollar payday that was always just around the corner. Then, Patia dives into the dark side of sudden wealth with stories of lottery winners whose luck went sideways, including Tonda Dickerson’s unforgettable Alabama jackpot in 1999.

Recommendations:

The Lodge podcast

Blink podcast

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Burt Rosen searched for his missing son, Matthew, for over twenty years. Matthew had been struggling with mental illness when he vanished in 2001. Burt spent day-after-day making phone calls, scouring the internet, searching for any sign of his son. And then, 23 years later, a tip came in that changed everything.

Hold On To Hope:

https://hold2hope.org/

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