EPISODE 455: Patricia Jane Wagner

On the night of October 20, 1972, 26-year-old Patricia Wagner left her Jersey City apartment for a coffee date with her new boyfriend, Dennis. Her mother, Marie, agreed to watch Patty's two young sons, Kenny and Michael, for a few hours. Before leaving, Patty's oldest son, Kenny, begged her not to go. He was overcome by a bad feeling about his mother going out that night, but he didn't know why. Patty reassured her young son that she would return later and headed out of her apartment for her date. That was the last known sighting of Patricia Wagner. Patty never came home, and her family never heard from her again. Although Patty's mother quickly jumped into action to report her daughter missing, Patty's case went ice cold. Decades later, a younger family member became determined to do what she could to find her long-lost cousin. 

If you have any information about the disappearance of Patricia Jane Wagner, please contact the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at 609-882-2000.

You can follow the efforts to find Patty on social media at "Where Is Patricia Jane Wagner?" Be sure to follow Madison's page and Facebook group, "AVoice4TheLost."

EPISODE 454: Andy Puglisi - Open Investigation

In the early days of the show, I came across a website called haveyouseenandy.com. The website focused on the case of Andy Puglisi, a 10-year-old boy who disappeared from a pool in Lawrence, MA, in August 1976. Andy's friend, Melanie Perkins McLaughlin, created and maintained the website. Melanie had previously directed an HBO documentary about Andy's case, which won an Emmy in 2008 for Outstanding Investigative Journalism.

When I contacted Melanie to inquire about featuring Andy on the show, I was surprised that she responded and agreed, given my limited experience in podcasting at the time. After Andy's original episode aired, Melanie and I stayed in touch, and she even provided her expertise when we covered similar cases from that era. 

Through her research, Melanie discovered that there were more missing and murdered children with stories similar to Andy's. This realization led her to shift her focus from Andy's individual case to a broader perspective, uncovering shocking new information along the way. Melanie always expressed a desire to continue telling Andy's story after realizing that this story was more extensive than just one boy disappearing from a pool in 1976. 

Melanie often discussed a project she was working on during our conversations. This project that she was chipping away at, a podcast called Open Investigation, is set to be released starting September 3. Melanie joined us again this week to discuss the developments in Andy's case and tell us about her podcast. The trailer is available today, and the first episode will be released tomorrow. You can subscribe to Open Investigation now wherever you listen to podcasts.

EPISODE 453: Kenneth Ray Weaver

On December 25, 2000, 37-year-old Kenneth Ray Weaver failed to visit his mother for Christmas. Typically, Kenny and his siblings always made it a point to see their mother on Christmas. If, for some reason, one of them couldn't make it, they would always call, but there was no word from Kenny. While Kenny's family quickly jumped into action to locate him, they faced roadblock after roadblock.

Kenny's family heard from his roommate that he dropped Kenny off at a friend's home in Pocola, Oklahoma, on Christmas Day. Another friend later came forward and said he had seen Kenny sitting on the porch of that friend's house and gave him a ride to Fort Smith, Arkansas. This friend recalled that it was Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day, and this is where Kenny Weaver's trail went cold. 

Very little is known about what happened to Kenny around Christmas in 2000. Authorities from Arkansas and Oklahoma initially refused to take the case due to jurisdiction debates, which stalled filing a report for five years. 

Nearly 24 years later, Kenny's sister has never given up on her pursuit of answers, and today, she has new investigators digging into the case. 

If anyone has any information about the disappearance of Kenneth Weaver, please contact the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office at 479-783-1051 or the Pocola Police Department at 918-436-2476.

You can follow Becky's efforts to find her brother on Facebook at Missing Kenneth Ray Weaver.