Hey there,

First off, although I'm technically a new member of these forums, I've known about and utilized this message board many times looking for information about UM episodes and updates. In my opinion, it's the best resource out there for this show. I was born in 1987, so most of the episodes I saw as a kid were reruns obviously, though I probably saw a few of the first run shows later in the 90s. Anyway, to the point of this thread: There was an episode that I can only remember a few details about, and as such I've had trouble finding it, even using the episode guide provided here, which has been helpful in most cases. Here's all I can remember about the segment: A man (90% sure it was a man) goes missing, the family think he was the victim of foul play because of the kinds of people he was associated with (don't remember details about these people). The only clue the police had was an odd message left in the guy's apartment, which was a strange arrangement of some household items, I think maybe it was a stack of books with a black top hat on top. The family or someone said that this was some kind of voodoo (forgive me, I don't really remember if it was voodoo or not) sign that a person was dead or had been taken, etc.

And that's it lol. I realize it's not much to go on, I was very young when I saw it and the image of the top hat positioned so oddly on top of a stack of books or other mundane objects in the middle of the floor actually scared me as a kid. I realize that it could very possibly have been from another show, I'm not sure, I've always thought it was from UM. So if anybody here remembers seeing anything remotely like this, could you help me out?

Thanks in advance.

Hey there,

First off, although I'm technically a new member of these forums, I've known about and utilized this message board many times looking for information about UM episodes and updates. In my opinion, it's the best resource out there for this show. I was born in 1987, so most of the episodes I saw as a kid were reruns obviously, though I probably saw a few of the first run shows later in the 90s. Anyway, to the point of this thread: There was an episode that I can only remember a few details about, and as such I've had trouble finding it, even using the episode guide provided here, which has been helpful in most cases. Here's all I can remember about the segment: A man (90% sure it was a man) goes missing, the family think he was the victim of foul play because of the kinds of people he was associated with (don't remember details about these people). The only clue the police had was an odd message left in the guy's apartment, which was a strange arrangement of some household items, I think maybe it was a stack of books with a black top hat on top. The family or someone said that this was some kind of voodoo (forgive me, I don't really remember if it was voodoo or not) sign that a person was dead or had been taken, etc.

And that's it lol. I realize it's not much to go on, I was very young when I saw it and the image of the top hat positioned so oddly on top of a stack of books or other mundane objects in the middle of the floor actually scared me as a kid. I realize that it could very possibly have been from another show, I'm not sure, I've always thought it was from UM. So if anybody here remembers seeing anything remotely like this, could you help me out?

Thanks in advance.

That case is about Charles Southern Jr. He had joined a spiritual group called "Conscious Development", lead by Terri Hoffman. His family found in his apartment a coat turned inside out on a ceremonial chair with a hat layed on top of it. They were alarmed because that is the Nigerian symbol of death. He has never been found. Terri Hoffman was looked at as a person of interest in many deaths involving members of her group, including her husband Don Hoffman, who made a video to his family saying he was dying from cancer but in reality wasn't and he was later found dead of an apparent suicide. Terri is still to this day doing the same spiritual work and has never been charged in the deaths or Southern's disappearance.

Here is a page about his case: http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Charles_Southern_Jr.

That case is about Charles Southern Jr. He had joined a spiritual group called "Conscious Development", lead by Terri Hoffman. His family found in his apartment a coat turned inside out on a ceremonial chair with a hat layed on top of it. They were alarmed because that is the Nigerian symbol of death. He has never been found. Terri Hoffman was looked at as a person of interest in many deaths involving members of her group, including her husband Don Hoffman, who made a video to his family saying he was dying from cancer but in reality wasn't and he was later found dead of an apparent suicide. Terri is still to this day doing the same spiritual work and has never been charged in the deaths or Southern's disappearance.

Oh wow thanks so much for the quick reply. I'm really glad to finally find out what case that was from, I was beginning to think maybe I'd imagined it as a child, thanks again!! :thumbsup:

Oh wow thanks so much for the quick reply. I'm really glad to finally find out what case that was from, I was beginning to think maybe I'd imagined it as a child, thanks again!! :thumbsup:

you're welcome

Terri Hoffman! :eek: That woman is possibly the most scary looking person ever mentioned on UM.

http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/images/cases/mis_charles_southern2.jpg

Terri Hoffman! :eek: That woman is possibly the most scary looking person ever mentioned on UM.

http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/images/cases/mis_charles_southern2.jpg

I always thought Andolina Gonzalez was creepy too:

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/6642_521702587847420_1532570365_n.jpg

Ugh I have been wanting to find and watch this segment for years. It's been a decade since I saw it and I was just a little kid. With all its creepy factors, I'm surprised it's not easier to find.

Reading some of the posts, many of you know a lot about Unsolved Mysteries. I have been searching with no luck for weeks for a specific segment. Ever since I started looking I was absolutely sure it was a segment from Unsolved Mysteries, but now I remember there was also a show very similar called Sightings. Maybe someone remembers this segment and whether it was UM or Sightings or maybe a different show altogether. It was about a family that had found/had a dog, or adopted a dog. They were traveling somewhere and left the dog at a vet/kennel while they traveled. While they were driving down the road they saw their dog and it had a stick in it's mouth. They got out of their vehicle, chased the dog and could not find him anywhere. When they returned to their vehicle there had been a bad wreck. It was as if the dog saved them. When they came back home to get the dog, he had the stick in his kennel/cage and the staff had no idea how he got it. I may be grasping for straws, although I was only a pre-teen watching these shows in the 90's, I remember the images of this segment like it was yesterday, but I would like to find the segment or show to watch it again or to at least prove I didn't dream the story.