Which types of cases do you like best/worst/in between? Here's how I would rate them.


WANTED: These are by far my favorite cases because they involve some dirt bag man/woman criminal that you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to get captured. I'm pretty sure these are the kinds of cases that have been solved more than any other on Unsolved Mysteries. (Favorite WANTED case: Tough one, but I'd have to say the one about that guy named Joe Weldon-Smith who mudered his wife and 2 step daughters near Las Vegas. They had been blugened to death. After he killed them he called his wife's daughter-in-law to tell her that the women had been killed, that he knew who the killer was and that he was going to go find and kill him. Obviously a pathetic attempt to make himself look innocent. Luckily, he was captured and apparently was given the death penalty.)


LOST LOVE: I'm surprised that so many of you don't like these. I think they are VERY interesting, but sometimes a little too depressing, especially if they aren't solved. Like the elderly lady in Canada looking for her son Clifford, just breaks my heart to see her crying at the end telling him that she loved him. These cases are great to watch after you have seen a wanted case, because you don't get freaked out as much. As far as the reunion music is concerned, I don't think it's sappy, it's perfect reunion melody. This show has the perfect background music for every different type of mood that the scene has, reunions are no different. Yeah, they have shown lots of these, but if I couldn't find a loved one, I would want to report it on this show. After all, for many people, putting their lost love stories on this show is their only hope. (Favorite LOST LOVE story: The case where a women named Leanne was looking for her step brother and sister, after they had been seperated as children. They have been reuninted, yay!)


MISSING PERSONS: Actually, these cases can be pretty sarey as well. Probably because, most of the time, some people are running for their lives, they end up missing and it puts you in suspense wondering what the heck happened to them and who might have been involved. What's weird is seeing these cases that involve people that didn't have any enemies at all and just ended up missing. These cases don't seem to be solved very often. (Favorite MISSING PERSON story: 10 simple words for you die-hard fans and you'll know.... "Judy Himes is alive, and she lives in Omaha, Nebraska." She had an illegal abortion in the 60's and just dissapeared out of thin air. Apparently, many believed she died having the abortion, but there's many unanswered questions about this case that sadly, we'll probably never find out.)


TREASURE: Big fat yawn! I've never shown any interest in these cases at all. Too boring. I always switch the channel until they are done. (Favorite TREASURE story-none!)


THE UNEXPLAINED: These used to scare me a little more when I was younger, but not so much now. Out of the ghost stories I have seen, about half are somewhat scarey, the others are just weird and sometimes just plain dumb. The UFO stories are a big snooze. The cases with people communicating with the dead barely spark my interest. (Favorite UNEXPLAINED case: The ghost of Terisita Bassa names her killer. Otherwise, he would NEVER been captured.)


SCI-MED: They sometimes have their moments, but I haven't seen that many of these cases. Of course, unexplained diseases can get pretty depressing. (Favorite SCI-MED case: I forget the name of the family, but a mother is asking for help identifying a heart disease of some kind that has taken the lives of her 5 of her 8 children, her grandson and her first husband. Most were barely into their 30's when they passed away. No update to this case I believe)


THE INVESTIGATORS: Not all that different from the wanted cases except they are more recent and have the FREAKY update music.


LOST HEIRS: I've seen several of these, but they haven't been that interesting, but not as boring as the treasure cases. Don't really have a favorite.

I think I like the wanted ones best- the ones when it focuses on crimes and murders and the suspects. The missing persons ones can be a bit annoying since the show it's an old show you don't know if they've been found.

My least favourite ones are when they do something from 100 years ago or something like that- although there was an interesting one the other day about 3 children who were visited by Virgin Mary.

One of my favorite Wanted cases was about the bus driver who kept getting a strange feeling every time he drove by a bunch of caves. Finally he went inside them and found a skeleton, who turned out to be a wealthy businessman that had disappeared after going to buy a horse. The alleged horse-owner drove the victim's car into the river and disappeared with his money. Does anyone remember this case, and the victim's name?

I think the reason so many people dislike Lost Love cases is because after a while they become redundant. If you've seen one, you've already seen a dozen. You know, a poor family of seven (or whatever) from a rural area is broken up because of some tragedy... An aunt or uncle is looking for the nephew they raised... an adoptee is looking for li'l sis... It seems all of these cases contain the same elements and incidents in some form or other, so it's almost like watching a rerun. I do like LL segments when they're more "original".

Missing person cases are sometimes better than Wanteds, because of the complexity. So many possiblities can exist with them. One case that stands out is about about a mother in New England who disappeard after a blind date. I thought sure she had met with foul play (as did everyone else speaking on the show) until they did an update that said she had willingly gone to Alabama and committed suicide. I was really shocked. The other day they played the Judith Himes case and I was so terrified I didn't want to go to sleep that evening.

Treasure is okay. Somtimes I need to watch something lightweight after being terrified by a previous segment. The Unexplained is boring, sci-med is okay, it offers variety to the show. Lost heirs can be fascinating, and the investigators is rare, but can be good. I like the profile they did on Elliot Ness and The Kingbury Run slayings. I'm sort of a buff when it comes to that case.

Come on, Or so it seems, Dynoguy, at least you two must know the case I'm talking about, the one where the rich businessman is killed when he goes to buy a horse. The suspect tried to have his car impounded, but drove it in the river instead. It was suspected the murder had something to do with crooked dealings, but there was no proof of that.

The guy was found in a cave twenty years later. Does ANYONE ON EARTH know this case I'm talking about?

Yes, I remember that case Jennifer. But I have only seen it a couple times, unlike the others which I don't mind seeing a million times.

That guy that found the skeleton remains, I would have probably gone with my hunch just like he did. Sometimes when you have that weird feeling inside you, you HAVE to investigate. Of course, I can just imagine my reaction to finding a skeleton in dark cave like that... probably wouldn't have been able to sleep in weeks! lol

I don't recall the name of the business man that was killed, and I don't remember any update to this story as well. I still watch this show every day, I'm trying to tape all the earlier stories, I've already got about 60. Maybe I'll come accross it soon.

Thanks for responding. I'm looking for the case to tape, too. The morning shows are playing the old episodes now. I'm going to have to wait a few of weeks for it to come around, for it was taped during the mid to late nineties. Unless they play it during one of the night episodes, which is a long shot.

I wish they would update that one, I'd really like to know the details behind the crime. It was really spooky. For some reason I believe there was something supernatural guiding that bus driver into that cave. Why else would he be compelled to go inside?

Sorry, I gave it my best shot but for the life of me I can't remember the name of the guy who's bones were found in that cave.

Is this the case where the guy who "sold" him the horse took his car to a junkyard and tried to get it crushed? When that didn't work he dumped it in a river.

This segment was on not too long ago but I don't believe there was an update. If anyone ever gets the guy's name, let me know, I can plug it into Lexis-Nexis and get one.

Thanx, you guys, for remembering. No one ever lists that case here as one of the most scariest, but to me it ranks up there with Judith Himes (abortion patient who vanished into thin air. Personally, the Update freaked me out more than the segment) and Beverly McGowan (was conned and decapitated by mysterious "British" roommate) as far as creeeeeeeppppy goes.

Pretty much every muder story is scarey. I think I'd find this case MORE scarey if I could remember more about the story.

What a coincidence, jennifer, LOL! The Judith Himes update always kind of scared me too, thanks in big part to that back-ground music!

To Jennifer: Tom Dixon was the name of the guy involved in the disappearance/murder case youu mentioned (with the bones in the cave). I'm pretty sure I have this one taped, so maybe we could work out a trade if it does not materialize soon on Liftime.

Justin

Regarding case types: I think you guys are forgetting the "unexplained deaths". I like these cases the most, although there are a few that get redundant. Mainly those cases where a teenager takes their own life and the parents absolutely insist it was murder, and will go to the nth degree to come up with "evidence" to support their outlandish theories.

Actually, I think it's just the opposite, usually. Most unexplained death cases ruled as suicides just seem like an easy way out for police. For example, if somebody was planning on killing themself by using a gun, why would they go through all the trouble of giving themselves brusies, black eyes or any other injuries FIRST when they can simply pull the trigger and be done with it? That's why so many family and friends can get suspicious. MANY UM stories involve "suicide" deaths where the victims have OTHER injuries besides the gun-shots wounds. Wouldn't YOUR mind wonder over something like that too?

Unexplained Death cases are by far the most interesting to me. How I could forget those is beyond me.

Thanks, Justin. I'll probably be in touch soon. I had remembered the suspect's name, but not the victim's. In the segment it was mentioned that Tom Dixon is only wanted on charges of car theft (or something like that), and the statute of limitations is probably up on that.

I'm not sure how I feel about the Unexplained Death segments. I do like them a lot, but I'm undecided about the credibility of them. In a few of the cases, I definitely believe coverups are a possibility, but to me that's still iffy at best.

I remember one of the older cases, a boy in Mississippi went hunting and was found shot and with a gash on the crown of his head. At first it was ruled an accident and his parents were fine with that. The minute the coroner's ruling was changed to suicide, they immediately rejected that and was convinced it was murder. I feel suicide has such a stigma (not such much for the victim, but the loved ones they leave behind-- I think they feel a lot of people will ask, 'why didn't they try to stop him/her?' Or 'What did they do to drive them to kill themselves?'). Families would much easier accept these deaths if they weren't ruled as such.

Originally posted by dynoguy88
Actually, I think it's just the opposite, usually. Most unexplained death cases ruled as suicides just seem like an easy way out for police. For example, if somebody was planning on killing themself by using a gun, why would they go through all the trouble of giving themselves brusies, black eyes or any other injuries FIRST when they can simply pull the trigger and be done with it? That's why so many family and friends can get suspicious. MANY UM stories involve "suicide" deaths where the victims have OTHER injuries besides the gun-shots wounds. Wouldn't YOUR mind wonder over something like that too?


Of course, and I never said that every such case presented was clearly a suicide. I've seen a handful where the murder/conspiracy theories did seem plausible. However, I think the majority are suicides, nothing more. Accepting the death of a child, or of any family member for that matter, is no easy task. Although I have had no life experience in such matters, I can assume that accepting a suicide has got to be far more painful. With that being said, what is to stop the parents from blaming their kid's death on other reasons? It provides a peace of mind for all parties involved, and they are able to better convince themselves that they have done no wrong, when in reality they may have missed obvious warning signs or been negligent in other areas.

Justin

:( :( :mad: :( :(

They played the episode earlier today and I only caught the last minute. Needless to say it wasnt worth taping at that point! I feel rotten. I think the last time they played it before today was June or July, so it'll probably come back on in another four months!
Did anyone see the segment today?

The problem was is that I misjudged when it was taped so I wasn't looking for it around this time. I thought it originally aired when they began playing the second opening credits... when they took away that silly opening foreword.

Example #1) Do we care that it's not a news broadcast? And is that a good thing or bad thing? Is it even worth mentioning? #2)We can see that the actual family and police officials participate. Well, I wouldn't think TV producers would waste money paying actors to say what the actual victims/cops can express AUTHENTICALLY. #3)"This program is about Unsolved Mysteries". No kidding! Reading the title in the TV guide, I thought it was about DECIPHERED COMMON KNOWLEDGE.

Sorry I'm just rambling and blowing off steam.

What a coincidence, jennifer, LOL! The Judith Himes update always kind of scared me too, thanks in big part to that back-ground music!
OK, that one scares me too. The anonymous phone calls are just too bizarre. Another one that scared me the first time I saw it: a teen named Russ Evans (not sure about the last name) is found in the middle of the road. He dies at the hospital. Police believe it was a hit and run; his family thinks it was a fight gone wrong. I'm not sure why it scared me, other than the scene where he is calling for his friend Brian is a bit spooky.

I definitely prefer the wanted/unexplained death/missing stories. I'm intrigued by the different turns they take. I don't like the lost heirs/lost treasure. Some of the lost love and unexplained cases are interesting. They definitely aren't my favorite, though.

MISSING PERSONS: 1
WANTED: 2
THE INVESTIGATORS: 3
THE UNEXPLAINED: 4
LOST LOVE: 5
TREASURE: 6
SCI-MED: 7
LOST HEIRS: 8