What are some examples you know of red herrings in UM cases—that is, information that’s irrelevant or misleading yet gets a disproportionate amount of attention? Here are a few examples that come to mind:

Darlie Routier: The silly string video (and her reaction in it) is completely irrelevant to the facts of the case, yet it’s often treated as central evidence and pointed to by both sides of the fence. This creates the false impression that she was railroaded because of that video, which in turn makes the case against her seem weak and an enormous amount of time and resources have been wasted as a result. In reality, the forensic evidence points to her guilt with near certainty. I’m not making a judgment about motive (murder vs psychotic break for example), but she did it.

Amy Bradley: I always knew Wikipedia wasn’t reliable for obscure articles, but this one shows that even mainstream summaries can be loaded with red herrings and other biases. One example repeated in the UM episode is the idea that Amy couldn’t have drowned because she was a trained lifeguard. What? Even the world’s strongest swimmer, under those conditions (intoxicated, in the dark, falling from a significant height) might have only a 40% chance of survival at best. The case is full of misleading details, but this one comes up constantly.

“Tom Johnson”: People often fixate on how TJ was overpaying for the computer system, but that’s beside the point. If he never intended to pay for it, the amount he agreed to is irrelevant. From my perspective, he offered enough money to make the trip worthwhile, but not so much that it would immediately tip off Jeremy or his company that the deal was too good to be true. Either way, I am not sure why the exact price tag was even mentioned on the show except to highlight it wasn't just a cheap PC.

Kurt McFall: Gabriel Carillo is definitely sus, and is absolutely a viable suspect, but I think the witchcraft element is more or less irrelevant and weakens any genuine arguments for Carillo's guilt.

Norman Ladner: The radio like device and the man at coroners office

Kurt Sova: Kurt being spotted around town by buddies and the "crazy guy from Detroit "

Deborah Poe The Megadeth shirt wearing dude

Tara Calico Photograph

Amy Bradley 99% of her case. She drunkenly fell overboard..

The infamous "Hot Jock" graffito in the Dexter Stefonek segment.

Kurt Sova: Kurt being spotted around town by buddies and the "crazy guy from Detroit "

Another Kurt Sova one: The inclusion of Eugene Kvet's death at the end of the segment.

Another Kurt Sova one: The inclusion of Eugene Kvet's death at the end of the segment.



Thats probably THE biggest red herring in that segment...they seemed totally unrelated

The state of Aileen Conway's house. She was multi-tasking, it had nothing to do with a break-in

The entire Brook Baker segment: It wasn't angry fraternity brothers, a creepy landlord, a prospective roommate, or a mysterious cousin who may have known more than she was telling. Not that I blame the police for looking into these leads, but sadly this case was yet another example of someone the victim knew being the real culprit.

The "Dungeons and Dragons" murders of Rochelle Robinson and Michael Johnston. Absolutely ridiculous to even make a correlation of the game to the crime.

Niqui McCowen: The two creepy men at the laundromat (again, can't blame the investigators for looking into that).

Every "suspect" in the Eric Tamiyasu segment.

Every "suspect" in the Eric Tamiyasu segment.

that's one of the first things that came to mind. regardless of the one guy coming off as kind of a prick.

I also give a vote for the PI in the Kurt Cobain segment. His smokescreen with the ATM card, as well as many others.

The truck stop "mystery man" in the Cheryl Holland case.

The truck stop "mystery man" in the Cheryl Holland case.

you have a specialty at recalling the Tennessee segments. and I must say that they are some of the most memorable ones.

What are some examples you know of red herrings in UM cases—that is, information that’s irrelevant or misleading yet gets a disproportionate amount of attention? Here are a few examples that come to mind:

Darlie Routier: The silly string video (and her reaction in it) is completely irrelevant to the facts of the case, yet it’s often treated as central evidence and pointed to by both sides of the fence. This creates the false impression that she was railroaded because of that video, which in turn makes the case against her seem weak and an enormous amount of time and resources have been wasted as a result. In reality, the forensic evidence points to her guilt with near certainty. I’m not making a judgment about motive (murder vs psychotic break for example), but she did it.

Amy Bradley: I always knew Wikipedia wasn’t reliable for obscure articles, but this one shows that even mainstream summaries can be loaded with red herrings and other biases. One example repeated in the UM episode is the idea that Amy couldn’t have drowned because she was a trained lifeguard. What? Even the world’s strongest swimmer, under those conditions (intoxicated, in the dark, falling from a significant height) might have only a 40% chance of survival at best. The case is full of misleading details, but this one comes up constantly.

“Tom Johnson”: People often fixate on how TJ was overpaying for the computer system, but that’s beside the point. If he never intended to pay for it, the amount he agreed to is irrelevant. From my perspective, he offered enough money to make the trip worthwhile, but not so much that it would immediately tip off Jeremy or his company that the deal was too good to be true. Either way, I am not sure why the exact price tag was even mentioned on the show except to highlight it wasn't just a cheap PC.

cool idea for a thread!

there are quite a few in the Sammy Wheeler segment and I don't know if it is a RH, but the main thing that I can remember from the segment is the MJ comment because we've laughed about it so much on here. then there was also a comment about incest.

it wasn't on the UM segment, but Amy Bechtel's husband called 911 to report Amy missing and made a cheeky comment when he called. At that point he didn't know if she was a victim of foul play, but a lot of people have used that against him. The biggest smokescreen from the segment was the eyewitness that was perhaps leveraged by the FBI agent to try to force a confession from Steve. It ended up putting the investigation on ice.

Kari Lynn Nixon and the woman that said she saw her.

Possibly the Anthonette Cayedito sighting in the diner and the Elizabeth Campbell sightings.

Kari Lynn Nixon and the woman that said she saw her.

Possibly the Anthonette Cayedito sighting in the diner and the Elizabeth Campbell sightings.

I found an article not to long ago on the Kari Lynn Nixon case, not sure where it was or where to find it now, but there was a lot of info on that that the UM segment left out. Not just about the woman who said she saw Kari in South Carolina but also the New Kids on the Block concert sighting. This was one where they definitely put some info out there to make things more mysterious than they really were.

The most bizarre thing about the South Carolina sighting is how that old lady said she saw Kari with a redheaded girl apparently. But they found this redheaded girl, and according to the segment she was suffering from memory lapse and couldn't recall the incident remember that? I was like WTH???

Turns out, this wasn't even accurate. Apparently the girl did in fact remember the incident, but the girl thought to be Kari was someone she only met that once and was hanging out with and she did not know her real name. But the segment did not mention that she was shown a photograph of Kari and did NOT believe it was her. So that was made way more plausible than it actually was even though the old lady thought it was Kari.

The article also mentioned that Kari's younger sister was never convinced by the NKOTB lead, because Kari apparently was not even a NKOTB fan. pretty unusual for a 16 year old girl back then but apparently the only musical act she expressed any like for was Prince. Which I found somewhat amusing. of course, that alone would not have proved it wasn't Kari she could very well have gone with a friend just to keep them company. But I never thought the girl in the video looked that much like her, but I acknowledge that is in hindsight.

There was also more info on her abductor and killer Robert Jones, but I can't remember all of it wish I could find the article. I think someone actually posted it on here. It was very enlightening, and it does seem Unsolved Mysteries did play up those leads more than they might should have.

The most bizarre thing about the South Carolina sighting is how that old lady said she saw Kari with a redheaded girl apparently. But they found this redheaded girl, and according to the segment she was suffering from memory lapse and couldn't recall the incident remember that? I was like WTH???

Turns out, this wasn't even accurate. Apparently the girl did in fact remember the incident, but the girl thought to be Kari was someone she only met that once and was hanging out with and she did not know her real name. But the segment did not mention that she was shown a photograph of Kari and did NOT believe it was her. So that was made way more plausible than it actually was even though the old lady thought it was Kari.

Yeah, the memory lapse thing always struck me as a little too convenient.

The truck stop "mystery man" in the Cheryl Holland case.

I think there was a thread created about 'mysteries within the mystery' or something to that effect, and this was one for me. I'd love to know who this guy actually was.

The guy hitting on Veronica Jefferson (which may have not actually been Veronica) was branded a killer and had absolutely nothing to do with her murder.

you have a specialty at recalling the Tennessee segments. and I must say that they are some of the most memorable ones.

It's home sweet home to me! ;)

The fact that Reynaldo Rivera and John Kerrigan were both Franciscan priests. I don't think that had a single thing to do with their murders (which I also think had very different respective motives).

The fact that Reynaldo Rivera and John Kerrigan were both Franciscan priests. I don't think that had a single thing to do with their murders (which I also think had very different respective motives).

Indeed. We don’t learn until decades later about the report of Kerrigan’s name on the list of priests who had sexually assaulted children…but even before that, it was clear that Rivera’s killer would have killed any priest who had shown up. Kerrigan himself was personally sought out, and we can now see why.

The article also mentioned that Kari's younger sister was never convinced by the NKOTB lead, because Kari apparently was not even a NKOTB fan.


The only reason this “lead” was ever mentioned was because of a cheap celebrity cash-in opportunity. I imagine the producers were trying to grow a younger female demographic and saw this as a prime opportunity. Speaking of cheap cash-ins…

Katherine Korzilius: The fact that her thumb was in a splint is irrelevant. I don’t think she even needed to use her hands at all (I swear my 6-year-old gets glue on his shoes sometimes!), but even if she did, she still had two hands—one of which was not in a splint. This case is full of red herrings (such as the Bon Jovi connection), but this is one I see brought up far too often.

Amy Bechtel: Steve’s private journals are irrelevant and were used solely to turn the Wroe family against him. The same goes for Amy’s bruise—she and Steve were newlyweds and were likely engaging in consensual adult activity, which is exactly none of our business. I also agree with others that Steve’s supposedly cavalier tone on the 911 call is taken out of context; at the time, he believed she would be found cold but otherwise okay.

Tim McClure: The fact that he was gambling on his wedding night instead of spending it with his new bride is his own business and has nothing to do with his mother’s death. My own brother was at the casino with me late on his wedding day because his wife had too much to drink.

Amy Bechtel: Steve’s private journals are irrelevant and were used solely to turn the Wroe family against him. The same goes for Amy’s bruise—she and Steve were newlyweds and were likely engaging in consensual adult activity, which is exactly none of our business. I also agree with others that Steve’s supposedly cavalier tone on the 911 call is taken out of context; at the time, he believed she would be found cold but otherwise okay.



1000000% to these. I think Steve is innocent of any wrongdoing. The journal entries in particular always made me roll my eyes. "Song lyrics about power and death and control" were totally taken out of context. How many of us have random journal entries we use to write fiction/songs/poems that have nothing to do with our real lives?

Also the bruises, I think the same thing you do about them. Of course Amy would have been reluctant to talk about these and laughing them off when asked. She wouldn't have wanted to discuss those in public.

Steve's call recording of "I'm missing a person" and being cavalier makes sense to me, too. Amy had barely been missing at this point. She was a runner and known to go on long jogs. It would be expected not to fear the worst so early into this case and to think his wife was going to be found just fine. Obviously, had he known his wife would never be seen again, that call would have gone very differently.

I get that statistically it's often the spouse, but definitely not in this case. He's pretty much one of the only suspected husbands in the entire history of the show who I think beyond a shadow of the doubt had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance.

1000000% to these. I think Steve is innocent of any wrongdoing. The journal entries in particular always made me roll my eyes. "Song lyrics about power and death and control" were totally taken out of context. How many of us have random journal entries we use to write fiction/songs/poems that have nothing to do with our real lives?

Also the bruises, I think the same thing you do about them. Of course Amy would have been reluctant to talk about these and laughing them off when asked. She wouldn't have wanted to discuss those in public.

Steve's call recording of "I'm missing a person" and being cavalier makes sense to me, too. Amy had barely been missing at this point. She was a runner and known to go on long jogs. It would be expected not to fear the worst so early into this case and to think his wife was going to be found just fine. Obviously, had he known his wife would never be seen again, that call would have gone very differently.

I get that statistically it's often the spouse, but definitely not in this case. He's pretty much one of the only suspected husbands in the entire history of the show who I think beyond a shadow of the doubt had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance.
agree, and I def don't think the journals should have been shared with Amy's family. all that did was put a wedge between Steve and Amy's family. It ensured that Steve could never cooperate with the official investigation.

The guy hitting on Veronica Jefferson (which may have not actually been Veronica) was branded a killer and had absolutely nothing to do with her murder.

Do we know for certain that was not Prieto her killer? Yes, I know that man was believed to be African American rather than Hispanic like Prieto, but Prieto did have somewhat dark skin and could have been mistaken for African American, especially from a distance. And some African Americans have more caramel brown skin. Prieto also had a mustache in his mugshot which I don't believe that guy had, but he could have been clean shaven at the time of the murder. I don't know what Prieto's height was, but if he was around the same height and clean shaven at the time, seems like he could have been the guy not sure though.

As I get older, I trust memory and eyewitness accounts less. It's just a theory but I'm sure that if it happened, the guy who said that he saw The Freedon and they spelled the name wrong was off on his dates or it's a flimsy view to give so much attention.

Also the Amelia Earhart Saipan witness. How lucky is that the same witness was able to hide and witness alone the execution by hiding in a cane field. At least the "Ricardito" case, the witness WAS the one who alerted and started the mystery from his phone call, not "by the way not only did I see Amelia Earhart but I also saw her execution"

Do we know for certain that was not Prieto her killer? Yes, I know that man was believed to be African American rather than Hispanic like Prieto, but Prieto did have somewhat dark skin and could have been mistaken for African American, especially from a distance. And some African Americans have more caramel brown skin. Prieto also had a mustache in his mugshot which I don't believe that guy had, but he could have been clean shaven at the time of the murder. I don't know what Prieto's height was, but if he was around the same height and clean shaven at the time, seems like he could have been the guy not sure though.

Prieto was born in El Salvador and the witnesses did not say the man spoke with an accent. The witnesses said he was a "black male approximately 6'3" and weighed about 170 lbs." Prieto was 5'8". Cross racial identification is often erroneous, but I have a hard time believing that this guy could be mistaken for a black guy.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/09/28/21/2CDC9D7D00000578-3252607-image-a-37_1443471435669.jpg

What about the woman who was waving frantically telling people to turn around when Frank Casteel was disposing of the bodies in the ATV murder case?

I am not sure if this is a red herring or not, but I had read about his wife potentially being involved in the cleanup after the crime.

What about the woman who was waving frantically telling people to turn around when Frank Casteel was disposing of the bodies in the ATV murder case?

I am not sure if this is a red herring or not, but I had read about his wife potentially being involved in the cleanup after the crime.

I wonder if we'll ever know who that woman was?

I wonder if we'll ever know who that woman was?

I don't know how reliable the Unsolved Mysteries wiki is but there is info there about her. Supposedly was a tipster.

I wonder if we'll ever know who that woman was?

It was widely believed to be Casteel's wife but that was never ultimately proven or confirmed.

The glasses planted to make it look like that guy was tied up and bound! (Roger Dean)

Prieto was born in El Salvador and the witnesses did not say the man spoke with an accent. The witnesses said he was a "black male approximately 6'3" and weighed about 170 lbs." Prieto was 5'8". Cross racial identification is often erroneous, but I have a hard time believing that this guy could be mistaken for a black guy.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/09/28/21/2CDC9D7D00000578-3252607-image-a-37_1443471435669.jpg

Given all that, I'd say you're probably right. Even if they might have mistaken his race, I don't think they would mistake someone 5'8 for someone 6'3.

So it is entirely possible assuming these sightings actually occurred someone innocent may very well have been thought to be a killer, and you're right we can't assume even the woman was Veronica. It continues to amaze how unreliable eyewitness testimony truly is, do these sightings and accounts ever match up with the facts of cases that are later solved?

But the most bizarre thing about that segment to top it off, at the end of it it shows a clip of a black man, who appears to be the same actor who was playing the guy talking to Veronica in the Super market, running towards the camera with police sirens and headlights in the background do you remember that? With the sort of creepy ominous music and that officer saying in the background no matter how long it takes we will catch him. That just sort of came out of nowhere I didn't know what to make of that, almost looked like they were trying to intimidate the perp if he was watching. That was just one of those things Unsolved Mysteries seemed to randomly do to make the segment even more unsettling. If that guy they saw existed and was innocent and saw that, you can only imagine what they thought. Definitely one of the stranger Unsolved Mysteries moments.

I think another one was the Kimberly Pandelios case, when that off road driver encountered those three creepy looking dudes who apparently were holding her captive. Then later it looked like one man who looked nothing like them turned out to be the killer. I just wonder if that actually happened and it was someone different, or if he made the whole thing up. It was definitely like something out of Wrong Turn.

But the most bizarre thing about that segment to top it off, at the end of it it shows a clip of a black man, who appears to be the same actor who was playing the guy talking to Veronica in the Super market, running towards the camera with police sirens and headlights in the background do you remember that? With the sort of creepy ominous music and that officer saying in the background no matter how long it takes we will catch him. That just sort of came out of nowhere I didn't know what to make of that, almost looked like they were trying to intimidate the perp if he was watching. That was just one of those things Unsolved Mysteries seemed to randomly do to make the segment even more unsettling. If that guy they saw existed and was innocent and saw that, you can only imagine what they thought. Definitely one of the stranger Unsolved Mysteries moments.

They also show him angrily forcing the actress who played Vernoica up a flight of stairs at gunpoint, IIRC.

I don't know how reliable the Unsolved Mysteries wiki is but there is info there about her. Supposedly was a tipster.

You bring up a good point. I just read the UM wiki article. I really enjoy that website as it seems to be a great source for updates, I do think it is reliable but like anything else it's not always 100% accurate. in this case it really didn't clear things up for whether or not the road block was a red herring or not. I guess it was relevant regardless of whether it was someone like a spouse helping Casteel or someone that saw and heard something while they were in the area. I didn't realize that Casteel passed away in prison already.

Matthew Chase in the restaurant.

"John" in the Gail Delano case.

"John" in the Gail Delano case.

Was it ever confirmed whether John existed?

Was it ever confirmed whether John existed?
I was always under the impression he did and was tracked down by law enforcement and was quickly ruled out. Assuming he was real, I hope Gail didn't use him as a red herring as she would have known the cops would be knocking on his door first.

Here's another one:
Dick Hansen: Last year I was targeted by an irrational road rager (I literally did nothing wrong) to the point I called the cops he was so dangerous and out of control so I know they are not logical. However, I find it REALLY hard to believe Jean's "49R HUGS" license plate had anything to do with the case. She only saw the shooter point at her car and nothing more: I know NFL fans can be fanatical but this didn't happen the night of a bad loss but was literally in the middle of the off season.

I was always under the impression he did and was tracked down by law enforcement and was quickly ruled out. Assuming he was real, I hope Gail didn't use him as a red herring as she would have known the cops would be knocking on his door first.

Here's another one:
Dick Hansen: Last year I was targeted by an irrational road rager (I literally did nothing wrong) to the point I called the cops he was so dangerous and out of control so I know they are not logical. However, I find it REALLY hard to believe Jean's "49R HUGS" license plate had anything to do with the case. She only saw the shooter point at her car and nothing more: I know NFL fans can be fanatical but this didn't happen the night of a bad loss but was literally in the middle of the off season.

That bothered me too for some reason. I know that people do crazy things because of sports losses, but most of them get over it, because it's just a game. And there wasn't even a bad loss at the time, like you say. I question whether the license plate had anything to do with the murder,

That bothered me too for some reason. I know that people do crazy things because of sports losses, but most of them get over it, because it's just a game. And there wasn't even a bad loss at the time, like you say. I question whether the license plate had anything to do with the murder,

I think for any rational person, it is probably hard to believe. But the driver's behavior was anything but rational, not just the shooting itself but everything he did before hand stalking two people, neither of whom apparently knew him.

So you can't really rule out what seems to be a crazy motive. I'm not definitively saying that was the motive, I honestly have no idea. But in a bizarre case like this you probably have to think a little outside the box.

Ed Carter in the bordello murders segment. He was shady and involved with illegal activity in terms of extorting money from the bordello, but it turned out that he has nothing to do with the murders.

Ed Carter in the bordello murders segment. He was shady and involved with illegal activity in terms of extorting money from the bordello, but it turned out that he has nothing to do with the murders.

I was actually thinking about this earlier. I used to think that he was guilty and posted a lot about it. But I was wrong. UM really leaned in on him in the segment. I'll always wonder who did the murders. was it a personal crime or just some random act of violence. it seemed very brutal.

That bothered me too for some reason. I know that people do crazy things because of sports losses, but most of them get over it, because it's just a game. And there wasn't even a bad loss at the time, like you say. I question whether the license plate had anything to do with the murder,

Exactly. This is the spring of 1991 I believe. Just for context, the 49ers were a great team at that time. They had won the Super Bowl in the 1988 and 1989 seasons. The 1990 season they were trying to three peat but lost to the Giants in the NFC championship game, which would have been January 1991. It was tragic - for a Niners fan. But that would be like shooting a Chiefs fan now for some reason. They aren't the reigning champs.

I've often felt the authorities ought to have looked into Jean a lot more. Something tells me this was an ex boyfriend stalking her. The entire story is based on Jean's eye witness testimony. Dick is dead, he can't speak. This could easily be an ex who shoots Dick out of anger. That has always been the most plausible theory I think.

Given all that, I'd say you're probably right. Even if they might have mistaken his race, I don't think they would mistake someone 5'8 for someone 6'3.

So it is entirely possible assuming these sightings actually occurred someone innocent may very well have been thought to be a killer, and you're right we can't assume even the woman was Veronica. It continues to amaze how unreliable eyewitness testimony truly is, do these sightings and accounts ever match up with the facts of cases that are later solved?

But the most bizarre thing about that segment to top it off, at the end of it it shows a clip of a black man, who appears to be the same actor who was playing the guy talking to Veronica in the Super market, running towards the camera with police sirens and headlights in the background do you remember that? With the sort of creepy ominous music and that officer saying in the background no matter how long it takes we will catch him. That just sort of came out of nowhere I didn't know what to make of that, almost looked like they were trying to intimidate the perp if he was watching. That was just one of those things Unsolved Mysteries seemed to randomly do to make the segment even more unsettling. If that guy they saw existed and was innocent and saw that, you can only imagine what they thought. Definitely one of the stranger Unsolved Mysteries moments.

This could have been a linguistic misidentification. Prieto means dark-skinned or black in Spanish. If the "slang" Prieto was used instead of Negro for the suspect during the manhunt Someone may have thought they were looking for a man with the surname Prieto. Just a thought.

Every time I watch the Tara Breckenridge segment, I get stopped down by the fact that her work staff mentions that it was highly unusual for her not to say goodbye to the security guard at the door. don't know what that actually brings to the segment.

you want an example of red herrings on UM, there’s the Baldeo arson case. (https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Donna_Baldeo,_Jailall_Lewis,_and_Bunnie_Terry) UM focused on some threatening letters the victim, Donna Baldeo had received in her job as a bank teller.

Only for it to be discovered that the fire was a result of some teenage boys messing around.

Leonard Dirickson eating two breakfasts in one day. His first breakfast got interrupted by the suspect. It wouldn't have been weird for him to sit down with a prospective buyer again over a meal to be polite if he thought he was discussing a business deal.

I think the weirdest part of this sighting is not the two breakfasts as the interviewed detective mentioned, but that if the guy was planning to do him harm, that he would allow himself to be seen with Leonard.

The phone call is also an obvious hoax. Leonard wasn't dancing to country music after his disappearance. It was either a lookalike or someone fooling around making crank calls.

Leonard Dirickson eating two breakfasts in one day. His first breakfast got interrupted by the suspect. It wouldn't have been weird for him to sit down with a prospective buyer again over a meal to be polite if he thought he was discussing a business deal.

I think the weirdest part of this sighting is not the two breakfasts as the interviewed detective mentioned, but that if the guy was planning to do him harm, that he would allow himself to be seen with Leonard.

The phone call is also an obvious hoax. Leonard wasn't dancing to country music after his disappearance. It was either a lookalike or someone fooling around making crank calls.

I agree, especially with the lookalike. but was it breakfasts or breakfastes? I don't even know how you spell that lol.

Leonard Dirickson eating two breakfasts in one day. His first breakfast got interrupted by the suspect. It wouldn't have been weird for him to sit down with a prospective buyer again over a meal to be polite if he thought he was discussing a business deal.

I think the weirdest part of this sighting is not the two breakfasts as the interviewed detective mentioned, but that if the guy was planning to do him harm, that he would allow himself to be seen with Leonard.

The phone call is also an obvious hoax. Leonard wasn't dancing to country music after his disappearance. It was either a lookalike or someone fooling around making crank calls.

I don't find it strange with the breakfasts either. Who said he had to eat heavy for the 2nd breakfast? And as you mentioned, it was interrupted. If he is closing a deal it isn't weird to go to a diner and have a bite to eat.

I think the bar sighting was throwing investigators off. The guy never hung around to corroborate the story. He never approached Leonard either. If he claimed he knew him he'd go up to him if he was missing. But he would for sure hang around and talk to the police at the very least if it was legit. The good news is, his son Jared grew up to have a lovely wife and children. I am sure he still wonders about his dad but he does seem to be doing alright.

I have several potential red herrings:
--The three eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen murder victim Aimee Willard or her car after she left the bar and before her body was discovered. The segment suggests that these eyewitnesses could be suspects, but none of them ended up being her killer.
--The gun being stolen from a man's house, being used to kill Morris Davis, returned to the man's house, and was then pawned, which is how the gun came to be in the police department's possession. Years later, authorities announced that the gun was not the one used in the killing.
--The dead camper found at Kerr Lake that was initially thought to have been a victim of prison escapee Travis Wade Duncan. The "update" information on the screen states that authorities no longer believe that the prison escapee had anything to do with the camper's death.
--The sighting of Matthew Chase at a homeless shelter after his late-night visit to an ATM. Given what we know now about who his killer was and the circumstances surrounding his death, it seems highly unlikely that he was ever at the homeless shelter.

The infamous Polaroid photo, that shows a young woman and a boy bound and gagged with duct tape. It was alleged at the time that the two people in the photo were New Mexico residents Tara Calico and Michael Henley.

Henley's body was found in a New Mexico state park, a couple of miles from where he wandered off from his family. He had died of exposure, and no foul play was suspected. Calico's case, while still technically unsolved, was believed to have been murdered by several young men in her city, possibly as a result of being the girlfriend of a rival drug dealer.

There is also the Anthonette Cayedito restaurant sighting, by a waitress nearly 5 years after her abduction. We now that the sighting was almost certainly not her, especially in the light of recent developments in the case.

The infamous Polaroid photo, that shows a young woman and a boy bound and gagged with duct tape. It was alleged at the time that the two people in the photo were New Mexico residents Tara Calico and Michael Henley.

Henley's body was found in a New Mexico state park, a couple of miles from where he wandered off from his family. He had died of exposure, and no foul play was suspected. Calico's case, while still technically unsolved, was believed to have been murdered by several young men in her city, possibly as a result of being the girlfriend of a rival drug dealer.

There is also the Anthonette Cayedito restaurant sighting, by a waitress nearly 5 years after her abduction. We now that the sighting was almost certainly not her, especially in the light of recent developments in the case.

Would still love to know who those two kids were. It did not look like a prank by any means. Calico was known to read a book that is apparently shown in the gagging picture right near her leg. I wouldn't close the book on that one. Henley we know that isn't him in the picture. The thing is, no one came forward saying it was a prank and no one identified those kids.

Anthonette for sure that wasn't her. It was probably a kid either doing a prank or who might have actually had abusive parents. Basically the waitress just has the behavior of the girl and the napkin saying to call the police. That could be a million things.

Would still love to know who those two kids were. It did not look like a prank by any means. Calico was known to read a book that is apparently shown in the gagging picture right near her leg. I wouldn't close the book on that one. Henley we know that isn't him in the picture. The thing is, no one came forward saying it was a prank and no one identified those kids.

A woman from Florida, was allegedly identified as the girl in the pic at some point in the 90s. Calico never left New Mexico, and was deceased by the time the photos were discovered. There is no doubt that the girl in the pic was not Calico.

Family of missing children tend to be easily manipulated into believing their child is not dead, and this certainly was the case for Tara's mother. The exact same thing happened to Johnny Gosch's mother, Noreen. She had come across three kids in Florida bound and gagged, the same way Calico was. The only problem was that it was a prank. The identity of the kids in the photo was confirmed, and the photo was from 1979, three years before the Gosch abduction.

The message on Debbie Wolfe's answering machine. I agree with someone who posted on another thread that it has been "over" analysed. It was cherrypicked by Jenny, Debbies mother and assigned a sinister meaning. Same with the "evil eye" Indian necklace, the Nike men's size 6 running shoes & the now iconic nurse photo. This distracted from from clothes she was recovered in that definitely weren't Debbies, presented an outdated image of her. This negatively impacted Jenny's later statements reference bruising about the head & neck.

David Hurley:I see it mentioned all the time about how we went out at 3am for donuts (as if "normal" people aren't allowed out in the middle of the night) and how he was calm after getting shot. So what? He probably couldn't sleep and wanted to get a head start on trip preparations: I know I have done similar things. Given that he obviously didn't expect to be shot over a minor fender bender he was probably in complete shock, which also explains why he drove home instead of calling 911.

David Hurley:I see it mentioned all the time about how we went out at 3am for donuts (as if "normal" people aren't allowed out in the middle of the night) and how he was calm after getting shot. So what? He probably couldn't sleep and wanted to get a head start on trip preparations: I know I have done similar things. Given that he obviously didn't expect to be shot over a minor fender bender he was probably in complete shock, which also explains why he drove home instead of calling 911.

back then going home may have been the fastest way for him to get help. there was a time when phones were not always easy to come by. it's hard to imagine it now and if I didn't live in those times I probably wouldn't relate to it at all.

Call 911? David Hurley didn’t have that luxury. This was 1992. The only people who had those funky looking phones were rich people. As far as pay phones, it probably would have been quicker to just go home.

"I LOVE YOU CINDY"

I don't think they were meant to be red herrings, but there were some unforgettable lines in the Perman Gilbert segment. "She knows what I like" and "I guess I'll have to eat my sandwich by myself" may have been written to show us his personality and his sense of humor. For some reason, that segment has stuck with me.

I don't think they were meant to be red herrings, but there were some unforgettable lines in the Perman Gilbert segment. "She knows what I like" and "I guess I'll have to eat my sandwich by myself" may have been written to show us his personality and his sense of humor. For some reason, that segment has stuck with me.

those lines stuck with me too. it may have seemed innocuous to the cashier, but it also might show some insight to perm's personality that could have led him to have an affair. a lot of people think he was killed in a crime of passion.