What case in your area interests you the most and what is your theory?

[GermanBella0015]

I am located in the New Hampshire area. The case local to me that interests me the most is the Maura Murray case. I really do think she was abducted. Probably a victim of a crime of opportunity. Where are you from and what local case interests you and what is your theory?

[Lieutenant Bookman]

I live in the PNW and the easy one for me is DB Cooper. I think ultimately he died in the jump or shortly after. The fact is, they don’t know exactly where he jumped, which means that they really can’t be certain where he landed. That wilderness is extremely difficult to search and I think it’s very possible they may not have even been looking in the right area. My personal theory is that he landed somewhere significantly different from where they think he did, and as a result they never found him. I also wouldn’t rule out that he landed in an area that may have been impacted by the eruption of Mt St Helens 9 years later, and his body could be buried under all the debris

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

impossible for me to pick one.

Maura Murray isn't featured in UM, but neither is the most widely known disappearance from my hometown area about 3 miles from where I lived at the time in Arlington. Amber Haggerman who the Amber Alert (widely used in Texas and beyond) is named after. sadly Amber's case is still unsolved. Her brother was the only eyewitness that saw her get abducted. her body was found 3 days later.I don't really have any idea what happened, but this is the unsolved case that impacted me the most as a kid.

Arlington is also mentioned at the end of the IH 70 Killer segment as a young lady was shot by the same type of weapon in a department store located off of IH 20. I do question whether it was the actual IH 70 killer due to the distance away from the other killings. but needless to say this scared the crap out of me because it was my hometown.

IArlington is also featured in the Patsy Wright Segment. that happened right before I moved to Arlington when I was a kid. My theory for Patsy is that it was related to an extra marital affair or some type of jealous lover. I don't think it involved any of the men featured in the segment. I think it has something to do with the person that she had dinner with. then the phone call from a female caller that talked to her daughter is chilling.

Where I live now, I am close to the Dub and Chance Wackerhagen segment. and the Devil's Backbone segment, but I consider that a fraud. I don't have any theories on Dub's case. I think the common thought now is that he was murdered in a crime of passion.

I am not particularly close to Marfa, but I did visit the Marfa Lights viewing area. and I am interested in working in that area one day as my job could bring me there. The theory is that the lights are weather related due to the altitude and vast temp changes. it is also very dark there with little to no light pollution. you can see for long distances as well. I also believe that many of the sightings are mistaken for other lights such as radio beacons and vehicle lights.

[Killarney Rose]

Well, if it was a case on UM it was the Pamela June Ray case. The young mother who vanished in Panama City Beach while her two children were sleeping in the car. I never had a theory, but while the case is officially unsolved, it’s unofficially solved and her family seems satisfied with that.

[Mike82]

We don’t really have any Atlantic Canada based cases, aside from the Gander plane crash (and even that was mostly covered from a U.S. military angle). That said, a perfect segment for UM back in the day would have been the disappearances of two young women: Andrea King (1992) and Kimberley McAndrew (1989). Both vanished without a trace, seemingly within minutes. I genuinely believe these cases might have been solved if not for how badly the local police mishandled the investigations.

There have been plenty of wild theories over the years (including the usual sex-trafficking claims), but I strongly suspect our local equivalent of Dale Wayne Eaton: serial predator and offender Andrew Paul Johnson. He’ll likely spend the rest of his life in prison, and I doubt police are interested in reopening cases that wouldn’t lead to additional consequences. Like Eaton, I suspect his true body count may never be known. There was another serial killer operating in the area (Michael McGray), but in my opinion the case linking him to these disappearances is flimsy at best.

McAndrew’s case in particular is plagued by a massive red herring. Most discussions focus on an alleged “sighting” at a flower shop about 20 minute drive away even though there was one nearby. Meanwhile, the main suspect lived literally across the street from the Canadian Tire store where she worked. It’s far more plausible that he flashed a badge (was known to impersonate a police officer) and convinced her to go with him, perhaps under the guise of a family emergency. That supposed sighting sent authorities on a wild goose chase and wasted crucial early time that might have made all the difference.

[MegtheEgg86]

Blair Adams is probably the most well-known UM case from my area and it's definitely a puzzler.

That being said, I think what ultimately happened is that Blair was acutely mentally ill and experiencing paranoid delusions. I think he was murdered in a robbery attempt or some other encounter wherein one or two people were trying to take advantage of him in the state that he was in.

[tvscript124]

Originally Posted by Lieutenant Bookman

I live in the PNW and the easy one for me is DB Cooper. I think ultimately he died in the jump or shortly after. The fact is, they don’t know exactly where he jumped, which means that they really can’t be certain where he landed. That wilderness is extremely difficult to search and I think it’s very possible they may not have even been looking in the right area. My personal theory is that he landed somewhere significantly different from where they think he did, and as a result they never found him. I also wouldn’t rule out that he landed in an area that may have been impacted by the eruption of Mt St Helens 9 years later, and his body could be buried under all the debris

I just rewatched DB Cooper and I don't know how they can be certain where he jumped. They found a couple of artifacts from the plane IIRC in the search area, but how could the pilots and the flight attendant, who were just trying to keep it together, be sure where he jumped?

[TheCars1986]

Never featured on any true crime form of media, but the disappearance of James Cole back in 1994 is local to me, and my familiarity with the area makes me question how anyone could have gone missing in an area where there are hardly any places one could remain hidden for decades. A bike trail sat across the street from where he was last seen alive and was less than a ten minute walk to his house. It makes no sense that he simply vanished without a trace.

[Lieutenant Bookman]

Originally Posted by tvscript124

I just rewatched DB Cooper and I don't know how they can be certain where he jumped. They found a couple of artifacts from the plane IIRC in the search area, but how could the pilots and the flight attendant, who were just trying to keep it together, be sure where he jumped?

The FBI explanation is that the pilots observed a pitch up in the aircraft at a certain point, which was speculated to be due to Cooper being on and jumping from the aft stairs. However, I am skeptical about how reliable this is. The fact is that nobody saw him jump or knew for certain that he was no longer on board until they landed in Reno to refuel. How accurately could they recall the exact time they thought he jumped? Even being off by a few minutes on that assumption can significantly alter the presumed landing zone under those weather conditions. I also personally think the placard that was found was a red herring in the sense that it could have come off at any point after the stairs were deployed, and does not necessarily mean that is where he jumped or that is where he himself would have landed. There’s about a 15 minute window from when the stairs were deployed to when they think he jumped. The placard could have come off well before he left the plane IMO

[MediaHoarder]

Originally Posted by Lieutenant Bookman

The FBI explanation is that the pilots observed a pitch up in the aircraft at a certain point, which was speculated to be due to Cooper being on and jumping from the aft stairs. However, I am skeptical about how reliable this is. The fact is that nobody saw him jump or knew for certain that he was no longer on board until they landed in Reno to refuel. How accurately could they recall the exact time they thought he jumped? Even being off by a few minutes on that assumption can significantly alter the presumed landing zone under those weather conditions. I also personally think the placard that was found was a red herring in the sense that it could have come off at any point after the stairs were deployed, and does not necessarily mean that is where he jumped or that is where he himself would have landed. There’s about a 15 minute window from when the stairs were deployed to when they think he jumped. The placard could have come off well before he left the plane IMO

I have read (unsure if its true or not) that they adjusted the trim of the aircraft after the pitch up.
It is possible, although I have not seen this written, that the FDR was able to supply the exact time of the pitch up if the pilots were able to give a general frame and no other similar changes occurred at that time. This would make the time exact.
However, the time spent in free fall before the chute opened would still only be known to Cooper.

[jets4life]

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, it has always been the Richard Bocklage case, where he executes his ex-girlfriend in Kansas City, and flees to Thompson, Manitoba, an 8 hour drive north from me.

I am 99% convinced Bocklage either decided to commit suicide, by walking into the unforgivable northern climate, or died from exposure from the elements. He was impulsive, and AFAIK, had no survival skills, especially dealing with a northern Canadian climate.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by jets4life

I am 99% convinced Bocklage either decided to commit suicide, by walking into the unforgivable northern climate, or died from exposure from the elements. He was impulsive, and AFAIK, had no survival skills, especially dealing with a northern Canadian climate.

I don’t believe for a second he walked into the wilderness to commit suicide. Those letters he wrote to Tonya’s family where he justified murdering her shows no remorse. He was a sociopath. He left the car there as a drop off point and then hitched a ride away (like Alex Cooper). Hitchhiking being less taboo back in 1980.

[jets4life]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I don’t believe for a second he walked into the wilderness to commit suicide. Those letters he wrote to Tonya’s family where he justified murdering her shows no remorse. He was a sociopath. He left the car there as a drop off point and then hitched a ride away (like Alex Cooper). Hitchhiking being less taboo back in 1980.

I respectfully disagree. There were multiple witness sightings of Bocklage in Thompson, a small town of 13,000 people. With an American accent,and being unfamiliar with Northern Canada, he would have stuck out.

If he were to have took a bus back to Winnipeg, there would have been considerable more sightings. Unless Bocklage knew someone from the area (which I highly doubt), he would have had to stand on the main highway to hitch a ride, drawing a slew of witness sightings.

This case is remarkably similar to the British Columbia spree killers of 2019, where they too drove a considerable distance after they murdered three people, only to reach a dead end in Gilliam, a town 3-4 hours Northeast of Thompson:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north...-ito-1.5401732

In the case of the two 19 year olds, they reached the end of the line, and after stealing a boat, banked it, and took off into a forest and ultimately ended their lives, as they knew they were going to get caught.

In the Bocklage case, it received far less publicity (the 2019 case was international news, reaching the US and Europe). So by all accounts, the RCMP would not have issued Canada wide warnings, and disposed helicopters, drones, etc to find Bocklage like they did the killers in BC.

However, the main reason I am convinced that Bocklage died in the Thompson area, is there are no credible witness sightings of him leaving Thompson, and returning to the US. A guy that impulsive and unstable would not have had the patience or maturity to pull off being on the run for decades.

[EighthStreet]

For actual physical proximity that would be JoAnn Matouk. I am of the opinion that she went down to the water to take a photo of the ice on the lake and fell in.

[schmave]

As far as geographic proximity to me just outside Columbus, Ohio, it's equal parts the Circleville letters and Ohio prostitute murders. Circleville is 20 miles south of me, and the first victim mentioned in the prostitute murder segment was found 15 miles away at an exit off I-70 I would take to work 15 or so years later.

My theories in a nutshell, respectively ... Paul Freshour wrote a few letters but not nearly the majority and was framed, especially later, by his piece of work ex-wife and son; and a lone trucker with a woman-hating complex and a lot of intelligence was responsible for the prostitute deaths over a number of years.

As far as Richard Bocklage, I have always thought that case was fairly open and shut. He took off as far north as he could as fast as he could and made at least one critical and IMO fatal error, underestimating the elements in that part of Manitoba even as early as late September. I think he felt it would be a lot easier to hide out and then make his way back to the States, or wherever he planned to escape, but ended up perishing in those woods and there isn't a trace of him left after more than 45 years.