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In January 2015, 14-year-old Cassidy Nurse moved to a brand new school in Cape Town, South Africa.

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It didn't take her long to make friends. Cassidy was bubbly and outgoing, and she had something in

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common with someone who already attended Zwaianzwik High School. Although she didn't know it at the

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time. When she was first introduced to 17-year-old Macha Solomon, the two girls felt an instant

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connection despite their three-year age difference. Neither girl could explain this connection,

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but there was something outwardly clear to the both of them and other girls in their social circle.

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Cassidy and Macha bore a striking resemblance to one another. After several weeks of bonding,

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talking about their similarities, and taking selfies together, Cassidy finally shared a photo

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of her new friend with her parents, Mornay and Celeste. Celeste immediately asked Cassidy a very

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important question. What was Macha's birthday? Welcome everyone. This is Dying to be Found The

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Dash, and you're listening to the story of Zephanie Nurse. Hi everyone, this is Deb from Dying to be

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Found. Before we get started, I just wanted to say that episodes contain disturbing discussions

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on harmful acts and crimes against animals and or humankind. Recordings are not intended for young

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or sensitive audiences due to the content nature of this podcast. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

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Hi everyone, this is Deb, your host from the true crime podcast Dying to be Found. Welcome to my

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little mini-series called Dying to be Found The Dash, where I like to bring a little bit of hope

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with some inspiring outcomes in these episodes. Today is your lucky day, you get just me, where

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even I don't know what to expect until I start editing. In the meantime, be sure to leave a

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five-star rating because that really does help with visibility in the podcast world. I mentioned

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at the beginning of this episode that Cassidy Nurse and Macha Solomon quickly became friends

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at Zwaianzwyk High School, despite their age difference. They even had an ongoing joke where

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when people commented on how much they looked alike, they said they were sisters from a different life.

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Cassidy later described the very first time she had met Macha after her friends insisted that she

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meet the new girl at school. And when she finally did, Cassidy could not believe her eyes. She felt

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she was looking in the mirror with a girl three years her senior. Cassidy and Macha instantly

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became friends. It wasn't until January 2015 when Cassidy Nurse showed her mother that picture of

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herself and her new friend that had recently moved to town and was now attending the same high school.

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Celeste took one look at that picture where two teenage girls were smiling and posing, then

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immediately asked Cassidy if she happened to know if Macha was born on the 30th of April 1997.

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Cassidy did not have an answer right away, but the next time she spoke with Macha, she asked just that.

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To her surprise, Macha said yes. Her birthday was the 30th of April 1997.

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To get a picture of what happened, we need to rewind back to spring of 1997. Celeste Nurse had

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just checked into Groot-Sher Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. If this name sounds familiar,

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it should because Groot-Sher Hospital is known for performing the world's very first heart transplant

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back in 1967. And here's what happened in 1997. Celeste entered the hospital's maternity ward

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and gave birth to a baby girl on April 30th, 1997. The new parents named their daughter

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Zephanie. When Celeste lay sleeping, a woman dressed as a nurse quietly entered the maternity

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ward, wrapped baby Zephanie up in a blanket, and walked out of the building undetected.

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This baby was Zephanie Nurse, or whom we know as Macha Solomon, Cassidy Nurse's new friend at

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Zwyanswyk High School. It's not clear how long it was before anyone realized that Zephanie was missing

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before her abduction was reported. It's also not clear who reported this incident. What we do know

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is that according to family members, this was a very devastating time for Mornay and Celeste Nurse.

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The couple had just become new parents, and they were already grieving for the loss of a daughter,

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which could only be described as worse than death. Although it was difficult, Mornay and Celeste

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continued searching for baby Zephanie endlessly. They also made a conscious effort to celebrate

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her birthday on April 30th for the next 17 years. Local businesses even donated a giant birthday cape

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to keep Zephanie's name alive. Now that we know that Zephanie and Macha are one and the same,

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I will be referencing Zephanie as Macha for the remainder of this episode, as I believe that this

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is the name that she has chosen to keep with to this day. Fast forward to January 2015, where

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Cassidy had shown her parents Macha's photo. This is where everything changed. Cassidy's parents

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couldn't let go of the fact that there was a striking resemblance between Cassidy and Macha.

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According to the BBC, Macha was called to the front office at her high school a few weeks after

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Cassidy had shown her mother that picture. Two social workers were waiting to speak to Macha

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when she reported to her headmaster. Macha was told the unfolding events in detail,

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including when she had been abducted from Groutshire Hospital in 1997. Taking all of this in,

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Macha was adamant that she wasn't even born at Groutshire. Instead, she told the social workers

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that she was born in a completely different hospital not far away and that Retreat Hospital

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was listed on her birth certificate. The social workers continued to investigate but found no

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record of Macha being born in Retreat Hospital. This is when they asked Macha if she would be

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willing to take a DNA test. Macha was hesitant at first, likely due to shock, but also because she

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had grown up in a loving household. She adamantly denied that her parents could do anything so

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sinister as to kidnap her as an infant. Macha eventually consented and within 24 hours of

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providing her DNA, her life was turned upside down. The test had come back positive, confirming that

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Macha was not who she thought she was. Instead, Macha had discovered that she was indeed

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Zephanie Nurse, who had been abducted from Groutshire Hospital 17 years earlier when she

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was just three days old. So let's talk about the events that led up to baby Zephanie's abduction,

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who we now know is Macha. According to Michael Solomon, the man Macha grew up knowing as her dad,

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his wife Lavona had been pregnant in 1997. After interviewing him extensively, it was clear to

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authorities that he knew nothing about this abduction because he was just as distraught as

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Macha over the unfolding events and even denied that any of this could be true. As far as Michael

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was concerned, Lavona had a normal pregnancy. As the investigation continued, Michael and police

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theorized that Lavona had suffered a miscarriage, then covered this up by abducting baby Zephanie

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and bringing her home to call her own. This conclusion was reached after Michael explained

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that he had returned home one day and Lavona had told him that she had just given birth to Macha

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alone at home. It's not clear if Michael was out of town given the fact that Zephanie was three

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days old when she was abducted from the hospital. For almost two decades, the nurse family eventually

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moved on to have three more children but never gave up looking for their firstborn. Unfortunately,

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the nurses eventually divorced but still stayed in touch to celebrate Zephanie's birthday every year

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on April 30th. Let's talk about the discovery process. This is not the first time that we've

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told a story of child abductions from hospitals here on Dying to Befound the Dash, nor is it the

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first time we've mentioned that these children grew up a short distance away or possibly in the

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same community as the grieving family. This case is no different. Zephanie grew up as an only child

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only three miles or five kilometers away from the nurses. She played on the same soccer field with

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her dad just across the street from the nurses' own home. Fast forward to 2015, Mornay Nurse,

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Zephanie's biological father, was at a local fast food restaurant when he saw his daughter

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Cassidy sitting with her new friend Macha. He could not get past the striking resemblance of

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the two girls and decided to contact the police with his suspicions. Macha soon had to face not

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only the devastating news that she was abducted, but that the woman that she knew as her mother

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had just been arrested to face charges. Macha was eventually reunited with all members in the

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nurse family, but that did not mean that she was receptive. After all, she had grown up in a loving

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home with two parents whom she still had a lot of love for. Macha did sympathize with the nurse

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family, but they were strangers to her. Now, Macha was still considered a minor when she discovered

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her true identity. Because she was still 17, Macha ended up living in a safe house after

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Lavonna Solomon was arrested and Michael Solomon was being investigated. After Michael was cleared

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of any wrongdoing, Macha returned to live with whom she knew as her father as both patiently

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awaited the day that Lavonna would one day return home. In August 2015, Lavonna Solomon was sent

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before the judge on charges associated with kidnapping and fraudulently claiming to be the

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mother of a child. According to the BBC, Lavonna adamantly denied these charges or any wrongdoing.

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In fact, Lavonna stated that she was approached at a local train station in 1997 and solicited to

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buy an infant for 50 pounds or 62 US dollars. That's 997 pounds or 2,271 US dollars in today's

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currency. The person who allegedly approached Lavonna went by the name of Sylvia, who told the

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tale that a baby that she had in her possession had been born to a young, unwed mother who was

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willing to give the baby up for adoption. According to Lavonna, Sylvia was also prepared to help her

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with the baby's birth certificate. The judge considered Lavonna's story of Sylvia and the

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incident at the train station to be far-fetched, stating that Lavonna's accounts were simply a

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fairy tale that was fabricated by Lavonna after her arrest. As with the birth certificate, there

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was no evidence to suggest that Sylvia ever existed. One witness who testified at Lavonna's trial

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swore under oath that she had witnessed a woman dressed as a nurse carrying an infant through the

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hospital back in 1997 and even positively identified Lavonna as the perpetrator during a lineup at the

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police station. Ultimately, Lavonna Solomon was sentenced to 10 years behind bars after being

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found guilty of kidnapping, fraud, and violating South Africa's Children's Act. The purpose of the

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Children's Act is to protect children's rights and to provide a thorough definition of parental

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responsibilities and rights. According to the courts, Lavonna did not uphold her responsibilities

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when she claimed to be Maché's biological mother. In July 2022, Lavonna Solomon finally admitted

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publicly that she was the mastermind behind Zephanie's kidnapping and was fully responsible

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for her abduction in 1997. The nurse family's response to this was that they waited a long time

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for this confession. Maché also stated that she had waited just as long to hear the truth.

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So what is Maché's take on all of this? After all, she was 17 when she discovered her own true

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identity. Maché first struggled between what she knew growing up in a stable household and getting

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to know her new family. She contemplated living with her birth mom, Celeste, but in the end decided

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against it. Maché visits Lavonna in prison regularly, driving 75 miles or 120 kilometers

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one way. On her first visit, Maché confronted Lavonna, asking why she would take a baby from an

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innocent family and robbing not only them but Maché of a different path in life. Lavonna held

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strong at that time to her innocence of all charges until 2022 when she did finally admit

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that she had indeed abducted baby Zephanie in 1997. In January 2023, Lavonna was put up for parole

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but was denied. In July 2023, Lavonna will receive another parole hearing, but according to South

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Africa's News 24, she will need to undergo a victim-offender dialogue process and other assessments

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before she is released. Both the Solomon and nurse families will be allowed to attend any parole

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hearings. In 2019, Zephanie wrote a book about her experiences. She pays particular attention to her

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relationship with her biological father. In this book, Zephanie states that she's not able to form

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a true relationship with Mornay like she was with Michael Solomon. Although the discovery process

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was difficult when building a relationship with the nurse family, Maché now has only good things

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to say. In part, she recently married and now has two children of her own. Maché openly admits that

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being a mom herself has opened her mind to what the nurse family had gone through. She continues

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to have a good relationship with Michael Solomon, the man that she knows as her father, and was

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cleared of any knowledge or wrongdoing in this case. Maché and Cassidy are just as close now as

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they were then when they first met on that fateful day in 2015 when Cassidy was told that she just

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had to meet the new girl in school who looked exactly like her.

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And that's the story of Zephanie Nurse or as she's known today, Maché Solomon. I would love to know

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your thoughts on this storyline, so be sure to DM me on Instagram or better yet, give me a 5 star

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review. If you have a storyline you would like to hear specifically on Dying to be Found the Dash,

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let me know that too. If you are a True Crime podcaster and want to be highlighted on an episode

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of the Dash, be sure to click on the links in my show notes to see my contacts. Shoot me an email

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and I'll send you more information. Talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to Dying to be Found,

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True Crime podcast and our Dash mini series. Every week we'll bring you a variety of True

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Crime episodes, a little dash of hope, plus special bonus episodes with some really cool guests.

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Before we go, we'd love for you to share this podcast with your friends and give us a 5 star

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click on our Linktree account found in the show notes where you'll find all the information in

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one place. Be sure to Dash in every Wednesday for our mini episodes, plus every Thursday,

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when I get together with some of my family members. Thanks again everyone and we'll talk to you soon.