1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. 2 00:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400 All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 3 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160 Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages. 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560 Listener discretion is advised. 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280 I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Solkuwski. 6 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680 And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,280 And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. 8 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:36,860 Hello everyone and welcome back. 9 00:00:36,860 --> 00:00:37,920 Welcome back everyone. 10 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:39,520 I'm your host, Ali. 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,400 And I'm your co-host, Eli. 12 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:42,720 And this is Cold and Missing. 13 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,440 All right, Al what do you have for us this week? 14 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:52,000 So we are on episode 49 and we're on a missing person case this week. 15 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,000 All right. 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:54,480 Would you like to jump in? 17 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:56,200 Yeah, let's do it. 18 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:57,200 Great. 19 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:02,400 So just as a content warning at the top, this case does involve a young person. 20 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:08,180 Today we are going to be talking about the missing persons case of Equilla Hodrick. 21 00:01:08,180 --> 00:01:14,120 And this takes place in August of 1985 in the Bronx in New York City. 22 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:16,080 But first a little bit about Equilla. 23 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,060 Equilla is eight years old in 1985. 24 00:01:19,060 --> 00:01:24,680 She was born August 19th, 1976 and she would be 46 years old today. 25 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:29,600 She was born and raised in the Bronx and was a true child of New York City. 26 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,340 Equilla lived on Briggs Avenue near 194th Street. 27 00:01:33,340 --> 00:01:37,080 This is close to Poe Park and Fordham University. 28 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:43,320 Equilla's block was actually featured on a 1983 CBS documentary called Our Block. 29 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:47,200 And I'll link in the show notes where you can watch this to get a sense of what it was 30 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,080 like to live on Briggs Avenue in the 80s. 31 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,700 It's a really interesting piece that's a quick watch and shows a lot of the places 32 00:01:53,700 --> 00:01:56,240 that we'll talk about in today's episode. 33 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:00,620 Equilla was tall for her age, standing at 4 foot 11 inches. 34 00:02:00,620 --> 00:02:04,400 She had a light complexion, black hair and hazel eyes. 35 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:09,400 She has a gap between her two front teeth and a small scar under her right eye. 36 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:15,040 Her family describes her as smart and caring, a little girl with the world ahead of her. 37 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,320 And now a timeline of events. 38 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,360 Monday August 12th, 1985. 39 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,400 It's a hot August day and people are outside on the street. 40 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,720 It was still about 90 degrees at 6.30 p.m. when Equilla and her mother were sitting outside 41 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:32,680 on the front steps. 42 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:37,880 Equilla was one week away from her ninth birthday and she is dressed for the summer heat, wearing 43 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:42,320 a red and white shirt, blue denim cutoffs and tennis shoes. 44 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,960 Equilla's mother Terona Hodrick, but she goes by Terry, is eight months pregnant at 45 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:47,960 this time. 46 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:52,020 Terry and Equilla have a strong mother-daughter relationship and Equilla would often help 47 00:02:52,020 --> 00:02:55,120 take care of her mother as her pregnancy advanced. 48 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,600 As they sat on the stoop, some of Terry's friends stopped by to talk. 49 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,160 You remember how it was when you were that age and your mom would stop to talk to her 50 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:03,160 friends? 51 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:04,160 It was not interesting. 52 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,600 But something interesting did catch Equilla's attention. 53 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,120 The Mr. Softy Ice Cream Truck. 54 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:14,440 Equilla interrupts her mother's conversation to ask for some money to buy an ice cream. 55 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:15,780 Terry says no. 56 00:03:15,780 --> 00:03:18,960 She had already given Equilla some money earlier that day. 57 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,920 Terry turns around to keep talking to her friends while an undeterred Equilla takes 58 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:26,760 off down Briggs Avenue towards East 194th Street. 59 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,800 The ice cream truck had parked around the corner on 194th. 60 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,720 Terry could not chase after Equilla being eight months pregnant, so she watched her 61 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,920 run down Briggs Avenue, but she was not worried. 62 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:41,320 Equilla always came back and she was in her neighborhood. 63 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:42,760 This was her block. 64 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:47,140 Terry stayed on the porch, watching the corner, waiting for Equilla to return, but she never 65 00:03:47,140 --> 00:03:49,460 came running back up the street. 66 00:03:49,460 --> 00:03:54,200 As the night continued on, Terry's niece told her that she saw Equilla playing arcade 67 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,720 games down at the game room at the end of the street. 68 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,760 As it got even later, though, Terry knew something was wrong and that Equilla would have been 69 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,160 back by now, so she called the police. 70 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:11,300 Detective Frankie McDonald got the call that night and immediately the NYPD take it seriously. 71 00:04:11,300 --> 00:04:15,600 Detective McDonald, from the jump, believes that Equilla has been abducted due to her 72 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,040 age and the circumstances. 73 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:22,840 Detective Frankie McDonald later reflected on this case, saying, quote, It was a heart-wrenching 74 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:23,840 case. 75 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:27,720 The mother was a genuine victim, and this was a legitimate missing child. 76 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,440 Many times in these cases, another family member was involved. 77 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:32,440 Not in this one. 78 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:33,440 End quote. 79 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,960 It's unclear when exactly the following events take place. 80 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,240 Equilla's case was not really covered in the media. 81 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:42,680 We'll talk more about that later. 82 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:47,840 But what we do know is that the NYPD set up a temporary headquarters inside the Hodricks 83 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:51,000 home for two weeks following her disappearance. 84 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,160 They were able to track down the ice cream truck driver who was in the area the night 85 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:56,900 Equilla disappeared. 86 00:04:56,900 --> 00:05:01,360 He did not remember seeing Equilla or her buying any ice cream from him. 87 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:06,400 Police are never able to confirm the sighting of Equilla at the game room. 88 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:11,340 Investigators also start searching apartment buildings in the surrounding blocks for Equilla. 89 00:05:11,340 --> 00:05:15,400 Police use scent dogs and they even launch a helicopter searching for any sign of the 90 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,360 little girl, but they come up empty again and again. 91 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:25,280 Later that same week, on Friday, August 16th, 1985, police are continuing their search for 92 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:30,240 Equilla and scent dogs picked up her scent and led investigators to train tracks near 93 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:31,520 her home. 94 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:36,120 Specifically, the dogs led investigators to a hole in the fence surrounding the train 95 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:37,520 tracks. 96 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:42,160 Police have learned from folks in the neighborhood that people experiencing houselessness often 97 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:44,840 camped out in the tunnel near this area. 98 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:49,400 Detective McDonald and his partner asked permission from Metro North to stop the train so they 99 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,320 could search the tracks for any signs of Equilla. 100 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:54,660 Police were told that this was impossible. 101 00:05:54,660 --> 00:05:57,680 So Detective McDonald asked who could make it possible. 102 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:03,560 This ends up going up and up and up the chain to the vice president of Metro North, who 103 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:05,820 did have sympathy for Equilla's case. 104 00:06:05,820 --> 00:06:11,800 He agreed to slow down the trains to 35 miles per hour so the police could safely search 105 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,280 and he agreed to let them search for 30 minutes. 106 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:18,840 Once police were inside, they weren't going to be forced out. 107 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:23,880 So they took three hours to search the tracks and talk with the folks who live down there. 108 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,800 They ended up talking with around 12 people along the tracks. 109 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,000 One guy they talked to stood out to them. 110 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:36,360 He appeared to be in a very emotional state and had a bunch of dolls in his possession. 111 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:40,680 Police brought him in for further questioning, but after a few hours it was clear he was 112 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:41,680 innocent. 113 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:47,240 However, the delay in the trains brought Equilla's disappearance to the news for the first time. 114 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,020 Newspapers and local news covered the story because people were upset that they had been 115 00:06:51,020 --> 00:06:53,720 delayed during the Friday evening rush hour. 116 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:58,480 At one point, a reporter for Channel 2 asked Detective McDonald whose decision it was to 117 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:03,120 slow down the trains, to which he responded, quote, nobody made that decision. 118 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,880 We made the decision to search for a missing child. 119 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:07,000 What is your story? 120 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:08,600 That an eight-year-old is missing? 121 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:12,080 Or that a few assholes from Westchester came home to a cold dinner? 122 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,080 I don't have anything more to say to you. 123 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:15,260 End quote. 124 00:07:15,260 --> 00:07:20,600 In the fall of 1985, so this is a few months now that Equilla has been missing, there was 125 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,680 a block party happening on East 194th Street. 126 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,120 This is the street Equilla turned onto from Briggs Avenue. 127 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:33,040 City Councilman Fernando Ferrer thanked the block for their help in searching for Equilla 128 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:34,700 and to keep looking. 129 00:07:34,700 --> 00:07:38,520 Detective Frankie McDonald also showed up to the party to thank the community and to 130 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,160 give the neighborhood a phone number where they could call in tips. 131 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,520 As Detective McDonald was leaving the area, a woman was digging through the trash and 132 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:50,720 yelled out to him, quote, you're never going to find that little girl alive. 133 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:52,520 She's buried up in Yonkers. 134 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:53,600 End quote. 135 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,560 Detective McDonald doesn't engage with this woman, but when he gets back to his car, it 136 00:07:57,560 --> 00:07:59,160 hits him. 137 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,880 An ex-boyfriend of Terry's lived in Yonkers. 138 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,480 Detective McDonald circles back to try to find the woman, but she's gone. 139 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:11,400 He'll try to locate this woman for weeks, but he will never be able to find her again. 140 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:16,160 Terry had dated this man for a short time, but he was into drugs and Terry did not want 141 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,720 that around herself or Equilla, so she broke it off. 142 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:25,080 The day Equilla went missing, it's reported that the ex-boyfriend was in the Bronx. 143 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,640 It's said that he was running around without a shirt on on Ho Avenue, which is about a 144 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:32,920 20 minute drive from Equilla's home on Briggs Avenue. 145 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:37,240 Later that night, he was seen driving around the Bronx with his roommate from Yonkers in 146 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:38,880 a red car. 147 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:43,320 Detective McDonald will bring the ex-boyfriend in for questioning many times, as Detective 148 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:47,760 McDonald believed he was involved, but the ex-boyfriend maintained that he was innocent 149 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:49,880 and had nothing to do with it. 150 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:55,280 In 1986, so this would be the next year after Equilla had gone missing, police still had 151 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:56,640 no leads. 152 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,480 Later that year, Equilla's case would appear on Missing. 153 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:01,940 Have you seen this person? 154 00:09:01,940 --> 00:09:05,500 This was a show that was a precursor to Unsolved Mysteries. 155 00:09:05,500 --> 00:09:09,760 Some tips are called in as a result of the show, but they don't pan out. 156 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:15,540 In 1987, so two years now Equilla has been missing, Detective Frankie McDonald decides 157 00:09:15,540 --> 00:09:19,340 to retire from the NYPD after 20 years on the force. 158 00:09:19,340 --> 00:09:23,240 He spent the last two years of his career working on Equilla's case. 159 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,200 Before he officially turns his badge in, he goes through Equilla's case file, which at 160 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:31,300 this point weighed 25 pounds from all the work he had done on the case. 161 00:09:31,300 --> 00:09:36,480 He went to go tell Terry himself that he was retiring, and she sighed and said, well, that's 162 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:37,560 the end of that. 163 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:41,760 Reflecting back on it, Frankie McDonald said, quote, she was right. 164 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,120 After I left, there wasn't much more to be done. 165 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,320 Although every effort was made by the police department to find her daughter, everything 166 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:50,400 that could have been done was done. 167 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:51,480 We tried. 168 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:53,040 We really tried. 169 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:54,040 End quote. 170 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:58,440 Frankie McDonald also acknowledges that Equilla did not get the same media coverage as other 171 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,320 missing children around this time, such as Etan Patz. 172 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:08,440 Just to give a quick synopsis, Aton went missing in 1979 and was a famous case out of New York 173 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:09,440 City. 174 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:14,440 Etan was six at the time, and he had convinced his mother to let him walk to the bus stop 175 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,940 by himself for the first time in Soho, Manhattan. 176 00:10:17,940 --> 00:10:21,320 The walk was two blocks, and somewhere in those two blocks, he disappeared. 177 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:26,480 Eton's case had very intense media coverage, and a whole task force was created to try 178 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:28,320 to locate the missing boy. 179 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:33,120 By comparison, Equilla's case only had two detectives working on it and was not covered 180 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,320 by the media until the train delays. 181 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:40,280 Eton's case was closed when Pedro Hernandez was found guilty of kidnapping and felony 182 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,280 murder in regards to Etan. 183 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,840 Equilla's mother, Terry, did believe that the police did everything they could to find 184 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:47,840 her daughter. 185 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:52,760 She was very close with Detective Frankie McDonald and ended up naming her son after him. 186 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,960 She says, quote, I thought the police did all they could to find my child. 187 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,240 They worked hard, especially Frankie McDonald. 188 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,840 They searched every apartment building around here from Valentine Avenue to Webster. 189 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,280 They really looked for Equilla, and for that I am grateful. 190 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:09,280 End quote. 191 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:14,400 And then the case truly goes cold for the rest of the 80s and into the 90s. 192 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:20,680 In 2001, Equilla's case is reopened by a cold case squad in the missing persons unit. 193 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:24,920 Investigators go back and re-interview everyone from the original case file. 194 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:28,940 Terry had recently moved out of the Bronx and into Manhattan, but she still kept her 195 00:11:28,940 --> 00:11:32,440 phone number listed in the phone book so Equilla could find her. 196 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,440 Terry believes that Equilla was still alive at this time. 197 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,560 She says, quote, I still be praying that she will come home. 198 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:41,720 I know in my heart that she's alive because I can feel her. 199 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,120 You know how it is with a mother and her child. 200 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:45,500 You can feel them. 201 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:46,500 She's out there. 202 00:11:46,500 --> 00:11:49,080 I know she's not underground, not my baby. 203 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:50,080 End quote. 204 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,500 However, Detective McDonald had a different opinion on the case. 205 00:11:53,500 --> 00:11:57,440 He says, quote, I hate to upset the mother, but I don't think she's alive. 206 00:11:57,440 --> 00:11:59,920 Equilla was very savvy for an eight-year-old. 207 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:01,360 She knew her phone number. 208 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:03,480 She was smart and street smart. 209 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:05,300 She would have reached out to the mother. 210 00:12:05,300 --> 00:12:09,140 She wasn't a troubled child and she had a good relationship with her mother. 211 00:12:09,140 --> 00:12:11,440 If she could have called, she would have. 212 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:12,440 End quote. 213 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,840 And that is the last update we have for Equilla. 214 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:20,940 Her case is still open with the cold case missing person unit, and they have released 215 00:12:20,940 --> 00:12:25,160 an Aged Progress photo that will be on our website and on our Instagram. 216 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,220 And the photo is Equilla at age 46. 217 00:12:28,220 --> 00:12:30,980 So they believe this is what she would look like today. 218 00:12:30,980 --> 00:12:36,780 So if you know anything about the disappearance of Equilla Hodrick in August of 1985, please 219 00:12:36,780 --> 00:12:44,400 call the NYPD Missing Person Unit at 212-694-7781. 220 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:49,760 And the sources for the timeline today come from the Mount Vernon Argus, the Newark Advocate, 221 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:54,280 Morning Centennial, Lansing State Journal, the Delaware Gazette, the Palm Beach Post, 222 00:12:54,280 --> 00:13:01,600 Daily News, Merced Sunstar, NY Press, Medium.com, the book My Father's Gun by Brian McDonald, 223 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,160 and the CBS documentary, Our Block. 224 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,800 So that is the case of Equilla Hodrick. 225 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,720 Thank you for bringing it to the podcast. 226 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:18,480 I think my first reaction slash question, the strongest one in my mind for you was, 227 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:25,640 why do you think there was just a complete drop off of tension and energy? 228 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:31,880 I think what played into this is something that we've talked about before, where Equilla 229 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:39,680 was a young black girl from the Bronx, and it did not generate any media coverage until 230 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:41,320 the train delays happened. 231 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:46,600 And even after that, whenever I was searching for her in old newspaper archives, I didn't 232 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:51,860 come across a lot, but then I realized that they were misspelling her name. 233 00:13:51,860 --> 00:13:56,240 So the newspaper misspelled her first and last name. 234 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:57,920 That's so disrespectful. 235 00:13:57,920 --> 00:13:58,920 Yeah. 236 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:03,600 So after I found the way that the newspapers were spelling it for some time, you know, 237 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:08,760 I was able to find a couple more articles, but there was just not as an intense media 238 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,940 coverage as, for example, Etan 239 00:14:11,940 --> 00:14:17,320 They projected his picture into Times Square when he went missing, but none of that happened 240 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:18,320 with Equilla. 241 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:23,560 But Detective Frankie McDonald was on her case, and he was a very dedicated police officer 242 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:25,920 and was very dedicated to this case. 243 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:29,360 Yeah, like, protect and serve, like taking an oath. 244 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:33,520 Like, I guess I see it as like something very, very serious. 245 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,080 So like, yeah, I'm like, good for you, man. 246 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:37,200 You did your job. 247 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,720 That's like what they all should do, in my opinion. 248 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:47,300 Frankie McDonald is honestly, and, you know, I didn't read into everything in his career, 249 00:14:47,300 --> 00:14:51,480 but from everything I could find, he was a really outstanding cop. 250 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:56,680 He had been shot at several times throughout his career, but he himself never once fired 251 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:58,200 his weapon. 252 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:02,760 So he was all about the de-escalation, all about doing the right work. 253 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:07,480 An incredibly like, disciplined and balanced, like, officer. 254 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,600 I mean, at least to me. 255 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:18,160 Yeah, everything that was kind of within the police's power, or within his power, at least, 256 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:19,960 like he couldn't create a task force. 257 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,000 Like he didn't have the authority to do that. 258 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,480 But, you know, launching the helicopter, getting the sent dogs out, setting up a temporary 259 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:28,480 headquarters inside of their home. 260 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:33,960 Like everything that was within his power for this case, he did. 261 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:38,840 And equal as mother, Terry is very appreciative of him specifically. 262 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:43,720 I mean, there's no greater honor than like naming your kid after somebody, and her son 263 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:45,960 is named after him. 264 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:53,240 Could you go back and just cover again those critical moments where she disappeared? 265 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,400 My brain is grasping at them like when you wake up from a dream and you're trying to 266 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:57,960 remember. 267 00:15:57,960 --> 00:15:59,220 Yeah. 268 00:15:59,220 --> 00:16:02,000 So it's around 630 in the evening. 269 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:03,000 Okay. 270 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:07,040 Equilla and her mother are sitting outside on their front steps, the stoop in New York 271 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:11,760 City, and Terry's friends stop by or they're walking by and Terry... 272 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:13,240 Remind me of the date again? 273 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:14,240 Thank you. 274 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:15,240 Sorry for interrupting. 275 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:16,240 So it's August 12th, 1985. 276 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,280 Yeah, I was like, it's summertime. 277 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:20,280 It's summertime. 278 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:21,280 I had that right. 279 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:22,280 Yeah. 280 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:23,280 It's summertime. 281 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:24,280 There's a lot of people out. 282 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:25,280 It is hot. 283 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:26,480 It's around 90 degrees. 284 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:30,060 And at this moment, Equilla hears the ice cream truck. 285 00:16:30,060 --> 00:16:33,360 So she interrupts her mother's conversation, asks for some money. 286 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,040 Terry says no, she already gave her some money earlier that day. 287 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,580 So Equilla runs off down the street. 288 00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:42,960 She's going to try to get some ice cream anyway. 289 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,620 But Terry is eight months pregnant, so she can't chase after her. 290 00:16:46,620 --> 00:16:49,760 And Terry wasn't worried because she was like, Equilla always comes back. 291 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:50,760 This is her city. 292 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:51,760 This is her block. 293 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:53,480 The kids play outside all the time. 294 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,200 That documentary I mentioned, like you'll see kids playing outside on the sidewalks 295 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:58,380 in the street. 296 00:16:58,380 --> 00:17:01,540 And it is the section that Equilla lived on. 297 00:17:01,540 --> 00:17:05,440 So it really is a true slice of life for Briggs Avenue. 298 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,580 So Terry sees Equilla run down the street. 299 00:17:07,580 --> 00:17:10,720 She sees her turn the corner on 194th. 300 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:12,740 That's where the ice cream truck was parked. 301 00:17:12,740 --> 00:17:16,800 And that's the last time that Terry sees her child. 302 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:22,680 And as the evening goes on, Terry's niece says she sees Equilla down at the game hall, 303 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:23,680 the game room. 304 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:25,880 There's a lot of different names for it that it goes by. 305 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,320 Like also goes by like the numbers hole, I think. 306 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:30,200 So there's a lot of names for this space. 307 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,240 It's a kid arcade, right? 308 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:33,660 No, it's not. 309 00:17:33,660 --> 00:17:37,500 It's not an arcade like we think of it, like a Chuck E. Cheese or something like that. 310 00:17:37,500 --> 00:17:43,280 There were a couple kid games, but then there was also like some illegal gambling that happened 311 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:44,520 there maybe. 312 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,920 It was just like, all right, you went down there to play numbers. 313 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:48,920 Like there was a lotto. 314 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:50,560 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 315 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:55,540 So that's actually a question that I have because police were never able to confirm 316 00:17:55,540 --> 00:17:56,540 that sighting. 317 00:17:56,540 --> 00:18:04,160 But since it was Terry's niece, that's Equilla's cousin, I have to think that if she saw Equilla, 318 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,160 she did see her that because that's family. 319 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:08,240 You're not going to mistake her for somebody else. 320 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,480 You know, you know, you know, your family. 321 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:16,480 But there's also a part of me that thinks or that wonders, like, did the niece just 322 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:20,300 say this to like play Kate, Terry and just be like, oh, I saw her. 323 00:18:20,300 --> 00:18:22,400 She was playing an arcade game. 324 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:23,400 She's fine. 325 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:24,400 Don't worry. 326 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:25,400 Yeah. 327 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:31,520 But I tend to lean towards that, you know, as things progressed and it was clear that 328 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:36,400 Equilla was missing, that the niece probably would have said, I didn't actually see her. 329 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:41,920 So I think Equilla was seen playing an arcade game at some point that evening. 330 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:46,480 OK, I think that's where I'm at for now. 331 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:52,400 I mostly just like, I'm eager to, you know, do my own like a little bit of just information 332 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:53,400 digging. 333 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,680 I'm glad we got to learn about who she was. 334 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:01,500 Yeah, I just I'm like, the systems at play and the systemic racism and systemic so many 335 00:19:01,500 --> 00:19:08,560 things that that's like all that it is like why not all as in it's something small, but 336 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:17,240 it's like this lack of like very basic human understanding of like different experiences 337 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:23,120 and like you can see the cracks in the in the pavement of it all. 338 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:24,120 And it's sad. 339 00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:25,680 It's just sad. 340 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:30,600 And I know I say it often on here, but I think it's a space to echo it in because like it's 341 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:37,000 really true that like there's absolutely no reason that like these cases shouldn't be 342 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:38,000 solved. 343 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:45,040 There's too much technological advancement in the world and like, yeah, I do agree with 344 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:47,960 you about the advances in technology. 345 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:53,760 But I think a problem that happens with a lot of missing person cases, especially old 346 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,120 ones, there's just no evidence to test. 347 00:19:56,120 --> 00:20:00,680 There was nothing collected at the time besides interviews. 348 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:01,680 I know. 349 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:08,360 And even if it was just like so mishandled, but I I've always known of evidence, you know, 350 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:13,080 there was a time where like the people had to make the conscious like switch of like, 351 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:19,680 oh, wait, this could potentially be years easier, you know, like, I'm sure, like revolutionary 352 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:21,520 for those folks at the time. 353 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,960 But yeah, it's easy for me to get frustrated. 354 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:28,120 Yeah, but there is still hope. 355 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:34,760 A case was closed in 2017 officially with, you know, a ruling. 356 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:40,960 It would be great if somebody came forward and confessed to what happened and was just 357 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,800 able to provide the family with some answers. 358 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:44,800 That would be great. 359 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:49,640 We would love to see Equilla alive and well and just coming home. 360 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:51,760 That's always the hope and the dream. 361 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:53,560 Yeah, it's interesting. 362 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:59,240 And this is just like me looking at myself and how I observed true crime. 363 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,720 This is definitely one of those cases where like I didn't really fill in the blanks after 364 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:04,720 she turned the corner. 365 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:11,880 Like my brain was like, I can't, you know, like, and because there was like really nothing, 366 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:16,400 my brain just wouldn't tell me the rest of the story because it's still holding on to 367 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,000 especially knowing his case. 368 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,960 I'm like, come forward. 369 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,800 Like, come on. 370 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:23,800 Right? 371 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,880 Someone, someone knows something. 372 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:27,880 You think you think so? 373 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:29,440 That's I guess that's what I'm asking. 374 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:31,440 Yeah, this case you think so? 375 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:37,080 Yeah, I mean, I don't think Aquila happened onto an accident by herself that would have 376 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:41,160 like caused her an injury where she couldn't get home. 377 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,360 You know, I don't I don't think that happened. 378 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:48,840 In this case, I think someone purposefully stopped her from coming home again. 379 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:50,600 I think she was abducted. 380 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:51,600 Yeah. 381 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:58,960 Well, moving forward, at least with us on the podcast, I am looking forward to creating 382 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:03,720 those graphics so like folks can see, you know, what she looks like the age progression 383 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,600 photos, missing person poster. 384 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:08,600 Yeah. 385 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,160 All that will be on our, our Instagram. 386 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:18,640 Again, if you know anything about the disappearance of Aquila Hodrick in August of 1985, please 387 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:26,600 call the NYPD missing person unit at 212-694-7781. 388 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:31,600 And one way you can help not only this case, but all the other cases that we cover get 389 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:37,000 out to the public consciousness is if you rate and review us in whatever podcast app 390 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,680 you're listening to us. 391 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:43,520 If you're an Apple, if you leave us a written review, it really helps the algorithm machine 392 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:48,320 get us to the top and let's other people find this podcast, find this case, find these stories. 393 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:53,600 So just by doing that, y'all are helping the mission of this podcast. 394 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:54,600 Yeah. 395 00:22:54,600 --> 00:23:00,000 We'll have pictures of Equilla and the age progress photo up on Instagram with the beautiful 396 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,200 graphics that Eli makes. 397 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,080 Thank you, hun. 398 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:10,320 And they'll also be on our website, cold and missing.com where we have transcripts readily 399 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:14,860 available if you are hard of hearing or if you know someone who is hard of hearing or 400 00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:20,480 deaf and want them to get in on this podcast community, you can go ahead and share our 401 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,000 website with them. 402 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,600 Thanks for joining us on cold and missing. 403 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:25,760 I'm Allie and I'm Eli. 404 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:27,840 Have a great week and stay safe, y'all. 405 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:45,440 Stay safe, y'all.