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-Sulkowski. 6 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680 And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,560 And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases. 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,160 Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing. 9 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:41,360 I'm your host, Ali, and it will just be me coming to you this week. 10 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:46,460 My darling husband, Eli, is a little bit under the weather, so he's taking the week off to 11 00:00:46,460 --> 00:00:48,800 rest and sleep. 12 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,880 So I am very thankful for that. 13 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:57,200 And I still wanted to bring you a new episode of the podcast. 14 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:01,200 I wanted to take a moment just here at the top to say thank you again to everyone who 15 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:03,840 has rated and reviewed us. 16 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,280 But I wanted to get into this week's episode. 17 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:12,160 We are on episode 104, and it is a missing person case. 18 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:17,320 So just as a bit of a content warning at the top, this case does involve a young person, 19 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:21,200 and there is a brief mention of death by suicide. 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:26,600 Today we are talking about the missing person case of Stephanie Crane. 21 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:33,080 And this takes place on October 11, 1993, in Challis, Idaho. 22 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:35,920 But first, a little bit about Stephanie. 23 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:40,240 Stephanie is nine years old in October of 1993. 24 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,480 She had just celebrated her birthday a few weeks before. 25 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,640 Stephanie lives in the small mountain town of Challis, Idaho. 26 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:52,060 She lives there with her sisters and both parents, and Stephanie's family has lived 27 00:01:52,060 --> 00:01:54,560 in Challis for generations. 28 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,000 Stephanie was a rough and tumble kind of kid. 29 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,520 She loved to explore the rugged terrain around her community, and she was often her dad's 30 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,020 shadow during hunting season. 31 00:02:05,020 --> 00:02:11,300 Her dad, Ben, says, quote, she was very much tomboy, very outdoorsy, end quote. 32 00:02:11,300 --> 00:02:15,200 She was energetic and outgoing, full of life. 33 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,880 She loved playing in the dirt and outside and with trucks, and could get along with 34 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:21,140 anybody. 35 00:02:21,140 --> 00:02:26,640 She was very popular at school because of her outgoing and funny personality. 36 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:30,160 And now, a timeline of events. 37 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:36,700 On Monday, October 11, 1993, Stephanie attends school and everything is reported as normal 38 00:02:36,700 --> 00:02:38,440 during the day. 39 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:43,400 Stephanie is wearing maroon sweatpants and a maroon and white sweatshirt with the words 40 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:50,960 GIMME written boldly across the front in white, and maroon and white striped tennis shoes. 41 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:56,700 After school, she was part of a bowling league, so she headed to Challis Lanes to play. 42 00:02:56,700 --> 00:03:01,840 The bowling alley was very close to her house, only about a quarter of a mile away. 43 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,680 Reports say that she could see her house from the bowling alley. 44 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:09,720 A bowling alley worker said this about Stephanie, quote, she's a good kid. 45 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,080 I saw her five minutes before she left. 46 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,800 I put away her shoes, end quote. 47 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,000 Jean Morph, a family friend, saw Stephanie at the bowling alley and offers her a ride 48 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:20,460 home. 49 00:03:20,460 --> 00:03:22,800 Jean declines the offer and says she'll walk. 50 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,520 It's only a few minutes away. 51 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:30,840 A few minutes later, and this would be around 4.45 p.m., after bowling has wrapped up, a 52 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:35,040 friend of Stephanie's and that friend's mom also sees Stephanie in the bowling alley 53 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:36,040 parking lot. 54 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:41,160 But this time, she is headed back towards the school and not towards her home. 55 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:45,200 When the friend and mom stop to ask Stephanie where she's going, Stephanie says that she 56 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:50,240 forgot her backpack at the soccer field and was going to grab it and then head home. 57 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:55,800 As the minutes tick by and it gets later and later, Stephanie is usually home by now. 58 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:00,200 At around 5.30, her mom Sandy begins to wonder where she is. 59 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,240 Sandy calls her mother-in-law, Stephanie's grandmother, and asks if she's over there 60 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:06,320 and she's not. 61 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:12,020 Then Stephanie's mom, Sandy, calls the bowling alley to see if Stephanie's still there. 62 00:04:12,020 --> 00:04:16,440 The owner of the bowling alley, Peggy, says that she's not there and that she left some 63 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:17,840 time ago. 64 00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:21,320 From here, Sandy and Ben start calling around and looking for Stephanie. 65 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:26,360 They're calling her friends, her grandmother is driving around looking for her. 66 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,360 When no one has seen or heard from her since the bowling alley, they go to the sheriff's 67 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,440 office at around 8.16 to report her missing. 68 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,340 Everyone that knows Stephanie knows that she wouldn't be outside in the dark. 69 00:04:38,340 --> 00:04:42,560 She was deeply scared of the dark, even sleeping with the lights on. 70 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,880 Before we get too much into the rest of the timeline, I just want to point out a couple 71 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,320 of things about this section of time that kind of contradict each other. 72 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:55,340 The FBI poster for Stephanie's case mentions that Stephanie's mother, Sandy, was actually 73 00:04:55,340 --> 00:04:57,560 the last person to see her. 74 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,560 There are also reports that Stephanie's mother went to the bowling alley that afternoon to 75 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:06,080 pay for the game and give her a dollar to buy snacks before leaving. 76 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:11,340 Some additional reports say that Stephanie was seen around 6 p.m. at the school. 77 00:05:11,340 --> 00:05:16,160 So jumping back into the timeline, when police are notified that Stephanie is missing, they 78 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,340 and Stephanie's family and friends begin searching for her. 79 00:05:20,340 --> 00:05:24,240 To get home from the bowling alley, Stephanie would have needed to cross Garden Creek, so 80 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:26,780 this is where the search starts. 81 00:05:26,780 --> 00:05:30,680 When police are searching the creek, they don't see anything, however it's dark and 82 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,500 they're nervous that they could miss something. 83 00:05:33,500 --> 00:05:39,160 Police continue to search and call friends, and family and police hope that Stephanie 84 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:44,800 is simply at a slumber party and that she'll arrive at school the next morning. 85 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:50,040 At around midnight, police call the search off for the evening and everyone waits to 86 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,080 see if Stephanie will show up to school in the morning. 87 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:58,520 The next day, Tuesday, October 12, when Stephanie doesn't show up at school, police start searching 88 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,680 again full tilt. 89 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,360 Hundreds of people show up to help search. 90 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:09,380 Worcester County Sheriff's Spokesperson says, quote, we're a small town and the community has turned 91 00:06:09,380 --> 00:06:11,320 out in full force. 92 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:16,360 A lot of people have closed their businesses and are out looking, end quote. 93 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:21,560 Police call in a search and rescue team, tracking dogs and horseback riders help cover rougher 94 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:22,880 terrain. 95 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:28,040 Police also launch an aerial search to cover more ground in the search for Stephanie. 96 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,280 Again the first place police focus is on Garden Creek. 97 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:35,960 They focus here as they worry that she drowned and was swept into the Salmon River. 98 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:40,360 They don't find any sign of her in the creek and a member of the fire department who was 99 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:45,920 helping search says, quote, my personal opinion is that Garden Creek isn't deep enough or 100 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,500 strong enough, end quote. 101 00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:53,380 As police find no sign of Stephanie at the creek or anywhere else around town, they start 102 00:06:53,380 --> 00:06:56,320 to worry that this is an abduction. 103 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:01,880 Her parents Ben and Sandy make a plea on local news saying, quote, please don't hurt her, 104 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,360 please bring her home, end quote. 105 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:09,600 On Wednesday, October 13th, so Stephanie has been missing since Monday, police announced 106 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:14,240 that the FBI will join the search as they consider more and more heavily that she was 107 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:15,880 abducted. 108 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:20,920 Police also announced that they're looking for a yellow truck with red pinstripes. 109 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,240 Police say that the car was seen in the area around the time that Stephanie disappeared 110 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:29,760 and since it was such a small community, they knew that this car didn't belong to anybody 111 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:30,760 in town. 112 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:36,480 However, this time of year, there's a lot of traffic in Challis due to the hunting season. 113 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:42,760 So people come from all over and drive through Challis to do deer and elk hunting. 114 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:47,720 The community is outraged that Stephanie could be a victim of a stranger abduction. 115 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,440 Nothing like this has ever happened in the small town before. 116 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:56,320 A community member says, quote, people here consider this utopia. 117 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:58,880 Things like this don't happen in Challis. 118 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:03,280 If something happens to one of your kids, you usually know before they get home. 119 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,480 That's why we're so outraged, end quote. 120 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:10,400 Another searcher quipped, quote, somebody wasn't looking out the window at the right 121 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,720 time, end quote. 122 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,920 Older students are excused from classes to help aid in the search. 123 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,680 These businesses either close down or work on a skeleton crew so that way more people 124 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:23,880 can be out searching. 125 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:28,800 The hunters that were in the area cancel their plans and descend on Challis and offer their 126 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:32,000 help to cover the more rugged terrain. 127 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:37,000 So many high schoolers volunteer to babysit kids so parents can search that at one point 128 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,080 they have more babysitters than kids. 129 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:45,120 The next day, Thursday, October 14th, the search continues throughout the day. 130 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:49,580 But as the hours tick by and there aren't any signs of Stephanie, police start telling 131 00:08:49,580 --> 00:08:54,440 people to go home and they start winding down the search efforts. 132 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,200 The search team is cut down to 20 people. 133 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,480 Fire chief Doyle Lamb says, quote, we're not giving up. 134 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:02,060 We're just scaling back. 135 00:09:02,060 --> 00:09:06,040 If something comes to you, even in a dream, let us know. 136 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,880 We're grasping at straws now, end quote. 137 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:14,240 The search had covered thousands of square miles between land and air searches. 138 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:18,000 The family is shocked by the lack of progress the search made. 139 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,120 They refuse to talk to media as they deal with their anger and grief. 140 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,880 They really thought that she would be home by now. 141 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:30,640 On Friday, October 15th, Stephanie has been missing since Monday, Custer County Sheriff 142 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,840 Al Finley makes a plea to the public during a news conference. 143 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:39,440 He asked that anyone who was in central Idaho mountain area on Monday to call him if they 144 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,760 saw anything unusual. 145 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:46,160 The sheriff is hopeful that with deer and elk season going on, more people were in the 146 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,960 area and may have noticed something. 147 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:53,840 He says to call no matter how small, quote, let us check it out. 148 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:58,000 Anyone who is in the area Monday, give us a call, end quote. 149 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:03,440 The smaller group of searchers are still looking in remote areas and double checking other 150 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,320 spots to make sure nothing was missed. 151 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:11,520 And that Friday evening is the homecoming game and dance for the high school. 152 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,680 The high schoolers paint everything in purple, Stephanie's favorite color. 153 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:20,240 They paint banners that say bring Stephanie home and the football team dedicate their 154 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:22,040 game to her. 155 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:26,520 All of the high school football players have a purple S on their helmets. 156 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:32,760 And over the past week, the community was able to raise $25,000 for reward fund, which 157 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:37,960 is quickly doubled to $50,000 by an anonymous donor. 158 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:43,360 Over the weekend in the next few days, family and friends cover Idaho in missing persons 159 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:44,360 flyers. 160 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:49,880 They leave stacks at truck stops asking truckers to take them out of state and they do. 161 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:55,040 They get pizza places to tape her missing person poster on the pizza boxes. 162 00:10:55,040 --> 00:11:00,000 Family and friends start focusing on getting the flyers all across the United States. 163 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:04,840 A volunteer says, quote, this is a huge country and the rest of the country doesn't know 164 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,520 who she is, end quote. 165 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:12,280 On Saturday, October 23rd, Stephanie has been missing for 12 days. 166 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:17,200 Police have created a sketch of a person of interest who was at the bowling alley when 167 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:21,360 Stephanie was there and her other friends who were playing in the league. 168 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:25,720 According to Stephanie's friends, this man had been watching them pretty intently from 169 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:27,640 inside the bowling alley. 170 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:32,360 And as no one had recognized him, they assumed that he was not from Challis. 171 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:37,880 A few days later, police start mentioning here that Stephanie was last seen by the school. 172 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:42,760 So this would have been in the opposite direction of her home as I previously mentioned. 173 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:46,660 Police also say that they're still looking for the yellow truck and that the truck had 174 00:11:46,660 --> 00:11:50,400 been parked at the school the day that Stephanie went missing. 175 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:55,720 The next day, October 29th, Stephanie has been missing for 18 days now. 176 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:59,160 Police announced that they are looking for Stephanie's great uncle. 177 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:01,920 He's wanted for a probation violation. 178 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:07,760 He had been serving probation for a DUI and the violation was from 1989. 179 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:12,440 Police want him for the violation and also to question him about the disappearance of 180 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:13,720 Stephanie. 181 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:18,460 Police also mention that her great uncle had a yellow truck as well. 182 00:12:18,460 --> 00:12:23,320 It takes a few weeks, but police are finally able to track him down in Colorado. 183 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:29,280 Police ultimately are able to eliminate him as a suspect as he had a strong alibi. 184 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:33,320 By the end of October, there seems to be a shift in the community. 185 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,900 They close their doors to the media. 186 00:12:35,900 --> 00:12:40,000 Police call the media a pain in their ass and no one wants to go on record to talk about 187 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,160 anything anymore. 188 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:47,960 In February of 1994, it's approaching four months since Stephanie vanished and her mom 189 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:52,560 goes on Jerry Springer with other mothers of missing children to raise awareness about 190 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:53,560 them. 191 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:57,920 This is before Jerry Springer kind of turns into what we think of Jerry Springer. 192 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,720 It was a more tame talk show in the beginning. 193 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:06,240 Police at this point don't have any new leads in the case and hope that the national attention 194 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,660 from the Jerry Springer show helps bring in more leads. 195 00:13:09,660 --> 00:13:15,000 They do conduct a search of a cistern in town that had been abandoned for years. 196 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,120 They want to make sure that she hadn't fallen in there or her body placed in there. 197 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:26,200 Police say that they didn't have any specific tip leading them to this cistern, but they 198 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:31,920 want to check every avenue and make sure that they are looking at everything for Stephanie. 199 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:37,960 On Tuesday, September 27th, 1994, the town gets together to celebrate what should have 200 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,140 been Stephanie's 10th birthday. 201 00:13:40,140 --> 00:13:44,480 It's just a few weeks before the one year anniversary of her disappearance and Stephanie's 202 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,480 family is trying to manage. 203 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:51,440 Stephanie's mom Sandy says, quote, We take it one day at a time. 204 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,560 That's all we can take right now. 205 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:55,720 I have a feeling she is alive. 206 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:59,720 She is alive until I find out different, end quote. 207 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:04,080 The case goes cold over the next year and by the end of 1995. 208 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:08,960 So it's been over two years now since Stephanie disappeared and her parents have gotten a 209 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:10,400 divorce. 210 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:14,920 Ben tells the media that the stress of Stephanie's disappearance was a driving force, but there 211 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,100 were other things too. 212 00:14:17,100 --> 00:14:21,420 Ben says that the police continue to question Sandy again and again. 213 00:14:21,420 --> 00:14:24,360 He says, quote, I still wonder about that. 214 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:29,080 It pretty much bothers me that they want to look at her again, end quote. 215 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:33,820 Sandy has been asked to undergo a polygraph test, but she maintains that she has no idea 216 00:14:33,820 --> 00:14:36,200 what happened to her daughter. 217 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:40,640 Sandy says, quote, They have just about accused me of killing my own daughter. 218 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:42,760 I can't see any mother doing it. 219 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:47,800 I just can't believe that a mother can kill her own kids, end quote. 220 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:52,740 Ben admits that he has no other reason to suspect his ex wife, except that the police 221 00:14:52,740 --> 00:14:55,120 kept wanting to talk to her. 222 00:14:55,120 --> 00:15:00,320 Sandy will pass away just a few years later in 1997, four years after the disappearance 223 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,600 of her daughter and without having any answers. 224 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:09,760 In December of 1999, so it's been over six years now, police secure an underwater camera 225 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,880 to search an old silver mine shaft. 226 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:16,440 They had gotten a tip that the girl's body could be found there. 227 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,320 However, nothing is recovered from the shaft. 228 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:25,320 As we enter the 2000s, two suspects come to light to the police. 229 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:31,360 So in 2000, it's been about seven years since Stephanie disappeared, and a man comes 230 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,660 to police attention. 231 00:15:33,660 --> 00:15:38,920 He was a convicted sex offender and drifted between Idaho and Oregon. 232 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,820 A woman who rented a room from the man is told by neighbors that they could hear screaming 233 00:15:43,820 --> 00:15:47,460 and a girl crying in the man's basement. 234 00:15:47,460 --> 00:15:51,760 The man wouldn't let anyone go into the basement at all. 235 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:57,320 Eventually, police will get a warrant to search the basement and they'll recover several items, 236 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:04,320 but it's all inconclusive and it can't be directly tied back to Stephanie. 237 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,560 Police will also interview the man and he'll undergo a polygraph test about Stephanie's 238 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:13,240 disappearance, which he fails according to police. 239 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:19,120 Police will interview him again years later in 2018, but they are very tight lipped about 240 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:20,120 who this man is. 241 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:25,160 They never publicly name him and they never give any details about the interviews, citing 242 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:27,320 that it's an ongoing investigation. 243 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:33,080 So I think that this person is a big suspect to police. 244 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:38,760 And then in 2002, so at that point, it had been nine years since Stephanie vanished, 245 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,880 police announced that they have a strong lead in the case. 246 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:47,800 A man named Keith Glenn Hescock, but he also went by Mark, may be involved in Stephanie's 247 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,080 disappearance. 248 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:57,640 Police are able to confirm that Hescock was in the Challis area on October 11th of 1993 249 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:02,920 hunting and during this time, he also owned a yellow pickup truck. 250 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:08,800 The way he comes to police attention is in 2002, he abducted another young girl when 251 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:12,720 she and her sister were outside sleeping on a trampoline. 252 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,360 He had handcuffed the young girl and left for work. 253 00:17:16,360 --> 00:17:21,000 While he was away at work, the young girl grabs a fire extinguisher and bashes on these 254 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:25,940 handcuffs until they release and she's able to escape and call police. 255 00:17:25,940 --> 00:17:31,960 When Hescock comes back to his house, police are waiting for him and they engage in a chase. 256 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:36,440 At the end of the chase, Hescock ends up taking his own life. 257 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:41,700 So police are never able to question him directly about Stephanie's disappearance. 258 00:17:41,700 --> 00:17:46,120 Police do obtain a search warrant for his home and take truckloads of evidence hoping 259 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:49,960 to be able to tie him to other unsolved crimes. 260 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:55,760 The girl who had escaped, she said that Hescock had told her that he had done this before 261 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:57,640 and he had killed the girl. 262 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:03,080 However, police are never able to tie him to Stephanie directly, but they say he is 263 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:06,200 still considered a suspect in the case. 264 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,960 This is where the case stands as of 2024. 265 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,240 Stephanie's case pops up in the media again and again over the years, but really there's 266 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,840 no new information or details released about the case. 267 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:27,240 She's also featured in a 2018 episode of ID Investigates Disappeared, but again, no new 268 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:31,840 details really emerge from this show. 269 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:38,040 So if you know anything about the disappearance of Stephanie Crane in October of 1993 or her 270 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:48,200 whereabouts today, please call the Custer County Sheriff Department at 208-879-2232. 271 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:52,840 So that is the case of Stephanie Crane. 272 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,840 This is a case that might be a little bit more well known to some of our listeners, 273 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:04,160 but for me, this was a case that I hadn't really ever heard about or looked into myself. 274 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:08,360 So when I came across Stephanie's case, it was something that I really wanted to look 275 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:10,280 into. 276 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:20,520 Some of my first reactions of this is how scary this case really is, like her being 277 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:27,760 seen in this parking lot after bowling by several people and then minutes later just 278 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:29,080 kind of vanishes. 279 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:34,000 Whenever there's those really tight timelines, it's always really scary to me. 280 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:40,400 It's just a reminder of how quickly these things can happen and really how in an instant 281 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,500 so many lives can change and be impacted. 282 00:19:44,500 --> 00:19:47,960 It's always just a scary reminder of that. 283 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:54,200 But I was also quite moved at how the community came out for Stephanie, hearing that these 284 00:19:54,200 --> 00:20:01,360 businesses closed and everyone was there to search or help support in the effort. 285 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:07,360 There's so many news stories about food being dropped off, volunteers with the babysitters, 286 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:10,200 having more babysitters than kids to watch. 287 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:14,160 Everyone really, it was all hands on deck for this community. 288 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:19,520 Everyone jumped in and everyone kind of had a role to play to try to support Stephanie 289 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:24,400 and her family and the police in trying to get some answers. 290 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:30,120 One of the first things that I wanted to do just to kind of understand the area is I looked 291 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:34,640 up Challice on Google Maps and it is a very small town. 292 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:39,200 Like a lot of the residential roads are still dirt roads. 293 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:44,680 And whenever I looked at Garden Creek, this creek that she had to cross in order to get 294 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:49,800 home from the bowling alley, it is a very small creek. 295 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:54,560 I know sometimes the word creek, it can kind of mean like a little bit of a strong body 296 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:55,560 of water. 297 00:20:55,560 --> 00:21:00,960 There's a lot of variations of what it is, but this is really just like a small creek. 298 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:05,940 I don't know how to explain it other than that, but when that fire department worker 299 00:21:05,940 --> 00:21:12,640 who was quoted was saying like in his opinion, it wasn't deep enough or strong enough, I 300 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,120 would think that this is pretty accurate. 301 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:22,240 I know that you can drown in a very little amount of water, but if something like that 302 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:27,520 had happened, if she slipped, fell, hit her head and tragically drowned, I do not think 303 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:31,800 that the creek would have been strong enough to push her body out to the river. 304 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,880 There just wasn't that much flow happening there. 305 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:41,320 So the fact that no sign was found of her in the creek, and I know they also searched 306 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:47,880 the Salmon River as well, it makes, it really does lean more towards the abduction, just 307 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:52,400 the way that she vanished without a trace completely. 308 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:57,440 Some of the questions that I have in this case, if I could sit down, read the case file 309 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:02,800 and ask investigators anything I wanted, I would really want to drill down into that 310 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:10,160 timeline between the bowling alley and her parents starting to call and notice that she's 311 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:11,840 missing. 312 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:17,360 So really like between 4pm and 530. 313 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:24,740 It does seem like she was at the bowling alley till about 430, 445 right in there. 314 00:22:24,740 --> 00:22:26,780 But then from there, there's a lot of questions. 315 00:22:26,780 --> 00:22:29,440 So I would just want to really clear that up for myself. 316 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:35,400 Like did her mom come before the start of all the games to pay for her bowling and shoes 317 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,360 and give her money for a snack? 318 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:43,480 Because the FBI does say that her mother was the last person to see her, but by these other 319 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:49,680 accounts that people say, her friend remembers talking to her as she was walking towards 320 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,840 the school, like she was waiting to cross the street to go towards the school. 321 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:58,980 So to me, it seems like that might have been one of the last people to see her outside 322 00:22:58,980 --> 00:23:00,600 of the abductor. 323 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:06,240 So I would just really want to clear up like that timeline between 4 and 530. 324 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:11,520 Just really understand who saw Stephanie, where did they see her, what were the circumstances 325 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:12,860 around it. 326 00:23:12,860 --> 00:23:18,960 My next questions in this case really surround the suspects that have kind of cropped up 327 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:20,240 in the 2000s. 328 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:26,480 So there's the drifter, the guy who kind of goes between Oregon and Idaho, and then there's 329 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,080 Hesscock. 330 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:35,000 So the drifter really interests me because, you know, police who interviewed this guy 331 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:40,720 and worked on Stephanie's case really like him as a suspect and they all felt that they 332 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:46,760 were close to maybe even getting a confession out of him about Stephanie, but they never 333 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:48,680 did obviously. 334 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:53,760 But the fact that they haven't released his name and haven't given a ton of details around 335 00:23:53,760 --> 00:24:00,120 him makes me think that they're really kind of trying to build a case around this guy. 336 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:06,200 And then again with the drifter, the story of the neighbors saying that they heard screams 337 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,520 and cries coming from the basement. 338 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:17,240 You know, like the true crime person in me and even beyond that, just the person in me 339 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:22,160 is like, how can you walk by a house and hear that? 340 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:27,400 And it does seem like they heard it more than once and not call police, not try to report 341 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:33,600 it, not try to get a welfare check done, especially when you hear that it's a kid. 342 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:40,840 Why was nobody trying to get help or trying to see what was going on here? 343 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:46,200 I know police did find some evidence in the basement. 344 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,660 There was blood, but testing came back inconclusive. 345 00:24:49,660 --> 00:24:53,400 They couldn't even tell if it was human or animal blood. 346 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:59,000 And then there was also some fibers and hair found on a rope, but they weren't able to 347 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:04,400 do any DNA sequencing because the follicle wasn't on the hair. 348 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:11,840 So there are these things that are there for this suspect, this guy, but it's just like 349 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:19,720 it's missing that piece to really be able to pin this and hopefully get some answers. 350 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,760 But it does sound like this drifter is still alive. 351 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:28,320 So hopefully there's possibility that police can go and question him again or more information 352 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:30,880 can come out about him. 353 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:38,580 And then the second person, Hescock, who died by suicide in the police chase, I have so 354 00:25:38,580 --> 00:25:45,240 many questions about, I don't necessarily believe suspects all the time, but there is 355 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:51,080 deeply a part of me that thinks that if he told the girl that he kidnapped, who ultimately 356 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:57,040 was able to escape, that he had done this before and killed the girl, I'm inclined to 357 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:58,960 believe him there. 358 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:05,520 You know, it's a pretty bold crime to kidnap anybody that's very bold, but also she was 359 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:11,400 sleeping outside next to her sister on a trampoline, which I'm assuming was, you know, right outside 360 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:12,400 their home. 361 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,120 So like this was a very bold crime. 362 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:20,200 So it seems like for someone to pull off that bold crime, they maybe would have done this 363 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:21,200 before. 364 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:27,680 Obviously there are outliners, people sometimes just do things that they've never done before. 365 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:32,520 But this is just one of those times where I'm inclined to believe him. 366 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:38,680 And so I have to believe that if it's not Stephanie, he's definitely tied to some other 367 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:42,320 missing person case, specifically of a young girl, it sounds like. 368 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:48,360 So I would be interested in learning more about him from investigators, what they know, 369 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,480 who they suspect could be involved. 370 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:58,600 But ultimately, for Stephanie and her sisters who are still alive, both of her parents have 371 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:03,840 passed now, but her sisters are all still alive and they want answers. 372 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:10,640 And I can't imagine what her sisters have gone through all these years and the impact 373 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:16,280 that Stephanie going missing has had on that family. 374 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:23,620 But Stephanie sisters and the rest of her family and the rest of Challis deserve answers. 375 00:27:23,620 --> 00:27:29,400 So many of her friends still live in that area and still remember her, still think about 376 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,000 that day and are still affected by it. 377 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:34,900 So the community really needs answers. 378 00:27:34,900 --> 00:27:40,400 This changed a town where people didn't lock their doors typically at night. 379 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:45,480 Basically overnight, everything changed and people locked the doors, walked their kids 380 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:48,880 everywhere, didn't let them ride their bikes. 381 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:50,760 They also need to answer for all of that. 382 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,760 And Stephanie deserves to come home. 383 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:58,600 And if she's still alive out there, again, we've seen it happen from time to time. 384 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:03,840 So there's always hope that this can happen for any missing person. 385 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:12,120 If she is alive out there, she deserves to come home and get to know her family and have 386 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,140 that relationship in her life again. 387 00:28:15,140 --> 00:28:19,440 And if she's no longer with us, she deserves to come home so that way she can be placed 388 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:25,040 to rest and her family knows where she is and knows where she's resting. 389 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:26,280 There needs to be answers. 390 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:31,320 And over the years, again and again, that's all the family has asked for is we just want 391 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:33,040 to know what has happened to her. 392 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,040 So that question needs to be answered. 393 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:42,900 Again, if you know anything about the disappearance of Stephanie Crane in October of 1993 or her 394 00:28:42,900 --> 00:28:52,960 whereabouts today, please call the Custer County Sheriff Department at 208-879-2232. 395 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,600 We'll have pictures of Stephanie up on our Instagram. 396 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:02,040 And the picture that we have and that is on the cover of this podcast is actually the 397 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,200 sweatshirt that she was last seen in that gimme sweatshirt. 398 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:08,100 So take a look at that. 399 00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:10,640 Please share around sharing your communities. 400 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:15,320 This is such a great way to advocate for the missing and murdered. 401 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:20,200 So be sure to check us out on Instagram at cold and missing will pop right up. 402 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:25,500 Again, if you have time this week or this weekend to leave us a review, I would appreciate 403 00:29:25,500 --> 00:29:26,680 it so much. 404 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:31,720 And if it motivates you just a little bit that it's my birthday this weekend, I would 405 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:36,040 appreciate it all the more you can do that on Apple podcast in your podcast player that 406 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:42,160 you're listening to right now, or you can go to our website www.coldenmissing.com. 407 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:46,920 We also have transcripts there if you or someone you love is hard of hearing, you can follow 408 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,400 along with the podcast there. 409 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:51,280 But that is all I have. 410 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,120 Thank you so much for listening to cold and missing. 411 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:55,800 I'm your host Ali. 412 00:29:55,800 --> 00:30:06,520 Have a good week and stay safe y'all.