WEBVTT 00:00:08.269 --> 00:00:10.789 The views and opinions expressed in Cold and 00:00:10.789 --> 00:00:13.710 Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All 00:00:13.710 --> 00:00:16.129 parties mentioned are considered innocent until 00:00:16.129 --> 00:00:18.929 proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing 00:00:18.929 --> 00:00:22.390 also contains adult themes and languages. Listener 00:00:22.390 --> 00:00:26.230 discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin 00:00:26.230 --> 00:00:29.010 -Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski. 00:00:29.230 --> 00:00:31.289 And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover 00:00:31.289 --> 00:00:35.149 cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone, 00:00:35.170 --> 00:00:37.560 and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:40.299 host, Ali, and it will just be me coming to you 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:43.320 this week. So right at the top, some exciting 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:46.159 news here in our household. But as many of you 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:50.100 may remember, Eli is an actor. And he's booked 00:00:50.100 --> 00:00:53.100 a gig here in our city. So for the next few months, 00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:55.579 he may be kind of in and out of the podcast since 00:00:55.579 --> 00:00:58.140 his nights are kind of filled up with rehearsals 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:00.780 now, which is very exciting. We're very happy. 00:01:00.859 --> 00:01:04.200 But he just may be a little in and out. So that's 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.939 just a heads up there. So it'll just be me this 00:01:06.939 --> 00:01:09.219 week. And then also, I just wanted to apologize. 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:12.370 I know there was no episode. last week and you 00:01:12.370 --> 00:01:14.969 know every other time I have been really good 00:01:14.969 --> 00:01:17.430 about updating our Instagram letting you all 00:01:17.430 --> 00:01:20.629 know but last week I didn't even update the Instagram 00:01:20.629 --> 00:01:23.450 so I just I want to apologize just from the top 00:01:23.450 --> 00:01:26.150 for not communicating with you all about why 00:01:26.150 --> 00:01:29.549 there was no new episode. Quite honestly last 00:01:29.549 --> 00:01:33.069 week my mental health was just not doing the 00:01:33.069 --> 00:01:37.030 best. I was having a very bad like anxiety week. 00:01:38.409 --> 00:01:42.409 Lots of panic attacks. So I was just having a 00:01:42.409 --> 00:01:44.430 really difficult mental health week last week. 00:01:44.530 --> 00:01:47.530 And even things like updating the Instagram just 00:01:47.530 --> 00:01:51.629 felt overwhelming. So I again, I apologize, but 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:55.849 I hope you will grant me grace and some understanding. 00:01:55.870 --> 00:02:00.209 And if any of you suffer with anxiety like that, 00:02:00.310 --> 00:02:03.950 I totally get it. And I'm sure. this relates 00:02:03.950 --> 00:02:07.430 to you but um yeah you know it's it's just part 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:11.909 of life and it's part of my life but I'm doing 00:02:11.909 --> 00:02:14.129 much better this week really was able to take 00:02:14.129 --> 00:02:16.750 care of myself and kind of get myself back in 00:02:16.750 --> 00:02:19.930 a good mood um and getting back into a routine 00:02:19.930 --> 00:02:22.310 is always really helpful for me so that means 00:02:22.310 --> 00:02:24.770 getting back into cold and missing so even though 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:28.129 Eli is a little busy this evening I still wanted 00:02:28.129 --> 00:02:31.030 to get on here and bring you a new episode So 00:02:31.030 --> 00:02:33.650 we'll just go ahead and get into it. I know we're 00:02:33.650 --> 00:02:35.509 normally pretty quick to get into our stories, 00:02:35.550 --> 00:02:38.009 but I just wanted to give you all a quick update 00:02:38.009 --> 00:02:41.490 at the top. But this week we are covering a cold 00:02:41.490 --> 00:02:48.250 case and we are on episode 156. And just as a 00:02:48.250 --> 00:02:50.310 bit of a content warning at the top, this case 00:02:50.310 --> 00:02:53.270 does involve a young person and there are mentions 00:02:53.270 --> 00:02:57.689 of sexual assault. Today, we are talking about 00:02:57.689 --> 00:03:01.310 the cold case of Linda Weldy. And this takes 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:05.389 place in February of 1987 in La Porte, Indiana. 00:03:06.530 --> 00:03:10.229 But first, a little bit about Linda. Linda Weldy 00:03:10.229 --> 00:03:14.330 is 10 years old in 1987. And she was exactly 00:03:14.330 --> 00:03:17.789 like a lot of other third graders. She was funny, 00:03:17.969 --> 00:03:21.169 easygoing, and a genuine light to her family. 00:03:21.969 --> 00:03:25.550 She loved watching comedy shows and had a happy, 00:03:25.669 --> 00:03:29.699 playful personality. She was a Girl Scout. a 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:33.659 good student, and a loyal friend. Linda was born 00:03:33.659 --> 00:03:40.280 on August 13, 1976. In 1987, when our timeline 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:43.259 picks up, she lived with her mother, Karen, and 00:03:43.259 --> 00:03:46.060 her older brother. Also living with them was 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:48.560 her mom's boyfriend at the time, Robert, but 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:52.300 her mom would later go on to marry him. They 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:55.280 all lived in a small home at the end of a dirt 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:00.719 lane at 181 West McClung Road in La Porte, Indiana. 00:04:00.939 --> 00:04:04.539 The house sat beside railroad tracks near Fishtrap 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:08.300 Lake and was surrounded by trees. But luckily 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:10.740 for Linda, there was another house on the lane 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:14.439 and there lived her best friend, Anna. When our 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:16.839 timeline picks up, Linda is around 4 feet 10 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:20.160 inches tall and weighed about 80 pounds. She 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:23.439 had blue eyes with light brown or dark blonde 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:27.129 hair, depending on who you talk to. She attended 00:04:27.129 --> 00:04:29.329 Critchfield Elementary School, where she was 00:04:29.329 --> 00:04:32.529 in the third grade. Her mother, Karen, worked 00:04:32.529 --> 00:04:34.850 at a factory, which meant Linda and her brother 00:04:34.850 --> 00:04:36.949 were often home in the evenings with Robert. 00:04:37.949 --> 00:04:40.889 One unique thing about the home at the time is 00:04:40.889 --> 00:04:44.029 that the home did not have a telephone. Communication 00:04:44.029 --> 00:04:47.589 was done using a CB radio. Their mother had a 00:04:47.589 --> 00:04:49.769 CB radio in the car, so that's primarily how 00:04:49.769 --> 00:04:54.069 they communicated. And now a timeline of events. 00:04:55.420 --> 00:05:01.699 Tuesday, February 24, 1987. So that Tuesday afternoon 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:06.899 was an ordinary day. By all reports, school was 00:05:06.899 --> 00:05:09.220 normal and nothing out of the ordinary took place. 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:12.839 Linda rode the school bus home from Critchfield 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:16.220 Elementary. Again, no students or the driver 00:05:16.220 --> 00:05:18.819 recalled anything unusual happening during the 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:23.000 ride. She got off the bus around 3 .30 p .m. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.579 at her usual stop on McClung Road. She only had 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:30.199 to walk about 200 yards to get to her home. However, 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:33.459 the dirt lane that she had to walk on was curved 00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:36.339 and surrounded by trees, so you couldn't see 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:41.740 her house from the main road. Witnesses at a 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:45.439 body shop on McClung Road saw her walk from the 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:48.480 bus to the mailbox and then start down the dirt 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:52.089 lane towards her home. Several students on the 00:05:52.089 --> 00:05:55.870 bus reported Linda doing the same thing. She 00:05:55.870 --> 00:05:58.769 was wearing a long brown coat, yellow pants, 00:05:58.990 --> 00:06:01.970 and pink tennis shoes. Her older brother Bill 00:06:01.970 --> 00:06:04.730 had gotten home about 30 minutes before her since 00:06:04.730 --> 00:06:07.949 he wasn't in elementary school. At the time that 00:06:07.949 --> 00:06:11.209 Linda got off the bus, Bill and Robert were outside 00:06:11.209 --> 00:06:15.069 of their home installing a radio antenna. Even 00:06:15.069 --> 00:06:17.430 though they were both outside, Neither one of 00:06:17.430 --> 00:06:20.509 them saw Linda get off of the bus because the 00:06:20.509 --> 00:06:22.250 dirt lane was curved. They wouldn't have been 00:06:22.250 --> 00:06:25.250 able to, but they never saw Linda appear. And 00:06:25.250 --> 00:06:28.610 neither one of them heard anything. Linda's best 00:06:28.610 --> 00:06:32.050 friend, Anna, who also lived along that same 00:06:32.050 --> 00:06:35.389 dirt lane, she rode a different bus, but they 00:06:35.389 --> 00:06:38.930 typically got home around the same time. Anna 00:06:38.930 --> 00:06:42.829 says that she never saw Linda that day. At some 00:06:42.829 --> 00:06:46.199 point during that short walk, From the road to 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:50.860 her house, Linda vanished. Because Karen, Linda's 00:06:50.860 --> 00:06:54.699 mom, worked nights, no one immediately realized 00:06:54.699 --> 00:06:58.339 that Linda was critically missing. Robert and 00:06:58.339 --> 00:07:00.500 Bill assumed she had gone to a friend's house, 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:03.319 something that she had done occasionally, though 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:05.339 she had always let someone know where she was 00:07:05.339 --> 00:07:08.220 going. But maybe she had just forgotten this 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:11.100 time. Or maybe she had just told her mom, Karen, 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:14.639 who was at work. As it got later and later... 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:17.779 Robert and Bill thought that Linda must be staying 00:07:17.779 --> 00:07:20.620 the night with a friend. Because there wasn't 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:23.019 a phone in the home, they couldn't quickly call 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:26.199 Karen to check to see if Linda had told her anything. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:32.160 So finally, at around 11 .30pm, Karen left work 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:36.540 and went into her car. Over the CB radio, Robert 00:07:36.540 --> 00:07:41.100 told her, quote, Linda did not come home. Immediately, 00:07:41.769 --> 00:07:44.069 Karen knew something was deeply wrong and her 00:07:44.069 --> 00:07:47.829 daughter had been missing. At this point, it 00:07:47.829 --> 00:07:50.170 had been eight hours since Linda was last seen. 00:07:50.949 --> 00:07:53.990 Karen did not go home first. She drove straight 00:07:53.990 --> 00:07:56.569 to the police station and she reported her daughter 00:07:56.569 --> 00:08:00.269 missing that night. Just after midnight on Wednesday, 00:08:00.389 --> 00:08:04.589 February 25th, 1987, Linda was officially reported 00:08:04.589 --> 00:08:08.569 missing. Police began searching the area around 00:08:08.569 --> 00:08:12.259 the house immediately. As daylight broke, a helicopter 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:14.639 was launched over the rural landscape to help 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:19.100 cover more area. Robert told investigators it 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:22.180 was unlike Linda to not come home or at least 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:25.959 inform someone where she was. Investigators briefly 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:28.279 considered whether her biological father could 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:31.220 be involved, but Robert dismissed this idea, 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:34.799 saying he had not seen Linda in a long time and 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:38.490 likely would not even recognize her. Fish Trap 00:08:38.490 --> 00:08:41.230 Lake sat near the home, but it was covered by 00:08:41.230 --> 00:08:44.990 a thin layer of ice. Authorities did not initially 00:08:44.990 --> 00:08:48.649 search the lake, though later they will. At the 00:08:48.649 --> 00:08:50.990 time, they assumed that if she had gone into 00:08:50.990 --> 00:08:53.990 the lake, the ice would have been broken. While 00:08:53.990 --> 00:08:56.909 they're searching, police also learned that Anna, 00:08:57.169 --> 00:09:00.909 Linda's best friend who lived next door, her 00:09:00.909 --> 00:09:03.649 family had been receiving threatening phone calls. 00:09:04.620 --> 00:09:07.220 It does appear that police investigate this, 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:10.360 but they don't think the calls are related. According 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:13.120 to Anna's family, they knew the relative that 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:15.120 was kind of making these harassing phone calls, 00:09:15.179 --> 00:09:18.639 so they don't think it's related. Despite the 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.159 helicopter searches and the massive ground search, 00:09:21.460 --> 00:09:25.539 no trace of Linda was found. The next day, Thursday, 00:09:25.740 --> 00:09:29.059 February 26th, so Linda has been missing for 00:09:29.059 --> 00:09:32.320 two days now. Authorities set up a roadblock 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:36.139 on McClung Road. And they began stopping hundreds 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:39.159 of drivers who traveled that route around the 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:42.960 time Linda disappeared. Sheriff Kenneth Layton 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:45.879 later expressed disbelief that no one had seen 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:48.639 anything suspicious on such a heavily traveled 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:52.019 road. But that seemed to be the case. They couldn't 00:09:52.019 --> 00:09:55.279 find one witness that had seen Linda that afternoon. 00:09:56.899 --> 00:09:59.659 Police continue searching and interviewing people 00:09:59.659 --> 00:10:03.779 for days. On Sunday, March 1st, so... Linda has 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:07.000 been missing for five days, investigators begin 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:10.399 retracing their steps. Every known lead that 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:14.659 they had had been exhausted. At this point, police 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:17.460 publicly stated that they did not believe Linda 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:20.820 had been abducted. Their reasoning was that an 00:10:20.820 --> 00:10:23.379 abduction would likely have been heard by her 00:10:23.379 --> 00:10:27.740 brother or Robert or employees at the nearby 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:31.500 body shop. Furthermore, the heavily traveled 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:33.980 McClung Road would have left witnesses to the 00:10:33.980 --> 00:10:38.220 abduction. However, there was also no indications 00:10:38.220 --> 00:10:41.740 that she had run away. Linda had never done that 00:10:41.740 --> 00:10:44.840 before, and there were no problems at home or 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:47.659 at school. There was nothing reported missing 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:50.259 from her room, and none of her friends reported 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:52.700 saying that she had talked about running away. 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:55.659 So if she wasn't abducted and she didn't run 00:10:55.659 --> 00:11:00.169 away, then where was Linda? On Tuesday, March 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:02.870 3rd, so Linda has been missing for one week now, 00:11:03.110 --> 00:11:06.110 and police say that they have interviewed thousands 00:11:06.110 --> 00:11:09.509 of people by this point. Officers from multiple 00:11:09.509 --> 00:11:12.309 agencies assisted in the search and interviews, 00:11:12.629 --> 00:11:15.549 and still no leads on what happened to Linda. 00:11:16.649 --> 00:11:19.970 Sheriff Layton admitted frustration, saying investigators 00:11:19.970 --> 00:11:23.210 had gone over the case repeatedly and still could 00:11:23.210 --> 00:11:27.149 not come up with anything. On March 12th of 1987, 00:11:27.509 --> 00:11:31.200 so this is 16 days she's been missing now, police 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:33.919 searched the railroad tracks that ran just west 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.940 of the home. They began walking them and then 00:11:36.940 --> 00:11:40.320 walked them about a mile past Linda's house looking 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:43.200 for any clues, but again, they turned up nothing. 00:11:44.539 --> 00:11:48.860 A few days later, on Tuesday, March 17th, Linda 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:51.879 had been missing for 21 days at this point. At 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:55.299 approximately 1 .30 p .m., A farmer planting 00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:58.720 oats in a field discovered a small body in a 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:02.639 brushy area. The girl's fully clothed body was 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:07.440 found about seven miles south of La Porte. Police 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.240 said the area was near railroad tracks southeast 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:14.840 of Kingsbury, but north of US 6. The highway 00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:19.059 is about a mile south of Kingsbury. Ultimately, 00:12:19.059 --> 00:12:22.799 it was Linda. She was found face down, fully 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:25.990 clothed. still wearing the same outfit she had 00:12:25.990 --> 00:12:28.669 on when she stepped off the bus about three weeks 00:12:28.669 --> 00:12:32.809 earlier. One of her hands clutched a handful 00:12:32.809 --> 00:12:36.250 of grass, according to reports. Police think 00:12:36.250 --> 00:12:38.309 that this suggests that she had tried to run 00:12:38.309 --> 00:12:42.309 or fight back. According to police, no significant 00:12:42.309 --> 00:12:45.809 effort had been made to conceal her body, but 00:12:45.809 --> 00:12:49.309 her body was placed in an area that could not 00:12:49.309 --> 00:12:51.850 be seen from the nearby road, which was only 00:12:51.850 --> 00:12:55.389 about 50 yards away. This led investigators to 00:12:55.389 --> 00:12:58.029 believe that the killer likely knew the area. 00:12:59.230 --> 00:13:01.809 When they first discovered the body, investigators 00:13:01.809 --> 00:13:04.190 said that she had been dead for several days 00:13:04.190 --> 00:13:08.049 but declined to be more specific. Later conclusions 00:13:08.049 --> 00:13:11.549 suggested that she likely had been killed shortly 00:13:11.549 --> 00:13:15.590 after she disappeared. A footprint was found 00:13:15.590 --> 00:13:19.149 on the back of her coat. An autopsy is conducted 00:13:19.149 --> 00:13:22.509 overnight to determine the cause of death. which 00:13:22.509 --> 00:13:26.470 was strangulation, likely by hand. Linda didn't 00:13:26.470 --> 00:13:29.350 have any broken bones, but she had been beaten, 00:13:29.470 --> 00:13:33.470 according to police. The autopsy will also show 00:13:33.470 --> 00:13:37.009 that she had been sexually assaulted. The next 00:13:37.009 --> 00:13:40.330 day on March 18th, one day after the discovery, 00:13:40.730 --> 00:13:43.649 investigators head back to the farm and conduct 00:13:43.649 --> 00:13:46.389 an extensive search of the area, looking for 00:13:46.389 --> 00:13:50.080 any clues, any evidence that they can bag. We 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:52.620 know from later reports that police are able 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:55.080 to gather evidence from the scene, but there 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:58.279 aren't specific details at this time on what 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:02.440 they were able to collect. On Friday, March 20th, 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:05.299 just three days after her body was found, memorial 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:08.820 services were held for Linda. Hundreds came out 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:13.960 to pay their respects. On Sunday, March 22nd, 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:18.889 this is five days after the discovery, Police 00:14:18.889 --> 00:14:21.210 expressed confidence that they were moving in 00:14:21.210 --> 00:14:24.750 the right direction. Investigators believed Linda 00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:27.370 knew her killer and that the person was familiar 00:14:27.370 --> 00:14:29.809 with the remote area where her body was found. 00:14:30.789 --> 00:14:33.450 However, this location was kind of known to a 00:14:33.450 --> 00:14:36.990 lot of people. It was known locally as kind of 00:14:36.990 --> 00:14:40.210 a lover's lane spot and was a popular deer hunting 00:14:40.210 --> 00:14:45.409 area. At this point, the investigation really 00:14:45.409 --> 00:14:49.490 does seem to be heating up. But then it stalls. 00:14:50.610 --> 00:14:54.750 The next update comes in June of 1987. So that's 00:14:54.750 --> 00:14:58.090 nearly four months since the murder. Police acknowledge 00:14:58.090 --> 00:15:01.250 that they have suspects in the case, but there 00:15:01.250 --> 00:15:03.549 have been no arrests and they don't name the 00:15:03.549 --> 00:15:06.090 suspect. So we don't know who they're looking 00:15:06.090 --> 00:15:11.610 at. In September of 1987, so six months since 00:15:11.610 --> 00:15:15.679 the murder, Sergeant John Thorpe publicly stated 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.080 he believed only one person was responsible, 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:21.759 someone who was well -known to the Weldy home. 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:26.139 He theorized Linda went with the person voluntarily 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:30.200 because she knew him and trusted him. Police 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:32.379 believed she had been approached while walking 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:35.080 down the dirt lane from the road to her house. 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:38.220 Whoever was able to take Linda away from her 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:41.039 home was able to do so without raising any alarm 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:44.970 or suspicion. Despite this confidence that police 00:15:44.970 --> 00:15:49.169 seem to have, no suspects are named and no arrests 00:15:49.169 --> 00:15:53.090 are made. And very quickly, the case goes cold. 00:15:53.990 --> 00:15:57.190 For years, there doesn't seem to be any updates 00:15:57.190 --> 00:16:02.649 on the case until July of 1998. So that's over 00:16:02.649 --> 00:16:07.269 11 years since the murder. And in 1998, investigators 00:16:07.269 --> 00:16:10.250 sought federal assistance to review evidence 00:16:10.250 --> 00:16:13.879 using new technology. So at this point, they 00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:18.419 were hoping to get DNA. And police say that among 00:16:18.419 --> 00:16:22.299 the items examined were strands of copper speaker 00:16:22.299 --> 00:16:26.399 wire found on Linda's clothing and in the trunk 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:29.960 of a suspect vehicle. So they wanted to test 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:33.940 those items. And then they also wanted to test 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:36.419 the footprint impression that was on the back 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:39.840 of her coat to see if the dirt from that impression 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:44.549 could... give them any more clues. Despite a 00:16:44.549 --> 00:16:48.350 significant amount of physical evidence, it doesn't 00:16:48.350 --> 00:16:50.789 appear that any conclusive results come back 00:16:50.789 --> 00:16:55.210 from this testing. After that, the case really 00:16:55.210 --> 00:16:58.909 seems to go cold. Linda's family does an incredible 00:16:58.909 --> 00:17:01.610 job, specifically her mother does a really incredible 00:17:01.610 --> 00:17:05.069 job of keeping her story in the media and advocating 00:17:05.069 --> 00:17:08.539 for her daughter. Karen has talked publicly over 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:10.799 the years about the pain of losing her daughter 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:14.200 and how she's still seeking justice in this case. 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:19.319 But that is truly all we know about the murder 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:23.160 of Linda Weldy. So if you know anything about 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:26.640 the murder of Linda Weldy in February of 1987, 00:17:27.220 --> 00:17:31.720 please call the LaPorte County Police at 219 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:39.859 -326 -7700. So that is the cold case of Linda 00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:43.500 Weldy. I say this a lot on this podcast. I had 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:46.119 never heard of this case before. In fact, most 00:17:46.119 --> 00:17:48.900 of the cases on this podcast, I've never heard 00:17:48.900 --> 00:17:51.039 of before. But it just always feels shocking 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:54.960 to me that I don't know these stories. So I just 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:57.900 always feel like I have to say it. But it rings 00:17:57.900 --> 00:18:01.200 true here. I never heard of this story. But it's 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:04.259 also strange because I grew up not that far from 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:09.180 La Porte. I grew up in Indiana, and Laporte, 00:18:09.259 --> 00:18:12.420 you know, would be in the local news if something, 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:14.339 you know, kind of crazy had happened there. So, 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:17.559 like, it's strange that I wasn't familiar with 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:19.680 this case. I had never heard of it, not even 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:24.119 vaguely. So when I came across it, I wanted to 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:26.079 get into this case and really research it and 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:30.380 understand what happened for myself. And I was 00:18:30.380 --> 00:18:34.450 really excited to learn about Linda. Right away, 00:18:34.549 --> 00:18:38.470 a lot of people spoke about how funny she was. 00:18:38.970 --> 00:18:43.390 And, you know, she had all these other very amazing 00:18:43.390 --> 00:18:46.990 qualities. You know, she was kind, loyal friend, 00:18:47.170 --> 00:18:51.789 good friend, easygoing, a Girl Scout. But she 00:18:51.789 --> 00:18:54.170 was funny. That's something that I read again 00:18:54.170 --> 00:18:57.829 and again about her. So I just really enjoyed 00:18:57.829 --> 00:19:01.099 that fact. And I felt like I kind of... knew 00:19:01.099 --> 00:19:04.420 that funny kid, that funny 10 -year -old. But 00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:07.799 I also think that her heart, how good her heart 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:11.420 was, just really underscores how tragic this 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:15.460 case truly is and what a light that was taken 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:20.539 from this world. Truly a horrific case, as any 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:23.559 child's murder is or missing child. Like, they're 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:26.839 all horrific. But, man, again and again, I'm... 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:30.700 I feel floored that there are monsters like this 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:34.759 in this world that would do this to anybody, 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:39.160 let alone children. But that really brings us 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:43.859 right into Linda's case. Lots of questions in 00:19:43.859 --> 00:19:47.160 this case. One of the first things I did was 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:49.619 kind of pull up McClung Road and just kind of 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:58.009 get a visual. Where Linda was living in 1987 00:19:58.009 --> 00:20:00.809 is no longer there. There's actually like a like 00:20:00.809 --> 00:20:05.569 a veterans post, like a VF hall. But there's 00:20:05.569 --> 00:20:07.710 like a building there now. But there used to 00:20:07.710 --> 00:20:12.289 be homes there, at least two for sure. Linda's 00:20:12.289 --> 00:20:15.329 home. And then we know her best friend Anna lived 00:20:15.329 --> 00:20:17.869 there as well. So I kind of pulled it up just 00:20:17.869 --> 00:20:19.710 so I could get the visual because there's this 00:20:19.710 --> 00:20:22.549 busy McClung Road that's traveled on frequently. 00:20:22.890 --> 00:20:26.690 And then off of it is this. you know, longish 00:20:26.690 --> 00:20:31.549 but not too long dirt path that kind of curves 00:20:31.549 --> 00:20:33.609 through the trees. So I just really wanted to 00:20:33.609 --> 00:20:38.390 get the visual because that small dirt lane, 00:20:38.490 --> 00:20:41.509 that small stretch is really where this case, 00:20:41.609 --> 00:20:44.509 so much of it takes place and where all the questions 00:20:44.509 --> 00:20:48.150 are. We know she gets off the bus. The bus driver 00:20:48.150 --> 00:20:52.849 sees her. Students see her. And there's a body 00:20:52.849 --> 00:20:56.029 shop kind of across the street from where the 00:20:56.029 --> 00:20:58.869 dirt lane is where workers also see her get off 00:20:58.869 --> 00:21:02.210 the bus. And according to multiple witnesses, 00:21:02.410 --> 00:21:05.089 she gets off the bus, she walks to the mailbox, 00:21:05.170 --> 00:21:09.130 and then she starts down the dirt lane, presumably 00:21:09.130 --> 00:21:15.289 towards her home. And to just make it all even 00:21:15.289 --> 00:21:19.309 stranger, her older brother is outside with... 00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:23.440 Her mom's boyfriend, who later becomes her her 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:27.859 mom's husband, Robert. So her older brother and 00:21:27.859 --> 00:21:30.960 Robert are outside and they don't hear anything. 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:37.380 They don't see anything. So what happened? So 00:21:37.380 --> 00:21:40.440 many questions. And I really just I keep going 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:50.700 in circles around this. To get her to go without 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:54.920 creating a commotion, suspicion, you know, even 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.140 getting somebody to look twice or register what 00:21:57.140 --> 00:21:59.019 they're seeing, like it would have to be like 00:21:59.019 --> 00:22:03.460 a pretty normal encounter. So that's why police 00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:06.299 go down that road. But, you know, I have to question, 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:09.980 like, is there a chance that somebody ambushed 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:12.779 her and, you know, was able to... Make sure she 00:22:12.779 --> 00:22:15.579 couldn't scream out, you know, put a hand over 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:17.859 the mouth. Like, is there a world where that 00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:20.099 happened? I didn't include this in the timeline, 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:22.059 but I just wanted to talk about it here because 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:25.420 her family does talk about this. But the family 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:28.519 thinks that there's a chance that Linda could 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:32.420 be the victim of the serial killer Larry Hall. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:36.079 He appears to have operated in the Midwest and 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:40.099 he has. If I'm not mistaken, he has two for sure 00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:43.200 victims that he had a trial for or committed 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:46.200 of, but there's suspicion that there were more. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:49.440 He confessed to a lot, but, you know, sometimes 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:52.619 the confessions aren't always true. So that is 00:22:52.619 --> 00:22:55.039 something that her family has heavily considered 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:57.779 over the years. And there are some things that 00:22:57.779 --> 00:23:00.880 with Larry Hall's MO that kind of fit into place 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:06.240 in Linda's case. However, police seem to dismiss 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:09.220 this and they say they looked into it, but they 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:13.880 they still think and, you know, as late as like 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:17.380 2014, like saying that they believe that Linda 00:23:17.380 --> 00:23:20.839 knew her killer. And they seem to have some evidence 00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:26.180 that suggests this as well. I also wonder if. 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:30.539 The person that police suspected is because it 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:33.579 really sounds like they have a specific person 00:23:33.579 --> 00:23:36.740 in mind or definitely at certain parts. They've 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:38.539 had it seems like they've had a specific person 00:23:38.539 --> 00:23:40.720 in mind. So, you know, if I could know anything 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:44.000 about the case, I would wonder, you know, has 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:49.380 the suspect. Has it been a specific person since 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:52.759 1987 when we first kind of hear about, you know, 00:23:52.779 --> 00:23:55.740 a specific suspect the police have in mind? Or, 00:23:55.740 --> 00:23:58.059 you know, has that changed over the years? Has 00:23:58.059 --> 00:24:00.519 it shifted from one person to the next for one 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.200 reason or the other? So I would be just curious 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:05.940 to know who that person is. But, you know, that 00:24:05.940 --> 00:24:09.359 one piece of evidence that they mentioned, the 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:16.210 copper speaker wire. So I think that's... a pretty 00:24:16.210 --> 00:24:21.650 significant detail that was reported on and according 00:24:21.650 --> 00:24:26.089 to reports that wire was found on Linda's clothing 00:24:26.089 --> 00:24:31.789 and then police also say they found similar wire 00:24:31.789 --> 00:24:37.990 in the trunk of a suspect's car so you know it's 00:24:37.990 --> 00:24:40.130 mentioned it's speaker wire I don't know how 00:24:40.130 --> 00:24:42.569 common of a speaker wire it is I don't know if 00:24:42.569 --> 00:24:46.349 it would be in a lot of trunks but that detail 00:24:46.349 --> 00:24:48.769 definitely stood out to me and so I would be 00:24:48.769 --> 00:24:53.670 so curious to know what else police have done 00:24:53.670 --> 00:24:57.950 to look at that suspect if they've learned anything 00:24:57.950 --> 00:25:01.069 else about this wire it does seem like police 00:25:01.069 --> 00:25:04.029 are pretty firm the wire was not used in the 00:25:04.029 --> 00:25:06.230 murder it just seems to have been something that 00:25:06.230 --> 00:25:09.130 like got on her clothing like through transfer 00:25:09.130 --> 00:25:14.940 so That's a huge question I have. But to me, 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.220 that also suggests that there's maybe more evidence. 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:21.440 And, you know, I know they tested, you know, 00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:24.920 they were looking at this wire in, I think it 00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:28.259 was 1990. Let me double check my notes. 1990, 00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:32.880 1998. That's when they were looking to get all 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:36.079 this stuff retested. I would think they've gone 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:38.440 back to look at the evidence and see if anything 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:41.200 else could be retested. But I would be so curious 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:46.380 if in 2026, with the technology advances we have, 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:49.740 is there anything that was collected that could 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:53.740 potentially be tested? I would be so curious 00:25:53.740 --> 00:25:57.940 to know if we have a DNA hit in this case. I 00:25:57.940 --> 00:26:00.460 presume it's, if there is, you know, there's 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:04.160 never been a match. I just I really want to hold 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:08.000 out hope that in, you know, 2026, we could test 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:10.539 something and find out something new. You know, 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:13.119 I know police even wanted to, like, look into 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:16.900 the dirt that was on the the back of her coat, 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:20.140 like the footprint that was left on the back 00:26:20.140 --> 00:26:22.960 of her coat to look into the dirt of that footprint 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:27.059 to see if that could lead them anywhere specific. 00:26:27.180 --> 00:26:29.140 Like, is there anything in that dirt that is 00:26:29.140 --> 00:26:31.990 just like. Super specific to one area. So I would 00:26:31.990 --> 00:26:34.289 be curious to see if anything ever came from 00:26:34.289 --> 00:26:39.589 that. Ultimately, I just I really want resources 00:26:39.589 --> 00:26:42.670 put into Linda's case. This feels like a case 00:26:42.670 --> 00:26:45.930 that absolutely could be solved. It almost feels 00:26:45.930 --> 00:26:50.750 like there's maybe a suspect that could be held 00:26:50.750 --> 00:26:53.450 accountable. You know, just that that detail 00:26:53.450 --> 00:26:55.890 of the footprint on the back of her coat, like 00:26:55.890 --> 00:26:59.420 that makes me sick to think that somebody. you 00:26:59.420 --> 00:27:03.039 know stepped on her I just somebody needs to 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:06.220 be held accountable for taking this little girl's 00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:11.079 life and discarding her and taking her away from 00:27:11.079 --> 00:27:14.640 her family it's really hard to think about this 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:17.299 little girl's killer just being free for so many 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:20.559 years people who commit these crimes they have 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:22.819 to slip up at some point you know they have to 00:27:22.819 --> 00:27:26.259 mention something in a fit of rage you know when 00:27:26.259 --> 00:27:30.460 they're drunk or high even when they're sleeping 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:32.319 if they talk in their sleep like something has 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.920 to be mentioned that somebody else just picks 00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:40.460 up on I I really believe that because um I at 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:41.619 the end of the day I just don't think they're 00:27:41.619 --> 00:27:44.180 that smart uh to like get away with this you 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:46.480 know they're not um criminal masterminds I think 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:50.910 it's dumb luck that they've gotten away um gotten 00:27:50.910 --> 00:27:53.309 away with it this long but I feel like it's only 00:27:53.309 --> 00:27:55.809 a matter of time until somebody comes forward 00:27:55.809 --> 00:27:58.890 with what they know before technology catches 00:27:58.890 --> 00:28:01.390 up with what the evidence is and we're able to 00:28:01.390 --> 00:28:04.670 get more information from what we have ultimately 00:28:04.670 --> 00:28:07.289 I have to believe those things will happen in 00:28:07.289 --> 00:28:11.150 all of these cases that we cover here but I have 00:28:11.150 --> 00:28:12.650 to believe it's going to happen in Linda's case 00:28:12.650 --> 00:28:16.180 I really believe that it can but again if you 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:18.799 know anything about the murder of linda weldy 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:23.099 in february of 1987 please call the laporte county 00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:56.099 police at 219 -326 -7700 Um, I... am committed 00:28:56.099 --> 00:28:58.579 to keeping updated and I've been doing it really 00:28:58.579 --> 00:29:02.079 good for over three years so I plan to keep you 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:04.599 updated if we ever need to take a week off unexpectedly 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:08.019 in the future. If you or someone you love needs 00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:10.440 transcripts to follow along because you are hard 00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:14.099 of hearing we have them on our website www .coldandmissing 00:29:14.099 --> 00:29:17.240 .com along with all of our past episodes so if 00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:19.059 you're looking for something specific it might 00:29:19.059 --> 00:29:22.180 be on there. And then if you have some time, 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:24.380 if you could leave us a five -star review, it 00:29:24.380 --> 00:29:26.720 goes a long way in getting others to find our 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:29.279 podcast, to listen to the podcast, to give it 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:31.599 a chance. And so that means ultimately it gets 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:34.819 stories like Linda's out there and all the other 00:29:34.819 --> 00:29:37.200 stories that we covered that maybe don't get 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:39.660 the most coverage in the podcast world or, you 00:29:39.660 --> 00:29:42.140 know, just in the true crime world. So five stars 00:29:42.140 --> 00:29:44.440 really goes a long way. And if you've done it 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:47.180 already, thank you, thank you, thank you. If 00:29:47.180 --> 00:29:49.200 you haven't done it yet. That's totally okay. 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:53.019 Today's a new day. Maybe do it today. But that 00:29:53.019 --> 00:29:56.079 is all I have for you this week. Thank you so 00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:58.059 much for listening to Cold and Missing, for sticking 00:29:58.059 --> 00:30:01.359 with us, for being patient with me. I genuinely 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:05.039 so appreciate it. I'm your host, Ali. Have 00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:06.480 a good week and stay safe, y 'all.