1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: This story contains adult content and language. Listener discretion is advised. Hi, 2 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: thank you for letting me hope around a little bit. 3 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: I'm taking a tour of this massive shrimping boat, the Barbara. 4 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: It's moored on a dock in Aransas Pass. This is 5 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: the off season for shrimping in the Gulf. The engine 6 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: noise is so loud it's almost overpowering, and there's so 7 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: much equipment like ropes and pulleys and boxes. It's really 8 00:00:53,000 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: easy to trip over all of it. The captain gives 9 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: me a tour of the quarters for the deckhands. They're 10 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 1: really tight. Some people can't make it on here for 11 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: more than a few days before they beg to be 12 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: carried back to land. Former prisoners often do the best 13 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: on these boats because they're used to being in confined places. 14 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: This boat goes to the golf for a few months 15 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: at a time, and it's not year round. They might 16 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: only go out for four months a year, and there's 17 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:32,400 Speaker 1: no guarantee they'll catch enough shrimp to actually make money. 18 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: When Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in two thousand and five, 19 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: gas prices soared. People lost a lot of money. This 20 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: is a tough business. This industry, the shrimping industry is 21 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: much smaller now here in Aransas Pass than it used 22 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: to be, But shrimpers helped develop this town. And the 23 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: people who worked on the boats in the Gulf could 24 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 1: be shifty in the nineteen thirties. Maybe they knew what 25 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: happened to Dorothy Simons. We're back at the ocean, this 26 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: time at night. Remember I said that the ocean plays 27 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: a very important role in this story. The local teenagers 28 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: like to go swimming hair after sunset. It felt a 29 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: little dangerous, and it was Dorothy and her friends liked 30 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: to go to Redfish Bay. It's a triangular shaped area 31 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 1: between Aransas Pass and Port Ransis. Redfish Bay is bordered 32 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: on the north by Ransas Bay and on the south 33 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: by the Corpus Christie Ship Channel. It's not a large 34 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: open water area. Redfish Bay is actually a complex set 35 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: of islands and grass flats and channels, and it's really 36 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:54,239 Speaker 1: not that deep where Dorothy liked to swim. Texas in 37 00:02:54,360 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: July is hot, so a nighttime swim sounds wonderful. You 38 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,519 Speaker 1: could take a small boat out if you were a fisherman, 39 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: drop a line and catch redfish. Of course, along with 40 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: some black drum and crabs. But there might be something 41 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: else in the water at night, the occasional shark. Dorothy 42 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,839 Speaker 1: had gone down there on July twenty ninth, nineteen thirty one, 43 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: after choir practice. Maybe swimming at night wasn't a good idea. 44 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: The Simon's family home was quiet that night, but the 45 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: following morning everything changed. Agnes Simons was in a panic. 46 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: Her adored daughter was nowhere to be found, and no 47 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: one seemed to know anything. Of course, this is before 48 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: cell phones. By the nineteen thirties, the old candlestick phones 49 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: were replaced with the more current rotary doll phones, and 50 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: before the nineteen thirties, you would have to go through 51 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: an operator to reach someone in an emergency like the 52 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: one happening to the Simon's family. When Dorothy went missing 53 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: early that Friday evening, eighteen year old Dorothy Simons left 54 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: her home on South Commercial Street. Her youngest brother, Joe, 55 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,559 Speaker 1: sat on the porch watching his sister walk towards Saint 56 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 1: Mary's Catholic Church. Dorothy was on her way to choir practice, 57 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: or so she said. Dorothy was responsible, but she was 58 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: a young adult who was still exploring her independence. And 59 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: doesn't everyone deserve a few secrets. At this point, that's 60 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 1: all we know for sure, and that's what's so fascinating 61 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: and frustrating about this case. We might have a lot 62 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: of details, but most of them are murky at best. 63 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: My investigator research, along with Bill Strain's turned up all 64 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 1: kinds of rumors about what happened next. I found many 65 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: of them on Bill's blog, and I dug deep to 66 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: find additional ones, like through newspaper articles or police reports. 67 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: It's not easy finding information from a century ago. In 68 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: a small town. A lot of people don't even know 69 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: about this story, and even local news reports from that 70 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 1: time were conflicting. In my experience, sometimes older newspapers can 71 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,919 Speaker 1: be really, really inaccurate. I spent several years researching my 72 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,839 Speaker 1: book American Sherlock, which is about a forensic scientist. The 73 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 1: newspapers in the nineteen twenties misspelled his name three different ways. 74 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: That makes research really hard. In Dorothy's case, I had 75 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: another challenge deciphering fact from fiction. In Bill Straine's extensive blog, 76 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: he relied heavily on personal memory memories from when he 77 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,919 Speaker 1: was a very young boy, maybe three or four. And 78 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: remember Bill started working on this after he retired when 79 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 1: he was about seventy years old. That's a big gap 80 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: in time. Bill's son, Michael, was very upfront about his 81 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: dad's limitations. 82 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,839 Speaker 2: I'm sure his memory was composed of maybe some vague 83 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 2: memories he had when he was four years old, but 84 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 2: some of the things he wrote, I'm sure were things 85 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 2: he remembered hearing. According to him, this had been all 86 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 2: the talk of Ramsay's past for years after the event. 87 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 2: It was not like, you know, they talked about it 88 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 2: for six months and quit. I think this was something 89 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,359 Speaker 2: that was a topic of conversation in Ramsa's past and 90 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 2: maybe with my grandparents for years after. 91 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 1: Did he read about it? 92 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 2: Later he talked about reading that detective magazine that had 93 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 2: a story, But I think it was probably a composite 94 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 2: of some kind of really early childhood memories along with 95 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,920 Speaker 2: remembering hearing people talk about it or whatever. But as 96 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 2: far as as I recall, that first thing he wrote 97 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 2: was really just, you know, from his memories. After we 98 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 2: got the news favorite articles, then he started noticing what 99 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:04,239 Speaker 2: was wrong with his memory. 100 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: Bill rarely talked to his wife Sherry about the case. 101 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: This was really a story that he and his son followed, 102 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: but as he grew older, Dorothy's death became more important 103 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: to Bill. What did he tell you about this case? 104 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: And I don't mean details necessarily, like what happens in 105 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: the case. How do you think this case, the Dorothy 106 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: Simon's case fit into his life? 107 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 3: He mentioned it through the years once in a while, 108 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 3: if we would be at rmzi's pass or something that 109 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 3: might remind him of it, he would mention that this 110 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 3: had happened. But that was about all. I mean. I 111 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 3: would not have think even remembered that he'd said anything 112 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 3: about it until he got on this obsession with it. 113 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 3: He retired at seventy years old in nineteen ninety eight, 114 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 3: and suddenly he needed something to keep him off the 115 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 3: streets and out of trouble. 116 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: Sherry says that Bill had just learned how to use 117 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: a computer and email when he started researching this, and 118 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 1: those things allowed him to do a lot more digging. 119 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 3: He learned how to get online, and he met Google 120 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 3: and realized all the information that was available out there. 121 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 3: I think he began to search for things, and having 122 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 3: just spent ten years on the University Police Department in 123 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,839 Speaker 3: San Marcos, he was interested. I think in cold cases 124 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 3: and things that he could find on Google and begin 125 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 3: to gather information for So I'm assuming that somewhere along there, 126 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 3: Dorothy came from out of the depths of his mind 127 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 3: and he began to see what he could gather on that. 128 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: And Dorothy's death would be Bill's most maddening cold case 129 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:02,240 Speaker 1: and mine full disclosure here, I'm sometimes pretty intimidated by 130 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: cold cases, especially unsolved cold cases or stories that don't 131 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: have a tidy ending. So we're dealing with some murky 132 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: details around this case. Some of that's because of Bill's 133 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: limited memory, and some of it is because of small 134 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: town rumors and outrageous lies, and none of that helped investigators. 135 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 1: They were stymied and it enraged Dorothy's family. But more 136 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: on that shortly. So here's what we do now, at least, 137 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: here's what I've been able to piece together from the 138 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:41,200 Speaker 1: information that Bill and I were able to access. On 139 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: that Thursday, the twenty ninth of July, Dorothy told her 140 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: mother that she'd be spending the night with a friend 141 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: named missus Fowler. Dorothy said they'd be attending choir practice together. 142 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 1: If it seems weird that an eighteen year old would 143 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 1: be spending the night with someone who was married. Remember, 144 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: people got married really really early during that time period. 145 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 1: Dorothy never mentioned the part about spending the night to 146 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,200 Speaker 1: her younger brother, Joe, a little boy wouldn't care about 147 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: that anyway, But he did remember the part about Dorothy 148 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: going to church. We've now heard a lot of descriptions 149 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: of Dorothy's beautiful singing voice, and we know that her family, 150 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: like most residents of Aranda's pass were avid churchgoers. So 151 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 1: choir practice seems plausible enough. And Dorothy seemed like an 152 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: honest young woman. Remember Agnes Simon's thought the world of 153 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 1: her only daughter, she was perfect. Why wouldn't she believe Dorothy? 154 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 1: I think any trusting parent would, And sometimes that's a 155 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: really big mistake. This feels like a good time to 156 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,199 Speaker 1: admit that I'm not that trusting. As a crime historian 157 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: and journalist, that's kind of my job to have doubts. 158 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 1: I'm supposed to be suspicious, and that's what drives me 159 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: to dig for the truth and to constantly follow my instincts. 160 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 1: And that applies to my twin daughters, who are twelve. 161 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: I don't always trust them when they're out with their friends, 162 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: and so I make sure that they know I can 163 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: pop up anytime to check in. But Agnes Simons and 164 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 1: her husband never seemed to do that. They didn't check 165 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: on Dorothy at choir practice. They didn't pop over to 166 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: Missus Fowler's house. After all, their daughter was eighteen and 167 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,359 Speaker 1: a young adult. But young adults sometimes make bad decisions, 168 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:26,320 Speaker 1: and it turns out that Dorothy made a big one, 169 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: and in this case, instinctually, something felt a little off 170 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:37,319 Speaker 1: about her story. Who was Dorothy Simons? I want to 171 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 1: revisit something that's been stuck in the back of my mind. 172 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: Having read Bill Strain's blog so many times he called 173 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:48,319 Speaker 1: Dorothy an enigma, I wanted to start building my own 174 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,560 Speaker 1: impression of Dorothy. So I went beyond the preliminary detective 175 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:56,160 Speaker 1: work Bill had already done, and I started searching for photos. 176 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: I figured I had little hope of finding many Simon's 177 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,840 Speaker 1: family photos. With everyone so strapped for cash during the 178 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,719 Speaker 1: Great Depression, it must have been a luxury to own 179 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: a personal camera. But I thought I might have some 180 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: luck if I could find Dorothy's high school yearbook. I 181 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: checked the records for the only high school in town, 182 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: Oransis Pass High school, and I turned up nothing, so 183 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: I looked for the San Patricio County census records from 184 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty. Every ten years, a census worker would knock 185 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: on your front door and ask you a series of questions. 186 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:30,440 Speaker 1: These days, the government send you a document, and the 187 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 1: year twenty twenty was actually the first year that you 188 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:37,200 Speaker 1: could respond over the internet. The census worker in nineteen 189 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: thirty would ask you for your address, and your job, 190 00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 1: and your race, as well as your education status. They 191 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 1: even asked if you could read and write. Those census 192 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:49,360 Speaker 1: records were recorded the year before Dorothy died. Her parents 193 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: marked in the education category for her no but indicated 194 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: that she could read and write. Why would she not 195 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 1: have a high school diploma at age eighteen? That did 196 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: seems strange, but perhaps the Great Depression had forced Dorothy 197 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,959 Speaker 1: out of school and into odd jobs even at age sixteen, 198 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: and her sister in law, Helen, did say that she 199 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 1: was taking classes at the Catholic Church. Maybe Dorothy intended 200 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,080 Speaker 1: to go back to school. I wondered if she might 201 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 1: have been able to take the GED. The GED was 202 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: originally developed in nineteen forty two. It was created because 203 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: there were a lot of American men sent to fight 204 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,960 Speaker 1: overseas in World War two, and they left without graduating 205 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,480 Speaker 1: high school. And then there were those people who had 206 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 1: to leave high school to support their families during the war. 207 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: Going back to school wasn't really an option. But in 208 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:42,600 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty one there was no ged, so Dorothy would 209 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: have to return to high school to get her diploma, 210 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: but she didn't anyway, it was good to have more 211 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: information about Dorothy Simons. Something JB. Simons told me got 212 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,800 Speaker 1: me thinking. He described the memories his father Joe, had 213 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: shared from the night that Dorothy disappeared. 214 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:07,559 Speaker 4: According to the court records, she went to choir practice, 215 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 4: but she didn't tell Dad she was going to choir practice. 216 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 4: And all of the stories in the newspaper kept calling 217 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:18,320 Speaker 4: her a choir a choir person, a choir lady, and 218 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 4: in one of the papers says she was the leader 219 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 4: of the choir, which was not true. I never heard 220 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 4: my father say anything about her being in the choir 221 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 4: or my grandmother. Apparently she went someplace. 222 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: Whether or not Dorothy did go to choir practice, we 223 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: may never know for sure. We do know that Dorothy 224 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: went somewhere, and that may well have been missus Fowler's house. 225 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 1: I went back and scoured Bill's blog to see what 226 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: I could find. He copied a statement from an article 227 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: in the Corpus Christi Caller. It read, Dorothy Simon's stepfather 228 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,040 Speaker 1: told of the girl leaving home Thursday night for choir 229 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: practice and to spend the night with Missus Fowler. He said, 230 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: when he returned home late Friday, he learned from his 231 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: wife what happened and instituted a search for the girl. 232 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: As a mother of two daughters, I can only imagine 233 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: how frantic Agnes Simon's must have been when she realized 234 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: that Dorothy hadn't returned by Friday morning. The same was 235 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: probably true for Dorothy's stepfather, Howard. But now we'll meet 236 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: our first suspicious character, Dorothy's biological father. His name was 237 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 1: Ralph Johnson. He was Agnes's first husband, but he lived 238 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: out of state. They met when they were young. Back 239 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: in their home state of Indiana. 240 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 4: Grandma Agnes was married to Ralph Johnson in Henry County 241 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 4: and they lived in Bluntsville. And Johnson was just a 242 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 4: very disreputable person. He was constantly stealing silver and china 243 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,840 Speaker 4: from my grandmother and selling it, making money he was 244 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 4: stealing money out of her bank accounts and those kind 245 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 4: of things. 246 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 1: Nothing that I've learned about Ralph Johnson is good. He 247 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: seemed like an opportunist, a man with a foot in 248 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: the criminal world of Indiana. It was scary for Dorothy's mother, Agnes, 249 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: because she had a lot to lose, like money and 250 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: freedom and something even more precious. It turns out she. 251 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 4: Had a small farm and quite a bit of money 252 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 4: that had been left to her. She had enough of 253 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:19,640 Speaker 4: that and divorced him, and he was angry and decided 254 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 4: he was going to either abduct Dorothy and that's where 255 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 4: Dorothy came from that union, abduct Dorothy and hold her 256 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 4: for ransom to get more money out of my grandmother, 257 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 4: and he set out a hit on her. 258 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 1: So clearly Ralph Johnson had a motive. From what JB 259 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: told me, it's a really good thing that his grandmother, 260 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: Agnes had the strength and the financial means to leave 261 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: Ralph Johnson. JB gave me the clear impression that Ralph 262 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: was a pretty shady guy. We'll be hearing more about 263 00:16:50,640 --> 00:17:04,400 Speaker 1: Ralph later a lot more. Back in Ransa's Pass, there 264 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: was another man who played a big role in Dorothy's life. 265 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,480 Speaker 1: His name was John Newton Yardbury. Newton was twenty two 266 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: years old, and he came from a very prominent local family. 267 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,120 Speaker 1: His father held an important position at Humble Oil Company, 268 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: one of the largest employers in the area. The Yarberies 269 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: were wealthy and well respected. They had been residents of 270 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 1: Aransas Pass for almost three decades. Newton apparently worked as 271 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,640 Speaker 1: a barber, although one paper said he was also employed 272 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: at Central Power and Light Company in its ice department. 273 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 1: According to J. P. Simons, Newton didn't have the best reputation. 274 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 4: The Yarbury was known as kind of an arrogant little 275 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 4: you know shit. He felt like he had, oh there's 276 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 4: a term for that, or a word for that. He 277 00:17:54,920 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 4: was entitled and lived in the higher in the society 278 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 4: of a veranda's past whatever that looks like a nice 279 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,919 Speaker 4: looking guy and going with the best looking gall in 280 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,200 Speaker 4: town and other guys apparently said that. 281 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,720 Speaker 1: Newton Yorberry was handsome, with dark hair, light eyes, tan skin. 282 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: He wasn't particularly tall, but he was thin and muscular. 283 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,640 Speaker 1: He was a James Dean before there was a James Dean. 284 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: The actor was actually born that same year, in nineteen 285 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: thirty one. Dorothy had been going out with Newton off 286 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: and on for about two years. I wonder how the 287 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: Simons felt about their daughter dating him. I wonder if 288 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 1: her parents knew that Dorothy was seeing boys at all. 289 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,879 Speaker 1: That night, the night that Dorothy planned to stay at 290 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,480 Speaker 1: missus Fowler's, she told her friends that she was going 291 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:49,639 Speaker 1: to meet Newton Yorberry downtown. They wanted to go for 292 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: an evening swim in the bay. Dorothy asked missus Fowler 293 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,040 Speaker 1: not to mention this to her mother because she knew 294 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,760 Speaker 1: Agnes would be really angry. This sounds like a warning sign. 295 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,399 Speaker 1: Why would do Worthy asked missus Fowler to lie? What 296 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:05,400 Speaker 1: did she have to hide? Was she trying to downplay 297 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: her relationship with Newton or did he hold some kind 298 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: of control over Dorothy. 299 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,560 Speaker 4: I think he just perceived her as an object, something 300 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,239 Speaker 4: that he could play with. But she had to know 301 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:19,919 Speaker 4: that he was a dangerous person. One of the stories 302 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 4: I read he had brought her home from drinking and 303 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 4: pushed her down on the bed. 304 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: But Newton's family had a positive reputation in Ransa's pass 305 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 1: they had been there for almost two decades. Newton didn't 306 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: have a criminal report, at least not one I could find. 307 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: Bill Strand spoke to a friend of Newton's, a man 308 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: named Jimmy. Jimmy said that everyone thought Newton was a 309 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: nice guy. So now we have conflicting information about Newton 310 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: Yardberry too. I asked Helen Simons what her husband, Joe 311 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: remembered about the night Dorothy disappeared. 312 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 5: All he talked about He said, I was the last 313 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 5: person that talked to her because they had a dog 314 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:06,240 Speaker 5: named Dixie, I believe it's name, and uh, this fellow 315 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:11,879 Speaker 5: picked her up. They were gonna go swimming, and so 316 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 5: he and told Dorothy to take the dog back to 317 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 5: the house. So she came back to the house after 318 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 5: she left, and she told Joe says, I'm big gone 319 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 5: for a while. I'm we're going a little swimming, and 320 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 5: you take care of Daisy, her young Daisy, Dixie Dixie, 321 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 5: and uh, don't let her follow me any anymore. He said, okay, 322 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 5: I won't. And he said I was the last person 323 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 5: in the house to talk to her. And where would 324 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 5: she go? 325 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 6: I said, oh, I know. 326 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 5: She said he's going swimming, and they always everybody swam 327 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,479 Speaker 5: in the bay. So I'm assuming they thought she's going 328 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:56,120 Speaker 5: to be at the bay. 329 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,960 Speaker 1: Here's what a local newspaper said. Miss Simons left her watch, 330 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 1: her tam, her stockings, and purse at the Fowlers, saying 331 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: that she would return by ten or ten thirty o'clock. 332 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,240 Speaker 1: When she did not return, a search was made with 333 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:20,399 Speaker 1: no results. Missus Simon's dress and shoes and underclothing had 334 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:24,400 Speaker 1: not been found at a late hour Sunday night. Authorities 335 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: believe that the girl and her companion dressed for bathing 336 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: near the sea wall, where they could easily plunge into 337 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: the water. That was a newspaper excerpt from the Corpus 338 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: Christi Caller. Here's what it also said. When miss Simons 339 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: did not return home Friday, her parents became alarmed, and 340 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: Sheriff Frank Hunt and his deputies were notified of the 341 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:50,720 Speaker 1: missing girl. The search for Dorothy began almost immediately after 342 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:54,640 Speaker 1: her parents reported her missing. Her disappearance shook the town 343 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: of Ransa's pass. When a pretty young woman goes missing 344 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: in a small town, news can travel fast, especially if 345 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:08,159 Speaker 1: she's a pretty white woman. More on that later. The 346 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,159 Speaker 1: sheriff and his deputy's collected statements from missus Fowler and 347 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: Dorothy's brother Joe. The last two people to have seen Dorothy, 348 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: or actually the last two people to admit they had 349 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,520 Speaker 1: seen Dorothy. Newton Yarberry initially denied being with Dorothy the 350 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,200 Speaker 1: previous night when he talked to police, but he said 351 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 1: that he did see her that afternoon, and maybe that's true. 352 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:33,360 Speaker 1: This early into the investigation, there's no way to prove 353 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: he was lying. In any good investigation, it's important to 354 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: talk to direct connections of the victim, the people in 355 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,919 Speaker 1: their circle, but it's also crucial to remember the broader picture. 356 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,920 Speaker 1: As I mentioned in our first episode, the economic turmoil 357 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: of the Great Depression forced many people to hit the road, 358 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: roaming from town to town in search of work opportunities. 359 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: Since fishing was the main industry in Rans's Pass, the 360 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: town may have attracted some questionable characters. I asked Michael 361 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: Strain what he knew about that time period. So this 362 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 1: was in thirty one, what's your understanding of what RAN's Pass. 363 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 6: Was like when your dad was growing up? 364 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 2: Well, you know, Ransa's past when my dad was growing 365 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 2: up was rough and tumble. I worked as a food 366 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 2: stamp worker temporarily in the seventies, and it was rough 367 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,000 Speaker 2: and tumble in the seventies. I'm sure it probably is now. 368 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 2: It has a lot of different things. There's fishermen. It's 369 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,879 Speaker 2: always had a fishing industry, and fishermen tend to be 370 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 2: rough and tumble. The time that we're talking about here, 371 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 2: it was during the Depression. People were poor. It was 372 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,679 Speaker 2: a hard time for everybody. I think my dad does 373 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 2: a really good job of describing that time and his 374 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 2: memory of it. 375 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: You can probably guess the direction that I'm heading in here. 376 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: What if an outsider had been driven by poverty and 377 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,400 Speaker 1: desperation when he arrived to Aransas Pass and he came 378 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: to town looking for work on the fishing boats or 379 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,879 Speaker 1: the shrimping boats. There were stories about crude, roughnecks roaming 380 00:23:57,960 --> 00:23:59,719 Speaker 1: around the town in the nineteen thirties. 381 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,200 Speaker 6: Shrimpers were people that a lot of them didn't have 382 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 6: a huge education. Some of them did. The captains tend 383 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 6: to be a little bit more educated and driven, and 384 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,359 Speaker 6: the crew, you know, it was a hard job. It 385 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:13,400 Speaker 6: was a dirty job. You know. They were the kind 386 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 6: of guys that would work just to get by, go 387 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 6: on a trip, and as soon as they got in 388 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 6: they would spend all their money a lot of times 389 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:21,760 Speaker 6: on drugs and things that they shouldn't. 390 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: But this is prohibition. 391 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,119 Speaker 6: Right during prohibition, this town was wide open. You know, 392 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 6: a lot of illegal activities, a lot of gambling. The 393 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:32,679 Speaker 6: Balonese was a kind of a bar that had an 394 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 6: illegal gambling joint running inside of it. And because they 395 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 6: had to get on by ferry, you know, they had 396 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 6: lookouts on the ferry and when they knew a federal 397 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 6: agent was coming in, by the time they got on 398 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,600 Speaker 6: the island, everything was all cleaned up. 399 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:49,160 Speaker 1: What if a complete stranger had been responsible for Dorothy's disappearance. 400 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:52,600 Speaker 1: We know that most murders are committed by people who 401 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,720 Speaker 1: know they're victims, so it would be highly unusual. But 402 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: then this was an unusual town. Of course, There's another 403 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,879 Speaker 1: possibility that I knew needed to be explored. Agnes Simon's 404 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:14,520 Speaker 1: first husband, Ralph Johnson, Dorothy's biological father, and his plot 405 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:27,879 Speaker 1: to kidnap his daughter. Let's talk a little more about 406 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,640 Speaker 1: Dorothy's background. I asked Helen Simons to tell me more 407 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,919 Speaker 1: about Dorothy's father. In particular, it. 408 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 5: Was a really a strange situation, I guess you'd call it. 409 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:44,920 Speaker 5: Agnes and her husband had divorced, and he was adamant 410 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 5: that he was going to have Dorothy with him, and 411 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:51,400 Speaker 5: she said, no, you're not. So that's what started all off. 412 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 5: I'm guessing started what off? He said, I'll have her 413 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,120 Speaker 5: one way or another and turned around and walked out. 414 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:04,680 Speaker 5: And that's when her great grandfather found out because he 415 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,639 Speaker 5: was friends with the police chiefs there, and the police 416 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,040 Speaker 5: chief told Agnes, you take Dorothy and get out of 417 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:14,720 Speaker 5: town because your ex husband is going to have her 418 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 5: kidnapped by some real gangsters out of Chicago. And he 419 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,400 Speaker 5: told the police she told her, you get out of town. 420 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 5: This is for real. I can't control this. 421 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 6: That's terrifying, it was to her. 422 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,400 Speaker 5: So she had two half brothers that lived in Oklahoma, 423 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,879 Speaker 5: and she decided to take Dorothy and go live with 424 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 5: them for a while. So that's what she did. So 425 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,480 Speaker 5: that kept the fact that she still had control of 426 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:47,439 Speaker 5: Dorothy and her husband didn't have any chance of getting her. 427 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: I wonder why he thought so hard for Dorothy. I mean, 428 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,399 Speaker 1: you would think that he would not want a dependence 429 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 1: with him. 430 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 5: I wonder what that was about money. Because of Agnes's 431 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 5: friend father was considered the second richest man in Henry County, 432 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 5: and he left what turned out to be over half 433 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:10,880 Speaker 5: of his estate to Agnes. 434 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:16,040 Speaker 1: No wonder Agnes decided to leave Indiana. She left to 435 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:21,920 Speaker 1: protect Dorothy and Newton Yorberry was intent on protecting himself. 436 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 1: When police came to visit him, Newton swore that he 437 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: hadn't seen Dorothy on the night she disappeared. The witnesses 438 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,680 Speaker 1: who saw him approaching her downtown that night were wrong. 439 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:35,560 Speaker 1: There were rumors that swirled all around Roansa's pass who 440 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 1: might be involved. It seems like her biological father, Ralph Johnson, 441 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,639 Speaker 1: should have been an immediate suspect. Some of the rumors 442 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:47,719 Speaker 1: came from Newton's supporters. They said that Ralph Johnson had 443 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,560 Speaker 1: been sending letters to Dorothy and that she might have 444 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 1: run away to reunite with him in Indiana, even though 445 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: she knew all about his terrible history. We know that 446 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,639 Speaker 1: Ralph Johnson had a criminal reputation. People called him an artist, 447 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: and of course there was that story that he had 448 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,439 Speaker 1: been involved with gangsters in Chicago and that he had 449 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:10,680 Speaker 1: threatened to kidnap Dorothy for a ransom. Had Dorothy's father 450 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 1: tracked her down, maybe he reached out in hope of 451 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:18,199 Speaker 1: reunion or did he somehow terrorize Dorothy? Had he threatened 452 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: to come to Texas and take her away? Did Dorothy 453 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,120 Speaker 1: run away because she lived in fear of him? All 454 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:28,120 Speaker 1: of these questions or possibilities, and that's why newton Yarberry's 455 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:32,160 Speaker 1: supporters offered them up. Did he and did they want 456 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: to help or were they trying to send investigators off 457 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: on a different path At this point in the story, 458 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: what happened to night Dorothy disappeared is still a mystery. 459 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:48,600 Speaker 1: What I do know from years of doing true crime 460 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,880 Speaker 1: research is that there are several reasons why young women 461 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,960 Speaker 1: go missing. There are abductions and kidnappings, but some run 462 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:59,240 Speaker 1: away because of struggles with addiction or simply out of rebellion, 463 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 1: and others run to escape domestic violence and abuse, and 464 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: the way we talk about violence against women is deeply concerning. 465 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 1: To Karen Kilgarriff, who is the host of My Favorite Murder. 466 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:15,960 Speaker 7: There's nothing compelling or sexy about domestic violence and the 467 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 7: way that it escalates and the way that women get 468 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 7: murdered by the people that they're married to or the 469 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 7: people that they're supposed to be in love with. That's 470 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 7: the story that people have the hardest time talking about 471 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 7: because it's a secret. It's a secret in families, people 472 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 7: hold those secrets for years. It's a wound, it's so 473 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:37,080 Speaker 7: much pain, and so that's the kind of thing where 474 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,880 Speaker 7: it isn't just it isn't a movie, and it isn't 475 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 7: a story. This is really happening to this girl. 476 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: I find these statistics disturbing. More women under the age 477 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: of twenty one go missing than in any other age group. 478 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:56,440 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty, well over two hundred thousand females under 479 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: twenty one were reported missing. For women twenty one in 480 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: all older the number was closer to sixty thousand. That's 481 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: a huge difference. It's not clear why the gap is 482 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,280 Speaker 1: so wide, or what the numbers might have looked like 483 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:09,560 Speaker 1: back in the nineteen thirties. 484 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 6: I do find it. 485 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: Sad that at eighteen, Dorothy was right at the age 486 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:23,080 Speaker 1: when women today are most at risk. This case will 487 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 1: turn out to have a myriad of suspects, so I 488 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,880 Speaker 1: wanted to get an expert's opinion on how different aspects 489 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: of the criminal mind work. I first spoke with Paul 490 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 1: Holes when I was interviewing him for my other show 491 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: wicked words. Paul is a cold case investigator and a 492 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 1: former forensic scientist from Northern California, and he had spent 493 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: decades using investigative, behavioral and forensic techniques to solve high 494 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 1: profile crimes, including the Golden State killer case. 495 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,880 Speaker 8: For me, as an investigator who is just trying to 496 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 8: understand the offender, the organized and disorganized categories are extremely 497 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 8: in value, and to compare a contrast, your disorganized defender 498 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 8: is the offender that generally is on the spectrum of 499 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 8: having possibly a psychosis or a mental illness. They're not 500 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 8: thinking about preserving their own freedom to try to get 501 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 8: away with the crime. They act impulsively. They commit the crime. 502 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 8: That spontaneous aspect leads to them leaving a lot of evidence. 503 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 8: Witnesses see them coming and going. They're leaving their DNA, 504 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 8: they're leaving their latency. There was no planning, whereas you're 505 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,360 Speaker 8: more organized defender. If you are dealing with a very 506 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 8: sophisticated and intelligent offender, they plan their crimes and it's 507 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 8: not just who is going to be my victim? And 508 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,160 Speaker 8: how am I going to get to that person? After 509 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 8: I do what I want to do? How am I 510 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:46,400 Speaker 8: going to get away with the crime. 511 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: Right now, Dorothy is missing. But if she were murdered, 512 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: what type of killer could have done it? Organized or disorganized? 513 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 1: The list of persons of interest seem to be as 514 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:04,360 Speaker 1: her family feared that she wouldn't be found alive. Investigators 515 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:07,239 Speaker 1: needed to know if her father, Ralph Johnson had been 516 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 1: in Texas. Newton Yarberry was her boyfriend, but he wasn't 517 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,640 Speaker 1: the only man in Dorothy's life. And now one of 518 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,239 Speaker 1: the other men was talking to the sheriff. And there 519 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 1: was another boy involved, right, Tom Connor. Do you know 520 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 1: anything about Tom Connor? 521 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:27,360 Speaker 2: He was apparently a friend of newton Yarberry's. He had 522 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:30,800 Speaker 2: been out and around that night in town. Somebody had 523 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 2: seen him chatting with her in front of the post office. 524 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:35,560 Speaker 2: But they it looks like they just arrested all the 525 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 2: likely suspects. He did get arrested. 526 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,200 Speaker 1: I had to do some digging through newspaper archives to 527 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,040 Speaker 1: break all that down. The night Dorothy apparently went to 528 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:46,880 Speaker 1: choir practice, she asked a young man named Tom Connor 529 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,760 Speaker 1: to walk her to the Jackson Hotel at a thirty PM. 530 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 1: Then she immediately asked him to leave. She said that 531 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 1: she was afraid that Newton Yarberry would see them together 532 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: and would get jealous and then angry. That's according to 533 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,200 Speaker 1: an witness report. From what we know about Newton, he 534 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,880 Speaker 1: did have quite a temper. Maybe he did see Dorothy 535 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:10,320 Speaker 1: with Tom and got jealous. That's just speculation on my 536 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,719 Speaker 1: part though, But what if it's true, and what if 537 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: that jealousy was so intense it threw Newton Yarberry into 538 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,880 Speaker 1: a fit of violent rage. Tom Connor was added to 539 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:26,440 Speaker 1: the list of suspects in Dorothy's disappearance, and not long 540 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: after that, new witnesses began to come forward. There was 541 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,440 Speaker 1: a report that someone saw Dorothy walk inside the Ramsis 542 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:38,200 Speaker 1: Past post office at nine pm on the twenty ninth 543 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 1: of July. The witness said that after two or three minutes, 544 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,840 Speaker 1: Dorothy left the building, then she crossed the street to 545 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:46,840 Speaker 1: join a man, a man who looked a lot like 546 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: Newton Yarberry or was it Tom Connor. Remember, Newton had 547 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,200 Speaker 1: denied that he had seen Dorothy that night after he 548 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 1: saw her at his house. But here's one of those 549 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: moments where details get murky yet again. The police pressed 550 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:07,080 Speaker 1: the witness for more information, and soon he admitted that 551 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 1: he couldn't positively identify Newton as the man he saw 552 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:14,600 Speaker 1: Dorothy talking to the witness, was asked then if the 553 00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 1: man he saw could have been Tom Connor. He shook 554 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:21,720 Speaker 1: his head and answered that he wasn't sure. Tom Connor 555 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:25,040 Speaker 1: and Newton Yarberry kind of looked alike, but they certainly 556 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,680 Speaker 1: had differences. Tom wasn't as tan, but he was tall 557 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:32,360 Speaker 1: with dark hair that was slicked back. Newton was slightly shorter, 558 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 1: with longer hair that sort of flopped on top. Tom 559 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:38,640 Speaker 1: just looked older because he was older. He was thirty 560 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:42,239 Speaker 1: and Newton was only twenty two. The witness said he 561 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,040 Speaker 1: saw the man in the dark, so he couldn't be sure, 562 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:49,360 Speaker 1: but he believed that the man looked more like Newton 563 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:53,279 Speaker 1: than Tom. I wanted to expand my investigation beyond the 564 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,319 Speaker 1: growing list of possible suspects, so I decided to dig 565 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:59,880 Speaker 1: into the police reports. It turns out there had been 566 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,160 Speaker 1: an unusual amount of criminal activity that weekend in late July. 567 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,839 Speaker 1: I searched the Associated Press archives. One of the first 568 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:11,040 Speaker 1: articles I found had a startling headline. It read auto 569 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:16,320 Speaker 1: accidents take toll eight dead, drownings and burnings and murder 570 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:21,839 Speaker 1: by strangulation also included four were shot. The article said 571 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:25,960 Speaker 1: that seventeen Texans had died that weekend from violent deaths. 572 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:39,720 Speaker 1: Was Dorothy Simons one of them. There's a triangular shaped 573 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:44,399 Speaker 1: area between Oramsis Pass and portoransis called Redfish Bay. These days, 574 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:47,480 Speaker 1: it's protected by the Texas Fish and Wildlife Department. It's 575 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:52,080 Speaker 1: home to fragile biological communities with shallow seagrass beds and 576 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:56,440 Speaker 1: oyster reefs and marshes and mangroves. It's popular with local fishermen. 577 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,880 Speaker 1: People also liked to swim and canoe and kayak their too. 578 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:04,280 Speaker 1: Back in the nineteen thirties, Redfish Bay was an idyllic place. 579 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:08,320 Speaker 1: At least Bill Strain thought so, he wrote in his blog. 580 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,160 Speaker 1: After several school days a week, I would grab my 581 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:13,560 Speaker 1: rod and reel and tackle box and head for the 582 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:16,120 Speaker 1: boat channel, which was about a four block walk, and 583 00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 1: then climb over the sea wall. I always caught fish. 584 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,600 Speaker 1: Three speckled trout and a redfish would be a typical catch. 585 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:26,120 Speaker 1: I could either bring them home for my mother to cook, 586 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:28,239 Speaker 1: I had to clean them, or I could sell them 587 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:30,880 Speaker 1: at the channel market. Once they weighed my fish, I 588 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,759 Speaker 1: got thirty five cents for the whole batch, and I 589 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:38,360 Speaker 1: was rich. The boat channel became very important, especially to 590 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,560 Speaker 1: male children of the community. You graduated from being a 591 00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:44,400 Speaker 1: little boy to big boy when you could swim the 592 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 1: boat channel to the spoil bank and then swim back again. 593 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,000 Speaker 1: I remember returning from the spoil bank puffing and puffing 594 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,400 Speaker 1: from a long stretch of fast dog paddling. But I 595 00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:57,680 Speaker 1: had made it, and at recess the next day it 596 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:01,000 Speaker 1: would be talked about on the playground. I was now 597 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:05,440 Speaker 1: a big guy. I've been to Redfish Bay now several times. 598 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,200 Speaker 1: Things have changed a lot since nineteen thirty one, so 599 00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:11,120 Speaker 1: I really love Bill's description of what it was like 600 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:13,520 Speaker 1: when he was a child. Makes me feel like I've 601 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:17,520 Speaker 1: stepped back a century in time. In the summer of 602 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:21,520 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty one, a camper named H. B. Threlkeld was 603 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 1: enjoying Redfish Bay too. The wind swirled around the water 604 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,160 Speaker 1: as his daughter skipped along on the sand. The camper 605 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,400 Speaker 1: was walking along the edge of the water with his 606 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:34,520 Speaker 1: wife and the little girl in search of firewood, but 607 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,040 Speaker 1: they found something very different. Sticking up from the moss 608 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:42,080 Speaker 1: and the mud. They found a human hand, and it 609 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:46,400 Speaker 1: looked like a woman's hand. I know I've said this 610 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:50,359 Speaker 1: a few times, but this truly was like something from 611 00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:54,600 Speaker 1: a horror movie. Was this Dorothy's body? There was so 612 00:37:54,719 --> 00:37:57,399 Speaker 1: much crime at Ransa's pass it might not have been her. 613 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:00,279 Speaker 1: Or did someone have an accident on the shore and 614 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:03,640 Speaker 1: then they died and the sand eventually covered up their body. 615 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:09,120 Speaker 1: If it was Dorothy, was a local person responsible? So 616 00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:13,480 Speaker 1: many questions, and we have four more episodes in which 617 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:25,520 Speaker 1: to answer them. On the next episode of tenfold more 618 00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:27,000 Speaker 1: wicked on exactly right. 619 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:32,400 Speaker 3: The seawall and all that was right along here, So 620 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,800 Speaker 3: apparently the body was rugged over the seawall and dropped 621 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:36,160 Speaker 3: in here. 622 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:40,080 Speaker 9: You know, I wouldn't say it is an age per se. 623 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:44,080 Speaker 9: I would say that is race based. It's like, you know, 624 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,960 Speaker 9: if you're black and brown and you're missing, you're basically 625 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:47,600 Speaker 9: on your own. 626 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:52,200 Speaker 5: He talked about it after we got to talking about it. 627 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:55,360 Speaker 5: When he finally told me he had had a session 628 00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:58,360 Speaker 5: that was killed. I said, how is she killed? Do 629 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:02,040 Speaker 5: you know you're gonna ask? And he said, well, come 630 00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:04,920 Speaker 5: right down to I guess she'd call her she was murdered. 631 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:07,880 Speaker 5: And I said, what a horrible thing. No wonder Agnes 632 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:10,480 Speaker 5: had a attitude about things and people. 633 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:18,000 Speaker 1: My new book, All That Is Wicked is available for 634 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:21,560 Speaker 1: pre order now, including the audiobook. All that Is Wicked 635 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,280 Speaker 1: is based on our first season of tenfold More Wicked. 636 00:39:24,719 --> 00:39:27,040 Speaker 1: You might think you know the whole story of killer 637 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:30,759 Speaker 1: Edward Ruloff's crimes, but there's so much more. My book 638 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:35,600 Speaker 1: American Sherlock is also available. This has been an exactly 639 00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:40,160 Speaker 1: right tenfold war. Media production producers Jason Whaling, Laura Soble, 640 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,640 Speaker 1: and Alexis m Rossi. Co writers Laura Soble and Kate 641 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:48,480 Speaker 1: Winkler Dawson, sound designer Eric Friend, composer Curtis Heath, artwork 642 00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:54,040 Speaker 1: Nick Toga. Executive producers Georgia Hartstark, Karen Kilgarriff and Daniel Kramer. 643 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:59,080 Speaker 1: Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at tenfold more Wicked 644 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:02,200 Speaker 1: and on Twitter tenfold More and if you know of 645 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:05,400 Speaker 1: a historical crime that could use some attention, email us 646 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:10,680 Speaker 1: at info at Tenfoldmorewicked dot com. 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