1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,679 Speaker 1: Brought to you by Velvet Buck Wine, where the hunt 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,000 Speaker 1: meets the harvest. A portion of each bottle goes to 3 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: support backcountry hunters and anglers. Limited supply available at velvet 4 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: Buck Vineyards dot com. Enjoy Responsibly. This episode contains discussion 5 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: of crimes involving sexual violence and murder. Listener discretion is advised. 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 2: In a mystery that's haunted Wisconsin for nearly fifty years, 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 2: a young hunter left home for an opening day archery 8 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 2: hunt and was never seen again. His car was found 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 2: abandoned in the woods, stripped of its wheels and tires. 10 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 2: But that wasn't even the strangest part of this baffling 11 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 2: and disturbing investigation that's next on Blood Trails. The year 12 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 2: was nineteen seventy seven. Opening day of Wisconsin's archery deer 13 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 2: season was set for septem number seventeenth, and Robert Christian 14 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 2: was ready. The eighteen year old Badger State native had 15 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 2: hunted most falls since he was a kid, but this 16 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 2: year was going to be different. He and his childhood 17 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 2: friend Randy Griffith had both grown up hunting, but they'd 18 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 2: never gone out together, so that year they planned to 19 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 2: team up and hunt some family property north of Baraboo, Wisconsin, 20 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 2: which is just outside of Madison. Randy was expecting his 21 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 2: friend to arrive at his house at six pm on Friday, 22 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 2: September sixteenth, the night before opening day. Robert, who went 23 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 2: by Bob, would sleep over at the Griffith house and 24 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 2: then the two would head out with their bows early 25 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 2: the next morning. Across Wisconsin, hundreds, probably thousands of friends 26 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 2: made the same simple plan. Most woke up to crisp 27 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 2: air and hopefully the rustle of a deer walking through 28 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 2: the forest. But Bob and Randy never got that chance. 29 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 2: What started out as a plan for a hunting trip 30 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 2: became one of the most dis concerning cold cases in 31 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 2: Wisconsin history. 32 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 3: Bob is always on time or a little early, and 33 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 3: so it was like six thirty, and you know, we're 34 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 3: there to have supper at six, and mom and I 35 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 3: were talking and my sister and I said, you know, 36 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,640 Speaker 3: I this ain't like him to be late. So my 37 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 3: mom called his mom said, you know, Bob was going 38 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 3: to be up here at six, and he's not here. 39 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 2: Randy waited, the hours ticked by the sun dipped lower 40 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 2: and still no Bob. 41 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 3: You know, he's still doesn't show up and we called 42 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 3: back down around nine o'clock his mom's and and said 43 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 3: he's still not here. And then at that time she 44 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 3: contacted Dame County to report him as you know, not 45 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 3: a wife. 46 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 2: Amy, Bob's younger sister, was only eleven years old at 47 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 2: the time, but she still remembers is getting that call. 48 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 4: Valeria, Randy's mom called again and said, Carolyn, you know, 49 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 4: Bob isn't here yet, and we all knew them and 50 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 4: there something was. 51 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 2: Wrong, something was wrong, very wrong. But to this day, 52 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 2: no one knows exactly what that's because nearly five decades later, 53 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 2: Bob is still missing. His body has never been found, 54 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 2: his bow and hunting clothes have never been recovered, and 55 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 2: his whereabouts remain at least publicly unknown. All Bob's family 56 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 2: and friends have is a baffling set of coincidences, contradictions, 57 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 2: and strange interactions. Bob's case intersects with a nun, the 58 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 2: Ringling Brothers, circus clowns, the American Motors Corporation, and one 59 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 2: of the world's most famous serial killers. But the thing 60 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 2: that makes the most sense of at least part of 61 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 2: Bob's story can really only be understood my hunters, and 62 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 2: that is the desire to give himself the best shot 63 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 2: at success on Opening Day, andred and stillers, and this 64 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 2: is Blood Trails an Opening Day Disappearance, Part one. The drive. 65 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 2: The Christian family lived in a small, two story home 66 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 2: on the east side of Madison. Randy lived with his 67 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 2: family in the town of Barriboo, which is about an 68 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 2: hour's drive northwest from Bob's house. The property they planned 69 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 2: to hunt was located about ten minutes north of Barriboo, 70 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 2: so it made sense for Bob to spend the night 71 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 2: at the Griffiths. It would have saved him about an 72 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 2: hour of sleep and allowed the pair to set up 73 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 2: well before shooting light. Bob could have taken a few 74 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 2: different routes, but there are two main ones. The primary one, 75 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 2: according to Amy, that the family took and that she 76 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 2: believe Bob probably took, was to go up Highway twelve 77 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 2: straight up to Barriboo, around the west side of Lake Wisconsin. 78 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 2: But Bob also could have hopped on Interstate ninety going north, 79 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 2: which goes around the east side of the lake, and 80 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 2: then exited onto Highway thirty three going west. We don't 81 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 2: know which way Bob took, but we do know that 82 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,679 Speaker 2: he made two stops along the way, both of which 83 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 2: were in Madison. The first is he stopped at a bank, 84 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 2: and we know this because he bumped into his mother 85 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 2: on the way. The circumstances of this meeting are a 86 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 2: little unclear. The reports say she saw him as she 87 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 2: was taking Amy and Bob's brother to a local football game, 88 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 2: but Amy thinks otherwise. 89 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,440 Speaker 4: My mom was on a walk or probably coming home 90 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 4: from work, and they probably crossed each other. It was 91 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 4: an Anchor bank out on you Off where we lived. 92 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 2: Detectives at the time confirmed that Bob withdrew twenty five 93 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 2: dollars from the bank around five fifteen pm, and then 94 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:04,280 Speaker 2: he made another stop to pick up a few things 95 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 2: at a convenience store just down the street. 96 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 4: Some Swiss or sweets I think it was, or something 97 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 4: like that. He used to smoke cigars with his friends 98 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 4: and have beer and play cards, so that was their 99 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 4: big thing. 100 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 5: You know. 101 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 2: Whether he planned to smoke those cigars that night with 102 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 2: Randy or were saving them as a celebration after a 103 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 2: successful hunt, we'll never know. What we do know is 104 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:31,720 Speaker 2: this somewhere between the convenience store and Madison and Randy's 105 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 2: home in bear Aboo, Bob vanished, and it's haunted Bob's 106 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:38,119 Speaker 2: family and friends ever since. 107 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,039 Speaker 3: You know, it's you just got a nippy feeling. What 108 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 3: do you say, He's not had here with us. 109 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 6: And all that and all it was pop. 110 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 2: Part two the search. If Bob had gone missing in 111 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 2: twenty twenty five instead of nineteen seventy seven, his case 112 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,919 Speaker 2: may have ended much differently. It's hard to fault detectives 113 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 2: back then for doing what they did, but in retrospect, 114 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 2: they made several pretty serious errors. Because Bob was technically 115 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 2: an adult eighteen years old, law enforcement didn't consider him 116 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 2: a missing person for the first twenty four hours. This 117 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 2: is why, according to Detective Tyler Poynton of the Satut 118 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 2: County Sheriff's Office, the search took several days to begin 119 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 2: in earnest. 120 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 7: Back then, it was more like while he's an adult. 121 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 7: You hear it kind of cliche all the time, But 122 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 7: there's the twenty four hour rule. You hear all the 123 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 7: time about people being missing and waiting a certain amount 124 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 7: of time. I eat twenty four hours before you know, 125 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 7: you really start looking into things. 126 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 6: I'm just speculating, but I. 127 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 7: Can only assume that was kind of the operating procedure 128 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 7: back then. 129 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 2: Detective point and assured me that that policy is long gone. 130 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 2: But without much help from law enforcement, the Christians were 131 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 2: kind of on their own. They started by calling everyone 132 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 2: they knew who may have seen their son and brother. 133 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 4: Called all the hospitals that night, and called everywhere that 134 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 4: she could think of to see if there was any accidents, 135 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 4: if there was any reports of anything that went on 136 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 4: between Madison and bear Boo, and nothing was showing up. 137 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 2: Randy knew something was wrong right away. It was unlike 138 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 2: his friend to disappear without telling anyone, even in an 139 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 2: era before cell phones and Google maps. Do you remember 140 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 2: sort of what your thoughts and feelings were that night 141 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 2: and into the next day. Were you extremely worried or 142 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:33,319 Speaker 2: were you kind of like, well, you know, I'm sure 143 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 2: he's okay, we'll find him. 144 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:39,319 Speaker 3: No, it's not, he's okay. I've been own him, you know, 145 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:43,960 Speaker 3: since we were a little kid. So he's straight. You know, 146 00:08:44,679 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 3: he's never in trouble tea. You know, if he says 147 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 3: he's going to do something, he's going to do it. 148 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 2: Now you might assume that the Christians and the Griffiths 149 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:54,959 Speaker 2: hopped in the car that Friday night and drove the 150 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 2: various routes Bob may have taken, but according to Amy, 151 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 2: they didn't do that until Sunday. I asked Randy about this, 152 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 2: and he explained that both routes Bob may have taken 153 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 2: were along major highways, and so they figured somebody would 154 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 2: have surely seen him if he'd been in an accident. 155 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 3: There's Tory County she went through, and he went by 156 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 3: maybe like five or six towns on them off ramps, 157 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 3: you know, but he went through like dang Columbia and 158 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 3: Saw County and basically if you total that up, that's 159 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:32,959 Speaker 3: like twenty seven and fifty square miles. So I was like, okay, 160 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 3: you know whoa you started looking. 161 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 2: But when Bob still hadn't turned up by Sunday, the 162 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 2: family started the search. They were looking for a nineteen 163 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 2: seventy seven AMC hornet. Bob had a motorcycle, which he 164 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 2: usually drove, but it had broken down, so Bob's mom 165 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 2: let him use her brand new car to drive up 166 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 2: to Randy's. It didn't take the family long to find something. 167 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 2: Here's Amy, my. 168 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 4: Brother was with my dad the van, and my cousin 169 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 4: Jim and my brother had they would gone up Tower 170 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 4: Road and at that time it was a dirt road then, 171 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 4: and he looked over to the right where there was 172 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 4: a radio police radio tower, and he saw my mom's 173 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 4: car and he's like, Dad, that's mom's car. 174 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 2: Tower Road is between Madison and Barriboo, as the crow flies, 175 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,320 Speaker 2: but it's not along either of the main roads. That's 176 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 2: because Lake Wisconsin is also in between Madison and Bearriboo, 177 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 2: and you have to go around the lake on either 178 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 2: side to get to either town. In other words, there's 179 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 2: almost no reason Bob would have driven down Tower Road 180 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 2: under normal circumstances. But what they found wasn't just strange, 181 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 2: it quite literally defied explanation. 182 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 4: My dad and the boys went to go walk up 183 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 4: to the car and they saw that it was on 184 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:56,559 Speaker 4: the ground, no tires, no nothing, and my dad said stop, 185 00:10:56,920 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 4: you know, he said stop, We got to turn around. 186 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 4: He had the boys go back into the van and 187 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 4: he walked down to the closest farm to try to call, 188 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 4: you know, the police, and by that time we had 189 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 4: pulled up behind him, and you know, my uncle Glenn 190 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 4: was like, oh man, there's you know, it was like, 191 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:18,599 Speaker 4: what is going on here? 192 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 2: Missus Christian's brand new AMC Hornet wasn't parked. It was 193 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 2: discarded flat on the dirt, no wheels, no tires, and 194 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 2: it wasn't on blocks, It was just lying on the ground. 195 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 2: Detective point and told me that the car's battery was 196 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 2: also missing, and the front license plate but not the 197 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 2: back had been taken off and thrown into the grass. 198 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,720 Speaker 3: Here's Randy, And when we were there that day, they said, well, 199 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 3: they didn't use a jack because there was no jack, 200 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:52,320 Speaker 3: and Prussians in the sand in the dirt. So flabbergasting. 201 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 3: How you get wheel and a tire, four of them 202 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 3: off that vehicle and don't have any marks. 203 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,599 Speaker 2: Bron I'm sure Bob's father looked through those car windows 204 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 2: with some trepidation, but Bob was nowhere to be seen. 205 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 2: His bare compound bow and hunting gear were missing and 206 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 2: have never been recovered. His letterman jacket was still in 207 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 2: the front seat, along with his mom's nursing kit, but 208 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 2: not much else. Now the Wisconsin State Crime Lab found 209 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 2: Bob's mom's fingerprints, along with the print from someone they 210 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 2: couldn't identify, But Bob had never had his fingerprints taken, 211 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 2: and the print they found wasn't matched to anyone else 212 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 2: in any law enforcement databases, so we don't know whether 213 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:42,679 Speaker 2: that print belonged to Bob, which would make sense, or 214 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:47,320 Speaker 2: to someone else. This was the first real indication that 215 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:51,320 Speaker 2: Bob was actually missing and probably in trouble. Law enforcement 216 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 2: got involved and they did an extensive search of the 217 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 2: area around where the car was found. Bob's family and friends, 218 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 2: another local volunteers scoured surrounding woods. They brought in bloodhounds, 219 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 2: and the National Guard conducted an aerial search with a helicopter. 220 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,120 Speaker 2: But that area is what detective Point called bluff country, 221 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 2: cut through with gullies and covered with trees and brushed. 222 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 2: It's the kind of place you might say is good 223 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 2: for keeping secrets. Still, the detective is confident that Bob 224 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 2: wasn't in those woods. 225 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 7: Confident they did a thorough search. Again, they did just 226 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 7: about everything they could I think at the time. You 227 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 7: know nowadays we have drones, but they brought an actual helicopter. 228 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 7: They put bloodhounds, so they did try to do some 229 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 7: tracking that way. People who were firefighters at the time 230 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 7: on a local volnteer fire department who were out and 231 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 7: they did they did a pretty extensive search of the area. 232 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:54,439 Speaker 7: I know the family did that, plus a lot more. 233 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,040 Speaker 2: The search may well have been thorough, but it didn't 234 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 2: start until Monday, full two days after Bob had gone missing. 235 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 2: By the time they figured out Bob wasn't in those woods, 236 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:11,080 Speaker 2: you could have been halfway across the globe. Part three, 237 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 2: Sister Genevieve. What investigators didn't know until later is that 238 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 2: just down the road from where Bob's car was found, 239 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 2: another crime had been committed. If you keep driving east 240 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 2: down Tower Road about a mile and a half, you'll 241 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 2: find what today is called Durward's Glen Retreat Center, But 242 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 2: back in nineteen seventy seven, it was a convent for 243 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 2: Roman Catholic nuns, and in a cabin on that property 244 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:41,880 Speaker 2: lived none named Sister Genevieve. Sister Genevieve had been away 245 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 2: for about a week, but when she returned home that Friday, 246 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 2: which remember, is the same day Bob disappeared, she found 247 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 2: that someone had been living in her cabin. It hadn't 248 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 2: been ransacked, but someone had slept in her bed, prepared 249 00:14:55,120 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 2: food in her kitchen, and left cigarette ashes in the ashtray. 250 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 2: Sister Genevieve was pretty understandably upset. She was afraid the 251 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 2: person would return, and so she called her friend, a 252 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 2: woman named Mary. Mary drove over to the sister's cabin, 253 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 2: but when she arrived around eight thirty that evening, she 254 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 2: saw something no one in that situation would ever want 255 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 2: to see. 256 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 7: She pulls in in about halfway up the driveway, there's 257 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 7: a car parked in the driveway, running with the headlights 258 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 7: pointed up the driveway towards the house. She has the 259 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 7: wherewithal to jot down the license plate number, and then 260 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 7: approaches the car and there's a mail driver in the 261 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 7: driver's seat. She describes him as a white male, brown hair, 262 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 7: light facial hair, thicker, rim glasses and asks him what 263 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 7: he's doing. 264 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 6: He says something to the effect. 265 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 7: Of I'm looking for my friend Bob or I'm just 266 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 7: looking for my friend. It's quoted a couple different ways 267 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 7: in the reports back then. 268 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:07,359 Speaker 2: He's looking for his friend Bob. This has baffled investigators 269 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 2: both then and now. If it was Bob driving the car, 270 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,520 Speaker 2: why would Bob be asking about himself? And if it 271 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:17,400 Speaker 2: wasn't Bob in the car, how does that person know 272 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 2: Bob's name? And why would he pretend to be looking 273 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 2: for him. Mary's description of the driver matches Bob to 274 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 2: a tee, but when she was shown a picture of him, 275 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 2: she said she couldn't be sure it was him. Mary 276 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 2: has unfortunately passed away, and so Detective Point is unable 277 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 2: to ask her anything further about what she saw. All 278 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 2: we have are the notes in the report. But we 279 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 2: do know that the car parked in the driveway belonged 280 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 2: to Bob's mother. That's because Mary recorded the license plate number, 281 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 2: and so we can place the Christian car in the 282 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 2: area around eight thirty pm Friday evening, two and a 283 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,120 Speaker 2: half hours after he was supposed to have been at Randy's. 284 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 2: But whoever was driving that car, whether it was Bob 285 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,679 Speaker 2: or someone else, didn't immediately go back to where it 286 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 2: was eventually found. According to Mary's account, the car took 287 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 2: a left and headed even further east. This, Randy told 288 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 2: me makes zero sense. 289 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:21,080 Speaker 3: And then they said when he pulled a lot of there, 290 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,280 Speaker 3: he went towards ther Word's line. So he keeps driving 291 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,679 Speaker 3: further and further away from my house, you know, to 292 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 3: where I love right right? 293 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 6: Does that make sense? 294 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 2: As far as Randy knows, Bob would have no reason 295 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,399 Speaker 2: to go up the Nuns driveway and definitely no reason 296 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,360 Speaker 2: to drive towards the convent. While he admits it may 297 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 2: have been Bob in the driver's seat, he doesn't think 298 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,439 Speaker 2: his friend was alone. I'm thinking somebody was in That 299 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:52,680 Speaker 2: kind of worked them at that point. 300 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 3: There's no sense for him to be there. 301 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:57,639 Speaker 2: Mary said it was too dark to see whether anyone 302 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 2: else was in the car, so Randy might be right. 303 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,199 Speaker 2: Amy also agrees that Bob's strange comment about looking for 304 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 2: himself may have been his attempt to signal for help 305 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,879 Speaker 2: or let investigators know that it was him. 306 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:14,879 Speaker 5: If he was being apprehended. That would be a smart 307 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:16,160 Speaker 5: thing to do. Send a clue to. 308 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:18,560 Speaker 4: Somebody, Hey, I'm Bob, you know, or something you know. 309 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 4: That's the only thing I can think of. 310 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 2: When Amy and her family heard about this, they went 311 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 2: to sister Genevieve's cabin themselves to take a look around. 312 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,159 Speaker 2: If Bob was signaling for help, maybe he left a 313 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 2: clue as to his whereabouts. They didn't find anything like that, 314 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,000 Speaker 2: but they did find something that today may have blown 315 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:38,639 Speaker 2: this case wide open. 316 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 5: And I remember my uncle Jack finding. 317 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:47,840 Speaker 4: A grocery bag, the old grocery bags, the paper bags, 318 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 4: stuffed into a log. 319 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:51,919 Speaker 5: And they have had a receipt. 320 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 4: It had cigarettes, it had raw bacon, it had different 321 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 4: things and evidence that we thought pertained to that for 322 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:03,960 Speaker 4: sure for the robbery, because who is going to be 323 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:06,120 Speaker 4: sticking that into a log there. 324 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,320 Speaker 2: Amy says they gave this evidence to law enforcement. A 325 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,359 Speaker 2: detective point in confirmed to me that it was in 326 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:15,479 Speaker 2: the case file. He also confirmed that the receipt was 327 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 2: for a local butcher shop in town, but investigators at 328 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,160 Speaker 2: the time were unable to confirm who the bag belonged to, 329 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,159 Speaker 2: and while there's a record of these items in the 330 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 2: case file, none of the actual items were retained as evidence. 331 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 2: We also don't have any evidence from inside sister Genevieve's cabin. 332 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 2: This is due in part to the fact that forensic 333 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 2: DNA testing hadn't really been invented yet. Back then, a 334 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,200 Speaker 2: cigarette butt couldn't tell you much besides the fact that 335 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:48,400 Speaker 2: the person smoked. But it's also due to yet another unfortunate, 336 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 2: infuriating coincidence about this case. Bob's car was found in 337 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:58,000 Speaker 2: Sauk County, but Sister Genevieve's cabin, only a mile and 338 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 2: a half down the road, was in co Columbia County 339 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 2: and Columbia County Deputies investigated the break in as unrelated 340 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:07,120 Speaker 2: to Bob's disappearance. 341 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:10,360 Speaker 4: At that time, they said, this has nothing to do 342 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 4: with your brother's case. So the two police departments didn't 343 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,639 Speaker 4: work well together there, so all of that evidence is gone. 344 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 4: We have no idea where it went to, and at 345 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,199 Speaker 4: the time, it could have been really relevant for that 346 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 4: case to find out and connect them. I don't know 347 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 4: why they couldn't see the connection. To me, it's as 348 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 4: obvious as a sore of thomb you know, how can 349 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 4: you not see the connection? 350 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:37,160 Speaker 3: There? 351 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 6: Part four car parts. 352 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 2: There is a quarry south of Baarboo that Bob would 353 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 2: have passed on one of the routes up to Randy's. 354 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:54,159 Speaker 2: This quarry became a popular target shooting spot, so there 355 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 2: were people in and out, and about a week after 356 00:20:57,119 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 2: Bob went missing, someone reported that they'd found a set 357 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 2: of old wheels and tires along with hubcaps. These hubcaps 358 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:07,640 Speaker 2: came from an AMC Hornet, which is the same kind 359 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 2: of car that Bob was driving. 360 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,679 Speaker 7: So the presumption was that whether it was the person 361 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 7: involved with Robert's disappearance or an opportunist took the new 362 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,680 Speaker 7: wheels off the hornet and then swapped them with their 363 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 7: old wheels, and then left the old wheels with the 364 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 7: hub caps at the quarry. 365 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,520 Speaker 2: Much like finding the bag of groceries in the tree stump. 366 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 2: This could have been a big break in the case. 367 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 2: If detectives could have matched those old wheels and tires 368 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 2: with a specific vehicle, they could have at least had 369 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,439 Speaker 2: a make and model to look for. The problem was 370 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 2: those wheels and tires were incredibly common. Detective Point told 371 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 2: me that the list of potential vehicles was so long 372 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 2: that it would have been useless to go down that road. 373 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 2: But tires weren't the only car parts detectives looked into 374 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,120 Speaker 2: as part of their investigation. While canvassing the area around 375 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 2: where Bob's car was found, investigators spoke to a local 376 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,480 Speaker 2: farmer who had driven down Tower Road Saturday morning, right 377 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 2: after Bob disappeared. He reported looking up the side road 378 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:11,440 Speaker 2: and seeing Bob's car parked in the same location where 379 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 2: it was found the next day. But Bob's car wasn't alone. 380 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:20,400 Speaker 2: A second vehicle, light colored with stacked headlights, sat beside 381 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:22,440 Speaker 2: it in the shadowy morning light. 382 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 7: He estimated it was around like six six thirty in 383 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,920 Speaker 7: the morning. It was still kind of dawn, darker out, 384 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,360 Speaker 7: but just beginning light. This car is backed up next 385 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 7: to the Christian car and the dome light is on, 386 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,880 Speaker 7: and he specifically remembers it having stacked headlights, so one 387 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 7: headlight on top of the other headlight, and he thought 388 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 7: it was kind of like a lighter cream colored, But 389 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 7: he didn't think a lot too much of it because 390 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 7: it wasn't all that uncommon for people to park up 391 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:59,480 Speaker 7: in there, whether it be people servicing the tower or 392 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:04,680 Speaker 7: hunters or kids parking, you know, doing kid things. 393 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,639 Speaker 2: The farmer didn't recall seeing anyone in either car, but 394 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 2: it was dark, just beginning to be light, so that's 395 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 2: not unusual. Those stacked headlights are more unique than the 396 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,440 Speaker 2: tires and could have belonged to a number of Plymouth models, 397 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,159 Speaker 2: but they weren't unique enough for investigators to find the 398 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:28,639 Speaker 2: owner of that mysterious vehicle. Was it the abductor a 399 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,399 Speaker 2: curious resident, the tire thief, or just someone drawn to 400 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 2: a still warm crime scene. No one knows. 401 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 7: We don't know if that's somebody who was involved in 402 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,439 Speaker 7: the disappearance, or if that was somebody who was just 403 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 7: capitalizing on the fact that there was this random car 404 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 7: parked in kind of a obscured area somewhat and you know, 405 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 7: I could really use those tires type thing. 406 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 2: After the break, we investigate the ways some have tried 407 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 2: to explain Bob Christian's disappearance. Did he run away? Was 408 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:08,120 Speaker 2: he the victim of a drug deal gone wrong? Or 409 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 2: was it something much much worse. That's next. 410 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 6: Part five, Bob. 411 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 2: Whenever someone disappears without a trace, there are a few 412 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 2: theories that investigators almost always consider. The first is that 413 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 2: the person simply ran away. Maybe Bob had a tough 414 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,399 Speaker 2: home life. Maybe he was an unhappy kid who wanted 415 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 2: his freedom or decided to pursue a career his parents 416 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,679 Speaker 2: wouldn't approve of. But that didn't really jive with Bob's character. 417 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 2: Everyone I spoke with about the eighteen year old described 418 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,399 Speaker 2: him as a straight laced kid who was excited to 419 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,400 Speaker 2: start his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin Madison 420 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:56,159 Speaker 2: as a computer science major. 421 00:24:56,480 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 7: He was never as a youth, never talked about running away, 422 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 7: had a bright future, just enrolled as a college student 423 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 7: at a pretty good college. And you know, at that 424 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 7: time would have been, you know, a pretty fast growing career. 425 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:15,680 Speaker 2: Amy agrees that her brother would never have run away. 426 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,880 Speaker 2: She admits that her father was strict as the oldest 427 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 2: of fourteen children, but she doesn't think her brother was 428 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 2: unhappy living in the Christian household. 429 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 4: I thought we had a great family. I felt blessed 430 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 4: to have my parents. So I can't imagine Bob would 431 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,119 Speaker 4: have wanted to you know, why would he want to 432 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 4: take off after he just started, you know, at the university. 433 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,640 Speaker 2: After Bob disappeared, investigators learned that he'd talked about going 434 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 2: fishing in Canada. Maybe they guessed he decided to do 435 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,200 Speaker 2: just that on the spur of the moment. But when 436 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 2: Randy heard about this theory, he went to one of 437 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 2: the detectives to set him straight. 438 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 3: A month or two later, you know, and there was 439 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:59,360 Speaker 3: rumors going around that Bob took off for Canada. And 440 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 3: when I came home, you know, that was getting to 441 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,960 Speaker 3: people that went to school from Barber Reedsbury, that was 442 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,640 Speaker 3: going to school in Old Claire, and they'd say, oh, yeah, 443 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,119 Speaker 3: they're Shane. He ran off to Canada, and you know 444 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:14,680 Speaker 3: about it. And so I came one of the one 445 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:16,679 Speaker 3: of the next weekends. When I was coming home, I 446 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 3: called the tective Borski and I said, I'd like to 447 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:23,160 Speaker 3: talk to you about it. I said, there's no way 448 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 3: he would have rang off to Canada. She got along 449 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 3: great with his parents, siblings, She just started school. 450 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 2: He was excited about that. 451 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 3: And you know, he went to the bank and he 452 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:42,920 Speaker 3: only took out twenty five dollars out of his account. 453 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 2: And you know, he wasn't just going to. 454 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 3: Run away and not tell Anyboddy. You know, he went 455 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 3: to ran a white period. 456 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 2: Detective point and told me that. Years later, someone claimed 457 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 2: to have spotted Bob in Canada, but investigator ran that 458 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,440 Speaker 2: down and it turned out not to be him. If 459 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,160 Speaker 2: Bob didn't run away, maybe he had a secret life 460 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 2: that got him killed. Maybe investigators thought he went up 461 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,199 Speaker 2: to Tower Road because he was a drug user and 462 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,520 Speaker 2: had planned to meet someone to purchase drugs. That also 463 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 2: may have explained his strange behavior when talking with Mary, 464 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,399 Speaker 2: sister Genevieve's friend, but according to Detective Pointon, this was 465 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 2: also quickly ruled out. Bob was both literally and figuratively 466 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,439 Speaker 2: a boy scout. Amy says he enjoyed a cigar and 467 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,440 Speaker 2: a beer with his friends who doesn't. But he never 468 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 2: tried anything more adventurous. 469 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:39,919 Speaker 5: I know, people said, oh, was he You think he 470 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 5: was going up there to get drugs? 471 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 4: No, I mean, even back then, twenty five bucks isn't 472 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:45,639 Speaker 4: gonna Why would you. 473 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 5: He wouldn't have done that. It just wasn't him. If 474 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:49,679 Speaker 5: he was going to get. 475 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,159 Speaker 4: Drugs, why wouldn't you got him in the city and 476 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 4: taken him to the small you know what I mean? 477 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:56,920 Speaker 4: I don't Who would he know in the rural area 478 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 4: to get drugs. He didn't know anybody up there, Bob. 479 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,400 Speaker 2: He also didn't have any enemies or vengeful girlfriends, and 480 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:04,480 Speaker 2: he wasn't the kind. 481 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,639 Speaker 7: Of guy to pick a fight, you know, no issues, 482 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 7: relationship issues. 483 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 6: He didn't have any beasts with anyone. He was a 484 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 6: real likable guy. 485 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 4: He played a couple of years of football growing up. 486 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 4: But he just didn't have the tenacity. My dad was 487 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 4: kind of disappointed, But he just didn't have the tenacity. 488 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 4: He didn't want to hurt somebody else, and that's how 489 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 4: he always was. 490 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,200 Speaker 2: Detective Point is convinced that he would not have disappeared 491 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,359 Speaker 2: of his own volition, But much like the rest of 492 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,160 Speaker 2: this case, there's a wrinkle in that theory too. 493 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 4: My dad hunted with the boys from the day they 494 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 4: were able to go hunting. He took them deer hunting, 495 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:47,760 Speaker 4: and they did some squirrel hunting and small game and 496 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:50,560 Speaker 4: a lot of fishing. We all went fishing, and the 497 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 4: Griffith farm was right there by that hunting land that 498 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:59,440 Speaker 4: was pretty much open to anybody. So my dad and 499 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,840 Speaker 4: his brother and their kids all hunted up there. 500 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 2: The Griffiths, remember, are Randy's family, and the up there, 501 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 2: Amy mentions, is the same area where Bob's car was found. 502 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 2: She says the car was parked just around the corner 503 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:15,480 Speaker 2: from where they usually parked to go hunting, and Bob 504 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 2: had been up there many times. That's part of the 505 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 2: reason they were driving those roads in the first place 506 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 2: on their search, even though it wasn't on the way 507 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 2: to Randy's house. That's too much of a coincidence for 508 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 2: detective point. 509 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,200 Speaker 7: I mean, it would be a low probability that he 510 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 7: would have ended up in that area just randomly without 511 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 7: knowing it. But it's very off the beaten path, very 512 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 7: rule how he ended up in the same you know, 513 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,320 Speaker 7: within a half mile or so of his child at 514 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 7: hunting grounds just by coincidence I did. I don't. I 515 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 7: don't think there's that's a coincidence. I think that that 516 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 7: happened for a reason. 517 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 2: In other words, while Bob didn't disappear by choice, he 518 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 2: almost certainly drove up to that area of his own volition. 519 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:12,280 Speaker 2: The question is why. Part six, John Wayne Gacy. You 520 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:14,720 Speaker 2: may have your own theories about what Bob was doing 521 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:18,200 Speaker 2: near the convent that evening. I know I do. But 522 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:20,760 Speaker 2: before we get to that, we have one more piece 523 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,800 Speaker 2: to add to this puzzle. Bob disappeared in nineteen seventy seven. 524 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 2: One year later, in nineteen seventy eight, Chicagoland police arrested 525 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 2: one of the most vicious and notorious serial killers in 526 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 2: American history, John Wayne Gasey. Gasey raped, tortured, and murdered 527 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:44,800 Speaker 2: at least thirty three young men and boys between nineteen 528 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,760 Speaker 2: seventy two and nineteen seventy eight. He would often lure 529 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,880 Speaker 2: young men back to his Chicago home, where he would 530 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 2: violate them, kill them, and bury them in the crawl 531 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,320 Speaker 2: space of his house, or dump them in the Deplains River. 532 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,720 Speaker 2: Fest of these murders, and after a lengthy trial and 533 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 2: appeal process, was executed in May of nineteen ninety four. 534 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:11,400 Speaker 2: Barriboo and Madison are only about two and a half 535 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:15,479 Speaker 2: hours from Chicago, which was close enough to stir dread 536 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 2: in Bob's mother, close enough to warrant sending his dental 537 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 2: records to Chicago. 538 00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 5: I know when that whole case broke. 539 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 4: I know, my mom asked for my brother's dental records 540 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,200 Speaker 4: to be sent down there. So I mean, as far 541 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 4: as I know, they did send his dental records, but 542 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 4: they didn't have DNA back then, you know, And so 543 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:40,600 Speaker 4: I don't know if there was any more they could 544 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 4: have done as far as that. But that's how we 545 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,160 Speaker 4: found out about all this is they reopened the case again. 546 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:51,480 Speaker 2: Detective Points told me that Gaysey's name does appear in 547 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,320 Speaker 2: the case file, but it doesn't sound like he was 548 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:59,000 Speaker 2: ever considered very seriously. That's because most of Gaysey's known 549 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 2: victims were from the Windy City, and law enforcement had 550 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 2: no real reason to think that Gaysey had traveled up 551 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:09,200 Speaker 2: to Baraboo. But then, not too long ago, Detective Pointing 552 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,680 Speaker 2: got a tip. Turns out Gaysey was in the Barriboo 553 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 2: area and at nearly the exact same time that Bob disappeared. 554 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 7: John Wayne Gacy at the time in nineteen seventy seven 555 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 7: was a contractor for a company that kind of specialized 556 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 7: in updating or upgrading older pharmacies to more modern look 557 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 7: or design, and he had been in Readsburg in July 558 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 7: seventy seven for a pharmacy job, and I was able 559 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 7: to confirm that with one of the owners of the 560 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:42,120 Speaker 7: pharmacy at the time. 561 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,960 Speaker 2: Reidsburg is a thirty minute drive from where Bob's car 562 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 2: was found, about twenty miles as the crow flies, and 563 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,520 Speaker 2: that wasn't Gaysey's only trip to the area. Detective Point 564 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,560 Speaker 2: received another tip that Gacy had also done some work 565 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,320 Speaker 2: in the town of Maston, which is about half an 566 00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 2: hour northwest to Reidsburg, and work wasn't the only reason 567 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:06,320 Speaker 2: Gaysey may have been attracted to the Reedsburg Baraboo area. 568 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:11,479 Speaker 2: Gaysey was famously a clown, not like a class clown, 569 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:15,160 Speaker 2: but an actual clown. One of his nicknames was the 570 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 2: Killer Clown because he joined a clown club in nineteen 571 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:21,360 Speaker 2: seventy five and performed as Pogo the Clown and Patches. 572 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 6: The clown. 573 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:25,920 Speaker 2: Gaysey for you younger listeners, is likely the inspiration for 574 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:30,920 Speaker 2: subsequent depictions of clowns as villains, especially Stephen King's horror 575 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:35,160 Speaker 2: novel and the film it. Another weird coincidence is that 576 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:39,640 Speaker 2: in that novel, the clown claims that his name is Bob. 577 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 2: Gaysey's interest in clowns may have drawn him to Baraboo, 578 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,600 Speaker 2: because it turns out that Baraboo is a clown nuts 579 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:51,600 Speaker 2: dream vacation. It's the site of the Ringling Brothers first 580 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:55,840 Speaker 2: circus and home to the Owl Ringling Mansion. Today, Baraboo 581 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,239 Speaker 2: has a Ringling brewing company, a Ringling theater, and a 582 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 2: Ringling bed and breakfast. It's so well known for circuses 583 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,600 Speaker 2: and clowns that the International Clown Hall of Fame chose 584 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:10,480 Speaker 2: Baraboo as its headquarters in nineteen eighty six. All of 585 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,239 Speaker 2: that was enough to convince Detective Pointing to take a 586 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 2: closer look at Gaysey as a potential suspect. Now, being 587 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,400 Speaker 2: in another town in July isn't the same thing as 588 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:24,160 Speaker 2: abducting Bob in September. It's also worth pointing out that 589 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:28,160 Speaker 2: even though Gaysey targeted young men much like Bob, many 590 00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 2: of them were homeless. He would often pretend to befriend 591 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:34,759 Speaker 2: his victims and then lure them into his home, not 592 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:39,640 Speaker 2: violently kidnap them on the street. Still, if Bob and 593 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:44,160 Speaker 2: Gacy had somehow met, it's possible the eighteen year old 594 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:49,320 Speaker 2: was another of Gaysey's victims. To this day, investigators aren't 595 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,759 Speaker 2: sure whether they've accounted for everyone Gaysey killed. While he 596 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,200 Speaker 2: admitted to some of the killings, he was vague and 597 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:59,280 Speaker 2: evasive about everything he did. He was convicted of killing 598 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 2: thirty three pe Twenty nine bodies were found in the 599 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:05,160 Speaker 2: crawl space of his home, and another four were pulled 600 00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:09,120 Speaker 2: from the Deplain's River, but five of those bodies still 601 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,960 Speaker 2: haven't been identified, and Detective point In wonders whether one 602 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 2: of them might be Bob. We don't have any samples 603 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 2: of Bob's DNA, much like we don't have any of 604 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 2: his fingerprints. But back in twenty thirteen, Amy and her 605 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:26,680 Speaker 2: father submitted DNA samples to Cotis, which is a DNA 606 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,359 Speaker 2: database used by law enforcement. They did this so that 607 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,280 Speaker 2: if an unidentified body was found anywhere in the country, 608 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:36,880 Speaker 2: investigators might be able to match that body to Amy 609 00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:40,760 Speaker 2: or her father. So far, they haven't had any hits, 610 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:44,880 Speaker 2: but Detective Pointing isn't taking any chances. He requested the 611 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:48,359 Speaker 2: Cook County Sheriff's Office, which includes Chicago, to run a 612 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:52,719 Speaker 2: direct comparison between the unidentified gaycy victims and Amy and 613 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:53,200 Speaker 2: her father. 614 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:59,320 Speaker 7: My understanding is that a blood sibling and father should 615 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:03,440 Speaker 7: have a close enough profile to you know, if one 616 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,840 Speaker 7: of these victims is Robert, that it would match close 617 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:07,640 Speaker 7: enough that they'd. 618 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 6: Be able to say that. 619 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 2: Cook County officials agreed to conduct the testing. A detective 620 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 2: point is waiting for results. There is no timeline for 621 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,880 Speaker 2: when those might be available, but he submitted their request 622 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,640 Speaker 2: months ago, so it could be any day. I asked 623 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,759 Speaker 2: Amy how she would feel if the DNARE results came 624 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:26,520 Speaker 2: back positive. 625 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:30,480 Speaker 4: It's not always great to know what happened. If it 626 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,279 Speaker 4: ends up being this John Wayne Gacy, he probably didn't 627 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,839 Speaker 4: have a very good ending, but at least it would 628 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,919 Speaker 4: be some resolution, you know, there would be some finality 629 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,080 Speaker 4: to it. If the DNA came back positive, then we 630 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:46,000 Speaker 4: would know for sure what happened to him. 631 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:56,520 Speaker 2: Part seven. Questions and Coincidences. The questions that surround Bob 632 00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:00,960 Speaker 2: Christian's disappearance are hard to wrap your head around. Was 633 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:05,680 Speaker 2: the person squatting at sister Genevieve's house responsible for Bob's disappearance, 634 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,720 Speaker 2: or was that a coincidence? If a county line didn't 635 00:37:09,719 --> 00:37:12,720 Speaker 2: separate the sister's house from where Bob's car was found, 636 00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:15,880 Speaker 2: would investigators have more quickly put two and two together. 637 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:20,440 Speaker 2: Did a murderer steal the tires from Bob's car or 638 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:24,200 Speaker 2: was it just an opportunistic tire thief? Why did the 639 00:37:24,239 --> 00:37:27,320 Speaker 2: tire thief take the tires with him and not swap 640 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,319 Speaker 2: them out right there? Did the car the farmer saw, 641 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:33,600 Speaker 2: the one with the stacked headlights belong to a kidnapper 642 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:37,839 Speaker 2: or just a curious local. Was Bob's car found near 643 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:41,160 Speaker 2: his childhood hunting ground because he drove it there? Or 644 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:46,480 Speaker 2: did the perpetrator just happen to park in that exact area. 645 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:49,000 Speaker 2: There are no clear answers to any of these questions, 646 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,680 Speaker 2: but if you're a hunter, you may have already had 647 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:55,800 Speaker 2: some insight into that last one. Remember, Bob and Randy 648 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:58,759 Speaker 2: had planned to hunt some family property north of Barriboo. 649 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:03,160 Speaker 2: But what if Bob was worried about their prospects. What 650 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,640 Speaker 2: if as he was driving to Randy's he figured he'd 651 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,000 Speaker 2: swing by his old hunting spots and just see what 652 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:10,840 Speaker 2: there was to see The area was heavily wooded, so 653 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:14,080 Speaker 2: a scouting trip wasn't the most practical, but the sun 654 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,960 Speaker 2: didn't set until around seven pm that night, and he 655 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,120 Speaker 2: would have had plenty of time to take a quick 656 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:21,439 Speaker 2: look around. Here's detective point. 657 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:27,000 Speaker 7: I'm a hunter as well, and that thought crossed my mind, like, well, 658 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,439 Speaker 7: if this place we don't go to doesn't pan out, 659 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:31,279 Speaker 7: you know, maybe in the afternoon, we'll go try this 660 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,839 Speaker 7: other spot that I've been to before, and maybe I'll 661 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:37,359 Speaker 7: just go check it out and see where we could 662 00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:40,640 Speaker 7: park and go in or whatever. Maybe see if I 663 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:43,480 Speaker 7: can see something a scouting mission basically. 664 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:46,879 Speaker 2: Amy also thinks this could explain why Bob ended up 665 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:48,799 Speaker 2: so far off the route to Randy's. 666 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,640 Speaker 5: He might have been just checking it out for gun season. 667 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:55,440 Speaker 4: You know, they hunted up there so long that it 668 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,879 Speaker 4: wouldn't surprise me that he was just going to drive 669 00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:00,840 Speaker 4: by and he would have just parked where they knowally parked. 670 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,719 Speaker 4: I just wouldn't be surprised at all if Bob just 671 00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:06,880 Speaker 4: went up there to see his spots. 672 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:11,120 Speaker 2: Unfortunately, as with most things in this case, there's a 673 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:12,600 Speaker 2: convincing counter argument. 674 00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:14,000 Speaker 6: Here's Randy. 675 00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:17,960 Speaker 3: It's possible he went up there to the scalp, but 676 00:39:18,719 --> 00:39:21,200 Speaker 3: he still sit there and going like, well, then why 677 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:24,759 Speaker 3: didn't he called me and say that before he left 678 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:26,360 Speaker 3: Madison on nerves. 679 00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:28,000 Speaker 2: Because then he would have been late. You know, he's 680 00:39:28,040 --> 00:39:30,239 Speaker 2: going to be late. He's going to be later. You know, 681 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:34,239 Speaker 2: he keeps going in all that the direction Bob was 682 00:39:34,239 --> 00:39:38,000 Speaker 2: a responsible kit Dinner started at six pm sharp, and 683 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:41,200 Speaker 2: he wasn't raised to keep Missus Griffith or his friend waiting. 684 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,200 Speaker 2: If he left Madison at five point fifteen, he would 685 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:46,799 Speaker 2: have been to Randy's house at least eighteen minutes late 686 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:49,600 Speaker 2: if he'd taken a detour to the bluffs, and that's 687 00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:52,720 Speaker 2: not even factoring in any time to do actual scouting. 688 00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:56,360 Speaker 2: Of course, Bob could have misunderstood the time and assumed 689 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,480 Speaker 2: he had more of a window than he did. But 690 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:02,880 Speaker 2: the fact is that wasn't much like Bob either. Whatever happened, 691 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:05,920 Speaker 2: whether Bob met the wrong person on the road or 692 00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:09,760 Speaker 2: was kidnapped, or whether he was targeted by John Wayne Gacy, 693 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:12,279 Speaker 2: or he had some kind of accident that left his 694 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:16,040 Speaker 2: body hidden in the woods, Amy, their family and Bob's 695 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:24,520 Speaker 2: friends are still struggling. This isn't the only tragedy to 696 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:27,680 Speaker 2: have struck the Christian family. In the spring of nineteen 697 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:31,520 Speaker 2: eighty three, one of Bob's other sisters, Kathy, was found 698 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:36,480 Speaker 2: dead inside a burned out Wisconsin barr Further investigation revealed 699 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:39,080 Speaker 2: that Kathy had been murdered by three members of a 700 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,080 Speaker 2: biker gang, who then set the bar on fire to 701 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:45,880 Speaker 2: try to cover up their crimes. Detective Point is convinced 702 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,920 Speaker 2: that Kathy's death has nothing to do with Bob's disappearance. 703 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,600 Speaker 2: She was only fifteen years old when Bob died and 704 00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:55,680 Speaker 2: didn't start hanging around bikers until later, but to lose 705 00:40:55,840 --> 00:41:00,000 Speaker 2: two children in six years was devastating to the Christian family. 706 00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:04,279 Speaker 2: Amy remembers being there when they visited her father at 707 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,640 Speaker 2: his work to break the news about Kathy. 708 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:09,960 Speaker 4: I mean there was a few years I told my husband, 709 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,239 Speaker 4: I thought my parents were going to end up splitting up. 710 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:15,359 Speaker 5: I mean, that was pretty rough to have. My one 711 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:16,560 Speaker 5: memory of. 712 00:41:18,719 --> 00:41:21,360 Speaker 4: When the police came to our house with my sister 713 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:24,480 Speaker 4: is going with my mom to oskar Myers and my 714 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:27,080 Speaker 4: dad coming down to the security shack and he was 715 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:31,160 Speaker 4: so happy he thought they finally found something out about 716 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:35,360 Speaker 4: my brother, only to find that his oldest. 717 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:38,040 Speaker 5: Daughter was killed. And I'll never forget that. 718 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:41,000 Speaker 4: You know, look on his face and it's like I 719 00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:44,399 Speaker 4: remember myself thinking why what did we do? 720 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:49,880 Speaker 2: As Amy has looked back on these experiences, she's realized 721 00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:53,359 Speaker 2: that it's helped her to be more understanding and compassionate 722 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:57,640 Speaker 2: towards others. Her faith has kept her tragedies in perspective, 723 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,839 Speaker 2: and she believes now that her parents have pasted, they 724 00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:04,520 Speaker 2: know what happened to Bob and that God has taken 725 00:42:04,560 --> 00:42:08,200 Speaker 2: care of them. Still, she would like to be able 726 00:42:08,239 --> 00:42:11,480 Speaker 2: to put her brother's remains to rest beside her sister. 727 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:15,920 Speaker 4: It would be awesome if we could find any remains 728 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:18,640 Speaker 4: and put him to rest. That I know would mean 729 00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:22,120 Speaker 4: a lot to my parents. I know God took care 730 00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:22,480 Speaker 4: of them. 731 00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:25,920 Speaker 2: She might get a chance. Detective Pointin told me that 732 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:28,799 Speaker 2: the Gacy lead isn't the only one he's been tracking down. 733 00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:32,360 Speaker 2: Thanks to a few recent media articles, there's been a 734 00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:34,720 Speaker 2: renewed interest in Bob's case. 735 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:38,560 Speaker 7: I've gotten a lot of good tips that have kept 736 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:41,480 Speaker 7: me moving forward. There's a lot of people out there 737 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:45,440 Speaker 7: I'm finding that, for one reason or another, didn't say 738 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:48,400 Speaker 7: anything back then. But given the passage of time and 739 00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:51,520 Speaker 7: stewing on it for a while, they've changed her mind. 740 00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:52,719 Speaker 6: You know. 741 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:56,520 Speaker 7: The hope is that there's somebody out there who maybe 742 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:58,920 Speaker 7: wasn't in a position to say something back then, or 743 00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:01,719 Speaker 7: to a family member they suspected were involved or told 744 00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:04,320 Speaker 7: them they were involved, and now that person's gone, or 745 00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:07,840 Speaker 7: they're in a different position now where they feel comfortable 746 00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:09,360 Speaker 7: talking to law enforcement. 747 00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:12,759 Speaker 2: If that's you, Detective Point and wants to speak with you, 748 00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:16,120 Speaker 2: give the Sack County Sheriff's Office a call at six 749 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:19,520 Speaker 2: oh eight three five five three two zero five. You 750 00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:22,200 Speaker 2: can also reach out anonymously to the Stck County Crime 751 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:25,680 Speaker 2: Stoppers at one eight eight eight eight four seven seven 752 00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:29,200 Speaker 2: two eighty five to those who might know something and 753 00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:31,640 Speaker 2: are wondering whether they should pick up the phone and 754 00:43:31,719 --> 00:43:35,360 Speaker 2: dial one of those numbers. Amy has this to say. 755 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:39,200 Speaker 4: It's been very difficult all these years not knowing what 756 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:43,359 Speaker 4: happened to our brother, and you know, my parents never 757 00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:46,719 Speaker 4: did have any resolution for that for themselves, and it 758 00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:50,080 Speaker 4: would be an awesome thing for them to come forward 759 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:53,239 Speaker 4: if they know, you know, even if there's that kind 760 00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:57,600 Speaker 4: of resolution, at least to know something about what happened 761 00:43:57,600 --> 00:43:59,759 Speaker 4: to him, I mean, just to have him go on 762 00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:02,719 Speaker 4: a Friday night to meet somebody and then never show up. 763 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:06,920 Speaker 4: And it's just it's sad. It's sad not to know, 764 00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:09,120 Speaker 4: and I know there's a lot of our family members 765 00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:11,359 Speaker 4: that would like some kind of closure with it. 766 00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:16,120 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to this episode of Blood Trails. If 767 00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:18,560 Speaker 2: you'd like to see images related to this case, including 768 00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:21,840 Speaker 2: images of Bob and crime scene photos of his abandoned car, 769 00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:25,160 Speaker 2: head over to the meeteater dot com slash blood Trails 770 00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:27,880 Speaker 2: and click on the case file for this episode and 771 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:30,120 Speaker 2: be on the lookout for a special bonus drop when 772 00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:33,400 Speaker 2: the DNA results come back from the unidentified gasey victims. 773 00:44:33,719 --> 00:44:35,440 Speaker 2: We'll be sure to keep you in the loop as 774 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:38,160 Speaker 2: soon as we know more. If you have a tip 775 00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:40,799 Speaker 2: about this case or another case you think we should cover, 776 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:43,680 Speaker 2: send us an email at blood Trails at the meat 777 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:46,239 Speaker 2: eater dot com. That's b l O O D T 778 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:50,040 Speaker 2: R A I L S at the meaeater dot com. 779 00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:50,920 Speaker 2: See you next time.