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Mary Johnson

Mary Johnson hadn’t been acting like herself for months. She and her husband were having marital problems, and she was thinking about next steps. The 39-year-old was staying with friends, only returning home to shower and pick up more clothes. On Friday, November 25, 2020, Mary started walking toward a church in Tulalip, Washington. She never arrived. It would be nearly two weeks before she was reported missing, at which point Mary Johnson became part of America’s growing problem of missing and murdered indigenous women.

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Alicia Markovich

On a spring day in 1987, a 15-year-old girl has an argument with her father and takes off on foot, never to be seen again. Police in the small Pennsylvania town of Blairsville immediately wrote her off as a runaway, but her mother didn’t believe that explanation for a second. Now, over 34 years after her disappearance, Alicia Markovich’s best friends are leading the charge to find answers in her case. They haven’t forgotten their friend, and they want to make sure that everyone knows her name.

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Katelin Akens

In 2015, 19-year-old Katelin Akens had graduated high school and was getting ready to start a new life. The teenager fell in love, and left her small Virginia town to move across the country to Arizona with her fiancee. She was living her life and making changes, but when her sister gave birth to a son that December, Katelin immediately flew home to meet her new nephew. The trip was a short one, only about four days. She had a plane ticket back to Arizona on December 5, but she never made it to the airport. Six years later, Katelin still hasn’t been found, but her family believes they know exactly who knows the full story.

If you have any information on Katelin Akens’s whereabouts, please contact the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office at 540-582-7115.

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Orrin and Orson West

On December 21, 2020, two little boys were playing on their back patio while their father gathered firewood. When they mysteriously disappear from their backyard, the police and the small community of California City, California immediately start to search for 4-year-old Orrin West and 3-year-old Orson West. But it quickly becomes apparent that things aren’t as they seem, and the investigation takes a darker turn. But now, over one-year-later, this case is marred by suspicions, accusations, but no sign of the brothers. Just a community left asking, “where are the boys?”

Anyone who has any information on the disappearance of Orrin and Orson West, or people who have had any interactions with the boys at all in 2020, is urged to contact the California City Police Department at 760-373-8606. To remain anonymous you can call the secret witness line at 661-322-4040.

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Unplug From the Darkness: Accomplishments

Unplug From the Darkness is our Patreon-exclusive show about mental health, hosted by Ethan. Join us at any tier for this exclusive content!

In this New Year's episode of Unplug From the Darkness, Ethan discusses how to eat an elephant and his takeaways from David Goggins's book, "Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds." Like all conversations in the new year, this one turns to resolutions and fitness. There's a lot of talk about Peloton, and if you'd like to join us on the leaderboard, we're #RealtorKona and #AchyRider. 

Happy new year!!

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Bonus: Michael Vaughan

On July 27, 2021, 5-year-old Michael Vaughan was sitting in his living room in Fruitland, Idaho, playing video games. His father left him there to go check on Michael’s younger sister and order a pizza. He was gone for maybe 15 or 20 minutes. But when he came back, his little boy was gone. Now, four months later, Michael “Monkey” Vaughan is still missing, and his parents are begging for police and the public to not let his case go cold. 

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Fruitland Police Department at 208-642-6006, ext. 0 or contact the department through its tip line at findmichael@fruitland.org.

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Unplug From the Darkness: Regret

Unplug From the Darkness is our Patreon-exclusive show about mental health, hosted by Ethan. Join us at any tier for this exclusive content!

In this edition of Unplug from the Darkness, Ethan discusses regret and how to use it to better yourself. It's okay to have regrets, to identify them, and make sure you learn ways to improve future relationships. The conversation also takes a brief sidebar into the seminal Gwyneth Paltrow movie, "Sliding Doors," and Kona tries and fails to use the subject as an opportunity to make fun of Ethan.

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Johnny Gosch: Part 2

On September 5, 1982, Johnny Gosch spoke to a man in a blue car before he began his Sunday paper route. Moments later, he would be gone, with his red wagon full of undelivered newspapers left behind. A lackluster police investigation led to his case going cold rather quickly, but the next several years would be filled with sightings and other signs that Johnny was out there somewhere. All culminating with a jailhouse confession from a man who claimed he knew exactly what happened to Johnny Gosch, because he’s the one who helped kidnap him.

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Merch Store is Open!

Hey everyone! We may be on a break, but we're still hard at work. We've launched our merch store on Teepublic. 

You can find classic designs, as well as special ones that benefit NCMEC, Black and Missing Foundation, and The Trevor Project!

We'd also love to hear your merch ideas, and if you're artistic, you can make your own! All you have to do is sign up here and upload your design. Send us the link, and we'll put it in our merch store. Best of all, you'll get paid for every sale! 

Thanks again for all of your support!

- Kona and Ethan

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Johnny Gosch: Part 1

An entrepreneurial 12-year-old wanted to earn money to buy a dirt bike, so he started delivering newspapers. On Sunday, September 5, 1982, Johnny Gosch loaded up his red wagon with copies of the Des Moines Register and set off on his early-morning route. Johnny was usually accompanied by his father, but this morning, he only had his dog with him. The people on his route all knew Johnny and his family, so when they hadn’t gotten their Sunday paper, some customers started calling the Gosch home. Johnny’s father went out to find his son, but instead of the 12-year-old, he only found the red wagon and his dog. Now, nearly 40 years later, this case has bred multiple conspiracy theories going up to the top levels of U.S. government, and has left people still passionately debating what happened to Johnny Gosh.

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Brandi Summers & Tiffani Wise: Part 2

When his wife, Beverly Wise was murdered in their San Bernardino, California home in 1977 and their two oldest children were kidnapped, Claude Wise feared that he would never see them again. But two years later, in 1979, detectives told him that they believed his children were still alive. In fact, their investigation would reveal that the children had been hiding in plain sight: eating out in restaurants, and attending Sunday School. But despite multiple arrests, and the lengthiest and most expensive trial in San Bernardino’s history, Brandi Summers and Tiffany Wise’s whereabouts remain unknown, over 40 years later. Claude Wise and his youngest daughter Stacy are still searching, and they believe that there are many people who are still alive who hold the answers to this mystery.

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Brandi Summers & Tiffani Wise: Part 1

On the afternoon of March 30, 1977, a young mother is brutally stabbed to death while home with her three young children. Her two oldest children, Brandi Summers and Tiffani Wise were taken. Her youngest child, Stacy Wise, who was only eight months old at the time, was later found sitting alone in the hallway, completely unharmed. Over the course of the next three years, police would uncover what seemingly amounted to a criminal conspiracy, spanning across several states. But despite many witness accounts and even a highly publicized and lengthy trial, Tiffani and Brandi remain missing, over 40 years later.

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Unplug From The Darkness: Let’s Talk Depression

Unplug From the Darkness is a show about mental health hosted by Ethan. It is exclusively available to our subscribers on Patreon.

In the most recent episode of And Then They Were Gone, we covered the case of Timmothy Pitzen. In it, we talk a lot about the depression that his mother, Amy Frye-Pitzen, was suffering from. In this episode of Unplug From the Darkness, Kona and Ethan talk about post-partum depression and how, as a partner, you can support someone going through this.

You can listen to all episodes of Unplug From the Darkness by subscribing to any tier on our Patreon page.

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Timmothy Pitzen

A mom takes her six-year-old son out of school for a day at the zoo. It’s basically every kid’s dream. But Amy Fry-Pitzen failed to tell her husband about these plans, so he was confused when he went to pick his son, Timmothy up at the end of the school day, only to be told by the school secretary that he was gone. Amy was found shortly thereafter, but Timmothy remains missing, nearly 10 years later, leaving a shattered father living in limbo, waiting for his son to come home.

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Daniel Robinson

A young geologist goes to work, but once he gets there, he’s acting confused and leaves 15 minutes later. His co-workers are concerned, and when time passes and he doesn’t respond to his family’s calls and texts, they begin to worry as well. Did Daniel Robinson decide to disconnect and leave on his own, or, as his family suspects, did he fall victim to a darker fate? It’s been four months, and Daniel’s family is left with more questions than answers, and a desperate desire to find their missing loved one.

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Kelley Brannon

A couple starts off from Florida on a long road trip. But instead of making it to their ultimate destination together, the boyfriend returns alone to his mother’s home in his girlfriend’s car, and says he has no clue where she is. This isn’t the case you may be thinking of. This is the story of the 2020 disappearance of 36-year-old Kelley Brannon, from Live Oak, Florida, and the friends who are desperate for answers.

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Sophie Long: Part 2

CW: Child sexual abuse

A couple is going through a nasty custody battle. And then they go viral for the worst reason imaginable. Their 9-year-old daughter, Sophie, alleges that she is being sexually abused while at her mother’s house. The case is investigated, but one year later, in July of 2021, Sophie’s dad, Michael, abducts her. He claims that he’s trying to save her, but Sophie’s mother claims that he’s the dangerous one. Now, in September of 2021, Michael is still on the run with Sophie, and people are left wondering, who’s telling the truth?

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Sophie Long: Part 1

CW: Child sexual abuse

A couple is going through a nasty custody battle. And then they go viral for the worst reason imaginable. Their 9-year-old daughter, Sophie, alleges that she is being sexually abused while at her mother’s house. The case is investigated, but one year later, in July of 2021, Sophie’s dad, Michael, abducts her. He claims that he’s trying to save her, but Sophie’s mother claims that he’s the dangerous one. Now, in September of 2021, Michael is still on the run with Sophie, and people are left wondering, who’s telling the truth?

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Akia Eggleston

A woman goes missing under bizarre circumstances with a very clear suspect. Sound familiar? You probably haven't heard the story of Akia Eggleston, the 22-year-old black woman who went missing from Baltimore in 2017 when she was eight months pregnant. Despite a difficult pregnancy and suspicious circumstances surrounding her disappearance, Baltimore City Police suggested that she simply took off. But Akia didn't show up to her own baby shower, and her family knew something was horribly wrong. They have spent the last four years trying to get answers and justice for Akia Eggleston and her unborn child, and bring them both home.

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Gabby Petito

Gabby Petito and her fiance, Bryan Laundrie, are young, attractive, and Instagram-ready. The engaged couple bought a van, redid the inside, and set off for a cross-country adventure where they embraced hiking, the land, and the simple life. The couple left on July 2, 2021, and were supposed to be gone for 4 months. But on September 1, Brian returned home to Florida alone. Now, Gabby has officially been reported missing, and Brian isn’t talking. Where is Gabby Petito?

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