When 13-year-old Heather Dawn Church vanished from her Black Forest, Colorado home in 1991, the investigation faltered. Evidence was mishandled. Theories went nowhere. The system stayed quiet.
But one man refused to let her be forgotten.
Retired Colorado Springs Police commander John Wesley Anderson watched from the sidelines as the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office stumbled—and decided that if they wouldn’t fix it, he would. His campaign for sheriff wasn’t about politics. It was about purpose. Winning meant the chance to rebuild a broken department, reopen cold cases, and demand justice for Heather.
In this episode of Dark Dialogue, we uncover:
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How a failed investigation pushed Anderson to run for sheriff in 1994
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The scandals, culture, and investigative breakdowns inside the sheriff’s office before his win
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Why bringing in legendary detective Lou Smit was the key to changing everything
This is the story of how one election—and one determined cop—turned silence into action.
🎧 Listen now to discover how Heather’s case went from forgotten to front-page news—and the lengths one man would go to for justice.
Calls to Action (for show notes & platforms): If you believe stories like Heather’s deserve to be told: ✔ Follow & Subscribe to Dark Dialogue wherever you listen to podcasts ✔ Leave a rating & review—it helps more people find these cases ✔ Join the conversation at darkdialogue.com ✔ Support investigations via Patreon or Ko-fi ✔ Share this episode—because justice needs witnesses
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