April 23, 2024 • 27 mins
When the familiar becomes shrouded in mystery, and a family's heartache echoes through time, the story of Luke Stout emerges from the shadows. The haunting disappearance of a 24-year-old man whose absence left an indelible mark on his loved ones. His broken bicycle, discovered behind a local CVS, serves as a silent sentinel to the day his path veered into the unknown. With every piece of the puzzle, from the cryptic figure of Dylan to the poignant efforts of a mother's undying love, this episode is a reminder of the human connections that bind us even in the darkest of times.
Our exploration is more than a recounting of facts; it's an active search for clarity in the murky waters of an unsolved case. As we unravel the Stout family's unwavering commitment, revealed through their continued vow to unearth the truth, we invite you to become a part of the narrative. Your unique perspectives and any information can shed light on this ongoing investigation, potentially guiding family members toward the closure so desperately needed. Dark Crossroads Podcast isn't just a place for stories—it's a beacon for those who believe in the power of community and the relentless pursuit of answers.
Paris Rhône
Paris Rhône main products include household items, polishers, and coffee grinders.
Babbily
10% Off Month 1 with promo code dark10
Please send cases you want covered or stories you want read on the podcast to darkcrossroadspodcast@gmail.com. Don't forget to like, share, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you're listening to us. You can subscribe through the link in the episode notes to receive bonus content, discounts on future merchandise, and other extras.
Be Weird. Stay Different. Don't Trust Anyone!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Welcome to Dark Crossroads Podcast, hosted by
Roxanne Fletcher.
This is your stop for allthings true crime and paranormal
.
From the infamous story of theNew Bedford Highway Killer to
the chilling tale of the BlackEyed Children, dark Crossroads
Podcast is a truly deep diveinto the stories that frighten
and fascinate you.
All links to the show will beprovided in this episode's
(01:33):
description, and don't forget tolet us know what you think of
today's episode.
The following is a case thatwas sent in to us as a request
to cover.
I'm just putting this here togive them recognition, but also
(01:54):
to remind you, guys, that youcan request any cases or stories
that you want read on thepodcast or anything else.
Just email us todarkcrossroadspodcast at
gmailcom, or you can find us onall social media.
Luke Stout was a 24-year-oldyoung man who loved video games,
comic books, skateboarding and,most of all, he loved his
(02:16):
family.
He lived in Buckhannon, westVirginia, where he grew up with
his three older brothers.
He was also very close to hismother, elizabeth, who he had
remained living with so that hecould take care of her.
She was terminally ill at thetime and relied on all of her
boys to help her On the morningof July 18th of 2012, Luke took
(02:37):
his broken green bicycle andwalked down the driveway.
He was taking it to hisfriend's house where they were
going to fix it up.
His friend, dylan, said that hewas sending someone over to
pick Luke up and Luke shouldmeet them at the end of his
driveway.
Luke's mother and brotherwatched Luke walk down the
driveway and out of sight andfrom this point on, luke was
(02:59):
never seen or heard from again.
Luke was born on July 6th of1988.
He was the youngest of fourboys, four brothers that his mom
often referred to as the fourmusketeers.
Luke was always a very selflesskid, wanting to help his mother
and his friends and alwaysthinking of others.
(03:20):
At the age of 16, he got a joband began working in an effort
to help his mother outfinancially.
That's a pretty admirablecharacter trait for a young man
and because of his help, thefamily was able to stay in their
home and have food on the table.
Luke's family lived inBuckhannon, west Virginia.
It is in the Upshur County andsits along the Buckhannon River.
(03:41):
It's a small town with justover 5,000 residents.
Buckhannon consists of lessthan three square miles and sits
at the foothills of theAllegheny Mountains.
You can imagine.
Like most of West Virginia, thearea is very rural and is
surrounded by forests, rivers,mountains and undeveloped land.
(04:03):
It is a known area for miningand is also home to the 2006
Sago Mine Disaster.
On January 2nd in 2006,lightning struck the mine,
igniting the coal and causing amassive explosion.
Twelve people lost their livesand there was only one survivor.
Buckhannon is still in anactive mining area of West
(04:26):
Virginia and is also known for aseries of abandoned mines.
Like many children growing up inWest Virginia, luke and his
brothers absolutely enjoyed theoutdoors.
However, luke was also known tolike video games, playing the
guitar, and many have said hewas a pretty good artist also.
In July of 2012, he lived withhis mother, primarily because
(04:49):
she had become terminally illand he wanted to be there for
her every step of the way.
He loved his mother and when hetraveled for work doing
construction, he was alwayscalling her to check in on her
and even buying things to bringhome for her.
Luke also had three olderbrothers and all of the boys
were known to be close to theirmother.
Earlier in the year of 2012,luke had let his car insurance
(05:13):
lapse and while he had a vehicle, he could not drive it.
It is not sure whether he wasmaking a responsible decision on
not to drive or if he had losthis license, but his car did
remain parked and he knew thathe could not drive it.
Luke had a bicycle and he knewhe would have to rely on this as
a mode of transportation.
His bicycle, however, needed alot of work.
(05:35):
On the afternoon of July 18thin 2012, he told his mother and
one of his brothers who was atthe home that day that he was
going to be taking the bicycleto the friend mentioned before
and they were going to work onit and fix it up.
He had told his mother thatDylan had the right tools needed
to fix his bike and he wasgoing to help Dylan fix his bike
(05:55):
and then they would fix Luke's.
That is the general overview ofthat the bicycle story.
It gets a little more confusingthan that, but truly all of
that is irrelevant.
And when it comes to Luke'sdisappearance On that warm July
day, luke made his way down thedriveway carrying the broken
green bike until he was out ofsight.
(06:16):
When his brother and motherwere not able to ever get a hold
of him again, his brother beganlooking around town for him.
Luke's mother also got out andphysically, despite being
terribly sick, looked for herson.
The police weren't interestedin taking a report, at least not
yet At the time.
They were thinking that Lukewas a 24-year-old young adult
(06:38):
and he could have possibly madethe decision to leave the area.
An interesting aspect of Luke'sstory is that no one is really
100% sure who his friend Dylanactually was.
His mother had said that he hadseveral friends named Dylan,
but they have been unable todetermine who he was meeting
with that day and none of theDylans have come forward with
(06:59):
that information either.
This definitely doesn't lookgood on Dylan's part, whoever he
may be.
A few days after Luke'sdisappearance, the brothers
found his bicycle behind a CVSpharmacy.
It was leaning up against atrailer and it was still broken.
When the brothers called theBuchanan police, they were
advised to just take the bicycleback home with them and wait
(07:20):
for Luke to return.
They didn't investigate orsearch the area for any clues.
At this time they did notbelieve anything had happened to
Luke Stout.
Now Luke's family knew this wasextremely out of character for
Luke.
Maybe there are many24-year-olds who just head off
and do their own things for awhile without contacting their
mother.
But Luke was not one of thosepeople.
(07:41):
Luke had never stayed out oftouch with his mother.
Luke's mom, elizabeth, wasabsolutely desperate for answers
.
She knew in her heart thatsomething was very wrong.
She began trying to get theattention of local police and
media.
A few local media outlets wouldpick up her story after some
time, but not many.
Inside.
She was broken.
(08:02):
So, taking a look at the roadLuke and his mother lived on,
which was Hickory Flat Road,there are many houses next to
one another.
While not necessarilyconsidered to some to be a
neighborhood, the area did looklike there were many houses
nearby.
A Google Maps search also showssome type of business, with
many trucks near the home whereLuke and Elizabeth lived.
(08:24):
Almost directly next door,there was also one small creek
and a nearby pond, but nothingelse in the way of bodies of
water, at least directly thereon Hickory Flat Road.
Of course, west Virginia as awhole is very rural and full of
water sources, but not directlythere on Luke's road.
No one claims to have seenanything that day.
(08:47):
No one saw Luke at the end ofthe driveway, no one remembers
him driving by and no oneremembers seeing him get picked
up.
In August, luke's story got alittle interesting and people
started talking.
This is because a young man'sbody was found in the area, a
young man by the name of JoshuaOberg.
(09:08):
Joshua had been missing sinceJanuary of 2012.
Shortly after his body wasdiscovered, two men were
arrested for his murder.
Jesse Lee Heater, age 29, andRobert Eugene Siren III, age 30,
were charged with taking apayment of $5,000 to kill him
(09:29):
and get rid of him in amurder-for-hire plot.
The man behind the plot, alocal restaurant owner, rodolfo
Correa Vila Gomez, also known asChino, did eventually plead
guilty to this crime.
Apparently, joshua had beenhaving an affair, or at least
had cheated, with Chino's wife.
(09:50):
When this all came out, someother things came to light also.
A couple months before Lukedisappeared, he had come home
after an altercation with noneother than the infamous Chino.
Allegedly, chino had shoved agun at Luke's head hard enough
to leave an imprint of a gunbarrel.
When Luke came home and his momsaw this, she urged him to file
(10:11):
a police report against Chino.
The police refused to documentthe incident.
It's also important to thinkabout that.
There are two versions of whathappened here.
The first version is that ofLuke's side.
Luke claims that he wasassaulted by Chino and that no
one would listen to him.
It hasn't been officiallyconfirmed if Luke was indeed
(10:33):
having an affair with Chino'swife, but it was confirmed that
they did know each other.
The other side of the story isthat Luke found himself in some
trouble one night and obviouslywas arrested.
He was drunk when the policebrought him in and he began
running his mouth about Chino.
He told the police the story ofhis attack and the police
advised him to come back andfile a report when he was sober,
(10:56):
but Luke never did that.
Law enforcement has notcommented on which version is
accurate, although one side doespaint a favorable picture of
law enforcement while one doesnot.
Elizabeth began to feel like noone was listening to her.
Rumors began to swirl about alocal police officer that was
(11:17):
out drinking at the bars andrunning his mouth about Luke.
Elizabeth became irate and wentto the media.
It turned out that thisindividual officer had 11 DUI
convictions and motions weremade to have him dismissed from
the force.
In September Elizabeth would becharged with assault of an
officer.
She was in her hospital bed,hooked up to IVs.
(11:39):
When she began arguing with anofficer At some point she took
out her IV herself and she threwit at him.
That same month one of Luke'sbrothers were charged with
assault of an officer as well.
Another brother would becharged with domestic violence
after punching a family member.
Elizabeth claims that Luke'sdisappearance has destroyed her
family and is ripping everybodyapart.
(12:02):
Some use these stories to pointout a history of criminal
activity within the family, butElizabeth says all of these
incidents have arisen from thestress over Luke's case and the
lack of support from lawenforcement.
In October, elizabeth took hercomplaints to a city council
meeting.
The meeting grew heated asElizabeth begged for more to be
(12:24):
done regarding her son'sdisappearance and what she
believed was possible foul play.
At this point Elizabeth and thefamily were certain that Luke
was no longer alive.
The family was asked to leavethe meeting as the council
members didn't feel it was theright place for them to air
their frustrations with thepolice.
In fact, at one point the mayorsaid he couldn't discuss the
(12:46):
case with them at all as he wasunfamiliar with it.
At the end of the meeting, asthings had heated up, he said
that the family's version ofevents did not match up with the
investigation facts, to whichElizabeth replied how could you
possibly know that if you areunfamiliar with the case?
I mean, if that's an accuratestatement, she definitely has an
(13:08):
extremely valid point.
Now let's look at the case ofJoshua Oberg.
It's hard to tell at thesurface.
Anyway.
If this case does explain whatmight have also happened to Luke
, it's hard to decipher what issmall-town gossip and what are
actual, true facts.
What we do know now is thatJoshua Oberg was found buried in
(13:30):
a shallow grave near Bull RunRoad.
The two individuals accused ofhis murder, robert and Jesse,
were found guilty.
Joshua Oberg had last been seenon January 23rd of the same
year, 2012, and he was last seengetting into a car with Robert
and Jesse.
As investigators kept tabs onthe two men, eventually, robert
(13:54):
told the whole story of thekilling to a confidential
informant.
He said that Chino had paidthem a large sum of money to
kill Joshua for having an affairwith his wife.
The confession also ledauthorities to Joshua's body.
Chino was subsequently arrestedand found guilty of several
crimes, one of those beingunlawful entry to the United
(14:16):
States of America.
Another is possessing 16firearms at his residence
illegally.
Another is second-degree murderand another is conspiracy to
commit murder.
It was also found out thatChino, who owned a Mexican
restaurant in Buckhannon, hadbeen deported twice before.
Somehow, this man continued toslip through the cracks.
(14:37):
Rumors began to swirl regardinga possible connection to Luke
Stout.
However, none of the meninvolved in Joshua's case ever
admitted anything regarding Luke, and while many people believe
that Chino was responsible forLuke's disappearance and the one
thing that people oftenquestion is the fact that facts
came out pretty readily andeasily about Joshua once Robert
(15:02):
and Jesse were arrested Somehave speculated that if they had
been a part of Luke'sdisappearance, they probably
would have negotiated and usedLuke's case to their advantage.
For example, one of them couldhave asked for a lighter
sentence in exchange for leadingthem to Luke's body or possibly
telling them what happened.
(15:22):
So it seems interesting thatall three men continue to deny
having anything to do with LukeStout's disappearance.
Could it be that maybe they aretelling the truth, or are they
just really good at keeping thisone secret?
Some questions that have alsocome up about Luke's case are
the following why didn't thepolice take a more active
(15:45):
involvement in his disappearance?
Is there a reason for this?
They haven't really come outpublicly to say anything, so
people are just left tospeculate.
Did nobody on his road see himat the end of his driveway?
Did anyone see him get into avehicle?
Did nobody happen to drive byat that exact moment?
His bicycle was found abandonedbehind the CVS store in town,
(16:08):
yet nobody saw him put the bikethere.
No security cameras.
Did Luke not have a cell phonethat could be tracked?
Why has his friend Dylan notcome forward?
You're expecting your friend tocome over and he doesn't show
up.
Or did he show up and somethinghappened later?
No matter what, when news ofLuke's disappearance hits, you'd
(16:30):
think this man would have comeforward with some information,
or even that detectives wouldhave been able to narrow it down
and figure out who this Dylanwas.
With all the information we dohave, there are a few theories
that are also possible.
Luke just left town Withabsolutely no evidence showing
foul play or harm to Luke.
(16:51):
This is a possibility, but withbeing such a close family
person and taking care of histerminally ill mother, it seems
relatively doubtful.
Plus, people don't believe thathe had any money at the time.
This was a young man whocouldn't even keep car insurance
on his vehicle and had to turnto using a bike for
(17:11):
transportation.
Another theory is that maybethere was an accident Surrounded
by wilderness.
Did Luke wander off and succumbto the elements?
Maybe his ride never showed upso he started walking.
Maybe he decided to take ashortcut through the woods?
There is a lot of wildernesssurrounding the area and even
(17:32):
some bodies of water.
The only question that peoplehave about this theory is about
the bike.
Did he drop it or leave itbehind and someone just randomly
found it?
But why would they put itbehind a CVS pharmacy?
And why has nobody come forwardsaying that they were the ones
that found the bike and wherethey had found it?
(17:53):
Another theory is foul play atthe hands of Chino and his men.
The possibility is there.
There is just absolutely noevidence, at least not as of yet
.
Another is foul play at thehands of somebody else.
What could have happened afterLuke left his home that fateful
July day?
Was Dylan involved?
(18:14):
Who is Dylan?
Was there a fight among friends?
That day, elizabeth Stoutstarted a Facebook page to help
spread awareness.
It is called Missing Luke Stout.
One thing that is noticeable isthat he had several different
types of looks Long hair, shorthair, clean cut look, shaggy
look, and he looks prettydifferent in each photo.
(18:37):
Elizabeth kept up on theFacebook page and posts
regularly.
It was her wish that she wouldlearn what happened to her son,
her Loki, before she died.
Unfortunately, elizabeth passedaway recently with still no
answers on where her youngestson was, but still the family
presses on for answers, as theyhad promised her that they would
(19:00):
.
Some quotes from Elizabeth onthe Missing Luke Stout Facebook
page are I love you, baby.
Your brothers love you the fourmusketeers.
July 18th 2012 will forever bethe worst date in my life For
you.
My youngest son said goodbye, Ilove you, and walked out the
(19:21):
door for the very last time notto return.
I, as a mother of a missingchild, have thoughts that I am
afraid to speak.
I, as a mother of a missingchild, have a crying soul, even
though I may smile.
I, as a mother of a missingchild, feels guilt others do not
understand.
(19:41):
I, as a mother of a missingchild, cries in silence in the
presence of others.
Loki, I will never give up.
I will stand up and speak foryou with everything I have left
in me.
This has and will always be.
This is the promise I made toyou from day one and I will keep
it, no matter where it leads me.
(20:01):
I will not stop until you arefound or we have the answers to
the questions we seek andeveryone involved pays for their
part my heart, my soul, myblood, my son.
I love you, luke, and you knowyou can count on mama.
Luke is described as 5'7 andweighing about 120 pounds at the
(20:24):
time of his disappearance.
He has brown hair and browneyes.
He was wearing a black t-shirtwith the sleeves cut off.
He wore jeans and blacksneakers with neon green
shoelaces.
He had a light jacket onbecause it was supposed to rain
that day.
He also wore a silver coloredprayer ring and had a shoulder
(20:46):
tattoo of skulls.
As a child, luke had a boneinfection that required surgery.
This resulted in one leg beingslightly shorter than the other
and a lower leg scar.
If you have any informationregarding Luke Stout, please
call the West Virginia StatePolice at 304-473-4200.
(21:12):
Got was from Wikipedia, also aMedium article written by
Jennifer, and also a lot ofinformation was obtained from
the when Are they podcast.
So, yeah, I just wanted to putall that in there to let you
(21:33):
guys know where you can alsolook for all these resources,
and I highly suggest that you goand follow this Facebook page,
because it is still active andthe family members are still
seeking answers, so every likeand share is extremely helpful
for this family and helpingreach the answers that they are
so desperately searching for.
I also just want to put alittle plug in here that we have
(21:54):
opened our merch store.
We are working on it every day,adding new things.
We are currently stocking up onMother's Day items.
There's a lot of cute things inthere, so if you want to get
your mom, grandmother oryourself a little something, a
little treat for Mother's Day,for the true crime or spooky
(22:15):
loving mom, head on over to thestore.
You can find it if you go toour social media or our website.
There is a link to our linktree and there you will find a
link to the merch store.
If you guys want to hang outagain, don't forget to check
back in.
All right, I love you guys somuch and don't forget to keep
being a weirdo, okay, all right,bye-bye, alrighty, so it's that
(22:47):
time, guys, to say goodbye, butbefore I do so, I just want to
send a thank you to all of mylisteners for your continued
love and support and for sendingin cases that you want covered
and stories that you want readon the podcast.
We truly accept all stories,including scary, paranormal and
funny.
Any cases you want covered orstories that you want read on
(23:09):
the podcast, just please sendthem in to
darkcrossroadspodcasts atgmailcom.
Thank you for hanging out againtoday and if you want any more
information about the podcast orcases and stories that we cover
, then head on over to thewebsite at
wwwdarkcrossroadspodcastcom.
There you can find all of theinformation about the podcast, a
link to our merch and also ourblog covering all of the cases
(23:33):
that we cover.
You can also find us on allsocial media platforms.
Don't forget to like share rate,review, subscribe wherever
you're listening to us.
You can subscribe to thepodcast for bonus information.
There is a link in all episodesin the notes that will send you
to our subscription page andwith that you will get bonus
content, discount on futuremerch and a lot of extra goodies
(23:54):
.
Every single dollar that comesthrough donations or through our
subscription goes straight intothe podcast, helping fund
research and it really helps usout and keeps this podcast going
.
And with all of this said,please don't forget to be weird,
stay different and don't trustanyone.
Dark Crossroads podcast isbrought to you by Problem
(24:38):
Wildlife serves all of westernMassachusetts and has been
humanely protecting your houseand your family from unwanted
pests for over 20 years.
Take back your space with ananimal control service that you
can trust.
They are family owned, fullylicensed, and are knowledgeable
(24:58):
and dependable.
To find out more about theirservice, simply visit their
website atwwwproblemwildliferemovalcom,
and their information will beincluded in our show notes.
Welcome to Dark Crossroads Podcast, hosted by
Roxanne Fletcher.
This is your stop for allthings true crime and paranormal
.
From the infamous story of theNew Bedford Highway Killer to
the chilling tale of the BlackEyed Children, dark Crossroads
Podcast is a truly deep diveinto the stories that frighten
and fascinate you.
All links to the show will beprovided in this episode's
(01:33):
description, and don't forget tolet us know what you think of
today's episode.
The following is a case thatwas sent in to us as a request
to cover.
I'm just putting this here togive them recognition, but also
(01:54):
to remind you, guys, that youcan request any cases or stories
that you want read on thepodcast or anything else.
Just email us todarkcrossroadspodcast at
gmailcom, or you can find us onall social media.
Luke Stout was a 24-year-oldyoung man who loved video games,
comic books, skateboarding and,most of all, he loved his
(02:16):
family.
He lived in Buckhannon, westVirginia, where he grew up with
his three older brothers.
He was also very close to hismother, elizabeth, who he had
remained living with so that hecould take care of her.
She was terminally ill at thetime and relied on all of her
boys to help her On the morningof July 18th of 2012, Luke took
(02:37):
his broken green bicycle andwalked down the driveway.
He was taking it to hisfriend's house where they were
going to fix it up.
His friend, dylan, said that hewas sending someone over to
pick Luke up and Luke shouldmeet them at the end of his
driveway.
Luke's mother and brotherwatched Luke walk down the
driveway and out of sight andfrom this point on, luke was
(02:59):
never seen or heard from again.
Luke was born on July 6th of1988.
He was the youngest of fourboys, four brothers that his mom
often referred to as the fourmusketeers.
Luke was always a very selflesskid, wanting to help his mother
and his friends and alwaysthinking of others.
(03:20):
At the age of 16, he got a joband began working in an effort
to help his mother outfinancially.
That's a pretty admirablecharacter trait for a young man
and because of his help, thefamily was able to stay in their
home and have food on the table.
Luke's family lived inBuckhannon, west Virginia.
It is in the Upshur County andsits along the Buckhannon River.
(03:41):
It's a small town with justover 5,000 residents.
Buckhannon consists of lessthan three square miles and sits
at the foothills of theAllegheny Mountains.
You can imagine.
Like most of West Virginia, thearea is very rural and is
surrounded by forests, rivers,mountains and undeveloped land.
(04:03):
It is a known area for miningand is also home to the 2006
Sago Mine Disaster.
On January 2nd in 2006,lightning struck the mine,
igniting the coal and causing amassive explosion.
Twelve people lost their livesand there was only one survivor.
Buckhannon is still in anactive mining area of West
(04:26):
Virginia and is also known for aseries of abandoned mines.
Like many children growing up inWest Virginia, luke and his
brothers absolutely enjoyed theoutdoors.
However, luke was also known tolike video games, playing the
guitar, and many have said hewas a pretty good artist also.
In July of 2012, he lived withhis mother, primarily because
(04:49):
she had become terminally illand he wanted to be there for
her every step of the way.
He loved his mother and when hetraveled for work doing
construction, he was alwayscalling her to check in on her
and even buying things to bringhome for her.
Luke also had three olderbrothers and all of the boys
were known to be close to theirmother.
Earlier in the year of 2012,luke had let his car insurance
(05:13):
lapse and while he had a vehicle, he could not drive it.
It is not sure whether he wasmaking a responsible decision on
not to drive or if he had losthis license, but his car did
remain parked and he knew thathe could not drive it.
Luke had a bicycle and he knewhe would have to rely on this as
a mode of transportation.
His bicycle, however, needed alot of work.
(05:35):
On the afternoon of July 18thin 2012, he told his mother and
one of his brothers who was atthe home that day that he was
going to be taking the bicycleto the friend mentioned before
and they were going to work onit and fix it up.
He had told his mother thatDylan had the right tools needed
to fix his bike and he wasgoing to help Dylan fix his bike
(05:55):
and then they would fix Luke's.
That is the general overview ofthat the bicycle story.
It gets a little more confusingthan that, but truly all of
that is irrelevant.
And when it comes to Luke'sdisappearance On that warm July
day, luke made his way down thedriveway carrying the broken
green bike until he was out ofsight.
(06:16):
When his brother and motherwere not able to ever get a hold
of him again, his brother beganlooking around town for him.
Luke's mother also got out andphysically, despite being
terribly sick, looked for herson.
The police weren't interestedin taking a report, at least not
yet At the time.
They were thinking that Lukewas a 24-year-old young adult
(06:38):
and he could have possibly madethe decision to leave the area.
An interesting aspect of Luke'sstory is that no one is really
100% sure who his friend Dylanactually was.
His mother had said that he hadseveral friends named Dylan,
but they have been unable todetermine who he was meeting
with that day and none of theDylans have come forward with
(06:59):
that information either.
This definitely doesn't lookgood on Dylan's part, whoever he
may be.
A few days after Luke'sdisappearance, the brothers
found his bicycle behind a CVSpharmacy.
It was leaning up against atrailer and it was still broken.
When the brothers called theBuchanan police, they were
advised to just take the bicycleback home with them and wait
(07:20):
for Luke to return.
They didn't investigate orsearch the area for any clues.
At this time they did notbelieve anything had happened to
Luke Stout.
Now Luke's family knew this wasextremely out of character for
Luke.
Maybe there are many24-year-olds who just head off
and do their own things for awhile without contacting their
mother.
But Luke was not one of thosepeople.
(07:41):
Luke had never stayed out oftouch with his mother.
Luke's mom, elizabeth, wasabsolutely desperate for answers
.
She knew in her heart thatsomething was very wrong.
She began trying to get theattention of local police and
media.
A few local media outlets wouldpick up her story after some
time, but not many.
Inside.
She was broken.
(08:02):
So, taking a look at the roadLuke and his mother lived on,
which was Hickory Flat Road,there are many houses next to
one another.
While not necessarilyconsidered to some to be a
neighborhood, the area did looklike there were many houses
nearby.
A Google Maps search also showssome type of business, with
many trucks near the home whereLuke and Elizabeth lived.
(08:24):
Almost directly next door,there was also one small creek
and a nearby pond, but nothingelse in the way of bodies of
water, at least directly thereon Hickory Flat Road.
Of course, west Virginia as awhole is very rural and full of
water sources, but not directlythere on Luke's road.
No one claims to have seenanything that day.
(08:47):
No one saw Luke at the end ofthe driveway, no one remembers
him driving by and no oneremembers seeing him get picked
up.
In August, luke's story got alittle interesting and people
started talking.
This is because a young man'sbody was found in the area, a
young man by the name of JoshuaOberg.
(09:08):
Joshua had been missing sinceJanuary of 2012.
Shortly after his body wasdiscovered, two men were
arrested for his murder.
Jesse Lee Heater, age 29, andRobert Eugene Siren III, age 30,
were charged with taking apayment of $5,000 to kill him
(09:29):
and get rid of him in amurder-for-hire plot.
The man behind the plot, alocal restaurant owner, rodolfo
Correa Vila Gomez, also known asChino, did eventually plead
guilty to this crime.
Apparently, joshua had beenhaving an affair, or at least
had cheated, with Chino's wife.
(09:50):
When this all came out, someother things came to light also.
A couple months before Lukedisappeared, he had come home
after an altercation with noneother than the infamous Chino.
Allegedly, chino had shoved agun at Luke's head hard enough
to leave an imprint of a gunbarrel.
When Luke came home and his momsaw this, she urged him to file
(10:11):
a police report against Chino.
The police refused to documentthe incident.
It's also important to thinkabout that.
There are two versions of whathappened here.
The first version is that ofLuke's side.
Luke claims that he wasassaulted by Chino and that no
one would listen to him.
It hasn't been officiallyconfirmed if Luke was indeed
(10:33):
having an affair with Chino'swife, but it was confirmed that
they did know each other.
The other side of the story isthat Luke found himself in some
trouble one night and obviouslywas arrested.
He was drunk when the policebrought him in and he began
running his mouth about Chino.
He told the police the story ofhis attack and the police
advised him to come back andfile a report when he was sober,
(10:56):
but Luke never did that.
Law enforcement has notcommented on which version is
accurate, although one side doespaint a favorable picture of
law enforcement while one doesnot.
Elizabeth began to feel like noone was listening to her.
Rumors began to swirl about alocal police officer that was
(11:17):
out drinking at the bars andrunning his mouth about Luke.
Elizabeth became irate and wentto the media.
It turned out that thisindividual officer had 11 DUI
convictions and motions weremade to have him dismissed from
the force.
In September Elizabeth would becharged with assault of an
officer.
She was in her hospital bed,hooked up to IVs.
(11:39):
When she began arguing with anofficer At some point she took
out her IV herself and she threwit at him.
That same month one of Luke'sbrothers were charged with
assault of an officer as well.
Another brother would becharged with domestic violence
after punching a family member.
Elizabeth claims that Luke'sdisappearance has destroyed her
family and is ripping everybodyapart.
(12:02):
Some use these stories to pointout a history of criminal
activity within the family, butElizabeth says all of these
incidents have arisen from thestress over Luke's case and the
lack of support from lawenforcement.
In October, elizabeth took hercomplaints to a city council
meeting.
The meeting grew heated asElizabeth begged for more to be
(12:24):
done regarding her son'sdisappearance and what she
believed was possible foul play.
At this point Elizabeth and thefamily were certain that Luke
was no longer alive.
The family was asked to leavethe meeting as the council
members didn't feel it was theright place for them to air
their frustrations with thepolice.
In fact, at one point the mayorsaid he couldn't discuss the
(12:46):
case with them at all as he wasunfamiliar with it.
At the end of the meeting, asthings had heated up, he said
that the family's version ofevents did not match up with the
investigation facts, to whichElizabeth replied how could you
possibly know that if you areunfamiliar with the case?
I mean, if that's an accuratestatement, she definitely has an
(13:08):
extremely valid point.
Now let's look at the case ofJoshua Oberg.
It's hard to tell at thesurface.
Anyway.
If this case does explain whatmight have also happened to Luke
, it's hard to decipher what issmall-town gossip and what are
actual, true facts.
What we do know now is thatJoshua Oberg was found buried in
(13:30):
a shallow grave near Bull RunRoad.
The two individuals accused ofhis murder, robert and Jesse,
were found guilty.
Joshua Oberg had last been seenon January 23rd of the same
year, 2012, and he was last seengetting into a car with Robert
and Jesse.
As investigators kept tabs onthe two men, eventually, robert
(13:54):
told the whole story of thekilling to a confidential
informant.
He said that Chino had paidthem a large sum of money to
kill Joshua for having an affairwith his wife.
The confession also ledauthorities to Joshua's body.
Chino was subsequently arrestedand found guilty of several
crimes, one of those beingunlawful entry to the United
(14:16):
States of America.
Another is possessing 16firearms at his residence
illegally.
Another is second-degree murderand another is conspiracy to
commit murder.
It was also found out thatChino, who owned a Mexican
restaurant in Buckhannon, hadbeen deported twice before.
Somehow, this man continued toslip through the cracks.
(14:37):
Rumors began to swirl regardinga possible connection to Luke
Stout.
However, none of the meninvolved in Joshua's case ever
admitted anything regarding Luke, and while many people believe
that Chino was responsible forLuke's disappearance and the one
thing that people oftenquestion is the fact that facts
came out pretty readily andeasily about Joshua once Robert
(15:02):
and Jesse were arrested Somehave speculated that if they had
been a part of Luke'sdisappearance, they probably
would have negotiated and usedLuke's case to their advantage.
For example, one of them couldhave asked for a lighter
sentence in exchange for leadingthem to Luke's body or possibly
telling them what happened.
(15:22):
So it seems interesting thatall three men continue to deny
having anything to do with LukeStout's disappearance.
Could it be that maybe they aretelling the truth, or are they
just really good at keeping thisone secret?
Some questions that have alsocome up about Luke's case are
the following why didn't thepolice take a more active
(15:45):
involvement in his disappearance?
Is there a reason for this?
They haven't really come outpublicly to say anything, so
people are just left tospeculate.
Did nobody on his road see himat the end of his driveway?
Did anyone see him get into avehicle?
Did nobody happen to drive byat that exact moment?
His bicycle was found abandonedbehind the CVS store in town,
(16:08):
yet nobody saw him put the bikethere.
No security cameras.
Did Luke not have a cell phonethat could be tracked?
Why has his friend Dylan notcome forward?
You're expecting your friend tocome over and he doesn't show
up.
Or did he show up and somethinghappened later?
No matter what, when news ofLuke's disappearance hits, you'd
(16:30):
think this man would have comeforward with some information,
or even that detectives wouldhave been able to narrow it down
and figure out who this Dylanwas.
With all the information we dohave, there are a few theories
that are also possible.
Luke just left town Withabsolutely no evidence showing
foul play or harm to Luke.
(16:51):
This is a possibility, but withbeing such a close family
person and taking care of histerminally ill mother, it seems
relatively doubtful.
Plus, people don't believe thathe had any money at the time.
This was a young man whocouldn't even keep car insurance
on his vehicle and had to turnto using a bike for
(17:11):
transportation.
Another theory is that maybethere was an accident Surrounded
by wilderness.
Did Luke wander off and succumbto the elements?
Maybe his ride never showed upso he started walking.
Maybe he decided to take ashortcut through the woods?
There is a lot of wildernesssurrounding the area and even
(17:32):
some bodies of water.
The only question that peoplehave about this theory is about
the bike.
Did he drop it or leave itbehind and someone just randomly
found it?
But why would they put itbehind a CVS pharmacy?
And why has nobody come forwardsaying that they were the ones
that found the bike and wherethey had found it?
(17:53):
Another theory is foul play atthe hands of Chino and his men.
The possibility is there.
There is just absolutely noevidence, at least not as of yet
.
Another is foul play at thehands of somebody else.
What could have happened afterLuke left his home that fateful
July day?
Was Dylan involved?
(18:14):
Who is Dylan?
Was there a fight among friends?
That day, elizabeth Stoutstarted a Facebook page to help
spread awareness.
It is called Missing Luke Stout.
One thing that is noticeable isthat he had several different
types of looks Long hair, shorthair, clean cut look, shaggy
look, and he looks prettydifferent in each photo.
(18:37):
Elizabeth kept up on theFacebook page and posts
regularly.
It was her wish that she wouldlearn what happened to her son,
her Loki, before she died.
Unfortunately, elizabeth passedaway recently with still no
answers on where her youngestson was, but still the family
presses on for answers, as theyhad promised her that they would
(19:00):
.
Some quotes from Elizabeth onthe Missing Luke Stout Facebook
page are I love you, baby.
Your brothers love you the fourmusketeers.
July 18th 2012 will forever bethe worst date in my life For
you.
My youngest son said goodbye, Ilove you, and walked out the
(19:21):
door for the very last time notto return.
I, as a mother of a missingchild, have thoughts that I am
afraid to speak.
I, as a mother of a missingchild, have a crying soul, even
though I may smile.
I, as a mother of a missingchild, feels guilt others do not
understand.
(19:41):
I, as a mother of a missingchild, cries in silence in the
presence of others.
Loki, I will never give up.
I will stand up and speak foryou with everything I have left
in me.
This has and will always be.
This is the promise I made toyou from day one and I will keep
it, no matter where it leads me.
(20:01):
I will not stop until you arefound or we have the answers to
the questions we seek andeveryone involved pays for their
part my heart, my soul, myblood, my son.
I love you, luke, and you knowyou can count on mama.
Luke is described as 5'7 andweighing about 120 pounds at the
(20:24):
time of his disappearance.
He has brown hair and browneyes.
He was wearing a black t-shirtwith the sleeves cut off.
He wore jeans and blacksneakers with neon green
shoelaces.
He had a light jacket onbecause it was supposed to rain
that day.
He also wore a silver coloredprayer ring and had a shoulder
(20:46):
tattoo of skulls.
As a child, luke had a boneinfection that required surgery.
This resulted in one leg beingslightly shorter than the other
and a lower leg scar.
If you have any informationregarding Luke Stout, please
call the West Virginia StatePolice at 304-473-4200.
(21:12):
Got was from Wikipedia, also aMedium article written by
Jennifer, and also a lot ofinformation was obtained from
the when Are they podcast.
So, yeah, I just wanted to putall that in there to let you
(21:33):
guys know where you can alsolook for all these resources,
and I highly suggest that you goand follow this Facebook page,
because it is still active andthe family members are still
seeking answers, so every likeand share is extremely helpful
for this family and helpingreach the answers that they are
so desperately searching for.
I also just want to put alittle plug in here that we have
(21:54):
opened our merch store.
We are working on it every day,adding new things.
We are currently stocking up onMother's Day items.
There's a lot of cute things inthere, so if you want to get
your mom, grandmother oryourself a little something, a
little treat for Mother's Day,for the true crime or spooky
(22:15):
loving mom, head on over to thestore.
You can find it if you go toour social media or our website.
There is a link to our linktree and there you will find a
link to the merch store.
If you guys want to hang outagain, don't forget to check
back in.
All right, I love you guys somuch and don't forget to keep
being a weirdo, okay, all right,bye-bye, alrighty, so it's that
(22:47):
time, guys, to say goodbye, butbefore I do so, I just want to
send a thank you to all of mylisteners for your continued
love and support and for sendingin cases that you want covered
and stories that you want readon the podcast.
We truly accept all stories,including scary, paranormal and
funny.
Any cases you want covered orstories that you want read on
(23:09):
the podcast, just please sendthem in to
darkcrossroadspodcasts atgmailcom.
Thank you for hanging out againtoday and if you want any more
information about the podcast orcases and stories that we cover
, then head on over to thewebsite at
wwwdarkcrossroadspodcastcom.
There you can find all of theinformation about the podcast, a
link to our merch and also ourblog covering all of the cases
(23:33):
that we cover.
You can also find us on allsocial media platforms.
Don't forget to like share rate,review, subscribe wherever
you're listening to us.
You can subscribe to thepodcast for bonus information.
There is a link in all episodesin the notes that will send you
to our subscription page andwith that you will get bonus
content, discount on futuremerch and a lot of extra goodies
(23:54):
.
Every single dollar that comesthrough donations or through our
subscription goes straight intothe podcast, helping fund
research and it really helps usout and keeps this podcast going
.
And with all of this said,please don't forget to be weird,
stay different and don't trustanyone.
Dark Crossroads podcast isbrought to you by Problem
(24:38):
Wildlife serves all of westernMassachusetts and has been
humanely protecting your houseand your family from unwanted
pests for over 20 years.
Take back your space with ananimal control service that you
can trust.
They are family owned, fullylicensed, and are knowledgeable
(24:58):
and dependable.
To find out more about theirservice, simply visit their
website atwwwproblemwildliferemovalcom,
and their information will beincluded in our show notes.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.