Red String Theory

Imagine you're on the phone with your child when suddenly, you hear a startled yell—then silence. No goodbye, no explanation. Just… gone. And despite your desperate attempts to call back, you never hear their voice again.

This unimaginable nightmare became a reality for Annette and Brian Swanson. 

In today’s episode, we dive into the chilling details of Brandon Swanson’s disappearance and the lingering mystery that has haunted h...

On the night of March 31, 2006, 27-year-old Ohio State University medical student Brian Shaffer walked into the Ugly Tuna Saloona, a popular Columbus bar, with friends. By the early hours of April 1, he had vanished without a trace. Despite extensive surveillance footage, no images show him leaving the bar.

Brian’s disappearance remains one of Ohio’s most puzzling mysteries, sparking countless theories, from foul play to voluntary d...

The case we're diving into today dates back to 2011, but the fight to determine the true cause of death is still ongoing in the courts. This is Part 1 of the perplexing and heartbreaking case of Ellen Greenberg.

Ellen was a 27-year-old first-grade teacher found dead in her apartment on a snowy evening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 26, 2011. She had been stabbed 20 times, and her death was shockingly ruled ...

The case we're diving into today dates back to 2011, but the fight to determine the true cause of death is still ongoing in the courts. This is Part 1 of the perplexing and heartbreaking case of Ellen Greenberg.

Ellen was a 27-year-old first-grade teacher found dead in her apartment on a snowy evening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 26, 2011. She had been stabbed 20 times, and her death was shockingly ruled ...

Today, we’re diving into the unsolved murder of John O’Keefe and the subsequent trial of his girlfriend, Karen Read, who was accused of his death.

O’Keefe died during a snowstorm on January 29, 2022, under suspicious circumstances. He was found outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts, with significant injuries and signs of exposure to harsh weather conditions. The central question in the Karen Read case is how he sustained...

For this episode, we're delving into the disappearance of Maura Murray, a 21-year-old college student who vanished under mysterious circumstances in February 2004, in a secluded region of New Hampshire.

If you have any information about Maura Murray’s disappearance, please reach out to the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit:

• Phone Number: 603-223-3648
• Email: Coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov

Source Material:

• Julie Murray, Th...

For this episode, we're delving into the disappearance of Maura Murray, a 21-year-old college student who vanished under mysterious circumstances in February 2004, in a secluded region of New Hampshire.

If you have any information about Maura Murray’s disappearance, please reach out to the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit:

• Phone Number: 603-223-3648
• Email: Coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov

Source Material:
...

This cold case has remained unsolved for over 21 years as of this recording. Join us as we delve into the mysterious disappearance of Josh Guimond from the St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota, on the night of November 9, 2002.

Source Material:

• Josh Newville, Season 1; Episodes 1-8 (Simply Vanished Podcast, 2022) 
• A Netflix Documentary Series, What Happened to Josh? (Unsolved Mysteries V3: E6, 2022)
• ABC News, 4 College-A...

In this episode, we will be discussing the case of the Idaho College Murders. During our time together, we’ll go through a timeline of events, review all the evidence that is currently available, and provide an update on the current state of the case.

Then we’ll switch gears and go into what I like to call red string mode - We’ll ask the questions and talk through the pieces of the case that don’t make sense to try to understand why...