#2 The Missing Pieces: Vanished Without a Trace - The Disappearance of Niqui McCown (Part 1 of 3)

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What if the person you loved vanished without a trace just weeks before your wedding? This is the haunting reality faced by the family of Marilyn 'Niqui' McCown, a respected corrections officer and mother who disappeared from the small, tight-knit community of Richmond, Indiana. As we unravel Niqui's story, we examine the personal doubts she harbored about her upcoming nuptials to Bobby Webster and the unsettling encounter that left her visibly shaken on the day she went missing. Was this simply a case of pre-wedding jitters, or was there something more ominous lurking beneath the surface?

Join us as we walk through the events of July 22, 2001 in Richmond, Indiana. A day that began with routine Sunday activities and ended in a perplexing mystery. We explore the reactions of Niqui's community and loved ones, delving into the suspicious actions taken by her fiancé, Bobby, who hastily canceled their wedding plans instead of postponing them. As the search for Niqui continues and her family holds onto hope, we piece together the clues and ponder the many unanswered questions surrounding her disappearance. Listen in as we navigate this emotional and mysterious case, seeking the truth behind Niqui McCown's vanishing. Subscribe for part 2 of this story.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Missing Pieces podcast, where we
don't just tell the story, wetry to understand it.
In this three-part series,we're diving into the
disappearance of Marilyn NikkiMcCown, a 28-year-old woman from
Richmond, indiana, who vanishedjust weeks before her wedding.
We put ourselves in the places,in the moments and in the minds

(00:22):
of the people involved.
Some cases leave us with morequestions than answers, and this
is one of them.
Nikki McCown disappeared threeweeks before her wedding.
She walked into a laundromatand no one ever saw her again.
No goodbyes, no explanations,just gone.
What should have been thehappiest time of her life turned

(00:44):
into a nightmare that herfamily is still living through
today.
And as we look closer at thedetails, one thing becomes clear
this was no accident.
Richmond, indiana, a town thatdoesn't forget Richmond, isn't a
big city.
It's not a place where peopledisappear without someone
noticing.
It sits right on theIndiana-Ohio border, a mix of

(01:13):
historic charm and working-classgrit.
In 2001, it had just under37,000 residents, the kind of
place where people leave theirdoors unlocked, where families
have lived for generations andwhere everyone knows everyone's
business.
And that's why, when Nikki wentmissing, people took notice.
She was well-known, especiallyin her community and at work.
She was a corrections officer,working in a prison where you

(01:35):
had to be tough to survive, andNikki was tough.
She carried herself withconfidence.
But she also had a warmpersonality, a smile that could
light up a room.
She had a nine-year-olddaughter.
She adored a family who lovedher fiercely and a wedding on
the horizon.
But not everyone believed thatwedding was a good idea.

(01:56):
A bride-to-be with doubts.
By all accounts, nikki wasexcited about her future with
Bobby Webster, but some peopleclose to her noticed cracks in
the picture-perfect engagement.
Her family wasn't completelysold on him and in the days
leading up to her disappearanceshe confided in her mother and
sister.
She was having second thoughts.
Cold feet Maybe, but when awoman goes missing three weeks

(02:20):
before her wedding and she hadalready voiced concerns, it
makes you wonder.
Was she having doubts becauseof stress or was something else
going on?
The last day she was seen,sunday, july 22, 2001, started
off like any other summer day inRichmond.
The sun was high, the air thickwith heat, Churchgoers dressed

(02:42):
in their Sunday best, familiesgathered for meals and people
went about their routines.
Nikki attended church withBobby and her daughter then
stopped by her mother's house,something she often did.
But this time she wasn't herusual self.
She was upset.
She told her mom that two menhad been harassing her at a
local laundromat earlier thatday.

(03:03):
They made her uncomfortablewatching her saying things the
kind of attention that doesn'tjust make you roll your eyes, it
makes your skin crawl.
Her mother told her not to goback there alone.
But Nikki ever independent,said she just needed to grab her
laundry and head home.
So she left, and that was thelast time anyone saw her.

(03:27):
When concern turns to panic.
At first no one was overlyalarmed.
Maybe she got sidetracked,maybe she ran errands.
But as night fell and there wasstill no word from her, the
unease started creeping in.
Bobby began calling around,checking with family, seeing if
anyone had heard from her.

(03:48):
No one had.
By Monday morning he filed amissing persons report, but the
police didn't immediately treatit as an emergency.
Adults go missing all the time.
Right, maybe she left on herown, maybe she needed a break.
Her family knew better.
Nikki wasn't the type to justleave.
She had a daughter who meantthe world to her.

(04:10):
She had plans, she had a futureshe was looking forward to, and
just like that it was gone.
A Strange Move by Bobby.
While Nikki's family was doingeverything they could to find
her, bobby did something thatraised eyebrows.
He cancelled the wedding, notpostponed cancelled.
He called vendors, told them torefund deposits, even tried to

(04:33):
return his wedding band.
Now some people might say hewas being practical, why pay for
a wedding that might not happen?
But to others, especiallyNikki's family, it feltoff.
It was as if he already knewshe wasn't coming back.
Three months later, a discoveryin Dayton, ohio.
The case dragged on for monthswith no sign of Nikki, no phone

(04:58):
calls, no credit card use, nosightings.
Then in November, there was abreak.
Her SUV was found in Dayton,ohio, about 45 minutes away from
Richmond.
It was parked in the lot of anapartment complex, the kind of
place where cars sit for weeksblending into the background.
The locks had been punched out,the ignition was tampered with,

(05:21):
the stereo was missing.
It looked like a simple cartheft, except for one thing
Inside the vehicle, her freshlyfolded laundry was still there.
Why would a car thief take thestereo but leave her things
untouched?
And why was the SUV in Dayton?
The ex-boyfriend theory fallsapart.
One of the first things policeconsidered was Nikki's

(05:44):
ex-boyfriend, after all, the SUVwas found near where he lived.
Maybe she had gone to see him,maybe an argument had turned
deadly, but he had an airtightalibi.
He also passed a polygraph.
Eventually, investigatorscleared him, which meant they
were back to square one.
But then another name startedcoming up, someone who had

(06:05):
worked with Nikki, someone witha reputation that would later
become chilling.
His name was Tommy Swint.
Who was Tommy Swint?
Tommy Swint was a formercorrections officer, just like
Nikki.
He knew her and there wererumors that he was interested in
her.
But here's where things getdisturbing.
Years later, tommy Swint wouldbe linked to another crime, a

(06:28):
murder, the kind of murder thatmakes you question whether
Nikki's case was ever really amystery at all.
In part two, we'll take a deepdive into Tommy Swint, his
connection to Nikki, his darkpast and the evidence that
suggests he might have beeninvolved in more than just one
crime.
If you have any informationabout the disappearance of Nikki

(06:49):
McCown, please contact theRichmond Police Department.
This is the Missing PiecesPodcast.
Stay safe, stay aware and we'llsee you next time.