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

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What really happened to Niqui McCown, who vanished just weeks before her wedding in July 2001? As we wrap up our series on her mysterious disappearance, we're left grappling with a tangled web of suspects and unsettling circumstances. Bobby Webster, Niqui's fiancé, quickly called off their wedding after she went missing, raising eyebrows and suspicions despite his insistence that stress skewed his failed polygraph test. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend was quickly dismissed as a suspect, but the unresolved placement of Niqui's SUV in Dayton, Ohio, a significant drive from her home, only adds to the mystery.

Join us as we explore the shadowy figure of Tommy Swint, a former corrections officer who was once Niqui's co-worker, and whose DNA later linked him to a separate murder in the same city where her SUV was abandoned. Swint's suicide before his arrest leaves us questioning if he took crucial secrets about Niqui's fate to the grave. Over two decades later, Niqui's family still seeks answers and justice, and we examine the lingering theories and potential for resolution in this captivating case.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Missing Pieces podcast, where we
go beyond the headlines tounderstand the people, places
and mysteries that leavefamilies searching for answers.
This is the final installmentof Vanished Without a Trace the
Disappearance of Nikki McCown.
In the first two parts of thisseries, we uncovered the events
leading up to Nikki'sdisappearance, the discovery of

(00:22):
her abandoned SUV in Dayton,ohio and the suspicious actions
of her fiancé, bobby Webster.
We then took a deep dive intoTommy Swint, a former co-worker
of Nikki's, who would later belinked to another violent crime.
But despite all the suspicionsurrounding Swint, nikki's case
remains unsolved.
Today we examine the mostlikely theories of what happened

(00:46):
to Nikki, whether there'sanyone else who should be
considered a suspect and if,after more than two decades,
there is still hope for findinganswers.
Nikki McCown disappeared onJuly 22, 2001, after visiting a
laundromat in Richmond, indiana.
That simple errand, somethingmillions of people do without a

(01:06):
second thought became the lasttime anyone saw her.
The fact that she was justweeks away from getting married
immediately raised questions.
Was she having second thoughts?
Did she leave on her own?
That theory, however, wasquickly dismissed.
Nikki was a devoted mother toher nine-year-old daughter,
peyton, and, by all accounts,she was excited about her future

(01:29):
, even if she had voiced someconcerns about her upcoming
wedding.
She had family, she loved, asteady job and no signs that she
was planning to disappear.
More importantly, if she hadleft on her own, why was her SUV
found abandoned in Dayton withher laundry still inside?
If she had chosen to leave, shewould have taken her belongings

(01:51):
.
Someone else had to beresponsible.
One of the earliest theorieswas that Nikki's fiancé, bobby
Webster, knew more than he wassaying.
The first red flag was hisdecision to cancel their wedding
just days after she wentmissing.
The first red flag was hisdecision to cancel their wedding
just days after she wentmissing.
Instead of holding on to hope,instead of waiting for any
possible news, he startedcalling vendors and getting
refunds.

(02:11):
It was an action that struckmany as odd, especially her
family.
Then there was his polygraphtest Reports suggested that he
failed it, though Bobby disputedthe results, saying stress
caused him to react badly.
But here's the problem Failinga polygraph doesn't mean guilt,
and passing one doesn't proveinnocence.
Polygraphs aren't foolproof,but the fact that he was willing

(02:35):
to cancel the wedding soquickly, while Nikki's family
was still desperately searchingfor her, was something people
couldn't ignore, even if hisactions were cold, there was no
physical evidence linking Bobbyto her disappearance.
If something had happenedbetween them, if there had been
an argument, there was no crimescene, no sign of struggle,

(02:56):
nothing to suggest she had beenharmed at home.
If Bobby was involved,investigators couldn't prove it.
Then there was the discovery ofNikki's SUV in Dayton, ohio,
three months after she vanished.
Police found her car abandonedin an apartment complex parking
lot not far from where herex-boyfriend lived.
This led investigators toconsider whether he had anything

(03:19):
to do with her disappearance.
But he had a solid alibi andpassed a polygraph test.
He was quickly ruled out,leaving the biggest question of
all who left the SUV?
In Dayton?
It was 45 minutes from Richmond.
If Nikki had gotten intosomeone's car, willingly or
unwillingly, why was her SUVfound there instead of somewhere

(03:42):
closer to home?
This is where the suspicionaround Tommy Swint began to grow
.
Tommy Swint had worked withNikki as a corrections officer
and some people believed he hadfeelings for her.
Whether those feelings weremutual, we may never know.
What we do know is that yearslater, swint was linked to the
brutal murder of a woman namedTina Ivory Swint was linked to

(04:05):
the brutal murder of a womannamed Tina Ivory.
Tina's body was found in Dayton.
A new DNA evidence in 2007pointed directly to Swint when
police finally had enough toarrest him in 2010, swint took
his own life before he could betaken into custody.
He avoided facing justice forone crime, but did he also take
the truth about Nikki McCownwith him?
The fact that Nikki's SUV wasfound in Dayton, where Swint

(04:27):
lived, made it impossible toignore the possibility that he
was involved.
The pattern was disturbing Twowomen, both from the area, both
with a possible connection toSwint, both disappearing under
suspicious circumstances.
But here's where thefrustration of this case really
sets in.
If Swint was responsible, whyhasn't Nikki's body ever been

(04:49):
found?
If this was a crime of passion,if he had hurt her in a moment
of rage, then there should havebeen some trace of her left
behind a struggle, a piece ofclothing, something.
But there was nothing.
If he had planned this inadvance, if he had stalked her
and waited for the perfectmoment, then it's possible he
had the ability to cover histracks.

(05:09):
Maybe he knew places no onewould search.
Maybe he had access to thingsthe average person wouldn't.
But the lack of physicalevidence makes this even harder
to prove.
So where does that leave us?
If Swint was the oneresponsible for Nikki's
disappearance, then the chancesof finding out what happened to
her died with him.
But is it possible that there'ssomeone else who knows

(05:32):
something, someone who mightstill be alive today If Swint
had help?
If there was another personinvolved, then that person has
been silent for over twentyyears.
And in all that time no one hascome forward.
No one has confessed.
That silence is either a signof someone getting away with a
crime or it means the truth iseven more complicated than we

(05:55):
think.
For Nikki's family, the painnever goes away.
Her mother, barbara, has spentmore than two decades searching
for her daughter, holding on tohope that one day she'll have
the answers she deserves.
Her sister, michelle, hasworked tirelessly to keep
Nikki's story alive, refusing tolet her name be forgotten.

(06:17):
For them, closure isn't justabout knowing what happened.
It's about bringing Nikki home.
It's about giving her daughter,now an adult, the answers she
has spent her entire lifewithout.
It's about making sure that,even if justice was denied with
Tommy Swint's death, nikki'scase isn't lost in time.

(06:38):
So what now?
As technology improves, asinvestigative methods evolve,
there's always the possibilitythat a new lead could emerge.
Maybe someone somewhere knowssomething they've never shared,
maybe a piece of overlookedevidence will be tested again,
or maybe, after all these years,someone will finally break
their silence Because someoneout there knows the truth,

(07:02):
someone saw something, and afterall this time, nicky McCown's
family still deserves answers.
If you have any informationabout the disappearance of Nikki
McCown, please contact theRichmond Police Department.
This is the Missing PiecesPodcast.
Stay safe, stay aware and neverstop searching for the truth.