Olympia Oddities

today we’re taking a dive into a well known sticky, and slightly smelly, local oddity in Seattle. Loved by some, and absolutely hated by others, Seattle’s Gum Wall contains more than just wads of pre chewed, aging gum. Among strangers saliva, you can find history, myth, and even the occasional controversy. Let’s peel back some of those layers of gum together, and try to get to the bottom of what’s fact, and what is fiction.

Bernice Selby was 27 years old in 1962, living in a house on the shores of Lake Cassidy near Marysville, WA and finalizing the details of the divorce of her soon to be ex husband, Donald Selby. She was last seen in October of that year, but wouldn't be reported missing until 2 months later. Investigators had a pretty solid idea of who their main suspect was. Unfortunately, (natural) disaster caught them off course and they ende...

On April 1st, 1986 Archer Ray Johnson's truck was discovered with the door propped open on the side of the road near Oakville, Washington. When his brother & his brother's wife discovered the scene, they called out to him, but got no reply. In the years that have passed since his disappearance, Archer's case has gone nearly cold. In this episode I cover the circumstances around Archer's disappearance, how local ...

On December 21st, 2014 teenager Jarom Thomas decided to resolve a fight over a minor car accident with a single punch. That punch thrown by one of his friends ended up in Jarom Thomas' death. The next year, his parents revealed to the media that they had heard a different version of the story. The details they heard were upsetting, and conflicted with the original version of the story Jarom's friends and the police had told...

Today I tell you the story of Helen Doe, an unidentified woman hitchhiker who was discovered dead after the semi truck driver who picked her up was involved in a tragic wreck that killed both him, and his unknown passenger near Kalama, WA in 1991. I cover the details of the wreck, how investigators were able to trace the truck drivers route, and the methods that investigators have used to try to reunite this young woman with her id...

In today's episode, Trista tells you the story of Richard Russell, an unassuming baggage handler at SeaTac who shocked the world and those who knew him by stealing a plane. I cover the flight path his comandeered plane took, the radio communications that transpired between those trying to get him to safety and keep others out of harms way, and the tragic end to his flight.

Sources:

Rolling Stone - The Sky Thief, June 24th ...

Here's our recording of our first ever live show, recorded at the first ever PNW True Crime Fest. Matthew Anfeldt was just 20 years old when he disappeared from his family's home in Grand Mound, Washington under incredibly bizarre circumstances. After telling his sister he was going to grab his phone, he ended up in a nearby roadway in a panic, yelling at cars that his family had been killed and that someone was after him. He was l...

On February 28th 2001, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the lower Puget Sound area, near Olympia. Trista shares her own story of experiencing the earthquake as a first grader in the lunchroom, we cover the type of earthquake it was, the damage caused by it, and how things have changed since then.  Ft. an Ember Goods shout-out, the worst Stevie Nicks impersonation you have ever heard, and being misquoted in the newspaper as a ...