When we were last together, we spoke of DB Cooper, and the only unsolved case of air piracy in US history. Tonight, we take piracy to a whole new level. In the late 1600’s, in just a two year period, a single man would lead a mutiny aboard a ship named Charles the second, become the captain elect of that ship, and go on to have the most successful pirate career of anyone that ever lived. Like Cooper, he has no beginning. In fact, modern day scholars can’t even agree on when he was born. After the most successful raid of his short career, this man would vanish into thin air, leading to the first worldwide manhunt and a trial that would have an absolutely shocking ending. You really gotta hand it to those pirates boy. They don’t stand on ceremony, especially Henry Every. No this guy disappears into the vast oceans with a treasure that today could be worth north of hundreds of millions of dollars. Legend says that Every became so successful that he lived out his days in a legendary pirate city on Madagascar where the streets were paved in gold, and the riches were so vast, he need never be concerned with money again. Others, tell a different story. One thing’s for certain. No one ever found him. Maybe more importantly, no one ever found the treasure. The end of season 2 is upon us. Finally, it’s time to set sail. This is Vanished: Henry Every. [Stay till the end of the show for a very special treat from Technofunkboy] LINKS Our Website Vanished on Twitter Vanished on Instagram Vanished on Facebook Vanished Facebook Discussion Group Vanished on TikTok Jennifer Taylor on Twitter Chris Williamson on Twitter Music by Dane Gerous Schmidt Opening Theme “A Thief’s End” by Henry Jackman Technofunkboy on Twitch Colin Woodard appears courtesy of Mariner Books Dr. Rebecca Simon appears courtesy of Mango Media Eric Jay Dolin appears courtesy of W.W. Norton & Company SHOW NOTES & FURTHER READING “Enemy of All Mankind” by Steven Johnson @ Amazon Henry Every @ Wikipedia “The Most Successful Pirate You’ve Never Heard Of” @ History “The Elusive Henry Every” @ The History Press Henry Every @ The Pirate King Proclamation for Apprehending Henry Every Alias Bridgeman “Silver Coins Unearthed in New England May Be Loot From One of The Greatest Crimes in History” @ Livescience
If you made it this far, you’re probably in till it’s over and I commend you. We’ve covered a lot of ground so far in a very short time. And now in our final segment together, we take it all the way. But before we all enter the courtroom together, we have a few more stops to make and a few more experts would like to weigh in. The story of DB Cooper is a complex one taking twists and turns at every possible opportunity. And it’s about to get crazier. As I ramped up my investigation into this case and into the possibility that we may have found our guy, some new information made its way forward as it always seems to do in these cases. If you know me, you know that no matter what happens, I’m always about forwarding the progress. And tonight we do just that. From the skies above Portland to the shores of Tena Bar, we wind down our series with new evidence that strengthens the case for Braden and a bombshell call to arms that could have continuing effects on this case for years to come. Let’s get back into it. The conclusion of our investigation into DB Cooper begins now. LINKS Our Website Vanished on Twitter Vanished on Instagram Vanished on Facebook Vanished Facebook Discussion Group Jennifer Taylor on Twitter Chris Williamson on Twitter Smith & Vinson Law Firm Official Website Jennifer Taylor Attorney Profile @ Smith & Vinson's Official Website Smith & Vinson on Twitter Music by Dane Gerous Schmidt Opening Theme "Sirius" by the Alan Parsons Project Eric Ulis appears courtesy of his official website Mark Zaid appears courtesy of Mark S. Zaid, P.C. Nicholas Broughton appears courtesy of Nicholas Broughton Drew Beeson appears courtesy of Fort Necessity Press SHOW NOTES & FURTHER READING "Paratrooper of Fortune: The Story of Ted B. Braden - Vietnam Commando, CIA Operative, Congo Mercenary, and just maybe D.B. Cooper" by Drew Beeson "Sky Ghost: The D.B. Cooper Report" by Eric Ulis The Vault @FBI - DB Cooper Records The DB Cooper Letters @ History.com
Happy Thanksgiving, and welcome back to Vanished. In part one of our series, alongside our guests, we discussed the mindset, the story, and the legend of DB Cooper. We also discussed the science being worked on the two largest pieces of physical evidence that we have in this case. And I know what you’re thinking. That’s all great, but who was DB Cooper? And what about all these suspects? In part two, we continue our journey into the vortex with series advisor and returning guest Darren Schaefer as we discuss some of the standout suspects in this 50-year-old cold case. We’ll also hear from newcomers and giants in this investigation. Lastly, I’ll introduce you to an investigator that has been quietly working on a suspect that he believes has been hiding in plain sight. A suspect with a background that you won’t be able to believe. Let’s go to work. This is part two of Vanished: DB Cooper. LINKS Our Website Vanished on Twitter Vanished on Instagram Vanished on Facebook Vanished F...
Welcome back. Anniversaires are fun. And if you’ve followed this show you know that we kind of make a big deal of those around here. January 5th, 1939; after vanishing over the pacific ocean alongside her navigator Fred Noonan, icon Amelia Earhart is declared dead in Absentia. August 31st, 1888, the body of Mary Ann Nichols was discovered at 3:40 AM in Whitechapel...officially beginning Jack the Ripper’s “Autumn of Terror”. April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth leading to a nationwide manhunt just after the end of the Civil War. Remembrance of those dates is important because they tell stories. Stories that have been expanded upon and investigated thoroughly to this day. And that brings us to tonight. Not too many people can become historically associated with a verb. But our next subject can. 50 years ago tonight, a still unidentified man skyjacked a commercial airliner, demanded a $200 thousand dollar ransom (a little over 1.3 million today), and jumped out of that airliner into the darkness never to be seen again. He has no ending and no beginning. He existed for only a few short hours, and in that time, he committed the perfect crime. His name is only an alias, but it’s become the most famous alias in all of aviation history. Tonight, we have a first for this show as we release our entire series on one very special anniversary. 50 years ago, an unassuming man jumps into history. He’s become a ghost. But now, perhaps finally, we’ll have a name to go with that ghost. Oh, you thought we were done? We’re just getting started. Welcome back to Vanished. And part one of our three-part series for DB Cooper. LINKS Our Website Vanished on Twitter Vanished on Instagram Vanished on Facebook Vanished Facebook Discussion Group Jennifer Taylor on Twitter Chris Williamson on Twitter Smith & Vinson Law Firm Official Website Jennifer Taylor Attorney Profile @ Smith & Vinson's Official Website Smith & Vinson on Twitter Music by Dane Gerous Schmidt Opening Theme "Sirius" by the Alan Parsons Project Angel Mays appears courtesy of "Color Me Dead" Javier Leiva appears courtesy of "Pretend" Darren Schaefer appears courtesy of "The Cooper Vortex" Tom Kaye appears courtesy of "Citizen Sleuths" SHOW NOTES & FURTHER READING Tena Bar Money Find Money Analysis Overview of "Snap-on" Tie from Penneys Washougal Washdown Theory Marty Andrade's Website "Finding DB Cooper: Chasing the Last Lead in America's Only Unsolved Hijacking" by Marty Andrade "DB Cooper World prepares for the 50th Anniversary of this iconic skyjacking"by Bruce Smith From "The Cooper Vortex"DB Cooper’s Money - Arthur L. Friedberg
And now we’ve reached the end. In part 4 I mentioned that we’ve covered this case, in essence, two times. The John Wilkes Booth story represents, for me, a very big struggle for the show because we had to change the structure midway through research, and just before we were set to launch an entire season based on the case you just heard. And now, it’s reflection time. As we exit our journey into 1865 and John Wilkes Booth I found it only fitting to end with the first round table discussion we’ve ever done on this show. And it features the creators and writers of the hit podcast "1865" Erik Archilla and Steven Walters along with myself and Jen and a returning Dave Taylor as we discuss our coverage of this case, the assassination of Lincoln, the radicalization of John Wilkes Booth, and how the events of 1865 service as a striking parallel to what we’re all living through right now, in modern times. LINKS Our Website Vanished on Twitter Vanished on Instagram Vanished on Facebook V...
It's easy to make extraordinary claims when they're unchallenged. But that's about to change. A few episodes back, I encouraged you to jump down this rabbit hole. And now, I'm here to help you climb back out. Welcome to the fourth episode of our series on John Wilkes Booth. Trial by Jury. LINKS Our Website Vanished on Twitter Vanished on Instagram Vanished on Facebook Vanished Facebook Discussion Group Jennifer Taylor on Twitter Chris Williamson on Twitter Smith & Vinson Law Firm Official Website Jennifer Taylor Attorney Profile @ Smith & Vinson's Official Website Smith & Vinson on Twitter Music by Dane Gerous Schmidt "Satisfied" performed by Amber Farndon Album Art Illustration courtesy of Desdymona Vanished is a ChrisEvan Films Production Vanished is part of the Straight Up Strange Podcast Network Vanished stars Jennifer Taylor and Chris Williamson with a special appearance by Montgomery Sutton as John Wilkes Booth Dave Taylor's site of record Lincoln Conspirators Dave Taylor on T...
I have a lot of heavy lifting to do. In part 3 of our series on John Wilkes Booth, my investigation is in full swing. Joined by a world class guest list, I dive into the case head first in an effort to understand how and why Booth might have escaped, the complex introduction of DNA into the case, and the first trial that took place on this case a little over a quarter century ago. Welcome back to Vanished. This is part 3 of our series on John Wilkes Booth. LINKS Our Website Vanished on Twitter Vanished on Instagram Vanished on Facebook Vanished Facebook Discussion Group Jennifer Taylor on Twitter Chris Williamson on Twitter Smith & Vinson Law Firm Official Website Jennifer Taylor Attorney Profile @ Smith & Vinson's Official Website Smith & Vinson on Twitter Music by Dane Gerous Schmidt "Satisfied" performed by Amber Farndon Album Art Illustration courtesy of Desdymona Vanished is a ChrisEvan Films Production Vanished is part of the Straight Up Strange Podcast Network Vanished stars ...
I’ve been investigating historical mysteries for a long time. And everything always begins with a story. It’s hard to look at our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln as controversial. But he was. As much as he’s now revered the world over for his acts during his presidency, there were many people that stood in opposition of Lincoln and the Union. When we think of Lincoln, we often think about his end; the assassination that we’ll be covering so deeply during this series. But what you might not know is that the assassination that would be successfully carried out in 1865 wasn’t the first attempt on his life. Four years earlier, there was another attempt. And the story behind this one is something out of a summer blockbuster movie. But every bit of it is real. In order to get to the ending, and everything beyond, we need to start at the beginning. Tonight, we lay out all the events that begin on April the 14th 1865 and end 12 days later in a tobacco farm in Virginia. Or do they? As o...
What you’re about to hear really started for me a few years ago. I was just about to leave Los Angeles for our big family move out to the midwest. I was in the Los Angeles Public Library looking through some microfilm on Amelia Earhart when I stumbled back a little too far and found the contents of an 1862 Valentines’ note to Lucy Lambert Hale; a prominent Washington D.C. socialite. That’s right. Everything you’re about to hear, started with a Valentine. The contents of the note read like something out of a period romance film but with just a pinch of darkness. The words jumped off the page. Here’s what it said. “My dear Miss Hale, were it not for the License with a time-honored observance of this day allows, I had not written you this poor note. … You resemble in a most remarkable degree a lady, very dear to me, now dead and your close resemblance to her surprised me the first time I saw you. This must be my apology for any apparent rudeness noticeable. To see you has indeed...
This is the end. And frankly I’m relieved to be through it. To be honest, when we first decided we’d venture outside the Amelia Earhart case, I had doubts. I still do if I’m being completely honest. But starting with Jack the Ripper was a good experiment for me. It tested my emotional ability to get through a case like this and come out the other side. You’ve had a couple of weeks to digest the trial, the evidence and the testimony and now the time is almost at hand for you to render your decision. Who do you think was Jack the Ripper? And does it even matter? Are the legacies of the victims what we should really be discussing here? Jack the Ripper is an enigma. A faceless man. A man without an identity. Or maybe a man with several. I know what I believe. Now, as always it's up to you. But before we leave you to decide we have one more person that we feel you need to hear from. And what she has to say might change the way you look at Montague John Druitt and the man behind this ...