Disappearance
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The Disappearance of Debra Ann Wilhite
On October 14, 1974, 19-year-old Debra Ann "Debbie" (Pfettscher) Wilhite finished her shift as a waitress at the Windmill Restaurant on Highway 41 in Evansville, Indiana. She was supposed to pick up her husband after work, but she never made it. Debbie and her green 1966 Ford Galaxie disappeared without a trace, leaving behind her husband and two young daughters in one of the Tri-State's oldest unsolved missing person cases.
In this episode, I discuss the case with Debbie's daughter, Misty Lynn Walker, who was just 18 months old when her mother vanished. More than 50 years later, Misty continues her tireless search for answers. -
Disappearance, Mystery, Unexplained
Where is Zac? Interview with his best friend, Chris
UPDATE 11/3/2025:
14 WFIE NEWS:
WARRICK CO., Ind. (WFIE) - The Warrick County Sheriff says a the body of a missing man was discovered on Friday in the Lynnville area
He says a hunter discovered the remains and called authorities.
Detectives say the remains were taken to the morgue in Vanderburgh County and positively identified as 38-year-old Zachary Carey, of Evansville, who had been missing since May of 2023.
Carey had last been seen in the Lynnville area.
https://www.14news.com/2025/11/03/body-man-missing-since-2023-found-warrick-co/
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In this episode, I speak with Chris, the last person to see Zac Carey before he disappeared back on May 30, 2023.
After my previous episode with Zach’s mother Gina and his sister Cecilia aired, Chris reached out to share his side of the story. He addresses some of the claims made about him, sets the record straight on his relationship with the family, and explains what really went down in the hours leading up to Zac's disappearance.
Chris goes through text messages from that early morning, describes driving Zac out toward the Lynnville area, and talks about Zac's state of mind at the time. He also opens up about his own interactions with law enforcement, rumors about untraceable gift cards, and why he believes Zac might simply be laying low off the grid.
At the end of the day, everyone involved just wants answers. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Zachary Cary, please contact the Warrick County Sheriff’s Department at 812-897-6180. -
Disappearance, Mystery, Unexplained
Where is Zac?
***********UPDATE 11/3/2025*********** 14 WFIE NEWS:
WARRICK CO., Ind. (WFIE) - The Warrick County Sheriff says a the body of a missing man was discovered on Friday in the Lynnville area
He says a hunter discovered the remains and called authorities.
Detectives say the remains were taken to the morgue in Vanderburgh County and positively identified as 38-year-old Zachary Carey, of Evansville, who had been missing since May of 2023.
Carey had last been seen in the Lynnville area.
https://www.14news.com/2025/11/03/body-man-missing-since-2023-found-warrick-co
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In this episode, I sat down with the family of 38-year-old Zachary Carey, who vanished back on May 30th, 2023. I talked with his mother, Gina, and his younger sister, Cecilia, to get a better sense of who Zac is and what really went down around the time he disappeared.
Zac was living in Evansville and working as a welder, but after losing his job and going through the sudden loss of his niece, his mental health took a heavy turn. Zac deals with schizophrenia, and his family noticed he was struggling and likely off his medication. Being an outdoorsman, a survivalist, and proud of his Native American heritage, Zac often retreated into nature when he was stressed. Going off into the woods for a few days to decompress wasn't unusual for him, but he always kept in touch and let them know when he was coming back. This time, he didn't.
The details surrounding his last known whereabouts raise a lot of questions. Zac was last dropped off by his long-time friend at the welcome sign near the woods in Lynnville, Indiana. Days later, after his family reported him missing, police located his cell phone sitting right by that same sign. Things got even more complicated when his friend refused to cooperate with the family or hand over Zac's belongings so search dogs could get a scent.
From unverified sightings in homeless camps across state lines to searches through dense woods and quarry lakes by local authorities, the family has been left in a painful limbo. They just want answers and to bring Zac home. -
Disappearance, True Crime, Unexplained
Where is Andi?
In August 2022, 24-year-old Andi Wagner disappeared from Evansville, Indiana. She was last heard from around August 5th or 6th, and her family officially reported her missing a few days later. Ever since, her loved ones have been fighting to keep her name out there so her case doesn't just fade into the background.
In this episode, we focus on the ongoing efforts to bring Andi home. I share a clip from an interview by YouTuber JuJu’s Rabbit Hole featuring Andi’s cousin, Frankie Lee. Frankie opens up about the toll this has taken on the family and addresses some strange details surrounding the case, including a neighbor with a weird interest in ring camera footage from Andi's grandparents' house and a notebook left behind that listed names of people who might be connected to her disappearance.
I also have a conversation with Rick White, the Emergency Management Director in Union County, Kentucky, who also runs the Tik Tok channel Front Porch America. Rick has stepped up to help lead independent search efforts. He breaks down how he got involved, the challenges of navigating private land and old strip mine pits, and his partnership with search teams like Narked Divers and Brothers Underwater Recovery to scan local waterways with sonar.
Andi is 5'6" and around 115 pounds, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. She has a dreamcatcher tattoo on her left forearm and the name "Joshua Brown" tattooed on her right forearm. She was last seen wearing an orange tank top and jeans, and she frequently spent time in the Newburgh and Oakland City areas.
If you or anyone you know has information about Andi Wagner, even a detail that seems tiny or insignificant, please call the Evansville Police Department adult investigations unit at 812-436-7979. -
Disappearance, Murder, True Crime, Unexplained
The Disappearance of Theresa Rideout
If you caught the first episode about the Four Seasons Motel, you might remember me briefly mentioning Theresa Rideout. She was the girlfriend of Jack Barnett, the man who ended his life at the motel. But while Jack’s tragic end was documented, Theresa’s story is a mystery.
When I first came across Theresa’s case in an old local newspaper article listing area cold cases, I was struck by how little information was actually out there. Even on official missing persons pages like the Indiana State Police site, her name is spelled wrong, details are minimal, and there isn't even a photo attached to her profile.
Part of the reason her story has been so quiet is that Theresa did not have a huge network of people in her corner. Her mother passed away when she was six, her dad died when she was seventeen, and she had no siblings. She married young, had a son named Matt, but after a divorce in the mid-80s, she mostly kept to herself and moved around. Tragically, both her ex-husband and her son passed away years later, leaving virtually no immediate family left to keep her case in the public eye. When I reached out to a relative of her ex-husband while doing genealogy research, they told me her disappearance was just considered a big family mystery. Some relatives assumed she had simply drowned in the river, but no one really knew.
Here is what we actually know about her final days. On September 2, 1994, Theresa and Jack left the American Legion in Newburgh around 10:30 AM so Jack could drive her to her 11:00 AM shift at the Main Street Burger King in Evansville. She worked her full shift, was in a great mood, and at 7:00 PM her manager trusted her to take the night cash deposit up to the bank. She made the deposit, said "see you tomorrow" to her co-workers, and drove off in Jack's red pickup truck.
That was the last time anyone ever saw her. She left her final paychecks unclaimed, and her beloved dog, River, vanished right along with her.
What really bothers me about the timeline is what happened next. If Theresa was seen leaving work in Jack's truck, Jack was almost certainly in that truck with her. Did they get into a fight on the way home?
Stranger still, four days after she disappeared, Jack walked into Don and Donna's sports bar in Newburgh by himself. The bartender said he acted completely normal, had a drink, and never mentioned anything about Theresa being missing. Then, a few days after that, Jack checked into the Four Seasons Motel and took his own life, leaving a note for his daughter that made zero reference to Theresa.
Most investigators seem to assume the obvious story: Jack killed Theresa, hid her body along with the dog, and then killed himself a week later. But a full week is a really long gap for a murder-suicide scenario where the perpetrator just goes about his normal life, grabbing drinks at local bars in the middle of it all. Were they involved with the wrong crowd? Did something go wrong with shady associates? Or did Jack snap after a week of her being missing?
Theresa Rideout deserves to have her story told just as much as anyone else, even if she did not have a massive family network fighting to keep her name in the headlines.
Give the episode a listen and let me know your take. -
Disappearance, Murder, Paranormal, True Crime
Four Seasons
Thanks for checking out the very first episode of River City Mystery!
If you drive down the highway just outside Mount Vernon, Indiana, you might pass right by the Four Seasons Motel without thinking much of it. It is a quiet, family-run spot owned by Rodney Cox and his mom, Jean. They run it today, and they were running it back in the fall of 1994 when things took a really dark, strange turn.
It started with a mystery that still hasn't been solved. On September 2, 1994, a local woman named Terry Rideout finished up her shift at the Main Street Burger King in Evansville, ran the night deposit, and drove off in her boyfriend Jack’s red pickup. She was never seen again. When people went to check on her home, the only thing missing was her dog, River. To this day, Terry is still listed as a missing person in Indiana.
A week after Terry vanished, Jack Barnett checked into the Four Seasons Motel alone. He brought two things into the room with him: a VHS copy of the movie Falling Down and a gun. After watching the movie, he wrote a quick note to his daughter and ended his life. The room was locked from the inside with the security chain, and police ruled it a suicide right away.
That is tragic enough on its own, but what happened next is where the story gets bizarre.
About a month later, Rodney and Jean started getting constant complaints from guests staying in that same room. Night after night, different people who had no idea what had happened in that room kept coming to the front desk with the exact same story: the TV would turn itself on every night right at 10:00 PM. Rodney even swapped out the TV for a completely different one, but it kept happening.
Eventually, when standard maintenance couldn't fix it, Rodney and Jean realized they needed a different kind of help. They called up a local preacher to come out, pray over the space, and ask whatever was there to move on.
Was it a real ghost, or just a really weird set of coincidences? Give the episode a listen and judge for yourself.