Fate. Death. The Fox. The various nicknames signed by a man who sent out ransom notes regarding the kidnapping of a twelve year old girl named Marion Parker.
This episode of Strange Matters discusses the terrifying and disturbing events surrounding an infamous kidnapping case that took place in Los Angeles in 1927. A young girl named Marion Parker was abducted by a smooth talking man, right from her own school. Meanwhile, her father would be contacted by the same man demanding ransom money. This individual would become commonly known as The Fox. This disturbing case would ultimately be referred to at the time as the “Crime of the Century.” This episode goes over all the details of the kidnapping, the investigation of the police trying to figure out who the Fox was, and the tragic outcome of this dark crime.
Sharon Marshall was a friendly, pretty, and intelligent young girl. Those that knew her all said she had great potential with a bright future. What people did not know however, was that her entire life was a lie. Sharon was not really Sharon, in fact she had no idea who she really was. All this girl knew in her life growing up was a constant state of deceit, abuse, and terror at the hands of one man, her father Franklin Floyd.
In this episode we discuss the twisted and bizarre family situation of Frank Floyd and Sharon Marshall. This disturbing and confusing story involves kidnappings, abuse, and even murder. For years the mystery of who Sharon Marshall really was has intrigued many who were invested in her story and that of her family, and fortunately in the recent years enough light has been shone on this case to finally reveal her true identity.
Aliens… Do they really exist? Are we really all alone in the universe? Perhaps it depends on your definition of the term “alien”; perhaps your stereotypical small-bodied Grey or maybe something as simple as a microbe could define this term. But how could we know that aliens exist? Some think that crop circles are a sign that aliens not only exist but have visited earth. With reports dating back centuries, this concept is not foreign. Many crop circles are localized to southern England however they can be found all over the world.
While many suggest that they are all simply pranks or hoaxes performed by very creative and skilled artists, others think that at least a certain percentage are the result of otherworldly visitors.
Other evidence for the existence of extra-terrestrial life lies in personal reports of human abduction. Perhaps the oldest reports of these abductions occurred in 1961. “The Hill Abduction” is the story of Barney and Betty Hill who were an inter-racial couple were well educated and involved in professional organizations. These individuals would have much to lose and little to gain from fabricating a story of the sort. Nonetheless they share the tale of traveling down a country road in their car one night while following a mysterious light.
As the light approached closer Barney stopped the car and got out wielding his trusty pistol. As he got closer he was able to spot “non-human” creatures inside what appeared to be a disk-shaped flying object. He screamed “They’re going to capture us!” as he ran back to the car, however shortly thereafter both of them report slipping into a strange trance. After waking up 35 miles south of where they had originally stopped the car, they would go on to continue their lives while being plagued by strange dreams and other odd occurrences.
Another alien encounter was reported by a “Dr. Jonathan Reed”. While out in the woods one day he came upon a strange humanoid creature fighting with his beloved dog, Suzy. When the alien got the upper hand and somehow reduced his dog to a pile of dust, Reed angrily approached the creature from behind and struck it in the head, killing it.
The remains were captured in various photographs, however the authenticity of this story has been questioned.
Travis Walton, on the other hand was a logger who was in the presence of five of his buddies when he encountered aliens. Traveling in a truck down yet another country road after a long day’s work, the men spotted a strange glowing object in the distance. As they approached it, one man would describe it as “a luminous object, shaped like a flattened disk” and nearly 20 feet in diameter.
Walton got out and approached the saucer but was immediately struck by a bright blue light emanating from the craft which knocked him back onto the ground. While the other men bolted, Walton would go missing for 5 days, only to return with a tale of alien abduction. Despite this wild tale, all the men would go on to pass polygraph tests suggesting that they were telling the truth. Tune in to this podcast episode and decide for yourself: are aliens really out there?
In this episode of Strange Matters, three cases are presented in which someone suddenly vanished without a trace. In each of these unsolved mysteries, the victims would be going about living normal lives, until the next moment they were simply gone, forever.
Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone were hanging at a bar late one night with some friends. At around midnight, the pair left the bar to head towards Richard’s truck. Neither of them would ever be seen again. This case has puzzled police and the community for over a decade, as no one can see how its possible for two people and a truck could simply go missing without a shred of evidence.
Angela Hammond was on a payphone late at night, talking to her fiance Rob. Suddenly, she screamed into the phone. Her fiance ran to his car and raced towards to where she was, when a truck passed by with a woman inside screaming his name. Unfortunately, Rob could not catch up and the truck would drive away, apparently taking Angela with it. No signs of her would ever be found.
In the last case, teenage Laureen Rahn was enjoying a day with two friends in her apartment. Later that night, Laureen’s mother came home, to find that only her daughter’s friend was still at the apartment. Her daughter was gone, with no signs of forced entry or a struggle, and all her belongings left behind. It’s as if Laureen stepped outside and was suddenly gone, without a trace. Though there were a few odd leads in this case, the police could find absolutely no clues as to what happened to the missing teenager.
