Child abuse is a major problem in the United States, more than many believe. In 2024, at least one in seven children experienced abuse or neglect, according to the CDC. The risk increases when a child enters foster care. An article from 2025 on Powertosoar.org states that up to 40% of children in foster care are abused or neglected in some form, though exact numbers are hard to estimate due to underreporting.

Certain factors exacerbate the risk of child abuse, including poor funding for child protective services, shortages of caregivers, and parental substance abuse. Another risk factor is being on the autism spectrum. 34% of autistic individuals experience some form of neglect, and it is estimated that 36% of autistic individuals experience abuse by age eighteen.

Furthermore, Indigenous children are also at an especially high risk of abuse and neglect. While Indigenous groups only make up 2% of the population of the United States, an alarming 15.2% of these cases involve Indigenous children. Like all other child abuse cases, these are also underreported.

This problem needs more attention and intervention. Measures such as laws that keep families together have been implemented, but much more is needed. All children deserve to feel safe at home and in the world.

Who She Was and Case Background

Three-year-old Marjorie Galeener was a happy child with “a smile that could brighten anyone’s day”, according to her obituary. She was born on August 6th, 2021, to Danette Hunts Along in Minot, North Dakota, United States. She had a special bond with her older sister and her older brother, whom she would always sit with, and she was well-loved by her family.

She was named after her beloved grandmother, Marjorie Hunts Along. She was a member of the Three Clan, and she was also given the traditional name “Micgbabaá Arura Dohi” (Blue Rose). She loved playing with bubbles and balloons, and she would dance around her home while her mother threw balloons in the air.

Her favorite color was purple, and she loved the movies Boss Baby, Moana, and Toy Story. Her obituary says she was “an adorable, loving, and playful girl”. At the time of her murder, she and her brother had been living in a foster home in Stanley, North Dakota, for several months while her mother was in a rehabilitation center.

Murder and Arrest

On March 19th, 2025, Jamie Johnson, Marjorie’s foster mother, called 911 to report that Marjorie was unresponsive. First responders arrived at the home in Stanley, North Dakota, and quickly took her to the hospital. They could not resuscitate her. She was sadly pronounced dead. Jamie told the police that Marjorie had injured her head by falling down the stairs a few days prior, and that she would often scratch herself and bang her head on the wall.

However, the police were suspicious of her claims, as Marjorie’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head. They checked security camera footage inside the home. They found horrific videos of Jamie and sometimes Raymond Johnson, Marjorie’s foster father, severely abusing the little girl. They were both arrested and charged with murder, child abuse, and domestic violence resulting in serious bodily injury.

Investigation and Outcome

The harrowing videos depicted Jamie and Raymond beating Marjorie on many occasions, sometimes with a spoon. One video depicted Jamie pulling Marjorie’s hair and making her hit her head on multiple pieces of furniture. Some of them depicted Jamie covering the little girl’s mouth and telling her to “shut up” when she cried.

The other children in the home spoke up about what they witnessed, too. They stated that Jamie was the “meanest” of the adults in the home and that Raymond was “the nice one”, despite the way he also treated Marjorie. They told one of the investigators, “You need to be careful with my mom.”

They said that Jamie would frequently punish Marjorie for the way she chewed her food, and that if she fought back, she would beat her again. They said that Marjorie would sometimes even go unconscious from the abuse and that her foster parents would need to wake her up with an ice pack.

Jamie’s texts revealed more evidence. She referred to Marjorie as a “total brat” in one text. In another, she said, “It’s not easy, I get pretty crabby sometimes, and then I feel like s — t for it.” She also said, “Honestly, if I knew how she was, I might not have taken her.”

Jamie and Raymond Johnson both pleaded guilty to murder. Jamie was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, and she is required to serve at least thirty years of the sentence. She was sentenced to an additional two years for child abuse, with all of her other charges having been dropped.

Raymond was sentenced to eighteen years in prison, with his other charges having been dropped. Both are also required to register as offenders against children and go through anger management treatment.

Aftermath

Danette Hunts Along spoke out about her concerns over her children to Lindsey Miller on KMOT TV. She was worried about her son’s and daughter’s safety immediately, since they were both autistic. Furthermore, she saw many signs that something was going wrong in the foster home. The Johnsons would not allow her to take off Marjorie’s jacket or change her diaper.

They would later not allow Danette to see her children at all. In photos, which she requested in lieu of visitation, she noticed a bruise on Marjorie’s arm. “Right there, those signs kind of red-flagged me,” she said. She also said that the Johnsons would give excuses to not allow her to see Marjorie. “Them being inadequate in doing their job that this happened, because there is no reason why my kids should not have been checked on,” she said.

Personal Commentary

This case broke my heart. Marjorie deserves far better than abuse, like all children. They all deserve a chance to grow up and make a life for themselves. This could have been prevented. Much more action needs to be taken to protect children from abuse and help them thrive. My heart goes out to Danette and the rest of the Hunts Along family. May Marjorie rest in peace.

Sources

https://www.langhansfuneralhome.com/obituary/marjorie-galeener?lud=28ECBE5C51A6F8DE78D481B0DAE11622

https://nypost.com/2025/06/12/us-news/autistic-girl-3-beaten-to-death-by-foster-parents-who-would-get-upset-over-how-she-chewed-food-report/

https://nypost.com/2025/06/12/us-news/autistic-girl-3-beaten-to-death-by-foster-parents-who-would-get-upset-over-how-she-chewed-food-report/

https://local12.com/news/nation-world/parents-killed-autistic-daughter-toddler-child-kid-children-kids-security-ring-camera-abuse-abusive-assaulted-abused-assault-attacked-beat-beating-punched-kicked-punch-kick-unresponsive-blunt-force-trauma-chew-chewed-chewing-injury-injured

https://www.kfyrtv.com/2026/08/12/life-sentence-one-two-stanley-foster-parents-charged-childs-death/

https://www.kfyrtv.com/2025/06/09/mother-girl-killed-stanley-speaks-out-concerns-over-care/

https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/about/index.html

https://powertosoar.org/abuse-in-foster-care-statistics/

https://www.ncacia.org/post/the-overlooked-epidemic-child-abuse-in-indigenous-and-native-american-populations

https://zipdo.co/autism-abuse-statistics/

People go missing on hiking trips in alarming numbers. According to Yosemite National Forest Search and Rescue, 4,661 people get lost in the woods and need assistance per year. Of this number, 40% are found. On average, they get lost for fourteen hours, and it takes search and rescue teams ten hours to find them.

However, this leaves 60% who aren’t found. Their families spend weeks, months, or even years wondering what happened to them. Their fate tragically remains unknown, sometimes even for good.

Who She Was/Is and Case Background

Nineteen-year-old Maureen “Anu” Leianuhea Kelly is a free-spirited young woman. Hailing from Vancouver, Washington, United States, she was raised by a single mother known as Mapuana. She also grew up alongside her half-sister, Cheri Kaupu. Cheri described her as “a very laid-back, carefree girl” and “an affectionate person”. Her family was rather close and encouraged self-expression.

Anu graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 2011, just 2 years before she went missing.

She was not in long-term employment or higher education at the time, but she was known for her artistic endeavors. She ran a YouTube channel where she played the ukulele, and she aspired to be a singer and songwriter in the future.

Her friends stated that she loves hiking and exploring spirituality. She had talked to them about going on a “spiritual quest”. They encouraged this. “The folks that she was with, they felt that this was something she needed to do,” said Skamania County Undersheriff Dave Cox to ABC News. “She had talked about doing this spiritual quest for evidently quite some time.”

Disappearance

On June 9th, 2013, Anu and multiple of her friends left for Canyon Creek Campground at Gifford Pinchot National Forest, near Cougar, Washington. This area is off the grid, only accessible by a gravel road known as Forest Road 54. This road was winding and cut through dense forests.

Anu had eagerly helped plan the trip, having borrowed camping gear from her half-sister. The main focus of the trip was hiking, camping, and relaxation. However, there was a deeper meaning to it for Anu. She wanted to use the trip to go on the “spiritual quest” she was anticipating. She had talked about it enthusiastically on the way there.

The group set up their tents, taking in the sights and sounds of the lush, moss-covered forest around them. The day was pleasantly warm, the temperature being roughly 72F. Around 5:00 pm that day, Anu decided that it was time to begin her journey.

She took off her shoes and all of her clothes, then put on a fanny pack containing matches, a small knife, and a compass. Her brother later stated that she was “not as prepared as he would’ve liked” for the journey.

She left without telling her friends when she would be back, though no one tried to stop her. However, when she didn’t return by midnight, they knew something was seriously wrong. They contacted authorities to report her missing, and an investigation was quickly underway.

Investigation and Search for Anu

On June 10th, 2013, Anu’s friends and family searched the forest for her alongside park rangers. Authorities used sniffer dogs and all-terrain vehicles in the search as well. The search proved to be difficult due to thick underbrush covering the area, as well as steep canyons and lots of timber. Undersheriff Dave Cox said, “A searcher could literally walk right on top of somebody if they’re rolled under a log”, without ever knowing.

They tracked bare footprints matching Anu’s foot size up and down the area around the creek.

“Where she entered the creek is amazingly steep. It’s called Canyon Creek Campground for a reason,” said Sharon Ward, a member of the Pacific Crest Search Dogs group. “It’s very, very steep. So how she got down there barefoot is a wonder. And how she came up out of the bottom is a wonder.”

The footprints ended at the road, with no other trace of Anu or her belongings found. The search ended at 8:00 pm, due to darkness and hazardous weather conditions. Around seventy-five volunteers gathered to search three to four square miles of the forest, but sadly found nothing. After a week, sometimes reported as two days, the search unfortunately ended. In April 2021, the case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). Anu sadly remains missing to this very day.

Aftermath

Anu’s loved ones are not happy with the way her case has been talked about in the mainstream media. Her friend Yazman said on KIRO Radio’s Ron and Don show, “That’s not what the story is about; that’s not what she wanted people to know is that she was naked. The main thing that she really wanted people to know is that this is something that she’s taking really seriously because she is a very spiritual person and she’s doing this to make a statement,” Yazman said.

Her disappearance overall weighs heavily on their hearts and minds. “Most of the family is pretty upset that she’s gone missing this long,” said Skamania County Undersheriff Dave Cox. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure that we get her back safely to them, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

“We can’t give up, and we need her home. She may not want to be found; we really don’t know, but we need her back home with us because she’s someone so very important to everyone, and we just need her home as soon as we can get her,” Yazman said.

Speculation

There are multiple theories about Anu’s fate. Temperatures that night dipped into the 40sF with some rain, leading to concerns about hypothermia due to her wearing no shoes or clothes. Another commonly mentioned possibility is that she could have had a fatal encounter with wildlife. However, attacks on humans from the forest’s black bears and cougars are rare. Some believe she fell into Canyon Creek.

Authorities believe she was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs when she disappeared. Should she have died in the woods, underbrush, decomposition, and animal scavenging would have made it difficult to find her remains. The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office does not have any theories about her case, though they have ruled out foul play.

Possible Update

On August 10th, 2024, a hiker was appalled to find a human skull and pelvis in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Detectives had difficulty finding the remains until the hiker led them to their location. They speculated that the remains could belong to either Anu or another hiker who went missing in 2013 in the forest after becoming separated from his group, thirty-one-year-old Kristopher Zitzewitz.

He was hiking in the Big Lava Beds area, and he became lost while looking for caves. The remains were later determined to be his. His tragic death is under investigation, while Anu’s disappearance remains unsolved.

Personal Commentary

Of all the information on this case, one particular detail stuck out to me: her trail of footprints ending at the road. Why did it end there? Did the dense underbrush hide more footprints after she veered off onto another path?

Another possibility that I have seldom, if ever, seen in sources on her case is that someone could have picked her up on the road. This would explain why the footprints ended there. The possibilities of what happened to her are vast. That aside, I wish for Anu’s return for her sake and her loved ones’ sake.

Description

Maureen “Anu” Kelly was nineteen when she disappeared. She is thirty-three now if she is still alive. She is a woman of Asian/Pacific Islander descent, standing at 5’ 7’’ and weighing 150–160 pounds. Her hair and eyes are brown. She was last seen barefoot and nude, wearing a fanny pack containing a small knife, matches, and a compass.

If you have information that could lead to a resolution in her case, please contact the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office at 509–427–9490 or use their online reporting page.

Sources

https://grokipedia.com/page/Disappearance_of_Maureen_Kelly

https://charleyproject.org/case/maureen-leianuhea-kelly

https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/maureen-kelly

https://allthatsinteresting.com/maureen-kelly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Maureen_Kelly

https://www.gawkerarchives.com/washington-teen-goes-missing-while-on-naked-spiritual-q-512706724

https://mynorthwest.com/uncategorized/search-to-resume-for-missing-woman-on-naked-spiritual-quest-in-washington-forest/81854

https://mynorthwest.com/local/human-remains-found-gifford-pinchot-national-forest/3981027

https://charleyproject.org/case/kristopher-b-zitzewitz

https://survivaldispatch.com/statistics-of-getting-lost-and-found/

In 2016, the National Institute of Justice did a study on violence against Indigenous women with startling results. According to the study, 84.3% of Indigenous women are victims of some sort of violence. 56.1% had been through sexual assault. The overall number of Indigenous female victims of violence exceeded 1.5 million.

Police departments often lack the funding and resources to properly investigate these cases. Some don’t even take these cases seriously. A factor that exacerbates the problem is a lack of coverage by the mainstream media. 95% of cases identified by the Urban Indian Health Institute do not receive such coverage.

Here is the story of one of these many women. She, like all of them, is far more than just a statistic. She had a life, a family, and friends. She has a story, and her story will be told.

Who She Was

Alice Ida Looney came from a large and tight-knit family. She was born on December 14th, 1965, in Toppenish, Washington, United States, to Eva Looney and Wilkins Looney Sr. as the youngest of eleven children. She was a citizen of the Yakama Nation, and her mother taught her the tradition of drying fish after fishing in the Columbia River. Her father died in 1969, leaving her mother to raise her and her siblings alone. However, she always kept the house full.

Alice grew up around many relatives, siblings, and friends in Yakima County and Klickitat County, and she attended Goldendale Elementary School. She later attended Fort Apache boarding school in White River, Arizona. She sadly endured bullying for her weight. She struggled with depression as a result. “She would never talk about her school down there,” said her sister, Mary Looney.

As she grew into adulthood, she fell victim to addiction to drugs and alcohol. Still, this did not stop her from maintaining close bonds to her family. She never had her own children, and she came to love taking care of her nieces and nephews. She would check in with them more often than with her mother.

“She would always see the nieces more than us,” Mary said. Her cousin, Doris Strong, who grew up alongside her, said of her “She didn’t have a hostile bone in her body.” “She was very sensitive,” she added.

Alice’s life took a turn for the worse after Eva Looney died in October of 2001. She struggled with homelessness, and she stayed at various relatives’ homes or with a man she sometimes had a relationship with. “She was lost after our mom died because mom spoiled her. She’d give her $40 and drop her off at (the Pan Cigar),” Caroline said about a bar in Wapato that later closed.

Disappearance

Mary and her husband ran into Alice on August 16th, 2004, at the Legends Casino in Toppenish, Washington. Alice asked for a ride to a gas station in Wapato. The couple said yes, but warned Alice to be careful. Alice assured them that she would, and she said that she only had $20 with her. Upon the couple dropping her off, Alice told her sister that she loved her. Little did Mary know that this normal encounter would be the last time she saw her alive.

Mary did not hear from Alice for a few days. This was nothing unusual, as Alice would often disappear for long periods of time without telling anyone. However, when Alice did not contact her nieces and nephews, or anyone in the family, for several days, they realized that something was wrong.

There were multiple sightings of Alice, including Caroline Looney, one of her sisters, spotting her with a man in Wapato shortly after she was dropped off at the gas station. Her friends also spotted her with the same man at a bar in Wapato. Despite this, no one else could establish contact with her.

Caroline and Doris searched tirelessly for Alice. They made flyers and put them up in various places, and searched for her on Track Road, where someone saw her walking. “Even if we were driving, we’d be looking by the side of the road,” said Caroline. “We walked along Track Road. We were uncovering stuff along fences.” “We were grasping at straws,” Doris said.

Alice’s family also looked for her at hospitals and treatment centers, as Alice had stated a month earlier that she was seeking treatment for her addiction. They called multiple other tribes in search of her. All of this sadly proved to be fruitless.

Discovery of Her Body and Investigation

On November 30th, 2005, the search for Alice came to a tragic end. A hunter found her remains under a log on a small island in Satus Creek. After the autopsy, the examiner could not determine her cause of death. However, they stated that it might have been strangulation, despite the inconclusive results.

Her official cause of death is listed by the Yakima County Coroner as “undetermined”, though it could change if more information on her death comes to light. Her case remains a “suspicious death” to this very day.

In 2007, the FBI took over her case alongside the cases of numerous other Indigenous women who went missing or were murdered in/near the Yakima Reservation. They determined that these deaths were not connected and that a serial killer was not involved, though ten of these deaths were the result of murder. Alice’s case sadly remains open to this day.

Possible Connection to Israel Keyes

In 2019, a member of the podcast “True Crime Bullsh**”, Josh Hallmark, did a deep dive into the crimes of serial killer Israel Keyes. The location of Alice’s body fit in with Israel’s MO in where he often left his victims. His girlfriend also stated that he took a trip to Eastern Washington and came back with a change in his appearance.

There was another investigation on a farmhouse in the town where she was found, though it received no publicity. Israel was questioned by police in a recorded interview. Strangely, much of his words were edited out. He later killed himself, thus preventing further questioning, and no further investigation took place.

Aftermath

In December of 2020, Alice’s family gathered with others for a memorial for Alice and other missing and murdered Indigenous people, according to the Yakima Herald. They always found this time of year to be painful, as they used to get together for Alice’s birthday and the holiday season. Authorities never told the family about the exact location of Alice’s body due to the ongoing investigation, where the family said at the memorial that they wanted to go pray and put a cross.

The family stated at the memorial that while they had closure, they never received answers. “We just want to know what happened,” said Mary. However, Caroline stated, “Just having her back was enough for me.” She added, speaking of the person responsible for Alice’s death, “They will pay even though I don’t know who it is.”

Personal Commentary

This case is a sobering reminder of an ongoing problem in the United States. Time and time again, Indigenous people go missing and fall victim to violence. Indigenous people, like all others, deserve to be safe in the world. I wish for answers and peace for her and her family. May Alice rest in peace.

Sources

https://uncovered.com/cases/alice-ida-looney

https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/topics/the_vanished/we-just-want-to-know-what-happened-questions-remain-in-mysterious-death-of-yakama-woman/article_33515455-344f-58a5-afa6-f13973d91cab.html

https://www.bia.gov/service/mmu/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-people-crisis

https://www.niwrc.org/sites/default/files/Resources/MMIWR%20FACT%20SHEET%20(1).pdf

Homicide by an intimate partner is an alarmingly prevalent problem in the United States. As of 2018, 63% of women whose victim-offender relationship was known were murdered by a male intimate partner. The risk of murder is also higher for women of color. Men kill black women at a rate three times higher than that of white women, and six times higher for Indigenous women.

Despite this, white women’s cases receive much more coverage in the media than women of color. They often make headlines, while many others sadly fall by the wayside. But their stories must be told, and their lives must be remembered.

Who She Was

Sixty-year-old Joyce Fox Judie was well-loved by her family. “She was a beautiful person inside out,” said her daughter, Ebonie Toye. Her obituary describes her as “a world traveler, a brave warrior, a spirited student, inspiring teacher, loving mother, supportive wife, and loved her community.”

Being one of seven siblings, she joined the United States Army after she graduated from high school. She met Thomas Toye there and encouraged him to enlist after she completed her own basic training. She and Thomas married and had a son and daughter, Ebonie Toye and Corey Toye.

While raising her kids, she bravely served in combat in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She and Thomas sadly divorced, and she later married Edward Judie Jr. She retired from the Army after serving for twenty years as a Sergeant First Class. She and Edward lovingly raised a total of five children and two grandchildren together. She later went to college and graduated with an impressive two master’s degrees. She taught in elementary school, middle school, and college.

At the time of her murder, she was living with her husband Edward in Macon, Georgia, United States. He told her daughter, Ebonie, that Joyce was showing signs of dementia. Ebonie moved to Macon from Washington State to help care for her. She later stated, however, that her mother was healthy. “She did not do drugs or alcohol or anything. She might have a Corona on a cruise or something for a special occasion,” Toye said.

Murder and Investigation

On November 29th, 2019, the police showed up at Joyce and Edward’s home after receiving a haunting call reporting a “demented person that was hallucinating.” Horrifyingly, they came into the home to find Joyce already dead. Edward told the police that they both had been drinking alcohol that night. He claimed that they lay in bed together while he sometimes hit her in the arm to wake her up and make sure she was ok.

According to him, she at first responded by “grunting”. However, she later stopped responding at all. He assumed she was asleep and left her alone. He repeatedly asked the police if she was ok; they later said. He didn’t seem to understand that Joyce had died, despite authorities noticing that her body was “stiff” and “cold”, apparently having been dead for a long time. An autopsy later found that she had “many times the lethal dose” of cocaine in her stomach, according to court records.

A member of a news outlet asked Ebonie Toye, “What did that tell you?” “That she ingested it some kind of way. I feel like it was fed to her. Nobody eats cocaine,” she responded. Police determined that Edward had bought cocaine that night. Twenty months later, Edward Judie was arrested and charged with murder and cocaine possession. Later on, the couple’s housekeeper, Aliyah Walker, was arrested on the same charges.

After a judge determined that Edward Judie was not at risk of flight, he was let out of jail on bail for $200,000 in September of 2021. Despite this, the DA’s office considered him a flight risk due to a conversation he had over a jail phone about his passport. Aliyah Walker was given a $20,000 bond a month after her arrest due to medical problems and was released from jail.

Ebonie Toye was infuriated upon hearing this. “I was even more angry than when she passed. Because he murdered her.” She added, “I don’t even feel like justice is being served at all.” “I actually went to the Bibb County inmate roster. I mean, I’m having to do the footwork myself,” she said.

In 2022, three years after Joyce’s murder, the DA’s office was still awaiting a trial date for Joyce’s case. “It’s too much time. People can die. People forget what happened. Paperwork gets lost. All kinds of things can happen to throw this case left and no justice will be served,” Ebonie said. She and the family made it clear that they wanted the case to go to trial. The judge said that the trial date could be set for the following year.

Outcome

In 2024, Edward Judie received more charges, specifically, involuntary manslaughter and concealing a person’s death. However, the case never went to trial due to conflicting evidence and witness accounts. The charges were reduced to only concealment of the death of another person.

He pleaded guilty in July of that year and was sentenced to ten years of probation, with completing Veterans Court for PTSD also required. He has the opportunity to lessen his probation if there are no violations within the first two years.

Meanwhile, Ebonie and two of her siblings filed a lawsuit against Edward. The three of them alleged that he attempted to conceal or transport Joyce’s life insurance savings, secure a passport, and sell the couple’s home while in jail. During the lawsuit, a judge ordered him to stay out of the couple’s home as part of a restraining order.

Edward denied all of their claims. He said that they were acting maliciously in the lawsuit. He asked the judge to deny their requests, dismiss the lawsuit, and give him access to his “lawfully entitled” money. As of 2024, the lawsuit was still pending, with no further information on the lawsuit.

Ebonie said in a written statement, “I don’t have much faith in the DA’s office. I constantly felt like we were never going to get any answers, and here we are almost 5 years to date, and there are still no answers.”

Another portion of the statement read, “He’s being charged with concealing a dead body? But we don’t know who killed the body! We don’t know what happened! Murderers and criminals are supposed to be brought to justice. What exactly does that look like? I mean, what does that look like for Joyce Judy?”

George Bushway, Edward’s lawyer, said of him, “He was seeing green men in uniforms he thought were trying to come into his house that night, and he was the one that called law enforcement so when deputies arrived they went through the house to make sure everyone was okay and they discovered Ms. Judie in the bedroom.” He added that his client can now grieve his wife in peace.

He also said, “Mr. Judie is frustrated that it took this long to resolve this case, but ultimately we were able to resolve it in a fashion that allows him to go on with the rest of his life and pick up the pieces and continue to grieve for his wife.”

Personal Commentary

This case left me with multiple questions. Why was there cocaine in Joyce’s stomach? Why did her husband’s charges get dropped to concealment of a death? Why did it take so long for him to get sentenced? Most importantly, why did anyone do this to Joyce? It looks like many details are unavailable to the public. But regardless, I wish for her family to find peace and closure after this horrific ordeal. May Joyce rest in peace.

Sources

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/macon/name/joyce-judie-obituary?pid=194638964

https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/crime/family-wants-answers-on-why-edward-judie-woman-bailed-out-after-wifes-alleged-cocaine-poisoning-death-2/93-6af3f634-35a4-4d09-b844-85eb7ad1ef06

https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/former-bibb-schools-deputy-superintendent-charged-with-murder/93-d4809b5c-4cf3-4870-bc55-42b97dae87ae

https://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article289844284.html

https://wgxa.tv/news/local/former-deputy-superintendent-pleads-guilty-ends-murder-case-with-probation

https://sanctuaryforfamilies.org/femicide-epidemic/

Missing children is a major and ongoing problem in the state of California. In 2018, 80,470 children went missing in the state. The problem continued, and in 2023, over 30,000 children went missing. The economic disparities in California and major cities being hubs for human trafficking both play a role in this issue.

Of the children who went missing in 2018, 76,923 were runaways, and 248 were lost. This is the story of someone who tragically became part of those numbers, possibly due to substance use.

She is more than just a number, however. She is a person with a full life. She is someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, and someone’s friend. Her name is Karlie Gusé.

Who She Was/Is and Case Background

Sixteen-year-old Karlie Gusé is well-loved by her family and friends. She lived in Chalfant Valley, California, United States, with her brothers, stepmother Melissa Gusé, and father Zachary Gusé. Her classmates at Bishop Union High School said she was “sweet and quiet.”

Before her disappearance, she had been suspended from school for cannabis use, and she was required to see a counselor. Her friends said that she sometimes had bouts of paranoia while using cannabis, expressing fears that she was being “tracked” through her phone.

Disappearance

On October 13th 2018, Karlie asked her stepmother and father if she could go to her high school’s football game. They said yes. However, she left for a party with her boyfriend instead, where she smoked cannabis.

She immediately had an adverse reaction. She became severely paranoid, fearing the music and those around her, which ominously foreshadowed her disappearance. She called her stepmother and told her what happened, and she begged her to come take her home.

“Come get me. I’m booking it down Dixon Lane. Hurry, hurry, hurry, I’m scared,” she said in a panic. Melissa, worried sick, quickly left to get her. She arrived to find Karlie already walking down the street in the dark. She later stated that she was pale with dilated pupils.

Her behavior became confusing at home. She alternated between huddling in a corner and fearing her parents, and seeking their comfort. She talked about wanting to read the Bible, go to church, and paint her nails.

Melissa, wanting to show Karlie how cannabis affected her later on, recorded an eight-minute, forty-five-second video of her in her paranoid state. Later on, she saw her writing on a piece of paper, which she speculated to be a sort of therapy exercise.

She stayed with Karlie until she settled down and went to sleep, around 3:00 am. Melissa checked on the boys before going to sleep herself. When she woke up the next morning, Karlie was gone, with all of her belongings left at home, and the front door of the house open.

Three witnesses reported seeing her wandering the neighborhood, looking up with the piece of paper in her hands. She has sadly been missing ever since.

Investigation

Police quickly went to work to find the young girl after she was reported missing. Scent dogs tracked her to a spot on Highway 6 that led off towards the desert. Beyond this, there have been no leads to find her.

There was no Amber Alert issued for her, as authorities did not believe she was abducted. They ruled out foul play in her disappearance.

In 2021, an unnamed person reported spotting someone matching her description in Tonopah, Nevada, United States, roughly one hundred miles from where she went missing. Authorities even found a vehicle there that she might have been picked up in. This tip, however, has not led to her being found, and it has little information.

“There isn’t anything; we have followed every lead,” said Sheriff Ingrid Braun of the Mono County Sheriff’s Office. “It is super frustrating. It’s an open investigation until Karlie is located.”

She also stated that she and her office do not have any theories on what happened to Karlie. She says she is “open to all possibilities”.

Aftermath and Speculation

There are varying theories on what could have happened to Karlie. Her stepmother and father believe that her cannabis was laced. Her mother, who spoke about this on the Dr. Phil show, stated that she believes her daughter died of an overdose. She also thinks that her alleged death was covered up by her stepmother and father.

Some people agree that her cannabis was laced. Others think that she might have taken LSD instead, or that she might have had a mental health condition that was exacerbated by the substance. Some even believe that she came from a broken home and thus wanted to escape.

Personal Commentary

This case left me scratching my head. While it does sound like her paranoia led to her disappearance, what happened next? Did she get picked up by someone? Did she wander into the desert and succumb to exposure? Is she still alive somewhere?

The description of her dilated pupils sounds like her cannabis could have been laced, as it is not typical of cannabis intoxication. However, she may have simply had a bad reaction to it, and someone of her age should not be using cannabis regardless.

Still, this does not answer the most important question: where is she and what happened to her? I wish for Karlie’s safe return, for her and her loved ones’ sake.

Description

Karlie Gusé is a white female, standing at 5’ 7” and weighing 100 pounds. She has long, dark blonde hair and blue eyes. She was sixteen when she disappeared and had a nose piercing.

She may be disoriented, and she did not bring anything but a piece of paper with her when she left.

Anyone with information on Karlie’s whereabouts is urged to call the Mono County Sheriff’s Office at 760–932–7549, option 7.

Sources

https://www.the-sun.com/news/8786612/karlie-guse-missing-teen-people-magazine-investigates-california/

https://officialbringkarliehome.com/

https://www.foxnews.com/us/she-wanted-to-read-the-bible-and-panicked-something-was-going-to-kill-her-uncomfortable-questions-surround-the-case-of-missing-california-teen

https://uncovered.com/cases/karlie-guse

https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-karlie-guse

https://sunflowersober.com/magazine/does-cannabis-dilate-pupils-myths-vs-medical-facts

https://nfound.org/the-growing-issue-of-missing-children-in-california/

https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/missing/children/ch-ann-reports-2018.pdf

In 1999, upwards of 1.5 million children in the United States either ran away from home or were kicked out of their homes by their parents. Despite the startling number, more than half returned home within the first week of their absence. 99% of them came home at one point or another.

Some of the children, however, never come home. Their families and friends carry the grief and uncertainty for years, or even decades. They wonder each day what happened to them, and when they’ll come home or if they’ll come home at all.

Who She Was/Is and Case Background

Fifteen-year-old Katya Lyne’s sister, Tracy Lyne, remembers her fondly. “She was a little reserved, but once you got to know her you’d learn she had a wicked sense of humor,” she said.

Their parents adopted Katya from El Salvador when she was just three months old and Tracy only five years old. They had a close bond.

When Katya went missing, she was attending a modelling school in Seattle, Washington, United States, while she lived in and attended grade school in the nearby town of Federal Way.

Her grades were low at the time, with many missed classes, and she frequently changed schools. This created a lot of conflict between her and her parents.

She lived with her father, Pat Lyne. Sadly, he was down on his luck at the time. He had lost his job, had no savings or car, and had recently divorced Trudy Lyne, Katya and Tracy’s mother. Adding to the stressors, Trudy was recovering from breast cancer.

He had recently gotten into a head-on collision with a semi-truck, though he only had minor injuries. His family now believes that this was a suicide attempt.

Disappearance

The night before March 21st, 1997, was a tense one for Katya and Pat. They had been arguing about her trouble in school. He wanted her to change schools, hoping that this would improve her performance. She, however, was opposed to the idea.

At some point in the night, Katya left the home. Sadly, this was the last time anyone saw or heard from her. The next morning, Tracy Lyne visited the home from Seattle.

Strangely, Katya was not home, and no one knew where she was. Two days later, Pat reported her missing, and the police quickly got to work on her case.

Investigation

Detective Lee Leddy was assigned to the case at the time. “From the moment it came to my desk, it was more than just a runaway case; there was potential for more,” he said.

Just a few days after Katya went missing, another tragedy struck the Lyne family; Pat Lyne died by suicide. Authorities at the time suspected that this was connected to Katya’s disappearance, and they investigated this possibility.

He said that there were five cadaver dog teams searching areas Katya often went. However, they found no body, and they later concluded that there was no link between her disappearance and her father’s tragic death.

In the months following her disappearance, the police force interviewed many people and followed many potential leads. There were a few reported sightings of Katya, but nothing was ever confirmed.

“I can’t tell you how many nights I spent driving the streets in Seattle or Tacoma, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of somebody that was reported who might have looked like her,” said Lee Leddy. He believed that due to her attending modelling school in Seattle and frequenting the city, she might have been living there.

Tracy Lyne and her close friend Elisha Tubbs did their own investigating. They would search town late at night, and sometimes entered “sketchy areas” in search of Katya. They even handed out 4,000 fliers about Katya at a Mariner game.

“This was before cellphones, and before the internet really took off, so there was only so much we felt we could do,” said Elisha.

“I feel guilty if I go out with my friends. I feel I should be out looking for her,” said Tracy.

In 1997, the police did not have access to DNA technology. When it became available later on, they used DNA from Katya’s baby teeth saved by her mother and entered it into some online databases.

In 2010, detectives turned to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for help. They asked their cold case unit, made up of retired detectives, to review the case in search of any missed details.

According to Lee Leddy, they found nothing. They did, however, release an age-progressed image depicting Katya at age thirty. They later released another one depicting her at age forty. To this day, Katya sadly remains missing.

Aftermath

Katya’s disappearance weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of her family. “It’s the not knowing that is the hardest,” Tracy told the Seattle Times in 2021, “because you don’t know how to grieve.”

She said that grappling with her father’s suicide and Katya’s disappearance has taken a toll on the family. They could not talk about it for a few years after. It still remains a difficult subject.

“I only had 15 years with her, and I’ve had almost 25 without her,” she said. “It’s harder for me to remember the specifics. I wish I could hold on.”

Tracy moved to Oregon to live with some family members in the year 2000, went back to college after losing her gymnastics scholarship due to an injury in 1997, and started working in the records department of her local sheriff’s office. She felt that searching for Katya had taken over her life and that she needed to move on.

“I was seeing all my friends graduate … and it’s like I had to get on with my life,” she said.

“In retrospect, I wish I would have done a million things differently,” she said. She said she often felt guilt over being “unable to protect” her sister.

Trudy Lyne said in a 2021 Facebook post that she believes her daughter is still alive and left the home in a hurry, due to having left her belongings at home.

“We hope Katya makes contact with us. We have always had hope, and I want her to be happy,” she wrote.

In November of 2021, Katya’s loved ones gathered at an alehouse in Federal Way to celebrate the day she would have turned forty.

Personal Commentary

Like many missing persons cases, this one leaves more questions than answers. Why did Katya leave in a hurry that night? What led her father to tragically end his life a few days after she went missing?

Could she still be alive and well somewhere? If so, why hasn’t she reestablished contact with her family? Despite the information on the case, I found it difficult to even speculate on what might’ve happened to her.

Regardless, my heart goes out to her family for the uncertainty and grief they have struggled with, and I wish for Katya to be found one day.

Description

Katya Lyne was fifteen years old when she was last seen, and she would now be forty-four. She stood at 5’ 3” tall and weighed 125lbs. She is of Hispanic origin, with brown hair and brown eyes, though she might have dyed her hair a different color.

She has three dots tattooed on her left hand, with the letter K tattooed on her right ankle and a piercing on her right nostril. She had a dental retainer when she disappeared, but she did not bring it with her, or any personal belongings.

Anyone with information about Katya or any missing person is urged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s 24-hour hotline at 800–843–5678.

Sources

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/you-dont-know-how-to-grieve-relatives-and-friends-of-missing-teen-gather-24-years-later/

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970801/2552521/please-come-home-sister-begs-runaway----father-committed-suicide-after-15-year-old-ran-away

https://uncovered.com/cases/katya-lyne

https://charleyproject.org/case/katya-marie-lyne

https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/831557/1

https://childfindofamerica.org/resources/facts-and-stats-missing-children/

Violence against minorities is a serious problem in the United States. According to the CDC, the death rates by homicide for black men were 35.4 per 100,000 people in the year 2000. For comparison, it was 5.2 per 100,000 people for white men in the same year.

According to Statista.com, the problem is ongoing, with murder rates for black people totalling 8,158 in 2024, and 6,753 for white people. This horrifying issue must not be ignored.

Who He Was/Is

Twenty-five-year-old Shelton Sanders is remembered fondly by his family. “He was a super young man. He was smart, intelligent, willing, and able to work. Did not complain. He was very involved in his family. He made us proud,” said William Sanders, his father.

He was very close with his family. According to his sister, he looked forward to one day getting married, having kids, and even raising cattle. When he went missing, he was studying Administrative Information Management at the University of South Carolina.

He worked part-time as a computer programmer, and even ran a personal website where he described his career aspirations.

“My goals are to finish college and receive a degree in Administrative Information Management. Beyond college, I would like to work for a company for three years, then I would like to start and run my own computer company,” he said on his website.

Disappearance

June 19th, 2001, was an ordinary day for Shelton. That day, he attended his college classes and went to work in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, after leaving his parents’ home in the town of Rembert.

Later on, he went out with his friend and former college roommate, Mark Richardson. Between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm, Shelton called his parents to let them know that he would be home late, but that he would leave soon.

At approximately 9:30 pm, he and Mark went to two hotels to ask about pricing for Mark’s bachelor party, specifically the Embassy Suites and the Wesley Inn and Suites. After this time, this ordinary day took a turn, for Shelton never made it home.

Close to midnight that night, Mark’s neighbor heard a frightening sound: three gunshots going off. He went to Mark’s house to ask what happened, but Mark just said that it was his car backfiring. Tragically, Shelton has not been seen or heard from ever since.

Investigation and Trial

Two years after he went missing, on April 23rd, 2003, someone found Shelton’s car abandoned in the parking lot of the Greenbrier Apartments in Columbia, South Carolina.

Police checked Mark’s cell phone records and determined that he was the one who drove it there. The records showed that he had entered the parking lot just after midnight.

“Last person with him. Gunshots were heard at his house by a credible witness. The vehicle that [Shelton] was last seen in was actually found right next to where we were able to triangulate Mark Richardson’s cell phone records,” said Walter McDaniels, the former lead investigator.

This eventually led to Mark’s arrest for Shelton’s murder on October 5th, 2005. When the police interrogated Mark, he made some ominous statements. “Let me ask you a hypothetical question. Is there such a thing as an accidental death in the state of South Carolina?” he said.

The police later on allowed him to explain himself, to which he replied: “How can I explain getting rid of a body?”

Mark later went on trial at the Sumter County Courthouse in Sumter, South Carolina, on April 14th, 2008. The jury deliberated the case on April 21st, but they could not reach a verdict. Five jury members voted him not guilty; seven jury members voted him guilty.

It was a hung jury, and the judge declared the trial a mistrial. Mark was released from jail, and the tragic case remains unsolved to this day.

“Through the initial investigation, they were able to gather enough evidence to determine that it was a homicide, and the homicide, it’s gone cold. It was turned over to cold cases this year.

We’re following up on things that are already there, that people are coming forward about and we’re hoping that events like today will kind of inspire people to think about what’s going on, how this has impacted the family in the last 20 years,” said Richland County Sheriff’s Office Senior Investigator, Dottie Cronise.

Aftermath

Shelton’s family never relinquished hope in solving their loved one’s case. Shelton’s sister, Wilveria, launched a few social media pages to raise awareness of her brother’s disappearance in 2018.

“We will never give up. We will keep going until all searches are completed, no stone left unturned,” she said.

“We’ve forgiven anyone who’s had any dealings with the murder or disappearance of my brother. We just want to bring him home to a proper burial spot, where he belongs,” she said.

There is also a monetary reward for any information that may lead to a resolution of the case, currently set at $50,000. There are billboards across the town of Columbia, calling for information on his case.

Personal Commentary

This case was rather unusual. There was so much evidence that Shelton’s friend killed him, yet just not enough to result in solving the case.

I have no words for the horror of murdering someone you consider a friend. I wish for his case to be solved, so that Shelton’s loved ones may have answers and closure.

Description

When Shelton disappeared, he was twenty-five years old. He was described as a black man, with black hair and brown eyes. He stood at 6’ 1” tall and weighed 225 lbs.

When he was last seen, he was wearing a short-sleeved button-down shirt, khaki pants, and a Movado watch with a stainless steel band and a black face with diamonds.

If you have any information that could lead to solving this case, please contact the Richland County Sheriff’s Department — Cold Case Unit at (803) 576–3000 or Crime Stoppers of the Midlands at (888) CRIME-SC (274–6372).

There is currently a $50,000 reward being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for Shelton’s disappearance.

Sources

https://projectcoldcase.org/2025/08/25/shelton-sanders/

https://unresolved.me/shelton-sanders

https://uncovered.com/cases/shelton-sanders

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2017/029.pdf

https://www.statista.com/statistics/251877/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-race-ethnicity-and-gender/

Discovery of the Body

On February 19th, 1971, a pair of hitchhikers on an overpass of Interstate 75 in Lake Panosoffkee, Florida, United States, made a discovery that shook the community for decades. They found a woman’s body floating in Shady Brook Creek underneath.

The woman was wrapped in a carpet and sunken into the water. She was likely there for weeks, as evidenced by her advanced stage of decomposition. An autopsy found a men’s size thirty-six belt wrapped around her neck and determined her cause of death to be strangulation.

The police quickly went to work on solving the horrifying murder from then on. They determined her to be a white woman with dark brown hair and brown eyes, standing at roughly 5’ 2” to 5’ 5” tall and weighing around 110 to 120 pounds.

She was wearing a green top, a green and yellow printed shawl, and green pants at the time of her death. She also wore a thin gold necklace, a gold ring with a clear stone on her left ring finger, and a Baylor watch on her wrist.

She was likely between the ages of 17 and 24, and had given birth at least twice. She had dental work, including a crown on her front tooth, and she had received the Watson-Jones procedure on her right ankle.

Despite the information gathered from her body, police sadly could not determine her identity at the time.

Investigation

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office worked tirelessly to identify the young woman. However, her advanced state of decomposition made it difficult.

They compared her case to numerous missing person cases, though all were ruled out. They also interviewed numerous persons of interest. Sadly, this brought them no closer to identifying her.

The sheriff’s office distributed flyers about her case nationwide, in the hopes that someone would recognize her. In 1986, her then-buried body was exhumed for further examination and testing.

This included DNA testing, which was in its early stages then, alongside forensic anthropology, dental comparisons, and facial reconstruction. Still, no one knew the identity of the young woman, as her DNA was too degraded and no one recognized her.

In 1992, her case was featured on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, drawing national attention. Many people called the sheriff’s office with tips, but none led to her identification. A loved one later stated that they recognized her, though they did not call the sheriff’s office for unknown reasons.

Another fruitless attempt at identifying her involved sending her body to the FBI in 2006, so that they could compare it to the people in the national database. In 2013, authorities sent her fingerprints to the FBI, though they could still not identify her at the time.

Later on, authorities found a break in the case.

They did biological testing on the woman’s body, which revealed that she had Greek heritage and might have immigrated to the United States less than a year before her murder.

Her teeth also showed high levels of lead, possibly linking her to a lead mining town southeast of Athens called Lavrion.

The sheriff’s office consulted many labs with her DNA and attempts at genealogy, still without answers.

Identification

In October of 2025, the sheriff’s office obtained Storm ABIS, a system owned by IDEMIA used to provide fingerprint analysis and identification. Comparing fingerprints from a previous arrest for a worthless check to the young woman’s body, authorities finally identified the young woman as Maureen “Cookie” Minor Rowan.

“Today, Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee finally has a name. We now know the identity of the woman who until today was a mystery that has stayed with our community for decades.

Her name is Maureen Minor Rowan, more commonly known by her friends and family as ‘Cookie’,” said Sumter County Sheriff Pat Breeden during a conference where Cookie’s identity was revealed.

“This is a deeply meaningful moment for our agency and our community, but more importantly to the family that has waited almost 55 years for answers.

This breakthrough exemplifies the dedication of every investigator who has worked on this case over the past five decades and reflects the unwavering commitment of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office to seek the truth and deliver closure to families.

Although we still have a lot of work to do to bring justice to Cookie and her family, I am incredibly proud of the men and women of my office who continue to diligently work our cold cases and persevere despite the challenges that some of them present.

To Cookie’s family, our thoughts and prayers are with you. We know your hearts are heavy with grief. Cookie was your mother; she was your sister and your friend.

She has never been forgotten and has had a profound impact on our community. This case stands as a powerful reminder of why we never give up,” he said.

Although our investigation continues, we are one step closer to providing answers and resolution to this case once and for all.

As the sheriff of Sumter County, I am asking the community for their help. We have set up a dedicated tip line so that anyone with knowledge of the case can speak with a detective 24/7,” he said.

The case remains open. “If you know something, say something, and help us bring justice to Cookie and her family,” said Sheriff Pat Breeden.

Cookie’s family thanked the agency, saying that “our family can begin to heal”.

Who She Was and Case Background

The information on Cookie and her life is unfortunately minimal. She was born in Maine on March 21st, 1949, and was only twenty-one years old at the time of her murder.

She previously lived with her husband in Tampa, Florida, United States. Adding to the tragedy of her situation, she left behind two children.

Cookie’s husband, Charles “Emery” Rowan, was named a person of interest in this case by the sheriff’s office, though he died in 2015.

“We’ve learned that Cookie’s marriage to Charles Emery Rowan was tumultuous, and just before her death, they had separated.

Emery’s actions and behavior leading up to the separation and continuing to after the discovery of Cookie’s body are suspicious enough to list him as a person of interest, but not rising to the level we want to officially identify him as a suspect,” deputies said.

Personal Commentary

I have known of and followed this case for years. Time and time again, I hoped for Cookie to get her name back, so her family can get closure. Despite the incredible timeline of fifty-four years, she finally has been named.

I wish all the best for her family in learning of this tragedy of their loved one, and I wish for the case to be solved soon. May Cookie rest in peace.

If you have any information that could help resolve this case, please contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office tip line: (352) 569–1915

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office tip email: sumtertips@sumtercountysheriff.org

Crimeline (anonymous) 1-(800)-423-TIPS (8477)

Sources

https://www.midfloridanewspapers.com/sumter_sun_times/murder-victim-from-1971-little-miss-lake-panasoffkee-finally-identified/article_f58f0ef8-0e5e-4a4c-bcfc-c5d0925f4ac5.html

https://www.villages-news.com/2025/10/29/little-miss-lake-panasoffkee-homicide-victim-identified-after-almost-55-years/

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-cold-case-little-miss-panasoffkee-sumter-county/

https://www.cfpublic.org/politics/2025-10-29/little-miss-lake-panasoffkee-identified-after-55-years

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2025/10/28/one-of-floridas-strangest-cold-cases-may-have-just-broken-new-ground/

https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/little-miss-lake-panasoffkee-identified-as-tampa-woman-nearly-55-years-after-murder/

Violence against Indigenous people is a disturbing yet little-known problem. According to the FBI in the 2020 UCR, Indigenous people have a murder rate one and a half times the national average.

Indigenous men experience the highest rates of violence of any racial group, according to BJS in 2022. This prevalent problem may be hard to talk about, but it must not be ignored.

In addition to this, it is equally important to talk about the dark subject of anti-disability hate crimes. According to FBI data, hate crimes against people with disabilities rose from 156 in 2019 to 202 in 2023.

While these numbers seem small, a 2019 comparison between FBI police report data and Bureau of Justice crime victim survey data found that police do not report even 0.5% of these crimes.

Here, we see another case of someone belonging to both groups. This is a sobering reminder that these are people, not just numbers.

Who He Was and Case Background

Thirty-nine-year-old Waylon Lee Mittens loved the great outdoors. He liked fishing, ranching, four-wheeling, barbecuing, “mud anything”, wrestling, and golfing, as stated in his obituary.

He was born and raised on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana, United States, in a large family with six siblings. He had an associate’s degree from Blackfeet Community College and worked as a radio personality, in addition to working for the Blackfeet Tribe and Grizzly Entertainment.

At the time of his murder, he was wheelchair-bound due to a leg amputation and was dating and living with Danielle Marceau, a.k.a. Danielle Comesatnight. Sadly, the relationship was abusive, as Danielle had been arrested for domestic violence against Waylon.

According to court documents, Danielle was arrested on May 2nd, 2020, after a domestic dispute 911 call. Waylon had recorded a horrifying video of her beating him while he sat in his wheelchair.

Murder and Sentencing

On June 2nd, 2020, Waylon’s family called the police and requested a welfare check on Waylon at his and Danielle’s home in the Glacier Heights neighborhood of Browning. They were deeply concerned, as they had not heard from him in several days.

Upon arrival at the home, police were immediately disturbed by the smell of decay. They found Waylon’s body on the floor of the laundry room inside the home, with evidence that someone had tried to clean up the crime scene.

They later received tips that Danielle brutally killed Waylon and that she was even considering turning herself in. On June 3rd, 2020, they arrested Danielle with a tribal warrant.

According to court documents, Danielle made some incriminating statements during her arrest. She ominously said “I did it”, “I stabbed him”, and “I knew this was coming, I knew you guys were coming”.

Danielle stated that she stabbed him in self-defense. They had been arguing during the day on May 30th, and the murder happened as they continued to argue, both while intoxicated, on May 31st, 2020, until she stabbed him sometime between 12:30 am and 2:00 am.

In July of 2020, Danielle was sentenced to a meager ninety-seven months in prison for voluntary manslaughter in federal court. She was also ordered to pay $11,735 in restitution.

Personal Commentary

The outcome of this case made me angry. No amount of money will bring Waylon back or heal the wounds left on his loved ones from the murder, and no sentencing will, either. However, ninety-seven months is a light sentence for such a senseless murder.

He was vulnerable, and Danielle took advantage of it. I can only imagine what his loved ones have been going through ever since. I wish them all the best. May Waylon rest in peace.

Sources

https://www.fosterfhandcrematory.com/obituary/Waylon-Mittens

https://www.linkedin.com/in/waylon-mittens-41259b159

https://www.krtv.com/news/crime-and-courts/marceau-sentenced-for-killing-waylon-mittens

https://worldmetrics.org/native-american-violence-statistics/

https://disability-memorial.org/waylon-mittens

https://americancommunitymedia.org/stop-the-hate/disability-is-everywhere-yet-anti-disability-hate-crimes-rising/

Case

On May 12th, 1984, an unnamed person was horrified to discover a man’s body on the sidewalk near a bus stop at 7020 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, Washington, United States. He had a .22-caliber revolver with him and a gunshot wound to his head, rendering his face unrecognizable. Investigators believe he sadly ended his own life.

He was found with a blue canvas bag containing three pencils and a book on mathematics, indicating that he may have been a student. The bag also contained a Bible, clothes, a toothbrush, toothpaste, trading stamps, and eyeglasses, but no identification.

The trading stamps were not produced by local stores, indicating that the man did not live in Seattle. Investigators contacted the book and pencils’ manufacturers in search of the man’s identity, but found nothing.

Though his dental records and fingerprints remain available, his DNA is not. Tragically, he remains unidentified to this day, earning him the nickname “Bus Stop Man” or “King County John Doe”.

Personal Commentary

This case is all but forgotten. Upon looking up the case, most of the search results were about another then-unidentified person also found in 1984.

Adding to the tragedy of his case, there is little public information on it. I could not find any news articles about it from the year it happened or later.

Whoever this man is, I hope he one day gets his name back and that his loved ones can receive some answers on what happened to him. May he rest in peace.

Description

John Doe was a black male with dark brown eyes and hair, estimated to be between ages eighteen and thirty years old. He stood at 6 feet tall and weighed 138 pounds. He had a mustache and a goatee, with a scar on his right elbow and right calf.

He was wearing a light gray nylon jacket with red trim and two buttons on the lapel reading “Warning; Mad Lover” on one, and “Who Says You Can’t Have Everything? Here I am” on the other. He also wore a tan pullover short-sleeved shirt with two breast pockets, a white T-shirt, Vallini blue jeans in size 29, and Pro Wing tennis shoes with velcro closure.

If you have any information that might lead to identifying this person, please contact the Seattle Police Department at (206) 625–5011.

Sources

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/software/main.html?id=372umwa

https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/10790

https://uncovered.com/cases/1984-king-county-john-doe