Cold and Missing: Alma Mendez

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,560
The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.

2
00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:08,800
All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

3
00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:14,480
Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages and is intended for a mature audience.

4
00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,160
Listener discretion is advised.

5
00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:22,200
Hi everybody! Welcome to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali.

6
00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,080
I am your co-host, Eli.

7
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,020
And welcome! This is our first episode.

8
00:00:29,020 --> 00:00:36,460
This has been a brainchild of mine for a very long time, but I'm very excited to be bringing it to life.

9
00:00:36,460 --> 00:00:43,300
So no matter when you're listening to this, thank you so much for being here and being interested in this work.

10
00:00:44,260 --> 00:00:50,900
Here at Cold and Missing, we want to cover exclusively cold cases and missing person cases.

11
00:00:50,900 --> 00:00:56,580
So no solved crime. We're not going to be digging up skeletons, so to speak, of the past.

12
00:00:56,580 --> 00:01:09,140
We want to focus on unsolved, unresolved cases and try to bring peace to people and try to generate new tips and keep these stories in people's minds.

13
00:01:09,140 --> 00:01:12,660
A lot of these you may have never heard of.

14
00:01:12,660 --> 00:01:20,420
Trying to focus on small town crime, people that maybe don't get a lot of media coverage.

15
00:01:20,420 --> 00:01:28,820
We probably will not be covering Jon Bonet Ramsey here, but we're going to be covering a lot of smaller cases, interesting cases,

16
00:01:28,820 --> 00:01:36,340
that deserve just as much attention as any of the other big unsolved cold cases or missing person cases out there.

17
00:01:36,340 --> 00:01:39,140
Eli and I, we live in Chicago.

18
00:01:39,140 --> 00:01:44,580
And I am from this area and Eli is from Michigan.

19
00:01:44,580 --> 00:01:48,100
Do they know that I'm your husband?

20
00:01:48,100 --> 00:01:51,700
Oh, no, we didn't mention that.

21
00:01:51,700 --> 00:01:53,780
Well, I'm I'm the husband.

22
00:01:53,780 --> 00:01:57,100
He's my hubby.

23
00:01:57,100 --> 00:02:02,820
So just some like stats about cold cases that I was able to kind of dig up.

24
00:02:02,820 --> 00:02:06,300
And these are all kind of current as of 2021.

25
00:02:06,300 --> 00:02:11,740
Currently, there are over 21000 missing person cases.

26
00:02:11,740 --> 00:02:14,660
And those are just what's recorded out there.

27
00:02:14,660 --> 00:02:15,780
That's what's reported.

28
00:02:15,780 --> 00:02:26,340
We know that 21000, 21000 over 21000 of just missing, just missing persons, people.

29
00:02:26,340 --> 00:02:29,260
And again, these are just like reported cases.

30
00:02:29,260 --> 00:02:38,220
So, you know, there are a lot of instances where police maybe don't want to take a missing person report where they maybe drop the ball.

31
00:02:38,220 --> 00:02:40,860
So these are just reported in the system cases.

32
00:02:40,860 --> 00:02:46,540
So we know that there's more people missing out there than these over 21000.

33
00:02:46,540 --> 00:02:56,460
And something that I found sad and interesting, 40 percent of those cases are over 20 years old.

34
00:02:56,460 --> 00:03:10,820
So 40 percent, like for over 20 years, there's just been no resolution, no ending, just this unanswered question of like, where is my loved one?

35
00:03:10,820 --> 00:03:12,100
And that's really sad.

36
00:03:12,100 --> 00:03:15,940
Like people deserve to know where their loved ones are.

37
00:03:15,940 --> 00:03:22,620
Even if they have passed on, they deserve to know that without doubt.

38
00:03:22,620 --> 00:03:36,580
Do you think that that statistic exists because of the time period that the crimes were murders or kidnappings?

39
00:03:36,580 --> 00:03:41,420
Like because of the time period that they happened in?

40
00:03:41,420 --> 00:03:46,100
Yeah, I think that age does play into it a little bit.

41
00:03:46,100 --> 00:03:49,580
You know, for so long, like missing kids were just considered runaways.

42
00:03:49,580 --> 00:03:58,620
You know, like they they wouldn't take reports for, you know, a missing child in the 70s if they thought the kid was like a bad kid and would run away.

43
00:03:58,620 --> 00:04:04,420
You know, like so I think that does play into this is how.

44
00:04:04,420 --> 00:04:08,100
Because being a missing being a missing person, it's not a crime.

45
00:04:08,100 --> 00:04:14,540
Right. Like and if you're over 18, you're allowed to just go without telling anybody.

46
00:04:14,540 --> 00:04:29,580
So it is sometimes difficult for police to walk that line of like letting somebody have their freedom of like you're allowed to get up and disappear if you really want to.

47
00:04:29,580 --> 00:04:36,540
Like you're allowed to do that, but also you're leaving behind people who are worried about you and.

48
00:04:36,540 --> 00:04:39,620
Don't they just deserve to know that like you're OK?

49
00:04:39,620 --> 00:04:54,060
And then the top 10 states for missing people are California, Texas, Alaska, Arizona, New York, Washington, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Michigan.

50
00:04:54,060 --> 00:04:56,380
Michigan, Michigan. No.

51
00:04:56,380 --> 00:05:09,700
Yeah, I felt what I found interesting is outside of Oklahoma and Tennessee, all the other states are like kind of on the border of like Canada or Mexico or like on the ocean.

52
00:05:09,700 --> 00:05:13,660
You know what I mean? Like they it's like easy exits from the United States.

53
00:05:13,660 --> 00:05:17,460
I kind of thought that all of those states are like coastal.

54
00:05:17,460 --> 00:05:19,980
Yeah. In one way or another.

55
00:05:19,980 --> 00:05:23,860
Right. With the exception of Oklahoma and Tennessee.

56
00:05:23,860 --> 00:05:40,820
But then the top 10 cities for missing this is just for missing people are Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, Dallas, San Francisco, McAllen, Texas.

57
00:05:40,820 --> 00:05:45,700
So a lot of California and Texas like states that stay warm.

58
00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:51,340
Yeah. Yeah. Oklahoma City, Miami, Memphis and Detroit.

59
00:05:51,340 --> 00:05:53,500
That rounds out the top 10.

60
00:05:53,500 --> 00:06:01,580
I thought McAllen, Texas was kind of interesting, though, because I didn't recognize the name of that town off the top of my head.

61
00:06:01,580 --> 00:06:09,100
So it's interesting that this town is in the top 10 cities of missing people.

62
00:06:09,100 --> 00:06:14,620
So that's kind of why cold and missing is created.

63
00:06:14,620 --> 00:06:29,580
In my professional life, I'm a researcher, and when I come home, I like to relax, kick back and read old newspaper articles about missing people and cold cases.

64
00:06:29,580 --> 00:06:31,940
Relax. That's how I relax.

65
00:06:31,940 --> 00:06:44,500
So I just I really want to be part of the solution and keeping and half the battle is just keeping people's names in the media and keeping their names out there.

66
00:06:44,500 --> 00:06:47,540
So this is just like my one small part.

67
00:06:47,540 --> 00:06:50,820
And like all this research that I do on my own does no good.

68
00:06:50,820 --> 00:07:00,860
Just like sitting in my head and in my notebooks, like I should put it out there because they're like somebody listening out there knows something for one of these cases that we're going to touch on.

69
00:07:00,860 --> 00:07:03,180
They might know the person that's missing.

70
00:07:03,180 --> 00:07:06,140
They might know something about the cold case.

71
00:07:06,140 --> 00:07:11,860
And it's been years. And now, you know, circumstances have changed and maybe they can talk now.

72
00:07:11,860 --> 00:07:17,140
And this is just a reminder that these people are not forgotten and it's not going away.

73
00:07:17,140 --> 00:07:23,380
Like we're going to report every week on a new cold case or a new missing person.

74
00:07:23,380 --> 00:07:28,540
And we're going to just try to get some answers for people.

75
00:07:28,540 --> 00:07:31,740
So we are going to be learning about Alma Mendez.

76
00:07:31,740 --> 00:07:42,180
And this is a cold case that happened in 2007 in the city of Chicago Heights, which is in Cook County, which is Chicago's county.

77
00:07:42,180 --> 00:07:44,140
So it's very close to Chicago.

78
00:07:44,140 --> 00:07:46,940
It's about 30 miles from downtown Chicago.

79
00:07:46,940 --> 00:07:51,060
Very kind of middle lower class.

80
00:07:51,060 --> 00:07:55,700
The census of 2010 had like the median income as like forty three thousand.

81
00:07:55,700 --> 00:08:00,780
So like very blue collar, very working class and relatively small,

82
00:08:00,780 --> 00:08:02,780
like a population of thirty thousand.

83
00:08:02,780 --> 00:08:11,740
October 28th, 2007, we find ourselves at Sauk Trail Woods, which is a nature preserve within Chicago Heights.

84
00:08:11,740 --> 00:08:14,980
And Alma Mendez is 38 years old.

85
00:08:14,980 --> 00:08:17,620
She's a mother of three.

86
00:08:17,620 --> 00:08:22,260
She works as an office manager for a dental office in a nearby town.

87
00:08:22,260 --> 00:08:29,620
Her friends describe her as a girly girl, always put together, quiet and kind, a very sweet laugh,

88
00:08:29,620 --> 00:08:32,780
a wonderful friend and mother.

89
00:08:32,780 --> 00:08:37,700
And at the time of her murder, she was just a few weeks shy of becoming a grandmother.

90
00:08:37,700 --> 00:08:40,940
Her first grandchild was born just a few weeks after her murder.

91
00:08:40,940 --> 00:08:46,460
So she I know she was like really in this like beautiful time of her life.

92
00:08:46,460 --> 00:08:52,940
Like she has these three beautiful children and then she was about to become a grandmother.

93
00:08:52,940 --> 00:08:56,060
Yeah. And she's just nobody had like a bad thing to say about her.

94
00:08:56,060 --> 00:09:00,140
She was just described as being very sweet.

95
00:09:00,140 --> 00:09:09,060
So on October 28th of 2007, Alma drove to the Sauk Trail Woods to take her daily jog.

96
00:09:09,060 --> 00:09:15,460
So there's a jogging path there that's like three point five miles.

97
00:09:15,460 --> 00:09:17,500
That's like a five K, right? Yeah.

98
00:09:17,500 --> 00:09:20,780
So like a full like path.

99
00:09:20,780 --> 00:09:24,900
And she had been jogging here every day for 10 years is what people say.

100
00:09:24,900 --> 00:09:34,460
So she is incredibly fit, in my opinion, to be able to like go to the woods every day and jog,

101
00:09:34,460 --> 00:09:38,740
essentially like a five K every day for 10 years.

102
00:09:38,740 --> 00:09:41,380
Like that's incredible.

103
00:09:41,380 --> 00:09:48,300
And it should be noted that on October 28th, she was jogging in the afternoon,

104
00:09:48,300 --> 00:09:50,140
but that was like outside of her routine.

105
00:09:50,140 --> 00:09:53,220
Her routine was she went to the woods in the morning to do her jog.

106
00:09:53,220 --> 00:09:59,260
But like on this day, the day that she went missing, she went jogging in the afternoon.

107
00:09:59,260 --> 00:10:02,100
Do we know why?

108
00:10:02,100 --> 00:10:03,500
We don't know why.

109
00:10:03,500 --> 00:10:10,900
Nobody has mentioned anything about why this change in her routine.

110
00:10:10,900 --> 00:10:15,860
So Alma was last heard from between one thirty and two o'clock p.m.

111
00:10:15,860 --> 00:10:18,940
She made two phone calls on her way to the trail.

112
00:10:18,940 --> 00:10:22,420
So the first phone call was to her sister, Jessie.

113
00:10:22,420 --> 00:10:26,940
And they talked until about one twenty p.m.

114
00:10:26,940 --> 00:10:32,820
And so according to her sister, Jessie, everything was normal and there was no abrupt ending.

115
00:10:32,820 --> 00:10:35,620
She wasn't like hurried off the phone or anything.

116
00:10:35,620 --> 00:10:41,620
And her sister actually ended the call because she had some visitors at her home.

117
00:10:41,620 --> 00:10:44,660
Her sister tried to call her back 30 minutes later.

118
00:10:44,660 --> 00:10:48,940
So this would be around one fifty ish, but she never answered.

119
00:10:48,940 --> 00:10:53,260
Her sister was not worried at the time because she knew she was on her way to take her daily

120
00:10:53,260 --> 00:10:54,260
jog.

121
00:10:54,260 --> 00:10:58,220
So she didn't think it was weird that she that Alma didn't pick up her phone.

122
00:10:58,220 --> 00:11:06,180
Wait, so the sister knew that she would be jogging in the afternoon on this day.

123
00:11:06,180 --> 00:11:07,180
Yeah.

124
00:11:07,180 --> 00:11:11,300
So that was established that she was calling her sister.

125
00:11:11,300 --> 00:11:13,020
Her sister knew she was on her way to a jog.

126
00:11:13,020 --> 00:11:17,100
So that's why she didn't find it weird that she didn't pick up when she tried to call

127
00:11:17,100 --> 00:11:19,140
back because she was like she's jogging.

128
00:11:19,140 --> 00:11:22,820
You know, do we know why she didn't jog that morning?

129
00:11:22,820 --> 00:11:23,820
No.

130
00:11:23,820 --> 00:11:27,360
No, we don't know.

131
00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:37,140
So then after she hangs up with her sister, Alma calls her friend Star Garcia and Star

132
00:11:37,140 --> 00:11:43,820
is a very close family friend, but Star didn't pick up and a voicemail was left.

133
00:11:43,820 --> 00:11:50,860
According to Star in the voicemail, Alma said she had quote something important to ask,

134
00:11:50,860 --> 00:11:55,940
but nothing else unusual was said and she didn't indicate what she had to ask.

135
00:11:55,940 --> 00:11:59,080
So she didn't know.

136
00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,980
So we don't know what she wanted to ask Star.

137
00:12:02,980 --> 00:12:06,660
And Star also said that she sounded normal and wasn't hurried off the phone.

138
00:12:06,660 --> 00:12:10,080
So it's not like there was an abrupt ending to the voicemail.

139
00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:15,420
There was just the question or the statement that she had something important to ask her

140
00:12:15,420 --> 00:12:17,780
and then that's it.

141
00:12:17,780 --> 00:12:24,540
And that's the last time that anybody hears from her is this voicemail that's left because

142
00:12:24,540 --> 00:12:29,880
remember her sister calls back at 150, but she doesn't pick up.

143
00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:34,800
So at this point, we know that she makes it to the woods.

144
00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:36,700
We know that she makes it to stock trail.

145
00:12:36,700 --> 00:12:41,860
How do you know that because of the cell phone?

146
00:12:41,860 --> 00:12:46,220
Well there were witnesses because this is a pretty popular path.

147
00:12:46,220 --> 00:12:53,500
And so she was last seen in her blue jogging suit, jogging on the bike trail or on the

148
00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:55,980
jogging trail.

149
00:12:55,980 --> 00:13:01,180
So witnesses saw her on the path jogging.

150
00:13:01,180 --> 00:13:10,020
So later that night, so this is around six o'clock on October 28th, Alma was not returning

151
00:13:10,020 --> 00:13:13,460
her son's phone calls, which was very unusual.

152
00:13:13,460 --> 00:13:16,140
Like if her children called, she always got back.

153
00:13:16,140 --> 00:13:19,060
That seems to be the norm.

154
00:13:19,060 --> 00:13:24,940
So around six, he calls his aunt Alma's sister.

155
00:13:24,940 --> 00:13:26,800
This is not the sister she talked to earlier.

156
00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,180
This is her other sister Maria.

157
00:13:30,180 --> 00:13:38,780
So her son calls Maria and asks her if, you know, do you know where my mom is?

158
00:13:38,780 --> 00:13:40,820
Can you look for her?

159
00:13:40,820 --> 00:13:46,400
And so they go to stock trail because they know that she was jogging and they find her

160
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,260
car there.

161
00:13:49,260 --> 00:13:52,740
It's at the nature preserved and the car was locked.

162
00:13:52,740 --> 00:13:59,620
There was nothing strange on the inside of the car, the outside of the car.

163
00:13:59,620 --> 00:14:01,660
Just reported at this time.

164
00:14:01,660 --> 00:14:04,420
So Maria and her husband.

165
00:14:04,420 --> 00:14:07,420
So can I ask a question?

166
00:14:07,420 --> 00:14:11,220
Was it normal for her to drive to this trail?

167
00:14:11,220 --> 00:14:12,220
Yeah.

168
00:14:12,220 --> 00:14:13,220
Okay.

169
00:14:13,220 --> 00:14:16,080
From my understanding, it seems like it would be normal.

170
00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:22,500
And while Chicago Heights is, you know, really close to Chicago, it is more suburban.

171
00:14:22,500 --> 00:14:29,420
So like you would drive from place to place as opposed to like walk like you would here.

172
00:14:29,420 --> 00:14:37,020
So Maria and her husband, Alma's sister and brother in law, they decide to drive the jogging

173
00:14:37,020 --> 00:14:41,020
trail in their car to see if like she was hurt.

174
00:14:41,020 --> 00:14:45,020
Like did she fall, hurt her ankle, pass out, you know, did something happen?

175
00:14:45,020 --> 00:14:51,380
So they drive the path, the jogging path in their car, calling out her name.

176
00:14:51,380 --> 00:14:54,380
You know, they're going slowly because cars aren't supposed to be on there.

177
00:14:54,380 --> 00:14:57,140
It's a jogging path.

178
00:14:57,140 --> 00:14:58,500
And they don't find her.

179
00:14:58,500 --> 00:14:59,500
They don't see her.

180
00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:01,540
They don't see any sign of her.

181
00:15:01,540 --> 00:15:08,000
So by 8 p.m. that night, they filed a missing persons report.

182
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:13,580
And police and dozens of family members searched the preserve all night.

183
00:15:13,580 --> 00:15:20,260
There are some contradicting reports, but it seems that it went as late as like 5 a.m.

184
00:15:20,260 --> 00:15:26,780
So they were there all night in this nature preserve searching.

185
00:15:26,780 --> 00:15:33,700
So police also brought dogs in that night and they began searching with dogs around

186
00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:36,220
10 o'clock on Saturday night.

187
00:15:36,220 --> 00:15:43,740
Were the dogs looking for, were they just following like her scent?

188
00:15:43,740 --> 00:15:44,740
Yeah.

189
00:15:44,740 --> 00:15:50,260
Or were they looking for like a body, a dead body, I guess.

190
00:15:50,260 --> 00:16:00,140
From the newspaper reports I read, it seems like they were looking for her.

191
00:16:00,140 --> 00:16:01,140
They weren't.

192
00:16:01,140 --> 00:16:04,260
They didn't have cadaver dogs like they weren't specified as cadaver dogs.

193
00:16:04,260 --> 00:16:06,500
They were just like search and rescue dogs.

194
00:16:06,500 --> 00:16:11,940
So at this point, I would think that they're still looking for her.

195
00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:12,940
Someone who is alive.

196
00:16:12,940 --> 00:16:13,940
Yeah.

197
00:16:13,940 --> 00:16:17,900
And maybe hurt because the nature preserve is really big.

198
00:16:17,900 --> 00:16:23,740
This like jogging path that like kind of goes around a lake is just.

199
00:16:23,740 --> 00:16:24,740
Is it Texas?

200
00:16:24,740 --> 00:16:27,580
No, this is in Illinois, Chicago.

201
00:16:27,580 --> 00:16:28,580
Oh, yes.

202
00:16:28,580 --> 00:16:29,580
Yes.

203
00:16:29,580 --> 00:16:36,000
So it's just like the jogging path is just one small section of it.

204
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:42,500
So they were expanding to the entire nature preserve looking for her.

205
00:16:42,500 --> 00:16:45,420
So then this is Sunday, October 29th.

206
00:16:45,420 --> 00:16:50,440
You know, they basically searched through the night, but the search officially begins

207
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:58,740
again at 7 a.m. at daybreak on Sunday morning and went all day.

208
00:16:58,740 --> 00:17:07,460
So police brought dogs again to search and they also utilized a helicopter over the preserve.

209
00:17:07,460 --> 00:17:16,060
And the family continued to organize and search for her through the night and there was still

210
00:17:16,060 --> 00:17:18,540
no sign of her.

211
00:17:18,540 --> 00:17:23,660
So now we're getting into Monday, I believe.

212
00:17:23,660 --> 00:17:25,220
This is October 30th.

213
00:17:25,220 --> 00:17:28,300
Yeah, because she went missing Saturday.

214
00:17:28,300 --> 00:17:29,300
Yeah.

215
00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:32,740
Sunday was the morning search.

216
00:17:32,740 --> 00:17:37,040
OK, Monday.

217
00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,020
So now we're on Monday.

218
00:17:39,020 --> 00:17:49,020
The search started at daybreak again and this is the day they find her body.

219
00:17:49,020 --> 00:18:00,020
So around 2 p.m., they found her body floating in the northeast corner of the pond.

220
00:18:00,020 --> 00:18:03,400
And she was found floating just yards from the jogging path.

221
00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:11,380
So she was about 15 feet from the bank from the bank of the trail and then 20 feet from

222
00:18:11,380 --> 00:18:13,660
the jogging path.

223
00:18:13,660 --> 00:18:17,460
Well, she do.

224
00:18:17,460 --> 00:18:20,900
Do we know if she was face up or face down?

225
00:18:20,900 --> 00:18:22,520
We don't.

226
00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,420
Her friends were the first to see her.

227
00:18:26,420 --> 00:18:30,000
They just started shouting, it's her, it's her.

228
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:35,500
And in a panic, the searchers were trying to like fish her out with branches before

229
00:18:35,500 --> 00:18:41,300
the police were able to like step in and, you know, process her body because they wanted

230
00:18:41,300 --> 00:18:43,780
to get her out of the water.

231
00:18:43,780 --> 00:18:45,660
Obviously, it's horrifying.

232
00:18:45,660 --> 00:18:51,500
But, you know, the police had to like go in and photograph and do, you know, all the procedural

233
00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:53,700
evidence stuff.

234
00:18:53,700 --> 00:18:57,420
So they started panicking.

235
00:18:57,420 --> 00:19:02,220
And she was fully clothed and still wearing the blue jogging suit that she was last seen

236
00:19:02,220 --> 00:19:06,220
in.

237
00:19:06,220 --> 00:19:10,300
So we're going to get into like kind of some of the autopsy results and some of the things

238
00:19:10,300 --> 00:19:12,700
that I've kind of pieced together.

239
00:19:12,700 --> 00:19:17,100
So since it's a cold case, we don't know all the details.

240
00:19:17,100 --> 00:19:22,060
Obviously, the police keep some things close to the chest.

241
00:19:22,060 --> 00:19:26,580
So that way, you know, when they have a suspect, they have some information that like, you

242
00:19:26,580 --> 00:19:27,980
know, only the killer would know.

243
00:19:27,980 --> 00:19:32,460
So not every detail is out there.

244
00:19:32,460 --> 00:19:39,420
But since this happened in 2007, in reading through every newspaper article, every online

245
00:19:39,420 --> 00:19:43,740
article I could find, there are some pieces of information that have kind of been dropped

246
00:19:43,740 --> 00:19:44,740
through the years.

247
00:19:44,740 --> 00:19:51,500
So we're going to start in 2007 and then kind of move to more current with information.

248
00:19:51,500 --> 00:20:01,380
So her autopsy results revealed that she had multiple blunt trauma injuries to the head.

249
00:20:01,380 --> 00:20:03,820
And newspapers say the attack was brutal.

250
00:20:03,820 --> 00:20:06,700
Like it's quoted as using the word brutal.

251
00:20:06,700 --> 00:20:08,480
So like it was bad.

252
00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,180
Like what really happened.

253
00:20:10,180 --> 00:20:15,180
So someone like really hurt her.

254
00:20:15,180 --> 00:20:16,180
Yes.

255
00:20:16,180 --> 00:20:21,220
Before they presumably killed her.

256
00:20:21,220 --> 00:20:22,220
Yes.

257
00:20:22,220 --> 00:20:29,820
So she had those multiple blunt force traumas to the head and then her throat was cut several

258
00:20:29,820 --> 00:20:35,620
times.

259
00:20:35,620 --> 00:20:40,940
And there were no signs of sexual assault.

260
00:20:40,940 --> 00:20:45,820
So that's all the information that came out in 2007.

261
00:20:45,820 --> 00:20:53,340
In 2008, police asked the public for any information on a small two door truck last seen around

262
00:20:53,340 --> 00:20:56,700
the time of her disappearance.

263
00:20:56,700 --> 00:21:01,620
Witnesses saw the truck on the trail, which was highly unusual because like I mentioned

264
00:21:01,620 --> 00:21:05,940
before, it's a jogging trail and vehicles aren't allowed on there.

265
00:21:05,940 --> 00:21:10,700
So it was, yeah, it's like driving a vehicle like on the beach.

266
00:21:10,700 --> 00:21:13,540
It looks and is out of place.

267
00:21:13,540 --> 00:21:14,540
Totally.

268
00:21:14,540 --> 00:21:15,540
Yes.

269
00:21:15,540 --> 00:21:22,940
So a year after her death, police asked for information about this, you know, small gray

270
00:21:22,940 --> 00:21:24,260
truck.

271
00:21:24,260 --> 00:21:30,620
And then in 2011, her sisters were interviewed and her sisters revealed that she was actually

272
00:21:30,620 --> 00:21:36,860
ran over first according to that detectives and then her throat cut and then placed in

273
00:21:36,860 --> 00:21:38,380
the water.

274
00:21:38,380 --> 00:21:51,140
So somebody drove their truck onto the path, ran over her, which I don't know if that is

275
00:21:51,140 --> 00:21:53,700
like causing the trauma to the head.

276
00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:57,820
Is that just like, is it just like a simple case of like a hit and run?

277
00:21:57,820 --> 00:21:59,840
See, and then they covered it up.

278
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:00,840
That's what I thought.

279
00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,140
But her throat was slashed several times.

280
00:22:03,140 --> 00:22:04,140
Yeah.

281
00:22:04,140 --> 00:22:07,260
But if they're panicking and I don't know.

282
00:22:07,260 --> 00:22:08,660
I don't know if you panic.

283
00:22:08,660 --> 00:22:14,940
That's also, yeah, that's also I know this is a problematic word, but that's like that's

284
00:22:14,940 --> 00:22:17,620
crazy behavior to.

285
00:22:17,620 --> 00:22:19,020
Yeah.

286
00:22:19,020 --> 00:22:25,860
Like it's it's one thing to like accidentally drive your truck onto a jogging path, you

287
00:22:25,860 --> 00:22:26,860
know, like whoops.

288
00:22:26,860 --> 00:22:27,860
Sure.

289
00:22:27,860 --> 00:22:29,260
Like maybe it happens, right?

290
00:22:29,260 --> 00:22:32,260
Like it can happen.

291
00:22:32,260 --> 00:22:36,180
It's another thing to maybe then go speeding around.

292
00:22:36,180 --> 00:22:41,660
You know, you're keep going to keep going to hit somebody and then panic.

293
00:22:41,660 --> 00:22:48,300
So you cut their throat a couple of times like, yeah, it's like maybe.

294
00:22:48,300 --> 00:22:52,260
But like that just seems so brutal.

295
00:22:52,260 --> 00:22:56,300
Like yeah, to quote, you know, what the newspaper article said, like it's brutal.

296
00:22:56,300 --> 00:23:01,740
Like if she was ran over and then somebody cut her throat and then put her in the water,

297
00:23:01,740 --> 00:23:05,300
like that's it's fucked up.

298
00:23:05,300 --> 00:23:07,140
You know, like that's fucked up.

299
00:23:07,140 --> 00:23:17,500
It sounds like I don't mean like a crime of passion, but like intentional in in the way

300
00:23:17,500 --> 00:23:24,700
that like someone knew that the person who did this knew her.

301
00:23:24,700 --> 00:23:26,140
Yeah.

302
00:23:26,140 --> 00:23:32,940
Or they're just like, you know, like a deranged murderer or serial killer.

303
00:23:32,940 --> 00:23:35,380
But that only did this once.

304
00:23:35,380 --> 00:23:39,140
Yeah, which doesn't really track.

305
00:23:39,140 --> 00:23:44,500
So in 2008, police felt very confident that the case would be closed soon.

306
00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:45,900
So that was 2008.

307
00:23:45,900 --> 00:23:51,700
And we are now in the year 2022 and the case is still open.

308
00:23:51,700 --> 00:23:55,980
So it has not been closed.

309
00:23:55,980 --> 00:24:01,860
And it is known that Alma had been under stress in the weeks leading up to her murder.

310
00:24:01,860 --> 00:24:07,600
So her mother had suffered a brain aneurysm months before, so she was actively taking

311
00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:10,660
care of her mother.

312
00:24:10,660 --> 00:24:13,300
And then this is a very interesting fact.

313
00:24:13,300 --> 00:24:19,780
She had separated from her husband of 19 years, three weeks before her death.

314
00:24:19,780 --> 00:24:27,140
Wow, that's that's very interesting.

315
00:24:27,140 --> 00:24:31,260
Has he been questioned?

316
00:24:31,260 --> 00:24:33,580
Is he a person of interest?

317
00:24:33,580 --> 00:24:34,820
Is that no?

318
00:24:34,820 --> 00:24:43,020
So he was never publicly named a person of interest, but his alibi was reported in the

319
00:24:43,020 --> 00:24:51,600
newspaper and it's his alibi is that he was with his family all day.

320
00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,900
So it's a solid alibi.

321
00:24:54,900 --> 00:24:57,820
Yes, I.

322
00:24:57,820 --> 00:25:02,940
I mean, is there like evidently?

323
00:25:02,940 --> 00:25:03,940
That's the thing.

324
00:25:03,940 --> 00:25:04,940
We don't know.

325
00:25:04,940 --> 00:25:12,460
And I don't think we will know unless this person is brought to justice.

326
00:25:12,460 --> 00:25:15,900
Because you know, like a family can lie for you.

327
00:25:15,900 --> 00:25:21,820
And you know, that is something that has happened in the past.

328
00:25:21,820 --> 00:25:25,340
I don't know that it's happening here.

329
00:25:25,340 --> 00:25:34,200
But it obviously is interesting that after 19 years together, you know, this separation

330
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:44,220
happens and then we have this very what feels like personal crime of, you know, being run

331
00:25:44,220 --> 00:25:50,540
over and your throat slashed and then being put into the water.

332
00:25:50,540 --> 00:25:55,260
Yeah.

333
00:25:55,260 --> 00:25:59,500
That was interesting to me.

334
00:25:59,500 --> 00:26:03,740
And the fact that the police felt confident in 2008 that it would be solved unless they

335
00:26:03,740 --> 00:26:11,340
were just like, you know, singing to the crowd to appease them.

336
00:26:11,340 --> 00:26:15,180
It makes me think that maybe they have somebody, but maybe just don't have all the evidence

337
00:26:15,180 --> 00:26:17,240
to really bring the case yet.

338
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:19,240
You know?

339
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,420
Yeah.

340
00:26:21,420 --> 00:26:27,860
Something that has definitely put me on a watch list, something that I Googled was how

341
00:26:27,860 --> 00:26:32,860
long does it take a dead body to float, essentially?

342
00:26:32,860 --> 00:26:40,900
And I actually learned about these like really cool, like retired folks.

343
00:26:40,900 --> 00:26:44,380
Their name is Jean and Sandy Ralston.

344
00:26:44,380 --> 00:26:45,380
And they...

345
00:26:45,380 --> 00:26:46,940
Jean and Sandy.

346
00:26:46,940 --> 00:26:47,940
Jean and Sandy.

347
00:26:47,940 --> 00:26:58,300
Basically what they do, they are like the premier underwater body rescue people in the

348
00:26:58,300 --> 00:26:59,300
nation.

349
00:26:59,300 --> 00:27:03,300
Like they get called in by police departments, this like retired couple, they just like go

350
00:27:03,300 --> 00:27:08,420
in their little motor home and they don't charge anything for their services.

351
00:27:08,420 --> 00:27:14,860
Like missing people or people who have drowned where their families haven't been able to

352
00:27:14,860 --> 00:27:20,260
recover their body will like ask them to come and look for their loved ones or to like look

353
00:27:20,260 --> 00:27:21,800
in a lake.

354
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,640
And they don't charge for their services, they only charge for like their travel fees

355
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,460
just for them to get there.

356
00:27:28,460 --> 00:27:34,320
But they were experts at finding drowning victims.

357
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:39,740
And then the FBI actually called them in for their first homicide because like their reputation

358
00:27:39,740 --> 00:27:42,820
was so well known for finding these drowning victims.

359
00:27:42,820 --> 00:27:48,140
The FBI was like, come work with us.

360
00:27:48,140 --> 00:27:54,500
So the case that the FBI called them in on was like some kidnappings that they thought

361
00:27:54,500 --> 00:27:58,380
might be like linked to like Russian mafia.

362
00:27:58,380 --> 00:28:05,880
But basically these bodies were assumed to be at the bottom of this lake.

363
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,860
And Jean and Sandy, they actually found the first body on their own because they got up

364
00:28:09,860 --> 00:28:11,580
to search before everybody else.

365
00:28:11,580 --> 00:28:15,540
So like they got there and they're like, let's get to work and like just went out on their

366
00:28:15,540 --> 00:28:19,220
own and found the first body that like the FBI had been looking for for weeks.

367
00:28:19,220 --> 00:28:23,660
So like they were just out there before breakfast and they were like, we got it.

368
00:28:23,660 --> 00:28:24,940
Jean and Sandy.

369
00:28:24,940 --> 00:28:27,500
Jean and Sandy.

370
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:35,020
But in reading about them, I learned that after death, the body fills with gases as

371
00:28:35,020 --> 00:28:36,940
the body breaks down.

372
00:28:36,940 --> 00:28:43,100
And it's mostly in the stomach and chest creating a balloon effect.

373
00:28:43,100 --> 00:28:52,580
So it takes between two to three days for a body that has been put in the water or for

374
00:28:52,580 --> 00:28:58,860
a drowning victim to resurface naturally, you know, using this, the gases, you know,

375
00:28:58,860 --> 00:29:03,620
if it's winter time and the water's especially cold, it could take five to seven days for

376
00:29:03,620 --> 00:29:07,460
the body to come up.

377
00:29:07,460 --> 00:29:11,180
But overall, it's two to three days.

378
00:29:11,180 --> 00:29:19,660
And that would track for Alma, you know, for her dying on October 28, that day that she

379
00:29:19,660 --> 00:29:23,540
went missing, going for her daily jog.

380
00:29:23,540 --> 00:29:31,700
It makes sense that her body was then found two days later, almost 48 hours, you know,

381
00:29:31,700 --> 00:29:38,580
it seems like her body came up around 2pm that day that they found it, which would have

382
00:29:38,580 --> 00:29:47,660
been almost 42 hours after she was last seen at the jogging trail.

383
00:29:47,660 --> 00:29:53,620
But that is all we have for Alma.

384
00:29:53,620 --> 00:29:58,140
She is considered a cold case.

385
00:29:58,140 --> 00:30:02,700
It doesn't appear that there's a detective actively on it.

386
00:30:02,700 --> 00:30:10,500
When I went to go see like, you know, if anybody has any tips or knows anything about this

387
00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:15,580
when I went to go try to find the detective's information to include here, it just sent

388
00:30:15,580 --> 00:30:22,100
me to like an online form to like fill out tips.

389
00:30:22,100 --> 00:30:29,700
But the Cook County non-emergency number is 847-635-1188.

390
00:30:29,700 --> 00:30:36,680
If you know something about what happened to Alma, her children, her grandchildren,

391
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:45,140
they all deserve to have answers and to know what happened to her.

392
00:30:45,140 --> 00:30:51,020
And she deserves to have justice and for somebody to answer for what they did to her.

393
00:30:51,020 --> 00:30:52,140
Like she deserves that.

394
00:30:52,140 --> 00:30:53,140
She was a good person.

395
00:30:53,140 --> 00:30:56,980
She was a good mother.

396
00:30:56,980 --> 00:31:05,900
Even if you're a shit person, like, yeah, everybody deserves to be like recognized in

397
00:31:05,900 --> 00:31:06,900
passing.

398
00:31:06,900 --> 00:31:07,900
Yes.

399
00:31:07,900 --> 00:31:15,400
And like if somebody, you know, intervened and did something to like make you pass before

400
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,860
your natural time, then like everyone deserves an answer for that.

401
00:31:19,860 --> 00:31:24,540
Everyone, like everyone should have to say, I did that.

402
00:31:24,540 --> 00:31:28,580
You know, like somebody has to own up and like explain their actions.

403
00:31:28,580 --> 00:31:36,020
Like that, you know, that's that's what needs to happen here.

404
00:31:36,020 --> 00:31:39,660
Can we give them the number one more time?

405
00:31:39,660 --> 00:31:40,660
Yes.

406
00:31:40,660 --> 00:31:49,100
So the non-emergency number for Cook County is 847-635-1188.

407
00:31:49,100 --> 00:31:57,820
And the sources used for today's podcast, they come from the Chicago Tribune, the South

408
00:31:57,820 --> 00:32:04,420
Town Star, the Times, CBS News.com and the Cook County Sheriff Department website.

409
00:32:04,420 --> 00:32:06,540
Thank you so much for joining us.

410
00:32:06,540 --> 00:32:11,340
Again, it means the world that you're here, that you're listening, that you're interested.

411
00:32:11,340 --> 00:32:16,020
I hope you found it as interesting as I did in researching it.

412
00:32:16,020 --> 00:32:20,980
And hopefully together we can bring almost some justice.

413
00:32:20,980 --> 00:32:27,740
If you like what you heard here, you can follow us on Instagram at Cold and Missing.

414
00:32:27,740 --> 00:32:30,060
And please like and subscribe.

415
00:32:30,060 --> 00:32:39,580
I hear that really helps other people find us and the more ears we have on this listening,

416
00:32:39,580 --> 00:32:41,140
the closer we get to justice.

417
00:32:41,140 --> 00:32:44,160
So thank you so much for being here.

418
00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:46,180
Have a great rest of your week.