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Aug. 21, 2023

Cold and Missing: Charles and Jennifer Chia

Cold and Missing: Charles and Jennifer Chia
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Cold and Missing

The space between the bus stop and Charles and Jennifer Chia’s apartment is 100 feet. Somewhere in that 100 feet Charles and Jennifer vanish without a trace in the middle of the day on October 18th, 1989. Quickly, everyone in the city of Reno knows Charles and Jennifer’s face and name but no leads emerge. Despite the community response weeks will go by without any sign of the children. Finally, months later, a highway worker taking a lunch break notices a human skull in an embankment. When police arrive they find a shallow grave with two small bodies inside: Charles and Jennifer. Join Ali and Eli as we take a look at this heinous unsolved abduction and murder.

If you know anything about the murder of Charles and Jennifer Chia in October of 1989 please call the Reno Police at 775-334-2677. To remain anonymous call Secret Witness at 775-322-4900

  • Follow us on instagram @Cold_and_Missing to keep up with active cases and see pictures discussed in the episode
  • Have a case you want us to cover? Want to tell us your thoughts about an episode? Email us at coldandmissing@gmail.com
Transcript
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The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.

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All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.

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Listener discretion is advised.

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I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.

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And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.

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And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.

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Hello everyone and welcome back.

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Welcome back everyone.

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This is Ali.

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And I'm Eli.

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And we are on episode 52 of Cold and Missing.

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52, alrighty.

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52 episodes.

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That's an episode a week for a year.

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Amazing.

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Amazing.

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And just as a reminder, we mentioned it last episode, but we will be updating our cover

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art and our branding on our Instagram and across our social medias and our website.

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So just remember, be on the lookout for a new look next week.

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A new look.

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Alright, so episode 52.

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52, should we just get into it?

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Let's do it.

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So just as a quick content warning, this case does involve children.

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Today we are going to be talking about Charles and Jennifer Chia.

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And this takes place in October of 1989 in Reno, Nevada.

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But first, a little bit about Charles and Jennifer.

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Charles and Jennifer Chia are brother and sister and according to teachers and classmates,

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they were also best friends.

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Charles is 8 years old in 1989.

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And his younger sister Jennifer is 6.

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Halloween was fast approaching and they already had their matching costumes picked out.

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Batman and Batgirl.

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They both were learning to play the violin and spent a lot of time together.

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Charles also studied taekwondo and loved to be outside.

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Jennifer took piano lessons and loved to draw.

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She also loved to dance and flourished in her tap and ballet classes.

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And now a timeline of events.

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So just to give you an idea of where we are timing wise, on October 17, 1989, right as

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they were beginning to broadcast the 1989 World Series, a 6.9 earthquake hit Santa Cruz,

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California.

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The next day, Wednesday, October 18, it was a typical day for Charles and Jennifer.

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They lived with their mother in an apartment on Redfield Parkway in southern Reno, Nevada.

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Their parents were divorced and their father lived in California.

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At this particular time in 1989, their grandmother was watching them as their mother was visiting

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family in Taiwan for two weeks, but she would be returning the following day.

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As the school day ended at Anderson Elementary School, around 3 p.m., Charles and Jennifer

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boarded the bus and headed home.

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Charles is tall for his age, standing at 4'6".

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He had short, straight, black hair and was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, blue pants,

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and Adidas tennis shoes.

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He had his dark blue and red striped backpack with him.

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Jennifer is wearing a white dress with black flowers and green shoes.

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She carries a blue tote bag and a Miss Piggy lunchbox.

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At around 3.30, they reached their bus stop and exited, headed toward their apartment

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building.

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There was only 100 feet between the bus stop and the door to the apartment complex.

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Charles and Jennifer will never arrive home.

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At first, their grandmother assumes that their father had stopped by and had them, or perhaps

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they had gone to the restaurant that their mother ran, the Imperial Palace.

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However, by 8 o'clock, when the children hadn't returned, their grandmother called

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police and reported them missing.

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Initially, as police respond, they believe that they will be able to recover the children

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quickly.

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They reach out to the father, who says he doesn't know where the kids are.

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Bloodhounds and about 30 officers swarm the apartment complex and the surrounding fields,

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looking for Charles and Jennifer, but there are no signs of them.

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The bloodhounds are unable to pick up a scent trail.

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By the next day, October 19, Charles and Jennifer's parents both arrive in Reno.

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Their father, Gordon Chia, arrived from West Covina, California, and their mother, Ann

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Chang, arrived back in the States from Taiwan.

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It's only when she arrives that she learns that her children are missing and she's

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instantly a wreck.

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Police begin to question the father to rule out a parental abduction.

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Sergeant Keith Schott with the Reno Police says, quote, we're working with the parents

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to see who would do this to them.

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We have no reason to believe they ran away.

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Two possibilities are an out and out abduction or a family abduction, end quote.

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Police begin going door to door at the apartment complex and also talk to the children that

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were still on the bus when Charles and Jennifer got off.

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Two of the children on the bus say they saw the Chia siblings enter the apartment complex.

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By the end of the day, police don't have any solid leads to run down.

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Early on Friday, October 20, the Chia children have been missing for three days now.

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The Reno Police asked the FBI to get involved with the case.

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While the FBI interviews the family, police hand out flyers all over Reno with Charles

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and Jennifer's information.

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Secret Witness, a program in Nevada where people can remain anonymous and report tips

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to the police, announced a reward for any information leading to the safe return of

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the children.

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Still, as the hours dragged on, police have no leads to follow.

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Sergeant Keith Schott says, quote, there have been no demands and no ransom calls.

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There are no family problems we're aware of, end quote.

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Police and the FBI continue to investigate through the weekend.

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On Sunday, October 22, a man calls the Imperial Palace, the restaurant the children's mother

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owns and operates.

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He demands $100,000 for the safe return of the children.

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One is not at the restaurant when the call comes in, but she'll start to go in every

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day in case the person calls again.

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On Monday, October 23, five days the children have been missing, police head back to the

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apartment complex and search the surrounding areas for anything that may have been missed

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the first time.

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It seems like they are successful in gathering more information.

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Since the next day, Tuesday, October 24, police announced that they're looking for a man

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who was seen by witnesses standing near a pickup truck by the bus stop around the time

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the kids would have gotten home from school.

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Police describe him as a 35-year-old Asian male, about 5'6", wearing a white polo

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short sleeve shirt and had distinctive round yellow tinted glasses.

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Police described the glasses as John Lennon style.

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Witnesses say they saw him leaning against an older white American-made pickup truck.

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Police are not calling him a suspect or even a person of interest.

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They just want to talk to him to see if he saw anything that afternoon.

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Anne is still at the Imperial Palace when the phone rings.

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It's the same man.

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And once again, he's demanding $100,000 and he'll return the children safely.

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Police were quickly trying to track down where the phone call comes from, and they determine

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that a man named James Grooms was making the phone calls.

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Police show up to his home expecting to rescue Charles and Jennifer Chia, but they're not

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there.

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There are no signs that the children have ever been in his home.

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Police arrest him for trying to extort Anne Chang.

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He'll eventually plead guilty to the crime and be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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With this dead end, police have no idea where they could be and are starting to believe

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that Charles and Jennifer were abducted by a stranger.

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On Thursday, October 26th, the Chia siblings have been missing for over a week now, and

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their classmates are upset by the absence of them.

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The school holds an open house to pass out missing flyers and buttons with Charles and

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Jennifer's school picture on them to help raise awareness.

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The students at Anderson Elementary will write over 500 letters to newspapers across the

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country to spread the word about their missing classmates.

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Police continue to work behind the scenes as the weeks drag on, but there will still

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be no signs of Charles or Jennifer.

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On December 9th, police, after numerous interviews and at least two polygraphs of the children's

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father, he is eliminated as a suspect along with the rest of his family.

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Police do not believe this was a known abduction, but a stranger abduction.

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Detective Patrick Murray says, quote, our problem is that we have no idea why.

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The kids basically vanished.

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The community's involvement has been good.

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It helped us and we're trying to keep the public's interest up, end quote.

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Ann Chang is still a wreck over her missing children.

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In newspapers, she begs for her two kids to be sent back to her.

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She says, quote, I just have two kids.

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Two kids are all my life, end quote.

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On Wednesday, July 25th, 1990, this is just over nine months that Charles and Jennifer

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have been missing.

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Some employees of Caltran turned off I-70 near Blairston, California onto a gravel and

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dirt highway to eat lunch.

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This is around 50 miles from Reno, Nevada.

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One of the guys looked down an embankment and saw a human skull sticking up out of the

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dirt.

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They flagged down a California highway patrol car that was passing by to report it.

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Police descend on the location and find a shallow grave with two small bodies inside.

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There are pieces of clothing and bone found scattered around the grave due to animals

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in the area.

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A responding officer noticed that the clothing they were finding matched the description

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of the Chia siblings missing out of Reno.

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Police in California contact Reno along with other police agencies who are missing children.

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Reno police sent in dental records of the Chia kids for comparison.

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The next day, July 26th, the initial autopsy is conducted and it's confirmed via the

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dental records that it's Charles and Jennifer Chia.

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According to police, there were no obvious signs of injury, but further testing was going

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to be done.

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Reno police call Ann Chang down to the station in the evening hours to break the news to

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her.

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The news is so upsetting that she goes into shock and police have to call an ambulance

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for her.

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Police continue to investigate the site where the bodies were found and they do say that

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they're able to find additional evidence, but they don't elaborate on what that is.

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Police are unable to determine how long the children were in the grave, but since the

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clothing matched what they were last seen wearing, police do believe that they were

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killed shortly after their abduction.

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It takes about three days for their autopsy to be complete and the police do not give

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any details from the report.

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However, they will mention years later that they were obviously the victims of homicide.

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Two business owners in Reno post a $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction

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of whoever murdered the Chia children.

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Tips are called into the hotline that was specifically set up for this case and police

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are confident that they'll be able to solve it.

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They ask that anyone who was driving through Plumas County, California in October of 1989

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to call in with anything that they saw.

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Police are hopeful that since there was the earthquake the day before the children were

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abducted that people would be more likely to remember the following days surrounding

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that event.

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On August 15th, almost exactly 10 months since the last time Charles and Jennifer were seen

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alive, they both are laid to rest at the Mountain View Cemetery.

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The brother and sister are buried together and they have Donald Duck and Cinderella engraved

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on their tombstones along with their names.

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Despite confidence from the police that they were going to solve this case, in November

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it's announced that the FBI will take over the investigation.

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I assume there were things happening behind the scenes, but the next big breakthrough

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in the case comes in August of 1993.

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This is over three years since Charles and Jennifer's bodies had been found, but police,

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along with forensic scientists and forensic anthropologists, return to the shallow grave

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to try to find any additional evidence.

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They end up finding a femur as well as other small bones.

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Police don't go into detail, but additional evidence is also found.

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In October of 1995, it's been six years since the abduction, police give a huge update

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to the public.

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The first major update is that they have a suspect, James Grooms.

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Grooms was the man who was trying to extort the family for $100,000.

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Police say they found evidence in Grooms' home that he knew the Chia kids beforehand

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and knew their mother owned the Imperial Palace.

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He had also told friends that he had abducted the children along with an accomplice and

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he could produce no alibi for the day the children were abducted.

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Police are also wanting to talk to a man with long blonde hair that had donated money to

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the children's trust fund after their funeral.

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He had a huge emotional outburst in the bank and the teller became nervous and turned on

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the surveillance footage.

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So police are trying to locate him and talk to him.

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Police also received a tip from a married couple that said they saw a brown van with

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its back doors open near the gravesite a few weeks after the abduction in 1989.

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The brown van is said to have a Miller Lite gear shift.

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Police remind the public that they are still looking for the man who was leaning on the

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pickup truck near the bus stop the day the Chia children were abducted.

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Anne publishes an open letter in the newspaper pleading for information.

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She says quote, I need the community's help.

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I just need to know the answer.

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I need to know the reason they took away my two kids.

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End quote.

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She also offers $20,000 of her own money for information.

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In 1995 the case was being worked by Detective Ron Dreher and he will continue to work the

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case even after he retires from the police force.

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He says quote, a killer is on the loose in our community.

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To those with specific information on the Chia murders and who are in the know, please

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come forward with any and all information.

226
00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:27,640
End quote.

227
00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:33,300
Despite this big update from police, the next anniversary rolls around in October of 1996

228
00:14:33,300 --> 00:14:38,560
and police are still at the same spot asking the public for the same information.

229
00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:44,080
They have been unable to tie James Grooms to the murder or abduction of the Chia children.

230
00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:46,860
He claims he had nothing to do with the murders.

231
00:14:46,860 --> 00:14:53,480
In May of 1998, James Grooms is released from prison having served nine out of his 10 year

232
00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:54,520
sentence.

233
00:14:54,520 --> 00:15:00,080
At the 10 year anniversary of the children's abduction, so October 1999, police asked the

234
00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,480
media to run lots of stories on Charles and Jennifer in hopes of stirring up some new

235
00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,320
leads and this year it works.

236
00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:09,680
Police say they had a major lead come in.

237
00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:15,840
The caller said they had seen a 1966 white Volkswagen hatchback near where the children

238
00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:17,000
were buried.

239
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:22,180
James Grooms owned the exact same type of vehicle in 1989.

240
00:15:22,180 --> 00:15:26,840
Police are able to track down the prior owner of the vehicle and get the VIN number and

241
00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:28,560
a picture of the car.

242
00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:33,440
Police search registered vehicles in the United States, but it's not registered anywhere.

243
00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,960
The last registered owner was James Grooms.

244
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,720
Police ask for the public's help in finding the car.

245
00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:45,120
Deputy Chief Jim Watson says quote, even if it's crushed, we can get that vehicle back.

246
00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,200
There may be some trace evidence in it.

247
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:48,200
End quote.

248
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,080
Police consider this the biggest lead in the case that they've had in years.

249
00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:57,320
Police tracked down James Grooms, who at this time lived in California, to talk to him about

250
00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:58,920
the vehicle.

251
00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:03,560
After police contact him though, he goes on the run and police are not able to find him

252
00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:05,240
to question him again.

253
00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,880
Deputy Chief Watson said this about Grooms quote, he has always been a subject of the

254
00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:12,280
investigation all these years.

255
00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:16,320
We've spent time investigating him, trying to connect him to the crime, but have never

256
00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,520
developed enough information to make an arrest.

257
00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:20,520
End quote.

258
00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,400
Ann is hopeful, but realistic with the break in the case.

259
00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,800
She says quote, I'm still so happy that people come out to talk to detectives and give them

260
00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:28,900
information.

261
00:16:28,900 --> 00:16:30,640
This is a really good sign.

262
00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,360
I just don't know how they will find the car.

263
00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:34,440
End quote.

264
00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:38,920
Police search for the Volkswagen for years, but are never able to locate it.

265
00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:43,880
Every October, the police ask the local media to cover the story to keep the public interest

266
00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,880
in the case and to hopefully get more leads.

267
00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:53,240
As technology advances and DNA becomes more commonplace, police announce in 2002 that

268
00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,640
they do not have any DNA in this case.

269
00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:03,040
In October of 2005, so this is 16 years since the murder of Charles and Jennifer, police

270
00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:08,200
say they still are looking for the same information and beg the public to come forward if they

271
00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,160
know anything about the crime.

272
00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:15,280
The next month, in November, James Grooms is arrested on unrelated charges and he gives

273
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:16,780
a jailhouse interview.

274
00:17:16,780 --> 00:17:21,160
He says quote, I will always be one of the prime suspects in this case until the killer

275
00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:22,160
is found.

276
00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:23,800
I wish this could be solved.

277
00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:28,240
I made the phone calls, but I had nothing to do with the killing of those kids.

278
00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:29,240
End quote.

279
00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:34,360
Grooms says he saw the abduction on TV in 1989 and was using a lot of drugs at that

280
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:38,240
time and made the phone call trying to get money to support his habit.

281
00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:43,120
He had also eaten at the Imperial Palace before and had the menus at his home.

282
00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:47,600
He says he called the restaurant three times, two times asking for the money and the third

283
00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:53,000
time he told Ann that he didn't know anything about the children's whereabouts and apologized.

284
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,960
In regards to the Volkswagen, Grooms says that weeks before the abduction, he dropped

285
00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,080
the car off at an auto repair shop and never returned to pick the car up.

286
00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:07,360
He says at the time of the abduction, his only mode of transportation was a bicycle.

287
00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:12,000
Police say that when they arrested Grooms in 1989 on the extortion charges, that they

288
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,960
did not know he owned a Volkswagen at that time, which I take to mean that he did not

289
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,120
have it in his possession the days following the murder.

290
00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:26,360
The next year, October 2006, 17 years since the murder of Charles and Jennifer, police

291
00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:29,080
asked for the public's help in finding a new person.

292
00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,920
They're looking for the man that lived with James Grooms in 1989.

293
00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:37,840
He goes by the nickname Ma, and he also worked at the Imperial Palace.

294
00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:40,320
Ann still thinks about her children every day.

295
00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:44,920
By this time, she has remarried and is raising a young daughter with her new husband, but

296
00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:47,680
the pain remains for Charles and Jennifer.

297
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,680
She says quote, I still wonder why this happened.

298
00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,160
It's still a big question in my mind and my heart.

299
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,960
Someone needs to stand up and show the police department who did this because we don't

300
00:18:57,960 --> 00:18:59,640
want anyone else killed.

301
00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:00,640
End quote.

302
00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:05,800
As of 2022, so that's 33 years since the abduction and murder of Charles and Jennifer

303
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:11,880
Chia, the Reno police have two retired detectives working solely on this case, one of them being

304
00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:13,240
Ron Dreher.

305
00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:18,760
In 2022, police mention that a few days before Charles and Jennifer were abducted, a man

306
00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:24,360
with long blonde hair attempted to kidnap two other children in Beckwourth, California,

307
00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:26,940
which is about 45 minutes from Reno.

308
00:19:26,940 --> 00:19:31,200
Police are still looking for any information that could lead to the arrest and conviction

309
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:36,560
of the person or persons who abducted and murdered Charles and Jennifer Chia.

310
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:45,600
So with that, if you know anything, please call the Reno Police Department at 775-334-2677.

311
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:54,800
To remain anonymous, you can call Secret Witness at 775-322-4900 or you can call Ron Dreher

312
00:19:54,800 --> 00:20:00,260
directly at 775-830-8877.

313
00:20:00,260 --> 00:20:05,200
The sources for the timeline today come from Reno Gazette Journal and they covered this

314
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:06,520
case extensively.

315
00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:12,720
I read the most articles from them, the Sacramento Bee, Merced Sunstar, Feather River Bulletin,

316
00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:16,800
Elko Daily Free Press, and Kolo 8 News.

317
00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:20,080
So that is the case of Charles and Jennifer Chia.

318
00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:28,440
And the thing that I just kept saying to myself over and over again was, it was 100 feet.

319
00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:30,120
100 feet.

320
00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:31,120
A hundred feet.

321
00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:33,440
A hundred feet.

322
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:34,440
Wow.

323
00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,400
Such a small moment.

324
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:42,240
It's such a small space for two children to go missing.

325
00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:43,240
Yeah.

326
00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,480
They didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

327
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:47,480
That's the thing.

328
00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:48,680
No, they didn't.

329
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:56,880
And that's what's about it because you know some very destructive evil forces on the outside

330
00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,200
are at play then.

331
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:09,200
If we can, I'd like to recap the, I guess it's like two or three, in my mind right now,

332
00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:20,480
I received it like different men involved slash, because there is the John Lennon guy

333
00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:25,120
and then there's James Grooms and then there's Ma.

334
00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:26,120
Yeah.

335
00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:31,960
So James Grooms, the police get a lot of interest in him because he kind of puts himself into

336
00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:38,440
the case by calling the mother and trying to extort $100,000 out of her while her children

337
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:39,440
are missing.

338
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:40,440
Yeah.

339
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:45,040
I mean he says he's been there, he's eaten in there.

340
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:53,280
And his explanation for where his car is, the Volkswagen, is not great.

341
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:54,280
No.

342
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,240
He's like, I have a bike.

343
00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:57,240
Yeah.

344
00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,760
He said his only mode of transportation was the bike and that he dropped his car off and

345
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,000
just never picked it up.

346
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:08,960
Yeah, that whole part with the cops, them being like, oh, we didn't know he had a Volkswagen.

347
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:09,960
I'm sorry.

348
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:11,520
I'm not like, I just don't understand.

349
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,160
How did you not know?

350
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:14,160
Yeah.

351
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:19,960
They said that they didn't know at the time of his arrest in 1989 that he had this car

352
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:25,080
registered to him, which again, I just take to mean that it wasn't with him when he was

353
00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:26,560
arrested or at his home.

354
00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:31,320
So it seems like he had gotten rid of the car by then.

355
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:32,320
Yeah.

356
00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:41,880
I don't know why police didn't maybe search at that time for cars registered to his name.

357
00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,840
I don't know if that was done, why it wasn't done.

358
00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:49,240
Yeah, I guess that's more of what I'm not asking a question on.

359
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:55,920
I'm more just like commenting on the fact that like, I mean, still 1989, it seems like

360
00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:04,600
a very basic thing that even if it wasn't there, simply, I think, asking questions of

361
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:10,280
people who lived around him, even in basic interviews, like, have you ever seen this

362
00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:11,280
car?

363
00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:12,880
You would have gotten multiple yeses.

364
00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:18,760
So I guess I just, you can't answer the question like, hey, what the hell happened in that

365
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:19,760
area?

366
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:20,760
Right.

367
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:22,560
Why is that?

368
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:27,520
It was instinctual to me to ask the question, so I'm assuming with police work, it's like,

369
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:28,520
yeah.

370
00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:33,480
So I don't understand why there's just like a blank space there.

371
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:38,920
One of the questions that I had, or just if I had the chance to ask police whatever I

372
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:44,920
wanted, I am curious, the man with long blonde hair, they mentioned two men with long blonde

373
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:49,360
hair, there's the man in the bank who has this big emotional outburst after making a

374
00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:56,960
donation so big that the teller gets nervous and she turns on like their surveillance system

375
00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:59,280
to record the guy.

376
00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:06,240
And then the other person with or the other man with long blonde hair, police mentioned

377
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:13,300
tried to abduct two children a few days before Charles and Jennifer were abducted.

378
00:24:13,300 --> 00:24:21,080
So I want to know if police think that these two men are connected, if do they meet any

379
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:22,080
similar?

380
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:23,080
Is it two men?

381
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:24,080
That's the thing.

382
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:25,080
I'm like, is it actually two men?

383
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:26,080
Or is it the same guy?

384
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:27,080
Yeah.

385
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:33,640
I mean, the likelihood of it being the same man to me is very, very, very high.

386
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:34,640
Right.

387
00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:40,560
And that detail of that man with long blonde hair trying to abduct two children, the fact

388
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:48,320
that it's two children is to me significant because that's a pretty bold move to try to

389
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,120
take two children at the same time.

390
00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:51,120
Yeah.

391
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:57,200
I mean, it's a bold move to like children are, you can't count on how they're going

392
00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:58,200
to react.

393
00:24:58,200 --> 00:24:59,200
No.

394
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:07,440
So like, yeah, I think trying to commit that kind of crime is, you're like taking a very

395
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:08,440
big risk.

396
00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,440
Yeah.

397
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:13,960
I'm just curious about that man.

398
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:21,360
And I almost wonder if like, that should be a focus of police's time and energy is figuring

399
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:27,560
out who this man with long blonde hair is or was.

400
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:34,060
But there are still several outstanding, not suspects, but just like people the police

401
00:25:34,060 --> 00:25:35,320
want to talk to.

402
00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:39,000
There's the man that was seen by the bus stop with the John Lennon glasses.

403
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,000
Yeah.

404
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,080
Police have never found him that I'm aware of.

405
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:48,320
The roommate Ma, who I don't believe has been found.

406
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:52,560
James Groom, as soon as he's released from prison again, he goes on the run.

407
00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:55,800
So police kind of lose him and find him again.

408
00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,900
He kind of drops in and out of police's radar.

409
00:25:58,900 --> 00:26:04,240
And police still want to talk to the married couple that saw the brown van with the Miller

410
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:05,240
light.

411
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:09,160
There's two cars kind of seen near the gravesite, this brown van and the Volkswagen.

412
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,760
Yeah, the one after the burial, right?

413
00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:12,760
Right.

414
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:13,760
Seen around the time.

415
00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:14,760
Yeah.

416
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,760
Just a lot of weird characters.

417
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:19,760
But blurred.

418
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:21,720
It's like it's all smudged.

419
00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:26,720
All the details of that are like, it was just freshly drawn with ink and then someone took

420
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:30,000
their hand and smudged it all.

421
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,800
All of the details surrounding it.

422
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:35,020
It's so odd to me.

423
00:26:35,020 --> 00:26:43,280
Just like overall, it's odd because it's a case that like, yes, there were moments of

424
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:47,800
silence and dust collecting, but that's not because no one was doing anything.

425
00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:49,280
It was just there was no new leads.

426
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:54,760
This was one of the cases where I was like, they were on it right away.

427
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,120
The parents both came back.

428
00:26:57,120 --> 00:26:59,840
Everything fell in line.

429
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:04,660
It was like the little details that fell apart this time because they keep up with trying

430
00:27:04,660 --> 00:27:08,360
to figure out what happened to these poor kids.

431
00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:09,560
Yeah, absolutely.

432
00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:13,480
Detective Ron Dreher, who's worked the case and is still working it in his retirement.

433
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,280
In his retirement, yeah.

434
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:19,320
He says this has never been a cold case because they've always been working it.

435
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:23,720
And a cold case is technically when leads have stopped and investigators stop working

436
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,060
it.

437
00:27:25,060 --> 00:27:30,440
But this has never been cold in the 30 plus years since it's happened.

438
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:35,960
And it's one of the biggest cases in Reno, I'm sure any listeners around that area are

439
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:40,780
probably familiar, but this is one that I was not familiar with.

440
00:27:40,780 --> 00:27:46,120
And I couldn't find a lot of media outside of Reno, Nevada around it.

441
00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:52,440
Like not a lot of podcasts, no investigation discovery episodes, just really nothing outside

442
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,960
of Reno, Nevada, but the case was very well covered in Reno.

443
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:56,960
Yeah.

444
00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:02,320
But hopefully we can get those last pieces of information or people will come forward

445
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:07,040
that either know these people mentioned in the story or have more information and this

446
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,480
case will get solved.

447
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:17,500
If you know anything, please call Reno police at 775-334-2677.

448
00:28:17,500 --> 00:28:25,320
To remain anonymous, you can call secret witness at 775-322-4900.

449
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:29,280
While you're still in your podcast app, maybe on your phone, if you could just take a second

450
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:30,640
to rate and review us.

451
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:35,440
If you're an Apple podcast, taking a minute to write us a written review really helps

452
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,920
the podcast find other people and therefore other people find these stories.

453
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:45,840
So just by rating and reviewing you are directly helping the mission of this podcast, which

454
00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:50,220
is to get these stories out to as many people as possible.

455
00:28:50,220 --> 00:28:54,360
If you're not already, you should absolutely follow us on Instagram.

456
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:59,560
You can find us at cold and missing Eli makes beautiful graphics every week of the people

457
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:00,780
that we cover.

458
00:29:00,780 --> 00:29:07,680
So we'll have pictures of Charles and Jennifer this week up on our Instagram and at our website.

459
00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,900
You can find us at cold and missing.com on our website.

460
00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:12,200
We also have transcripts.

461
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:17,400
So if you or someone you love is deaf or hard of hearing and want to read along with the

462
00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:23,120
podcast, you can find that there along with other pictures and information.

463
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:24,520
You can review us there.

464
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,080
There's a lot of good stuff on our website.

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00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:28,760
So check us out there.

466
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:30,920
And that's all I have.

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00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:32,960
Have a good week and stay safe y'all.

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00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:54,000
Stay safe y'all.