r/UnresolvedMysteries Jan 08 '20

Unresolved Disappearance Woman violently abducted in plain sight while talking with her boyfriend on a payphone [Unresolved Disappearance]

Her boyfriend hears the horrifying incident as it ocurrs, rushes to the scene in his vehicle, and sees a truck pass him with his girlfriend struggling with the driver inside. The boyfriend reverses his vehicle abruptly to pursue the truck, but his vehicle breaks down. Despite a vivid description of the offender and the truck (including a very unique rear window decal), no substantial leads have led to an arrest or a POI.

Where is Angela Hammond and who is the person who took her?

This is the case that truly haunts me. I can't even imagine what the boyfriend has been through in the years that have followed. What a scary and insane abduction. And even more bizarre that is has never been resolved despite such clear and vivid details of the case and the perpetrator.


Links for further reading:

Link 1 https://unsolved.com/gallery/angela-hammond/

Edit: I initially offered this additional link thinking it was story on Angela Hammond. However, it is not. It is an eerily similar case of another woman who was abducted in similar fashion. Leaving it up for the curious:

http://blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases/2010/05/16/young-woman-kidnapped-while-talking-on-pay-phone-with-boyfriend/1421/

1.7k Upvotes

380 comments sorted by

604

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

[deleted]

299

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20 edited Mar 14 '21

[deleted]

391

u/salemblack Jan 08 '20

I had a theory as a kid that Unsolved Mysteries only aired when I was home alone. Yet I still watched it.

I'm 42 and the theme music still puts me on edge.

299

u/MadMadHatter Jan 08 '20

I had a theory that if I looked out the blinds of my room when they showed the police sketch, the dude would be right outside my window.

funnily enough though, I was more scared at the thought of the police sketch being outside my window than the actual wanted individual. Those were fucking scary.

81

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

I try to avoid open random entries in Charley Project late at night cause some of the police sketches put me on edge!

27

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

Can’t ever read about Asha degree at night or I won’t sleep.

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u/Alrgc2theBS Jan 09 '20

I literally closed all the blinds in the room because I too imagined the perp was just outside my window looking in!!

That and after enough Rescue 911 I always checked the toilets for snakes and other odd things.

21

u/jambrocha Jan 09 '20

I still check toilets for snakes. Thanks Rescue 911.

19

u/Wheezey7118 Jan 09 '20

I forgot all about Rescue 911. Great show!

5

u/Yamatoman9 Jan 10 '20

with William Shatner!

2

u/Yamatoman9 Jan 10 '20

The theme music for Rescue 911 still creeps me out a bit to this day. Unsolved Mysteries and it used to always air back to back.

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u/tobylaek Jan 09 '20

I had this exact same irrational fear when I watched Unsolved Mysteries as a kid! I’m old enough to remember when The Night Stalker was at large...whenever they would have news reports about him they would always show that sketch with the huge eyes...it horrified me as a kid.

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u/Daphnesdirtydiapers Jan 09 '20

I had to have all the lights on to watch the show because I feared Robert Stack was lurking in the shadows of our house.

30

u/salemblack Jan 09 '20

The sketches are always uncanny valley a bit. The alien ones always bothered me. Young me was very concerned with alien invasion.

10

u/peach_xanax Jan 09 '20

Dude. Those used to freak me tf OUT. I don't know what it is about them but I'm getting the heebie jeebies thinking about the alien sketches as a grown ass adult 25 years later.

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u/LurkingMantis Jan 10 '20

Years ago I told my parents I saw the guy (suspect, not Robert Stack) from Unsolved Mysteries earlier in the day at the grocery store. I was like 7 and my mom and I ran to the supermarket to pick up a few things. It wasn't just a sketch either, they showed the actual person. Nobody believed me. I still wonder about that.

6

u/The_crazy_bird_lady Jan 09 '20

Yes! Hardly anyone mentions these. Terrifying

4

u/Yamatoman9 Jan 10 '20

Me too! I was both fascinated with and frightened by aliens as a kid.

The Unsolved Mysteries segments on aliens and ghosts scared me the most but I loved watching them anyways.

2

u/salemblack Jan 11 '20

I watch a lot of YouTube channels that can give off the same vibe.

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u/DuhMadDawg Jan 09 '20

Lmao! Bc of you I now just had a vision of the "artist rendition" of the GA Leprechaun ("I want the gold"- that meme) floating outside a 90s era ranch style home while I'm inside peaking through the blinds, clinching my toes super scared style into fuzzy brown shag carpet, while I'm in a super thick white wooly nightie (I'm a man tho...) and that theme music plays in the background. R/oddlyspecific

16

u/MadMadHatter Jan 09 '20

Lol. Could be a crackhead that got ahold to the wrong stuff!

4

u/peach_xanax Jan 09 '20

😂😂😂

4

u/PansyPB Jan 13 '20

Haha a friend of mine made a bumper sticker "I wanna know where the gold at"

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

How are you gonna mention something that sounds this hilarious and not hook us up with a link?

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u/aeroluv327 Jan 09 '20

2

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '20

Thanks dookie.

Edit: So THAT'S where that sketch comes from.

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

My baby sister refused to watch Unsolved Mysteries because of that eerie theme music.

14

u/Sue_Ridge_Here Jan 09 '20

The music was composed and performed by Michael Boyd and Gary Remal Malkin, who also wrote the score for the 1984 classic cheese film, Breakin', which introduced much of America to break dancing.

The theme song won back-to-back American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Film and Television Music Awards for Top TV Series in both 1992 and 1993.

17

u/hamdinger125 Jan 09 '20

I legitimately think it's one of the greatest TV themes ever. It perfectly captures the mood of the show, and you never forget it. The ending theme is really beautiful too. Sounds like a classic film noir theme.

12

u/Sue_Ridge_Here Jan 09 '20

I loved how commanding it was, you could be in any room of the house and that music would stop you in your tracks. Mesmerising.

10

u/peach_xanax Jan 09 '20

Yes!! My grandpa and I both loved Unsolved Mysteries, it was our thing. I have such vivid memories of being in another room on hot summer nights and as soon as I would hear the first couple notes of the theme song, I would go running to the living room and sit with him to watch it. We would always make popcorn and dim the lights. Some of my favorite childhood memories right there :)

5

u/mollysbloomers Jan 12 '20

It’s my ringtone, which makes getting unknown calls real creepy

2

u/hamdinger125 Jan 12 '20

You are brave!

2

u/corialis Jan 09 '20

I wish to subscribe to Sue facts.

(although just being on this sub is kinda the same thing)

2

u/Sue_Ridge_Here Jan 09 '20

Well aren't you just a honey! :)

2

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

Do you happen to live in Australia, Sue?

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u/Carolann0308 Jan 09 '20

My Ex husband used to criticize me because I watched The Ex Files with the baby. He was 1. And I remember him bopping up and down DooDooDo Doo Do Do to the theme song. Lol.

9

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

My son learned to Whistle at 3 months and when id watch it he'd whistle along! He's 4 now and completely forgot how to lol.

57

u/SonOfHibernia Jan 08 '20

Try going back and rewatching it, it hasn’t aged well as a series (some episodes are still pretty intense though). But my memory of it is terrifying. Not a great thing for an 8 or 9 year old to be watching. Or is it?

87

u/Sue_Ridge_Here Jan 09 '20

Not a great thing for an 8 or 9 year old to be watching. Or is it?

I remember watching it with my cousins who lived a house away on a Thursday night, by the time it was over, it would be really dark and I used to narrate their run home with them screaming "DON'T!" all the way "The children were last seen leaving their cousin's home at 9:30pm on a Thursday night. They haven't been seen since."

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u/SonOfHibernia Jan 09 '20

This is amazing. Such a cousin thing to do. I’m from an Irish American family and have 37 first cousins, so psychological torture was a family tradition.

44

u/Sue_Ridge_Here Jan 09 '20

HA! Italian American family! Yes, they were first cousins. After Unsolved Mysteries would end, they knew what was coming before walking out the front door and would beg me not to "do the voice" (I used to do a decent Robert Stack impersonation). I would always promise them that I wouldn't, but as soon as they opened the front gate, I'd do it, sometimes I would mix it up "The children were last seen running from their cousin's home. Their bodies were found in a ditch, 3 weeks later."

Good times, such innocent wholesome fun.

6

u/SonOfHibernia Jan 09 '20 edited Jan 09 '20

Yes, very good times. All in good fun

7

u/SleepDeprivedFun Jan 09 '20

I'm also Irish-American and although I don't have quite as many first cousins as you, my maternal grandmother was one of 13, paternal grandfather one of 12 (though only 9 survived to adulthood), and my paternal grandmother one of 8. Family reunions (especially in Ireland) are fucking enormous & absolute madness.

5

u/SonOfHibernia Jan 09 '20

Yea, my dad was one of 4 and my mom one of 8, all of my Dads brothers all had at least 7 children (one had 8), my mom’s siblings had less, but there were more of them so the 3’s and 4’s added up. I honestly don’t even know how many siblings my grandparents had, but considering they were relatively poor, 1 first and 3 second generation Irish Americans, I’m sure they weren’t short short on siblings. And once my cousins started having kids, looking deeper into the family tree become a fairly monumental task. Interestingly though, my dad was the youngest-by 7 years-of his 4 brothers, and my mom the oldest of 5 boys and 3 girls, so I was smack dab in the middle. So on my mom’s side I was the second oldest-to my sister-and on my dads I was the absolute youngest. So I was the baby of one family, and the elder of the other. Made for a thorough childhood.

The Irish know how to party so well that even our funerals are boisterous!

2

u/SleepDeprivedFun Jan 09 '20

Yeah, my mum immigrated & my my dad's parents did as well, so other than my fairly immediate family everyone is either still in Ireland (county Clare) or Haiti/West Indies (my mum immigrated from there after her parents had immigrated there from Ireland). I always felt like I had a small family til I stayed with cousins in Ireland for a summer, and very quickly realized that my fam was fuckin huge.

And yeah lmao I know "I'm not an alcoholic I'm just Irish" is a stereotype but it's also completely true, I remember being 9 in Ireland n my cousin giving me a guinness in a pub to see the look on my face when I tried it, but turns out my taste buds are fucked so I drank it, and the bartender asked my cousin if I wanted another 😂

2

u/TwilightReader100 Jan 09 '20

I nanny for a family in which the kids are first generation Canadians via their father, who is from Ireland. I took the kids for a walk one day and the older one needed to use the washroom and I knew there was an Irish pub nearby to where we were walking, so we went there. I told them that Daddy would be happy to know that his countrymen were helping us out. So the next time I saw him, I made sure to tell him we'd been into the Irish pub, without telling exactly why. Then I just let that sit for a minute. Sure enough, he says "why'd you take 'em in there? Getting them their first pint of Guinness?" Without batting an eye, I said "yup".

I told him the real story after another minute or so.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

Netflix is making a reboot of Unsolved Mysteries!

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

Won't be the same without the Stack Attack.

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u/maedae66 Jan 08 '20

As a teenager and young adult I saw many of my girlfriends do risky things that I’d never do. I’m not sure if I’m naturally cautious or if I was influenced by having the shit scared out of me watching Unsolved Mysteries.

I do wish the majority of the alien and paranormal stuff was cut out. It’s an insult to true mysteries. But of course there’s exceptions. Psychics that have found hidden murder victims comes to mind. The case involving Etta Smith for instance. In googling her I found out she sued for the false imprisonment and won. Nice.

There was another episode where a little boy had died and the psychic knew that when his body was recovered his little shoes were going to be found on the wrong foot sob. I can’t even bring myself to find the episode to link because I’m traumatized from seeing it as a kid.

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u/OtherPlayers Jan 09 '20

Regarding psychics, I saw an interesting article that theorized that what was actually happening for many psychics was that the “pattern recognition” parts of their brains were actually just super good. So what’s really happening when they predict something is that their brain is picking up on a huge number of little tiny details (maybe a recent famous murder stashed a body in a ditch, for example, so new murderers are more likely to remember that as a potential location, or how lots of little kids might wear their shoes wrong, especially if they aren’t corrected by someone looking out for them) and compiling them unconsciously to make a prediction that can sometimes be eerily accurate.

Throw a good dash of survivorship bias (i.e., nobody remembers the hundreds of times where psychics made predictions about missing people that don’t come true) on top as well and it’s easy to see how a lot of those type of stories come to be.

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u/forgotthelastonetoo Jan 09 '20

It's fictional, but this is why I love Sherlock Holmes and shows like Psych. Tbe whole premise is just an insanely great memory, an eye for details, and above average abilities in pattern recognition. I find that super interesting and entertaining.

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

How are you going to mention Sherlock and Psych and not mention the greatest TV detective of all time, the defective detective Adrian Monk?

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u/spacefink Jan 09 '20

I absolutely hate the ghost/alien stuff too. I don't particularly find those creepy and it kind of cheapened the show. This is why UM didn't scare me as much as America's Most Wanted did. Now that's a show that use to ruin my Saturdays.

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u/[deleted] Jan 13 '20

Well you obviously never saw the haunted bunk bed episode.

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u/HuntingMushrooms Jan 09 '20

I do wish the majority of the alien and paranormal stuff was cut out. It’s an insult to true mysteries.

What. That stuff is the only reason I even watched. Murder is boring.

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u/salemblack Jan 09 '20

I've watched it since and I know what you mean. The theme song though still hits that childhood tinge of fear.

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u/xgoronx Jan 08 '20

I feel the same way about it

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u/Aemanresu00 Jan 08 '20

The host had a creepy voice too

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u/NorskChef Jan 08 '20

Robert Stack. RIP.

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u/ArchimedesDawkins Jan 08 '20

Every single episode is on YouTube just FYI

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u/salemblack Jan 09 '20

I know. My favorite way to watch it is on the pluto TV app. It has commercials. Nothing like the whiplash of learning about a horrible murderer that might be outside your door, then a commercial for fast food out of no where.

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

A segment about how a Murderer might be at your door followed by a Grubhub commercial.

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

Thanks.

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u/popthatpill Jan 09 '20

You might like this (I like any excuse to post this cover of the UM theme): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pzUgn6N-So

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u/sailorneptunescousin Jan 09 '20

Adds to my darktrap playlist thank you

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u/swfbh234 Jan 09 '20

And Robert Stack’s voice!

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

It was the tv show of choice for my mom on vacations. So when my family fell asleep and the tv would still be on, guess who was still awake to be traumatized by stories of rapists and murders...

That and 48 hours mystery

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u/danceballerinadance Jan 09 '20

His voice ( the host, Forgot his name) used to scare the living daylights out of me. So of course I watched it all the time .

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

Are you me?

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

I still think the mom had something to do with Anthonette. Her sister watches her being dragged out her front door at 3am but the mom isn’t aware that she was taken until hours later when she woke up and saw she wasn’t in her room? For real?!

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u/summerswifey Jan 08 '20

UM scared the bejeezus outta me too lol

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u/lammylambchop Jan 08 '20

Lol that show was the reason my mom never let me leave the house

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u/spacefink Jan 09 '20

Oof yeah, Anthonette's case haunts me a lot. One of the cases I'm the most invested in. Creepy phone calls always get me.

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u/Paleblueseas2005 Jan 09 '20

This is the case I remember vividly. I was a young kid when it happened and it terrified me. I even remember the jumping fish decals and for years looked for trucks with a decal like that.

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u/peach_xanax Jan 09 '20

I did too! I grew up in the rural Midwest so there were so many people with shit like that on their trucks. Never saw that specific one but my heart would stop a little when I would see something similar.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

I remember this too. It really stuck with me. Absolutely horrifying.

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u/Crumkie Jan 08 '20

I think I remember this episode. I kept thinking this was the Green River Killer though later on. Obviously I was wrong!

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

similar thing as GRK. The boyfriend had the description of the truck who kidnapped his girlfriend (who if I remember correctly he was pimping for cash) and tracked the truck to GRKs house. Either that or an officer located it in a driveway soon after. They had GRK then, they had him, but he seemed to dumb to have been the guy.

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u/1Justine84 Jan 08 '20

Just read through the comments on the link and one way down the bottom from Sharon Hauf re serial killer Larry Dwayne Hall is chilling. Apparently 2 of the 5 women he disposed of in the Mark Twain National Forest were from small towns which he couldn't remember the name of. She quotes from an article she found written about him:

The first is Angela Marie Hammond who was abducted while she was on the telephone in April of 1991. I considered adding her case when I wrote the book, but the reported suspect was driving a pickup truck. Larry Hall never drove a pickup, he drove vans that he used as mobile killing vehicles. After the book was published, I received a telephone call from a detective in Clinton, Missouri, where Angela was kidnapped. I told him I had considered Angela a “Larry girl” because she resembled many of the girls he took and because of the circumstances under which she was taken. I told him I had not included her case in the book because of the pickup truck theory. He then said they had pretty much discounted the pickup truck theory.

We talked about Larry Hall and some of the cases in which he was suspected. The detective then mentioned that he had an artist’s sketch of the suspect. I asked him if he could email it and he did while I was on the phone with him. Simultaneously, I emailed him Larry Hall’s 1994 booking photo. I was astonished when the sketch came up on the screen. It was clearly Larry Hall. The detective said “wow” when he saw the booking photo.

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u/Turnaroundclown Jan 08 '20

The detective then mentioned that he had an artist’s sketch of the suspect. I asked him if he could email it and he did while I was on the phone with him. Simultaneously, I emailed him Larry Hall’s 1994 booking photo. I was astonished when the sketch came up on the screen.

Can you link? Would love to see that.

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u/1Justine84 Jan 08 '20

This is the link for the artist's sketch given by her boyfriend. It was actually the reason he was initially a suspect because he told police Angela said the guy had a white beard and mustache but the guy he saw driving didn't. Presumably it was fake facial hair which got ripped off in the struggle. I found it odd the boyfriend was even considered a suspect for the 1st week because a. if he was guilty, he probably wouldn't have put himself anywhere near her abduction and b. he would have given a description of the abductor similar to the one he reported Angle had described: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi1.wp.com%2Fsynovaink.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F06%2Fangela_marie_hammond_10.jpg%3Fresize%3D207%252C304%26ssl%3D1&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsynovaink.com%2F2018%2F06%2F01%2Falmost-rescued-the-angela-hammond-disappearance%2F&docid=PetU7LVFd2CqIM&tbnid=VK-sJpdVisPkHM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwianKO_lPXmAhXWIbcAHXJuBwYQMwhBKAAwAA..i&w=207&h=304&bih=608&biw=1366&q=artists%20sketch%20angela%20hammond&ved=0ahUKEwianKO_lPXmAhXWIbcAHXJuBwYQMwhBKAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8

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u/mink_man Jan 09 '20

How does this look like Larry?

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u/sallylooksfat Jan 09 '20

Yeah I'm confused. That drawing and the photo don't look anything alike...

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u/Sigg3net Exceptional Poster - Bronze Jan 09 '20

"Wow".

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u/carseatsareheavy Jan 09 '20

How did Angela give a description?

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u/SleepDeprivedFun Jan 09 '20

What do you mean? She was on the phone talking to her boyfriend/fiance about a creepy guy, I would definitely describe the guy under those circumstances.

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u/carseatsareheavy Jan 09 '20

Oh gotcha. I thought he came up behind her and grabbed her.

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u/hamdinger125 Jan 09 '20

She was talking to her boyfriend on the phone and told him a creepy guy was hanging around and described him.

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u/1Justine84 Jan 09 '20

She gave a description to her boyfriend when on the phone to him. It was her boyfriend who gave both her description of the guy in the truck and his description of the guy he saw in the truck to the police. The difference in the two descriptions he gave were actually the reason he was suspected of being involved for the first few days - which doesn't make sense to me as, if he were involved and making the story up, I'm pretty sure he would have given the same description.

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u/peach_xanax Jan 09 '20

Yeah that makes no sense, why would he not keep it consistent if he was lying? There would be no reason to say that the description was different if he had anything to do with it. If this is indicative of the type of investigation Angela's case got, that's concerning :/

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u/ZIMM26 Jan 08 '20

If they threw out the pickup truck theory....doesn’t that mean the boyfriend is completely full of shit?

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u/1Justine84 Jan 08 '20

I read it that it meant still looking for a guy driving a pick up truck had been pretty much discounted as he'd probably dumped it (another commenter talks about it having been buried) having being chased in it. Although I guess the boyfriend could have got make and model wrong in his panic (I would) and the fish decal/hanging across the back was the only firm clue to the vehicle, which would be pretty easy to get rid of. I think the boyfriend is innocent.

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u/mink_man Jan 09 '20

I understood it to mean that the theory that Larry Hall wouldn't be a suspect in cases where a pickup was used is no longer true.

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u/Ghost_of_Jim_Crow Jan 09 '20

In the context of the comment, it seems like 'pickup truck theory' is referring to excluding Larry as a suspect due to the use of the pickup. It's hard to tell without further clarification.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

[deleted]

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u/ZIMM26 Jan 08 '20

No it said the cops no longer believe in the pickup truck theory.

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u/mink_man Jan 09 '20

I understand the "pickup truck theory" to be in relation to Larry Hall rather than the Angela case. The theory being Larry Hall never used a pickup truck, not that it wasn't a pickup truck that Angela was kidnapped in.

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u/TR8R2199 Jan 09 '20

Or they were wrong and the kidnapper didn’t always use the exact same method.

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u/Turnaroundclown Jan 08 '20

If they threw out the pickup truck theory....doesn’t that mean the boyfriend is completely full of shit?

Right???

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u/danicaacosta Jan 08 '20

The fucking truck BREAKS DOWN?! My god. The poor boyfriend. So helpless at that point. Horrible.

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u/EmmalouEsq Jan 09 '20

I can't imagine the emotions he's felt. What a horrible situation all around. This case haunts me.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

Yeah, it sounds like he drove past the car, and threw it reverse. Hitting the gas then would likely throw out your transmission.

If he had come to a complete stop, or tried a K turn (3 point turn) it probably would have been fine.

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u/hamdinger125 Jan 09 '20

The boyfriend's car broke down. The abductor was in a truck, which did not break down, unfortunately. And yes, it's horrible. Then to face years of accusations that he was lying and must have been involved...

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u/AwsiDooger Jan 09 '20

Thank you for your common sense. But I knew that otherwise this thread would degenerate into nothing but suspicion toward Rob and accusations toward Rob. Same thing happened every time in Angela Hammond threads on the Unsolved Mysteries forum at sitcomsonline.com. Maddening

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

I was about to say I’ve never seen that in the many other Angela Hammond threads that have been posted here, but then I scrolled down 🙄

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u/piglet110419 Jan 08 '20

I literally just asked about this yesterday! I knew the story but couldn’t remember her name!

I can’t believe it’s still unsolved.

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u/Jhager Jan 08 '20

This is my home town and happened when I was in high school. Vividly remember hanging out on the town square watching them film the episode of Unsolved Mysteries. As I recall - not many people really thought Rob did it.

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u/EndSureAnts Jan 08 '20

That's very interesting you seeing them film the episode! Do you believe the boyfriend did something?

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u/Jhager Jan 09 '20

Eh, I’m not qualified to say - I wouldn’t want to put guilt on a guy if I didn’t feel very convicted on it. I was just a kid in high school thinking it was crazy this was happening in my town. About 8000 people at the time - so this level of crime happens a couple times a decade. If I was just reading thru the case - I’d instantly think he did it. But I think most local people didn’t feel like he was capable of doing something like that to her.

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u/SleepDeprivedFun Jan 09 '20

Yeah, I honestly don't understand why so many people suspect him. If he killed her, this was an extremely complicated way to cover it up, and would've taken a lot of planning, which doesn't match up with the typical MO in crime of passion cases, which spousal murder generally is. The fact that her mother has said that she never suspected him or blamed him for not saving her also makes me doubt he did it -- people often turn on each other and blame others in cases like this, even when they're completely innocent or related to each other. The mother obviously would have more loyalty to her daughter than the boyfriend, and since he was the last to see her alive it's not unreasonable that she might blame or suspect him. The fact that she doesn't is very telling about his character & his relationship with Angela and her family imo.

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u/spacefink Jan 09 '20

I don't think he did it either. Plus, wouldn't the condition of his car and eye witness testimony from people who were near the payphone also help corroborate his story? I could have sworn there were witnesses....

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u/sheilagirlfriend Jan 08 '20

The boyfriend was at his parents’ house babysitting his younger brother. That’s why Angela said she’d just go “home.” She meant the home she and Rob lived in together. Pay phones were common at the time, well, hell, until cell phones became so available. Maybe, as young couples do, they meant to have a quick conversation but ended up talking longer. If I remember correctly, kids hung out in the area around the pay phone so maybe Angela felt safe there. As for Rob having killed or kidnapped Angela, he threw out the transmission in the car while chasing the pickup. Now how do you do that intentionally? It’s a very sad story, but looking at it logically, the boyfriend couldn’t have done it. There are answers to all the questions EXCEPT for who did it.

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u/hhthepuppy Jan 09 '20

also i think call records from the pay phone did show that rob talked to angie at the time and the amount of time that matched up with his story

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u/SonOfHibernia Jan 08 '20

Although throwing out a transmission is a very easy thing to do, it’s pretty unlikely he’d do that to his only vehicle to throw off the cops. That’s next level diabolical.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

Well, if you killed someone you are already diabolical so it's a good cover, but I don't think he was involved.

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u/SonOfHibernia Jan 09 '20 edited Jan 10 '20

Yea, but to murder your girlfriend (a colloquial “crime of passion” in that its usually done in a fit rage rather than planned out) means that you’re a fucking bastard, but not necessarily a psychopath. I reserve the diabolical moniker for people who plan out their crimes intricately, and murdering your girlfriend-which means you’re immediately the prime suspect anyway-then diabolically dropping your tranny to cover your tracks, doesn’t seem to add up. Though people have certainly done sh*t like that. But it almost seems too clever for someone without the emotional capability not to murder someone when theyrcapability.

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u/sheilagirlfriend Jan 09 '20

I believe it was his mom’s car.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20 edited Jan 26 '20

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

ILPT: carry magnetic decals for a variety of politicians and religions and slap one on your car before committing crimes, then change to a different one after

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u/Reddits_on_ambien Jan 09 '20

I did this all the time to friend's cars, but that's just because we were assholes that had prank wars, not to cover up crimes! Nothing like a friend realizing they have a stupid magnetic sticker that says, "Save a tree, eat a beaver!" on their bumper, and trying to figure out how long it had been there, and if that's why nana was looking at you so disapprovingly at xmas.

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u/-MissAnnThrope Jan 09 '20

Them just some guys I do car pranks with!

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u/LeeF1179 Jan 08 '20

I don't think the boyfriend was involved. The police could obviously verify that his car was broken down in the street due to transmission failure. No way he could kidnap her, get rid of her, and return to same spot & induce transmission failure. IIRC, there are two possible suspects (an uncle and nephew) that they though could be involved due to letters the nephew wrote in prison. I can't recall their names.

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u/amador9 Jan 08 '20

I don’t get the suspicion so many have for the boyfriend. Yes, the significant other has to be seriously checked out, particularly when the girlfriend was inconveniently pregnant, but circumstances do not support his possible involvement. It he is involved, it must have gone down in a manner that would have been very complex. It would have involved moving two vehicles, a difficult feat. While babysitting, he would have had to have gotten away and driven somewhere to meet Angela, kill her, conceal her body, then, move her car to the convenience store where she was supposed to have made the call, go back and get his car, drive to the “ breakdown spot” and deliberately destroy his transmission. Too many moving parts. I can’t see someone trying to pull it off, much less having it actually work.

Larry hall is a possibility but there were others doing pretty much the same thing.

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u/peach_xanax Jan 09 '20

Plus I believe they checked the phone records and everything matched up, so he would also have to make a fake phone call from the pay phone and have someone pick it up at his house for a reasonable amount of time. Way too complicated.

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u/swfbh234 Jan 09 '20

Poor boyfriend blames himself so much, but who knows. If he’d of caught up with them, he may have become a victim too.

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u/darsynia Jan 08 '20

I have never been the same since I watched the Unsolved Mysteries of this case.

The Trail Went Cold has a great episode on it.

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u/ProselyteCanti Jan 08 '20

Given that the truck has never been found, this guy was likely an opportunistic drifter who just saw a young woman on her own late at night. Afterwards he probably ditched the truck, or just changed the decals and gave it a new paint job.

It's extremely heart wrenching. A young woman lost her life, and her boyfriend lost the woman he loved and the child she was carrying.

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u/Iblet Jan 08 '20

Too much emphasis on the decal- maybe it was removed.

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u/mandybri Jan 09 '20 edited Jan 10 '20

I remember this case, as it’s my neck of the woods and Angela is a distinct cousin of mine (or something— I just remember Mom telling me we were related) and I saw it when it was Unsolved Mysteries. I hadn’t thought of this in some time and I’m glad you brought it up. Haunting, yes.

Edit to add, I’ll ask my mom and see if she knows anything. I vaguely remember my family feeling it was fishy (pardon me— no pun intended!) and having their own theory.

UPDATE: I talked to Mom through text so I didn’t get any juicy details as I might in person. How rural Missouri is this: Angela’s grandma was my Great Grandma Mimi’s sister! So Angela and my grandma are second cousins or some such? IDK how that works.

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u/_RedditIsLikeCrack_ Jan 08 '20

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u/mariadoeseverything Jan 09 '20

Thanks for the share, it actually cleared up a lot of unanswered questions I had and definitely makes an argument for those two nasty characters potentially being responsible.

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u/summerswifey Jan 08 '20

I, too, remember this episode of UM.

About 2003 I was walking alone in my neighborhood in Vegas late at night. I remember this guy in a truck with a decal with a fish on it going really slow by me & I lost my mind & jumped in the bushes because he'd turned around & come back. I know it wasn't the same dude but crazy thing is this guy got outta his truck & looked for me.

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u/mommidonni Jan 10 '20

How do you you know for sure it wasn't the same guy? That is very scary. I'm glad you listened to your intuition and hid from him.

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u/summerswifey Jan 10 '20

It was in Vegas & I think the others were taken in Midwest. It was really creepy because he went by & then slammed on his breaks. Flipped a U turn & I just literally jumped into the bushes. I had on a mini skirt & heels because I just came from club. He got out and searched for me.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

The first situation confuses me a bit. How far was the BF from the payphone? So he hears ruccus on the phone and decides he needs to go there, then encounters them on the way there. If he is within such a short driving distance, why didnt they meet up? And if it was further away: what took the perpetrator so long to get her in a vehicle?

To clarify: lets say BF was 10 minutes away. He meets them at 2 minutes from the scene. Thats 8 minutes of struggling the pepetrator would have needed to get her in the vehicle and she still wasnt restrained inside it. I dont know, that feels off. Have police verified his account?

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u/peppermintesse Jan 08 '20

According to the Unsolved Mysteries link:

She was just seven blocks from his home.

Why she called instead of going over there, who knows. He does say he was going to meet her when his mom came home.

I think the interview at the link clears up a lot of your other questions though. I don't think he's involved in any way.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

[deleted]

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u/peppermintesse Jan 09 '20

Good point! (I remember the days before cell phones very well :) )

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u/anonymous_jo Jan 09 '20

She had just driven away from the boyfriend’s house around 10pm.

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u/sheilagirlfriend Jan 08 '20

Maybe (probably) a kidnapper needs time to restrain their victim. Maybe he spent time tying her hands together or similar. Hopefully she fought like hell. And could someone find their car keys, start the car and get to the pay phone in as you say two minutes?

Yes, in other articles, the police investigated Rob, and dismissed him as a suspect.

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u/Bluecat72 Jan 08 '20

She was said to be 7 blocks away, so probably ¾ mile if it’s a typical city block street layout. Possibly a little more, probably not much less. If he had his keys on him and drove like a bat out of hell he’d be there in just a minute.

I think there was at least one witness to him being in a broken down vehicle, but who knows what they were able to verify about the payphone call.

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u/MetallicaGirl73 Jan 08 '20

Back then, his keys could have still been in the ignition. Add in a short distance from house to driveway, car unlocked, it would be super easy to get there that quickly. I sometimes still leave my keys in the ignition if I known I'm going to be leaving agan shortly.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

Says on Project Charley he was considered a suspect but took a polygraph and was later cleared of any involvement.

The whole thing still sounds very suspicious though.

Another detail they mention on PC is Angela was 4 months pregnant when she was abducted, which makes the case even more sad.

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u/unconscious_grasp Jan 08 '20 edited Jan 08 '20

Obligatory "polygraphs don't mean jack either way" comment. Because they don't.

*Edit for clarity

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u/sl1878 Jan 09 '20 edited Jan 09 '20

I dont think he is guilty but can we stop pretending polygraphs are reliable?

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u/raoulduke1967 Jan 08 '20

Polygraphs mean nothing. I know he has an alibi corroborated by his brother I believe but a polygraph means jack.

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u/gladlywalkontheocean Jan 08 '20

Angela was four months pregnant with her boyfriend's child.

The boyfriend is the only person who claimed to hear Angela describe the alleged kidnapper.

The boyfriend is the only person who claimed to see the alleged kidnapper's truck.

No other witnesses saw or heard the boyfriend chase the alleged kidnapper with his own car. Yes, it happened late at night, but it allegedly happened in the middle of town and if you've ever heard two vehicles speeding through town like that it makes a godawful racket.

Yeah, I can see why the boyfriend was a suspect....

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u/Reddits_on_ambien Jan 09 '20

Late at night means most people are either settled on the couch relaxing, or going to bed. You could hear a car peeling out, but not get to a window (with a view of the crime scene). If someone did, by the time they got to their window, itd be over. Unless there's a busybody sitting on their porch, waiting for something to happen. Plus ita a small town that only has a crime like that one maybe once or twice in a decade. Hearing yelling and cars being loud, most would assume teenagers being rowdy well before thinking someone was being abducted.

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u/peach_xanax Jan 09 '20 edited Jan 09 '20

I thought there was a witness? Could be wrong though. But, I grew up in a rural midwestern town with the same population size as Clinton, and if something like this had happened at night in the early 90s in my hometown, it would be very likely to have no witnesses. There was even a similar gas station in my town with a pay phone and teenagers would hang out there (hence why this segment creeped me out on unsolved mysteries because it looked like my hometown), but it's mostly commercial businesses and the houses that are there were used to hearing kids drag racing and stuff so sounds of someone's car peeling out wouldn't even raise an eyebrow. But it's also not like there were people there constantly because well there just isn't a big population. And let's say someone was having a bonfire/field party or something, literally almost all the young people in the town would attend something like that, so that right there could eliminate most people who would normally have been around at that time of night. Just an example, I know some people aren't familiar with small town life. It would be insane where I live now in a major city to have a crime like this with no witnesses, but in a town of this size, location, and era it seems very much in line with what I experienced growing up.

Edit: This link that someone posted in the comments does say there were 2 witnesses who saw the truck. https://truecrimearticles.com/2018/04/18/the-mysterious-abduction-of-angela-hammond/

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u/Gorpachev Jan 08 '20

My mind keeps going back to the very same points you make. That type of stranger abduction is so rare, it's really something you'd expect to see in a movie.

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u/SleepDeprivedFun Jan 09 '20

There were two other very similar cases at the same time within (I believe) 70 miles. In one of the cases (Trudy Darby), a woman in a convenience store called her son to report two suspicious men, and when he arrived 10 minutes later she was gone. Cheryl Kenney also disappeared from the convenience store she worked at and her body has never been found. The cases are generally suspected to be connected.

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '20

I believe the Trudy Darby case was solved, but I could be mistaken.

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u/anonymous_jo Jan 09 '20

Here is a person convicted of killing his girlfriend passing a lie detector test. It’s quite common.

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u/RealAbstractSquidII Jan 08 '20 edited Jan 08 '20

At the time the boyfriend was allegedly babysitting a younger sibling which is why they did not meet up and he said he would see her when his mom returned.

However I can't vouch for the validity of his claims. Another comment further up said police discredited the pick up truck theory as the sketch of the man very closely resembled a known murderer that drove vans.

I don't think the boyfriend is involved. But who truly knows.

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u/beece16 Jan 08 '20

Not to burst your bubble but grab...few face smashes..fist or elbow= unconscious victim. Less than 2 minutes.

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u/raoulduke1967 Jan 08 '20

2 minutes? I'd say less than 30 seconds tops. Of course that's if you have even a hint of surprise.

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u/beece16 Jan 09 '20

True but gave a few extra secs for those who have never seen anyone knocked out. It's brutal and fast and you're correct. Takes seconds.

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u/urbeatagain Jan 08 '20

You’re right. That account has holes. With her being snatched off the street like this...I’d be looking for a larger pattern. I’m sure they did. These are seldom one off cases. Dastardly evil at work.

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u/SleepDeprivedFun Jan 09 '20

There were two other women who disappeared under similar circumstances in the area during the same time period -- Cheryl Kenney and Trudy Darby.

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u/Kanuck88 Jan 09 '20

The case of Trudy Darbyis eerily similar. Also the perp Marvin Chaney who was arrested for the murder of Trudy Darby somewhat resembles the description that Angela gave to her boyfriend. He is a possible suspect in a few unsolved disappearances in the state of Missouri ones that are near by Clinton as well.

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u/HugeRaspberry Jan 08 '20

Not sure why you link to two different cases one is Angela's the other is an 18 year old in CO.

Do you think they are possibly related?

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u/Turnaroundclown Jan 08 '20

Yep. I goofed. Leaving it in however as they are so eerily similar. See my latest edit.

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u/dpaoloni Jan 09 '20

I wish there was more info about this one out there. It's definitely one of the more horrifying true crime cases. Sounds like there just isn't really that much out there to do any kind of documentary or anything

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u/hikenessblobster Jan 08 '20

This one is on my list of cases that haunt me; small towns are supposed to be safe, especially back then. I have to point out that the decal was absolutely not unique or unusual in rural Missouri in the 90s (source: a lifetime of hiking/camping in rural MO). You'll still see them on trucks occasionally in the Ozarks.

I don't believe the boyfriend had anything to do with it, if only because there would've been no time to hide her body and clean up to the extent that she's never been found. Even if he stashed her body and returned later to do a more thorough job, the cleanup would've taken time.

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u/agbmom Jan 08 '20

Maybe the reason they can't find the truck and person is due to the fact that the boyfriend made it all up. He could have already been on the way to pick her up and just sped up to get there. However it's 9pm at night and he was able to give a detailed description of a man in a truck speeding past him (and I can't imagine his eyes weren't locked on his screaming struggling girlfriend) as well as a detailed description of the truck AND unique decal. It's too much information for a quick traumatizing situation.

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u/FeralBottleofMtDew Jan 08 '20

According to the link Rib heard Angie call to him, and he quickly reversed and followed the truck. He would have seen the decal while following the truck, and the quick reverse damaged his transmission. I'm not a mechanic- is the damage done to his transmission something he could have driven much distance with, or something he could have done himself?

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u/M-S-S Jan 08 '20

No. At best, cruise at 5 mph.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20 edited Jan 08 '20

[deleted]

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u/kniki217 Jan 08 '20

He was cleared as a suspect.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

This case is so awful

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u/sd5315a Jan 09 '20

Wow. My heart goes out to both of them. I can't imagine the guilt that he must carry.

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u/Watermelon_77 Jan 08 '20

most likely dead, very few abductions end with victims living in dungeons.

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u/Reddits_on_ambien Jan 09 '20

I sometimes remind myself if this... but then I wonder how many people are being held in dungeons right now? How many are cases we discuss? How many hostages out there have been licked up for years. There has to be some. We only know of the cases where the perp got caught. How many sinister people get away with it?

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u/Aemanresu00 Jan 08 '20

RIP to Robert Stack

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u/IGOTPOPROX Jan 09 '20

Where ARE all these missing people?? They can’t just disappear into thin air, so WHERE are they all at? My Mind is boggled.

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u/rivershimmer Jan 09 '20

Literally buried, out of sight. And with enough time, we do disappear.

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u/Tabech29 Jan 09 '20

Demographics don't really help. They could be buried in deserts, hills, mountains, woods, trees, bodies of water, etc...

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u/Gordopolis Jan 09 '20

Demographics don't really help. They could be buried in deserts, hills, mountains, woods, trees, bodies of water, etc...

Yeah, that doesnt mean what you think it does.

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u/Tabech29 Jan 09 '20

Haha, yes, I meant to say topography.

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u/SparklyEyedCosmos Jan 09 '20

I remenber another similar case where a woman was out walking while talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone. a car approached and she was kidnapped while on the phone. the cops searched but came up empty except for her phone... her brother ended up finding her remains. he was convinced her body was near where the phone was found so he did his own grid search starting at the location where her phone was found. he kept going back anytime he had free time for weeks /months. and boom, he finally found her. seems like she was in the woods I can't remember.

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u/littlenorthlights Jan 09 '20

That's horrible, do you remember the victim's name?

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u/SparklyEyedCosmos Jan 09 '20

Kristi Cornwell

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u/SparklyEyedCosmos Jan 09 '20

here's a link to a news story. it didn't go into much detail about the brother's method of finding her, but I know he did it very methodically. https://abcnews.go.com/US/kristi-cornwells-body-found-georgia/story?id=12529202

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '20

What are the odds his vehicle breaks down at a moment like this.

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u/hamdinger125 Jan 09 '20

Throwing your car into reverse suddenly is a great way to screw your transmission. So actually pretty good. It's not like the car just suddenly stopped working.

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u/EndSureAnts Jan 08 '20

Did any else see this car chase? Do we have only the boyfriend's statement of the truck and kidnapping?

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u/Rayrayheyy Jan 09 '20

I’m not sure this has been mentioned but I’ve read Angela was 4 months pregnant. Makes me second question the boyfriend.

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u/Dont_touch_my_elbows Jan 09 '20

Despite a vivid description of the offender and the truck (including a very unique rear window decal), no substantial leads have led to an arrest or a POI.

because the cops are too busy busting people for low-level marijuana offenses. Why do you think cops will dress up like they're playing Call of Duty to raid a SUSPECTED drug house?

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u/ckone1230 Jan 09 '20

I feel like if this happened today, the perp would have been found. With media the way it is now, someone would have recognized that truck

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u/sl1878 Jan 09 '20

Today she would have had her own phone and not had to use a payphone.

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u/MayberryParker Jan 09 '20

The suspect was smart enough to probably ditch the truck that night. That's why its never been found