Runaway Train: Part 1

Two 8 year old girls go missing.  One from New Hampshire. One from Florida.  Despite the 1,500 miles that separate them, their case has 1 suspect in common.  https://charleyproject.org/case/tammy-lyn-belanger https://charleyproject.org/case/marjorie-christina-luna https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33381498/belanger-project/ https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33381251/belanger-project/ https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33332778/belanger-project/ https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33431812/belanger-projectluna/ https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33431589/belanger-projectluna/ https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1991-06-08-9103020800-story.html

Two men, both from Bremerton, Washington disappear nearly 30 years apart. Joseph Pichler disappeared in 2006, and Francis Cantea in 1975.  https://medium.com/of-misdeeds-and-mysteries/former-child-actor-vanishes-without-a-trace-81118999467a https://charleyproject.org/case/joseph-david-wolfgang-pichler https://www.newson6.com/story/5e368c202f69d76f620a3506/former-child-movie-actor-joe-pichler-missing-suicidal-note-found-was-in-beethoven-comedies https://archive.kitsapsun.com/news/local/without-a-trace-two-lives-no-signs-ep-422419792-358728791.html/

4 year old Rilya Wilson disappeared from foster care in early 2001. It was over 15 months before it was discovered she was missing.  https://www.flsenate.gov/Media/PressRelease/Show/4113 https://charleyproject.org/case/rilya-shenise-wilson https://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/02/12/geralyn-graham-to-be-sentenced-in-rilya-wilson-case/ https://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/12/17/key-prosecution-witness-takes-stand-in-geralyn-graham-trial/ https://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/12/11/more-testimony-tuesday-in-rilya-wilson-murder-trial/ https://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/12/10/rilya-wilsons-sister-to-attend-graham-murder-trial/ https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-nsf-rilya-wilson-20150311-story.html https://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/12/05/testimony-to-resume-in-case-of-rilya-wilsons-death/

Witnesses see 15 year old Pearl Pinson being attacked on a pedestrian overpass. She is never seen again, and her abductor was killed in a shootout with police.  http://charleyproject.org/case/pearl-pinson https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/solano-family-seeks-answers-for-missing-daughter-featured-on-people-magazine/160369/ https://people.com/crime/pearl-pinson-vanished-abductor-killed-by-police/ https://abc7news.com/vallejo-solano-county-sheriffs-office-pearl-pinson-missing-girl/1356486/ https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-news/solano-news/crime-solano-county-courts/sister-friends-mark-5th-anniversary-of-pearl-pinsons-kidnapping/ https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2019/11/14/where-is-pearl-pinson/

After a loooong hiatus, I'm back! This week I'm going to tell you about the disappearances of 2 little girls: 20 month old Ayla Reynolds from Maine, and 10 month old Lisa Irwin from Missouri.  https://charleyproject.org/case/ayla-bell-reynolds https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4237&context=colbyecho https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/ayla-reynolds https://www.insideedition.com/mother-ayla-reynolds-files-wrongful-death-suit-against-missing-girls-father-49327 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Ayla_Reynolds https://bangordailynews.com/2019/05/17/news/missing-toddlers-blood-was-from-when-she-was-sick-attorney-for-ayla-reynolds-father-says/ https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2018/12/17/ayla-reynolds-wrongful-death-lawsuit/ https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/13/justice/maine-missing-toddler-ayla-reynolds/index.html https://www.centralmaine.com/2022/02/22/mother-of-ayla-reynolds-alleges-in-new-documents-adults-tried-to-clean-up-blood-from-dead-child-in-waterville-home/ Lisa Renee Irwin – The Charley Project Missing Baby Lisa Irwin Vanished 5 Years Ago: Parents Speak Out on Updates | PEOPLE.com Five years later: New theories revealed in baby Lisa Irwin’s disappearance | News | kctv5.com

Diamond Bynum and her 2 year old nephew vanished without a trace from Gary, Indiana.  Diamond suffers from Prader-Willi Syndrome, a condition that leaves her mentally and physically disabled. There have been few clues in this case.  https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/family-holds-out-hope-that-missing-child-woman-will-someday-be-found/2507890/ https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2021/7/25/22593314/diamond-bynum-king-walker-missing-gary https://medium.com/the-true-crime-edition/double-disappearance-where-are-diamond-bynum-king-walker-155cd18c0773 https://charleyproject.org/case/diamond-daisy-bobbie-monet-bynum https://charleyproject.org/case/king-rajan-walker

Two cases from the wilderness of California. The 1981 disappearance of 14 year old Stacy Arras from Yosemite National Park, and the 1998 disappearance of 38 year old Jonathan Aujay from the Angeles National Forest. Both cases remain unsolved.  Also, a review of the book "Highway of Tears" by Jessica McDiarmid.  https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-15-me-60157-story.html https://charleyproject.org/case/jonathan-aujay https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/upload/released-files-for-stacy-arras-case.pdf https://charleyproject.org/case/stacy-ann-arras

The 1982 disappearance of Steven Pearsall has been linked to the disappearance of 12 year old Christina White in 1979, and the 1981 murder of Kristen David.  Mysteriously, the same night Steven disappeared two women, Kristina Nelson and her stepsister Jacqueline "Brandi" Miller, also went missing.  Their bodies were later discovered in 1984.  This rash of crimes in the Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington area has been called the Lewis Clark Valley Murders. Are they linked to one person of interest?  https://charleyproject.org/case/steven-r-pearsall https://charleyproject.org/case/christina-lee-white https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Clark_Valley_murders https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/cold-case-fbi-calls-public-assistance-40-anniversary-murder-kristin-david/293-e11f2d93-7dcb-4724-b977-892cfe80a845 https://klewtv.com/news/local/40-years-after-kristin-davids-disappearance-near-genesee-fbi-still-hopes-to-find-killer https://lmtribune.com/northwest/in-pursuit-of-justice/article_8cddf360-726f-5ce2-8afa-13d2a7a13d9d.html https://klewtv.com/news/local/a-look-into-the-suspect-in-christina-white-disappearance https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/aug/22/lewiston-law-enforcement-gives-fresh-look-at-unsol/

The Runaway Train music video was re-released for the 25th anniversary featuring the missing children Adagio Talifero, Tammy Flores, Joanna Hernandez Pacheco, Kristopher Lewis, Nahomi Grant, and Alexandria Lowitzer.  https://medium.com/the-mystery-box/the-mysterious-unsolved-disappearance-of-ali-lowitzer-b0fadbd58637 https://charleyproject.org/case/alexandria-joy-lowitzer https://charleyproject.org/case/adagio-talifero https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/id-shows/on-tv0/in-pursuit-with-john-walsh/articles/search-continues-father-and-son-vanished-2018-sailing-trip https://charleyproject.org/case/tammy-alexandra-flores https://charleyproject.org/case/diego-alejandro-flores https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/10/23/1114852/ https://missing-usa.com/news/missing-nahomi-grant-ny?uid=24215 https://charleyproject.org/case/kristopher-bryan-lewis https://www.boston25news.com/news/mother-pushing-for-answers-2-years-after-13-year-old-went-missing/335646231/ https://charleyproject.org/case/joanna-hernandez-pacheco https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/columbus-police-searching-for-missing-15-year-old-girl-last-seen-in-june-2018 https://www.runawaytrain25.com/watch-video

Soul Asylum released a music video to the song Runaway Train in 1993, featuring the photos of missing kids. 10 remain missing.  These are their stories.  When Christopher Vanished. The Unsolved Disappearance of… | by Nicole Henley | Of Misdeeds and Mysteries | Medium Christopher Matthew Kerze – The Charley Project Eagan parents still hoping to find son missing since 1990 – Twin Cities https://youtu.be/NRtvqT_wMeY https://people.com/crime/missing-kids-soul-asylum-runaway-train/?slide=7084019#7084019 http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/07/grace.coldcase.byron.page/index.html https://medium.com/crimebeat/little-boy-gone-b947fe9ff703 https://www.runawaytrain25.com/ https://youtu.be/GOiWoexzfcA https://charleyproject.org/case/wilda-mae-benoit https://charleyproject.org/case/byron-eric-page https://charleyproject.org/case/martha-wes-dunn https://charleyproject.org/case/thomas-dean-gibson https://charleyproject.org/case/andrea-danne-durham https://charleyproject.org/case/kimberly-sue-doss https://charleyproject.org/case/duane-edward-fochtman https://charleyproject.org/case/john-francis-lango https://charleyproject.org/case/patrick-shawn-betz