Introducing ‘The Unforgotten’: Revisiting the Texas true crime mystery of Christopher Whiteley’s death

Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred is ending his Senate campaign and will instead run for Congress in Dallas County’s revamped District 33. Allred’s decision comes as U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas filed to join the Democratic Senate contest that also includes state Rep. James Talarico of Austin. Dallas minister Frederick Haynes III, leader of Friendship-West Baptist Church, on Monday filed his candidacy for Dallas’ 30th Congressional District. Haynes’ candidacy comes as the district’s current representative, Jasmine Crockett, filed paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by John Cornyn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Five years ago, the body of 28-year-old Christopher Whiteley was found near a wooded creek bed in Hood County, about 55 miles outside of Fort Worth. Deputies theorized a cougar had killed him. Texas wildlife experts said that was impossible. So what really happened? From its earliest moments, an investigation by The Dallas Morning News found the examination into Whiteley’s death was riddled with false assumptions and errors that forensics and wildlife experts say left too many unanswered questions.Now, the fourth season of The Unforgotten podcast from Free Range Productions in association with The Dallas Morning News revisits Whiteley’s story in a six-part series entitled “Kill Site.” The series is hosted by Free Range’s Wes Ferguson, a former Texas Monthly editor based near Austin. The podcast draws from a 2021 investigation by former News staff reporter Charles Scudder, who is a contributor on the show. We’re dropping a new episode each Monday here in your Dallas Morning News podcast feed. This is episode 1: “Just do it” — Christopher Whiteley makes a desperate phone call then vanishes into the woods, igniting one of Texas' strangest and most controversial true-crime cases.This series contains mature subject matter and strong language, listener discretion is advised. Read The News’ 2021 report on Whiteley’s case, complete with maps, timelines and visuals: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/investigations/2021/09/23/authorities-say-a-hood-county-man-was-killed-by-a-cougar-texas-wildlife-experts-say-its-impossible/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thomas Hicks, who parlayed early mastery of leveraged buyouts to create one of the world’s first modern professional sports empires, died Saturday in Dallas surrounded by family. He was 79. In other news, Donald Trump is angry that Rep. Henry Cuellar is running again as a Democrat rather than switch parties after the president pardoned the Texas congressman and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case;  the Dallas-based O’Donnell Foundation is committing $60 million to Southern Methodist University to help the school advance its vision of becoming a national leader in energy studies amid the industry’s boom in North Texas. The donation is the second-largest gift in the university’s history after a $100 million commitment from the Moody Foundation in 2019 created the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies; and five years ago, the body of 28-year-old Christopher Whiteley was found near a wooded creek bed in Hood County, about 55 miles outside of Fort Worth.  Now, the fourth season of ‘The Unforgotten’ podcast from Free Range Productions in association with The Dallas Morning News revisits Whiteley’s story in a six-part series entitled “Kill Site.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the Winter Meetings approaching, John and Evan prepare to break down the Rangers' needs heading to Orlando. There are a lot. But wait, what's this about John and turnips? Yeah, he's a big turnip guy, it turns out. Evan takes a moment to wistfully look back at the contributions of the quartet of Marcus Semien, Adolis García, Jonah Heim and Josh Sborz to the World Championship team. Then Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins joins the guys to talk about his time with the Rangers and owning Reggie Jackson. Fergie is also going to be a coach at the Rangers' upcoming Fantasy Camp and he tells stories of previous camps. Finally, John and Evan reminisce about the good old days, when they'd break into annual screaming matches at the winter meetings. Where has tradition gone in baseball? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two North Texas women are representing the region on a new T.V. show, "Next Level Baker," from Gordon Ramsay. There's also plenty more food news to catch up on: a new location for Kirin Court, a Wagyu omakase restaurant opening in Design District, and more Tex-Mex hitting Lower Greenville. Later in the show, The Dallas Morning News food team gets into the dishes they loved so much at Thanksgiving, they're making them again for the holidays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy Painkin, former president of the Allen Firefighters Association, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 months in federal prison for wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas announced. In other news, Texas can use its newly-drawn congressional map in next year’s elections, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, reversing a lower court ruling and dealing a victory to President Donald Trump’s hopes of keeping control of Congress in the midterm elections; The ramp connecting southbound Dallas North Tollway to southbound Interstate 35E in Dallas, near Oak Lawn, will be closed for routine maintenance, according to a traffic advisory from North Texas Tollway Authority. Nightly closures starting at 10 PM began Monday and will continue through Saturday. Additional closures are planned in the Celina and Prosper areas starting this evening for construction work that’s part of the Dallas North Tollway Phase 4A project. All lanes of east- and westbound Frontier Parkway between north- and southbound Dallas Parkway will be closed overnight Thursday through Saturday from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The closures are needed for deck work. An overnight closure is planned for east- and westbound Addison Airport Toll Tunnel for routine maintenance. The advisory said the AATT will be closed to traffic starting tonight from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.; And the Dallas Cowboys playoff hopes took a big hit last night after a 44-30 loss on the road at Detroit. According to the Athletic, the Cowboys now have less than a 10% chance of making the playoffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amid budgetary constraints and federal directives to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Dallas officials have developed a plan to help them decide when to take the lead in addressing resident needs and when not to. In other news, DFW International Airport contributes more than $78 billion to the North Texas economy. That’s  according to a new impact study released Wednesday from the Perryman Group; the Academy of Country Music Awards are leaving Frisco for Las Vegas next year. For three consecutive years, country luminaries and rising acts have descended upon the Ford Center at The Star; and the largest online retailer in the U.S. has brought its drone delivery service to North Texas. Amazon has gone live in Richardson for local customers as it makes its first big push into the region. Customers in the area can use the technology for tens of thousands of items in as little as one hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SportsDay Insiders Kevin Sherrington, Evan Grant and Joe Hoyt discuss the improbable rise of the Cowboys and what they have to do to make the playoffs. Hint: Probably ought to win out. Joe says Quinnen Williams has made all the difference on defense, and Kevin says George Pickens is the biggest reason for Dak Prescott’s newfound confidence in the offense. Evan and Kevin salute the departed heroes from the Rangers’ World Series title, then they consider the CFP prospects for Texas Tech, Texas A&M . . . and Texas?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A group of Texas families filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday to stop all Texas school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The new state law requiring the classroom displays has faced multiple legal challenges, with two federal judges finding it unconstitutional and blocking 25 school districts across the state from implementing it. In other news, Austin authorities said Tuesday that an ongoing investigation into the weekend falling death of Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera continues to suggest the 19-year-old did not die by homicide, but also cautioned they have not reached any conclusions; attorneys for a North Texas woman who was shown in a video screaming through contractions while hospital staff appeared to slow-roll her admission are requesting a meeting with the facility to discuss what happened and the possibility of financial compensation; a Dallas Morning News analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau found more North Texas adults with college degrees live in poverty today compared to a decade ago. That mirrors a trend across major metropolitan areas in the state and country. Since 2014, the number of North Texans with college degrees has increased by more than 50%; nd on a new list of the 50 best steakhouses in North America, two Dallas restaurants were recognized. The list, compiled by Robb Report, ranked Al Biernat’s at 43rd and Nuri Steakhouse at 39th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former U.S. Secretary of Education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center Margaret Spellings on the state of American education. She reflects on shaping national education policy under President George W. Bush, the push for No Child Left Behind and how school choice and school voucher programs work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices