26 | This is the Captain Speaking

For the entire season, a few voices have been conspicuously absent; never speaking with Up and Vanished. In this final episode, we present a recording that changes everything. For the first time, we hear directly from them. What they say adds a crucial new dimension to the investigation. Joseph’s family deserves answers. Someone knows what happened. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/HJFYk7Y5 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After months of investigating the disappearance of Joseph Balderas in Nome, Alaska, Payne Lindsey presents a comprehensive examination of everything that doesn't add up. In this penultimate episode, we systematically lay out the contradictions, every inconsistency, every conflicting account, every gap in the timeline of Joseph's last known hours. The evidence speaks for itself, and what it says demands answers. This is Part 1 of the Season 4 finale. The investigation has led us somewhere unexpected, and what comes next changes everything. Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/HJFYk7Y5 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While the world moved on, the science, experiments, and decisions shaping what pandemic comes next never stopped. Host Payne Lindsey tracks the documents, debates, and discoveries unfolding right now — and asks why they’ve stayed out of the spotlight. Leaked is available now. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever wondered what happens off mic in an investigative podcast? Join Payne Lindsey (Up and Vanished), Dennis Cooper (Culpable), and Kyle Tekiela (Crook County) for a candid look inside making a hit series. Hear personal reflections about honest storytelling, lifelong bonds to the cases you cover, and maintaining curiosity despite external pressures. Hear raw, insider takes on the un-aired side of podcasting. Recorded live from the Tenderfoot TV stage at CrimeCon 2025. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When New York State Troopers embarked on a high speed chase on Monday June 28, 1993, they did not foresee the scene they would soon stumble upon. Inside the vehicle they discovered the decomposing body of a woman. After interrogation the driver confessed to killing multiple women, and was found guilty of nine counts of second degree murder. But authorities’ work was just beginning. Even after 30 years, two of his victims remain unidentified. Listen in as Payne and Maggie unpack the depravity of convicted serial killer Joel Rifkin, and later sit down with Laurah Norton, host of “One Strange Thing” and “The Fall Line” to discuss how forensic science may help determine if a woman named Denise Griffin may in fact be one of Rifkin’s unidentified victims.Up and Vanished Weekly is available wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When 21 year old Richard Cox - a cadet at West Point Military Academy - missed evening curfew on Saturday, January 14th, 1950, his roommates quickly became concerned. As authorities began investigating, their interest soon narrowed on an old friend who had recently reappeared in Richard’s life. Listen in as Maggie is joined by Laurah Norton, host of “One Strange Thing” and “The Fall Line” as the two discuss Richard’s mysterious disappearance, the possibility he was helped in going AWOL, or whether he could have been an early recruit of a covert agency.Up and Vanished Weekly is available wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's July, 2021, when 40-year-old midtown Atlanta resident, Katie Janness, and her dog are found dead in Piedmont Park, an epicenter for social activity and one of the largest green spaces in the city. Faulty security cameras in the park, plus a lack of physical evidence leaves police with little to go on, and the chilling nature of the crime scene leaves the community on edge, as residents begin to wonder if a serial killer is to blame? Tune in as Maggie sits down with retired Atlanta homicide detective and host of "Murder Mind" on Youtube, Vince Velazquez, and the two discuss Vince's conversations with detectives currently on the case, and take a look at the crime scene through the lens of a homicide detective who patrolled the same area where Katie Janness was found murdered.Up and Vanished Weekly is available wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's January, 2013, when 21-year-old college student Elisa Lam disappears after checking into LA's infamous Cecil Hotel. Elisa's family and police launch a search, but it isn't until weeks later that a hotel worker finds the body of Elisa Lam inside one of the Cecil Hotel's main water tanks. Police focus in on the sole piece of evidence, eerie security camera footage of Elisa from inside one of the hotel's elevators. The video shows a woman in a state of unexplainable crisis, leading many to wonder, what exactly happened to Elisa Lam? Tune in as Maggie goes through the tragic circumstances of Elisa's case, then stick around as Payne Lindsey sits down with Shane Pittman, host of "The Holzer Files" and "28 Days Haunted", and the two discuss Shane's perspective after spending countless hours inside buildings with dark pasts, much like the Cecil Hotel.Up and Vanished Weekly is available wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Up and Vanished comes Status: Untraced — a 3-episode mini-series. Lies, rumors, and arrests—when the truth keeps shifting, all that remains are spaces waiting to be filled. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? Answer: Wisecrack— a 6-part limited series where true crime and stand up comedy take center stage. Available now from Tenderfoot TV and iHeartPodcasts. Check out this trailer, and search Wisecrack in your podcast app to follow the show. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices