INTERVIEW: Darlene Gomez

Ask anyone in Hoopa, California about Hoopa Tribal member Barbara Jean McNeil and they'll tell you the same thing: She was the sweetest woman. So, what exactly happened on the night she was beaten to death? What drove a person to murder her in such a violent way? And is the person responsible still walking around Hoopa to this day? Do you have a story you'd like to see covered on Floodlights? Follow us on Instagram @floodlightspod and send us a message. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS! You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s rereleased bonus episode, we're covering the case of missing woman, Emmilee Risling. In October 2021, Hoopa Tribe member, Emmilee Risling, vanished from an isolated part of the Yurok Reservation in Northern California. But her story is not just about being a missing person, it’s about an entire system that failed to protect her when she needed help. What you should also know is that Emmilee is the cousin of our Floodlights producer, Jack Kohler. When we describe this podcast as a personal project, we mean it. Jack, like many Native Americans, knows at least one missing or murdered relative. This crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people is real – and too often it’s up to Native people to fight the good fight alone.  Do you have a story you'd like to see covered on Floodlights? Follow us on Instagram @floodlightspod and send us a message. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS! You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did Floodlights come to be? Originally aired in July 2024, this bonus episode explains how Floodlights was founded. JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a new fan of Floodlights! JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 2024, an investigator reached out to Floodlights to warn us about a Medicaid fraud scheme targeting people on reservations. Today, that investigator is interviewed under the name of "Liza." In this episode, Liza explains how organized groups are actively working to trick vulnerable people on reservations who want to get sober. The scheme, which essentially defrauds Medicaid for millions if not billions of dollars, offers fake sober living facilities to people who are suffering from addiction. Liza walks us through how the fraud scheme works and the warning signs that people should look for if they're approached by "representatives" claiming to work for sober living facilities. She also touches upon the reservation system at large, human trafficking and the potential correlation between this Medicaid fraud scheme and missing people cases. JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the chances that, in the same area just a few months apart, three young women all go missing and are all found murdered? In this episode, we take you to the East Bay near San Francisco where Elaine Davis, Leona Roberts and Cosette Ellison were all kidnapped from their homes. But what we also ask in this episode is why American suburbia seems safer to so many of us even when these types of crimes take place. And why is it that Tribal reservations have such a reputation for "danger," when brutal crimes take place in the "safest" parts of the US too? JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After attending a celebration at a local bar in Dulce, New Mexico, Melissa Montoya walked towards the back of the bar and was never seen again. More than two decades later, questions continue to swirl about the events of that night and the aftermath. From disturbing stories about her former boyfriend, to his mysterious death after her disappearance, Melissa's story has been overlooked for too long. So, where does Melissa Montoya's case stand today? And is it really possible that law enforcement are close to a breakthrough? JOIN US IN THE FLOOD ROOM Today, we're launching the Flood Room which is our interactive true crime platform. In the Flood Room, you’ll be able to watch new and extended interviews, see maps, case documents, discuss theories, go behind the scenes for each episode and join community calls with investigators and the rest of our Floodlights team. We're been working on this for a while and we've designed the most interactive true crime experience -- we'd love you to join. It's free to enter and we're going to be letting in our first 1000 founding members in (until spots fill). To join for free, head over to station.page/floodlights. We can't wait to get to know you. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Robinson was last seen leaving his job site in Buckeye, Arizona on June 23rd, 2021. The 24 year old hydro-geologist reportedly began driving westward in his Jeep before vanishing. His family have not seen or heard from him since that day. Earlier this year, we interviewed Daniel's father, David Robinson, who broke down the timeline of his son's case. In this UPDATES episode, we provide you with six key updates which came from our follow up interview with David in September 2024. If you missed the first interview with David, we've included it after the updates. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may have heard the phrase “missing and murdered indigenous women.” It’s movement that’s gained a lot of traction largely thanks to Native populations speaking up.  But, in reality, Indigenous men are also at risk of violence. Sometimes, I think we forget that.  Native people are roughly 10 times more likely to experience violence compared to the rest of the population. So, in this episode, we’re telling the stories of five men who either went missing or ended up dead on Tribal lands. These stories are from the archives.  Please share this episode with your loved ones and across social media to help the families of Nick, Virgil, Trey, Cole, and Noah. Do you have a story you'd like to see covered on Floodlights? Follow us on Instagram @floodlightspod and send us a message. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS! You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater. You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia. You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts. For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

42-year-old Melissa Montoya endured years of abuse at the hands of her partner. But in 2001, she vanished during a night out with friends in Dulce, New Mexico. In this episode, we interview Darlene Gomez, a relative, friend and lawyer who is fighting to find out what happened to Melissa -- and many other Indigenous people who are missing on Tribal lands. Do you have a story you'd like to see covered on Floodlights? Follow us on Instagram @floodlightspod and send us a message. CONNECT WITH FLOODLIGHTS! You can follow Laura @lauraelizabethfrater You can follow On Native Ground @onnativegroundmedia You can follow Blue Thistle Media @bluethistlepodcasts For a full list of episode sources, please reach out to [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices