EPISODE 61: 10 STORIES OF PEOPLE THAT VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

In this week's episode of Living in the Sprawl: Southern California's Most Adventurous Podcast, host Jon Steinberg shares his list of 10 stories of people that vanished without a trace in Southern California. His list includes: Robin Graham in Los Angeles in 1970, Tammy Rummel in Covina in 2016, Angelica Longoria in El Monte in 1985, Michael Van Zant in Hermosa Beach in 2016, Michael Negrete in Los Angeles in 1999, Tim Perryman in Agoura Hills in 2004, April Pitzer in Newberry Springs in 2004, Jared Negrete in the San Bernadino Mountains in 1991, Bryce Laspisas in Castaic Lake in 2013 and Patrick McDermott in San Diego in 2005.

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Transcript

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Hello listeners and fellow explorers. This is living in the sprawls lovely and talented producer slash wife, Lisa Steinberg. I wanted to thank all of you for your continuous support of the show. As a new podcast on the scene, John and I self-support the logistics and research that go into the show. The number one way to support the show is to rate, review and share this podcast with everyone, you know, Many of you have been doing this and it has helped immensely. I also invite you to check out our website and the show notes for other ways to support the show. We are currently working with companies. We currently use ourselves. To get discount codes for our listeners and support the show in the process. These companies include. Every table, just CBD store, gold belly cats, botanicals, and so much more. By using the links on our website, you are letting them know we sent you an intern, supporting the show. You can also support us on Patrion and pod fan. Please check out the website@livinginthesprawlpodcast.com. For updates on companies we are working with our testimonies links codes and new living in the sprawl merchandise Again thank you to all of you our lovely listeners for tuning in every week and allowing us to do what we love Without further ado you're humble correspondent John steinberg Hello and welcome. Do another installment of living in the sprawl, Southern California's most adventurous podcast. I am as always your humble correspondent and host. My name is John Steinberg and I am a joined. By my. Lovely and talented producer slash wife. Her name is Lisa Steinberg. We are the team here at sprawl enterprises. Ready to bring you yet? Another foray that great Dole expansive. Grandiose. Portion of territory. Running all the way up to and the north and down to the us border with Mexico in the south. We look at stories. We look at trends. Historical information, places of interest, anything, and everything to inspire you, to get the most out of living in the sprawl. On today's show. We often hear the adage. And then they just disappeared without a trace. Vanishings. Missing persons. Whether it's. The unrivaled popularity of programs. Like. America's most wanted. Mysteries at the museum. Disappeared. Most famously unsolved mysteries. There could be no debate. That's stories. Which do not feature. It conventional ending. Prove themselves to be endlessly. Fascinating. I remember being. Under the age of five, learning about Amelia Earhart. I was told she was one of the greatest. Pilots in American history. And to this, my follow-up question was. Where is she now? And I was told, well, She disappeared, actually. What do you mean she disappeared? Well, yeah, she. Went on. A very long flight. And she never came back. And I asked. Okay, well, did they, did they find her body? No. Did they find the plane? No. So then she could still be around somewhere. And my parents sort of casually responded back. I guess so. And that's what makes these particular stories different from the other crop? Of true crime related tales. That get passed around from television, showed a podcast to documentary. The difference is those stories have endings. We know what happened. With disappearance cases. There's always a reasonable doubt that lingers. Maybe the person chose to walk away. Start a new life in a new town with a fresh identity and a family unaware. Of possible skeletons in a deeply closed closet. The stories can be heartbreaking. Truly upsetting. Some of the worst. Within. It's true crimes purview. But there can be no debate. That disappearance stories represent. Some of the most fascinating. Anecdotes. To emerge. From Americas. Year long. Obsession. With all things true crime. So, let us begin our examination of 10. Stories surrounding. People that disappeared without a trace. In Southern California. And there were 10, the story of Robin Graham. Robin went missing in the year of our Lord, 1970. After last being seen. On a freeway. Off the Santa Monica and Vermont exit. In Los Angeles. She was. A teenager. Had a job at pier one imports. Uh, boyfriend. Her whole life. Way. Right in front of her. Robin's car ran out of gas. She pulled over. I found the nearest call box. And rang for assistance. When. The cavalry came. 10 minutes later, a mere 10 minutes later. Robin was gone. And she's never been seen or heard from again. Witnesses reported seeing Robin. This probably would have been before she made the call at the call box. With. Uh, gentlemen. Dark haired. It's um, I have stated that she even got into the car with this gentlemen. At the time. It being. The 1970s and Southern California. Serial killers. We're busy turning the golden state. Into a fertile breeding ground. For their nefarious. Desires. Not too far from the last place where Robyn was seen. Multiple. Young women had also gone missing except their bodies were later found. As the missing victims. We're actually. Victims of homicides. Originally from. The echo park area. Le Moyne street to be specific, which I knew just when I read it. Cause that's the street where Elliot Smith passed away also. Friends family members. And others in the community were devastated. When Robin Graham disappeared in 1970. At number nine. The disappearance of. Tammy. Rummel from Covina. This happened. A few years back. 2016 to be specific. Rummel was. Last seen. At an ATM withdrawing, a hundred dollars. With an unfamiliar man. Standing beside her. The Covina resident. And grandmother. Hasn't been seen. In several years. Tammy had. All of the love in the world for her family. And we is very excited to be able to spend as much time as possible. With some of her recently born grandchildren. The obvious. Move here would be to find. The gentleman. Who was standing next to Tammy at that ATM. Probably the last person to see her. Well, authorities did find that individual. And cleared him of any suspicions of wrongdoing. So the disappearance of Tammy Ramelle is another one in a long line. Of disappearance cases that. Don't make a whole lot of sense. You could come up with various theories. Or scenarios. That potentially could have taken place. But. Most of the time, this is a fool's errand. Tammy's case has been highlighted on a couple of different podcasts. And as. We always do we hope. At some point that her family. And the people that she cared about will. Find the answers that they've been searching for. Tammy ramelle disappeared from west covina in 2016. Number eight, the disappearance of Angelica. Long Correa from El Monte. In 1985. Angelica. Was a bright. Big hide 15 year old. Living. With her family. In Elmani a city. On the Eastern side of Los Angeles county. According to. To her younger brother. She had told him. The night before she disappeared. That she might be leaving. And that she wanted him to remember that she. Would always love him. She went by angel. And have begun to rebel against. The strict. Household rules that were set forth by. Her father and stepmother. Right before her disappearance. She was caught making out. With the boyfriend. Bye. Her parents and this just, wasn't going to fly dating. Wasn't going to fly. Making out all of that. That was all off the table. This was a strictly religious household. I listened to an interview with her sister where sister talked about. The wardrobe that angel was forced. To where on a daily basis, we're talking dresses that would extend. About as far down as possible. And would go. Right up to one's neck. Since 1985. Angel has never been seen again. Her brother was the last person to see her when he told her. That she wanted him to remember her as the person who loved him the most. There seem like some secrets that probably exist with this family, um, that may or may not come out at some point. And those might hold. The key. Understanding. What might've happened? With. Angel Longoria. But as of now, We don't know. So if. It was a runaway situation. An example of. A 15 year old that no longer wished to live beneath. The roof of exacting. Overly strict religious parents. She wanted something else out of life and just wanted to get. Out. Of El Monte. Whatever. May have happened. To her. We certainly hope. That the story. Isn't over. That somewhere somehow. Some way. Angel Longoria is still alive. And making the most out of her. The life. And there were seven disappearance of Michael van Zandt. He disappeared. From her most of beach. In 2016. He's never been seen. Since a night of partying with some friends. Turned into. An absolute nightmare. Michael. Lived in the Lancaster area. Where he cared for. His two sons. And tried his best to have a. Cordial relationship. With his ex-wife. Looking to take the edge off a bit. He and some coworkers said about a plan. To have a grand old time. During a weekend. In Hermosa beach. The crew headed down from the antelope valley. Got the party started. Upon arrival. Hand. Matriculated in. The peer adjacent sort of downtown. Hermosa beach area. This is an area. Chocked full of bars at restaurants, even the lighthouse jazz cafe. It's a really cool. Area popular. With younger crowds. Because of the nightlife. Well, waiting to get into a certain. Club. Michael told. His friends that he really had to go to the bathroom. He tried to go to the liquor store. Adjacent to the line where they were standing. It was told he couldn't use the bathroom there. And. That was the beginning. Of what was to. Ultimately prove to be. A frustrating. Seemingly impossible. Turn of events. Michael's friends decide they're sick of waiting to get into the bar club. Uh, so they leave. Michael. Meanwhile is looking for a bathroom somewhere, believing that his friends are still going to be in line by the time he gets back. Ultimately. Michael never reunited with his group of friends. And what's crazy about this particular story. There's a great episode on. The investigation discovery program disappeared. Which Chronicles this case. And if you watch that episode, you'll see there's all of this closed circuit television footage. Which shows. Michael walking back and forth. Through the area. Clearly looking for his friends and his friends are doing the same thing. And on this one occasion, They miss each other by about 35 yards. In the end. Michael was never seen again. He's believed to have fallen into the Pacific ocean. And drowned. But even after. A multitude. Of rescue teams were brought in. In search of Michael's body. Nothing was ever found. This is yet another example. Have a family. Dying for answers. And there simply are none to be had. It's the disappearance of Michael Vanzant in Hermosa beach. At number seven. And number six, the disappearance of Michael Negretti. The gradient went missing. From Dykstra hall. The dorm. Where he lived. On campus at UCLA. As a freshmen. Even playing video games that night. And hanging out with friends. In someone else's dorm room. He told the friends. That he'd be back later. And no one has ever seen or heard from him again. Now Michael Negretti was at UCLA on a music. The scholarship. It seemed music. Was where he really wanted to ply his life's trade. Apparently. One witness said. They believed he might've gone to a bus stop. looking to. Meet up with someone in a different part of town. Drug sniffing, cadaver dogs were brought in. And actually traced his scent to a bus stop near sunset and Bellagio. But nothing was ever really made of. That discovery because. They didn't actually find anything other than these dogs started sniffing a bunch of. Things that were there. this is one of the more. Bizarre disappearances. Then I've encountered. Uh, 19 year old. College student. On the surface. Would be the last person in the world you'd expect to go. Missing in the way that he did. construction work. Was underway. Nearby theories have been presented that perhaps. He fell into some type of construction hole and then the hole got covered up But again, No one really knows what happened to Michael. So for the sake of his family and his loved ones, we do hope that they receive the answers. They so desperately. Sikh at some point. The disappearance of Michael Negretti in 1999 from UCLA. Is number six And number five, Timothy Vern Perriman. Disappeared. In a Gora Hills in 2004. Witnesses. Saw the 53 year old father. Walking from his property. At around two 30 in the afternoon. And that was the last time anyone saw Mr. Perry, man. Reports did emerge. That Perry men had been going through something of a difficult time. There had been. A few financial setbacks. Some health related issues had begun to. Rear their ugly head into the picture. This is not all that far from. The place where Matree S Richardson. Uh, went missing. Which was a case highlighted on a prior installment. Of the podcast. Many speculated that Tim ventured into the Santa Monica mountains. Which. Lisa, and I can tell you. Or some of the most. Beautiful. Mountains that you'll ever come across, but also some of the more treacherous. It's very easy to begin a hike. In the Santa Monica mountains. And court certain death by walking right up to the edge. Of a cliff that descends down a hundred feet. There are countless. Real world. Invisible booby traps. In the Santa Monica mountains. And if you don't know what you're doing, It's very easy to get yourself in a bit of trouble. Tim Berryman's body has never been discovered. And. No one has heard from him since his 2004 disappearance. I number four. The disappearance of April pits are from new Berry Springs in 2004. The Newberry Springs area is roughly 20 miles to the east of Barstow. We're talking to Mojave desert with a capital M here. Newberry Springs. Is the kind of area. Where you go. When you don't want to be found. Pitzer. Uh, mother of two. Had recently begun a second chapter in life. Previously married a homeowner. And vital member of the Texas community where she resided. Pitzer. We lived. In near perpetual. A perpetual state of anxiety, if you will. When she was 22 years old, she got herself into a bit of trouble. Picked up a DWI. And. And exchange. For avoiding prosecution. April agreed. To work as an informant. For authorities. Though she was. Uh, mother of two. Five years later. She was asked to. Testify against. Individuals associated with a pretty large meth. Organization. Roughly 30 different people went to prison in large part because of her testimony. And so even. When she was married and living with her husband and two children, she was always fearful. That one day. A person might enter the home. And seek bloody revenge. So she moved out to Newberry Springs. Working. For a while at the famous Baghdad cafe in town. And doing. Quite a bit of. Desert couch surfing. She had a plan. To come back home. She been in the Mojave desert. For quite a while she wanted to get back. To Arkansas. Where her mother was planning on moving. Where she could be a better mother to her own children. But before the two could ever reunite. April vanished. Pieces of clothing from April were discovered. Within the Ludlow minds. And many fear. That our friend or acquaintance. Might have taken revenge on April four. Her cooperation with authorities back in the day. Or. That you met with foul play from someone and it had nothing to do with that. But April pits are. Has been missing. Since 2004. When she vanished from Newberry Springs. Number three. 13 year old, Jared Negretti disappeared. While on a class outing. He and his other schoolmates were on a field trip. In the San Bernardino mountains. Where they were climbing. Around. Mount San Gorgonio. Jared was having difficulty keeping up with the group. So he was instructed to remain in place. While the rest of his classmates. Embarked upon the more difficult portions of the walk. And they would all meet up with him later. When the group. Came back down. Jared was nowhere to be found. A camera that he'd been holding. Was visible. As was. A pair of his glasses. This seems like something. That would have happened in the 1940s, fifties. Definitely not the nineties. The idea. That a chaperone wasn't. Assigned to wait. With Jared until everyone got back from the rest of the hike. Is incomprehensible. Everyone knows you use the buddy system. On field trips and school outings like that. I just cannot wrap my head around the fact. That the chaperones just left and said, we'll be back later. Lengthy. Searches were undertaken. Using helicopters. Cadaver dogs. Large crowds of volunteers assisted and aided in the search. But young. Jared Negretti was never seen again. This has to be the ultimate nightmare for any parent out there. So please. Remember the buddy system going forward. Jared Negretti. Vanished. From Mount San Gorgonio. And we hope his family receives answers that they're looking for. Uh, number two. Bryce last pieces. He disappeared. In Castaic lake. In 2013. Bryce was a college student at Sierra college in Northern California. And was. Driving. From that campus. Back to his family home in orange county. The city of Laguna Niguel. Bryce stopped in a community called Buttonwillow. Maybe three hours from Laguna Niguel. And for some reason, he stayed in the area for. Over a day. His family didn't understand what was going on. They call the authorities to go and do like a welfare check on him. They found him, he seemed fine that got him on the phone with his mother. He told her that he was coming home. But he just kept lingering and Buttonwillow. Until the family made a second call and authorities did a second welfare check. On Bryce, just to make sure everything was going okay. It was very peculiar as to why he wasn't simply. Driving. Down to Laguna Niguel as. Had been expected. His family. I'm sure. Hoping that it was him. Got a knock on the front door, but it wasn't Bryce. It was a California highway patrolman. Who said that they had found Bryce's car just outside Castaic lake. Near the area of late Hughes. This is. In the antelope valley. Kind of near Palmdale and Lancaster. He'd been in a car accident. The car that he'd been driving. Had taken a tumble down a really large embankment. Inside the car at back window had been shattered out. Where authorities believe Bryce had escaped. But there was no sign of him. This is also profile on an episode of the investigation discovery program. Disappeared. And one of the. Police officers it's interviewed for the program. Just flat out, says. I think. He walked away. I first heard this term, this walked away several years ago and it was initially difficult to wrap my head around. But in the parlance of disappearance cases, the idea of quote unquote, walking away means. Abandoning every. Aspect. Of one's old life in preference for a new one. Different setting unfamiliar place with a new name. All systems go for a fresh start. And this is one of the few examples where I've actually seen a case. Well, I think that's probably what happened. Bryce had mentioned to his mother on. A recent phone call that he had. A ton of things that he wanted to tell her, but not yet. He'd been experimenting with drugs. Eve recently broken up with his girlfriend. He'd even started giving away some of his possessions to others. A lot of those are warning signs. That traditionally. Lend themselves to the reading that. Bryce might've taken his own life. But extensive searches were commissioned around Castaic lake. And. Nothing untoward was ever found. I'm in agreement with the detective interviewed on the dis appeared episode. It seems very much like Bryce. Walked away. And he's still alive. Under a different name. But that it's all very much been of his own. Volition. And we've arrived at our number one spot. As we examine. 10 cases of people that vanished without a trace. Within Southern California. Case of Patrick McDermott. who went missing? In 2005. After. Boarding a. Fishing boat from San Pedro. Which was to take him. Down the coast. To fish. Off of. San Diego. Now McDermott. Or this case might be recognizable to some because of its connection with Olivia Newton, John. Patrick McDermott. And Olivia Newton, John were. On and off partners. For many years. I know that this is a case which has garnered considerable. Publicity. Over time in. Olivia's native Australia. What was once. A. Favorite pastime of Patrick's fishing. Might have ultimately been. The last thing he ever did. But not everyone believes that. The accepted. Story here. Is that Patrick McDermott? Went on a fishing trip. He fell in the water at some point. Organizers of the trip failed to do a head count before leaving. So when they got back. To port in St. Pedro. Patrick was nowhere to be found. Conspiracy theories. We're launched almost immediately pointing to. The amount of money that Patrick McDermott. Oh, the next wife and child support. That he had declared bankruptcy. Some other financial. Issues that have been plaguing him. And. Private investigator. At Klein. Whose name came up. Actually quite a lot during my research for this particular episode. Undertook efforts to try and find Patrick. And his discovery actually led. To him declaring. Patrick is still alive. He lives in Mexico. He doesn't want to be found. He's been living. Under a different name. And would like to be left alone. Other. Independent outlets have attempted to verify Klein's initial claim. Some have been able to do this others haven't. The whole thing is pretty hazy. And inconclusive. And that's why. The case of Patrick McDermott. Has to. Be at the top of this list. He very much. might still be alive. Or it's entirely possible that he drowned, like the official. Story proclaims. We do hope. For the sake of his loved ones, Olivia Newton, John and everyone else that has found themselves invested in the case. that they do get answers. But Patrick McDermott's disappearance. Is the number one on our list. Of 10. Southern California stories of people that disappeared without a trace. And that's going to do it for another episode of the program. We'd like to thank everybody for their continued support means the world to us. If you could hop on apple iTunes, leave us a five star rating and a kind review. Those two things help dramatically. On the business end. Our Instagram handle is a living in the sprawl podcast. We invite you to correspond with us, write us. Hey. Letter with. Thoughts for upcoming episodes that you would like to hear discussed on the show? Where did we go? Right? Where might we have done a bit better? It's all invaluable to the team here at sprawl enterprises. Living in the sprawl life. gmail.com is where you can reach us. We'd like to draw your attention to our tremendous website and it's on this tremendous website that you can get your hands on living on the sprawl merchandise. If you can think of it and it's living in the sprawl related, the website is where you get your hands. On all of it. We've also got our living in the sprawl guide. Which is there as something of a cheat sheet. So you don't have to go combing through old episodes, looking for specific recommendations. It's all right there. Laid out in plain detail. Covered in the living in the sprawl guide. And we'd also like to remind folks. About our apple subscription and Patrion subscriptions, you can become a member. And in doing so you'll receive bonus content. We've done episodes on the best burgers in the sprawl. Pizza ice cream. Fish markets pancakes. We've got one coming on. Barbecue. And if you want to hear those special episodes, the only way that you can is by becoming an apple subscription member or a Patrion subscriber. So it's on behalf of myself, your. Humble correspondent and host. My name is John Steinberg. Joined by my lovely and talented producer slash wife. Her name is Lisa Steinberg. Thanks again for listening to another episode of living in the sprawl, Southern California is most adventurous podcast until next time.