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A Simpler Time True Crime
I’m Megan, your host, and each week I revisit unsolved cases from decades past—stories that have too often been forgotten or overlooked. Together, we examine the facts, question the myths of “the good old days,” and ask whether a simpler time was ever really a safer one.
This podcast honors the people at the heart of each case—focusing not on sensationalism, but on the lives affected and the justice still waiting to be served.
A Simpler Time True Crime
The Disappearance of Darwin Vest
Darwin Vest was a bit of a local celebrity in Idaho Falls. He was known locally as Spider Man because of his passion for studying spiders (and snakes, and other creatures that many of us run away from). His biggest claim to fame was identifying and naming the Hobo Spider that had made its way into homes all over the Pacific Northwest. He was an expert at studying venom in snakes, spiders, and plants and had been used as an expert on these topics all over the country, from college lecture halls to court rooms. In June of 1999, he had secured a deal to sell his Hobo Spider Trap invention and was celebrating at his weekly trivia night at his favorite local bar with friends. But after he left the bar that night, he stepped into the darkness never to be seen again. Did Darwin accidentally fall into the Snake River or did he meet with foul play?
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https://charleyproject.org/case/darwin-kenneth-vest
https://thedeckpodcast.com/darwin-vest/
https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP2091
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/sep/14/regions-nasty-hobo-spiders-hit-their-toxic-peak/
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=367886020084189&id=264247777114681&set=a.279291435610315
All Newspaper.com archived articles found under username: simplertimecrimepod (unable to list all due to character restrictions)
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00042059.htm
https://www.instagram.com/simplertimecrimepod/?hl=en