The Vanished Podcast

In February 1996, 25-year-old Ricardo “Richie” Torres left Southern California on what his family understood to be one final marijuana deal. Richie had recently become a father and had been talking about getting out of the business. Before he left, he also warned his family about some of the people around him.
Richie traveled north toward South San Francisco in his red truck with a man he knew through the marijuana trade. During the drive, he called his girlfriend and told her they were about an hour away from their destination. He promised to call again when they arrived. That call never came.
Richie was never seen by his family again, but his truck was. Just days later, it surfaced hundreds of miles away in Rosarito, Mexico. Then, four months after Richie disappeared, an anonymous letter arrived at the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. The writer claimed Richie had been murdered in South San Francisco. The letter named several people, identified a specific address, and included details about Richie’s truck. Some of those details would later appear to line up with information uncovered by the family and investigators.
The letter seemed like it could finally lead to answers. Instead, Richie remained missing, no one was charged, and decades passed without any progress.
Now, Richie’s brothers are trying to understand not only what happened to him, but what happened to the investigation that followed. Who wrote the anonymous letter? How did that person know what they knew? And after 30 years, could the information needed to find Richie still be out there?
If you have any information about the disappearance of Richie Torres, please contact the Chula Vista Police Department at 619-691-5151 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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This episode originally aired on January 12, 2026. On January 12, 2025, 50-year-old Robert Maguire, known to those closest to him as Bobby, said goodbye to his father and boarded a bus in Wilmington, Delaware. His destination was Scranton, Pennsylvania. Although the cities are only a few hours apart, Bobby's bus route included a stop at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, where he was expected to transfer to a second bus. His cousin was waiting for a call to let him know he had arrived and was ready to be picked up. That call never came.
At first, the silence didn't raise an immediate alarm. Bobby's cousin assumed he had decided not to make the trip, while his family in Delaware believed he had arrived safely. But as more time passed without any word from Bobby, those assumptions fell away, and his family realized something was wrong.
With multiple buses, a major transit hub, and time unaccounted for, his family was left uncertain about where Bobby had disappeared or where to focus their search. One year later, when we first shared his story, they were still desperately searching for answers.
Since this episode originally aired, significant new information has come to light, leading to developments that no one could have anticipated. We've added an important update at the end of the episode about what happened next, the questions that remain, and how an unexpected connection changed everything for Bobby's family.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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In Part 1 of Niqui McCown's story, we retraced her final known hours before she disappeared from Richmond, Indiana, on July 22, 2001. More than three months later, Niqui's GMC Jimmy was discovered at an apartment complex in Dayton, Ohio, raising new questions about where she had gone and who she may have encountered.
The discovery also brought renewed attention to Niqui's coworkers and social circle in Dayton, including a man named Tommy Swint. Over the years, conflicting accounts circulated about the nature of Niqui and Tommy's relationship. Her family disputes claims that they were romantically involved, but they also recall troubling behavior that suggested Tommy's interest in Niqui may have gone beyond friendship.
This week, we’re going to work through what Niqui's family remembers about Tommy, including incidents that raised concerns long before her disappearance, examine how he became a significant focus of the investigation, and the shocking development in an entirely different case that brought renewed attention to him years later.
More than 25 years later, Niqui's disappearance continues to shape the lives of those who love her. As the next generation takes a more active role in the search, her family remains determined to find answers and bring Niqui home.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Niqui McCown, please contact the Richmond Police Department at 765-983-7247.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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On Sunday, July 22, 2001, 28-year-old Marilyn “Niqui” McCown attended church with her nine-year-old daughter, Payton, and her fiancé, Bobby. Niqui had a lot to look forward to. She was preparing to get married in less than a month, continuing her education, and building a career in criminal justice. That afternoon, she headed out to do laundry, something she'd done countless Sundays before.
But during a stop at her parents' house, Niqui seemed troubled. Her mother later recalled that Niqui had been pacing and said someone at the laundromat was bothering her. Despite the uncomfortable encounter, Niqui left to retrieve her laundry, expecting to return shortly, but Niqui never came back.
As the hours passed, Niqui's fiancé began calling friends and relatives, and her family searched the roads between Richmond, Indiana, and Dayton, Ohio, hoping to find some sign of her. Payton remembers the growing panic that evening, watching family members come and go, and waking up the next morning to discover that her mother was still missing.
Twenty-five years later, Niqui's family is still trying to understand what happened during those final hours.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Niqui McCown, please contact the Richmond Police Department at 765-983-7247.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
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This episode first aired on June 29, 2020. On September 26, 2018, 57-year-old Kimberly Flint disappeared from rural Rusk County, Texas. That afternoon, authorities responded to a single-vehicle accident on Highway 84 near the Angelina River. They found Kim's Jeep crashed along the bridge, but there was no sign of the driver. When police contacted the registered owner, Kim's husband, James Roy Flint, he was surprised to learn that the Jeep had been involved in an accident. Kim rarely left home, and he couldn't imagine why she would have been driving in that area. James rushed home to check on his wife, but she was nowhere to be found.
Just over an hour before the accident was reported, Kim had spoken with her husband on the phone and asked him to bring home food. Her purse and phone were still at home, and there was no indication that she had planned to go anywhere. Her family struggled to understand what could have happened in such a short window of time or why she would have left the scene of the crash.
Despite extensive searches involving multiple law enforcement agencies, tracking dogs, drones, and other resources, investigators found no trace of Kim. Her family was left wondering whether she had been injured in the accident and wandered into the surrounding woods or if someone else had been involved in her disappearance. As the years passed without answers, the mystery of what happened to Kim only deepened.
More than three years after Kim vanished, a discovery was made just a mile from where her Jeep had crashed. Stay tuned to the end of this episode for an update on Kim's case.
If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.
Follow The Vanished on social media at:
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.