On May 15, 2026, news broke that Gretchen Fleming's remains had been positively identified. That same day, it was also announced that Preston Pierce had been arrested on charges related to her murder. This story is developing, so this week we have a mini update on the charges and what is happening next on the case.

What follows is our original episode on Gretchen Fleming from February 23, 2024.

After dealing with a breakup and the sudden loss of her mother, Gretchen Fleming found herself back in her hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia. She was staying with family as she tried to get herself back together and figure out her next move.

On December 3, 2022, Gretchen told her family that she wasn’t going to be home that night, and she headed out to a local bar. After going to a second bar with a friend, Gretchen walked out and was never seen again.

Did the friend, who later turned in Gretchen’s purse and cell phone know something about her disappearance, or was it the man she was seen leaving the last bar with who had something to hide? For over a year, the small town of Parkersburg has been abuzz with theories of what happened that night, and continue to hold out hope that someday soon, they will find out who really knows what happened to Gretchen Fleming.

Anyone with information regarding Gretchen Fleming’s disappearanc is asked to call lead Detective James Zimmerman at 304-424-1072 or the Police Department at 304-424-8444.

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On the night of February 2, 2006, Ali Gilmore came home from a late shift, got into bed, and started reading a prenatal book. She was four months pregnant. Ali had a complicated life: an estranged husband and a boyfriend. Did one of them lure her out of her home that night?

The Tallahassee Police Department has called this the largest case file it has ever accumulated. There have been twenty years of interviews, searches, billboards, and vigils. Yet still no answers.

If you have any information regarding Dwight Aldrige or the case, please call the Tallahassee Police Department at (850) 891-4200, or to make an anonymous tip to Crimestoppers at (850) 574-TIPS.

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On the night of February 7, 2018, 23-year-old Khadijah Britton was at a friend's house in Covelo, California. Just eight days earlier, she had escaped from her boyfriend's home after he assaulted her, causing serious injuries. Khadijah reported the attack to police, but she was scared of what he would do to her if she followed through. That night, he showed up with a gun.

Witnesses reported that she was forced into the back of a black Mercedes sedan, and Khadijah Britton was never seen again. Her alleged abductor, Negie Fallis IV, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and kidnapping. Those charges were dropped. Everybody in that community knows what happened to Khadijah Britton. The sheriff knows. The FBI knows. Her family knows. And the man they believe is responsible has walked free, over and over again, for eight years.

If you have any information about Khadijah's disappearance, please contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at 707-463-4411 or the FBI San Francisco Division at 415-553-7400. You can also submit tips anonymously online through the MCSO's anonymous tip line at wetip.com. A combined reward of up to $120,000 is available for information leading to Khadijah's location or the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her disappearance. The Help Find Khadijah Britton Facebook group is still active and maintained by her family.

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On the night of March 7, 2021, 41-year-old Sarm Heslop had dinner with her boyfriend on the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands. It was a relaxed evening at a local bar, and afterwards, they took a short dinghy ride back to the 47-foot catamaran they lived on together, and went to bed. But by sunrise, Sarm was gone.

Her phone, wallet and passport were still on the boat, but she was not. And the man who was the last person to see her refused to talk. To this day, Ryan Bane maintains that Sarm must have gone overboard accidentally, but Sarm’s family believes there’s much more to the story, and five years later, they’re still trying to figure out what happened on that boat.

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In 2015, 19-year-old Kately Akens was visiting her family in Spotsylvania, Virginia and celebrating her new nephew. On December 5, she was supposed to board a flight back home to her fiancee in Arizona, but she never made it to the airport.

A suspect quickly emerged in her case, but police were never able to find enough evidence to make an arrest. Then, in April 2026, 10 years after she failed to board that plane, The Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office announced that they had arrested Katelin’s ex-stepfather, James Branton. Though Katelin was named as a victim, the arrest wasn’t related to her disappearance. Despite this, authorities and Katelin’s loved ones hope that they’re one step closer to finally getting the answers they’ve been searching for.

If you have any information on Katelin Akens’s whereabouts, please contact the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office at 540-582-7115.

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This episode was originally released in 2022. Update episode can be found right above this one (Released 5/1/26).

In 2015, 19-year-old Katelin Akens was getting ready to start a new life. The teenager fell in love, and left her small Virginia town to move across the country to Arizona with her fiancee. She was living her life and making changes, but when her sister gave birth to a son that December, Katelin immediately flew home to meet her new nephew. The trip was a short one, only about four days. She had a plane ticket back to Arizona on December 5, but she never made it to the airport. Six years later, Katelin still hasn’t been found, but her family believes they know exactly who knows the full story.

If you have any information on Katelin Akens’s whereabouts, please contact the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office at 540-582-7115.

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On the morning of October 14, 2003, 23-year-old Felipe Santos was heading to work at a concrete and masonry company in North Naples, Florida. He was riding with two of his brothers when his white Ford Tempo collided with another car on Immokalee Road. It was a minor fender-bender, and no one was hurt. What happened next would depend on who you ask. But after that morning, Felipe was never seen again.

Three months later, on January 12, 2004, 27-year-old Terrance Williams kissed his mother goodbye, handed her some gas money, and said, "I'll see you later, momma." He drove his white Cadillac toward North Naples where he was pulled over by a police officer. Terrance was also never seen again.

These two men didn’t know each other. They never met, but their disappearances have been entwined for over two decades, and many people believe that they went missing because they both encountered the same man.

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On the morning of April 15, 2005, a well-respected district attorney in central Pennsylvania took a day off work, climbed into his beloved red Mini Cooper, and called his girlfriend to tell her he was going for a drive. That was the last anyone heard from him.

Ray Gricar had spent twenty years prosecuting murderers and rapists in Centre County, Pennsylvania, and was on the cusp of retirement. What made him leave his house that day, and did he know that he was never coming home? Now, over twenty years later, Ray Gricar remains missing, and the questions just keep multiplying.

A $5,000 reward is being offered by Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers for information that leads to a resolution in his case. If you have any information about the disappearance of Ray Gricar, you can contact Pennsylvania State Police at 814-355-7545, or the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-472-8477.

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