For the finale of Murder in the Black: Unsolved Mysteries, Steph examines two cases in which recovering a person’s body did not answer the most important question: What happened to them?

Ricky McCormick was found dead near a Missouri field in June 1999. Inside his pockets were two pages covered in handwritten letters, numbers and symbols. More than a decade later, the FBI publicly released the pages after its own cryptanalysts were unable to decipher them. But members of Ricky’s family questioned whether he could have written the notes at all.

Were the pages connected to Ricky’s death, a private form of shorthand—or simply an unexplained distraction from the investigation?

Sixteen years later, Henry McCabe disappeared after spending an evening with friends in Minnesota. During his final known hours, Henry’s wife received a disturbing voicemail filled with unusual sounds and fragmented speech. His body was eventually recovered from Rush Lake, but the discovery did not explain how he got there or what happened after he was dropped off that night.

The coded pages and unsettling recording have become the most recognizable details in these cases. But neither provides a complete story.

In this episode, Steph separates what is documented from what has been repeated online and returns to the question still facing both families: How did Ricky McCormick and Henry McCabe get from their final known locations to the places where they were found?

Timestamps

00:01 — Ricky McCormick’s mysterious handwritten pages
01:01 — Introducing the Unsolved Mysteries finale
02:29 — Why Ricky’s cause of death remained undetermined
03:27 — Reconstructing Ricky’s final movements
05:48 — Ricky’s family questions whether he wrote the pages
06:16 — Addressing Ricky’s criminal history
07:11 — The Florida trip and concerns that Ricky was afraid
08:38 — Hospital visits, Ricky’s final call and his last reported sighting
09:37 — Aunt Gloria remembers the last time she saw Ricky
11:52 — Decomposition and the limitations of the autopsy
13:16 — The FBI’s description of the mysterious pages
15:32 — Repeated characters, possible patterns and the absence of a translation
17:40 — The FBI asks the public for help
19:58 — Ricky’s relatives challenge the coded-writing narrative
22:08 — Investigative leads that never produced conclusive evidence
23:55 — How the notes became the center of Ricky’s story
26:41 — Introducing Henry McCabe
27:40 — Henry’s life, family and career
29:06 — The night out and the disputed gas-station drop-off
31:33 — The disturbing voicemail
33:36 — Search efforts and changes to the public timeline
35:31 — Henry’s body is recovered from Rush Lake
36:30 — Probable drowning without a complete explanation
38:50 — Questions about the drop-off, Henry’s keys and his wallet
41:43 — Remembering Henry beyond the recording
43:10 — Parallels to other unexplained deaths
45:03 — Closing the Unsolved Mysteries series

If you have information

If you have information concerning Ricky McCormick’s death, contact Crime Stoppers at 866-371-8477.

When discussing Ricky’s handwritten pages, focus on genuine handwriting samples or recognizable habits rather than unsupported online theories. A proposed translation is not evidence unless it can be independently verified.

Do you believe Ricky’s notes were connected to his death? What do you hear when you listen to Henry’s final recording? And which case from this three-part series stayed with you the most?

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In the second installment of Murder in the Black: Unsolved Mysteries, Steph examines the disappearances of Najah Ferrell in Indiana and Kierra Coles in Chicago.

Najah disappeared on March 15, 2019, the day she was expected to begin a new job at Panera Bread. She never arrived at work and failed to pick up her children—both out of character. Her belongings were later recovered near Interstate 465 and Lafayette Road, and her 2018 Nissan Altima was found abandoned in Indianapolis. Weeks later, human remains were discovered more than 100 miles away near Crown Point. DNA confirmed they belonged to Najah.

Investigators have never publicly explained how Najah traveled from Avon to Indianapolis, how her car and belongings came to be abandoned in separate locations, or how part of her remains ended up near Crown Point.

Kierra Coles was 26, approximately three months pregnant and working for the United States Postal Service when she vanished from Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood in October 2018. Expanded surveillance later showed Kierra with a man identified as a person of interest and withdrawing money from a Walgreens ATM at approximately 10:43 p.m. Her vehicle later returned to her neighborhood without her. The man was seen entering Kierra’s building and leaving with unknown items, but the timeline still does not reveal what happened after Kierra disappeared from view.

The cases are not publicly connected, but they share a frustrating pattern: cameras and physical evidence captured pieces of each woman’s final known movements without revealing what happened in the spaces between them.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Najah’s life as a mother of five, including three foster children
• The belongings recovered near I-465 and Lafayette Road
• Her abandoned Nissan Altima and the remains found near Crown Point
• The missing link between Najah’s home, vehicle, belongings and remains
• Kierra’s pregnancy and career with the Postal Service
• Surveillance showing Kierra with a man identified as a person of interest
• The 10:43 p.m. Walgreens ATM footage
• Kierra’s vehicle returning without her
• The purse, cellphone and packed lunch reportedly found in her vehicle
• The increased reward of up to $250,000 in Kierra’s case
• Why surveillance can document movement without providing an answer

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Najah’s disappearance
02:29 — Why these cases are paired
03:25 — Najah’s family and new job
07:01 — Belongings found near I-465
07:30 — Najah’s abandoned Altima
11:48 — Remains found near Crown Point
13:42 — The unexplained route through Indiana
17:33 — Questions surrounding Najah’s final hours
19:42 — Kierra’s life, pregnancy and postal career
21:07 — The surveillance timeline
21:35 — Walgreens ATM footage
23:14 — Kierra’s vehicle returns without her
26:55 — Kierra’s belongings are found
30:45 — Expanded surveillance released
32:41 — Reward increased to $250,000
35:48 — Why the cases are paired
37:14 — The limits of surveillance
40:08 — Final case recaps
42:33 — Closing and tip information

IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION

For information about Najah Ferrell’s movements, vehicle or belongings recovered near I-465 and Lafayette Road, contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana or the Hendricks County Communications Center.

For information concerning Kierra Coles, contact the United States Postal Inspection Service and reference case number 2693502.

Please share Najah and Kierra’s names, especially with anyone who lived in Indiana or Chicago when they disappeared. A detail that seemed insignificant at the time could help close one of the gaps in these timelines.

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Follow the show, leave a five-star rating and review, and share this episode with someone who will continue saying Najah Ferrell and Kierra Coles’ names.

A little girl disappears from her bedroom. A mother is killed while her children sleep. Decades later, their families are still fighting for answers.

Steph opens the Unsolved Mysteries series with two cases: the unsolved murder of 4-year-old Dannarriah Finley in Orange, Texas, and the arrest nearly 27 years after Bridget Lockhart’s 1999 killing in Atlanta.

Through the searches, physical evidence, unanswered questions, and a daughter’s determination to revisit her mother’s case, this episode explores what keeps an investigation alive—and what it takes to move it forward.

Dannarriah’s case remains unsolved. In Bridget’s case, Janarra Sherrer has been charged but has not been convicted. An arrest begins a legal process; it does not establish guilt.

In this episode

• Dannarriah’s disappearance and the community search to find her.

• The discovery on Pleasure Island and the clues investigators recovered.

• Circumstantial evidence, DNA testing, and the challenges of aging evidence.

• Bridget’s killing and her daughter Elandra’s efforts to get answers.

• The renewed investigation, arrest, and questions about evidence handling.

• Why both families’ searches for justice continue.

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