The Suspicious Death of Michelle Thomas

 

Michelle Thomas was found deceased alongside a highway in Wagner, Oklahoma during June 2005. The young woman was only 25 years old at the time of her death. The investigation into Michelle's death has been open and unsolved for over two decades. Many of the details, including how Michelle died, remain a mystery to this day. 

Michelle's stepfather, John Waggoner, worked as a police dispatcher for the Talihina Police Department at the time of Michelle's death. On June 23rd, 2005, Waggoner was driving along State Highway 1 when he noticed a passerby had stopped at a pull-off at the State Highway 82 junction. He decided to pull over himself to check the scene. It was then that Waggoner saw something unexpected about 10 feet away from the road: the badly decomposed body of his stepdaughter.

Michelle's body was ultimately identified via dental records. An investigation into Michelle's death was immediately launched, but a cause of death was unable to be determined. Detectives stated that this was due to her body having been left in the Oklahoma summer heat for nearly two days, which sped up decomposition. 

At first, Waggoner thought Michelle might have gotten hit by a car. However, investigators reportedly said that Michelle did not have any broken bones, nor did she have any other obvious signs of trauma. Additionally, a toxicology report ruled that Michelle did not have any drugs or alcohol in her system at the time of her death.

According to reports, Michelle was last seen alive during the early morning hours of June 22nd, 2005. She had been at her grandmother's home in Talihina but left the residence on foot around 2:00 AM. For unknown reasons, she left her car behind. Michelle was later seen walking in downtown Talihina around 4:30 AM - an area close to where her body was later found. 

Investigators questioned the people in Michelle's life but were unable to find a person of interest. Michelle's ex-boyfriend, with whom she had recently broken up, was cooperative with the investigation and is not believed to have been involved in her death. It is unknown if Michelle was seen with anyone else in the hours leading up to her passing. 

Michelle's family members have pointed out some other suspicious circumstances surrounding her death as well. Michelle always had long blonde hair, but when her body was found, her hair was short and black.  Additionally, Waggoner has questioned why or how there were seemingly no witnesses. The location along the highway where Michelle was found reportedly has a decent amount of traffic throughout the night. How is it possible that nobody saw anything until the evening of June 23rd?

That question, along with the many other questions in this case, remain unanswered. Michelle's death has been classified as a cold case by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. If you have any information that could help solve her case, please contact the OSBI at cold.case@osbi.ok.gov.

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Sources:
Oklahoma Cold Case Files
The Oklahoman
Sirens: A Southern True Crime Podcast

The Disappearance and Murder of Karry Tidball

 

Karry Elizabeth Tidball vanished at the age of 20 in early 2008. The young woman was last seen alive in Lawton, Oklahoma. The exact date/circumstances of Karry's disappearance are unknown, but her family believes the last known sighting of her occurred on or around February 14th, 2008. 

Prior to vanishing, Karry lived with her father in Oklahoma City. Lawton - the location she was last seen alive - is located an approximate 85 miles away from Oklahoma City. It's reportedly unknown why Karry was in Lawton at the time of her disappearance. 

Over two years passed without any sign of Karry. Then, on April 6th, 2010, human remains were found on an abandoned golf course in Blanchard, Oklahoma. The body was unidentified for over a year until late 2011, when investigators determined that the remains were that of Karry Tidball.

Investigators concluded that Karry's death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Her case was subsequently ruled a homicide. Still, over 15 years have passed since Karry's body was discovered, and no arrests have ever been made.

The fact that Karry's body was found in Blanchard further deepens the mystery surrounding her disappearance and death. Blanchard is located over 60 miles away from Lawton, where Karry was last seen. The Blanchard area is actually closer to Oklahoma City, where Karry lived at the time of her disappearance. 

It's known that Karry was seen in Lawton before disappearing, but reports indicate that the reason why she was in that area, over 85 miles away from her home, is unknown. Investigators have also yet to determine how Karry's body later ended up in Blanchard. There are many unknowns in Karry's case, including the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. 

Investigators have made appeals to the public in hopes that anyone with information that could help solve Karry's case will come forward. Unfortunately, no suspects or persons of interest have ever been publicly identified. Karry's murder has grown into a cold case.

If you have any information that could help solve the murder of Karry Tidball, please contact the OSBI at 800-522-8017 or submit a tip online.

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Sources:
Facebook
Oklahoma Cold Cases
Websleuths

The Murder of Shana Maxwell

On the evening of October 23rd, 2024, police in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania received a call about a stabbing that occurred in the town of Whitehall. Authorities responded to the scene at an apartment on Skyline Drive. Once there, first responders found 38-year-old Shana Maxwell deceased inside her residence. She had suffered a fatal stab wound to the neck.

Investigators are still searching for Shana's killer. On the one-year anniversary of her death, authorities made a public appeal for anyone with information on Shana's murder to come forward. The homicide detectives shared that they still "have never been able to identify a suspect." 

It has been determined that a neighbor saw Shana alive outside the apartment building around 9:00 PM on October 22nd, 2024. She was found deceased around 6:40 PM the following evening. The events that occurred between that 9:00 PM sighting and the time of Shana's death remain mysterious; detectives have not shared any other information about the investigation. 

Shana's loved ones describe her as a caring and loving person. A motive for her killing is unknown. Shortly after her death, a friend told reporters that "One of the last things I told [Shana] last time I spoke to her is she really is too good for this world. She was always caring. If someone needed help, if someone needed a hand, she was always gonna be there and she’d give you her last couple dollars if she had it. It really is a loss for this community."

If you have any information that could help solve the murder of Shana Maxwell, please call the Allegheny County Police Department at (412) 473-1200. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call 1-833-ALL-TIPS or submit a tip online.

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Sources:
Allegheny County PD
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Shore News Network
WPXI, (2) 

The Disappearance of Victoria Williams

 

Victoria Williams was only 13 years-old when she vanished on October 19th, 2013. The young teen lived with her mother in Newark, New Jersey at the time of her disappearance. On the day she vanished, Victoria left her home on Fabyan Place after telling her mother she was going to meet up with some friends. She never returned home, and her family has never seen or heard from her again.

Reports indicate that authorities believe Victoria left on her own accord, although they have not shared what evidence, if any, there is to support the runaway theory. Due to Victoria's young age at the time of her disappearance, it is very unlikely that she was able to run away and stay undetected without help. Additionally, Victoria had suffered an injury to her foot shortly before she vanished and was wearing a medical boot - a distinguishable feature that would've made it even more difficult for her to run away without being spotted. 

Despite all of this, Victoria's disappearance has maintained the label as a runaway case. Some reports state that she may still be in the local area, or that she may have "traveled to San Diego or elsewhere in California." Again, due to Victoria's young age, it seems very unlikely that she was able to travel to California (or anywhere else a long distance away) without help. Investigators have not shared how or why they believe Victoria may have left the state on her own free will. 

There are very few additional details available about Victoria's case. Over a decade has passed since she vanished, and she still remains missing today. The Newark Police Department has investigative agency over Victoria's missing persons investigation. If you have any information that could help solve the case, please contact authorities at 973-733-6000.

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Sources:
Ash Mysteries
Charley Project
NamUs
News One

RLS Media

The Murder of Tonya Wales

 

August 25th, 2021 was supposed to be a celebratory day for Tonya Wales. It was the mother-of-three's 38th birthday; a day she should have been enjoying with loved ones. Instead, Tonya's family members received the devastating news that she had been found deceased from a gunshot wound around 6:30 that morning. Her death was ruled a murder.

Prior to her death, Tonya lived in Lodi, California with her husband and their three children. According to reports, she was killed in Stockton; located approximately 15 miles away from her home. Tonya was found shot to death inside her vehicle at an apartment complex located on the 8100 block of Palisades Drive. 

In an August 2025 report about Tonya's murder, her husband stated that he believes his wife "was in the wrong place at the wrong time." However, he also said that it is unknown why Tonya was at that apartment complex that morning. It appears that investigators have been unable to find anyone from that area with any information that could help narrow down a suspect or person(s) of interest.

Tonya's murder occurred amongst a string of other murders committed by a serial killer in the Stockton area. Said serial killer reportedly shot and killed at least seven people between April 2021 and September 2022. One of the victims, Jonathan Rodriguez Hernandez, was killed under similar circumstances to Tonya. Hernandez was found shot to death on August 30th, 2022, at 6:41 AM, just blocks away from the location where Tonya was killed. 

These similarities inevitably led to speculation that Tonya was also a victim of the Stockton Serial Killer. In late September 2022, investigators finally arrested the suspected serial killer - a 43-year-old Stockton resident named Wesley Brownlee. Brownlee was charged with seven murders, including the murder of Hernandez, but he was not charged with anything related to Tonya's case. 

Brownlee's murder charges are currently pending. It does not appear that investigators have ever found any evidence linking him to Tonya's murder. It seems that investigators believe Tonya was killed by someone else altogether. However, no suspect or persons of interest have ever been publicly identified.

The Stockton Police Department is in charge of investigating Tonya's murder. There is currently a monetary reward available. If you have any information that could help solve the case, please contact the Investigations Division at (209) 937-8323 or submit a tip online.

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Sources:
ABC 10
ABC News Go
Hoodline
Stockton PD

The Disappearance of Alicia Digna

 

Alicia Digna has been missing since August 27th, 2008. The then-26-year-old woman was last known to be in Romulus, Michigan. Alicia was last seen driving a burgundy four-door 1992 Pontiac Grand Am. She never returned home and has never been seen or heard from again.

Alicia's family members were immediately concerned when she fell out-of-touch. Not only was it unusual for her to not contact her mother and her nine siblings, but Alicia was also battling multiple sclerosis which required daily medication. Her family maintains she would not voluntarily leave for an extended period of time without telling anyone. 

About a week after Alicia vanished, her car was found at a gas station on the east side of Detroit, Michigan. According to Alicia's sister, the car was found with a door open and someone else's cell phone inside. There was no other sign of Alicia and/or her whereabouts on the scene. 

Over 15 years have passed since Alicia's disappearance, and her case remains cold. It is unknown if investigators ever located/spoke to the owner of the cell phone that was found in Alicia's car. It's been reported that Alicia had broken up with a fiancé prior to her disappearance; this fiancé has never been publicly labeled as a person of interest.  It's unclear if investigators have ever had any substantial leads in the case.

Alicia's family members are still fighting to find answers. If you have any information that could help solve the disappearance of Alicia Digna, please contact the Lincoln Park Police Department at 313-381-1800 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up.

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Sources:
Charley Project
Click on Detroit
Find Alicia Digna
NamUs

The Disappearance of Ryan Esparza

Source: NCMEC

Ryan Esparza has been missing since June 14th, 2007. The then-17-year-old left his home in Pasadena, Texas that day after receiving a phone call from a friend, asking him to meet up at a basketball court at Highlands Park. Ryan was expected back home that evening, but he never returned. He has never been seen or heard from again.

Ryan's mother reported him missing on June 15th. She also reached out to the friend Ryan was meeting at the park that day. Said friend told Ryan's mother that he and Ryan met up and shot hoops at the basketball court for about 20 minutes. Then, according to the friend, Ryan walked away to take a phone call and never returned. 

Investigators searched a five-mile radius around the park but did not find any sign of Ryan. There also did not appear to be any evidence that Ryan ran away. He did not have a history of running away, nor did he have a history of mental illness. Ryan's loved ones do not believe he would walk away from his life. He had a girlfriend who was approximately six months pregnant with his child at the time of his disappearance. The baby, born a few months later, was named Ryan Jr. after his father. 

As the months grew into years without any sign of Ryan, his disappearance grew into a cold case. His mother stated that she had heard rumors over the years that Ryan was accused of stealing marijuana from a childhood friend prior to his disappearance. However, it was reportedly not a large amount of marijuana. Ryan's mother also stated that investigators said they did not find any evidence that these rumors are linked to Ryan's disappearance.

Still, Ryan's mother has grown skeptical of the story told by the other friend with whom Ryan planned to meet at the park that day. In 2023, when asked if she believed the friend's story, Ryan's mother replied, "No, not anymore, because nobody else said he was at that park, so I don't know if he even made it there." This friend has never been publicly identified, and he has not been labeled a suspect.

Ryan remains missing today. If you have any information that could help solve his case, please contact the Pasadena Police Department at 713-477-1221 or Pasadena Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

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Sources:
Charley Project
Fox 26 Houston
Medium
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children