Send us a text

A glittering reservoir with 700 miles of shoreline, a summer magnet for millions, and a drowned town beneath the surface—Lake Lanier refuses to be simple. We wade past the “cursed” label to explore the hard truths shaping its reputation: a long record of drownings and collisions, the submerged history of Oscarville, and the way policy choices still echo through today’s recreation culture.

We start with the present, unpacking recent incidents that made headlines and the patterns experts see: unbuckled life jackets, sudden drop-offs, shifting currents, heavy boat traffic, and alcohol turning a quick swim into a rescue that comes too late. From there we follow the shoreline backward, to a thriving Black community shattered by 1912 racial terror and, decades later, by eminent domain for Buford Dam. Homes, churches, roads—and many graves—went under. When drought pulls the lake down, pieces of that story surface, and the folklore writes itself: cold spots on hot nights, the Lady of the Lake, whispers in the coves.

The conversation doesn’t stop at legend. We talk practical safety—how to choose and secure a life jacket, why night boating is riskier than it looks, how wakes and wind trap swimmers near docks, and the difference that sober driving and hazard awareness make on crowded weekends. We also ask what it would mean to care for this place honestly: memorializing Oscarville, improving signage and patrols, and respecting the water with the same energy we bring to play.

If you’ve ever wondered whether Lake Lanier is haunted or simply carrying the weight of history and human error, this deep dive invites you to look closer. Listen, share with a friend who spends summers on the water, and tell us what you believe. If this resonated, follow the show, leave a review, and send us your take—curse or consequence?

https://lakelanier.com/history/

https://time.com/6984594/georgia-death-lake-lanier-haunted/

https://medium.com/theundercurrent/forsyth-1912-the-truth-about-lake-lanier-and-oscarville-6f61ec951e11

Send us a text

A sunny Gulf Coast day can hide the darkest secrets. We kick off with light banter about warm holidays and beach-town charm, then turn to a haunting case from New Year’s Day, 1985: 23-year-old mother Tonya McKinley leaves a Pensacola bar and is found hours later, assaulted and strangled. Investigators collected semen and blood at the scene, interviewed witnesses, and chased every lead, but the limits of 1980s DNA and disconnected databases let the trail go cold. For decades, Tonya’s family lived with a name-shaped void.

Everything changes when genetic genealogy enters the picture. We unpack how detectives partnered with Parabon NanoLabs to build a family tree from crime scene DNA, narrowed possible relatives, and focused on men who lived nearby in 1985. A discarded cigarette butt from Milton resident Daniel Wells provided the crucial match in 2020, aligning with the original forensic profile and ending 35 years of uncertainty. We explore the steps behind the scenes—surveillance for touch DNA, laboratory confirmation, and the decision to share his profile with other agencies to probe possible links.

Then comes the emotional whiplash. Wells is arrested and reportedly admits involvement, but he dies by suicide in jail before facing trial. We wrestle with the complex feelings that follow: gratitude for the science that named a killer, anger at the loss of courtroom truth, and empathy for a son who grew up without a mother or a full story. Along the way, we tackle the ethics of using consumer DNA databases for law enforcement, balancing privacy with the power to solve cold cases and deliver overdue accountability.

If you care about true crime, forensic science, cold case breakthroughs, and the real families behind headlines, this story will stay with you. Listen, share with a friend who follows DNA sleuthing, and tell us your take on genetic genealogy and justice. Like, rate, and subscribe—your support helps us shine a light on the next case that still needs a name.

Send us a text

A white pickup sits deep in the Oklahoma woods. Inside: a weak but living dog, IDs and a cell phone, and more than thirty-two thousand dollars in cash no one touched. The Jameson family—Bobby, Sherry Lynn, and their six-year-old daughter Madison—has vanished into the trees, and the scene feels both too obvious and not nearly enough. We follow the trail from that haunting discovery to an even colder truth: years later, only scattered remains and silence.

We talk through the details that won’t resolve into a single theory. Friends described a devout family pulling inward, worried about curses and hauntings, and installing security cameras inside the home. One clip shows the parents standing motionless for long stretches, unsettling in its ambiguity. Then there’s the abandoned truck: no struggle, no footprints, no note, just a starving dog and a pile of cash some say was meant for off-grid land. Search teams and helicopters covered the ridgelines near Red Oak with no luck, until hunters found the family’s bones three miles from the truck four years later. No clear trauma. No murder weapon. No final truth.

We examine the leading possibilities—exposure fueled by shared paranoia, a meeting that turned into murder, or a chain of environmental and psychological stressors that don’t fit cleanly into a crime narrative. Along the way, we center what matters most: Madison’s lost future and the way fear can distort judgment behind closed doors. If you’re drawn to true crime stories where the evidence feels like a riddle, this case will get under your skin and stay there. Listen, weigh the facts with us, and share the theory you find most convincing. If the search for honest answers keeps you coming back, follow the show, leave a review, and tell a friend who loves a mystery with real stakes.