Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

September 11, 2001, U.S. airspace closes after the terrorist attacks in New York. Dozens of transatlantic flights are diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Thousands of passengers and crew from around the world landed in the small town, nearly doubling its population within minutes. Their story later inspired the Broadway musical Come From Away.
Today, Sheryl McCollum is joined by her sister, Sharlene Bowen. Sharlene was a flight attendant aboard Delta Flight 15 from Frankfurt, Germany, to Atlanta when the plane was ordered to land in Gander. Sharlene recalls 30 hours grounded on the tarmac with little information, and the moment she finally saw the attacks on television, and the note that led her to Constable Oswald “Oz” Fudge and a hug from Sheryl back in Atlanta. Over the next five days, the people of Gander open their schools, homes, and churches to the “plane people," as the locals called them. Listen to this inspiring, truthful tale.

Highlights:
(0:00) Sheryl introduces the story of Gander, Newfoundland, and her sister Sharlene Bowen’s experience on September 11, 2001
(3:00) Sharlene remembers when an ordinary flight from Frankfurt to Atlanta suddenly changed and the crew learned something had happened in New York
(7:00) “All US airspace has been closed.” The announcement that silenced an entire cabin
(11:45) How passengers and crew worked together during 30 hours aboard the grounded plane●
(16:00) Why every passenger had to be cleared before leaving the aircraft and how Gander prepared for thousands of unexpected guests
(20:45) Sharlene finally sees the attacks on a TV at Walmart more than a day after they happened
(23:00) A note and a police hat lead Sharlene to Oz Fudge and a message from her sister
(28:00) Teenagers give free rides, Walmart hands over its keys, and the hockey rink becomes the town’s refrigerator
(36:45) Local teenagers create a special experience for stranded Make-A-Wish kids who missed their trip to Disney World
(41:45) Returning to Gander, hearing the original air traffic control recording, and seeing Come From Away with the people who lived the story
(46:30) How the hug from Oz Fudge delivered on Sheryl’s behalf became part of the production of Come From Away
(51:45) A scholarship fund started on the flight home has now sent more than 300 Gander students to college
(56:45) Delta employees wave American flags along the Atlanta taxiway, and Sharlene share a message about remembering the way people cared for one another after 9/11

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Sharlene Bowen spent 34 years as a Delta Air Lines flight attendant and was a crew member aboard Delta Flight 15 when it was diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001. She later became a level one trauma nurse and charge nurse at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where she recently celebrated 20 years of service.
Related Episode
From Crisis to Compassion: A 9/11 Retrospective with Constable Oswald Fudge

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a metro Atlanta police department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than four decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.
Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.
Social Links:
Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
X: @ColdCaseTips
Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
Instagram: @officialzone7podcast
TikTok: @Sheryl.McCollum

Sheryl’s new book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Solving the Cold Case of the Flint River Killer’s Daughter, is available now wherever books are sold.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Witnesses recount the horrific scene inside the death chamber after Tennessee’s botched execution attempt of death row inmate Christa Pike left her in critical condition. A Massachusetts military veteran faces federal cyberstalking charges following an intense harassment campaign targeting former White House aide Katie Miller. Gymgoers in Cambridge are left shaken after 40-year-old Laquan Holland allegedly barged into a Planet Fitness women's locker room and sexually assaulted multiple people. Sydney Silvagni reports.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A transgender New York Times executive shot and killed by his elderly in-laws. Jonathan McKinsey, 40, Director of Engineering for New York Times Games was confronted by his 77-year-old in-laws in a parking lot in broad daylight. Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen were wearing masks and took turns with the gun as they shot McKinsey multiple times.
According to court documents McKinsey had previously made threats against his estranged wife Candice Jang and extended family members. Jang is the daughter of the suspects. The couple have three young children between 2 and 6 years old and were reported to be in a highly contentious custody battle. In family court filings seeking a protection order against his estranged wife, Candice Jang, and her parents, McKinsey detailed severe anti-LGBTQ+ abuse and transphobia directed at both himself and their young children.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Mike Jaafar - Trial Attorney, Founder: www.bigcasemike.com
Dr. Shari Schwartz - Forensic Psychologist (specializing in Capital Mitigation and Victim Advocacy), www.panthermitigation.com, Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrialDoc, Author: "Criminal Behavior" and "Where Law and Psychology Intersect: Issues in Legal Psychology"
Chris McDonough - Director at the Cold Case Foundation, Former Homicide Detective, worked over 300 Homicides in 25-year career, Trained the first Native American Homicide Task Force; & Host of YouTube channel, "The Interview Room”, www.coldcasefoundation.org/chris-mcdonough
Dr. Thomas Coyne - Chief Medical Examiner for District 2 in Florida, Toxicologist, Forensic Pathologist and Neuropathologist
Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A 51-year-old Tennessee man with an extensive rap sheet is being held without bond after allegedly shooting and killing Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 65. In Florida, a 29-year-old mother faces four felony child neglect charges after authorities discovered she allegedly left her four young children, including a two-month-old infant, alone inside an apartment to go on a Bahamas cruise. In Pennsylvania, a 32-year-old man is facing homicide and rape charges after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on a walking path before launching a midnight home invasion that left a pediatrician dead and his wife critically injured. Sydney Silvagni reports.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Question are being raised about the owner of the Santa Monica sober living facility in which Presley Gerber died. Dr. Reza Nabavi's past personal drug history and his Resolutions Living facility are under scrutiny.
Presley died after checking himself in. Witnesses say he did not appear sober at the time. Gerber died of a suspected overdose.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Dr. Drew Pinsky - Board-Certified Physician and Addiction Medicine Specialist. Host, 'Ask Dr. Drew' on Youtube. Website: DrDrew.com, Author:"When Painkillers Become Dangerous: What Everyone Needs to Know About OxyContin and other Prescription Drugs" "The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America" "Cracked: Life on the Edge in a Rehab Clinic"
Franz Borghardt - Criminal Defense Attorney, Founder of Borghardt Law Firm, Former Prosecutor, website: www.borghardtlawfirm.com, Insta/FB: BorghardtLawFirm
Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, featured on the hit show: "Paris in Love" on Peacock and "The Valley, Persian Style" on Bravo. Host "On The Couch with Dr. Bethany Marshall," Website: drbethanymarshall.com, Instagram FB & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, Twitter:@DrBethanyLive
Rob Shuter - Former publicist for Naomi Campbell, Sean Combs, Author of New Book: "Queen Elizabeth III: The New American House of Windsor," robshuter.substack.comIG: @naughtygossip
Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Host of Podcast "Mayhem in the Morgue”, Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)
Sierra Fox, - Entertainment Host & Media Personality - Former TV Anchor at Fox 5 DC, website: www.thesierrafox.com, @thesierrafox (Insta, FB, TikTok, X)
Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.