The Vanished Podcast

• Samantha Tolbert

  In late February of 2024, 46-year-old Samantha Tolbert vanished from Carroll County, Georgia, a rural area in western Georgia, along the Alabama state line. At first, Samantha’s absence didn’t raise an alarm. She kept in touch with her daughter, but it wasn’t unusual for some time to pass between calls. That all changed on March 7, 2024, when deputies from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call in Tyus, a small community in Carroll County. There, they discovered Samantha’s ex-husband was deceased. What stood out immediately was that the vehicle he had driven to the scene wasn’t his; it was Samantha’s truck, but she was nowhere to be found.Investigators attempted to contact Samantha because she was the registered owner of the vehicle, but all efforts to reach her were unsuccessful. Friends and family they contacted said they hadn’t heard from her either. In that moment, the troubling truth came into focus: not only was Samantha’s ex-husband dead, but Samantha herself was missing. Suddenly, two stories collided, one ending in death, the other vanished. With Samantha’s ex-husband no longer alive, investigators were left with a haunting mystery: what really happened in those final days, and what secrets did he take with him?If you have any information about the disappearance of Samantha Tolbert, please contact Investigator Amber Cardell with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office at 770-830-5916 or email [email protected] you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Joel Judd

  In the northern Alberta town of Slave Lake, the nights in late December are long and unforgiving. On December 28, 2019, 27-year-old Joel Judd was staying with a relative in town. By the end of that evening, he had set out for a night out. By the next morning, he was gone, and no one ever saw or heard from Joel again.That night in Slave Lake, Joel went to a local bar where he spent time with other patrons. As the night wore on, Joel left with a few of them. On their way to one person’s home, they stopped at a local inn to purchase alcohol. Joel phoned his uncle and told him he was with a friend. Eventually, the group arrived at the home, where the party continued late into the night. At some point in the early morning hours, according to those present, Joel got up and walked out. No one saw where he went, and he never came back.When Joel failed to return to his uncle's, his family grew concerned and later reported him missing. Investigators traced his steps, using banking records to confirm who he had been with that night, which led them to a house on Whitetail Way, a few miles west of Slave Lake’s city limits. Despite extensive searches of the property and the surrounding area, no sign of Joel has ever been found.Nearly six years later, his family is still searching for answers. Why did Joel leave that home in the middle of the night? Did something happen after he stepped outside? Is it even true that he walked out on his own? Or did something occur at that house party that has never been revealed? If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Joel Judd, please contact Slave Lake RCMP at 780-849-3045 and reference case#202015563. You may also contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at https://www.canadiancrimestoppers.org/submit-a-tip/submit-a-tip.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Conrad Jason Ducharme

  In northern Alberta, long roads cut through forest and farmland, connecting small, close-knit communities. It was along these highways in the summer of 2016 that 43-year-old Conrad Jason Ducharme, known to family and friends simply as Jason, was last seen.Jason was believed to be traveling on foot to Dixonville for a tent meeting. He made it there and was later spotted in Manning. But after that, his trail went cold. Known for walking long distances and sometimes catching rides, Jason often stayed with friends or relatives scattered along his route. At first, his family assumed he was with someone else. Only later did they realize no one had seen him, and by then, his trail was already fading.What alarmed them most was that Jason missed his son’s birthday at the end of July, something completely out of character. Nearly a decade later, no trace of Jason has ever been found. His family continues to hold onto hope that answers may still come, and that by sharing Jason's story, someone who remembers something might step forward.If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Conrad Jason Ducharme, please contact the Manning RCMP at 780-836-3769 and reference case#: 2016-1416531. Or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at canadiancrimestoppers.org.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Blake Nex Part 2: Unraveling the Threads

  Last week, we introduced you to the story of Blake Nex, who vanished from his home in Claremont, California, in March of 1993. At his house in Palmer Canyon, his family found groceries still sitting on the counter, his cats left inside, and no sign of Blake. Weeks later, his truck was discovered parked at Ontario International Airport, which led some to believe he had left willingly. But with no investigation opened by law enforcement at the time, the case quickly went cold and his family was left to search for answers on their own.In Part 2, we pick up decades later, when Blake’s brother Royse connected online with Andrea, a woman halfway across the world who had stumbled upon Blake’s case. Their connection reignited the search, and together they began piecing together fragments of memory, long-circulating rumors, and theories that had lingered for years. In this episode, we follow those threads to explore what people close to Blake remember, what they suspect, and the whispers of activities he may have been involved in before he disappeared.If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Blake Nex, please contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at (323) 890-5500.For more information, visit findblakenex.com.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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• Blake Nex Part 1: The Spark

  In March of 1993, 37-year-old Blake Nex vanished from his home in Claremont, California. Blake’s family grew concerned when they couldn’t reach him, so a relative went to check his house. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry, but the scene inside Blake’s home told an even stranger story. Groceries were still sitting on the counter, as if Blake had just come home from the store and been plucked out of his life in the middle of an ordinary day. His cats were left behind to fend for themselves, along with five hundred dollars in cash, but Blake himself was nowhere to be found.A couple of weeks later, Blake’s truck turned up in the parking lot of a local airport. No one could say when it had been left there or by whom. Then, after his disappearance, Blake’s home was broken into. An answering machine, toolbox, and several expensive bicycles were stolen, only adding to the mystery.When Blake’s family reported him missing, they felt the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department brushed off their concerns. At the time, department policies didn’t require them to take reports for missing adults, and they considered Blake to be voluntarily missing. Nearly two decades would slip by before law enforcement finally took up the case. By then, Blake’s trail had gone ice cold. Any evidence that could have revealed what happened to Blake was already gone, swallowed by time and by the investigation that never began.Now, decades later, Blake's loved ones are determined to reignite the search for answers, holding onto the hope that the truth about his disappearance can still be uncovered.If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Blake Nex, please contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at (323) 890-5500. For more information, visit https://www.findblakenex.com, where you can learn more about his case and reach out to his loved ones who are still searching for answers.If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.Follow The Vanished on social media at:FacebookInstagramTwitterPatreonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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