Gone in a Blink
There are an estimated 8 billion people in the world. In the US, approximately 2,300 people go missing every day. While some of those cases may be of their own accord, others are because of something far more sinister. Gone in a Blink is a true crime podcast that dives head first into the most mysterious and terrifying missing person cases in existence. Hosts Heather and Danielle take a deep look into some of the most horrific missing person cases that will leave you on the edge of your seat and absolutely terrified at just how fast a person can be Gone in a Blink.
Gone in a Blink
Vanished in the Night: The Haunting Disappearance of Angela Hammond
What if a chilling encounter on a quiet night could unravel the very fabric of a small town? Join us as we explore the haunting disappearance of Angela Hammond, a young woman whose life was violently disrupted in Clinton, Missouri. Angela's last moments, shared with her fiancé Rob Schaefer over a payphone, were marked by the sinister presence of a green truck and a disheveled stranger. Rob's desperate chase after Angela's abductors adds a dramatic twist to this enduring mystery. We paint a vivid picture of Angela's vibrant yet interrupted life and the heart-wrenching events of that April night in 1991.
This episode uncovers unsettling parallels between Angela's abduction and other mysterious disappearances in the area, notably Trudy Darby's case. We delve into the tireless investigation efforts, from volunteers combing the area to law enforcement connecting the dots between similar cases. We reflect on the legacy Angela leaves behind and encourage our listeners to stay connected and share any tips or information. Your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes are invaluable as we continue our pursuit of justice for Angela Hammond. Join the conversation on social media, and perhaps together, we can uncover the truth behind these haunting events.
Sources:
https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/mpphotos/A1001001A09H28B24653J822031.pdf
https://vocal.media/criminal/abduction-in-a-small-town-angela-hammond
https://fox2now.com/news/true-crime/note-offers-clues-in-mistaken-1991-missouri-abduction/
https://charleyproject.org/case/angela-marie-hammond
https://www.ky3.com/2021/04/15/old-evidence-could-lead-to-new-clues-in-30-year-old-clinton-abduction-case/
https://creepycatalog.com/angela-hammond-update/
https://uncovered.com/cases/angela-hammond
https://truecrimearticles.wordpress.com/2018/04/18/the-mysterious-abduction-of-angela-hammond/
Music:
Crime Trap by Muza Production
Irregular Rhythms by Tim Kulig
Creepy Atmosphere with Piano and Pad by Universfield
Gone in a Blink is created by Heather Hicks and Danielle E.
Written and produced by Heather Hicks and hosted by Danielle E. and Heather Hicks.
Gone in a Blink theme: Crime Trap created and produced by Muzaproduction
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Thanks for joining us on the airwaves. And remember......Be Safe, Be Smart, and Try Not to Blink.
Imagine talking on the phone to your significant other. The date is April 4th 1991. It's late at night and, in an age where cell phones have yet to be invented, you use a payphone in a dark, desolate parking lot outside the local food barn. You carry on your conversation without a care in the world, not realizing at that moment you are a target. You feel safe in the small Missouri town of Clinton, the town that you call home, a place where everybody knows everybody, almost everybody. As you continue your conversation, you notice a green truck that seems to keep circling the parking lot near the payphones. You begin to feel uneasy, so you tell your fiancé what is happening. You describe the truck in detail and then suddenly the truck begins heading towards you. A strange man gets out and pretends to be fidgeting, with something in his truck stalling as he waits for just the right moment, and then suddenly he strikes. This is the case of Angela Hammond, and this is Gone in a Blink. Hey, true crime fans, I'm your host, heather. Welcome to episode 30 of Gone in a Blink.
Speaker 1:I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and, for those of you who traveled over the holiday, I hope the airports weren't too crazy busy. We did not travel out of town this year. Well, actually, my family and I did not travel anywhere. Danielle, I believe, was in New York over the Thanksgiving holiday, which is an absolutely beautiful time of believe was in New York over the Thanksgiving holiday, which is an absolutely beautiful time of year to be in New York. If you've never been in New York over the holidays, I would highly recommend it. So today's case is out of Clinton, missouri.
Speaker 1:Today we are talking about the case of Angela Hammond. So if you're ready, let's jump right in Angela Hammond. So if you're ready, let's jump right in Angela Marie Hammond was born on February 9th 1971 to parents Marshall and Chris Hammond. Until Angela was about four years old, the family lived in Kansas City, missouri, before making the move to the smaller town of Clinton, missouri, to be closer to Marshall's parents, lloyd and Elizabeth Young, and for geographical purposes, clinton is about 76 miles southeast of Kansas City. So shortly after moving to Clinton, the Hammonds welcomed their second child, whom they named Lauren. Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last and Marsha moved 20 miles away to rural Montrose, missouri, and Chris moved to Olathe, kansas, which is approximately 80 miles northwest of Clinton.
Speaker 1:Angela's friends would describe her as a happy-go-lucky type of girl who was always up for having a good time. She was very popular in school and was considered very extroverted. She graduated from Montrose High School before meeting Rob Schaefer in November 1990, and Rob would be the man that she would consider the love of her life. Angela was 19 at the time and Rob was an 18 year old high school athlete. It was absolute love at first sight. By January 1991, angela found out she was pregnant after only three months of dating. However, rob was absolutely over the moon with excitement. Soon after Rob proposed to Angela and the happy couple announced the news to both families, who were equally just as excited, by spring of 1991, rob and Angela decided to move in together. They rented a small trailer in Clinton and began planning their future. Angela finds a job at the Union State Bank as a night processor, while also enrolled in college courses at Central Missouri State University. Rob has plans to enlist in the Army that following summer.
Speaker 1:On Thursday, april 4th 1991, angela and Rob spend the entire day together attending a family barbecue at Angela's mom's house. Around 9 pm Angela drops Rob off at his parents' house so he can go watch his little brother, and Angela then drives to pick up her best friend, kyla Ingerman, and the two cruise the town square, chit-chatting and listening to music and just really being typical teenage girls. A few hours later, angela drops Kyla back off at her house around 11.15 pm. She remembers that she told Rob she would call him later that evening. So she heads to a payphone located in the parking lot of the local food barn, which is located at the corner of 2nd and Jefferson streets and is just seven blocks from Rob's parents home. The grocery store is closed and the parking lot is dark. However, angela wasn't really concerned as she parks near one of the two payphones and gets out of the car and she leaves her purse in the front passenger seat. She remembers that she told Rob she would call him later that evening. So she heads to a payphone located in the parking lot of the local food barn located at the corner of 2nd and Jefferson streets, and it was just located seven blocks from Rob's parents' home. The grocery store is closed and the parking lot is dark. However, angela was not really concerned as she parks near one of the two payphones and gets out of the car, leaving her purse in the front passenger seat.
Speaker 1:Angela was anxious to call Rob and the two talked for roughly half an hour. Around 11 45 pm, angela notices a green truck that appeared to be circling the area where the payphones were located. This made Angela feel a bit uneasy so she told Rob what was happening. She described the truck as an older model, light green 1960s Ford with a large decal of a fish jumping out of water that covered most of the back window. Moments later the strange man made his way to the payphones and parked right next to Angela's car. Angela described the man to Rob as looking dirty bearded and wearing overalls. Angela described the man to Rob as looking dirty bearded and wearing overalls. He got out of his truck and began searching the interior of the truck with a flashlight.
Speaker 1:Angela informed Rob that the suspicious man appeared to be looking for something. Initially the man appeared to be trying to use the phone in the other unoccupied phone booth, but then seemed to have changed his mind and headed back to his truck and unfortunately hindsight's 20-20,. But that right there is super suspicious because obviously he was trying to stall and make it look like he was doing something other than sitting there waiting for the right moment to attack her. And she obviously knew something was suspicious. That's why she told Rob. But it's just crazy.
Speaker 1:Rob suggested that she ask him if he needed to use the phone, thinking that maybe the other phone wasn't working. Angela called out to him and the man could be heard by Rob on the other end of the phone replying no to Angela that he did not need to use the phone. So that took a lot of courage just to even speak to the man, because she's already really nervous about him being there and he already looks suspicious. I'm not sure that I would have even spoke to him, but she had a lot more guts than I do for calling out to him. But all of the sudden Rob heard Angela let out this agonizing scream. It was reported that following Angela's scream, rob could hear a man's voice in the background say quote, I didn't need to use the phone anyway. Unquote. Before the line went dead.
Speaker 1:Angela's scream was so intense that Rob immediately rushed to his car and headed seven blocks away to the payphone where he knew Angela had been. On his way there he passed a light green truck headed in the opposite direction. He could see a female passenger struggling with the male driver and as he passed the truck he heard a female voice scream his name. Rob made an abrupt U-turn in the middle of the road and attempted to follow the truck. He was able to follow the truck for a short distance. However, when Rob made a sharp turn to stay with the truck, his transmission stopped working and his car stalled out in the middle of the road. Rob jumped out of his car and began trying to chase the green truck on foot until the truck became so far ahead of him that all he could do was watch the taillights of the green truck and the love of his life drive off into the night.
Speaker 1:A passerby noticed Rob's distress and stopped to help. Thank goodness he stopped because he was able to give Rob a ride to the police station. And Rob arrived at the police station just shortly after midnight. Once there, he told officers everything that had just taken place. At first, the officers were very skeptical of Rob's story. However, once police confirmed that Rob's car was in fact broken down where he said it was, the story became a little bit more believable to officers.
Speaker 1:Police located Angela's car exactly where she had left it in the food barn parking lot, near the payphone she was using when she was abducted. Her purse was still inside by April 7th, three days after Angela's abduction, volunteers conducted a widespread search involving more than 150 volunteers, searching areas both in Clinton County as well as neighboring Henry County. On April 10th, the FBI begins questioning Rob, as well as Angela's former boyfriend, 17-year-old Bill Barker. Both men are given lie detector tests and both men pass so. By April 15th, approximately two weeks after Angela was abducted, the Missouri Crime Squad teamed up with authorities in the search. The squad's primary focus was to locate the green Ford truck that was involved in the kidnapping. Request to the public for all property owners to check out any outbuildings, cabins, barns, sheds or any other structures on their property for any sign of Angela. After extensive searches were conducted, the search requests turned up zero trace of Angela and the crime squad ended their formal search.
Speaker 1:Police soon began looking at other similar cases in the area for comparison. They focused on two cases in particular that occurred three months prior to Angela's abduction and within an 80 mile radius. The first case authorities zoned in on was that of 42-year-old Trudy Darby out of Max Creek, missouri, which is located less than 70 miles southeast of Clinton. Trudy was well known in the community because she held a previous job with the Max Creek Public School as a school secretary. On February 19th at around 10 pm Trudy was working her shift at the K&D Country Corner store in Camden County when she noticed a suspicious man hanging around outside. She was a bit concerned, so she called her son, waylon Darby, and gave him a description of the man. She never indicated to her son, though, that she was fearful or that she thought she was in any kind of danger. However, waylon decided, just to be cautious, to swing by the store to check on his mother. When he arrived at the store he discovered that Trudy was nowhere to be found. Waylon called the Camden County Sheriff's Department and trooper Jimmy Mays arrived at the K&D store to take the initial report. It was discovered that Trudy's car coat and purse were still there, but $200 was missing from the cash register.
Speaker 1:A few days later, a fellow Camden County resident decided to conduct his own investigation into Trudy's disappearance, based on a report from a neighbor that gunshots were heard in the area. He searched the area of the Little Neongwa River, where he discovered hair and blood on the road leading to the river. He immediately contacted Camden County Sheriff Crocker, who went out to survey the scene. There he found the hair, blood and a 33 caliber casing near the river. A search was conducted and soon found Trudy's nude and badly beaten body in the river. Three days later, on February 22nd, medical examiner Jay Dix confirmed the autopsy results Trudy had been beaten, raped and shot twice in the head.
Speaker 1:In 1993, a 15-year-old boy by the name of Jesse Rush told his neighbor, carl Blakely, that he had taken part in the murder of Trudy Darby. Carl contacted the Camden Sheriff's Department with this information and Trooper Mays began investigating Jesse. Jesse's former girlfriend, gretchen Chastain, also told Trooper Mays that Jesse admitted to her that he was responsible for Trudy's death. He told police in his interview that his half-brother, marvin Chaney, also helped in the abduction and murder of Trudy Darby. By the summer of 1994, trudy's murder had been solved and Jesse Rush and Marvin Chaney were behind bars. It seems that Jesse had visited friends in Kansas City and bragged to various people that he was responsible for Trudy's abduction and murder, implicating himself as well as Marvin Chaney. Jesse's friends couldn't even believe what they were hearing and immediately notified authorities.
Speaker 1:Jesse didn't hold back the details of this horrific crime and in fact it was almost as if he was reliving everything that he had done to Trudy, which is absolutely sick. The guy has no, he has no remorse. He has absolutely no remorse for what he did. He actually takes a lot of pleasure in retelling the story. He admitted that he and Chaney and another accomplice had been planning Trudy's abduction for quite some time.
Speaker 1:They entered the convenience store where Trudy worked and held her at gunpoint, demanding that she open the cash register. They stole the $200 that was in it and proceeded to force Trudy out of the store and into their vehicle. They drove her out to a barn in a rural area close by where they raped and beat her before shooting her in the head at point blank range. They then put her in the trunk and drove her out to the river to get rid of her body. When they opened the trunk, they discovered that she was still breathing, so they shot her in the head again. Police believe that there could be a connection to Angela's disappearance as well, although they have been unable to find any hard evidence to confirm this theory just yet.
Speaker 1:While Jesse was in jail awaiting trial, it was reported that he became pretty friendly with an inmate by the name of Edward Thomas, whom he thought was a lawyer. That could help him lessen his charges. In Trudy's case. Jesse implicated himself even further in Trudy's murder and insinuated the possibility that there may have been many more murders in which he and Chaney were responsible for, and this is insane to me. This is this is weird to me that he thinks that this fellow inmate in prison with him actually has enough pull from inside prison to lessen his charges in Trudy's murder. So he basically confesses everything and then some, and just really shows how stupid he really is. In April 1997, jesse Rush and Marvin Chaney were found guilty in the murder of Trudy Darby and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Rush was sent to South Central Correctional Facility in Licking, missouri, and Marvin Chaney was transported to the Maximum Security Prison in Mineral Point, missouri. Chaney passed away in September 2017 at the age of 56 due to natural causes.
Speaker 1:The second case police were looking into for ties to Angela's case was that of a 30-year-old wife and mother, cheryl Ann Kinney, out of Nevada, missouri. On the evening of February 27, 1991, cheryl was working at the JL Quality Convenience Store located on Business Highway 71. Cheryl would normally clock out at midnight, but for some reason that evening she would clock out at 10 pm. She was supposed to be closing the store that night and by 10 17 pm she set the alarm. She has never been seen or heard from since that night. Her white Chevy was found located in the parking lot of the convenience store. However, she was nowhere to be found.
Speaker 1:Police have reason to believe that the two cases could be linked to Angela's disappearance. However, they have been unsuccessful in finding that link. On the 30th anniversary of Angela's disappearance, the Clinton Police Department posted on their Facebook page letting Angela's family know that they have never stopped looking for their daughter and that they will continue to explore every possible lead. They stated that one of those leads originated in the area of the Lake of the Ozarks. They announced that a confidential informant had testified in a huge illegal drug operation case and when his identity was revealed during the case he received a letter with cut and paste letters cut from a magazine or a newspaper that looked much like a ransom letter. The letter contained the informant's wife's name as well as the informant's confidential number, which were blacked out of the letter when posted on Facebook by the police department. The letter addresses the informant by the number that was given to him to keep his identity secret before the case and his wife is mentioned by her first name.
Speaker 1:The letter was sent on April 4th 1991, which was the exact same night that Angela Hammond was abducted. The informant's wife, as well as his daughter, were also living in Clinton, missouri, at that time. The letter reads hello. And then it gives the informant's number we know who you are number. And then the informant's number. Again, people like you deserve what you get. We know where your foxy daughter is at. She will see us soon. She has our deepest sympathy in our further loss. Goodbye, and then the informant's number, and I will post a pic of this letter to our facebook page so you guys can kind of see just how crazy this letter is.
Speaker 1:The police department then proceeded to announce on their facebook post that someone who very clearly wanted to remain anonymous called them and left a message stating that they knew information in regards to the Angela Hammond case. They specifically mentioned two names but did not provide a callback number for police to contact them. Police were reaching out to the public in hopes of finding that individual so that they could talk with them. Regarding Angela's case, police believe it would be quite difficult for only one person to pull this off. They feel that Angela's abduction was more than likely planned and that it may have even been a case of mistaken identity. Clinton Police Captain Paul Abbott has been diligently working on Angela's case since 2006. His theory is that the abduction was a case of mistaken identity and the actual target was the daughter of a police informant who had a striking resemblance to Angela Hammond.
Speaker 1:In June of 1991, rob went to Virginia to train for the National Guardsmen. Angela's best friend, kyla Ingerman, made plans to relocate to Colorado. The Hammond family continued their search for answers into what happened to their precious daughter. They still remain in contact with Rob and consider him part of the family. Rob eventually moved 60 miles away and now has a family of his own. Angela's family have never stopped searching for their daughter. They continue to keep her name alive in the hopes that one day they will have answers.
Speaker 1:Angela Hammond disappeared on April 4th 1991 from Clinton, missouri. She was 20 years old at the time of her disappearance and would be 53 years old today. She is a white female with blonde hair and brown eyes. She is between 4 foot 11 inches and 5 feet tall and weighed approximately 140 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She goes by the nickname Angie and has a scar on her upper lip. If you have any information, you are encouraged to call the Clinton, missouri Police Department at area code 660-885-2679 or 800-877-3452. Thank you for listening to another episode of Gone in a Blink. If you like our show, please consider giving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and we love it when you follow us on any of our social media sites. You can follow us on Facebook or on Instagram, at goneinablinkpod, and if you have an idea for a show, please drop us an email at goneinablinkpod at gmailcom and we'll give you a shout out for your suggestion. And please remember, be safe, be smart and try not to blink you.
