(suspenseful whoosh sound)
- [Narrator] What is up EWU crew.
Often when missing people are found
their family members and the public alike
celebrate their safe return.
But some cases can be less straightforward
than someone simply being found.
Today, we are talking about
three solved missing persons cases
where something isn't quite right.
Where there were strange circumstances,
unexplained events, and lingering questions.
Linda Arteaga.
On Saturday, September 22nd, 2012,
53 year old Linda Arteaga from Blackwell Oklahoma
went for a hike with her brother Eddie Huff
in North Central Arkansas in the Ozarks.
Eddie had planned for their trip together
to be an opportunity for him
to teach Linda some survival skills in the wild.
But somewhat ironically, during their hike
the two of them got lost.
And during their attempts
to find their way out of the woods
they were separated.
After two days, on Monday
Eddie managed to make his way safely
out of the Ozarks.
At first, Eddie wasn't concerned for his sister's safety
as he claims to have left Linda sitting safely
on the porch of a nearby family member's house.
However, it was quickly discovered
that Linda was not where Eddie claimed she was.
And to those around Eddie,
he appeared to be disoriented
and didn't seem to have any memory
of what happened in the woods
or to his sister.
When he realized his sister
had never made it out of the woods,
he became even more confused.
Most of the small town residents
set out to try to find Linda,
totaling more than 100 volunteers on horseback
and on all-terrain vehicles.
Because she had been missing for four days
at this point, the emergency team
who went to look for Linda
were confident that they wouldn't find her alive
bleakly referring to the mission as search and recover
rather than search and rescue.
But despite all odds,
five days after she vanished
Linda was found by an all-terrain vehicle
in the woods close to St. Joe
only two miles
from where she had started her track with Eddie.
Those who found Linda described her behavior
by saying, "she wasn't quite about her head"
as she was shocked and frightened
by the presence of her rescuers.
When Linda was found
she was wearing only a t-shirt,
jeans, and no shoes.
She had apparently worn flip flops on her hike,
which she lost once she became disoriented
after losing track of her brother.
Linda wasn't hurt in any way,
except for a few cuts and bruises.
She told her rescuers that she ate watercress,
nuts, and berries to survive
along with water from a Creek.
To survive at night
Linda said she huddled on the freezing ground.
But Linda's story about what happened in the woods
grew strange when she described
that she and her brother were separated
after he became injured and she sought help,
despite the fact that her brother
never told anyone of any injury.
Even stranger,
Linda said that while in the woods,
she saw other hikers,
but when she waved and shouted to them,
they didn't seem to hear her
and would just walk away.
The weirdest part of Linda's story
was that she said there were shadowy figures
who she claimed would watch her
from the trees and bushes.
She never went into any detail
about these creepy figures,
only to say that they watched her wherever she went.
Linda explained that the next thing she knew
the search party was looking for her
and calling her name.
She didn't appear to have much understanding
of how much time had passed
or where she had wandered around
for those five days.
Shelly Friend, Linda's niece
spoke publicly about her aunt's disappearance.
She said that the doctors told her
that some of the berries Linda and Eddie consumed
might have been toxic and given them hallucinations.
And though this claim may be true,
it has never been verified.
To this day, the shadow people Linda saw
have never been explained.
Sherri Papini.
To everyone around her, 34 year old Sherri Papini
was a supermom
before a shocking tragedy struck in 2016.
While on a jog during broad daylight,
Sherri vanished.
Her husband, Keith
discovered his wife's disappearance
when he came home
to find that the house was empty
and that their children
hadn't been picked up from daycare.
Rightfully concerned he went to his neighbors
to see if they knew where Sherri had gone,
before he used Find My iPhone
to track down her phone.
When he found the cell phone abandoned
by the side of the street
and no sign of Sherri, Keith called the police.
As soon as investigators became involved
they noticed something unusual.
Sherri's earbuds which she wore while running
were neatly wrapped up next to her cell phone.
Something unusually thoughtful
for a possible abduction case.
There was very little other evidence
left behind for investigators to work with
to try to find Sherri.
Police investigated her husband
to see if he was involved
but he was soon released.
With very little to go on,
investigators waited for Sherri's kidnappers
to call for ransom.
But the call never came.
A $10,000 reward was set from the FBI
for any information about Sherri's case.
But no credible evidence was ever given.
And then, on Thanksgiving morning,
Sherri reappeared.
On the side of Interstate 5 in Yolo County
Sherri flagged down a passing car.
Sherri had been missing for 22 days.
After been gone for so long
investigators had almost lost hope
that she would be returned alive.
And yet, Sherri survived.
After been checked over,
she told police that two Hispanic women
had approached her with a handgun
while she was jogging and kidnapped her.
She said that the women took her to a basement
where they held her for the 22 days.
Sherri described that the women chained her up,
beat her, which resulted in her nose being broken,
starved her, cut off her long hair,
and burned her with a branding iron,
which she still had a burn from on her shoulder
when she was found.
Keith later explained,
"she was thrown from a vehicle
with a chain around her waist
attached to her wrists
and a bag over her head.
The same bag she used to flag someone down
once she was able to free one of her hands."
Her family was overjoyed at her miraculous return,
but investigators were puzzled.
Why had Sherri been abducted at all,
since no ransom was asked for
and she was released alive?
Sherri's story didn't make sense to the police.
After her return, Sherri struggled
to describe what the women had looked like
beyond being Hispanic.
And she couldn't give details
about where she had been held.
Sketches were made based on Sherri's descriptions,
but because of her vagueness
no suspects were ever brought in.
And to this day,
no one has been charged with Sherri's kidnapping.
Other issues with the inconsistencies
with her story were raised.
Such as a cut on Sherri's foot
which she claimed was given to her by the abductors,
but wasn't discovered during her hospitalization.
As well, soon after Sherri was found,
Keith gave an interview on 2020.
To many,
Keith's eagerness to talk to the media
about his wife's miraculous return
also seemed strange.
Some online sleuths believe
that Sherri faked the entire kidnapping.
Though the police investigators
have denied any claims of a hoax.
A few internet theorists
have pointed to the fact that Sherri
reportedly had a troubled history
which could have played some role
in a possible choice to falsify her kidnapping.
In the years between 2000 to 2003
when she was a teenager,
Sherri's family frequently contacted the police
over her actions,
including an incident where her father
alleged that Sherri broke into his house
and stole items as well as withdrew money
from his bank account without permission.
She did return the money after,
but there was another incident
where her sister accused Sherri
of breaking down the door to her house.
It is unclear if Sherri's troubled past
could have anything to do with what happened,
or if she was charged at any point.
Others however have pointed out
that the lengths Sherri and her family
would have had to go to
in order to fabricate her kidnapping
were too extreme,
including the burn, broken nose,
and her emaciated state.
In 2020, it was reported that a mysterious man
had called in a tip
to the Shasta County Sheriff's office
saying that Sherri had been with him
for the entire 22 days she was missing,
and that the whole thing was a hoax.
However, at this time it is unclear
if this allegation holds any weight
or if it's just a baseless fabrication.
Since the kidnapping ordeal,
Sherri and her family
have lived rather reclusive lives
and have barely been seen outside by their neighbors.
Keith Papini did come forward
to make a statement to Good Morning America
saying that he was grateful
for the widespread awareness
his wife's case has gotten but adding,
"the unfortunate side is that some people
have been sitting in angering expectant positions
waiting for the gory details.
Rumors, assumptions, lies,
and hate have been both exhausting and disgusting."
For the past five years
Sherri's case has remained unsolved.
Though investigators are still looking into it.
But many are unsure
whether or not it was a hoax
or real kidnapping.
A few questions remain.
If Sherri had truly been kidnapped,
what was the motive?
Why was she hurt,
and then suddenly released
without any gain for her kidnappers?
If it was all faked,
what did Sherri and her family gain from the ordeal?
No explanation for any of these questions
has ever been given.
Marilane Carter.
36 year old Marilane Carter, was a mom of three
who went missing in August of 2020.
There are many conflicting stories
surrounding this case.
So we will outline them as clearly as possible.
Marilane was last seen leaving her home
in Overland Park Kansas on August 1st.
Allegedly, she left in order to seek out
a mental health treatment.
But other stories claim
that she was going to visit her sister
in Birmingham, Alabama.
Perhaps it was a bit of both
as one report states that she went to seek help
in a familiar setting.
She had originally bought a ticket
to fly to her destination,
but for some reason after taking a nap,
she decided to drive instead
at the last minute.
During her road trip,
she is said to have checked in and out
of a quality Inn, in West Plains, Missouri.
Oddly, Marilane only stayed
for a little over two hours at the hotel.
Her husband and mother recall speaking with Marilane
on the cell phone around this time,
but they both say her phone cut out
during these conversations.
Her mother later explained,
"partway through the trip,
she started seeming confused and disoriented.
She said she kept getting lost."
Her husband, Adam Carter
who worked as a lead pastor
at Leawood Baptist church
officially reported that she was missing
on August 3rd, when she never showed up
to her sister's home.
However, another report says
that she wasn't reported missing
by the Overland police until August 5th,
three whole days after she disappeared.
The ensuing search for Marilane
spanned across multiple States.
But for a long period, nothing was revealed.
She was missing for two weeks
before she was finally found.
Mysteriously, her car was discovered
inside of a shipping container
which was located on a privately owned field.
Her husband's uncle had reportedly gone looking for her
in Crittenden County,
where her phone was last pinged.
Though a shipping container
is a rather strange place to look,
he had noticed that one of the doors
to the container was left open
and he went to explore the scene further.
Inside, he found Marilane's car backed in
and her decomposing body in the front seat.
Because of the state of the body,
it wasn't identified to be hers.
Though the vehicle was hers, and a credit card
with her name on it was found inside.
The car had the doors locked and it was in park
when the uncle discovered it.
The vehicles ignition was reportedly
in the on position and law enforcement says
that there was evidence it had been running
while parked in the container.
Details about the position
of the shipping crates doors are highly conflicting.
Different reports say they were open, closed,
had marks from being pried open,
or were partially open.
This is significant because a few details
don't add up.
With the position of the vehicle inside the crate,
the car doors would be unable to be opened.
But if one of the container doors
behind Merilane was partially shut
or completely closed,
she wouldn't have been able to exit the vehicle
and close it herself.
Furthermore, it is important to note
that the private land Marilane was found on
was likely gated,
and so how she gained access
to the area is another mysterious layer to this case.
The police Chief Todd Grooms
has stated that he doesn't suspect foul play
in Marilane's death,
and said, quote,
"given the information we received
from the family about her latest communications
and what we found on the scene
her demise was at her own doing."
Still others think that the police
have been too dismissive
about Marilane's case.
The cause and manner of Marilane's death
has never been publicly released
leaving many to speculate
about what could have possibly killed
the otherwise healthy young mother.
It is believed that Marilane
may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning
while sitting in her vehicle.
But, in order for this to be possible,
the doors of the shipping crate
would likely have to be closed
or partially closed,
which is once again difficult to explain
given how the car doors couldn't open once she was inside.
Allegedly, there are some proposed motives
for Marilane's death.
Reportedly, a few months before she died,
Marilane converted to Catholicism
a decision which put her husband's job
as a pastor at risk
and could have meant that the couple
would be seeking a divorce
at some point in the future,
something which would also not be good for his career.
There are rumors that at the time of her disappearance
and death he was seeking a promotion
which her conversion would have derailed.
In addition, the reason that there are so many
inconsistencies in the reporting
of where Marilane had been going
or what the state of the shipping crate was
is because her family frequently contradicted each other
when speaking to the media.
What's more, it has been alleged
that the uncle who found Marilane
has since taken his own life,
leaving even more questions
surrounding this mysterious case.
Sleuths on the internet have commented
that many elements of the story
feel off and don't make sense.
For now, there remains far too many questions
surrounding Marilane's death, with very few answers.
Unanswered questions still swirl
around all three of these cases.
And it seems unlikely
that any definitive answers
will be revealed anytime soon.