The Dark Oak

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Episode 164: Kent Jacobs - A Well-Worn Path Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Kent Jacobs, a 41-year-old Lumbee man with an intellectual disability who functioned at about a nine-year-old level, disappeared on March 10, 2002, while taking his usual Sunday walk through his childhood neighborhood in Hope Mills, North Carolina, after a weekend at his mother Martha’s home; he was last seen around 5 p.m. wearing a distinctive Harley-Davidson hoodie and carrying about $200 in cash. A massive search involving helicopters, dogs, boats, and hundreds of volunteers found no trace of him. Authorities later classified the case as a presumed homicide based on an informant tip that he may have been robbed and killed in a planned attack, possibly by people who knew him, though no arrests were made and his body was never found. A later lead involving felon Clifton Jones, who allegedly said Jacobs was buried in a refrigerator on his property, produced an incomplete 2010 search that recovered nothing; Jones had already died and much of the land went unexamined. Jacobs was declared legally dead in 2012, but the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office still lists the case as an open homicide. His family, especially sister Jackie, who left her life in Seattle to search for him, has never stopped seeking answers, and his mother kept his bedroom unchanged with a candle in the window hoping he would find his way home. Sources:

Dateline: Missing in America. (n.d.). Via Fyyd: Podcast, Search, Engine. https://fyyd.de/podcast/dateline-missing-in-america/3

Buczek, K. (2025, February 13). He left for a routine walk in 2002 but missed curfew, never made it home, and has remained missing ever since. Chip Chick. https://www.chipchick.com/2025/02/he-left-for-a-routine-walk-in-2002-but-missed-curfew-never-made-it-home-and-has-remained-missing-ever-since

Sederstrom, J. (2023, December 20). Family still searching for answers after man vanishes during routine Sunday walk. Oxygen. https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/kent-jacobs-missing-in-north-carolina-dateline-recap

Kent Jacobs – The Charley Project. (n.d.). https://charleyproject.org/case/kent-jacobs

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This episode of The Dark Oak was created, researched, written, recorded, hosted, edited, published, and marketed by Cynthia and Stefanie of Just Us Gals Productions with artwork by Justyse Himes and Music by Ryan Creep

Episode 163: Where is Mary Agnes Gross? Sep 02, 2026

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In June 1962, 20-year-old Marlys Gross gave birth to a daughter named Mary Agnes at Worthington Regional Hospital in Minnesota after a difficult, heavily sedated labor; she later recalled seeing the infant’s feet move and briefly viewing a baby who did not look dead—not cyanotic, with dark hair and forceps marks—before being told the child had lived only about an hour. She was too ill to attend the funeral, but her friend Judy Voges saw a different-looking infant at the funeral home, her mother Clara photographed a closed casket and noticed an unknown family mourning at the gravesite, and only one fresh grave was visible despite reports that another baby, Pamela Rae Dickey, had also died and been buried the same day. Official records later proved contradictory—a birth certificate describing a healthy live birth at 6:23 p.m. versus a death certificate calling the infant stillborn at 6:20 p.m.—the cemetery had no burial record for Mary Agnes, an anonymous photo of a family with a newborn arrived three months later, and a 1996 exhumation found remains that DNA showed belonged to neither Mary Agnes nor Pamela. The case remains unsolved: whether Mary Agnes died and the records and burial were simply mishandled, or whether a living infant was taken and another child’s body placed in the grave, has never been resolved. Sources:

https://web.archive.org/web/19990222082412/http:/unsolved.com/magross.html
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.crime/c/GGrerrScq1Y
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Mary_Agnes_Gross
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2u6PQBzRUwzE1BfMe3rjwA

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Episode 162: Jelani Day Aug 26, 2026

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When 25-year-old graduate student failed to come home on a routine August day, his family immediately knew something was wrong. His family filed a missing persons report and Jelani's vehicle was found an hour away from where he was last seen, abandoned on a dead-end street. More than a week went by before a badly decomposed body was found in a nearby river, but it took nearly three weeks for the remains to be identified as Jelani Day. Investigators immediately believed that Jelani took his own life but his friends and family have never believed that to be the case and instead believe Jelani to be the victim of foul play. Five years after his death, Jelani's family created the Jelani Day Foundation which offers support to the families of missing persons of color and honors Jelani's life and legacy while continuing to keep his case in the public eye. Sources: https://www.kcra.com/article/help-me-find-justice-questions-outweigh-answers-in-the-case-of-jelani-day/38081079
https://www.wandtv.com/news/illinois/5-years-later-jelani-day-s-family-continues-fight-for-answers/article_4727c96f-ffe8-470f-ad91-3ca7a2ccf684.html https://will.illinois.edu/21stshow/story/turning-pain-into-purpose-jelani-days-family-talks-foundation-four-years-after-his-death jelanidayfoundation.org

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Episode 161: The Abduction of Kevin Verville Jr. Aug 05, 2026

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On July 1, 1980, a woman calling herself "Sheila" approached Kevin's parents, Angelina and Kevin Verville Sr. at their off-base military apartment complex. Posing as a social worker from a military family assistance program, she gained their trust by offering free support for young families.

The woman offered to drive Angelina and baby Kevin to her office to enroll in the program. Under the guise of picking up another family, the abductor asked Angelina to step out of the car to knock on a door, but when Angelina complied, sped away with baby Kevin inside.

Authorities believe that baby Kevin is still alive and has probably been living under a false identity for the last 46 years.

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Episode 160: Black Eyed Children Jul 29, 2026

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In the dead of night, pale figures that look like children—yet somehow are not—appear at car windows and doorways, their eyes pure voids of black that swallow the light. They speak in flat, too-adult voices, asking only to be invited inside, for the ancient rule binds them: without permission they cannot cross the threshold. First whispered into the world by a Texas journalist’s chilling 1996 encounter and then carried on the early internet’s currents, these Black-Eyed Children leave witnesses frozen in primal dread; refuse them and they simply vanish, accept them and misfortune is said to follow. Whether demons wearing the faces of the innocent, travelers from some other realm, or a collective nightmare given form, they continue to surface across the globe, their true nature still hidden in the dark.

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Episode 159: The Circleville Letters Jul 23, 2026

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In the mid-to-late 1970s, the quiet Ohio town of Circleville was gripped by a wave of anonymous letters that transformed a close-knit community into one of fear and suspicion. Most postmarked from Columbus, the letters were handwritten in stark block capitals, unsigned, and filled with disturbingly precise details and accusations. The most prominent target was Mary Gillispie, a school bus driver accused of having an affair with school superintendent Gordon Massie. The writer claimed to have been “observing” her house, noted that she had children, ordered her to “stay away from Massie,” and warned of dire consequences if she failed to comply. Mary’s husband, Ron Gillispie, also received letters, some urging him to confront the alleged affair and others suggesting violence. On August 19, 1977, after answering a phone call that left him agitated, Ron left the house armed and died in a single-vehicle crash. Officially ruled accidental, the incident fueled lingering suspicions of foul play. As the campaign intensified, the letters threatened to expose secrets through media, posters, and billboards. Spanning roughly 18 years—from about 1976 to 1994—the ordeal deeply eroded trust within the community. The investigation was hampered by scant physical evidence and the strong possibility that the writer was a local resident. In 1983, Paul Freshour was convicted of attempted murder in connection with a booby-trapped sign placed on Mary’s bus route, though he was never charged with authoring the letters. His conviction rested on a disputed handwriting analysis later questioned by forensic experts. Letters continued to arrive even while he was imprisoned, leaving the case steeped in controversy. The Circleville Letters stand as a chilling reminder of how intimate knowledge, anonymous threats, and communal suspicion can intertwine, leaving behind a legacy of unresolved questions and a town forever changed. Sources:

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2024/03/01/circleville-letters/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/circleville-letters-author-unmask/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEDYK5veqwg&t=3s

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Episode 158: The Disappearance of Lynette Hooker - Overboard in Paradise Jul 15, 2026

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Lynette Hooker, a 55-year-old Michigan woman and avid sailor, disappeared on the night of April 4, 2026, while in the Bahamas with her husband of about 25 years, Brian Hooker. According to Brian’s account, the couple had dinner at the Abaco Inn in Hope Town and were returning to their anchored sailboat, the Soulmate, in an 8-foot dinghy near Elbow Cay when rough weather caused Lynette to fall overboard; he said she was holding the keys (stopping the engine), strong currents swept her away, and he paddled the powerless dinghy to shore, arriving in Marsh Harbour around 4 a.m. on April 5 before reporting her missing. No body has been recovered despite initial and later resumed searches by Bahamian authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard. The case has raised significant questions due to inconsistencies and this case is still being actively investigated.

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Episode 157: The Great Kentucky Meat Shower Jul 08, 2026

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On March 3, 1876, chunks of raw animal meat fell from a clear sky over a farm near Olympia Springs in Bath County, Kentucky, for several minutes while Mrs. Crouch was making soap outside. The pieces, mostly two to four inches across, resembled fresh beef, were tasted by locals as mutton or venison, and carried a foul odor like a dead body, with no wind, clouds, or birds observed. Multiple witnesses confirmed the event, which made national headlines. Microscopic analysis proved the material was real animal tissue—mainly lung, muscle, and cartilage—while the leading theory suggests vultures regurgitated partially digested carrion mid-flight. However, this explanation remains unproven due to the lack of visible birds, the gentle localized fall, and other inconsistencies. A preserved sample still exists at Transylvania University, but DNA testing was inconclusive, leaving the exact origin and cause of this bizarre incident a lasting mystery more than 150 years later.

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Episode 156: Laralee Spear - So Close to Home Jul 01, 2026

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On April 25, 1994, 15-year-old Laralee Spear was abducted and brutally murdered just one month shy of her 16th birthday. She was reported missing by her mother when she failed to arrive home after school at the expected time. After checking with neighbors, Laralee’s mother learned that she had last been seen getting off her school bus, which was only a ten-minute walk from the family’s home. A quick search ensued, but it ended tragically. More than three decades later, Laralee’s murder remains unsolved, with no known persons of interest. Sources:
https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/news/2024/september/fdle-vso-help-solve-the-laralee-spear-cold-case https://www.facebook.com/Mizzle20/posts/%EF%B8%8F-justice-for-laralee-30-years-later-%EF%B8%8Finvestigators-in-volusia-county-florida-ar/1488187345999812/ https://www.youtube.

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Episode 155: Barbara Nantais - One Night on the Sand Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

In August 1978, 15-year-old Barbara Nantais and her 17-year-old boyfriend Jim Alt were attacked while sleeping in zipped-together sleeping bags on Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego, California, after a night out with friends who remained in a nearby car. An unknown assailant severely beat Alt on the head with a rock and log from a fire pit, leaving him with life-threatening traumatic brain injuries, permanent metal plates in his skull, amnesia regarding the attack, and lifelong PTSD. Nantais was brutally murdered—she was beaten, strangled, sexually assaulted, had one breast mutilated, and her nude body was posed spread-eagle on the sand with wet sand stuffed in her mouth. The case quickly went cold despite an active investigation, as no murder weapon was recovered, the crowded beach environment hindered evidence collection, and 1970s forensic techniques (limited to basic serology and microscopy with no DNA profiling) offered little identifying power. Similarities in method to the 1984 murder of 14-year-old Claire Hough at the same beach initially raised questions of a possible serial offender, but authorities later concluded the cases were not connected. To this day, the Nantais murder remains an unsolved San Diego Police Department cold case with no identified suspects. Branch of Hope:

Caroline’s Rainbow Foundation is a UK-registered charity founded in 2002 by the family of Caroline Ann Stuttle, a young British traveler who tragically lost her life while on a gap year in Australia. For more than twenty years, the organization has focused on promoting safer independent travel for young people and backpackers. It offers free educational resources, safety workshops, school presentations, and practical guides that help gap-year students and first-time adventurers prepare responsibly and stay safe on the road. While the foundation now serves primarily as a lasting information archive, its materials remain freely available and continue to support thousands of young travelers each year.

Sources:

Barbara Nantais | City of San Diego Official Website. (n.d.). https://www.sandiego.gov/police/news-center/cold-cases/barbara-nantais

Schlesinger, R. (2024, July 7). Were the murders of California teens the work of a serial killer? CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-torrey-pines-beach-murders-blood-in-the-sand/

Sullivan, K. (2025, November 10). 2 teenagers were killed on Torrey Pines Beach 6 years apart | A&E. AETV. https://www.aetv.com/articles/2-teenagers-were-murdered-on-torrey-pines-beach-san-diego-6-years-apart

Morford, M. (2022, November 17). EPISODE 59 Barbara Nantais — ABJACK Entertainment. AbJack Entertainment. https://www.abjackentertainment.com/the-murder-in-my-family/episode-59-barbara-nantais

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