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E084: April Pitzer
1.5k Plays4 years ago
The desert can hold many secrets. After April Pitzer disappeared, her clothes were found strewn across a three mile stretch of the Mojave, but what actually happened to April is a secret the desert seems to still hold.
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Transcript
Starting a Podcast with Ease
00:00:00
Speaker
Sleuth Hounds, have you ever considered creating your own podcast? Have you been inspired by listening to some of your favorites and thought, I'd love to try this out on my own? Whether it's a true crime podcast like ours, a motivational podcast, or maybe one filled with tips and strategies for those interested in the same activities you are?
00:00:19
Speaker
When Maggie and I first decided to start our podcast, we knew absolutely nothing about what podcasting would entail. But when we found that the platform Buzzsprout was one for which we didn't need any special equipment, just a computer microphone, some quiet space and each other, we knew that this was the way to go. It is intuitive to use, fun to play around with, and so helpful.
00:00:42
Speaker
and getting analytical data about our number of downloads to track trends and from where our listeners hail. Best yet, Buzzsprout is affordable, even by our teacher salary standards. Buzzsprout will get your podcasts listed on every major podcasting platform. So, what are you waiting for? Fulfill that dream of yours and start today. If you use our coffee and cases referral code, 709-643,
00:01:09
Speaker
linked on Facebook and in our show notes. Not only will you help support our show, but you will receive a $20 Amazon gift card after your second month on a paid plan. It's that easy. Podcasting isn't hard when you have the right partners. Join over a hundred thousand podcasters already using Buzzsprout to get their message out to the world. Now it's time for the world to hear what you have to say.
00:01:37
Speaker
Hope can be a fickle thing. We have it just in our grasp, squeezing it tightly, afraid it will slip away again. But the tighter we squeeze, sometimes just makes it easier for hope to escape. It's like hope knows that if it's something we possess for too long, that we forget about its power.
The Elusiveness of Hope
00:02:02
Speaker
Emily Bronte wrote the following poem about hope.
00:02:07
Speaker
Hope was but a timid friend. She sat without the graded den, watching how my fate would tend, even as selfish hearted men. She was cruel in her fear.
00:02:21
Speaker
Through the bars one dreary day, I looked out to see her there, and she turned her face away, like a false guard, false watch-keeping. Still, in strife, she whispered peace. She would sing while I was weeping. If I listened, she would cease.
00:02:41
Speaker
As Maggie and I cover in case after case, week after week, there are families out there who know all too well the pain of a lost hope, and the kind of timid hope Bronte writes about, the kind that's just out of reach, the kind you know exists, but just in that moment you need it, turns away and stops its whisperings of peace.
00:03:07
Speaker
Like so many families before, that must be how Gloria Denton feels.
The Mystery of April Pitzer
00:03:13
Speaker
Her daughter had been running away from her past her whole life, much of the running due to reasons thrust upon her and not of her own choosing. Now her daughter was just about to come home. The reunion was only days away. Hope and joy were emotions Gloria Denton must have felt were sure, expected, a given.
00:03:38
Speaker
But those were the very emotions that ultimately eluded her, as Gloria is now left wondering, what happened to her daughter? Why were her things left strewn across the desert? And why would someone want to harm her? This is the story of April Pitzer.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:04:34
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron. We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the case will take those tips to law enforcement so justice and closure can be brought to these families.
00:04:54
Speaker
With each case, we encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast, and to follow us on Instagram at Coffee Cases podcast and on TikTok at Coffee and Cases podcast. Because as these families know, conversation helps to keep their missing family member in the public consciousness, helping to keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee, and listen to what's brewing this week.
00:05:21
Speaker
You guys never cease to amaze us, Sleuthhounds, because we did it. A couple of weeks ago, I set two ridiculously high goals. One was for you guys to share about the podcast on your social media pages or with a friend, which I know you have done because Maggie and I have noticed an uptick in listeners.
00:05:46
Speaker
Yes, we have. Yes, and it's so exciting. Please continue to share. Do not stop. Just think with each person you tell to listen to coffee in cases. That's one more potential person who might hear the case and either have the information to help solve it or know someone who does.
00:06:08
Speaker
So never underestimate the power of those small actions. It's also one more person to hear what happened to someone's child, someone's sibling, someone's friend. And I cannot express how much each individual listen matters to those family members and friends.
00:06:29
Speaker
My second ridiculously high goal was for us to get into podcast magazine's hot 50 list, which can only happen from your votes. And Maggie, do you want to share the good news?
00:06:43
Speaker
I would love to, Sleuth Hounds, we made it to number seven on June's list, y'all, top 10. I'm telling you, it came out and one of my podcasting friends sent me a Facebook message and was like, congratulations, you're on the list, number seven. And I was like, drop everything. Like, I was so excited. Number seven. Wow.
00:07:14
Speaker
I mean, I'm speechless and that doesn't happen often. And since this is working so well, setting these ridiculously high goals, I figured maybe we should set some more. So Maggie, what is your ridiculously high goal?
00:07:29
Speaker
Okay. Well, I'm also gonna do two. Okay. So one being, I want us to be in the top five for July. It's only two spots. We can do that. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. And we have not had a new written review in a couple of days. And do you know how much we love the written reviews, you guys? Positive ones. We like the positive ones. Yes.
00:07:59
Speaker
We would love for some new positive written reviews to come in. It'd be great. Absolutely. And Maggie, I'm actually going to piggyback on your first ridiculously high goal because that's mine too. Oh, good. Yeah. Mine is to be in the top five on podcast magazine's hot 50 list for July. And, you know, I sometimes feel like it's harder to get the repeat.
00:08:27
Speaker
Sometimes that's harder than the initial victory.
00:08:31
Speaker
So let me remind you guys right now, if you have forgotten how to vote, you can just take one minute because that's all it takes. I want you to Google Podcast Magazine Hot 50 Voting. Podcast Magazine Hot 50 Voting. It will take you straight to the page. And that is where you will type in coffee and cases with your hosts, Alison Williams, Maggie Dameron.
00:08:59
Speaker
I mean, oh, and you know what I forgot to tell them last time, Maggie? What? You can vote every day.
00:09:07
Speaker
Oh, y'all. I know. I left out this very crucial detail. Yeah, you can go onto Podcast Magazine Hot 50 voting every day if you want to. In fact, I mean, I would be quite pleased if you did. Me too. So please consider just taking one minute a day, even if it's just for the next couple of days, or all if you want to, and vote for the podcast. So enough shameless plugs. Let's get into our show.
00:09:37
Speaker
All right, let's do it.
April's Dangerous Role as an Informant
00:09:38
Speaker
I mentioned earlier Maggie in the introduction that April Pitzer had been running from her past her whole life, but for a reason that was out of her control.
00:09:52
Speaker
Even though the date at the center of the case that we're going to talk about this week happened on June 28th, 2004, I'm actually going to begin in the mid 90s because of that past event that would dictate so many of her future actions.
00:10:14
Speaker
So when April was in her early 20s, which was in the mid 1990s, she had offered a ride home to two female acquaintances, even though she had had a few drinks already. On that ride home, April was pulled over and sided with a DWI, driving while intoxicated.
00:10:37
Speaker
In Arkansas, where April's from, the first offense, as this was for April, usually carried with it a penalty of around $100 to $500, and maybe a 90-day driver's license suspension, which still seems pretty bad to me because I'm a real follower, so I'm like, I have gotten a speeding ticket before though.
00:11:02
Speaker
Me too. And I cried. I did too. And I paid it because I was like, I broke the rules, so I'm going to pay my ticket. I know. I know. I know. And I mean, I've been in some car accidents. My very first one, I was dressed like a clown, but that's a story for another day. That's a story for another day. But so it shouldn't have been, you know, like
00:11:27
Speaker
I want to say it shouldn't have been a big deal. It was still a big deal. You should never drive while intoxicated, but the punishment would have been seemingly minimal. But April's case was a bit more complicated since the two females who she had given a ride home to, those two acquaintances who were also in the vehicle were in possession of methamphetamines.
00:11:52
Speaker
Oh yeah, dun dun dun. I know. April herself had no drugs in her system and she was not known to have used before, but she was afraid of getting a criminal record, as I would be too. Yeah, same. I'd be freaking out over something that somebody else had done, thinking I would get in trouble.
00:12:16
Speaker
So Maggie, we know that she could not have been automatically charged and found guilty when the drugs were not in her possession, but in the possession of her passengers. However, law enforcement told her that they would press charges against her as well unless she took the deal they were offering. Can they do that? They did. Hmm.
00:12:45
Speaker
And that deal, Maggie, was that she become an informant for the police. So in essence, that she would go undercover and infiltrate a major drug ring. And when I say major drug ring, I don't mean one that just operated in some small town, but a drug ring that involved individuals from Arkansas all the way to California. That seems really weird to me.
00:13:13
Speaker
went from a DWI to, hey, you're now going to be in the middle of this drug ring for us. Thank you. We're not like, check your background or anything. We know you got this. Good job. I mean, I've never infiltrated a major drug ring before or been asked, but I think I would be a tad bit nervous. Me too. I'm not a good liar.
00:13:37
Speaker
I'm a horrible liar. Yeah, so that would not be a good combo for us, Maggie. But as I said, though, April didn't have any previous charges. And here was this police officer telling her that this is precisely what she has to do if she didn't want to charge. I'd be like, I'm going to talk to a lawyer. Thank you.
00:14:01
Speaker
But then we talk about this. If an officer is like, no, this is what you have to do, I'd be like, yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. That's true. I feel like I do it. And so did April. And it was that choice, if you want to call that a choice, that followed April for the rest of her life.
00:14:22
Speaker
And it followed her because at some point her identity was compromised. Good God. Yep. And Maggie, are you ready for this? Police told her that for her safety, she should leave the state of Arkansas altogether, which of course she did.
00:14:41
Speaker
I would be like, you need to, yeah, I'd be like, you need to provide me with a new identity. Like this is your fault. I know. So April moved to Texas to start a life there, like hopefully far enough away from the dangers that she feared would follow her. When she was in Texas, she met, dated and married a man named Chase Pitzer.
Deterioration and Struggle
00:15:04
Speaker
When April was pregnant with their first child, there was a knock at the door.
00:15:10
Speaker
And there, standing, waiting for her, were two DEA agents informing April that she was required to return to Arkansas in order to testify against several individuals who'd been involved in that major drug ring. Okay, but like, I just feel like that's not very safe for her.
00:15:37
Speaker
No. To be like, hey, my name's April. I told the police on you. Thanks. While all the people she's telling on probably have friends and family in the courtroom. Yep. And what makes matters worse, Maggie, is that due in part to April's testimony, several individuals were sentenced to prison. And then April was told, oh, you can return to Texas now. I'd be like, well, we're packing up my stuff. I'm moving to Canada.
00:16:03
Speaker
Yeah, always Canada, always. You know, as you can imagine though, I mean, April is in like this precarious position because you just mentioned it. I mean, of course, those she testified against were taken to prison, right? They're not gonna hurt her, but they have family, they have friends, they have associates who weren't in prison. So April, justifiably so in my opinion, became extremely paranoid.
00:16:33
Speaker
Yeah. She was continually afraid that someone from her past would recognize her, come after her, or worse yet, come after her family. And while April gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and then a second beautiful little girl, personally, she was tormented at the thought of always being followed. And April's mother, Gloria Denton, came to believe that April suffered from PTSD because of the experience.
00:17:04
Speaker
Yeah, I would say she did. I mean gosh, I went to leave for summer school.
00:17:14
Speaker
the other morning and I walked into the garage and Rodney had left the radio playing in there. And that alone freaked me out so much that when I went to go turn it off, I was like, is somebody gonna jump me from my own garage? You know, I can't imagine when I testified and sent people to prison. Yeah, I would not be able to sleep ever or be alone.
00:17:41
Speaker
Exactly. And that was kind of what April experienced. And to illustrate, it's reported, Maggie, that April wouldn't let her daughter sleep in their own room. Like, wouldn't let them sleep out of her sight. And her general demeanor was just altered. Yeah, I don't either. She couldn't trust anyone. And she didn't trust anyone. She began to take medication for her anxiety. She began to self-medicate with alcohol.
00:18:10
Speaker
And April lost so much weight that her friends hardly recognized her anymore. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She was prescribed medication for bipolar disorder. But most of the articles I read said that the medication didn't do much to control the disorder. And all of this took a toll not only on April herself, but also on her marriage and Chase and April divorced.
00:18:40
Speaker
Well, that's sad. I know, because everything that she's going through and then here's another, you know, and I don't want to put that on Chase either. You know, but it is another event that would have been hard to deal with.
00:19:00
Speaker
And I don't know if the medication didn't have much effect because of her inconsistency with taking it. And Maggie, you and I have talked about that before, especially those who have that diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Like when you're feeling good, you don't think you need your medication.
00:19:17
Speaker
so you don't take it, or if the medication didn't have much effect because she was self-medicating with alcohol, or if her medication didn't have much effect if we believe what April's mom believes, that April was misdiagnosed.
00:19:35
Speaker
And so because her mom believes that she suffered from PTSD. And so then I was like, hmm, I wonder, you know, how much they have in common. So I Googled it, like similarities between bipolar disorder and PTSD. This is what we do, right? Like we look at the answers.
00:19:52
Speaker
And I was shocked at the similarities. According to a publication by the HCH Clinicians Network, there are actually so many similarities between ADHD, bipolar disorder, and PTSD that they make it notoriously difficult to provide a definitive diagnosis.
00:20:14
Speaker
And between bipolar disorder and PTSD, they have the following traits in common, irritability, distractability. They often abuse substances to cope, depression, hopelessness. And then what's interesting is April's weight loss is usually associated with bipolar disorder, but that intense fear that she felt continually is more associated with PTSD.
00:20:40
Speaker
But no matter the real disorder in need of treatment, all of the medications and the changes in April were too much for Chase. Chase and his family, and this is going to make you sad, Maggie, they fought for sole custody of the couple's daughters due to her state of mental health and her substance abuse.
00:21:03
Speaker
I mean, that is sad, but I see their point to that too. She wasn't in a good place to have sole custody of her kids. Right. Right. And Chase and his family actually argued that April would be unable to properly care for them on her own.
00:21:21
Speaker
According to Eric Meadows and Todd Matthews of the Missing Pieces Show, they did an interview with April's mother, Gloria, and there were two things that stood out to me in that interview. One, Gloria stated that April's medication made her feel, quote, zombie-fied.
00:21:39
Speaker
and that her medication would make her, quote, cry, cry, cry, cry, cry, end quote. And it was those extremes of emotion that made April actually begin to wonder herself if she were losing grip on reality and perhaps wasn't able to be the mom that she wanted to be.
00:21:59
Speaker
And the second thing that stood out to me was that Gloria seemed to indicate that Chase was not out to punish April in any way. And in fact, that he still loved her very much. In that interview, Gloria stated the following, quote, her in-laws are millionaires.
00:22:20
Speaker
They very plainly said, we own the court system here. You're going to have to, and I quote, you will have to dig deep into your pockets and you're still not going to win. The home, the kids, everything. April really thought that they would see how important she was in their lives if she got away, end quote.
00:22:47
Speaker
So it seems like April's mother kind of vilifies Chase's family, like they were behind it.
00:22:57
Speaker
And Gloria then added, quote, he, meaning Chase, adored April. He really did. He loved her, but he was overwhelmed with the medicine and he didn't know what to do. His family just, his separated mom had all of it that she could take. It was basically the money or April. Unfortunately, sometimes people make bad decisions. It breaks his heart, end quote.
00:23:25
Speaker
So basically they told Chase, either you leave April or you're not getting any of this money. Correct. That's what Gloria made it sound like in that interview. And that he regrets the decision that he made.
00:23:41
Speaker
that he still loved her. And we know from Gloria that April still loved Chase also. So to walk away from him in the marriage was hard enough, but it was that judgment of her being incapable of caring for her daughters and then the subsequent self-doubt that was the worst situation of all for April because she loved those girls with all of her heart.
00:24:03
Speaker
And in her final days, Maggie, she had been trying to get back to them and was hoping to reunite with Chase as well. But I'm jumping ahead just a little bit. So after losing custody, April's depression worsened, as you can imagine. And she moved to California with a fairly new love interest of hers. April moved just a little, yeah.
00:24:32
Speaker
So she can't live in Arkansas because she was involved. She was an informant between a massive druggering between Arkansas and California. So she thinks it's the best decision for her to move to California. I know. It was a poor decision. Yeah. Yeah. But she wanted to get out of Texas, I guess, and she had met someone new and decided to move to California with him. Okay.
00:25:02
Speaker
So April moved to a small town called Newberry Springs. That sounds cute. Yeah, it does sound cute, but it's actually like right in the desert. It's in the Western Mojave Desert. And April told her mother Gloria that she was making ends meet there by working as a waitress and like working as a caretaker for an elderly person. But in reality,
00:25:29
Speaker
things were much more grim for April. She was in actuality homeless. Oh, wow. She was moving between sleeping in the street, staying with friends, living in homeless shelters, because her new relationship didn't pan out. She had stopped taking her bipolar medication, and she had fallen in with the wrong crowd, some of whom were the ones who let her couch surf.
00:25:58
Speaker
And after everything that she had gone through in her 20s, right, of accepting that deal with law enforcement so she could stay away from, you know, criminal or drug charges, now April was reportedly using drugs.
00:26:16
Speaker
I just feel very sorry for her. I feel like nothing is panning out for her. It's like the world's against little April. And I feel like it all goes back to that one thing. Yes, me too. If they would not have told her that I feel like we wouldn't be here. I know I honestly do feel because that caused the paranoia and then having to go back and testify made it even worse.
00:26:40
Speaker
It was months after moving to California that April finally told her mother the truth. She actually did take a job as a caretaker for an elderly woman, so that part was true. That woman's name was Barbara Kilibrew.
00:26:57
Speaker
And she sounds like an awesome woman and you'll see why here in just a little bit. But after coming clean to her mother, April took a second job as a waitress in order to earn some money. So now she's at least doing the two jobs that she told her mom she was doing from the beginning.
Planning April's Return to Arkansas
00:27:15
Speaker
Her mother was actually in the process of moving back to Arkansas from Texas herself. And so April wanted to go back home. Like she knew she needed to just go back home. She needed to get out of this situation in California. And that woman that April was taking care of, Barbara Kilibrew, Barbara is the one who had spoken with April and convinced her that I know this is why I said she's awesome.
00:27:41
Speaker
had convinced April that being home and away from this bad crowd would do her some good. And it was Barbara who's also the one who convinced April to finally tell her mother the truth.
00:27:52
Speaker
That's awesome. I know. What a good woman. And proud that April was attempting to turn her life back around, Barbara actually gave April a white suitcase so that April would have it to pack all of her stuff in to move back and live with her mom. And April's mother, Gloria, had started sending April some care packages of clothing and other necessities that would help out.
00:28:21
Speaker
Okay, so things seem to be maybe improving at this point, like she's going home. Things are looking a little bit better. Absolutely. And, you know, it was Barbara Killebrew who April was the caretaker for. She knew that April needed help.
00:28:38
Speaker
And that's why when April had visited Barbara in the hospital where Barbara had been for the past little bit. Barbara was thrilled to see April and such good spirits, you know, because she was used to seeing April, you know.
00:28:57
Speaker
in a poor state. And so now April's finally happy. She's excited to go home. She was going to wait until her mom was back in Arkansas. She was hoping to be reunified with her family, with her daughters, with Chase. And she was just thrilled to start again. And these emotions for someone who had been so paranoid and depressed for so long was such a relief for the people who cared about April.
00:29:27
Speaker
Yeah, imagine it being like, it's been extremely rainy in Kentucky the past like week. And we had a really pretty day today and it was like a breath of fresh air. Well, okay. So it was a breath of fresh air, but it might've also been a necessary one to make, to escape the past again. And you kind of called it, when I mentioned California and you were like, hold up.
00:29:57
Speaker
Here's why. She knew that she wanted to kind of get away from everything that had happened, right? She, it was as if she was always running from that past decision. And obviously she realized far better to run away from the past and have a family and friends as support system around me, right? Instead of doing it away from everybody.
00:30:23
Speaker
But in the days leading to April's trip back to see her mother, she had gone to a get together of one of the men who she had befriended in California, a man by the name of Chuck Hollister, who went by the name Uncle Chuck. Okay.
00:30:43
Speaker
And this get together that she had gone to with Uncle Chuck had been held at Steve Wilkinson's home, who was another friend of Uncle Chuck. And when April was at this party, she was among this group of other people who had been invited and she was introduced to a woman named Brandy Brooks. Brandy.
00:31:05
Speaker
just happened to be the wife of one of the men who was serving a seven year sentence due to April's testimony and
00:31:15
Speaker
I get why she did it, but at the same time, I'm like, why did you say something? But when April realized the connection, she reportedly apologized profusely, yes, about her own involvement, thus making herself known not only to Brandy, but to everybody there. And remember, this is the wrong crowd. Like this is a crowd of people
00:31:44
Speaker
in whom many were involved in drugs. And now she's basically telling them all that she had been an informant to law enforcement and like ratted people out about their drug use in the past. Oh, April. Yes. So now that everybody knew
00:32:04
Speaker
I'm sure April could have been slightly worried. We know that her mom Gloria was, that she would soon have a target on her back. So yes, this move back was going to be positive, but it might've also been necessary. Yeah, but I wouldn't go back to Arkansas, which also has ties to these people in California. I know. Again, Canada, there's a solution.
00:32:29
Speaker
So it was likely out of both excitement and necessity that April wanted to go see her mother. And you know, Maggie, you and I talk about this quite a bit, but for so many, there's just something about being in a mother's presence that alone is soothing. Agree.
00:32:49
Speaker
But here's one of the inconsistencies and we see this quite often in the cases that we cover. Some of the sources stated that April was just gonna go in for a short trip to visit Gloria and that she would then later be moving like fully back to Arkansas when her own mother had completely moved, right? Like she's just waiting for her mother to get completely settled in before she also moves back.
00:33:16
Speaker
And then other sources doing like a quick trick. Right. Yeah. Cause sometimes that's what you need. Let's be honest. You just need some momma time. Yeah. Other sources said that April was moving back fully in this very trip in question, but it was a trip that ultimately April never took.
00:33:42
Speaker
And I'm more inclined to believe that this was just the short trip before the big move, because only a few days before this planned bus excursion back to Arkansas is when April had taken the job as a waitress. And you know, if you're going to be moving,
00:34:01
Speaker
Why take a job? Exactly. It doesn't make sense to take a new job. But regardless, April was ready to go. Right? Go back home. Yeah, leave this place. Yes. And it was that level of anticipation and joy that I mentioned earlier. I think that's most important because it was like April found hope again.
00:34:23
Speaker
Gloria had spoken with her daughter April on June 22nd, just as Gloria herself was going back to Texas to get the last load of her things to complete her move back to Arkansas. And it was then that the phone communication stopped.
00:34:41
Speaker
And it wouldn't have been as noticeable to Gloria because, I mean, she had been in regular contact with April, but after that conversation on June 22nd, anytime that Gloria tried to call, April didn't answer, but Gloria herself was in the process of moving. So she had already had like her phone turned off in Texas, right? But she still was worried.
00:35:11
Speaker
And so she's like, why is April not answering the phone? So she started calling Uncle Chuck because this was a man for whom Gloria had his number because April had been couch surfing there. And so she's thinking, okay, well, surely he will know where April is, right?
00:35:31
Speaker
But Chuck didn't answer. Oh, Lord. Yes. So then Gloria starts calling Barbara Killebrew because April had told her mom about Barbara and the relationship that they had formed. And, you know, Gloria is saying maybe maybe Barbara will know why April's not answering. But.
00:35:51
Speaker
Gloria didn't know that Barbara had been hospitalized and she wasn't at home, so Gloria couldn't reach her either. Oh my God, Gloria is probably freaking out by now. Yes. And all of this, in addition to the fact that each one of these phone calls is no small fee for Gloria because April had a cell phone, it was 2004, but Gloria didn't.
00:36:12
Speaker
Like I said, her phone line in Texas had already been disconnected. So Gloria, every time she was making a phone call, had to like go up the street to her niece's home just to use the phone. Oh, wow. So it's like an ordeal even just to make these phone calls. And in fact, it wasn't until July 4th, 2004 that Gloria was finally able to reach Barbara.
00:36:37
Speaker
And of course, Barbara is under the impression that April had gone home for a visit. Remember, because she gave April the white suitcase to use and she hadn't seen April. And in the first conversation between the two women, one of the first questions that Barbara asked Gloria, she said, how does it feel to have your baby home?
00:37:02
Speaker
And Gloria's response was that April wasn't home and she never came home. And that was a shock to Barbara. But it was also in that conversation that Gloria was able to piece together some of the information that she has about the last few hours that April was seen. Barbara Killebrew relayed that it was on June 27th, 2004 that she had last seen April. And it's now July 4th.
00:37:31
Speaker
July 4th, yes. Now it was June 22nd. That was the last time that Gloria had spoken to her. So we know at least five days later.
00:37:41
Speaker
Barbara saw April. And it was at that meeting that April said her goodbyes to Barbara, told her she was going home. It was at that meeting that Barbara had loaned April the suitcase. And it was at that meeting that we can last truly verify 30-year-old April Pitzer was alive and well with no sign of distress. So she doesn't even seem like anything's gone awry.
00:38:09
Speaker
Okay. So Gloria, April's mom, attempted to call police to file a missing persons report, but she was told that April likely just left for a few days of her own volition. And they were like, maybe she wanted to start a new life somewhere else. Didn't she do that a couple of times before? Okay, that doesn't mean she did it this time. We talked about this already. I know. But you know,
00:38:35
Speaker
I don't want to say I get where they're coming from, but law enforcement did note that there was a pattern that April herself had established of picking up and moving, right? So they're like, what if this is another time? And as an adult, she has the right and the ability to do so.
00:38:55
Speaker
But Gloria was like, no, like she was about to come home. Yeah, that was the plan. She was coming home. Right. So Gloria was desperate for more to be done. And she was desperate for more answers. There was someone else who saw April. But the stories have been so numerous and inconsistent that it's hard to know which story to trust.
00:39:23
Speaker
And those various stories, Maggie, all come from the same person. Oh, let me guess who it is. Yeah, guess. Chuck. Uncle Chuck. And it wasn't until July 16th or 17th that Gloria was finally able to reach Chuck. Remember, she's been calling him since, like, around June 22nd. So this has been almost a month. Yeah, almost a month.
00:39:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's several weeks, at least at this point. And when she's finally able to reach him, Chuck apologizes to Gloria and says that the reason he hadn't answered was because he hadn't been at home. He had been helping a friend move to Oregon. For a month? Yeah. Okay.
00:40:09
Speaker
Like I get trying to help somebody. I even understand if maybe it was a long trip to help them move. And Chuck was like, you know what? I'm just going to stay a few days, spend some time with my friend, explore the area, whatever, for like a week or so. But to do that for a month seems a little bit far fetched to me. Yeah, because you know you have bills. You have to pay a house. You have to keep people from breaking into, like.
00:40:36
Speaker
Yeah, but he did tell Gloria when he was asked about the last time he saw April that he had at least seen her on the morning of the 28th.
Conflicting Accounts of April's Disappearance
00:40:50
Speaker
He told Gloria, as she restated in that interview on The Missing Pieces show, quote, here's what he said, quote,
00:40:58
Speaker
I got up that morning at 6am went to work April was asleep in her bedroom and I came home that evening around 5pm and April was gone and a couple of changes of her clothes and her ID and quote. Is there anything about that same and the strike shoes odd Maggie.
00:41:15
Speaker
Um, well, what does he do for a living that he's gone for almost 12 hours? And why does he say that she was asleep in her bedroom? I thought she was sleeping on the couch. And think about what he says is missing. Her clothes and her ID, like how...
00:41:38
Speaker
How does he know that? That's what I'm thinking. If you come to stay with me and you've packed a suitcase, there's no way I would be able to look in your suitcase and be like, oh, yep, a shirt is missing. I have no idea what you have in there. And how the heck would I know if your ID is missing?
00:42:00
Speaker
Right. Because how would he even know she had an ID? Yeah. Like to me, it's one thing to say like, oh, her suitcase and her purse are gone or her things are missing, but it seems oddly specific to say her ID is gone. You're specific enough to say a couple of changes of clothes and her ID is gone. Yeah. And it's those details, Maggie, that have always bothered Gloria also.
00:42:27
Speaker
And then there's the rest of the conversation that will be important later. So I'm going to tell it to you now. Again, this is as Gloria called in that interview. Here's what else she states Uncle Chuck told her. This is her whole conversation. Quote, I said, well, where did she go?
00:42:46
Speaker
He said, well, she went to spend a couple of nights over at Steve and Tanya's house. And I said, oh. And he said, and I haven't seen her since then.
00:42:58
Speaker
I said, wear her clothes, wear her things. And he told me very plainly, oh, they're here. I'm looking at her desert boots right now and there's her gym bag. Money was depleted at that point. I told him, Chuck, I don't know how I'm gonna get there, but I'm coming there. And please do not do anything with her clothes or anything. Please keep everything there for me. He told me, okay, I will.
00:43:29
Speaker
I'm going to guess that nothing was left alone. You would be correct in that assumption. But at least this tells Gloria, okay, if her things are there, she didn't just up and start a new life somewhere. That's true. You hadn't made that connection. Yeah. So the next phone call that Gloria made.
00:43:51
Speaker
was again to call the police to file a missing persons report. And this time they took the report. But now we're a month later. And whether April had left of her own accord to go home or had left of her own accord to start a new life, like I said, she would have taken her things. According to several sources, including the Charlie Project,
00:44:19
Speaker
The 5 foot 9 inch, 120 to 130 pound April Pitzer, wearing her typical gold hoop earrings and either sneakers or sandals, was last seen in the 30,000 block of Caspian Way in Newberry Springs on June 28, 2004, after she was given a ride to the bus station.
00:44:41
Speaker
But here's the problem. That's what I was going to say. Here's the problem. This same acquaintance who, quote, gave her a ride to the bus station is the very one who previously told Gloria that he went to work and April was gone when he returned, Uncle Chuck. But when investigated, Chuck didn't have the best track record in terms of cooperation with police.
00:45:05
Speaker
He did a few things that are suspicious. He changed his phone number soon after Gloria contacted him. He initially refused to let law enforcement search his property when Officer Maurice Spain had stopped by to have a look. And as I mentioned before, his story changed. So Chuck first said to Gloria that April Sings were left at his place except a few changes of clothes and her ID, right?
00:45:32
Speaker
Later, even though he wouldn't let Officer Spain in, he told her that he went to work at six, came home at five, and April, along with all of her clothes, like everything she owned, was gone. Fishy.
00:45:48
Speaker
Rumors, of course, abounded about her disappearance, but the most popular rumor was that April had been murdered and her body hidden in one of the hundreds of abandoned or personally owned mine shafts in the surrounding desert.
00:46:05
Speaker
And law enforcement took these rumors seriously. They actually searched 25 of those mines. Wow. And these rumors were partly fueled by a tip that police received from a bus driver in September 2004. So this flyer of April was taped in the bus. And one of the passengers when she saw it, remarked that April was quote, in a hole.
00:46:33
Speaker
So police are able to track down this woman who uttered these words. And I mean, I'm impressed by the fact that they found her. Yeah, how did they do that? But good job, police. Right. And she basically informed them that she had attended one of the same parties as April. And so she knew who she was and that she had attended a party later on and had overheard that April was dead and thrown in a mine.
00:47:01
Speaker
I feel like if that's the case, she may never turn up. Well, and we'll talk about that.
00:47:08
Speaker
And then there was another weird thing that happened later before I get into the theories. And that is that eight months after April disappeared, someone in New Mexico, we still don't know who, tried to get a cell phone in April Pitzer's name, but authorities have reasonable doubt that the person who made that attempt was involved at all. So they're basically like, this is just, maybe they like bought her name off of something. You know what I mean?
00:47:38
Speaker
So here are the theories about what potentially happened to April. So about all we know at this point is she needed to get away again. She was supposed to take this bus ride back. She never got on the bus. And Uncle Chuck changed his phone number. And Uncle Chuck changed his phone number and his story. OK, here are the theories.
Theories and Suspicions
00:48:01
Speaker
OK. Theory number one, that April left of her own accord.
00:48:07
Speaker
Okay, so she could have met the wife at that party, right? Who knew, she knew that her past had once again caught up with her. And so she knew she needed to start over again. And maybe this time she was even more afraid that something would happen to her family. And in an attempt to protect them, she just left. Okay. But I don't buy that theory.
00:48:31
Speaker
Well, the thing that like kind of is weird to me about that is like
00:48:38
Speaker
I mean, unless she was just really good at making it seem like maybe something happened to her when it really didn't, why would she accept the nursing, or not nursing, the waitress job? Yep. That's what stops me too. You wouldn't just start a new job if you planned on going away. Right. Unless you're trying to fabricate some type of story. Right. And she wouldn't have been talking to her mom about moving back. Yeah.
00:49:05
Speaker
So I feel like someone would have noticed the old telltale signs of anxiety too. And they wouldn't have been like, Oh, she was full of hope. Yeah. She was so excited. So I don't buy that one theory too.
00:49:20
Speaker
Uncle Chuck. Okay. Okay, so he seems an obvious suspect. Right, because his story changes and it's just weird. Yes, and he was out of town helping a friend move for a month. Supposedly. Week alibi. And he didn't want officers to search his property. He changed his phone number. Yeah, he changes his phone number. He tells the conflicting stories.
00:49:45
Speaker
to play devil's advocate, like I like to do, he could have been hiding something else on his property. And that's why he didn't want them to search. That's true. Like he could have been hiding drugs or anything. Right. And he did actually eventually allow police to search his property. But then many question, what did he move or hide in the meantime? That's true. And it was in that search that his story changed again.
00:50:13
Speaker
Oh, okay. This time he told the officer that April left of her own accord because she didn't want her mom to buy her a bus ticket and spend her money to get April home. So Uncle Chuck said April met a truck driver and hitched a ride with him to get home and that she left her things because she said she'd be back in three weeks to get them.
00:50:37
Speaker
All right, so this is my thing, okay? Like I'm putting myself in April's shoes and my mom in Gloria's shoes. My mom would not care if she had to sell her last possession to get me safely home. And I'm sure that Gloria's mom felt the same. Also, if Uncle Chuck's story is true, which it could be,
00:51:02
Speaker
Maybe something happened to her with this random truck driver, which we know can happen. Right. I don't know. But why would she say she's coming back in three weeks? I don't know. That doesn't make sense. And there's one tiny detail before we stop talking about Uncle Chuck. Okay. But I feel like I need to tell you.
00:51:26
Speaker
So police responded to a tip about information written in a men's bathroom stall. And this bathroom stall just happened to be in Oregon. So where Chuck said that he was? Yeah. So the very place where Chuck had gone to help a friend quote unquote move, air quote move. Yeah. And this message on the bathroom stall read, quote,
00:51:52
Speaker
looking for missing girl from Arkansas, three miles east of Barstow, 115 Freeway." End quote. So we could maybe find her body there. We could find her belongings there. What are we supposed to find there? See, I don't know.
00:52:14
Speaker
A lot of people are like, is this Chuck who has written this message himself as a way to like ease his conscience? Could this message be about April? Yeah. Could he just have been giving a clue to police? Like maybe he knows something, but didn't want to come out and say it for his own safety. So he wrote it on the bathroom wall. I mean, all of this seems awfully coincidental.
00:52:36
Speaker
but Uncle Chuck has since died of cancer and he swore until his dying breath that he had nothing to do with April Pitzer's disappearance. Theory three, a man who we haven't met yet named Dan Dansbury who went by the nickname Dan Dan. Of course he did. So we have Uncle Chuck and Dan Dan.
00:53:02
Speaker
Dan Dan ran around in the same circles as Steve Wilkinson. Remember that's the man whose house April was visiting when she outed herself to the wife of the man she'd put behind bars. And in the same circle as Uncle Chuck. But Dan Dan is separate as a theory because of one important detail. He owned a mine.
00:53:26
Speaker
Okay, and that's where we think April might be, right? Right, yes. Because that woman on the bus said she overheard that April was, quote, in a hole. And we know that law enforcement searched several mines in the area. Well, Maggie, in 2005, they found something. In a remote area of the Mojave Desert, around 30 miles away from Newberry Springs, they found some of April's belongings.
00:53:56
Speaker
and they found her things near the mine owned by none other than Dan Dansbury. This mine, according to the interview on missing pieces with April's mother, Gloria, and this is coming straight from her because I didn't read this information in any of my research. This is just what she said in that interview that she had been told or led to believe, okay?
00:54:24
Speaker
was that this mine is where Dan Dan and Uncle Chuck would often like hang out. And it was the spot that was isolated enough that they would cook their drugs out there as well.
00:54:37
Speaker
This is what she said in an interview. So here's the connection. First, Uncle Chuck says April's belongings were at his house, a story that he later changes and then goes back to. Oh, because what if he disposed of them in this mine? Well, and that's the thing. If he goes back to saying that April's things are in his house, then how the heck did they get out into the Mojave Desert near Danden's mine?
00:55:02
Speaker
Well, maybe he, when he's saying no, she took all of her stuff and like everything's gone. He moved it there to try to hide it from police. And her clothing is exactly what law enforcement found. But just finding that took a lot because Gloria said basically they only had five officers to search 22,000 square miles of desert.
00:55:32
Speaker
And actually the coroner who thought to ask Gloria to send a DNA sample to help in their search, right? So like for the cadaver dogs and all of that. And a detective called Gloria on December 22nd to let her know that they had gotten a hit on a mine when they took the cadaver dogs, that the dogs had like laid down in front of this one air shaft.
00:55:56
Speaker
And so then they brought in another rescue team with more cadaver dogs. And those dogs also lay down in front of this one particular air shaft. So the rescue team focused there. They searched for 12 hours. Wow. But they found nothing.
00:56:15
Speaker
And then it had begun to rain. And because this mine had been abandoned since like 1979, I think was how long it had been abandoned. They were worried with the heavy rains and it being so old that certain shafts could collapse. Oh, and they get trapped. Right. So they were like, we're going to come back. But before they left, obviously they had to speak with the mine's owner.
00:56:46
Speaker
Dan Dan and let him know why they were there. And when they left, they didn't secure the area in any way that I read. So when they returned just five days later to continue the search, the cadaver dogs no longer reacted to the same air shaft. Oh, wow. And so that shift has led a lot of people to question whether April's body had been in there. And then they moved it.
00:57:15
Speaker
And the coroner, Dave Van Norman, according to Gloria, kind of did his own investigation. So he actually went around to the people who he knew were like in the desert almost every day or exploring the desert. And he told them April's story.
00:57:31
Speaker
And one of those people he told the story to was an author who explored and wrote about the Mojave Desert, knowing that, you know, this author is he often goes into mines in the area. And so he was kind of telling him what to look out for.
00:57:46
Speaker
And on one of the expeditions to a mine called The Indian Queen, the author went into this nearby abandoned shack and he found some women's clothes that were thrown all about inside. So of course, this author immediately calls the coroner, who immediately calls the sheriff, who immediately calls Gloria to come and look at the clothing. Was it her? Was it April's? It was.
00:58:13
Speaker
This shack and the nearby mine were 12 miles from the one that Dan Dan owned, which was called Red Dog. And so it's 12 miles away, this abandoned shack from where the cadaver dogs had laid down. And when Gloria saw the clothing, she knew immediately that it belonged to April, most notably because of the nightgown. Because do you remember back near the beginning of the episode I mentioned that Gloria had sent April some care packages with clothing?
00:58:42
Speaker
This particular nightgown, Gloria recalled that April had called her about crying because she was so grateful. Oh, wow. And that's one of the pieces of clothing that Gloria noticed. And all the clothing, it's weird Maggie, it was like under a deck, like poking. It was almost as if it had been buried under the deck.
00:59:05
Speaker
So like poking out of the ground or other pieces of clothing like buried in the dirt and the sand and one piece of clothing was a flannel shirt that was singed as if it had been caught on fire. Strange.
00:59:21
Speaker
That wasn't even the shack that the author had found. He had seen clothing in the shack next to it. It was Gloria who was passing by the first shack who saw the clothing sticking out of the ground. So then they go into the next shack, the one that the author had seen. And in that shack, there was a nightgown, a different one, that had a noose tied around the neck of it. Oh my god. There were April's desert boots. Hold on.
00:59:51
Speaker
Didn't Uncle Chuck say I'm looking at her desert boots right now? He sure did. He sure did, Maggie, in one of his stories. And there was one of her desert boots in the shack, and one of them right outside of it.
01:00:04
Speaker
And there was like a gym bag of April's, but also in that shack was iodine, gauze, and duct tape. Wow. So that, I mean, that to me is a crime scene. Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say. So Gloria, now she's seeing all this. She's like, I want to see the mine where the dogs had laid down, right? Like I want to see red dog mine.
01:00:31
Speaker
And so they decided to take her out to it. And it was there that Gloria saw something near the mine, had been there all along, never taken by law enforcement, but it was the white suitcase that Barbara had given April to use. So you're telling me that they just never saw it?
01:00:55
Speaker
I'm assuming. And they searched for 12 hours around this mine? Well, they searched in the mine. Okay. So I'm not so sure if they searched like around it. But Gloria also noticed a pit that had been dug and in it were even more of April's
01:01:16
Speaker
articles of clothing and because Gloria can identify it because she had sent her care packages with some of these items and the clothing
01:01:28
Speaker
had been defecated on. So someone had to keep the bathroom on these pieces of clothing. So the police come, they collect some of the articles, not all of them. That's why. Well, they basically told Gloria, it's impossible to test everything. So we're only taking some. And the rest, they just left there.
01:01:51
Speaker
The clothing, even that that was collected though, had been exposed to the elements so long that it no longer had evidentiary value. So there's no longer like DNA on it. This is frustrating me.
Investigating Foul Play
01:02:07
Speaker
In another search that was led by the coroner, so kudos to the coroner, near another mine, they found a roach clip, which has something to do with drugs.
01:02:21
Speaker
And that was too afraid to look it up on my school computer. Yeah, I don't have no idea what that is. What is a roach clip? I'm going to Google it on my phone. Okay. But it's something to do with drugs. And this roach clip, Maggie, had Uncle Chuck's name on it. This is all at a nearby mine.
01:02:41
Speaker
So they find a Roach clip with Uncle Chuck's name on it, a CD with Ding and Dan's name on it. Oh, okay. It holds marijuana. It's like it holds joints to prevent you from burning your fingers. Oh, because I think like the, like
01:02:57
Speaker
I don't even know what they're called. I think when you smoke a joint down so far, the end of it, this is according to Google, is called a roach. It holds the little tiny part so you don't get burnt and you can still smoke what's in that roach part. Why would you want to call it a roach? That's right.
01:03:20
Speaker
Anyway. Anyhoozle. Yeah, anyhoozle. It was Uncle Chuck's. And then the CD with Dan Dan's name on it. They also found Maggie. I don't think you're prepared. A bloody comforter and a shovel. And like, those are not normal items to leave behind. Yeah. I mean, a shovel out of mine, maybe.
01:03:48
Speaker
And then proof that Uncle Chuck and Dan Dan were there. Yeah, you can justify leaving a shovel out of mine. A bloody comforter? No. Proof that both of those men were there? Too much to be a coincidence. And then six weeks later, the air shaft where the cadaver dogs had laid down was dynamited. Of course it was.
01:04:09
Speaker
Yep, but despite all of the evidence seeming to point to Uncle Chuck and Dan Dan changing stories, it being Dan Dan's mine, it's where they hung out. They potentially moved April from that mine somewhere else. Her things being left behind and then all taken and then left behind again and now found in the desert and
01:04:36
Speaker
They also found a foam mattress and a bloody sheet near some of the other evidence. And they sent that away for DNA testing in 2005. Maggie, I searched the entire internet. I could find no update about that DNA testing. Okay, that's ridiculous. It's 2021. That's ridiculous. Something should have been out by now.
01:05:03
Speaker
I would think at least saying that they couldn't... Yeah, something. Law enforcement though basically said all of these things that look bad for Uncle Chuck and Danden, it's all circumstantial and that really the only person who they could assume with a high probability was there in the Mojave was April herself. What's she going to do? Hit herself with a shovel?
01:05:27
Speaker
I know. And Dan Dan too has passed away. Gloria spoke with him as well, you know, just like she did with Uncle Chuck. And Dan Dan denied any involvement, but there is a rumor, though it is likely that it's just that, that it's just a rumor, but I have to tell it to you anyway, that Dan Dan on his deathbed
01:05:51
Speaker
told a friend that the searches for April's body were in the right place, but they just hadn't, quote, gone far enough. Like they hadn't gone into the mine far enough? That's my guess. Hmm. Okay. I got two more theories for you. These are short. Okay. Theory number four, a drug link from her past. April's mother, Gloria, is convinced that whatever happened to April, she met with foul play.
01:06:19
Speaker
Gloria believes that whoever hurt her daughter was linked to that drug ring for which April had testified. So like, did the wife of the man who was put away by April's testimony share with others April's identity and her location? Like these people who had a long held grudge against her because she had put them or like loved ones away.
01:06:42
Speaker
The owner of the restaurant where April had just begun working noticed on April's third day of work that she came in with what looked like a black eye. So was that just the first violent act against her of the far worst to come? And one of her acquaintances could have a connection, Steve Wilkinson, the man who had the party.
01:07:06
Speaker
was later rumored to be connected with the drug ring and with methamphetamines. So that's led some people to wonder, now that he knew April had once been an informant, did he harm her so he wouldn't be the next one she testified against? But just like the other two, Uncle Chuck and Dan Dan, we can't ask Steve Wilkinson because he died in a plane crash in 2015.
01:07:35
Speaker
Wow. Or theory number five, could it be a combination of a few or all of the theories? Like for example, if they all ran in the same circle, maybe the link to her past made Uncle Chuck, Dan Dan, Steve Wilkinson and others worry about whether they would be turned in, right? And so they kind of work together.
01:08:03
Speaker
to quote unquote get rid of the problem. Or maybe some people from April's past were willing to pay some of her current acquaintances to kill April. Okay, what are your thoughts? I don't know for sure. I mean, I do agree with her mother. I definitely think that it was foul play. I don't think she left on her own, but like the whole time I'm just sitting here thinking like how sad it is and like,
01:08:31
Speaker
almost how ironic it is that she ran away from her problems, but ran into this drug ring without even knowing that she was. I have no idea. Despite the fact that April's body was never located, she was declared legally dead on August 27th, 2012. But that doesn't mean that her mother, Gloria, has given up hope.
01:09:00
Speaker
As fickle as a thing like hope can be, disappearing at just the moment you seem to need it the most, it's all Gloria has of her daughter. So at least once a year, Gloria makes the journey out to the Mojave to keep searching with the hope of closure.
01:09:21
Speaker
April's mother, Gloria, once noted of missing adults, quote, so many people don't report their loved ones missing as adults because, well, they're not worthy. They're a prostitute. That's an alcoholic. That's a drug addict. I don't care what they are. They're lives. They have names, end quote. All of that is true. And yet, I propose we add one more thing to that list.
01:09:49
Speaker
that they and their families are deserving of the hope of finding peace and rest as well. If you have any information about April Beth Pitzer's disappearance, please call the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department at 760-256-4838.
Engagement and Updates
01:10:14
Speaker
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01:10:36
Speaker
Please tell your friends about our podcast so that more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to write our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon. Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.