Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
E258: Olivia Lone Bear
0 Playsin 10 hours
When Olivia Lone Bear went missing on October 24, 2017, her family was thrust into a search that would span years, uncovering a series of perplexing details that would leave them without answers. This episode delves into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Olivia's disappearance, from the cryptic final texts sent from her phone to the unexplainable discovery of the truck she had been driving being found just miles from her home. With no clear answers and the investigation stalled, the episode also explores the challenges faced by Indigenous families in the fight for justice, highlighting the systemic barriers that complicate the search for missing women like Olivia.
As we examine the key pieces of this case, we also ask: who might Olivia have been with on the night she disappeared? Was the truck's location an accident or something more sinister? Could the mysterious digital footprints left behind be part of a larger story, and why has no one come forward with answers?
This week’s case is presented in collaboration with The Dark Oak Podcast. Be sure to check them out HERE!
If you are interested in bonus content for our show or in getting some Coffee and Cases swag, please consider joining Patreon. There are various levels to fit your needs, all of which can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcases
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to MMIW Movement
00:00:00
Speaker
Today, we are diving into a case that's as tragic as it is emblematic of a larger crisis affecting indigenous communities across the United States. You may have seen the symbol for the crisis I'm speaking of, red handprints painted on faces, banners adorned with bright red dresses. Red is the color of the movement because you see red is said to be the only color spirits can see.
00:00:29
Speaker
a way to call back home those who've been taken and to honor their strength. You may have even seen the haunting hashtag for the movement to fight this crisis.
00:00:40
Speaker
Hashtag no more stolen sisters. I'm of course talking about the MMIW movement, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Statistics and Media Coverage Issues
00:00:50
Speaker
These symbols are part of a movement meant to acknowledge and confront a grim reality. Native women are far more likely to face violence.
00:01:01
Speaker
often disappearing with little to no media coverage nor justice. According to the CDC, homicide is the third leading cause of death for indigenous women, and four out of five will experience violence in their lifetime.
00:01:19
Speaker
Despite her justice isn't just numbers though. It's a chorus of families screaming into the void, asking for help or at least recognition of the truth.
Case of Olivia Lone Bear
00:01:31
Speaker
Just like in the case we're talking about today, this is the case of Olivia Lone Bear.
00:02:11
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 cases will take those tips to law enforcement. So justice and closure can be brought to these families with
Podcast's Mission and Collaborations
00:02:31
Speaker
each case. We encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, coffee and cases podcast, because as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee and listen to what's brewing this week.
00:02:48
Speaker
I am so excited to be joined by Cynthia and Stephanie from the Dark Oak podcast. We have actually participated together in our larger collab episodes, but I am so excited to do a one on one collab with the two of you.
00:03:07
Speaker
And this week I will be presenting a case to them and next week and they will return the favor and tell me about a case. And I just feel like it's always so wonderful when we true crime podcasters can join forces because it means that these families are getting twice the exposure. And that's why we do this in the first place. So I love these opportunities.
00:03:33
Speaker
And listeners, we will post information on where to find the Dark Oak podcast in our show notes because we know that after today, you will want to follow them as well and give them a five star review. So Cynthia and Stephanie, hello, how are you? Hello, this is Cynthia. Thank you so much for having us. We're so excited to be here.
00:03:57
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely Stephanie, same. it's It's really a pleasure, genuinely. So tell us a little bit about how you guys got started on your podcast. Well, I actually had a true crime podcast prior to the Dark Oak, and it was more of a ah fun, lighthearted kind of thing. And Stephanie and I have known each other, I believe, since second grade.
00:04:20
Speaker
Oh, wow. Yes. We go way back. um She just kept saying, you know what, I want to, let's do it together. Let's do it together. Let's do it together. And we joined forces and I am just so grateful to have Stephanie in my life because she has taken, you know, an idea I had several years ago and made it something I could have never imagined. She is amazing. So that's kind of how we got started, but with with the whole project.
00:04:48
Speaker
Yeah, we're friends and podcasters, if you will.
Collaborations and Community Efforts
00:04:52
Speaker
And what's great is we had this vision for a true crime podcast, but then we also added a non-for-profit foundation into our project, which always partners with other nonprofits that support victims. They're basically victims' advocates' programs or non-for-profit programs that were started by families of victims.
00:05:15
Speaker
So every month, a portion of our proceeds from our Patreon or our sponsors are given directly to those organizations. And it really has been a heartwarming experience for both of us. um Both of us are really ah enjoy trying to put puzzle pieces together. But then when you add this piece where you get to know the families of the victims and you get to honor them, it it really It's special, you know, holds a special place in your heart. And I think that's why this collab with you this morning, Alison, and Coffee and Cases is really special to us as well because I know you have the same heart for victims and the same heart for trying to bring closure to families and awareness to cases. And I'm already so intrigued about this case you're bringing today because as we know, minorities,
00:06:12
Speaker
don't get the coverage that they deserve and they they don't get the attention from the authorities that they deserve. So I think it's up to podcasters like us to continue the fight for them. I agree. I mean, we're podcasting twins. We may as well just go ahead and say that. so We are. we where the ah You're the Kentucky side. We're the Florida side. That's right. That's right. I know. And you're right. When I read that statistic that homicide is the third leading cause of death for indigenous women, I mean, that is earth shattering to me. I had no idea that it was
00:06:53
Speaker
that I knew it was more common, but not as common as it is. That's terrifying. Yeah, the statistics we found out becoming podcasters, because you hear about it, but when you really look at it, there is a disparity. It just is the truth. Yeah. So with that being said, let's get right into this episode.
Olivia's Life and Family Background
00:07:18
Speaker
Born on October 11, 1985, in Stanley, North Dakota, Olivia Carey Lone Bear, or Cedar Woman, as her family knew her, had a spirit that refused to be contained. She was the daughter of Iris Sherman Forbear and Harley Tex Lone Bear.
00:07:40
Speaker
And she grew up surrounded by a large and loving family, including two sisters and five brothers, which is quite large. Yeah, what a beautiful name. I agree. it It sounds very stately and strong. I love it. It's fantastic. Olivia was a member of the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation, also known as the MHA Nation.
00:08:09
Speaker
Described as outgoing, loving, and adventurous, she was the kind of person who drew people to her, often described by others as, quote, the life of the party, end quote. I always admire people who are like that because while I'm talkative, I just shy away to the corner of the room.
00:08:32
Speaker
Yeah, I envy that that quality as well. Olivia attended school in Newtown, North Dakota, before moving to Brockton, Montana for her sophomore year of high school, and then to Welpinett, Washington for her junior year. So she moved around quite a bit. In 2003, while completing her senior year through independent study, Olivia welcomed her first child, Haley.
00:09:01
Speaker
Two years later, she gave birth to her son, Caleb, who tragically passed away at just eight months old. The loss deeply affected her, as you could imagine, and it was around this time that she began traveling. In my mind, I kind of see that as maybe a way to lessen the pain of her loss she took to traveling.
00:09:23
Speaker
But the lessons she learned through that travel also fueled her determination to provide for her family. And she eventually in 2009 settled back in Newtown, where she was born, to do just that. I feel like that's very common, I think, for people to return to their roots after having traveled quite a bit.
00:09:45
Speaker
And after you have a child, if she had a nice childhood, too, you want that for your kid, you know? So she probably wanted that for Hailey. Mm-hmm. Over the years, Olivia had four more children, Jaycee, Layla, Dane, and Brody, each of whom she adored, and she worked tirelessly to support.
00:10:06
Speaker
Olivia held a variety of jobs in order to do so from working and as a games dealer at the Forbears Casino and Lodge to serving at the Edgewater Golf Course. But just because she was intent on finding jobs to support her family doesn't mean that life was always easy. It's not like she decided, I'm going to return home and buckle down and work and then There weren't any more issues. For example, in one of her jobs, she was a bartender and at one point she actually lost that job after an altercation caused by the wife of a former boyfriend who confronted Olivia at work and assaulted Olivia
00:10:47
Speaker
at work which led to Olivia's manager dismissing Olivia from her job duties in order to avoid further drama, which makes me so sad because you know here's a woman she's trying to work to provide for her family. There's an altercation that she didn't cause. I mean, she didn't go into someone's place of work, but she ended up suffering consequences, both physically and financially as a result of it.
00:11:18
Speaker
Yeah, she definitely has that hustler spirit to her, though, where she's willing to work hard. and And that's tough, because when you have somebody putting in all the work, you want things to go well for them. Right, exactly.
00:11:33
Speaker
And despite setbacks like those, Olivia maintained her free-spirited nature, which wasn't only about adventure, it was also about connection. With people, with the world, and speaking of both people and the world, her children were her world.
00:11:51
Speaker
And she while she's juggling these jobs, she still found time to attend every extracurricular activity they were involved in. They enjoyed movie nights together and just spending quality time together. So whatever came her way, she would just roll with it, even when hard times hit and she was between jobs.
00:12:14
Speaker
I feel like if you're there the mother of that many children, you have to have that kind of spirit to just roll with it. Yes. The spirit of adventure, because I can't imagine... I have one. I can't imagine five. That's a lot. You need to have a little additional level of chill in there somewhere. Right. You have to or else you'd pull your hair out.
00:12:38
Speaker
It actually sounds like from my research that she was an incredible mom and that bond with her children seemed so central to who she was, to her identity. For her family was first. When her own mother passed away in 2007, that was actually part of what prompted Olivia to come back.
00:12:59
Speaker
home to Newtown, and that was on the Fort Bertold reservation. And it was a return to her roots, but also a chance to remember families everything to help care for her father, Harley Tex Lone Bear, who she adored.
00:13:16
Speaker
So this was a win-win for her. He now had someone to look after him. He had his family close, his grandkids close, always super important. And she could now actually have some free time because he would volunteer to watch the kids.
00:13:33
Speaker
Oh, bonerful. And it's good that they had each other because in my mind, and I know this is stereotypical, I guess, but when I hear reservation, I tend to think not of this wide expanse of land, but nothing could have been further from the truth when talking about Fort Berthold reservation, because this reservation was huge.
00:14:01
Speaker
I'm talking the reservation was the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. It was nearly a million acres in size. A million. Wow. Is it heavily populated? See, I didn't read anywhere about the population of it, but I did get the sense that a lot of it was just terrain. So I don't think it was extremely heavily populated.
00:14:30
Speaker
ah Lots of room to get out and play. Yes. And the oil industry was stepping in. So there were a lot of, I guess, outsiders to the area because of the industry.
00:14:46
Speaker
It was also a community that is steeped in culture and tradition, obviously. And I feel like it creates such this the interesting picture, this sprawling land filled with family history, with cultural depth.
00:15:01
Speaker
but Obviously, you can imagine that soon to become a double-edged sword in situations like this one, where later it will represent a seemingly unending potential landscape to search for answers.
00:15:18
Speaker
We've covered quite a few cases of people being lost in heavily wooded areas, and it is it's a challenge. um You could look over several times and miss someone or something. It's it's a challenge.
00:15:36
Speaker
And it is that vastness that does become critical later, you'll
Olivia's Disappearance
00:15:41
Speaker
see. But for now, let's focus on Olivia's last known movements, which were on October 24th, 2017. Olivia had borrowed a teal Chevy Silverado from her friend James Hoffenke.
00:15:57
Speaker
who was called Jim in a lot of my research, so that's how I'll refer to him. And I guess borrowing his truck was something that she did often. He told HPR1 News that she borrowed it very often in the six years since they had met when she worked at the Legion. And on this particular night, she had borrowed it to go out with some friends. She was actually last seen at the Sportsmen Bar, which was a local hangout. And witnesses recall her being in high spirits.
00:16:33
Speaker
Her being there with a group of friends, she was reportedly seen at the end of the night, according to Bianca Hillier of NBC News, driving away from the bar and toward the Fort Betel reservation. But the reporter notes it's unclear if she was alone when she left the bar, though she had told her friends that she wanted to go home and go to bed.
00:17:00
Speaker
And I'm sorry, Alison, what was the year? 2017. So we don't actually know a lot about the last night when she's Cited just that she went to a bar. She had borrowed her friend Jim's truck to go there She's hanging out with some friends and at some point near the end of the night. She says, you know what? I'm gonna go home and go to bed, but nobody actually Sees her getting into the truck, which is why we don't know if she's alone, but they do see her driving back toward her home So we know she left the bar
00:17:36
Speaker
Yes, we do know that she left the bar. Not a lot to go on, that's for sure. No, definitely not. And I didn't read in my research who had been watching her children while she was out that night. I'm assuming it could have been her father. She had you know her other siblings there as well, so it could have been other family. Her eldest daughter was also a teenager at this point. I think she was 14. So I suppose it could have been possible that she was watching her siblings, but When Olivia didn't come home and she wasn't answering her phone, her family knew that something had happened. I mean, she is a free spirit, but she's not irresponsible.
00:18:25
Speaker
She's got kids to come home to, so. Yeah, she's got kids to come home. She's coming home. Exactly. That was gonna be my exact comment. When you have five little people waiting for you, you just don't disappear. Right. Right. And when the calls went unanswered for days on end,
00:18:44
Speaker
Her family finally decided to call authorities to file a missing persons report, but her family reported that authorities seemed in no hurry.
00:18:56
Speaker
to begin looking for Olivia nor to
Investigation Challenges
00:18:59
Speaker
take the report seriously. In fact, her brother Matthew told High Country News that the police felt no sense of urgency in his sister's disappearance and that they always had a ready reason as to why they weren't out there searching alongside of Olivia's family.
00:19:19
Speaker
Was this the local police or reservation law enforcement? This was tribal, the tribal police department. Okay. You know, what that's surprising and saddening to know this is their own that they should have been out looking for. um And not that there should be a separation, but sometimes we do see it. So the fact that the reservation police weren't even interested in her disappearance is additionally disheartening.
00:19:48
Speaker
It definitely is. It was on October 27th that Olivia's father Tex called the three affiliated tribes police department to report his daughter missing. And by the time the police accepted the report, Olivia had been gone for three days at that point already.
00:20:10
Speaker
Now, is this something she had done before because it does strike me as interesting they waited so long to contact authorities? I only saw it in one source, but one of my sources mentioned that she had been gone for a day or two before.
00:20:27
Speaker
So I guess it's, you know, when two days passed, but even then I didn't get the sense that she had not contacted family. I think those were more, she may have gone somewhere, but was in contact with her family. So they fully knew where she was. The complete lack of communication is concerning. Yes. Yes. A hundred percent.
00:20:52
Speaker
And so the investigation, even when it starts three days in, started slow. And by slow, I mean very slow. And other than a cursory search of waterways, Detective Lincoln, who was the lead detective on this case of the three affiliated tribe police department or the TATPD, said nearly immediately that he had no suspicion of foul play.
00:21:22
Speaker
Have they located the truck? No, they had not located the truck. Were they checking the waterways for the truck? I mean, are these waterways, they thought maybe she had an accident and the truck rolled into the water?
00:21:37
Speaker
I think that was the assumption, but then the search that they did of the waterways was so cursory. I mean, it wasn't anything in depth where they're sending divers or they're using sonar or anything like that. And so they're just like, well, we don't know where the truck is, so she must have just driven it off.
00:21:56
Speaker
Yeah, if they had done any of those things that you just listed, it would have indicated they actually were researching a theory. This is just sounds like brushing it off. ah Exactly. According to Olivia's brother Matthew Lone Bear, tribal police didn't begin actually searching Lake Sakakawea, the reservoir that was near Olivia's home, and until weeks later.
00:22:22
Speaker
And then it was volunteers, mostly family members, who led the initial searches. But dwindling numbers of volunteers, probably the result of freezing weather, made progress nearly impossible in terms of the search. So when the family, you know, they have to lead their own search and the reservation is nearly a million acres, how do you even begin?
00:22:52
Speaker
That seems hopeless, just is the only word I can think of that feels appropriate for what that must've felt like. Couple that with the fact that there were no statewide alerts that were even issued related to Olivia's disappearance. It meant that those precious first days of the search, even after they began three days in, very few knew that she was even missing and even fewer were out looking.
00:23:22
Speaker
I mean, in in that large of an area, I mean, you're gonna need aerial searches, you're gonna need ATVs, you're gonna need horseback, you are gonna need these things as individual searchers as much as you want to be able to examine everything. There's just no way. No, yeah. You can't even go door to door to ask people if they, you don't even have enough manpower for that. Yeah, as as Cynthia said, what a ah hopeless feeling they must have had.
00:23:52
Speaker
Yeah. And with authorities seemingly not taking this case seriously, Olivia's family decided again to continue their own investigation, including going to Olivia's home to see if there were any clues where she might be. So police didn't even go into her home to do any searching. It was there at her home that Olivia's family found her phone money, her wallet, and even the clothes that she had worn that night that she had gone out with her friends. So it all seemed to suggest that she had returned home briefly the night of the 24th before heading out again. But where? Because we still haven't located the truck, correct? Correct. We still have no idea where the truck is.
00:24:49
Speaker
And without her phone. Yes. but That to me smells fishy. Yes. I just kept thinking about that. Why would you leave your phone? Why would you leave your wallet? I can't think of many good reasons. I can't either. ah i If I go somewhere without my wallet,
00:25:13
Speaker
I imagine it's only the times, at least for me, when I know I'm not going to be the one driving. And even then, I usually take it anyway if my husband's driving, just in case something happens and I need to drive. But every time I have left my wallet at home, it is because I've known I personally am not going to be driving.
00:25:35
Speaker
But even that, I normally think through that, because I've done the same thing. Say if my husband's driving, I may not grab my purse, but then I think, well, what if we stop at a restaurant? And, you know, I mean, I am in my 40s, but I look so young and vibrant that maybe I've been carted. Or any other thing, if you're in an accident or you have to go to the hospital or whatever it is, you know, you want to be prepared. But I always grab my phone.
00:26:04
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I would grab my phone before my wallet. But what the wallet does say to me is, say investigators are right. And she said five kids is too overwhelming. Doing this much work is too overwhelming. And she did want to run away.
00:26:22
Speaker
your probably going to take your wallet. Maybe leave the phone to say, I just need to cut off communication for a while. It's too much. But you're going to take your ID and your money. And I keep thinking as well, you know, let's say not even getting into the theories of her leaving of her own accord. Let's say she had a plan. She's going to meet up with somebody or whatever.
00:26:45
Speaker
If she isn't driving the truck and someone else is, I also find that odd because remember the truck itself was borrowed. So would she have let someone else drive a borrowed vehicle that's not even her own?
00:27:02
Speaker
I mean, I don't know the answer to that question, but to me, I don't think many people would. Right. I wouldn't. I can see a situation where she was possibly intoxicated. She did come from a bar. Maybe she had been drinking and maybe it was a safety issue. Well, maybe that's why, maybe that explains why she left her stuff at home. If she left willingly, because if she is intoxicated, is she thinking?
00:27:28
Speaker
Oh, where's my phone? Where's my wallet? I think she had been that intoxicated though. I feel like some eyewitness at the bar would have noticed, but maybe not because these do sound like very spotty eyewitness accounts.
00:27:45
Speaker
right yeah because we don't really know a lot and and they did say they just saw the truck drive off so i guess we don't even know it there could have been someone maybe she met in the parking lot who she knew who said hey i can tell you've been drinking i'd feel safer if i drive you home let me drive you and you're right she could have done that and then that's maybe i don't know well we'll get to something in a minute that might explain why she changed her clothes But I want you to remember that they said that she left her phone there. They found her phone days later when they began looking in her house. But I will say, seeing those items did tell her family, okay, there was definitely foul play. That's what they were thinking in their minds.
00:28:33
Speaker
When the family requested resources from authorities to aid in their search, because again they're doing most of it on their own, particularly requests for watercraft to help search the Bay, sources note that the family reported a lack of assistance, saying the tribal police claimed that they lacked the necessary equipment. But props to Olivia's brother Matthew, who drove by the police supply yard, saw several boats sitting in it, took some pictures of it, and posted it to Facebook.
00:29:09
Speaker
Zing. Gotta leave it to the family. The family always just, you know, does what needs to get done. You've gotta advocate for your people.
Community Outrage and Search Efforts
00:29:19
Speaker
Yes, you do. And it did spark outrage in the community, and it was that public backlash. Again, thankfully because of his actions. Good for him. Eventually, yeah, forced law enforcement to conduct a water search. It was limited.
00:29:35
Speaker
a limited water surge because by then winter was setting in and the frozen lake hindered any meaningful progress. So had they done this search earlier, it would have been much more extensive, but because they waited, now the water's freezing, it's much harder to do.
00:29:56
Speaker
Olivia's brother Matthew said in an interview for Democracy Now that he felt both the Tribal PD and the BIA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, he felt at least that they were anxious to begin searching the waterways as soon as the waters thawed. So it there's, I guess, an element that's more positive, right? It looks like they're going to actually start searching. But is it too little too late?
00:30:26
Speaker
That's a wonderful question that I'll tell you about. Oh, yeah. That's more shadowing. I know. That's right. Meanwhile, the family continued to organize their own searches, often working in the frigid conditions and with dwindling volunteer numbers that I mentioned earlier. Everything felt at snail's pace.
00:30:50
Speaker
Olivia's father, Tex Lone Bear, told a reporter from the Bismarck Tribune in a November 16th, 2017 article, speaking of the investigation, quote, for me, it's too slow. Of course, I want her home already, so anything would be too slow, end quote.
00:31:10
Speaker
Even when other agencies did step in to help, Olivia's father noted that he and his family always felt like they were behind the eight ball. He stated, quote, there's just so much we could have done earlier and we couldn't because we didn't know. That's the frustrating part about it. Every day I find out something new that we should have done three days ago, end quote. So disappointing.
00:31:39
Speaker
I feel like that's why a lot of families who I know that I've spoken with, with missing or murdered loved ones, a lot of them join communities where they do share tips and strategies with other families who are kind of new to navigating.
00:31:57
Speaker
this new life that they're living. Well, there are several organizations that we've helped the sponsor that do just that. um And some of them even have more information on how to locate missing persons than police departments often. ah Here are the forms you need to get phones unlocked. Here are the special alerts that are available to you. Here are special hotlines that are willing to help.
00:32:26
Speaker
It really takes a village sometimes, and it's very hard when these departments aren't willing to reach out and ask for help and some of this, because I feel like that would have been a possibility in this situation. If maybe they did have the boats, but they needed repairs or whatever it was, there were still surrounding stations that would have probably hopped in to help. Right, exactly. and The FBI did join in the search in November, but by the next month, December 2017, again, the family felt that authorities weren't searching as thoroughly as they had hoped. and They actually told Dateline that most of the searching was being done by outside people that they themselves as the family had brought in.
00:33:16
Speaker
and that these outside agencies had tried to coordinate with the TATPD only to be dismissed or turned away. And I will add here that local authorities have responded to these accusations from the family by arguing that they followed up on over 500 leads, according to them, across multiple states. But they said they did so much of it without the family's knowledge, which doesn't make much sense to me because I feel like you would want to update the family. But I did want to at least say that they had a rebuttal to these accusations. Or ask the family, do you know someone we should contact?
00:34:02
Speaker
That would have been an important question, I would think. And that alone, you don't have to tell the family we're investigating because they just see you investigating. Right. Yeah. Or if you've rolled someone out, tell them who you've rolled out so they, again, they know you're working on it. Yeah.
00:34:20
Speaker
months passed with little progress until February 2018. So we go from October 2017 to February 2018 when the Bureau of Indian Affairs officially took over the investigation. The FBI continued working with them as well, but again, progress remained slow because remember how Olivia's brother Matthew, he felt at least some excitement because he felt like those two agencies were anxious to search the water when the waters thawed. Well, once the waters did thaw, then he said in that Democracy Now! interview that neither agency had any boats out searching in the now thawed water. And each one was now arguing that it was the other agency's responsibility to do the water search, which led to neither agency really doing much of anything.
00:35:17
Speaker
And the family's stuck in the middle with no answers, precisely. Do we have any theory as to why law enforcement seems so hesitant to help? I mean, i and I understand it sounds like they're saying, but we were working on it, but that's not how it appears. So is there any theory as to why they weren't doing what we would have liked to have seen?
00:35:41
Speaker
In all of my research, I didn't see any theories proposed to answer that question. And I think it's obviously a very important question, so I don't know I'm unsure because again, we talked about at the beginning, you would think this is this is one of your own. If a family member of mine i'm is missing, I'm going to care more, but I'm probably also, even though i'm I'm wanting to believe the best, I'm going to fear for the worst and I'm going to take the matter into my own hands in terms of the investigation as if it were the worst because I want to be prepared and I want to find as many answers as possible. so But with this kind of epidemic of
00:36:27
Speaker
the missing and murdered indigenous women specifically, and the unsolved cases and the lack of media coverage, I feel kind of like the lack of investigative curiosity is a ah byproduct of that epidemic.
00:36:48
Speaker
It's really sad. just so It's just so devastating.
00:37:02
Speaker
Frustrated by the lack of action, a woman named Lisa Yellowbird Chase, who is the founder of Sonnish Scouts, joined the effort. Lisa, who is an advocate for missing indigenous people, had actually been following Olivia's case closely, and she felt compelled something in her to search Lake Sacagawea. She told High County News, quote, I don't know what it was.
00:37:32
Speaker
I was drawn to that place." and quote o Interesting. I know, I've got chills. Yes, yes. Just a few months later, in July 2018, Lisa's hunch paid off. Wow. She had borrowed a small boat with a malfunctioning motor and a used basic fishing sonar to scan the bay and her sonar picked up a rectangular object on the lake bed about 21 feet underwater and about 400 feet from the shore. Do we know approximately how close this lake was in proximity to the bar or her home? A mile and a half from her home.
Discovery of Olivia's Truck
00:38:19
Speaker
Okay. So very close. Wow. Wow. She, Lisa,
00:38:24
Speaker
Yellowbird photographed the sonar readings and sent them to a friend who was a certified sonar expert named Keith Cormacken. And he confirmed that what she saw was likely a vehicle, but he advised her to take additional pictures at different times of day to improve the definition of the images. So there would be shadows in different places and you could have a better idea of what it was.
00:38:50
Speaker
On July 31, 2018, law enforcement finally acted on Lisa's discovery. A tow truck equipped with extra long straps was brought to the site and divers from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department descended into the murky water. Hours later,
00:39:11
Speaker
a teal Chevy Silverado with the North Dakota license plate 839BRC. The truck in which Olivia was last seen, the truck that she had borrowed from her friend Jim, broke the surface. And Olivia's body was found inside, identified by her family from her tattoos. But it was where her body was located in the truck.
00:39:38
Speaker
that led to even more questions. You see, Olivia was found buckled into the passenger seat. oh well oh it The truck's windows were also shattered.
00:39:55
Speaker
raising further questions about what had happened. And it's also heartbreaking that we what we just talked about, that after all of this time, they found her only a mile and a half away from her home. She was right there, right there. Right there, the whole time. And this location had supposedly, even in the cursory search, been looked at, but ah obviously clearly not thoroughly. And like you mentioned at the beginning, when you have rougher terrain and water, there are places where someone could search seemingly thoroughly and not see anything and then look again and they find it. Sure. At the same time, Lisa's doing it in a broken boat. and so She is. Yes.
00:40:45
Speaker
So, you know, go Lisa. and Exactly. The discovery obviously brought some closure to her family, but it also raised more questions. And with those broken windows, with her being buckled in, it definitely didn't sound like an accident like authorities had been trying to say, or like her willingly leaving on her own.
00:41:09
Speaker
There's no driver. So if it was say ah just an accident where they lost control and drove into the water, where's the driver? Precisely. Yeah, that's where this mystery deepens even further. The medical examiner noted that there were no clear signs of trauma nor of toxic substances, so they could not conclusively determine the cause of death. They didn't know whether even Olivia had drowned.
00:41:42
Speaker
They couldn't even tell that. So that lack of certainty, it's just adding another layer of frustration for Olivia's family. And I think this part, it angers me, but but even with the discovery of the truck, even with the discovery that Olivia is buckled into the passenger seat in a November 21st, 2019 article for KFYR TV. So months after this discovery. Please tell me they changed it to homicide, Alice. Please tell me. I know. FBI agent Kevin Smith
00:42:22
Speaker
I found this very confusing. On the one hand said that there's certain information that they're keeping close to the vest because only the perpetrator would know. So obviously that sounds like foul play. But then on the other hand, he also made comments in that article saying that they aren't ruling out foul play.
00:42:46
Speaker
but that they were going to gather facts to come to the correct conclusion. And that makes it sound like it not being foul play is still a possibility. Strange. Yes. I mean, I would say calling this accidental would be completely phoning it in.
00:43:04
Speaker
Yes, yes. That's where I would land. My problem is this. yes If she's buckled in, then she didn't just hop from the driver's seat over to the passenger seat and buckle herself in as she's barreling into the water. And at some point, even if they tried to say she was tired of this life, she decided to take her own life.
00:43:30
Speaker
it's there' It's very likely that fight or flight would have kicked in, I feel like, especially with drowning. And if she's aware that she's in water, she's in danger, I feel like she would have at least unbuckled her seatbelt at the very least. And if it were intentional, why make a production out of it to make it look like it's foul play? That doesn't make any sense to me. So it makes me feel like she had to have somehow been incapacitated before entering the water.
Text Messages and Timeline Questions
00:44:03
Speaker
And maybe being in the water is the coverup. Right. In May 2022, new developments in Olivia's case came to light regarding her phone records and location pings. These records showed that Olivia had sent several messages on the night of October 25th. So the night after sources say she left the bar, remember that was the 24th,
00:44:30
Speaker
She messaged Jim, the owner of the truck, as well as an ex-boyfriend, though the exact content of some of those messages remain unclear. What we do know is that she sent a text shortly after 10 p.m. on the 25th to Jim that read, quote, well, we had a little bonfire. Now we're going muddy. Wish me luck. End quote.
00:45:00
Speaker
Okay, that's not what I expected you to say. Right. And then a few minutes later, she sent a cryptic or someone with her phone, sent a cryptic text at 10.24 PM, again to Jim, that just said goodbye. Which has obviously fueled speculation about her state of mind or potential distress that evening.
00:45:29
Speaker
According to sources close to the investigation, her ex-boyfriend, Adam, also received a text late that night. His was the last text sent at 10.37 p.m., but the details of what she said in that text have not been disclosed publicly.
00:45:51
Speaker
I would be so interested to get my hands on that text. Yes. The phone records also obviously showed pings that placed Olivia near Sacagawea, which aligned with the truck's eventual discovery. These records were obtained by the FBI, which had taken over part of the investigation from tribal police. And I have so many questions, you guys, because I feel like whomever she was with, I love to psychoanalyze and read I'm an English teacher,
00:46:25
Speaker
So I like to read into everything. And with those texts, the, well, we had a little bonfire and now we're going mudding that she sent to Jim. I feel like whomever she was with, Jim had to have known who we were.
00:46:45
Speaker
because Olivia doesn't name names. So like, if I said to you, we are going, you know, here, you you you don't know my friends, so that wouldn't mean nothing to you. Instead, I would say, oh, my co-host Maggie and my mom and I are going places. So the fact that she just said we leads me to believe that Jim at least would know who we were.
00:47:11
Speaker
That stuck out to me too, so I was going to ask, has anybody talked to Jim? What is Jim saying? We have. Jim has not given any information in terms of who we are.
00:47:27
Speaker
Because in most of my sources, it mentioned that law enforcement could find no indication of any names of any one who would admit to having been at a bonfire nor gone mudding that night. Not a single soul has admitted to being there at either of those events. And from my understanding, Jim has not named anyone either.
00:47:54
Speaker
So I'm just wondering, are they, do they mean something? Like, does mudding mean something else? I think mud, the only thing I know it means is, you know, riding your ATV through the mud, which is a very common, you know, if you live out in the country. Sure. Sure. I'm just thinking, could that have meant something else? I did read in one source that And this was a source early on, before they even named her friend, Jim, in sources, that there was someone with information who would only provide information if they could remain anonymous.
00:48:30
Speaker
So i do wonder I do wonder if he did know maybe who we were. but he Either the police are not sharing that information because that's part of what they're keeping close to the vest or whether maybe he's the one who said, I'm only going to give information, but I'm not going to be identified as the one who's naming names. I don't know. Because who she was with that night seems like important information. Correct.
00:48:59
Speaker
Pivotal information. Finally, how in the heck, and I don't know if you even caught this because it it took me a few times reading through the research to catch it, how in the heck did Olivia's family find her cell phone at home And yet here she is sending texts from it yeah on the night of the 25th, unless someone brought it back to her home. Maybe she had two cell phones. I guess it is possible that someone is accessing her phone and sending messages so that it looks like they're being sent from her phone. But I feel like that last theory seems too advanced for most people to be the most plausible.
00:49:45
Speaker
So I wish I had a better understanding of the condition her phone was in when her family found it. you know like Was it working properly? Had it been in water? you know and But if she loses it that night, then someone else had her phone if it is back in her house.
00:50:07
Speaker
I actually followed the storyline a little differently and maybe I just missed something, but my interpretation was her kids were with a friend or a family member and no, so she was supposed to come and pick up the kids. And so she could have been at her home that night.
00:50:27
Speaker
That was what I was thinking? Did someone go to her home the night she disappeared? No, not for my understanding. I don't think that they went until either the 26th or the 27th.
Speculations and Unanswered Questions
00:50:39
Speaker
So she definitely could have gone home that night. I think there's a lot of speculation about the 25th being the last night.
00:50:49
Speaker
she was alive for a couple of reasons. Number one, because of that goodbye text. Okay. Right. to write And then because of her Facebook activity. So her cover photo was changed on the night of October 25th at 11.24 p.m.
00:51:12
Speaker
and her Facebook account was accessed at 11.38 p.m. on the night of the 25th before all activity stopped. Okay, okay. So i I think that's why a lot of people think it happened on the 25th, and it does make sense to me if someone did have possession of her phone, why maybe all of the phone calls from her family went unanswered,
00:51:41
Speaker
because I feel like if she has her phone on the 25th and her family's trying to call her to say, hey, where where the heck are you? That she would have answered. I'm just thinking again, if she, and maybe this is a complete devil's advocate point of view, but if she was struggling um mentally in some way here, she had, um you know, she was in some kind of psychosis.
00:52:05
Speaker
Would it be possible she had gone back to her home and not answered the phone? um But it sounds like from the other things you're pointing out that that would not be, that's most likely not probable. According to her family, but again, I mean, you're right. Sometimes family, they don't want to admit that it could be something like what you're indicating.
00:52:29
Speaker
um They want to believe that, of course, you know, my sister, my daughter loves her kids. Of course. She would have definitely answered. But for them, it seemed to indicate that there's definitely foul play. And maybe these texts weren't even really sent by her. I also wish I knew what the cover photo of her Facebook page was changed to.
00:52:56
Speaker
so And whether that itself is a message or a clue or something like that. And you know you mentioned Jim, the truck owner earlier. He has been a point of scrutiny for a lot of people. He did cooperate with law enforcement. He gave ah Olivia access again to his vehicle regularly. And so some people have said, well, so you're telling me she borrows this truck and then she says goodbye?
00:53:25
Speaker
right Like it's a finality to it and has his truck that you wouldn't be like, where the heck's my truck? who you know are When are you going to bring it back? So a lot of people think, well, maybe he knew more than he let on.
00:53:37
Speaker
Well, and I would even say it would stop me when she said she's going mudding because the implication to me would be she's doing it in his truck. That was my thought. you now I've never been mudding, but I thought you're going to go mudding in his truck. But maybe you mentioned ATVs earlier, Alison, so maybe that's how most people do it. ah Right. Like they would just use the truck to drive and to some place where, yeah, with the ATVs.
00:54:01
Speaker
And, of course, people point out he is one of the last people who Olivia, I'll use air quotes, contacted if it were indeed her who's texting from her phone. But Jim did let police search his property. He relinquished his phone records. And in hopes to locate Olivia, even with all of that access, the police found no evidence linking him to a crime.
00:54:29
Speaker
He also stated, as reported in the Bismarck Tribune, that he had attempted to reactivate the OnStar system that was on his truck to help locate Olivia when she went missing, but he told reporters that he was told by OnStar that it had been inactive for too long to reinstate. So it sounds like he was cooperating with authorities in terms of the search.
00:55:00
Speaker
You know, it's difficult to say because in this case, we really don't have a lot of evidence to hook anyone to. So when you say there wasn't anything to link him to the crime, well, there's not a lot to link back to. Right. Yeah.
00:55:15
Speaker
And these developments have added new layers to the theories about what happened that night. So I'm questioning, was Olivia headed to meet someone? Was there an accident even involving another person who was maybe driving, who has since remained silent?
00:55:33
Speaker
Did someone deliberately alter her digital footprint after her disappearance to obscure the truth? I mean, the question surrounding her phone, the Facebook activity, the gaps in shared information that, you know, she's talking about a we, but we don't know who we are. Those things continue to weigh heavily on her family and on the community. So I did want us to talk briefly about the theories.
00:55:58
Speaker
Law enforcement's first theory was that Olivia had left of her own accord. According to tribal police, Olivia had a history of being a quote wanderer and in fact even her family in her obituary used the phrase quote traveling gypsy end quote to describe her.
00:56:18
Speaker
And again, like we mentioned earlier, she would sometimes stay away for a day or two. Right. But again, normally she would check in. She would answer her phone. Additionally, the fact that Olivia was last seen at a bar led authorities to speculate that she maybe she went out partying. Maybe she decided to leave for personal reasons.
00:56:38
Speaker
She got too overwhelmed. Detective Lincoln, the lead detective in Olivia's case, even said to the Tribune, quote, we have no proof or probable cause that she was abducted until we can prove a crime has been committed. Then they would be in full force, end quote, basically providing an excuse as to why they weren't accepting outside help from other agencies early on in the investigation. Then you've got the goodbye text from Olivia's phone on October 25th. That obviously further complicates matters. The message that simply says goodbye, sent to her friend Jim, the owner of the truck. Then there was also a note purportedly left behind.
00:57:30
Speaker
something that I only read about in two sources, one of which was HPR1 News. And this is information that was provided to the reporter from Jim. He told the reporter of the article that was titled, Senatorial Eyes on Missing Persons Case, quote, the note is horrifying. The note is a goodbye note. It's not an I love you kids and see you in a little bit note.
00:57:59
Speaker
It's in her words too." end quote So to illustrate, he told the reporter that this note that Olivia supposedly left mentions pet names in the letter that only Olivia would have called her children. That it contained phrases like, I love you kids, but that it indicated that she was leaving forever.
00:58:24
Speaker
But was this note genuinely written by Olivia? Was she the one who sent that final text saying goodbye? I'm not convinced and neither is Olivia's family. They vehemently disagree with this theory that she left on her own. Her brother Matthew pushed back arguing that she loved her kids more than anything.
Passenger Seat Mystery and Theories
00:58:43
Speaker
She would never have left them behind because remember they were her life, her identity. And again, if this were intentional, why the charade of putting yourself in the passenger seat?
00:58:58
Speaker
Well, and even the logistics of doing it, like you would have to drive the car into the water, I'm assuming. And then while the vehicle is s sinking, you're going to switch into the, move over into the passenger seat. And that even logistically, even if you were, had the foresight to be like, I'm going to make this look, you know,
00:59:21
Speaker
make this look like it wasn't of my own accord. To actually do it would be difficult and strange. Yeah. And I feel like I don't know.
00:59:33
Speaker
I have not seen any statistical research on this, but I feel like the truck being 400 feet from the shore, that seems quite a distance. I mean, I feel like if you're just barely pushing the gas, you're not going to end up 400 feet from the shore. I don't even know how that happens.
00:59:54
Speaker
unless um maybe there's an incline so you're, I don't know, do submerged vehicles necessarily move or slip along the bottom easily in water? That's a good point that I've not given any thought to. Now was this body of water like was it near a a road or or something like that? like is there any How did the truck get in there? I got the sense that it was, and and it is quite a large body of water, but I just i don't know. It's 21 feet down the truck.
01:00:35
Speaker
but 400 feet out. I don't know, that just struck me. i I don't know how it even gets there. I also don't know how the windows got broken. So I'm playing through different theories in my mind and I'm thinking, okay, um maybe there was an accident, right? Maybe, because I don't think driving a truck into the water, I don't think it would shatter the windows.
01:01:02
Speaker
No, you might shudder them to try to get out. Right. Well, that's kind of what I was thinking. If what if she was in and somehow she couldn't get the seatbelt unbuckled. I mean, I know we live in Florida and we're surrounded by lakes all the time. And I actually have a special tool to cut seatbelts in case we get in the water. So was it possible she had something enough to smash the windows but then couldn't remove herself from the seatbelt?
01:01:29
Speaker
and i And I agree with you. I think she had to be going at a pretty high rate of speed to end up that far into the water. And I hear everything you're saying from authorities saying, we don't have enough evidence to say it's a homicide. And what I would argue is, I don't see enough evidence to say it's an accident. Same. Yeah, because to me, if you if you're that far in the water and you're going at that high rate of a speed into the water, that's purposeful.
01:01:58
Speaker
Well, and I would say that I would take Owl at this point knowing what I know. I would say either she wanted to intentionally take her life or there was some kind of foul play involved. I just can't see that this was an accident. But again, with her family saying she had no history of ah mental illness or no urge to run away from her life or her children, who she loved, I just find her doing it intentionally to not fit very well. Now, I guess one more scenario could be that she was intoxicated because we know
01:02:37
Speaker
You know, being intoxicated might make you drive more erratically, but it still doesn't explain why she's in the passenger seat strapped in. That, yeah I just can't explain. Right. Well, and i I'm kind of on that point. If she was that intoxicated, she wouldn't be able to hook herself. it You know, you wouldn't be coordinated in enough to move around and hook yourself, like, why would you do that? Right. Yeah, and that doesn't make sense. The only other theory, I guess, other than intentional or, well, intentional on her part or intentional on someone else's, is if there were some sort of tragic accident, somehow they're playing around, something happens, she's in the passenger seat, the truck goes into the water, maybe they do have a tool like that,
01:03:28
Speaker
they break the window to get out the driver does and is able to get out themselves thinking that Olivia is going to follow behind and then they get to the surface of the water and then they realize Olivia's not there. Maybe she's still stuck in the truck. Maybe they can't get back down to her because she's 21 feet down. That's quite a ways down and if you're not a good swimmer yourself, maybe you can't get back to it.
01:03:55
Speaker
But then I wonder if it isn't, why would you not tell someone? Well, maybe what if the driver's intoxicated? What if or or for some other reason doesn't want to come forward? We've seen this before. We've seen a very similar, you know, similar situations before. That's the only reason I can think of why you wouldn't come forward. And even then, I mean, how terrible not to come forward, but that might be the answer. Well, I wish I knew other details that I'm sure law enforcement know, like they would have been able to tell was the driver's seatbelt cut. Even the the distance of the driver seat from the steering wheel and the pedals, they should be able to tell the height of the person who was initially driving. But none of those details were disclosed in the sources that I read. And those also wouldn't explain
01:04:50
Speaker
the goodbye text. Somebody sent it, either Olivia or someone else. And I guess it could have been part of if it if there were a driver who did escape in an accident, part of a an attempt to hide what happened so that nobody goes to look for her, just assuming that she went away on her own. Would that phone have been waterlogged? I'm trying to think back to that time, you know, now iPhones, I'm just assuming it was iPhone, but now everything's waterproof, but it was only a few years ago they weren't and that phone wouldn't have even turned on if whoever was with her had gone into the water as well. Unless she didn't have the phone with her at all. Say they stopped by her house and she changed, left her stuff, they go out for a joy ride, accident happens, and the driver goes back to her home and tries to cover up. I mean, it's a stretch, but
01:05:46
Speaker
I was thinking the same thing and then I was trying to play devil's advocate and I was like, well, but they said the pings were in the area of the water. But remember the water is only a mile and a half from her home. So wouldn't they have potentially pinged off the same tower? It's hard to be interesting to know. Yeah. Yeah.
01:06:04
Speaker
And the medical examiner's report, you know, it's leaving everything open. It didn't definitively find water in Olivia's lungs, so drowning wasn't the cause of death guaranteed. It also couldn't be ruled out.
01:06:19
Speaker
there was, according to the medical examiner, an absence of clear trauma or toxic substances. So the report actually actually says, quote, no definitive traumatic, natural or toxicological causes for her death.
01:06:35
Speaker
So then I'm thinking, OK, well, she was incapacitated before going into the water. There's no clear head injury or that would have been found. So is she unconscious before going into the water? What is it that rendered her unable to try to escape? Was she drunk and she passed out? I don't know if water would make you come to or what could have happened before entering the water because there's no clear sign. ah There's no bullet wounds, there's no cuts, there's no... Well, and that to me would indicate she wasn't in an accident because if you're in that sphere of an accident, you would have some kind of of head wound or ah fractured ribs, something of that nature. So I find the fact that she doesn't have injuries to be actually a major clue.
01:07:26
Speaker
Yeah, because there are so many possibilities, the U.S. Attorney General for North Dakota, Drew w Rickley, noted to the Bismarck Tribune, quote, there are and have been subjects of this investigation and there have been no subjects ruled out definitively, end quote. wow So they're making it sound like it could be anybody. We have no point.
01:07:52
Speaker
Well, I think that might be my conclusion. Yeah, which is ah so maddening. um It is. But yeah, the door is left open. There are so many things that fit into one theory. But then there are enough things that you can't wrap it up with a bow.
01:08:12
Speaker
Right. yeah And then, of course, there's the larger systemic issue that Olivia's case brings to light that indigenous families searching for loved ones, they face barriers at every turn from jurisdictional tangles to dismissive attitudes from law
Systemic Issues and Call for Justice
01:08:31
Speaker
enforcement. And even despite a lot actually of recent legislation that attempt to address those inequities and bring justice to cases like Olivia's, like the the Not Invisible Act that was passed in 2020, Savannah's Act that was passed in 2017, all of which the purpose is to break down some of these barriers and bring light to the cases of
01:08:59
Speaker
indigenous people, here we are more than seven years later and Olivia Lone Bear's case still remains unsolved. Her family's grief, still raw. and i do Part of me just feels like this isn't just about Olivia. I feel like it is about her case, yes, but it's also a plea to amplify every missing voice in the MMIW cases.
01:09:29
Speaker
Yeah. If you have information concerning Olivia Lone Bear, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Let's not let Olivia's case fade into the shadows. Olivia's loss has left an indelible mark on her family, especially her children who have been forced to grow up without the love and guidance of their mother. Her family still struggles with the void she left behind.
01:09:54
Speaker
Let us remember Olivia, yes, but let's also acknowledge the systemic issues that allowed her case to be mishandled. Too often, cases involving indigenous women are dismissed, under investigated, or forgotten altogether. We always ask our listeners to share. This time, we're asking you to care.
01:10:16
Speaker
Talk about Olivia. Talk about the MMIW cases. Bring attention to these injustices because awareness can lead to change. Together we can honor Olivia's memory by demanding justice and amplifying the voices of all of those still searching for their loved ones.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
01:10:37
Speaker
Again, please like and join our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast to continue the conversation and see images related to this episode. As always, follow us on Twitter, at casescoffee, on Instagram, at coffee cases podcast, or you can always email us suggestions to coffeeandcasespodcastatgmail.com. Please tell your friends about our podcast so more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to rate our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon.
01:11:07
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.